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34 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
much encumbered with lading; but a l l things being i n readiness,
on the 3rd of June we took to the water, and, a photograph
of the scene having been taken, shoved off from the
Landing. The boats were furnished with long, cumbrous
sweeps, yet not a whit too heavy, since numbers of them
snapped with the vigorous strokes of the rowers during the
trip. A small sweep, passed through a ring at the stern,
served as a rudder, by far the best steering gear for the
" sturgeons,'' but not for a York boat, which is built with
a keel and can sail pretty close to the wind. Ordinarily
the only sail in use is a lug, which has a great spread, and
moves a boat quickly in a fair wind. In a calm, of course,
sweeps have to be used, and our first step i n departure was
to cross the river with them, the boatmen rising with the
oars and falling back simultaneously to their seats with perfect
precision, and handling the great blades with practised
ease. When the opposite shore was reached, the four
trackers of each boat leaped into the water, and, splashing
up the bank, got into harness at once, and began, with
changes to the oars, the unflagging pull which lasted for two
weeks. This harness is called by the trackers " otapanapi"
— a Cree word— and it must be borne in mind that scarcely
any language was spoken throughout this region other than
Cree. A little English or French was occasionally heard;
but the tongue, domestic, diplomatic, universal, was Cree,
into which every half- breed in common talk lapsed, sooner
or later, with undisguised delight. It was his mother
tongue, copious enough to express his every thought and
emotion, and its soft accents, particularly i n the mouth of
woman, are certainly very musical. Emerson's phrase,
" fossil poetry," might be applied to our Indian languages,
i n which a single stretched- out word does duty for a sentence.
But to the harness. This is simply an adjustment of
leather breast- straps for each man, tied to a very long tracking
line, which, in turn, is tied to the bow of the boat The
trackers, once i n it, walk off smartly along the bank, the
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| Title | Page 40 |
| OCR | 34 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN much encumbered with lading; but a l l things being i n readiness, on the 3rd of June we took to the water, and, a photograph of the scene having been taken, shoved off from the Landing. The boats were furnished with long, cumbrous sweeps, yet not a whit too heavy, since numbers of them snapped with the vigorous strokes of the rowers during the trip. A small sweep, passed through a ring at the stern, served as a rudder, by far the best steering gear for the " sturgeons,'' but not for a York boat, which is built with a keel and can sail pretty close to the wind. Ordinarily the only sail in use is a lug, which has a great spread, and moves a boat quickly in a fair wind. In a calm, of course, sweeps have to be used, and our first step i n departure was to cross the river with them, the boatmen rising with the oars and falling back simultaneously to their seats with perfect precision, and handling the great blades with practised ease. When the opposite shore was reached, the four trackers of each boat leaped into the water, and, splashing up the bank, got into harness at once, and began, with changes to the oars, the unflagging pull which lasted for two weeks. This harness is called by the trackers " otapanapi" — a Cree word— and it must be borne in mind that scarcely any language was spoken throughout this region other than Cree. A little English or French was occasionally heard; but the tongue, domestic, diplomatic, universal, was Cree, into which every half- breed in common talk lapsed, sooner or later, with undisguised delight. It was his mother tongue, copious enough to express his every thought and emotion, and its soft accents, particularly i n the mouth of woman, are certainly very musical. Emerson's phrase, " fossil poetry," might be applied to our Indian languages, i n which a single stretched- out word does duty for a sentence. But to the harness. This is simply an adjustment of leather breast- straps for each man, tied to a very long tracking line, which, in turn, is tied to the bow of the boat The trackers, once i n it, walk off smartly along the bank, the |
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