The band of fur-traders now set earnestly about the erection of their winter dwelling1. The season was so far advanced that the men could no longer be spared from the work to hunt or fish in the mountains, so that they lived chiefly on the produce of the stake-nets in front of the camp, and a small allowance of the provisions with which they had started from Moose Fort. Occasionally Frank sallied forth2 and returned with the best parts of a deer on his shoulders; but these excursions were rare, as both he and Stanley worked with the men in the erection of the fort. No one was idle for a moment, from the time of rising—shortly after daybreak—to the time of going to rest at night. Even little Edith found full occupation in assisting her mother in the performance of a host of little household duties, too numerous to recapitulate3. The dog Chimo was the only exception to the general rule. He hunted the greater part of the forenoon, for his own special benefit, and slept when not thus occupied, or received with philosophical5 satisfaction the caresses6 of his young mistress.
The future fort was begun on the centre of the level patch of green-sward at the foot of the flat rock by the spring, where the party had originally encamped. A square was traced on the ground to indicate the stockade7; and within this, Stanley marked off an oblong patch, close to the back stockade, for the principal dwelling-house, facing the river. Two other spaces were on either side of this—one for a store, the other for a dwelling for the men. When finished, the fort would thus have the form of three sides of a square surrounded by a stockade. In the centre of this, and the first thing that was erected8, was a flag-staff, on which the H.B.C.—Hudson’s Bay Company—flag was hoisted9, and saluted11 with three cheers as its crimson12 folds fluttered out in the breeze for the first time. The plan on which the houses were constructed was that on which all the dwellings13 of the fur-traders are built—namely, a framework of timber, the interstices of which are filled up with logs sliding into grooves14 cut in the main posts and beams. This manner of building is so simple that a house can be erected without any other instruments than an axe15, an auger16, and a large chisel17; and the speed with which it is put up would surprise those whose notions of house-building are limited to stone edifices18.
The axes of the wood-cutters resounded19 among the gullies and ravines of Ungava, and awakened20 the numerous echoes of the mountains. The encampment no longer presented a green spot, watered by a tiny rill, but was strewn with logs in all stages of formation, and chips innumerable. The frameworks of the dwelling-houses began to rise from the earth, presenting, in their unfinished condition, a bristling22, uncomfortable appearance, suggesting thoughts in the beholder’s mind highly disparaging23 to art, and deeply sympathetic with outraged24 nature. The tents still stood, and the campfire burned, but the superior proportions of the rising fort threw these entirely25 into the shade. A rude wharf26 of unbarked logs ran from the beach into the river. It had been begun and finished in a couple of days, for the convenience of Gaspard while visiting his nets, as he sometimes did before the water left them. Everything, in short, bore evidence of the most bustling27 activity and persevering28 energy; and in a few weeks from the time of their first landing, the dwelling-houses were sufficiently29 weather-tight to be habitable, and the other portions of the establishment in an advanced condition.
The openings between the logs of the houses were caulked30 with a mixture of mud and moss31, and left in that condition in the meantime, until the pit-saw could be set to work to produce boards for the better protection of the walls without and within. The window and door frames were also made, and covered temporarily with parchment, until the arrival of the ship should enable them to fill the former with glass and the latter with broad panels.
The effect of the parchment-covered door, however, was found to be somewhat troublesome. Being large, and tightly covered, it sounded, when shut violently, with a noise so strongly resembling the report of a distant cannon32 that, during the first day after its erection, the men more than once rushed down to the beach in the expectation of seeing the long and ardently33 wished-for ship, which was now so much beyond the time appointed for her arrival that Stanley began to entertain serious apprehensions35 for her safety. This ship was to have sailed from York Fort, the principal depôt of the fur-traders in Hudson’s Bay, with supplies and goods for trade with the Esquimaux during the year. She was expected at Ungava in August, and it was now September. The frost was beginning, even at this early period, to remind the expedition of the long winter that was at hand, and in the course of a very few weeks Hudson’s Straits would be impassable; so that the anxiety of the traders was natural.
Just before the partitions of the chief dwelling-house were completed, Stanley went to the tent in which his wife and child were busily employed in sewing.
“Can you spare Edith for a short time, wife?” said he, as his partner looked up to welcome him.
“Yes, for a short time; but she is becoming so useful to me that I cannot afford to spare her long.”
“I’m afraid,” said Stanley, as he took his child by the hand and led her away, “that I must begin to put in my claim to the services of this little baggage, who seems to be so useful. What say you, Eda; will you allow me to train you to shoot, and fish, and walk on snow-shoes, and so make a trader of you?”
“I would like very much, papa, to learn to walk on snowshoes, but I think the gun would hurt me—it seems to kick so. Don’t you think I am too little to shoot a gun off?”
Stanley laughed at the serious way in which the child received the proposal.
“Well, then, we won’t teach you to shoot yet, Eda; but, as you say, the snow-shoe walking is worth learning, for if you cannot walk on the long shoes when the snow falls, I fear you’ll not be able to leave the fort at all.”
“Yes, and François has promised to make me a pair,” said Edith gaily36, “and to teach me how to use them; and mamma says I am old enough to learn now. Is it not kind of François? He is always very good to me.”
“Indeed it is very kind of him, my pet; but all the men seem to be very good to you—are they not?”
“Oh yes!—all of them. Even Gaspard is kind now. He never whips Chimo, and he patted me on the head the other day when I met him alone in the ravine—the berry ravine, you know, where I go to gather berries. I wonder if there are berries in all the other ravines?—but I don’t care much, for there are thousands and thousands of all kinds in my own ravine, and—where are you going, papa?”
This abrupt37 question was caused by her father turning into the square of the new fort, in which the most of the men were at work.
“I’m going to show you our house, Eda, and to ask you to fix on the corner you like best for your own room. The partitions are going to be put up, so we must fix at once.”
As he spoke38 they passed through the open doorway39 of the new dwelling, which was a long, low building; and, placing his little daughter in the centre of the principal hall, Stanley directed her to look round and choose a corner for herself.
For a few minutes Edith stood with an expression of perplexity on her bright face; then she began to examine the views from each of the corner windows. This could only be done by peeping through the bullet-hole in the parchment skins that in the meantime did duty for glass. The two windows at the back corners looked out upon the rocky platform, behind which the mountains rose like a wall, so they were rejected; but Edith lingered at one of them, for from it she saw the spring at the foot of the rock, with its soft bed of green moss and surrounding willow-bushes. From the front corner on the left hand Cross Island and the valley of the river beyond were visible; but from the window on the right the view embraced the whole sweep of the wide river and the narrow outlet40 to the bay, which, with its frowning precipices41 on either side, and its bold flanking mountains, seemed a magnificent portal to the Arctic Sea.
“I think this is the nicest corner,” said Edith, turning with a smile to her father.
“Then this shall be yours,” said Stanley.
“But,” exclaimed Edith, as a sudden thought occurred to her, “perhaps Frank would like this corner. I would not like to have it if Frank wants it.”
“Frank doesn’t want it, and Frank shan’t have it. There now, run to your mother, you little baggage; she can’t get on without you. Off you go, quick!”
With a merry laugh Edith bounded through the doorway, and disappeared like a sunbeam from the room.
On the 25th of September, Stanley was standing42 on the beach, opposite the fort, watching with a smile of satisfaction the fair, happy face of his daughter, as she amused herself and Chimo by throwing a stick into the water, which the latter dutifully brought out and laid at her feet as often as it was thrown in. Frank was also watching them.
“What shall we call the fort, Frank?” said his companion. “We have a Fort Good Hope, and a Fort Resolution, and a Fort Enterprise already. It seems as if all the vigorous and hearty43 words in the English language were used up in naming the forts of the Hudson’s Bay Company. What shall we call it?”
“Chimo! Chimo! Chimo!” shouted Edith to the dog, as the animal bounded along the beach.
Both gentlemen seemed to be struck with the same idea simultaneously44.
“There’s an answer to your question,” said Frank; “call the fort ‘Chimo.’”
“The very thing!” replied Stanley; “I wonder it did not occur to me before. Nothing could be more appropriate. I salute10 thee, Fort Chimo,” and Stanley lifted his cap to the establishment.
In order that the peculiar45 appropriateness of the name may appear to the reader, it may be as well to explain that Chimo (the i and o of which are sounded long) is an Esquimau word of salutation, and is used by the natives when they meet with strangers. It signifies, Are you friendly? by those who speak first, and seems to imply, We are friendly, when returned as an answer. So well known is the word to the fur-traders who traffic with the natives of Hudson’s Straits that they frequently apply it to them as a name, and speak of the Esquimaux as Chimos. It was, therefore, a peculiarly appropriate name for a fort which was established on the confines of these icy regions, for the double purpose of entering into friendly traffic with the Esquimaux, and of bringing about friendly relations between them and their old enemies, the Muskigon Indians of East Main.
After playing for some time beside the low wharf, Edith and her dog left the beach together, and rambled46 towards a distant eminence47, whence could be obtained a commanding bird’s-eye view of the new fort. She had not sat many minutes here when her eye was arrested by the appearance of an unusual object in the distance. Frank, who was yet engaged in conversation with Stanley on the beach, also noticed it. Laying his hand on the arm of his companion, he pointed34 towards the narrows, where a small, white, triangular48 object was visible against the dark cliff. As they gazed, a second object of similar form came into view; then a fore4 and top sail made their appearance; and, in another second, a schooner49 floated slowly through the opening! Ere the spectators of this silent apparition50 could give utterance51 to their joy, a puff52 of white smoke sprang from the vessel’s bow, and a cannon-shot burst upon the mountains. Leaping on from cliff to crag, it awakened a crash of magnificent echoes, which, after prolonged repetitions, died away in low mutterings like distant thunder. It was followed by a loud cheer from the schooner’s deck, and the H.B.C. flag was run up to the main, while the union Jack53 floated at the peak.
“Now, Frank, give the word,” cried Stanley, taking off his cap, while the men ran down to the beach en masse.
“Hip21, hip, hurrah54!”
“Hurrah!” echoed the men, and a cheer arose among the cliffs that moved to the very centre the hearts of those who heard and gave it.
Again and again the stirring shout arose from the fort, and was replied to from the schooner. It was no matter of form, or cheer of ceremony. There was a deep richness and a prolonged energy in the tone, which proved that the feelings and lungs of the men were roused to the uttermost in its delivery. It told of long gathering55 anxieties swept entirely away, and of deep joy at seeing friendly faces in a sterile56 land, where lurking57 foes58 might be more likely to appear.
At all times the entrance of a ship into port is a noble sight, and one which touches the heart and evokes59 the enthusiasm of almost every human being; but when the ship arriving is almost essential to the existence of those who watch her snowy sails swelling61 out as they urge her to the land—when her keel is the first that has ever ploughed the waters of their distant bay—and when her departure will lock them up in solitude62 for a long, long year—such feelings are roused to their utmost pitch of intensity63.
Cheer upon cheer rose and fell, and rose again, among the mountains of Ungava. Even Edith’s tiny voice helped to swell60 the enthusiastic shout; and more than one cheer was choked by the rising tide of emotion that forced the tears down more than one bronzed cheek, despite the iron wills that bade them not to flow.
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1
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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2
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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recapitulate
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| v.节述要旨，择要说明 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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6
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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7
stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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8
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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9
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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11
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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12
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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13
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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14
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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15
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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auger
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| n.螺丝钻，钻孔机 | |
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17
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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18
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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19
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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20
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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21
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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23
disparaging
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| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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24
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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25
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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30
caulked
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| v.堵（船的）缝( caulk的过去式和过去分词 )；泥…的缝；填塞；使不漏水 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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38
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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39
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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40
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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41
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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42
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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43
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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44
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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45
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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46
rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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47
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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48
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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49
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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50
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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51
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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52
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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53
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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54
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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55
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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56
sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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57
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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58
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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59
evokes
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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62
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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