had to be hauled, high and dry, on shore, where they remained till the Spring “break up”.
Travelling fast, making the 100 miles journey from Fort Chipewyan to Fort Fitzgerald in 2 days – we stayed the night at the latter Post – then across the 18 mile Portage to Fort Smith and arrived without incident at Gravel Point. On the way from Smith, we passed Bell Rock, the Northern Trading Company's ship yard, with the pool old “Northland Trader” on the stacks. This ship – years later, pounded herself to pieces on the shores of Burnt Island, near Fort Resolution, in Great Slave Lake, during a storm.
My duties at Gravel Point – our ship yard – 12 miles below Fort Smith, were light as my real work as Purser would
