1 00:00:02,100 --> 00:00:08,140 There are places on earth that are so vast they still impress upon us the power of nature. 2 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:14,060 The immense, rugged and varied Canadian terrain never fails to astound me. 3 00:00:14,060 --> 00:00:18,420 This is a record of my journey across this magnificent land, 4 00:00:18,420 --> 00:00:20,460 and back into its history. 5 00:00:24,020 --> 00:00:28,060 A history written by explorers, who should be household names 6 00:00:28,060 --> 00:00:29,740 in their native Britain, 7 00:00:29,740 --> 00:00:32,540 but are as unknown as the land they encountered. 8 00:00:34,380 --> 00:00:38,860 It's a history full of adventure, survival and bushcraft. 9 00:00:38,860 --> 00:00:42,580 Canada is a country that was built on all three. 10 00:00:45,020 --> 00:00:48,500 But this is not a survival series. 11 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:54,260 Instead, it's about how those skills and attitudes were used to do something else, 12 00:00:54,260 --> 00:00:56,580 something quite remarkable - 13 00:00:56,580 --> 00:01:02,420 to explore one of the largest and most fascinating environments on our planet. 14 00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:39,860 This particular story of exploration starts in the Natural History Museum in London. 15 00:01:53,420 --> 00:01:57,300 It may seem like a strange place to start a journey through Canada, 16 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:01,740 But you'd be surprised at some of the stories that lie behind 17 00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:05,420 even some of the most humble exhibits, like this piece of copper. 18 00:02:05,420 --> 00:02:08,620 This was carried to Britain by a man who I believe was 19 00:02:08,620 --> 00:02:15,340 one of our greatest explorers, and yet whose name has all but been forgotten from history. 20 00:02:15,340 --> 00:02:22,460 And yet he left us a journal that many still consider to be one of the greatest works of anthropology. 21 00:02:22,460 --> 00:02:25,300 But perhaps most importantly of all, 22 00:02:25,300 --> 00:02:30,140 he established a method of travel that was to unlock a continent. 23 00:02:30,140 --> 00:02:34,220 That man's name was Samuel Hearne. 24 00:02:49,660 --> 00:02:53,380 Although Hearne's exploits were incredible, they are not well known. 25 00:02:53,380 --> 00:02:56,740 To me, however, he has been an inspiration. 26 00:02:59,220 --> 00:03:05,500 In my study of bushcraft, I kept coming across the name of Samuel Hearne. 27 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:09,180 Everywhere I turned it was the same name. 28 00:03:09,180 --> 00:03:14,460 There'd be a reference to how people prepared skins for clothing. 29 00:03:14,460 --> 00:03:20,780 Field guides would cite his work when describing the medicinal uses of different leaves. 30 00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:28,020 And anthropologists, well, they'd cite chapter and verse from his works... 31 00:03:29,780 --> 00:03:34,900 ..describing how people used to live in this part of the world. 32 00:03:34,900 --> 00:03:40,060 So I decided I ought to get on his trail and find out as much as I could about him. 33 00:03:42,620 --> 00:03:49,140 What I discovered was quite a surprise, Samuel Hearne has become a tutor to me in many ways. 34 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:57,140 He's taught me vital details, practical things like using birch canker as tinder. 35 00:03:57,140 --> 00:04:01,860 But also key bushcraft principles, like learning from local knowledge - 36 00:04:01,860 --> 00:04:05,420 a philosophy that was far ahead of its time. 37 00:04:05,420 --> 00:04:10,620 His is the earliest celebration of indigenous skills I've ever encountered. 38 00:04:10,620 --> 00:04:15,180 It's all in his extraordinary book, A Journey To The Northern Ocean. 39 00:04:37,540 --> 00:04:40,420 Born in Devon in 1745, 40 00:04:40,420 --> 00:04:43,460 Hearne wasn't even a teenager when he joined the Royal Navy 41 00:04:43,460 --> 00:04:48,100 to serve under Captain Hood in the Seven Years' War with France. 42 00:04:48,100 --> 00:04:51,620 At the end of the war, his seamanship caught the attention 43 00:04:51,620 --> 00:04:56,820 of the Hudson's Bay Company, the huge fur trading company that owned much of Canada. 44 00:04:58,380 --> 00:05:04,500 By the late 18th century, the company had branched out into other areas of commerce. 45 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:07,180 They became interested in a copper mine 46 00:05:07,180 --> 00:05:10,660 over 1,000 miles away from their main base in Canada. 47 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:14,060 This would prove to be Hearne's big opportunity. 48 00:05:17,740 --> 00:05:22,140 To pick up his trail, I've come to the company's paper archives 49 00:05:22,140 --> 00:05:26,460 here in Winnipeg, the legacy of an obsession with paperwork. 50 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:28,100 It's a real treasure trove. 51 00:05:33,380 --> 00:05:36,660 These papers are almost 250 years old, 52 00:05:36,660 --> 00:05:41,740 including a letter from a very young Samuel Hearne. 53 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:48,260 I'm getting real goose bumps. This is the first moment that Samuel Hearne enters the historical archive, 54 00:05:48,260 --> 00:05:53,500 it's a letter from him to the governors of the Hudson's Bay Company. 55 00:05:53,500 --> 00:06:01,220 'Gentlemen, by these few lines I mean to show my gratitude and acknowledge the great obligation I know that 56 00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:06,140 'I lie under to this good company 'and shall always endeavour to behave in a manner 57 00:06:06,140 --> 00:06:09,020 'becoming one in my situation', 58 00:06:09,020 --> 00:06:10,700 and it goes on in that vein. 59 00:06:10,700 --> 00:06:16,020 It's such a humble letter. It's so unprepossessing, it's almost a whisper in history. 60 00:06:17,620 --> 00:06:23,580 And as I follow Hearne's trail, that whisper grows in volume. 61 00:06:23,580 --> 00:06:27,100 This is Sloops Cove on the edge of Hudson's Bay. 62 00:06:27,100 --> 00:06:30,180 The ground here was once covered in great ice sheets, 63 00:06:30,180 --> 00:06:33,220 and since they retreated at the end of the last ice age, 64 00:06:33,220 --> 00:06:38,820 well, the land has been rising about the rate of a metre every 100 years or so. 65 00:06:38,820 --> 00:06:42,260 Hard to imagine, but this was once full of water. 66 00:06:42,260 --> 00:06:47,540 Just 200 years ago, sloops used to come in here and moor and you can still find evidence of that. 67 00:06:47,540 --> 00:06:50,820 There are these iron rings set in to tie up to. 68 00:06:50,820 --> 00:06:56,060 And there's other evidence too. The sailors used to come ashore onto these rocks and carve their names. 69 00:06:59,140 --> 00:07:02,900 It's quite fascinating, the graffiti here tells me quite a few things - 70 00:07:02,900 --> 00:07:07,500 firstly, how good people's handwriting was back in those days. 71 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:12,220 It's a far cry from the graffiti that adorns the walls of our cities today. 72 00:07:12,220 --> 00:07:15,700 Also, there's a lot of history associated with these names, 73 00:07:15,700 --> 00:07:18,820 and this is an important historical site here in Canada. 74 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:22,500 George Holt, for example. When the French raided this area 75 00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:27,780 some years later he managed to take one of the ships that was here and get away and escape with it. 76 00:07:27,780 --> 00:07:32,060 There's a lot of history, and Samuel Hearne left his name here too. 77 00:07:37,700 --> 00:07:44,620 And there we go, Samuel Hearne, July 1st 1767, still a very young man. 78 00:07:44,620 --> 00:07:46,660 He's just come out of the navy, 79 00:07:46,660 --> 00:07:51,420 he's joined a civilian organisation and one that recognises talent. 80 00:07:51,420 --> 00:07:56,580 I think this is the signature of a man who intends to make his mark 81 00:07:56,580 --> 00:08:01,420 on history, and in just a few years from this, he was going to do just that. 82 00:08:18,540 --> 00:08:23,420 His opportunity came early, and it came here. 83 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:26,260 This is Fort Prince of Wales on Hudson's Bay. 84 00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:29,940 This is where Samuel Hearne found himself posted. 85 00:08:29,940 --> 00:08:36,860 Back then, this was the Hudson's Bay Company toehold on the continent, a symbol of British power. 86 00:08:36,860 --> 00:08:42,340 And for Hearne this was a place full of potential, a place where an energetic man 87 00:08:42,340 --> 00:08:49,420 could make a reputation for himself. But it's a desolate place, it always has been and always will be. 88 00:08:49,420 --> 00:08:55,500 This year, they couldn't open the gates until June because of snowdrifts. 89 00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:59,980 The battlements are really evocative. You can really sense people standing 90 00:08:59,980 --> 00:09:02,980 up here looking out. But, of course, nature is trying 91 00:09:02,980 --> 00:09:08,940 to reclaim the fort, doing a pretty good job of it. And there are a few real surprises, some good berries. 92 00:09:08,940 --> 00:09:13,420 That looks like an arctic bramble there, that's really tasty. 93 00:09:15,060 --> 00:09:17,020 Oh, that's delicious. 94 00:09:18,900 --> 00:09:23,820 And here, that's a little gooseberry, that one's not quite ripe yet. 95 00:09:23,820 --> 00:09:26,900 There's all sorts of things growing here, fascinating. 96 00:09:28,220 --> 00:09:34,460 But I don't think the wind ever stops blowing here. It must have been quite wearing for the people living here. 97 00:09:39,740 --> 00:09:45,900 This bastion of power was the place where Hearne was chosen for the first overland expedition 98 00:09:45,900 --> 00:09:49,540 to find the copper mine over 1,000 miles away. 99 00:09:49,540 --> 00:09:52,580 It was land no white man had ever crossed. 100 00:09:52,580 --> 00:09:56,220 He was literally stepping off the edge of the known world. 101 00:09:57,700 --> 00:09:59,900 You have to picture the scene. 102 00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:06,940 It's 6th November, 1769, and Samuel Hearne is leading his party out of the fort. 103 00:10:06,940 --> 00:10:10,460 With him are two Englishmen and a handpicked group of Indians. 104 00:10:10,460 --> 00:10:12,340 It's a significant moment - 105 00:10:12,340 --> 00:10:17,180 it's the first time the Hudson's Bay Company have got a man capable of 106 00:10:17,180 --> 00:10:21,260 carrying out a survey heading out to explore the interior. 107 00:10:21,260 --> 00:10:26,980 A moment not lost on the governor, who salutes the party with seven of these cannon. 108 00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:31,740 EXPLOSION 109 00:10:32,500 --> 00:10:34,020 EXPLOSION 110 00:10:36,740 --> 00:10:39,660 EXPLOSION 111 00:10:42,020 --> 00:10:44,460 EXPLOSION 112 00:11:02,020 --> 00:11:05,500 It's fantastic up here. I could spend all day just looking. 113 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:07,740 At first glance, you don't see anything, 114 00:11:07,740 --> 00:11:11,420 but with the power of a binocular, you can start to see the amount of 115 00:11:11,420 --> 00:11:17,700 bird life and wildlife there is out here - camouflaged, difficult to spot. You can hear it more easily. 116 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:22,700 But, of course, there's lots of insects, there's lots of bird life, and everything that comes with it. 117 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:26,620 To get to the copper mine, Hearne was going to have to cross country just like this, 118 00:11:26,620 --> 00:11:32,420 but here's the problem. At this time of year, there may be lots to eat out there. 119 00:11:32,420 --> 00:11:35,740 The problem is how do you cross it? It's so wet and boggy. 120 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:37,980 The easiest time to travel across this terrain 121 00:11:37,980 --> 00:11:41,860 is in the winter when the water's frozen and snow covers the vegetation. 122 00:11:52,220 --> 00:11:55,260 So that's when Hearne travelled, in winter. 123 00:11:55,260 --> 00:12:00,020 Unfortunately, that was about the extent of the party's expertise. 124 00:12:00,020 --> 00:12:05,420 They travelled as Europeans with too much equipment and too little local knowledge. 125 00:12:13,060 --> 00:12:18,500 A month into the journey, the Indian guides simply walked away, deserting them. 126 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:22,700 Hearne was hundreds of miles from home in unfamiliar country. 127 00:12:30,180 --> 00:12:34,100 He had no alternative but to turn back. 128 00:12:34,100 --> 00:12:38,500 A little over a month after his bold departure, he was back at the fort. 129 00:12:40,180 --> 00:12:44,260 But Hearne was a determined pioneer and a fast learner. 130 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:49,940 His preparations for another expedition show that he understood that the only way to succeed 131 00:12:49,940 --> 00:12:55,420 was literally to ditch his European baggage and travel as the locals did. 132 00:12:55,420 --> 00:12:59,300 If only buildings could talk what tales they would tell. 133 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:03,300 Well, we know that on 23rd February 1770, 134 00:13:03,300 --> 00:13:08,020 Hearne sets out on the second expedition to the copper mine. 135 00:13:08,020 --> 00:13:11,460 This time, he's the only white man in the party. 136 00:13:11,460 --> 00:13:16,740 There was so much snow on the battlements that they couldn't fire cannons to salute his departure, 137 00:13:16,740 --> 00:13:19,780 so instead, the governor and all the people of the fort 138 00:13:19,780 --> 00:13:24,220 gathered together and they gave him three cheers to send him on his way. 139 00:13:35,420 --> 00:13:40,180 Of course, Hearne relied completely on local technology. 140 00:13:40,180 --> 00:13:45,660 What he had on his feet were these, traditional mukluks or moccasin-style boots. 141 00:13:45,660 --> 00:13:50,380 When you first encounter them, they seem incredibly inadequate for the task 142 00:13:50,380 --> 00:13:53,180 to deal with these great subzero temperatures, 143 00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:56,740 but actually, they're perfect. They've got no conductive surfaces, 144 00:13:56,740 --> 00:14:02,980 they breathe very well, but most importantly they allow your foot to move, and movement makes warmth. 145 00:14:02,980 --> 00:14:05,060 I really like this sort of technology. 146 00:14:05,060 --> 00:14:07,300 When you first start to use them, 147 00:14:07,300 --> 00:14:10,580 you can't believe how light you feel on your feet. 148 00:14:10,580 --> 00:14:13,860 And I can really relate to the First Nation attitude 149 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:17,060 that comes with these footwear, which is that with every step 150 00:14:17,060 --> 00:14:20,740 you can feel the earth mother speaking to you as you walk. 151 00:14:20,740 --> 00:14:23,060 It really is very special. 152 00:14:26,580 --> 00:14:29,100 But once more, Hearne was hampered. 153 00:14:29,100 --> 00:14:32,100 Moses Norton, the governor of the fort, 154 00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:35,740 didn't allow him to include women in his party, 155 00:14:35,740 --> 00:14:39,580 even though women played a vital role in traditional life on the land. 156 00:14:39,580 --> 00:14:41,620 It was a short-sighted decision. 157 00:14:46,940 --> 00:14:50,100 It was a hidden blessing that this expedition, 158 00:14:50,100 --> 00:14:53,980 plagued once more by hunger, hardship, and slow progress, 159 00:14:53,980 --> 00:14:55,940 was brought to an abrupt end 160 00:14:55,940 --> 00:14:59,420 when Hearne's quadrant was blown over and broken. 161 00:15:02,940 --> 00:15:05,380 His guides didn't seem to care, 162 00:15:05,380 --> 00:15:08,780 failing even to offer adequate protection. 163 00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:15,380 As if matters couldn't get worse, the next day, a group of strange Indians turned up, came into his tent 164 00:15:15,380 --> 00:15:19,820 and emptied his bag in front of him and started to help themselves to his goods. 165 00:15:19,820 --> 00:15:23,500 In the end, they left him with very little, just a knife, 166 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:27,060 a file, an awl, so that he could repair his footwear, 167 00:15:27,060 --> 00:15:31,420 a needle and a razor. 168 00:15:31,420 --> 00:15:37,300 He had two razors. They took one of them with them. He was quite happy cos they took the blunterof the two, 169 00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:41,580 and they left him as much soap as he might need to shave himself on the return journey. 170 00:15:41,580 --> 00:15:45,020 I don't think they thought much of shaving. 171 00:15:45,020 --> 00:15:47,140 But it isn't the loss of his goods that's important. 172 00:15:47,140 --> 00:15:49,940 I think it's the entry in his journal the following day 173 00:15:49,940 --> 00:15:53,140 when he said that he wasn't that unhappy about having all of his goods 174 00:15:53,140 --> 00:15:59,420 taken because they'd lightened his load and travel was the easiest he'd encountered on that journey. 175 00:15:59,420 --> 00:16:01,780 I think that tells you a lot about his spirit. 176 00:16:01,780 --> 00:16:06,220 I think in the case of Samuel Hearne, his glass was always half full. 177 00:16:11,620 --> 00:16:13,460 This was a turning point for Hearne. 178 00:16:13,460 --> 00:16:16,340 Not only had he learned the importance of travelling light, 179 00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:19,100 he also met a local leader by the name of Matonabbee, 180 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:23,780 an Indian leader who pledged his support for Hearne's expedition. 181 00:16:23,780 --> 00:16:28,900 Matonabbee is still remembered by his people today, people like Ila Bussidor. 182 00:16:28,900 --> 00:16:31,900 Matonabbee was a Sayisi Dene, wasn't he? 183 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:34,180 He was Dene, 184 00:16:34,180 --> 00:16:38,220 the people that I come from, which is Sayisi Dene, 185 00:16:38,220 --> 00:16:42,100 and they say that he was also part Cree, and... 186 00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:46,740 Cos he could speak some Cree, and he could speak some English, according to Hearne. 187 00:16:46,740 --> 00:16:52,460 He could speak Cree, he could speak English, he could speak Dene, he could speak Inuit. 188 00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:57,340 When I read Samuel Hearne's description of his travel with Matonabbee, 189 00:16:57,340 --> 00:17:01,460 it's very apparent that Matonabbee really knew the country. 190 00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:06,940 Yes, so they travelled everywhere, so if you take a look at the map today 191 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:12,380 and Coppermine, that is way, way up north, 192 00:17:12,380 --> 00:17:18,020 but they travel on foot. They knew their land. They didn't need a map to go here and there. 193 00:17:18,020 --> 00:17:21,900 So he was a very knowledgeable young man, 194 00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:26,780 and I think when Samuel Hearne came into the picture, 195 00:17:26,780 --> 00:17:30,660 he recognised these qualities about Matonabbee 196 00:17:30,660 --> 00:17:32,980 and he chose him to be his guide. 197 00:17:32,980 --> 00:17:35,500 Why was it important to take women on these journeys? 198 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:38,220 Well, women are important, number one. 199 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:47,980 I think back in those days, it would be the women that would be, 200 00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:52,140 like, hauling the load of the household, 201 00:17:53,780 --> 00:17:57,500 or they would be the ones that would go ahead 202 00:17:57,500 --> 00:18:01,060 once they found a place where they would camp 203 00:18:01,060 --> 00:18:04,420 and the women would set up the whole camp. 204 00:18:04,420 --> 00:18:07,980 How did the Dene feel about Samuel Hearne? 205 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:10,660 He was accepted, 206 00:18:10,660 --> 00:18:15,540 otherwise, they wouldn't have led him where they did. 207 00:18:15,540 --> 00:18:18,260 They accepted him as a brother, as a son, 208 00:18:18,260 --> 00:18:22,860 and he was part of the people for the time that he travelled with them, 209 00:18:22,860 --> 00:18:26,100 otherwise, you know, they would have killed him. 210 00:18:28,300 --> 00:18:32,420 Matonabbee was going to be the key to Hearne's success. 211 00:18:32,420 --> 00:18:37,460 For a start, he'd been to the Coppermine River, and he absolutely agreed with Hearne - 212 00:18:37,460 --> 00:18:40,540 you couldn't cross this country without women. 213 00:18:40,540 --> 00:18:45,300 You needed them to turn the skins of the animals you caught into clothing. 214 00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:50,220 He also was a man of great standing throughout the territory. 215 00:18:50,220 --> 00:18:53,300 That meant it was unlikely that they were going to be robbed. 216 00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:57,820 But most importantly of all, he had the perfect strategy 217 00:18:57,820 --> 00:19:02,940 to get to the Coppermine. And to explain that, I need to make a map. 218 00:19:02,940 --> 00:19:07,180 This is Hudson's Bay. 219 00:19:07,180 --> 00:19:10,340 And this is Prince of Wales Fort. 220 00:19:10,340 --> 00:19:13,380 The Coppermine is on a river up here. 221 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:18,740 Now, this is the tree line as it crosses the country. 222 00:19:21,260 --> 00:19:24,620 Trees below, tundra beyond. 223 00:19:24,620 --> 00:19:26,620 What most of Hearne's guides had been doing 224 00:19:26,620 --> 00:19:31,500 was heading west and then starting to go north, 225 00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:34,940 taking him into the tundra where there was very little food, 226 00:19:34,940 --> 00:19:36,380 and that was his problem. 227 00:19:36,380 --> 00:19:41,620 What Matonabbee said was, "We won't do that. We'll stay in the trees 228 00:19:41,620 --> 00:19:48,820 "as we head west. Even if it takes us away from the Coppermine, it's better to stay where there's food. 229 00:19:48,820 --> 00:19:56,500 "Then with the coming of spring, we will follow the caribou as they migrate out onto the tundra. 230 00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:59,940 "In that way we will have food." And that's exactly what they did. 231 00:19:59,940 --> 00:20:04,860 They came west in the trees... and headed directly north 232 00:20:04,860 --> 00:20:08,620 to make a lightning strike to the Coppermine River, 233 00:20:08,620 --> 00:20:11,260 returning more or less the same way. 234 00:20:11,260 --> 00:20:16,340 Without that strategy, I think the expedition would have been completely impossible. 235 00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:24,900 The tree line they were following is the edge of the vast Boreal forest 236 00:20:24,900 --> 00:20:27,060 that covers a third of Canada. 237 00:20:27,060 --> 00:20:31,300 This far north, the trees may be smaller and more widely spaced 238 00:20:31,300 --> 00:20:35,300 than in the heart of the forest, but that only adds to its beauty. 239 00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:40,340 Canada is a place where you can actually feel the power of nature all around you. 240 00:20:40,340 --> 00:20:42,620 At times it's overwhelming. 241 00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:53,180 That's a remarkable sight. 242 00:20:53,180 --> 00:20:56,260 It's absolutely fantastic to see a polar bear. 243 00:20:56,260 --> 00:21:00,700 In the summer, this part of the world, Fort Prince of Wales, Churchill, 244 00:21:00,700 --> 00:21:06,060 these places were built on a traditional route for polar bears to migrate. 245 00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:10,260 Sometimes it brings the bears into conflict with human beings. 246 00:21:10,260 --> 00:21:14,860 I could watch this magnificent animal all day. It's truly beautiful. 247 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:19,940 Might look like a teddy bear, but that's one fierce predator. 248 00:21:19,940 --> 00:21:21,380 I'm not gonna get any closer. 249 00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:36,100 From Matonabbee, Hearne learned how to travel like an Indian, 250 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:41,020 travelling fast and light, taking only what they needed from the land. 251 00:21:41,020 --> 00:21:45,100 Along the way, they developed a deep-seated respect for each other. 252 00:21:46,580 --> 00:21:51,060 When Hearne came through this country it was very early in the fur trade 253 00:21:51,060 --> 00:21:53,540 and many of the people that he encountered 254 00:21:53,540 --> 00:21:58,420 still hadn't had any contact with the trade goods that were coming from the east. 255 00:21:58,420 --> 00:22:05,060 He's left us an invaluable record of life at those times because things were going to change very quickly. 256 00:22:05,060 --> 00:22:09,900 It was so early that some of the people he was travelling with didn't actually have metal cooking pots 257 00:22:09,900 --> 00:22:14,980 and were having to use vessels made from birch bark, and that's what I'm gonna try and make right now. 258 00:22:21,740 --> 00:22:25,980 Birch bark's made up of many layers, as you can see. 259 00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:29,540 This is the outside of the bark and I'm peeling it off to clean it 260 00:22:29,540 --> 00:22:31,420 and so that it's even in thickness. 261 00:22:31,420 --> 00:22:34,020 The outside peels very easily, 262 00:22:34,020 --> 00:22:37,260 but the inside of the bark doesn't, and because of that, 263 00:22:37,260 --> 00:22:40,660 the inside of the bark will form the outside of the vessel. 264 00:23:02,340 --> 00:23:05,460 I need to make a template for the basic shape, 265 00:23:05,460 --> 00:23:09,620 which I'll then peg before stitching together with spruce roots. 266 00:23:17,380 --> 00:23:20,180 Birch bark is a lovely material to work with. 267 00:23:20,180 --> 00:23:22,620 It's a bit like cutting leather. 268 00:23:22,620 --> 00:23:26,420 But these are not ideal conditions to work in. 269 00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:30,940 Very difficult to do this out in the cold 270 00:23:30,940 --> 00:23:34,220 cos the bark is cold, my hands are cold. 271 00:23:34,220 --> 00:23:38,980 Crumbs... It's very tricky. 272 00:23:41,540 --> 00:23:45,620 It's difficult because I'm not just making a basket to hold things. 273 00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:48,420 I'm making a basket that will have to be waterproofed 274 00:23:49,940 --> 00:23:53,500 and that presents all sorts of extra challenges. 275 00:24:15,860 --> 00:24:20,180 I don't know whether you can see how wet this basket is. 276 00:24:20,180 --> 00:24:24,620 It's soaking wet, and that is just the weather conditions,. 277 00:24:24,620 --> 00:24:26,820 There's a very, very fine mist in the air, 278 00:24:26,820 --> 00:24:29,060 and it's just saturating everything. 279 00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:37,820 What with the cold breeze and wet hands, 280 00:24:37,820 --> 00:24:40,780 it's making this job incredibly difficult. 281 00:24:40,780 --> 00:24:43,580 I think this is probably the hardest conditions 282 00:24:43,580 --> 00:24:45,500 I've made a basket like this in. 283 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:50,620 It's an awful lot of work to have a cup of tea. 284 00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:04,980 Well, as I've sewn it up, it's started to gain some strength now. 285 00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:06,660 It's got some structure. 286 00:25:06,660 --> 00:25:09,780 But it won't be complete until I put a rim on the top. 287 00:25:09,780 --> 00:25:11,940 For that I need a thin sapling, 288 00:25:11,940 --> 00:25:15,780 which I'm gonna bind on all the way around the edge, 289 00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:18,420 and then the basic building is done. 290 00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:30,100 I quite enjoy this sort of work. 291 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:32,860 I haven't made a basket like this for some time, really. 292 00:25:32,860 --> 00:25:35,380 It's quite nice to do this again. 293 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:38,340 It's very satisfying. 294 00:25:38,340 --> 00:25:42,100 As you start to get closer to the finished item, 295 00:25:42,100 --> 00:25:44,220 the thing gets stronger as you go. 296 00:25:46,020 --> 00:25:49,580 What's lovely is, of course, 297 00:25:49,580 --> 00:25:52,140 these materials are so beautiful to work with... 298 00:25:53,980 --> 00:25:59,540 ..and you can start to feel quite a connection to the forest 299 00:25:59,540 --> 00:26:02,620 when you start to work with its fabric in this way. 300 00:26:02,620 --> 00:26:07,540 Makes you cherish it and care for it because it's so giving. 301 00:26:14,460 --> 00:26:16,940 Well, that's more or less it. 302 00:26:16,940 --> 00:26:20,460 Now you can see it's got great strength to it, 303 00:26:20,460 --> 00:26:22,980 but it's not gonna hold water yet. 304 00:26:22,980 --> 00:26:24,660 I can see light coming through there. 305 00:26:24,660 --> 00:26:29,900 To do that, I've got to seal all these seams with spruce resin. 306 00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:33,580 That's gonna be a bit difficult today cos the weather's so wet. 307 00:26:33,580 --> 00:26:35,780 The resin won't stick to wet bark, 308 00:26:35,780 --> 00:26:38,380 so I'll have to see if I can dry it in some way. 309 00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:43,100 And I'll have to finish it another day. 310 00:27:01,180 --> 00:27:03,220 As he crossed this land, 311 00:27:03,220 --> 00:27:08,740 Hearne faithfully recorded detailed observations on the skills that made life here possible, 312 00:27:08,740 --> 00:27:11,540 like snaring wildlife, and drying fish and meat. 313 00:27:13,420 --> 00:27:17,660 This interest in the local ways is what sets him apart. 314 00:27:17,660 --> 00:27:22,180 Thankfully, he recorded them with incredible detail and accuracy. 315 00:27:29,420 --> 00:27:31,900 Travelling with woodland Indians, 316 00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:35,020 he had no choice but to embrace their culture. 317 00:27:35,020 --> 00:27:39,100 But he did this willingly and has left us a unique firsthand account 318 00:27:39,100 --> 00:27:41,820 of life in the forest at that time. 319 00:27:54,220 --> 00:28:00,300 Thanks to Hearne's journal, these life skills were recorded for others to appreciate and to learn from. 320 00:28:05,020 --> 00:28:07,140 After five months, 321 00:28:07,140 --> 00:28:11,100 they'd crossed hundreds of miles, travelling all the way on foot. 322 00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:14,980 Today, the quickest way to cover the same distance is by air. 323 00:28:14,980 --> 00:28:17,180 It gives a unique perspective. 324 00:28:22,260 --> 00:28:26,820 The Canadian wilderness is vast - it just seems to go on forever. 325 00:28:26,820 --> 00:28:31,100 Even if you're in a boat or in a car, you don't get a sense of the scale. 326 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:33,860 It's only when you get up in the air like this, flying low-level 327 00:28:33,860 --> 00:28:40,100 in a floatplane, that you really come to terms with what's really there, how massive it actually is. 328 00:28:40,100 --> 00:28:43,140 Back in Hearne's day, there weren't maps. 329 00:28:43,140 --> 00:28:45,020 It was a blank sheet of paper. 330 00:28:45,020 --> 00:28:49,100 When he set off with Matonabbee, he surveyed his route. 331 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:53,740 Experts have looked at what he's done and they say he's never more than about 20 miles out 332 00:28:53,740 --> 00:28:56,220 on his judgment of distance. 333 00:28:56,220 --> 00:29:00,660 Given the tools he had back then, that is a phenomenal piece of navigation. 334 00:29:10,020 --> 00:29:14,940 Canada has almost 400,000 square miles of fresh water. 335 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:21,180 There is simply no way of moving around without some means of crossing lakes and rivers. 336 00:29:21,180 --> 00:29:23,260 Hearne's journals are full of surprises. 337 00:29:23,260 --> 00:29:27,660 One of them is a description of this type of birch bark canoe. 338 00:29:27,660 --> 00:29:31,500 Now, you may think there's just one type of birch bark canoe, but you'd be wrong. 339 00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:35,780 There are many different types, and in this country, the birch trees aren't very large 340 00:29:35,780 --> 00:29:41,900 so the canoes are made from lots of small pieces, carefully stitched together and then glued. 341 00:29:41,900 --> 00:29:46,140 Hearne described exactly this type of canoe. In fact, he illustrated it. 342 00:29:46,140 --> 00:29:49,020 One of the things that's unique about this canoe 343 00:29:49,020 --> 00:29:53,300 is it was used not just to go out hunting for geese and for fishing, 344 00:29:53,300 --> 00:29:56,940 but also when travelling in the tundra to cross the rivers 345 00:29:56,940 --> 00:30:00,060 and the small lakes in the spring and the summer. 346 00:30:00,060 --> 00:30:04,300 And for that reason, the canoe had to be very light and very portable, 347 00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:06,500 which is exactly what these are. 348 00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:08,500 And I'll show you how they're carried. 349 00:30:11,860 --> 00:30:16,420 Canoes would sometimes be carried for days between rivers. 350 00:30:16,420 --> 00:30:21,300 It's very light, and he illustrates a man carrying a canoe just like this. 351 00:30:26,100 --> 00:30:27,780 I can pick it up with one hand. 352 00:30:27,780 --> 00:30:29,620 That's how light these canoes are. 353 00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:33,900 Isn't that amazing? And people say they've got light canoes today. 354 00:30:33,900 --> 00:30:35,300 I don't think so. 355 00:30:38,580 --> 00:30:42,780 This is known as a Dogrib canoe, after the people of the area. 356 00:30:47,460 --> 00:30:52,300 Today, the Dogrib have reverted to their traditional name, Tlicho. 357 00:30:54,620 --> 00:30:58,900 Elders from the town of Rae-Edzo have set up a temporary camp outside town, 358 00:30:58,900 --> 00:31:02,540 to show me a glimpse into the traditional way of life, 359 00:31:02,540 --> 00:31:07,420 the life Hearne encountered, like this soup made from caribou blood. 360 00:31:07,420 --> 00:31:10,700 You want to try it, or...? Yeah, definitely. 361 00:31:10,700 --> 00:31:14,820 OK. And...I always, never throw nothing away 362 00:31:14,820 --> 00:31:17,260 and this is a very good soup. 363 00:31:17,260 --> 00:31:19,820 Have you got salt? 364 00:31:19,820 --> 00:31:22,820 Add salt into it just the way you like it. 365 00:31:22,820 --> 00:31:24,500 I'll just try it first. 366 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,660 So here we go, this is... It's gonna be hot so be careful. 367 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:30,740 This is something that Samuel Hearne said he really liked. Yeah. 368 00:31:33,580 --> 00:31:36,660 Well, that's good. It's got real... 369 00:31:36,660 --> 00:31:40,180 That's really warming. Needs a bit of salt, I think. 370 00:31:40,180 --> 00:31:45,020 Yeah. What they do as the elders, they don't leave it overnight, and you gotta eat it all. 371 00:31:45,020 --> 00:31:50,500 Once my wife makes a pot like this, full, my kids and my in-laws, 372 00:31:50,500 --> 00:31:52,700 they would all come to my house and they know that... 373 00:31:52,700 --> 00:31:55,780 You would phone them and said, "I have this blood soup." 374 00:31:55,780 --> 00:32:00,420 They would all come. This would keep you really warm. Yes. 375 00:32:00,420 --> 00:32:03,700 As Hearne learnt, the land is a great provider. 376 00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:07,340 Use it well and it will support your journey. 377 00:32:07,340 --> 00:32:12,420 John B Zoe is a senior Tlicho, who actively promotes his culture. 378 00:32:12,420 --> 00:32:16,740 When I came to visit, I was quite concerned that... 379 00:32:16,740 --> 00:32:19,340 at what level of knowledge might still remain 380 00:32:19,340 --> 00:32:23,980 because elders in all of the First Nation communities are now dying 381 00:32:23,980 --> 00:32:28,140 and often at a rapid rate, because of diabetes and other problems. 382 00:32:28,140 --> 00:32:30,460 But I've been very impressed with the knowledge here. 383 00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:33,380 Why do you think that's the case? 384 00:32:33,380 --> 00:32:38,020 Because of the area that we live in. Trees are very low. 385 00:32:38,020 --> 00:32:42,700 Any place that you go into this area, you would need a canoe to go, 386 00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:48,300 and there's no real big ships or big boats can come into this area, 387 00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:53,220 so that early traders back in the 1800s just avoided this area. 388 00:32:53,220 --> 00:32:56,500 They preferred to go up the river and down the Mackenzie River. 389 00:32:56,500 --> 00:33:01,140 And coming into this area, they can only go so far, 390 00:33:01,140 --> 00:33:04,900 so this area was totally isolated 391 00:33:04,900 --> 00:33:09,180 probably until 1961 when they first pushed a road in. 392 00:33:09,180 --> 00:33:15,420 And the development didn't really start to begin until 1970. 393 00:33:15,420 --> 00:33:19,660 But things didn't change very much because there was no... 394 00:33:19,660 --> 00:33:23,100 there was no employment, there's no jobs, 395 00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:26,140 so people still continued to practise 396 00:33:26,140 --> 00:33:29,380 their hunting and fishing and trapping, 397 00:33:29,380 --> 00:33:32,660 and the language was still very strong. 398 00:33:32,660 --> 00:33:38,500 And it's only in the last probably 15 years that things really started to rapidly change. 399 00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:44,020 There's a continuity here that made life possible in this forest, 400 00:33:44,020 --> 00:33:47,900 and even though the Tlicho have moved into the modern world, 401 00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:50,940 it's great to meet Pauline, who keeps the past alive. 402 00:33:52,740 --> 00:33:55,420 I guess in the old days, the piece of equipment that would have 403 00:33:55,420 --> 00:33:57,900 worn out the most would have been the footwear. 404 00:33:57,900 --> 00:34:01,580 Yes. The moccasins like this. It's a working moccasin, isn't it? 405 00:34:01,580 --> 00:34:05,620 It's un-unadorned. These simple moccasins are one of the most beautiful things. 406 00:34:05,620 --> 00:34:07,340 There's a real skill in making it. 407 00:34:07,340 --> 00:34:09,860 Yeah. Uh-huh. Yes, it is. 408 00:34:09,860 --> 00:34:16,780 My dad growing up, I hardly ever saw him without one. 409 00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:19,740 He was always out and about, trapping. 410 00:34:19,740 --> 00:34:23,220 My mom always had a way of fixing them 411 00:34:23,220 --> 00:34:29,140 so it doesn't show, like there was patches under them, yeah. 412 00:34:29,140 --> 00:34:32,420 Are young girls still learning these skills today? 413 00:34:32,420 --> 00:34:37,340 I hardly ever see any of them any more. 414 00:34:37,340 --> 00:34:41,380 I learnt a lot of this myself. 415 00:34:41,380 --> 00:34:47,140 My mom used to do other sewing for me and I just did the beadwork. 416 00:34:47,140 --> 00:34:53,980 And then one day I thought, "My mom's not gonna be with me long," yeah? 417 00:34:53,980 --> 00:34:58,940 "So, who's gonna do the sewing for me when she goes? 418 00:34:58,940 --> 00:35:04,220 "And I can't be carrying my work around to this other lady," 419 00:35:04,220 --> 00:35:08,740 so I started doing them myself. 420 00:35:08,740 --> 00:35:12,220 Of course, making buckskin is really hard work, isn't it? 421 00:35:12,220 --> 00:35:15,180 I noticed in these bags, they're made from lots of little bits. 422 00:35:15,180 --> 00:35:17,660 Is that because you don't waste anything? 423 00:35:17,660 --> 00:35:22,740 Yes, we don't. If I throw anything away, 424 00:35:22,740 --> 00:35:26,180 my mom would be having a fit, yeah. 425 00:35:26,180 --> 00:35:28,420 RAY LAUGHS 426 00:35:28,420 --> 00:35:34,660 So every little piece, even the smallest piece, are saved, 427 00:35:34,660 --> 00:35:36,780 and the ladies here love... 428 00:35:36,780 --> 00:35:41,020 'Being here, I can sense a line stretching back to Hearne and beyond. 429 00:35:41,020 --> 00:35:45,260 'A line that carries the knowledge to get life from the forest.' 430 00:35:48,940 --> 00:35:51,980 These spruce needles aren't just thrown down. 431 00:35:51,980 --> 00:35:53,860 They're woven together. 432 00:35:53,860 --> 00:35:55,860 Adele, show me what you're doing. 433 00:35:55,860 --> 00:35:58,060 You want to do that? Yeah show me how. 434 00:35:58,060 --> 00:36:00,380 There's a real skill, isn't there? 435 00:36:02,940 --> 00:36:06,300 So it's just like that? Mm-hm. 436 00:36:13,940 --> 00:36:17,540 So you only use the very fine tips, the soft bits. 437 00:36:17,540 --> 00:36:20,700 When you were young, and you lived out this way, 438 00:36:20,700 --> 00:36:23,660 how long does this floor last? 439 00:36:23,660 --> 00:36:25,220 Two day. Every two days? 440 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:26,860 That's a lot of work. 441 00:36:26,860 --> 00:36:28,340 Yeah. Ha. 442 00:36:42,780 --> 00:36:45,380 I feel privileged to learn skills 443 00:36:45,380 --> 00:36:50,140 directly from the tribes that Hearne would have encountered. 444 00:36:50,140 --> 00:36:54,540 It's incredible for me to see things first-hand that I've read for years in Hearne's journals. 445 00:36:54,540 --> 00:36:57,420 Not just skills, but also stories. 446 00:36:59,420 --> 00:37:04,300 The Tlicho told me the tale of Wanaku, a woman who was living alone, 447 00:37:04,300 --> 00:37:07,740 trapping on the land, when she encountered white men. 448 00:37:07,740 --> 00:37:10,420 It sounds so similar to a passage in Hearne's book 449 00:37:10,420 --> 00:37:17,100 about a woman setting snares that he met as he crossed this land. I'm sure they're the same person. 450 00:37:17,100 --> 00:37:20,980 I must say, being here is certainly bringing his book to life. 451 00:37:30,700 --> 00:37:34,940 But before I leave the Tlicho, I'd like to know one last thing, 452 00:37:34,940 --> 00:37:37,060 and Eddie is the man to ask. 453 00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:39,620 Do you find the forest to be a good provider? 454 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:43,620 Ha. 455 00:37:43,620 --> 00:37:47,740 HE SPEAKS NATIVE DIALECT 456 00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:59,140 TRANSLATION: Yes, it provides lots of food for me. 457 00:37:59,140 --> 00:38:03,660 You know, I was raised in the bush so I'm used to always eating traditional food 458 00:38:03,660 --> 00:38:09,300 and I like going out fishing, or setting snares for rabbits or even ptarmigan. 459 00:38:13,820 --> 00:38:17,820 That's the way I was raised and I don't like eating too much store food, 460 00:38:17,820 --> 00:38:20,140 you know, like food from a shop. 461 00:38:20,140 --> 00:38:22,460 I don't like eating too much of that stuff. 462 00:38:27,900 --> 00:38:31,620 What is the most important thing for a Tlicho man, in life? 463 00:38:39,020 --> 00:38:43,660 Today it's very important to teach our young people about our way of life, 464 00:38:43,660 --> 00:38:47,300 because in today's society there's lot of changes. 465 00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:52,660 We've got to keep our traditions and our culture strong as well as embracing modern life. 466 00:38:52,660 --> 00:38:57,620 Today we're gonna need both of them in order to understand and survive. 467 00:38:57,620 --> 00:39:00,100 Without education and going to school, 468 00:39:00,100 --> 00:39:02,740 we won't be able to work in the modern world 469 00:39:02,740 --> 00:39:06,340 and we need that cos much of our cultural life we're losing. 470 00:39:06,340 --> 00:39:09,220 But we're still hanging on to the important things, 471 00:39:09,220 --> 00:39:12,100 and it's good to have both of these elements strong. 472 00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:14,740 We call it being strong like two people. 473 00:39:14,740 --> 00:39:18,580 Thank you, Eddie. It's been a real pleasure. 474 00:39:18,580 --> 00:39:21,420 It's been good to be here, such beautiful country. 475 00:39:25,300 --> 00:39:28,700 I sincerely hope that whilst embracing the future, 476 00:39:28,700 --> 00:39:32,420 the Tlicho can continue to keep their traditions alive, 477 00:39:32,420 --> 00:39:36,020 traditions that have allowed me a glimpse of the life Hearne encountered. 478 00:39:45,780 --> 00:39:50,420 Hearne had already travelled around 800 miles, hugging the tree line. 479 00:39:50,420 --> 00:39:53,100 By May 1771, he was camped here, 480 00:39:53,100 --> 00:39:56,380 still two months from his destination. 481 00:39:56,380 --> 00:39:58,380 This is Lake Eileen. 482 00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:01,420 Back in Hearne's day, it was called Lake Clowey. 483 00:40:01,420 --> 00:40:03,460 He didn't get here till early May. 484 00:40:03,460 --> 00:40:06,900 It had taken longer than expected because, with spring coming on, 485 00:40:06,900 --> 00:40:12,060 the snow was starting to thaw, making travel on snowshoes really difficult. 486 00:40:12,060 --> 00:40:14,820 They'd sent two men on ahead with birch bark 487 00:40:14,820 --> 00:40:17,540 and all the wooden parts necessary to build canoes, 488 00:40:17,540 --> 00:40:21,140 and it's a good idea cos there's no mature birch to be found anywhere near here. 489 00:40:21,140 --> 00:40:24,420 This was an important place. There was plenty of food to be had 490 00:40:24,420 --> 00:40:26,660 in the way of fish in the lakes here. 491 00:40:26,660 --> 00:40:30,460 There are big sandy banks here, ideal for building canoes on, 492 00:40:30,460 --> 00:40:34,300 and plenty of spruce trees with resin and roots for the construction. 493 00:40:35,860 --> 00:40:38,660 When he returned, he made a map of his journey. 494 00:40:38,660 --> 00:40:40,860 You can see Lake Clowey here. 495 00:40:40,860 --> 00:40:45,500 It says beside it, "Where we built canoes in Maye 1771." 496 00:40:45,500 --> 00:40:47,940 It also shows the edge of the tree line, 497 00:40:47,940 --> 00:40:49,980 the last chance to build canoes 498 00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:52,700 before heading out into the barren lands. 499 00:40:56,660 --> 00:40:58,940 It takes a couple of weeks to build a canoe 500 00:40:58,940 --> 00:41:02,180 and this area would have been a perfect camp - 501 00:41:02,180 --> 00:41:05,220 plenty of food and water, a safe place to camp 502 00:41:05,220 --> 00:41:10,100 and the natural resources on tap to build fires, canoes and cooking pots. 503 00:41:15,820 --> 00:41:19,260 You can see how much resin there is here on this tree. 504 00:41:19,260 --> 00:41:23,700 It's had a lot of damage to it and all of these lumps sticking out, that's solid resin. 505 00:41:25,420 --> 00:41:27,900 You see, tastes good. 506 00:41:27,900 --> 00:41:32,780 There's no difficulty here at all to gather what you need to make a canoe. 507 00:41:34,660 --> 00:41:39,100 And a very fitting place to complete my bark kettle. 508 00:41:45,540 --> 00:41:48,380 In the pan here I've got spruce resin 509 00:41:48,380 --> 00:41:51,100 that's mixed with a little bit of charcoal 510 00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:53,500 and I'm heating that over the fire. 511 00:41:53,500 --> 00:41:55,580 Have to be very, very careful with this - 512 00:41:55,580 --> 00:41:59,540 if it gets too hot it'll catch fire, be a fat fire, very dangerous. 513 00:41:59,540 --> 00:42:03,300 And it's very hot - you don't want to get this on your skin. 514 00:42:03,300 --> 00:42:09,180 Now, this is the way resin is used now, with a frying pan to heat it up. 515 00:42:09,180 --> 00:42:14,700 It's very easy and convenient. Of course, before the arrival of these trade goods, that was impossible. 516 00:42:14,700 --> 00:42:18,940 What had to happen was you needed a rock that you could heat the resin on beside the fire 517 00:42:18,940 --> 00:42:20,980 and then you'd take a stick 518 00:42:20,980 --> 00:42:24,660 and you start to collect the resin onto the stick. 519 00:42:24,660 --> 00:42:27,660 I'll show you, I'll start to do that here. 520 00:42:27,660 --> 00:42:30,540 Like this. 521 00:42:30,540 --> 00:42:33,780 And as it cools, of course, it hardens, 522 00:42:33,780 --> 00:42:37,540 so you can build up layer by layer on the stick, 523 00:42:37,540 --> 00:42:39,340 so you made a glue stick. 524 00:42:41,820 --> 00:42:44,540 You can heat the glue stick by the fire to soften it 525 00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:47,580 and then you can lay the resin 526 00:42:47,580 --> 00:42:52,500 exactly where you want it to go on your basket. 527 00:42:57,340 --> 00:43:00,180 Lay a little bit. 528 00:43:00,180 --> 00:43:05,620 And then if it doesn't seem quite runny enough, you can take an ember from the fire... 529 00:43:12,700 --> 00:43:17,700 ..to heat...the resin 530 00:43:17,700 --> 00:43:19,980 and melt it. 531 00:43:25,940 --> 00:43:28,780 So it starts to go smooth, just as you want it. 532 00:43:28,780 --> 00:43:33,300 But I'm gonna do it the easy way, using the pan, because I'm on a bit of a tight schedule today. 533 00:43:47,740 --> 00:43:50,380 I don't think I've done the neatest job here. 534 00:43:50,380 --> 00:43:53,100 Certainly the people who were living with this skill 535 00:43:53,100 --> 00:43:55,340 would have done a much, much better job, 536 00:43:55,340 --> 00:43:59,460 because their fingers would have been used to doing this all the time. 537 00:43:59,460 --> 00:44:02,020 They'd have been more frugal, I suspect, 538 00:44:02,020 --> 00:44:04,940 with the resin. 539 00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:07,620 But we'll see. 540 00:44:07,620 --> 00:44:09,420 It should hold water. 541 00:44:17,580 --> 00:44:20,620 Of course, a wooden container can't go on the fire. 542 00:44:20,620 --> 00:44:24,100 It needs its own way of heating, using hot rocks. 543 00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:27,900 It may take time, but it's possible to bring the water to the boil. 544 00:44:36,900 --> 00:44:43,700 As he left here, the trees thinned still further until Hearne finally left the Boreal forest behind. 545 00:44:43,700 --> 00:44:48,260 Ahead of him, less shelter, more extreme weather, and little food. 546 00:44:48,260 --> 00:44:51,660 In other words, the barrens. 547 00:45:13,220 --> 00:45:17,740 Matonabbee led Hearne out here in synchrony with the caribou herds. 548 00:45:17,740 --> 00:45:22,460 You have to picture the scene - the men in the lead with their weapons looking for meat, 549 00:45:22,460 --> 00:45:28,740 and the women following up behind with the poles for the tents, the tents, the food, everything. 550 00:45:28,740 --> 00:45:34,740 It was a really grim time, very little shelter, and in bad weather it was sheer misery. 551 00:45:56,340 --> 00:46:03,020 But there is a strange beauty to this place. It really is endless, its vastness makes me feel very small. 552 00:46:03,020 --> 00:46:06,060 It's almost like being in the middle of a huge ocean. 553 00:46:06,060 --> 00:46:10,460 No matter how far you think you have walked, the horizon never changes. 554 00:46:10,460 --> 00:46:15,780 It must have taken great strength of character and determination to press on and keep going. 555 00:46:30,180 --> 00:46:34,020 One of the features of this landscape is that there's very little woodland. 556 00:46:34,020 --> 00:46:37,900 It's quite a contrast from the Boreal forest where there's loads of it. 557 00:46:37,900 --> 00:46:42,180 Here the largest wood that I've been able to find is like that, 558 00:46:42,180 --> 00:46:44,500 and this is dwarf birch. 559 00:46:44,500 --> 00:46:47,700 So any little patch of vegetation out here 560 00:46:47,700 --> 00:46:50,940 is like an island in an ocean of nothingness. 561 00:46:50,940 --> 00:46:55,020 It means sanctuary and the potential for warmth and a hot meal. 562 00:46:55,020 --> 00:46:59,060 When Hearne came across here, there were times in the rain when they couldn't light a fire 563 00:46:59,060 --> 00:47:03,020 and they had to eat their food raw. It must have been pretty tough. 564 00:47:03,020 --> 00:47:09,780 The other day, an Inuit man told me that you can burn this dwarf birch green. I've never tried that before, 565 00:47:09,780 --> 00:47:14,900 so I thought I'd give it a go cos in this sort of place, any little tip is an advantage. 566 00:47:14,900 --> 00:47:16,300 We'll see how that goes. 567 00:47:23,020 --> 00:47:26,100 He's right, it does burn, 568 00:47:26,100 --> 00:47:28,100 it's great. 569 00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:46,380 In July 1771, after over 1,000 miles and seven months on foot, 570 00:47:46,380 --> 00:47:50,260 Hearne was finally approaching his goal - the Coppermine River. 571 00:47:54,940 --> 00:47:57,780 These willows are a little bit surprising. 572 00:47:57,780 --> 00:48:01,220 Over the last few years, what with the climate warming, 573 00:48:01,220 --> 00:48:06,420 the willows have really grown, and now they're very high. They should be a lot smaller. 574 00:48:06,420 --> 00:48:09,740 Back in Samuel Hearne's day, they would have been smaller still 575 00:48:09,740 --> 00:48:11,460 because that was a cold period in history. 576 00:48:11,460 --> 00:48:14,220 Back then, they'd probably have been just this high. 577 00:48:14,220 --> 00:48:17,460 So now the vegetation here has changed quite a lot. 578 00:48:17,460 --> 00:48:20,580 WATER FLOWS Can you hear that sound? 579 00:48:20,580 --> 00:48:22,540 That's the reason I've come here. 580 00:48:22,540 --> 00:48:26,060 That was the goal of Hearne's expedition, 581 00:48:26,060 --> 00:48:31,660 but it wasn't to be a triumphal arrival. Far from it, it was a bit of a tragedy. 582 00:48:39,620 --> 00:48:42,260 Hearne may have been here to look for copper, 583 00:48:42,260 --> 00:48:45,500 but unfortunately, his guides had another agenda. 584 00:48:45,500 --> 00:48:47,940 They knew that their sworn enemies, the Inuit, 585 00:48:47,940 --> 00:48:52,940 would be fishing at the river and were set on settling a score. 586 00:48:52,940 --> 00:48:56,020 Hearne became an unwilling member of a war party. 587 00:48:59,220 --> 00:49:03,780 According to Hearne's description, the war party came from over there somewhere. 588 00:49:03,780 --> 00:49:08,660 They came towards the river so they would trap the Inuit between themselves and the river. 589 00:49:08,660 --> 00:49:12,220 Over here there were five Inuit tents. 590 00:49:12,220 --> 00:49:16,220 It's still a campsite today and in fact there's lots of archaeology there. 591 00:49:16,220 --> 00:49:20,060 When they got there, they attacked the Inuit and then they could look across the river 592 00:49:20,060 --> 00:49:24,260 which they couldn't see until then, and found several more tents somewhere over here. 593 00:49:24,260 --> 00:49:28,700 They thought they'd have a go at them too. They got their muskets out and started shooting at them. 594 00:49:28,700 --> 00:49:32,740 The bullets hit the rocks and many of the Inuit had never seen a musket before. 595 00:49:32,740 --> 00:49:36,900 They ran over to see what was causing the disturbance until one of them got hit in the leg. 596 00:49:36,900 --> 00:49:40,980 Then they realised the danger, got in their kayaks and paddled off downriver. 597 00:49:40,980 --> 00:49:46,580 Throughout this horrible scene, Hearne was an unwilling spectator. 598 00:49:46,580 --> 00:49:49,820 He was terribly moved by events that day. 599 00:49:49,820 --> 00:49:52,580 At one point, there was an Inuit woman very badly injured 600 00:49:52,580 --> 00:49:56,740 holding onto his legs and he called for her to be put out of her misery by his party, 601 00:49:56,740 --> 00:49:58,580 at which point they derided him. 602 00:49:58,580 --> 00:50:02,420 I think it shows great strength of character that, in the heat of battle, 603 00:50:02,420 --> 00:50:04,900 he could still stand up for what he believed in. 604 00:50:59,780 --> 00:51:02,660 The impact is still felt here today, 605 00:51:02,660 --> 00:51:09,060 as Allen Niptanatiak, an Inuit from the nearby town of Kugluktuk, told me. 606 00:51:09,060 --> 00:51:14,820 When I found out about it, when I got older and I started reading it, you know, it was upsetting, 607 00:51:14,820 --> 00:51:19,660 cos now I think back, "Could some of these have been, you know, our relatives?" 608 00:51:21,540 --> 00:51:24,580 But we have no control of that, so it's... 609 00:51:24,580 --> 00:51:29,420 Today there's no hard feelings between our groups and the other groups 610 00:51:29,420 --> 00:51:32,780 because we've put all that behind because it's... 611 00:51:32,780 --> 00:51:37,380 You can't live in the past. You have to keep on going - life is too short. 612 00:51:37,380 --> 00:51:44,140 And in that description, there was an old woman fishing with a spear at the falls. 613 00:51:44,140 --> 00:51:46,100 Whereabouts would that have been? 614 00:51:46,100 --> 00:51:50,140 Where they used to spear fish is straight along the base of the edge here, 615 00:51:50,140 --> 00:51:52,940 because the fish go right against the rock, the rocks, 616 00:51:52,940 --> 00:51:56,660 and there's more current out there in the rocks, there's some eddies. 617 00:51:56,660 --> 00:52:00,300 And we still do it, in fact - we go right there with a kakivak. 618 00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:03,780 It'll be right in this area here that they were always fishing, 619 00:52:03,780 --> 00:52:08,020 so just a very hot spot and you can see all the trails 620 00:52:08,020 --> 00:52:11,300 and today people are still fishing every day. 621 00:52:11,300 --> 00:52:13,820 Do you think it's a shame it's called Bloody Falls? 622 00:52:15,340 --> 00:52:20,300 In our language it's called Kugluk, which means place of large rapids. 623 00:52:20,300 --> 00:52:24,500 But the English name, Bloody Falls, refers to the tragedy, 624 00:52:24,500 --> 00:52:27,540 But in our language it's called Kugluk. 625 00:52:27,540 --> 00:52:30,100 What do you make of Samuel Hearne? 626 00:52:30,100 --> 00:52:34,420 Samuel Hearne, from reading about him in all the books, 627 00:52:34,420 --> 00:52:37,500 he did a lot of great things for Canada. 628 00:52:37,500 --> 00:52:43,380 He opened up the north to the south by travelling up here, 629 00:52:43,380 --> 00:52:46,420 and his, some of his travelling methods 630 00:52:46,420 --> 00:52:49,820 was adapting the aboriginal group's clothing, 631 00:52:49,820 --> 00:52:55,020 their way of travel and the understanding, and taking them along asguides. 632 00:52:55,020 --> 00:53:01,140 So by doing that he, his survival and his success rate was higher than a lot of the others. 633 00:53:10,420 --> 00:53:13,020 It feels very strange to be here. 634 00:53:13,020 --> 00:53:16,060 I've been reading about Samuel Hearne for many years now, 635 00:53:16,060 --> 00:53:20,100 and to actually get here is quite astonishing and no easy feat, 636 00:53:20,100 --> 00:53:24,180 even by today's standards. But I didn't have to walk like he did. 637 00:53:24,180 --> 00:53:27,580 My respect for him is just immeasurable. 638 00:53:27,580 --> 00:53:34,100 I've always respected him, but now coming to the ground and actually seeing it, it's even moreprofound. 639 00:53:34,100 --> 00:53:39,220 People criticised him - there were people who said he'd never been here. How wrong they were. 640 00:53:39,220 --> 00:53:44,380 I've even got the right sort of mud on my boots, he described that much detail when he came here. 641 00:53:56,580 --> 00:54:01,580 It's just struck me that just like Hearne, this is the apex of my journey. 642 00:54:01,580 --> 00:54:04,820 The culmination of literally years of research and endeavour. 643 00:54:04,820 --> 00:54:09,340 It's hard to put into words quite what that means. 644 00:54:09,340 --> 00:54:12,660 But one thing I can say is, it's been worth it. 645 00:54:14,780 --> 00:54:19,020 After all that, Hearne did find copper on the way home, 646 00:54:19,020 --> 00:54:23,140 but it was not plentiful enough to be worth commercial exploitation. 647 00:54:23,140 --> 00:54:28,420 Back at Fort Prince of Wales, people imagined that there would actually be an underground mine here, 648 00:54:28,420 --> 00:54:31,060 but of course this IS the copper mine - 649 00:54:31,060 --> 00:54:35,300 in this area lumps of copper occur naturally in the landscape. 650 00:54:35,300 --> 00:54:37,660 And a few days later down that way, 651 00:54:37,660 --> 00:54:42,620 his party searched around until they found a few lumps, and there was one particularly large one 652 00:54:42,620 --> 00:54:47,660 that looked like a sleeping hare, and that's the piece you can still see in London today. 653 00:55:03,500 --> 00:55:09,220 Hearne finally made it back to Fort Prince of Wales in June 1772. 654 00:55:09,220 --> 00:55:13,700 His standing within the Hudson's Bay Company had never been higher 655 00:55:13,700 --> 00:55:16,140 and he went from strength to strength. 656 00:55:16,140 --> 00:55:20,260 He was invited to set up the company's first ever inland trading post. 657 00:55:20,260 --> 00:55:24,820 He married Mary Norton, the half Indian daughter of the governor at Prince of Wales Fort, 658 00:55:24,820 --> 00:55:28,700 and shortly after, he was made governor of the fort himself. 659 00:55:34,940 --> 00:55:40,900 The fort was meant to be a stronghold and a deterrent to French invaders, 660 00:55:40,900 --> 00:55:45,100 but though it looks impressive, it's fatally flawed as it has no source of drinking water. 661 00:55:45,100 --> 00:55:48,820 It was also drastically undermanned. 662 00:55:48,820 --> 00:55:51,460 So when French warships sailed into Hudson's Bay, 663 00:55:51,460 --> 00:55:56,020 Hearne had no option but to surrender and was taken prisoner. 664 00:56:07,500 --> 00:56:11,380 When Samuel Hearne left here as a prisoner of the French, 665 00:56:11,380 --> 00:56:15,140 he couldn't guarantee the safety of his wife, Mary Norton, 666 00:56:15,140 --> 00:56:19,500 particularly as she was half Indian, so instead he had to leave her behind. 667 00:56:19,500 --> 00:56:23,980 He didn't manage to get back here until September 1783, 668 00:56:23,980 --> 00:56:29,140 only to discover that she had starved to death in the particularly hard winter. 669 00:56:29,140 --> 00:56:31,900 He was heartbroken. 670 00:56:31,900 --> 00:56:35,340 In his journal he has an engraving that he made of the fort 671 00:56:35,340 --> 00:56:37,500 from more or less this position 672 00:56:37,500 --> 00:56:41,620 and in the foreground there are two characters - a man and a woman. 673 00:56:41,620 --> 00:56:43,500 We've no idea who they are, 674 00:56:43,500 --> 00:56:48,700 but I like to think that it's Sam Hearne and the love of his life, Mary Norton. 675 00:57:13,940 --> 00:57:18,860 Hearne's book is a fascinating story and a unique record of a disappearing world, 676 00:57:18,860 --> 00:57:22,460 a world I feel privileged to have stepped briefly into 677 00:57:22,460 --> 00:57:25,660 and experienced with the help of the Tlicho people. 678 00:57:27,300 --> 00:57:29,500 The book may be a definitive work, 679 00:57:29,500 --> 00:57:32,580 but his legacy isn't just in the pages of his book. 680 00:57:35,860 --> 00:57:41,340 It's out here in the vast northern wilderness of Canada. 681 00:57:41,340 --> 00:57:44,820 Hearne was the first European to truly grasp 682 00:57:44,820 --> 00:57:49,060 the magnitude of this country because he'd walked so much of it. 683 00:57:49,060 --> 00:57:52,060 And he was the man who showed the way, 684 00:57:52,060 --> 00:57:56,740 who pioneered the method by which this continent would truly be explored - 685 00:57:56,740 --> 00:57:59,420 by travelling using local technology. 686 00:57:59,420 --> 00:58:05,700 And all the most successful explorers that would follow would be those that used his methods. 687 00:58:20,180 --> 00:58:25,100 And next I travel north, to see how a doctor from the Orkney Isles 688 00:58:25,100 --> 00:58:29,940 applied Hearne's methods to become one of our greatest Arctic explorers ever.