Ober's journey, week 15

Oberholtzer Foundation

Week No. 15

Sept. 20-26, 1912

After a weekend at the Fort (Churchill), Ernest Oberholtzer and Billy Magee resume their canoe journey. Destination: There will be no mistaking York Factory, and the intrepid travelers are again on the map. Yet readers are sorry to see that the distance to their new destination is farther than they have already come in the big Hudson Bay, and this time they travel without the help of Bite, Ah-mat and the others. And the season is definitely shifting toward winter. Snow was predicted at Fort Prince of Wales. 

Their first afternoon is successful, and they find themselves again sleeping under their 18-foot canoe. Then on Sept. 23, they were kept in camp all day by “a heavy west wind.” Later Ober writes, “The tide was surging all around us in two voices, a low, soft bass and an agitated loud treble.” 

The following day was again limited by weather, and the men had nothing to do but abide by its power. There are many times the men watch and wait. Again and again. Surely their combined knowledge and respect of wind and weather is one of the reasons for their eventual success. 

Yet how did these men know of tides? Magee likely has not had a lot of experience with tides, and its a surprised to note that together, they seem to understand how to paddle in them. Sept 25: “Launched the canoe on the rising tide at half past seven and paddled till half past five in the evening without going ashore… We were able and usually obliged to keep from one to two miles out from shore, which is very shallow and stoney… We paddled hard and every bone in the body ached. It was warm enough paddling but, if we stopped to eat, we were quickly chilled.” 

In the final entry for this week, Oberholtzer tells of their meeting with an Eskimo boy and later his father, who gave them some deer meat. Ober traded things they had, and later writes, “We had a very fine supper of deer meat and baking powder biscuits and onions. Billy had been at his best all day, even washing my towel. Afterwards it caught on fire.” 

The complimentary roles these men play continue to amaze readers. Ober holds the purse, the main idea of the journey, and his intentions to capture it in word or image. Magee understands wind and weather, knows fire like a brother, and has proven to be an exceptional paddler and mighty portager. Together, they are making quite a team. Will the winter allow them to continue unimpeded? 

To follow Ober’s journey, purchase “Bound for the Barrens” available at www.lulu.com.