Invasion by duke Robert. But the policy and prudence of Henry, which, if time had been allowed for these virtues to produce their full effect, would have secured him possession of the crown, ran great hazard of being frustrated by the sudden appearance of Robert, who returned to Normandy about a month after the death of his brother William. He took possession, 1101. without opposition, of that dutchy; and immediately made preparations for recovering England, of which, during his absence, he had, by Henry's intrigues, been so unjustly defrauded. The great fame, which he had acquired in the East, forwarded his pretensions; and the Norman barons, sensible of the consequences, expressed the same discontent at the separation of the dutchy and kingdom, which had appeared on the accession of William. Robert de Belesme, earl of Shrewsbury and Arundel, William de la Warrenne, earl of Surrey, Arnulf de Montgomery, Walter Giffard, Robert de Pontefract, Robert de Mallet, Yvo de Grentmesnil, and many others of the principal nobility[17]; invited Robert to make an attempt upon England, and promised, on his landing, to join him with all their forces. Even the seamen were affected with the general popularity of his name, and they carried over to him the greater part of a fleet, which had been equipped to oppose his passage. Henry, in this extremity, began to be apprehensive for his life, as well as for his crown; and had recourse to the superstition of the people, in order to oppose their sentiment of justice. He paid diligent court to Anselm, whose sanctity and wisdom he pretended to revere. He consulted him in all difficult emergencies; seemed to be governed by him in every measure; promised a strict regard to ecclesiastical privileges; professed a great attachment to Rome, and a resolution of persevering in an implicit obedience to the decrees of councils, and to the will of the sovereign pontiff. By these caresses and declarations, he entirely gained the confidence of the primate, whose influence over the people, and authority with the barons, were of the utmost service to him, in his present situation. Anselm scrupled not to assure the nobles of the king's sincerity in those professions which he made, of avoiding the tyrannical and oppressive government of his father and brother: He even rode through the ranks of the army, recommended to the soldiers the defence of their prince, represented the duty of keeping their oaths of allegiance, and prognosticated to them the greatest happiness from the government of so wise and just a sovereign. By this expedient, joined to the influence of the earls of Warwic and Mellent, of Roger Bigod, Richard de Redvers, and Robert Fitz-Hamon, powerful barons, who still adhered to the present government, the army was retained in the king's interest, and marched, with seeming union and firmness, to oppose Robert, who had landed with his forces at Portsmouth.
My Name Is Earl Season 3 Episode 14 Torrent
In pursuing a herd of buffalo, particularly if it consist of bulls, a strong odour of musk is emitted, and is left in their wake, and their feet make the grass crackle as if it were on fire. We mentioned that the buffalo bulls frequently approached very near to our line, which, by some of our fellow-travellers, was attributed to the imperfect vision of the animal, whose eyes are obscured by the great quantity of hair which covers its face; this is probably, however, incorrect; it either arises from the greater fearlessness of the bulls during the rutting season, or perhaps from the circumstance that though they distinguish men very well, they are not aware of their nature by sight alone. It is the odour of man which is principally required to drive them off. We have seen bulls approach to windward of our line with the greatest
We embarked in our canoes at noon, and proceeded down the river. Our party, which had been reduced at Pembina by the departure of six of our fellow travellers, was reinforced here by the addition of a Chippewa interpreter, a pilot, and nine canoe men, of whom five were Canadians, and four Bois Brulés. Our numbers therefore amounted to twenty-nine. We were divided into three bark canoes, known by the name of "canots du nord." Although these are made nearly on the same model, yet there is great difference in their speed, burden, soundness, &c. according to the skill manifested in their construction. A canoe of this kind is generally constructed of ribs of cedar bent so as to impart to it its proper form, the ends being secured to a band that forms the superior edge of the vessel, and acts as a gunwale; over these ribs the birch bark is laid in as large pieces as possible, generally so that there shall be but two longitudinal seams, and two or three transverse; between the bark and the ribs very thin splints of cedar are placed so as to prevent the bark from splitting; all the joints are sewed with long threads obtained by splitting the roots of a
It appears that Rat portage is about nine or ten miles from the northernmost extremity of the Lake. The lake is elevated about ten or twelve feet above Winnepeek River, at the point where we left it. Its latitude, according to M'Kenzie is 49 37' and its longitude 94 1/4 west. Dr. Bigsby set it in latitude 49 44' 22" probably from an observation of Mr. Thompson's. Previous to our arrival at Rat portage, we observed that the rocks had again changed to a slate, of which the stratification was very distinctly directed from east-north-east to west-south-west. The inclination was nearly a vertical one; the colour of the slate is a dark green; it is very decidedly a micaceous slate, at least on Rat portage. This produces the same feature which we had observed in Winnepeek River, above Jack's Fall, but which becomes more distinct in the Lake of the Woods. The stream expands and includes an immense number of islands. It is to this circumstance that the lake owes its picturesque appearance and its name, as every one of these islands is covered with trees. The aspect of the lake differs essentially from any other that we
Dog portage receives its name from the figure of a dog carved upon the hill over which it passes. This figure is nearly obliterated, but from the description probably resembles representations of otters, &c. near Lake Travers; it is supposed to have been executed by a party of Sioux, who had advanced thus far on a warlike excursion; this
Their sight is keen, but it becomes weak at an early age; they are frequently afflicted with sore eyes, which is supposed to be caused by their constant exposure to the reflection of the sun by the water during the summer, and by the snow in the winter season. Blindness is not common. Many of them become deaf at an early age; their stomach is naturally very strong, but is impaired by the inordinate excesses in which they indulge when provided with food. They appear to be deficient in mechanical ingenuity, and do not cultivate the few natural talents with which they are gifted. Their ornaments consist of beads, paints, and other trifles, which they obtain from traders at very high prices. Their cabins are constructed of birch bark, secured to a slight frame by means of heavy poles placed upon it to prevent the wind from blowing it away.
On the afternoon of the l5th of September, we took leave of Messrs. Mackenzie and Henry, and commenced our voyage along the north coast of Lake Superior. The weather was fair, the wind favourable and not too strong; we hoisted a sail, descended the river, entered the lake, and soon lost sight of the fort. The river discharges its waters into a bay which is separated from the lake by a barrier of small islands, one of which has received the name of Paté, or pye, from its form. This is a high turreted rock, elevated several hundred feet. We passed at a distance from it, but it appeared to be formed of nearly vertical cliffs, and the upper part presented the appearance of a columnar division, while the lower seemed as though it were formed of the same horizontally stratified slate, which we had seen at the Falls of Kakabikka. Our course gave us an opportunity of observing about three-fourths of its circumference, on all which sides it appeared to be inaccessible. We were told, however, that it had been ascended, and that there is, on its summit, a small lake, stocked with excellent fish. As we entered this bay, Isle Royal could be distinguished as a faint blue streak, pencilled along the horizon; and after we had cleared the cluster of small islands which enclose the bay, it was seen stretching
Above the Lake of the Woods, Rainy River becomes the channel of communication, and extends one hundred miles to the lake of the same name. It has an average breadth of about three hundred yards, is deep and gentle, and has no obstructions to its navigation, within forty-eight miles of its mouth; at this distance are situated the rapids of Rainy River, which are about one mile long, and have an aggregate descent of about ten feet. About ten miles further up is another inconsiderable rapid, with a fall of three feet. At the outlet of Rainy Lake is a rapid of about five feet descent, and two miles and a half below are the Falls of Rainy River, down which the torrent pours with terrific grandeur through an aggregate descent of twenty-five feet in the distance of but a few yards. At this place are situated an establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company on the north side of the river, and one belonging to the American Fur Company on the south. Twenty miles below the falls is the entrance of a considerable tributary from the southwest called the Grand Fork, which affords a channel of communication between the principal and Little Winnepeek Lake of the Mississippi, navigable in wet seasons. It receives several other streams of less note. Between the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake there is another water route which is sometimes travelled; it is delineated on the map as the back route. 2ff7e9595c
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