Mary Had A Sickly Child

The Social Life of Count de Sainville,

A French Aristocrat (Perhaps),
at Fort McPherson
1889-1894

Citations from the diaries of Anglican Missionary Isaac O. Stringer

and other sources

Walter Vanast,
McGill University

Suggestions and Corrections Invited

walter.vanast@mcgill.ca

1
 Abbreviations

AAT: Anglican Church of Canada General Synod Archives, Toronto

HBC: Hudson’s Bay Company
IOS: Anglican missionary Isaac O. Stringer
OMI: Oblates of Mary Immaculate
PAA: Public Archives of Alberta
Sources
IOS diary and correspondence at AAT
Hudson’s Bay Company, Fort Simpson Journal, NAC microfilm IM1024, B200/a/40.
Hudson’s Bay Company, Peel River Journal, NAC microfilm IM1018, B157/a/6
Father Constant-Alarie Giroux O.M.I., Codex Historicus (daily mission journal), Mission Nom
Ste. Marie (Fort McPherson portion), PAA, 97.109, box 1, item 1

Items by IOS are from his diary unless otherwise marked.

Notes about editing

To avoid repetition, I have often replaced “Count de Sainville” with “count”
Unless cogent, the term “today” and the time of day have been removed.
Stringer’s lessons in French were all from the count and at 5 p.m., so I have often shortened
“Took lesson in French from the count 5 p.m.” and its variants to “Lesson in French” or
“Lesson.”

2
 Introduction

Fort McPherson (on the Peel, a few hours by boat from the Mackenzie Delta) was an isolated
place. No fur trade post sat further north, mail arrived three times a year, and from September
to June few natives came to visit. To deal with isolation the upper crust, a handful of males of
white and mixed-blood, arranged communal hunts, made trips across the mountains to the
Yukon and the HBC post at Rampart House, and often visited each other. As in all lonely
settings, eccentricities and long-standing frictions colored such events.
In 1890 two men of mixed blood had been there the longest: Anglican Archdeacon Robert
McDonald had occupied the Anglican mission for a decade, and Joseph Hodgson, the Hudson’s
Bay Company clerk, had since 1888 lived at the trade post nearby. The Count de Sainville, a
mysterious French character, had boarded with the Hodgsons since his surprise appearance the
summer before.
The Catholic mission, somewhat to the side, harbored Oblate father Constant-Alarie Giroux
(who had built the place in 1890) and a Hare Indian boy, as well as Father Camille Lefebvre,
who joined them in the summer at first and year-round from 1892 on—it was the latter’s specific
task to bring the Delta Inuit into the Catholic fold. When Anglican missionary Isaac Stringer
came to the fort in July 1892 tasked with doing the same for the Anglican side, he moved into a
room with the McDonalds at the Anglican mission.
In addition to these men (a trader, four clerics, and a French adventurer) Fort McPherson
harbored a half-dozen mixed-blood and pure-blood Gwich’in in small houses set back from the
rest or in nearby woods. These worked for the HBC post and (as in the case of “Old man Nité,”)
for the archdeacon. Except for the priests, the count, Isaac Stringer, and a few young native
men, all had wives and children,
The Oblates had one local adherent, Baptiste, an HBC employee. But within a day’s travel west
or south there were a hundred Catholic Gwich’in, and at times these were visited by Father
Giroux. Also a Catholic was the Count de Sainville, who got along well with both the priests and
the Protestant side of Fort McPherson’s population.
Hostility between the two missions was intense, especially since both had renewed efforts to
convert the Mackenzie Inuit, who visited there each spring. As a result the priests seldom visited

3
outside their home. Stringer might see one or other priest in passing, but beyond that contact
was nil.
Issues within the Protestant side restricted the number of people with whom Stringer formed
close connections. ArchdeacontMacdonald was often absent, and when home showed scant taste
for discussion or banter. Besides, MacDonald and Hodgson did not get along, in part because
they had much in common.
Both men were of mixed blood, came from what is now southern Manitoba, and attended the
Anglican school at the Red River Settlement for descendants of HBC staff. Both had been
ordained as deacons before coming north to Anglican missions on the Mackenzie—McDonald in
the 1860s, Hodgson much later. Since then McDonald had greatly advanced in clerical status
and become widely known in the South for his work. Hodgson, in contrast, had left mission work
to become a clerk with the HBC (but still held his deacon rank).
Hodgson detested McDonald, both for what he knew of the latter’s past (such as his fathering a
child at Fort McPherson in the 1860s by the HBC clerk’s wife) and because of unpleasant
character features. These included a violent temper, which he sometimes took out on the aging
Nité, and a lack of willingness to share his goods, combined with failure to compensate for
damage to tools to had borrowed, or not to return them at al).
Hodgson’s wife, a native from further south on the Mackenzie, was a likable woman who
enjoyed company in her home. McDonald’s wife, a Gwich’in, was very much the opposite (a
notation in the McPherson post journal beside the entry for McDonald’s wedding says ”he put
his foot in it that day.”) For four years the count benefited from Mrs. Hodgson’s hospitality and
fine cooking, But in 1893 he moved to a house of his own with a very large stove, and thereafter
Nité’s daughter Mary prepared his meals and did the household chores.
From 1892 to 1894 Stringer lived in a small room in McDonald’s house, eating with the family
and tolerating the archdeacon’s wife the first year, and largely staying to himself (and doing his
own cooking except when invited) thereafter. Having social ties outside that setting allowed him
to put up with a difficult situation. In any case, the archdeacon preferred to be alone, and given
the tension between him and Hodgson, played only an occasional part in Stringer’s social
activities.
Hodgson was widely read and knew lots of Latin, while the count may have had a university
education. Long sessions at one or the other’s homes involved friendly debate on complex and

4
contentious matters, including religion and personal responsibility. As well, the count helped
Stringer improve his French, taught him astronomy, and lent him books.
During the time he spent with the count, Stringer showed a defect that caused problems later in
life as well, when as archbishop he ruled the Anglican church in almost half the country: he was
so positive in dealing with others that he failed to detect false fronts. Time and again, he was
taken in.
Unknown to Stringer, the count was using Mary Nité not just as domestic help but as sexual
partner. And that cut hard in several ways, for Stringer’s own relationship with her had become
somewhat close (too close, perhaps, as reflected in her visits to his room).
The count’s departure in the spring of 1894 may have had to do with Mary’s pregnancy, of
which no one beside he and Mary were aware. At its November birth, the infant turned out to be
sickly and dying, but when Stringer was called he refused to come. So it did not receive the
benefit of his medical skills, of which in letters home he had sometimes boasted. And when the
child passed away, he did not give Mary comfort or speak of God’s grace.
The un-Christian conduct offers a rare instance when Stringer let personal feelings interfere
with his calling. Yet to some extent one grasps why he acted that way. Given the confinement of
Fort McPherson, the long winter, and the value of friends in that setting, finding out he had been
betrayed was a major blow. As was his way, he gave the story few words. But there is much that
shows between the lines.

5
 Dramatis Personae
The Count
The Count de Sainville, supposedly a French aristocrat, who descended the Mackenzie in
1889 and moved into the household of HBC clerk Joseph Hodgson. His history is
murky both prior to and after his McPherson stay.

Hudson’s Bay Company Personnel

Hodgson, Joseph. HBC clerk at Fort McPherson, a.k.a. Peel’s River,. 1888-1893, when
he and his native wife and young son Harry were moved south to Fort Rae.

Firth, John, and his wife and children. Stationed at Rampart House in the Yukon until it
closed, he moved to Fort McPherson in the 1893 summer, where he took over
from Hodgson. Son Jim was old enough to take part in rabbit hunts

Anglican Clerics
Stringer, Isaac, Anglican deacon (1892-3) and ordained priest (from 1893 on). Sent from
Toronto to Fort McPherson specifically to convert the Inuit. Married in 1895.

McDonald, Robert, Anglican Archdeacon, his Gwich’in wife, and their children (some of
whom were away).

Catholic Clerics
Giroux, Constant-Alarie. Oblate of Mary Immaculate, who came to Fort McPherson in
1890 to build the Catholic mission.

Lefebvre, Camille. Oblate of Mary Immaculate. He joined Father Giroux in the summer
of 1890 and 1891, and year-round from the spring of 1892 on. Like Stringer, his
specific task was to bring the Mackenzie Inuit into the fold of his church.

6
 Main Native Translators for the HBC
and the Mission
Greenland, George. An Inuk from the Eastern Delta, he had grown up among whites, and
worked for the HBC as laborer and interpreter. At times he worked for Stringer
when the Eastern Delta people were at McPherson, and in 1892 accompanied the
missionary on his first trip to the Inuit’s Eastern Delta homes at Kittigazuit. He
worked behind Stringer’s back for the Catholic mission as well.

Stewart, Kenneth. Mixed-blood Gwich’in. His father Sandy had drowned a few years
earlier.

“Old Man Nité,”

Anglican Mission Employee
Nité, Peter. “Old Man Nité.” Performed chores for Archdeacon MacDonald. His daughter
Mary kept house and cooked for the Count de Sainville after the latter moved into
his own house, from the 1893 fall through the 1894 spring.

Others who appear in this story

mainly during rabbit hunts
Baptiste. HBC employee (the only Catholic one). Is with Stringer, Giroux, and the Count
on several of their journeys across the mountains, to the Eastern Delta, and to
Herschel Island

Barber Jimmy. HBC employee.

Ezin. HBC employee.

Kalukotok. An Inuit teenager, adopted son of Kokhlik, the chief of the Eastern Delta
Inuit, the Kukpugmiut ( as whites then referred to them), who lived with Stringer
in his room during the 1893-94 winter.

LePinné. William

Stewart, John

Stewart, Malcolm.

7
 Part A
The count’s First Years at Fort McPherson
1890
Hodgson,

Feb. 23. The count accompanies me [to Lapierre House].

June 20. The count left... to explore Esquimaux Lake and the unknown regions round
about.

Aug. 16. Count returned after a very fast journey.

Aug. 25. I start with the count and two men to hunt in the Black Mountains.

1891
Hodgson

Apr. 1. The count left today with the priest for La Pierre's House.

Father Giroux

Apr. 8. Retour avec vent et froid rigoureux. Les sauvages du Mackenzie jeûnent un peu
partout.

1892
Giroux

Feb. 1. Départ du Comte avec Baptiste et Ezin. [Ed.: possibly with the spring mail for
points south].

Fort Simpson HBC journal

June n.d. [Picnic of HBC staff with count]1 Bishop Bompas as “Cook and butler.”]

June 16. Mr. and Mrs. Camsell, count, one man off to the barrier to get after the fish.

8
 June 1892
A journey on the S.S. Wrigley
from Fort Resolution to Fort McPherson
Elisabeth Taylor (a tourist)

There were people on the small space forward and Indians on bales along the side and the
captain lay curled up in the pilot house and our one titled individual [i.e. the count] did
not sleep at all…
The little boat was too heavily loaded—luggage piled up in the little space in front, on
which we perched on boxes and tents. The missionaries slept on and under the dining
table…The priests were camped among the luggage and on the bales along the sides—
and our count perched disconsolately wherever he could, and forswore all sleep…2
[He has] been in the Company’ service the last two or three years—has been trading and
exploring in the Barren Lands. He had quarrelled with his father, come out here with an
Englishman and hasn’t money enough to “go out” as the phrase is.
He is an exceedingly pleasant man, a fine talker, though his English isn’t perfect by any
means and the most intelligent observer I have seen in this country. I wish I could have
had a chance to see a good deal of him, for he knew so much of the Huskies (or
Esquimaux) ec... and a man of culture—a Breton by birth, has a very fine camera and
some of his photos were most interesting—one especially of a mammoth’s head found on
the shores of the Polar Sea and a Husky knocking out a tooth. I saw the tooth at Fort
Simpson3…
Have just had (with Mr. Stringer) an interesting talk with the count on matters of the Far
North. He brought out, at my request, his book of photographs, some taken beautifully
and of the greatest interest.
He talks in a wonderfully interesting way, indeed, is the only one in the party able to take
on many matters in which we have a common interest, on travel abroad, on Paris and
France, and on his own experiences. No doubt he is not as well posted as the others in
subjects pertaining to English people and those of English descent, but he has ease of
expression in spite of his imperfect knowledge of their language…

9
 He has spent time… on the Esquimau Lakes, 250 miles east of the mouth of the
Mackenzie… [and] spoke of Lord Lonsdale, who went only 120 (150?) miles4 below Fort
McPherson, 20 hours travel with Mr. Hodson1 and his men, and then returned. When
asked why, the count said, "Oh, he was worried by mosquitoes.” It seems Lord Lonsdale
said in a published paper the reason was because Hodson an his men were afraid of
Esquimaux. Hodson, who is not afraid of anything, felt badly when he heard it.
About the musk-ox the count said they never had been found in Alaska…[or anywhere
else] west of the Mackenzie. [Yet it was there] Lord Lonsdale said he had killed [many]
…
Another photo was one… by the Esquimau Lakes, a native trying to make fire of bits of
wood, a rocky beach, a great expanse of water and land-bound stretches of ice. It kept
them from leaving for seven days.
There was no fuel, as the trees were four inches high and the peat so wet it would not
burn. The only way to make fire was to light small bits of an old sledge and put on this
the green dwarf trees, which one man kept smoking while the other held the kettle over
them till it boiled. The peat might be used for heat if properly dried, but in its sodden
state was useless to the traveller.
The count spoke of the beauty of the flowers there… he took no specimens[,] being so
burdened etc., and having to portage the necessary luggage.
[At Fort Good Hope] Mr. Godette2…met us at the landing…At the top of the bank I met
his two daughters, and went with them to the house to meet Madame Godette... [who]
understood little English, and spoke French to me and the count.
[At Peel’s River] The count told me that two years ago he heard frogs piping in a nearby
spring, and a very old Indian, told him that when he was young, he had heard them also.
Probably, as the count suggested, the eggs were brought down by the current from above
on reeds or grasses or water plants5…
I went to the fort to see what had be come of the count, who had promised to help me get
some Esquimaux things.

1
Joseph Hodgson, the HBC clerk at Peel’s River.
2
Charles Gaudet, HBC clerk at Good Hope

10
 July-August 1892

A boat journey from Fort McPherson

through the Mackenzie Delta
by IOS, Hodgson, the count,
and several native helpers.
IOS

Aug. 2. Richards Island in sight... stopped on right shore [of Eastern Channel]... I shot
two ptarmigans... the count shot two.

Aug. 4. Talked. Struck tents and left [via Eastern Channel, for Kittigazuit]. Point
Separation the 2nd. Before we separated [from Mr. Hodgson and the count] I
exchanged Kenneth Stewart, who had been with me, for George Greenland, who
was with Mr. Hodgson... We went to the right in the direction of the Husky
village [i.e. Kittigazuit]. Mr. Hodgson and the count went to the left to sound the
main channel running out by Richard’s Island to the sea. They went down to the
mouth of the Mackenzie to find out which was the best way for a large vessel to
come up the Mackenzie from the ocean. It is thought the Canadian government
may send a vessel out to explore next summer and if so the count act as pilot. 6

Aug. n.d. [Kittigazuit]. I had been advised by Archdeacon McDonald, Mr. Hodgson and
Count de Sainville not to make a practice of giving presents [to the Inuit].7

11
 Fort McPherson, 1892-1893
A Band of Three.
IOS

Aug. 31. Called to see the count.

Sept. 08. Count called. Gave him salve for his leg. Chat with him.

-- 12. Started on [duck hunting] trip. Went with Alex Stewart in canoe. Mr. Hodgson
with Kenneth. Le count with Ezin. [Ed.: they camped overnight].8

-- 17. Over to fort. Mr. Hodgson clipped my hair. Had cup of cocoa with him and the
count. Chat.

-- 20. The boat left for Red River to bring fish. The count = steersman.

-- 25. The count had returned from Red River.

-- 26. Called to see the count who was indisposed.

-- 27. Mr. Hodgson called to get homeopathic books for the count.

-- 30. Got the count’s compass and took true bearings. Got anemometer from count.

Oct. 05. The count called. Read his account of his arctic explorations in [the Winnipeg]
Free Press.

-- 11. Called to see count de Sainville.

-- 14. Called at Nité’s.

-- 15. After dinner the count and Mr. Hodgson called. Talk. The Archdeacon treated
them to tobacco and [blank]. The count put damper in stove.

-- 19. The count called.

-- 25. After dinner called on the count.

-- 31. Count called to compare barometers and thermometers.

Nov. 01. Nité in with two martin skins.

12
 -- 02. The count started for Rampart House.9 About seven sleds started for La Pierre’s
House with him.

-- 11. Mary Nité called for medicine. Gave her some.

-- 13. Mary Nité called and talked.

-- 15. Nité . . . came in.

-- 16. Started for Nité's.

-- 19. Mary Nité called for medicine.

-- 27. Mary Nité called.

Dec. 01. Mary Nité called. Talked.

-- 02. Nité cut and carried in wood for me. Mary Nité called.

-- 03. The count returned. Called to see the count and Mr. Hodgson.

-- 05. The count and Mr. Hodgson called... Talk on temperance. Rise and fall of
nations etc... Mary Nité in.

-- 07. The count called.

-- 08. Mary Nité in for medicine.

-- 09. Called on the count.

-- 10. Mary Nité... called.

-- 19. Mary Nité called.

-- 20. Count called and invited me to his lecture.

-- 21. Count delivered lecture on astronomy. Archdeacon in chair. Att. 10.

-- 24. Called on the count. Talked with him and Mr. Hodgson.

-- 26. Veritas came in for medicine. Mary Nité with him. Gave him mustard plaster
and homeop. medicine.

-- 30. Mary Nité called for medicine for Peter Vuntlacy.

13
 -- 31. Mary Nité called. Over to count’s room all afternoon. Talk with Mr. Hodgson
and count. Music, experiments.

Jan. 01. Sun. [After service] Mr. Hodgson stayed and the count called in to wish us
“Happy New Year.” Talked about siege of Paris in which the count fought in the
French Army. On New Year’s 1871 during siege he had a cat for breakfast,
donkey meat for dinner etc.

Jan. n.d. [From IOS Letter] Peel River, or Fort McPherson, consists of about a dozen
houses. First is “the Big House” or “the Master’s House,” or the Fort, as it is
variously called. Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson and their little boy Harry live there.
Count de Sainville also stays there. I feel quite at home there and often run in and
out. I had dinner there today and supper the day before yesterday. Mr. Hodgson
was in just a little while ago to get some writing paper from me. I don’t know
what I would do without him and the count. When I am lonesome I take a run
over there. It is about as far from the mission house as our house at home is from
the barn.10

Jan. 02. Took my first lesson in French from count. [Later in day:] In count’s room. Chat.

-- 03. Mary Nité . . . in.

-- Mary Nité in.

-- 04. Over to count’s room. Count went to dinner. I looked at maps.

-- 06. Over to count’s room and took lesson in French. Count called to see me. Chat.

-- 07. The count called... Had chat about the comparison of temperature as shown by
thermometers between here and Rampart House. Also concerning Robert
Elsmere3 which I have just read and theories of a similar kind.

-- 08. Mary Nité called for medicines for Peter Vuntlacy.

-- 09. Lesson in French.

-- 11. Lesson in French. Count gave me first article in series of papers to be carried on.
This one dealing with prayer and religion. After due consideration as to the results
3
An 1888 novel that advocated Christian practices based on social concern rather than the urge to save souls]Web.
Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

14
 on my own mind in the discussion of things concerning which I have had already
doubts, I decided to enter the discussion. [Later in evening:] Considering count’s
paper.

-- 13. Mary Nité called. Lesson in French.

-- 16. Lesson in French.

-- 17. Mary Nité called.

-- 18. [IOS letter] I have... been studying French with the count. I like it and am getting
along well... It is spoken a good deal in this country and is a fine language to learn
if one has a good teacher as I have... the count lives with Mr. Hodgson. He is a
Frenchman from Paris. Fortune went against him so he came to the Canadian
North West. He came north three years ago and has been exploring some of the
unknown lands in the North. He is intelligent, polite, and amiable. He and Mr.
Hodgson and I are much together and we have been duck-shooting together... He
and Mr. Hodgson have been a great help to me in many ways and with them and
the archdeacon here it is out of the question to think of being lonesome.11

-- 18. [IOS diary] Lesson in French. [Later:] Considering count’s paper on prayer.

-- 20. Lesson in French.

-- 23. Mary Nité in. Over to count’s room. Père Giroux there. [I came back later for
lesson].

-- 24. Mary Nité in.

-- 25. Grinded two axes. Nité turned stone. The count called.

-- 27. Mary Nité called for medicine.

-- 28. Over to fort. In count’s room. Chat.

-- 30. Mary Nité [called].

Feb. 01. Took letters over to count [as mail packet was about to leave for South].12 He
was not done writing yet 3 o’clock in morning... Chat.

15
-- 03. Lesson in French. A white dog from Nité’s camp went half way across to
Martin’s camp (about 20 yds.) and [a fight followed].

-- 04. Mary Nité in.

-- 06. Lesson in French. [Later:] Wrote something on count’s paper (prayer etc.).

-- 08. Mary Nité . . . called. Lesson in French.

-- 09. Started with Mr. Hodgson and the count across the river and through the woods. .
. Good long walk of from ten to fifteen miles.

-- 10. Lesson in French. Count called 8 to 10 p.m. Chat about [his] sailor’s and
soldier’s life, life in this country etc.

-- 13. Lesson with count.

-- 15. Lesson with count.

-- 16. Started out with count for walk. The other day the count told me that in running
away from a grizzly bear it is said if one turns sharply to the right he can’t follow
one quickly. He runs always with his right foot forward and can turn suddenly to
the left but not so quickly to the right.

-- 17. Lesson in French. Chat with count and Mr. Hodgson. This is the count’s
birthday. Chat about the reasoning powers of the lower animals. Mr. Hodgson
told of one of his dogs showing great sagacity.

-- 18. Writing paper for count. Wrote some on paper for count etc.

-- 21. Finished writing and copying controversial paper on religion etc. Gave count
paper.

-- 22. Lesson in French. Chat with him and Mr. H.

-- 23. Count and I filled 43 rifle cartridges and cleaned my rifle Then Mr. H. and the
count and I had target practice over bank.

-- 24. Went for walk . . . Back with Old Nité. Over to count’s room and took lesson.

-- 25. Mary Nité in for medicine. Gave her Nux Vomica for indigestion.

-- 28. Mary Nité . . .in.

16
 -- 27. Lesson in French.

-- 28. Count called... Took barometer to his room.

Mar. 29. [After journey to Rampart House:] Met at Peel River by small boys and the
archdeacon and the count on top of hill.

-- 30. Count... brought over the observatory books. Chat.

-- 31. Mary Nité called.

Apr. 03. I called to see the count. He has been ill for a few days— a bad cold.

-- 05. Called on the count.

-- 06. Sawed wood with Nité. Chat with count as he passed. He is trying to stop
smoking. I wonder how “reason” will come out in this matter of moral restraint.

-- 07. Had cup of tea with Mr. H. and count.

-- 09. Met count down bank.

-- 11. Had chat [at fort] with Mr. H. and count. Stayed for cup of tea.

-- 12. Chat with the count and Mr. Hodgson in Baptiste’s house. A dog had bitten the
count again. Mary Nité [called].

IOS at McPherson,
after a journey to Herschel Island

June 21. Chat with Kenneth, the count, and Mr. Hodgson.

-- 26. The count called.

July 03. The count called.

-- 04. The count called. Had a soda with Mr. Hodgson, the count, Baptiste, and
Eskimo. Count making his boat or canoe.

-- 06. The count called, bringing his medicines for me.13 Chat. Spent rest of forenoon
looking over my provisions and doing up a box of various things for the count.
Sent it over by Wm. Smith.

-- 07. Over to see count. Chat with Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Firth, and count.

17
-- 08. Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson are leaving here... I am so sorry... I shall miss them very
much... I don't know what I shall do without Mr. Hodgson. He helped much to
make the past year one of pleasure for me... count remains here for another winter
and I am glad of that as he has been a great help to me and we get along well
together.14

-- 10. The count called.

-- 12. Out to see the count’s new canoe.

-- 15. I feel sad at the steamer's leaving, and Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson going too. We will
be lonesome for a while but as soon as I get down to work that will wear off. 15

-- 17. Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson went with the steamer to Fort Rae. I was very sorry to
part with them and little Harry. I had a pleasant time with them last year and was
sorry they had to go. But the H.B.Co. officials ordered it and they had to comply
or leave the service.16

-- 17. Count called and helped me to copy observatory reports. Had cup of coffee.

-- 18. The count called. I went over to see his boat which was nearly finished and
stayed with him to tea.

-- 21. The count called.

-- 22. The count called and I called to see him.

18
 1893 Summer:
Sainville’s failed journey for gold
up the Peel River
IOS

On July 24th I left Peel River for the coast. At the same time the count started in the
opposite direction to look for gold up Peel River. We bade goodbye to the
archdeacon, Mr. Firth, and the others at the fort and then bade each other fond
good bye at our canoes and started in opposite directions. 17

The count [went]... for about a hundred and fifty miles up Peel River but... found no gold.
He saw three bears and killed one. The other two came near to killing him.18

19
 Fort McPherson 1893-1894,
A Band of Two.

The HBC had moved Hodgson to Fort Rae and replaced him with John Firth, who took little
interest in intellectual matters. The count no longer lived at the HBC post, but in a house of his
own with a large kitchen stove.

IOS

Sept. 17. Sun. English Service 3 p.m. Att. 10. The count started attending today... I
preached. Text = Psa. 27:8.

-- 06. Studied French most of forenoon... Lesson in French.

-- 09. Spent most of day studying French... French lesson.

-- 11. Called on count.

-- 16. Studied some French after dinner... Lesson in French. The count and Baptiste
were...making martin traps.

-- 19. Count with me for supper.

-- 20. Lesson in French. Last night the wind was terrific. The count estimates the
velocity at 70 miles per hr.

-- 23. French lesson.

IOS at Herschel Island

Nov. 23. Capt. Smith got a quadrant for me to take to the count from Mr. Markle.

IOS at McPherson

Dec. 07. Called over to see the count and took him quadrant and Nautical Almanacs 194
& 195 from ships. Long chat with him. He has been sick. In evening called at
count’s home for observatory books.

-- 08. To count’s for supper. Chat about use of quadrant etc.

-- 09. The count called.

20
 -- 12. Called on count.

-- 13. The count was taking observations at his door.

-- 14. Went over to count’s and had supper and he gave a lecture on astronomy to me.
Very interesting.

-- 16. The count called and stayed with me for supper. Chat about punishments and
rewards in this life.

-- 20. Took lesson in French, first since I returned [from Herschel Island]. Chat. The
count was taking an observation with mercury. The mercury froze while he was
observing.

-- 22. Lesson with count. Experiments with quadrant afterwards.

-- 25. Called to see count and gave him cigarette paper from Mr. Hodgson. Chat.

-- 27. Lesson in French.

-- 28. Sent flour etc. over to count’s to be baked.

-- 29. Lesson in French. The count laid up with sore leg again.

-- 30. The count called.

Jan. 01. Old man Nité acted as clown of the first detachment and caused some merriment.
Count [came in to wish me Happy New Year]... I put in my cakes with
archdeacon’s and did not entertain any but Mr. and Mrs. Firth, the count and a
few others. Treated them to ice cream etc. Sat around and chatted etc.

-- 02. The count called. I called at count’s.

-- 03. Lesson with count. Stayed with him for supper and then he gave me a lesson in
astronomy on how to find the latitude of a place.

-- 04. Count called and we went for walk to his rabbit snares (no rabbits) and then
around by the priest’s mill.... The count called and invited me to share a plum
pudding made with the last of his flour. Enjoyed it. Studied some French.

-- 05. Studied French.

21
 -- 06. Went for rabbit hunt [with the count and others]19 The count over and he gave
me a lesson in French. Stayed with me for supper.

-- 08. Mary Nité [in].

-- 08. Studied French most of day. Lesson with count 5 p.m. [In evening] French
studies.

-- 09. Studied French.

-- 10. Spent forenoon reading Bible and studying French. Lesson.

-- 10. Lesson.

-- 11. Mary Nité called.

-- 12. Spent most of day studying French...Lesson with count. He came over with me
for supper. Had plum pudding which Mary Nité cooked for me.

-- 13. Studied French. Over to count's. He came over with me and soldered coal oil
can.

-- 15. Lesson.

-- 16. Studied some French.

-- 17. Studied French most of the day. Took lesson.

-- 18. Studied some French in morning. The count came over and cut my hair. French.

-- 19. Spent most of day studying French. Lesson.

-- 22. Spent all day studying my French... and writing out the exercises. Lesson.

-- 24. [IOS diary] Did not feel well so begged off of my French lesson. Wrote letter
and studied some French.

-- 24. [From IOS letter] Mary Nité, Count de Sainville’s servant, cooks bread for me,
as the count has a cooking stove—the only one used in the winter at Peel River. [p. 53]
This winter I have been putting nearly all my time to French and Eskimo. I hope to be
able to speak French a little by spring. I am studying it with the count. The count has a
little house of his own.20

22
 -- 25. In evening I studied some astronomy and I wrote French exercises.

-- 26. Lesson.

-- 29. I studied some French and then went over to Mr. Firth’s. Studied more French.
Lesson.

-- 30. Called at count's house. The count and Mr. Firth called. A little astronomy with
the count.

-- 31. Studied French.

Feb. 02. Count came over for my lesson. Chat.

-- 05. Count called.

-- 06. Archdeacon invited me to dinner but I had to excuse myself [because I had
injured my leg]. The count and Mr. Firth were there for dinner. Meat and plum
pudding was sent in to me also and I had quite a feast.

-- 07. Count called (while I was still in bed) with a roast ptarmigan and a teapot of tea.
Count called 2 p.m. and had a cup of tea with me. Mary Nité came and fixed up
room.

-- 08. Count called.

-- 10. Count called in evening and showed me his map of Peel River. 60 miles up from
Peel River the rapids begin. About 150 miles up there are boiling torrents rushing
between perpendicular cliffs. The water does not freeze there in winter and there
are ducks and geese all winter at that place. About 190 miles up (the count's
farthest) the river is about 1400 feet above the river at Peel River Post. Retired 1
o'clock [after reading account of] Peel River by the count.

-- 13. Count called in evening.

-- 16. Called at count's. Count called and presented me with five French books.

-- 17. Helped Nité to cut hole in ice. Dressed and went over to count's birthday fiesta .
Four courses. Long chat. The Arch and Mr. Firth there also.

23
 -- 21. Called to see count. The count called in evening and we had a long chat and
lunch. He was in the blues.

-- 22. Mary Nité in. In evening studied French etc.

-- 23. Called at count’s with gunstock. Some astronomy. Observations with quadrant.
Over to count’s for astronomy 5.30-6.30 p.m.

-- 24. In evening studied French.

-- 27. The count called and had supper with me.

-- 28. Lesson with count and stayed with him for supper. Chat about the future and past
of count. His forefathers lived on the Coast of Brittany. Lands confiscated 1793.
Part reclaimed through the fidelity of a tenant.

Mar. 01. The count called and had lunch with me. He and Mr. Firth and three boys and I
went off rabbit hunting across and up the river.

-- 02. The count called proposing to go on a rabbit hunt. I readily assented.21

-- 06. Called to see Mr. Firth. The count called there also and we arranged to go on a
hunt after dinner. Started out 1 p.m. The boys also - seven in all. Up small river
and across to big lake. I shot one rabbit. There was only one other shot. Very few
seen. Home 5.30 p.m.

-- 07. The count called while I was at breakfast. Studied some French during day and
took lesson from the count in evening.

-- 08. Stormy and so count called to postpone rabbit hunt. Called on count.

-- 09. Prepared to start for rabbit hunt. Called on count and then we two called on Mr.
Firth.22

-- 10. Called on count and Mr. Firth.

-- 12. The count called in forenoon. Lesson.

-- 14. Called over to see if the count and Mr. Firth were thinking of a rabbit hunt. Not
today.

24
 -- 16. Started out 9.30 a.m. [for a rabbit hunt] across by small river and over to the hills
about 8 miles away.23 Lesson 5 p.m..

-- 23. Count called and had supper with me. Lesson in French. Chat about ships, trips
etc. Sainville told me of the trickery and treachery of George Greenland and
Kenneth Stewart [native interpreters who often worked for Stringer; the former an
Inuk, the latter a mixed-blood Gwich’in] which I am glad to know of and so be
able to be on my guard but it makes me feel sad tonight, very sad. If it leads me to
pray more as I think it shall then it may be good for me.

-- 24. Old Nité . . . in. Over to count for supper. Deer, fresh and cold beaver, onions.,
rice, desiccated soup. Mr. Firth in after. Chat by fire place. count’s stove moved
out today.

-- 26. Count called and gave me a lesson. Sent some rabbits etc. over to count.

-- 27. Called to see Mr. Firth and count.

-- 28. Called on count. Had some astronomy with him and lesson in French.

-- 30. Called to see count.

Apr. 1. Count in for supper... Long chat afterwards about the habits etc. of people in this
country. I learned that... if you pay anything to an Indian to keep silent on any
subject he considers that as binding. The count told me of an instance where an
Indian killed another and then gave the only witness a gun or something else to
keep quiet. It was never known till murderer died. According to him the people
around the Fort and the Indians away from it also are terrible gossipers and I
believe he is about right. He left about 11 p.m.

-- 2. Went out to see count off. He starts today on a trip to Herschel Island to visit the
whalers and if possible to get employment with them. Baptiste went with them.
They go by the Black Mountains and along the foothills to the coast.

Apr. 07. Mary Nité [called].

Captains Leavitt [L] and Bodfish [B] at Herschel Island

25
 -- 15. [L] Count De Sainville has been thirteen days coming in from Fort McPherson,
Peel River. The last two days of his journey he had nothing to eat and arrived here
pretty hungry. He is a man exploring the country and writing a book for his own
interest.

-- 16. [L] Count came on board.

-- 21. [L] On board the Balaena . . . count giving an account of his explorations around
the McKenzie River, Esquimaux Lakes and the coast from the mouth of the river
to Warren Point and De Sainville Harbour.

-- 23. [B] Count left for Ft. McPherson.

IOS

-- 27. I brought . . . two [abandoned] canoes home . . . [from downriver] The one
belonging to Nité was all right excepting one little break.

May 06. The count returned from Herschel Island... He had a bad trip - deep snow,
blowing, two days without food. 26 days traveling. Stayed 7 days at ships... Had
quite a chat with him. He goes whaling next summer with Capt. Newth and in the
fall will go to San Francisco with the prospect or probable chance of being sent to
winter [in 1895-6] in the harbor east of the Mackenzie. He had a pleasant visit but
a rough journey there and back.

-- 07. Called to see the count and he came over to see my canoe material.

-- 08. I called on Mr. Firth and had chat with him and the count. The count and George
called.

-- 09. Kalukotok and I started hauling logs for porch [for my house] . . . with the help
of Peter Nité and Jim Firth.

-- 10. I had supper at count’s. Mr. Firth in also to supper. Fish, fresh meat, shrimps,
bread and butter, condiments: salt , pepper, ground celery. Canned pineapple
(delicious). Chat.

-- 11. After dinner called on Mr. Firth and the count.

26
 -- 12. In the morning the count called. Several came in during evening [including]...
the count.

-- 13. The count was in to dinner with me 8 p.m. Chatted till 10.30 p.m.

-- 14. Had dinner with the count.

June 25. Reached the fort [after a trip to Kittigazuit]... Mr. Firth and the count came out
to meet me. Went into Mr. Firth’s house and met Mr. [Frank] Russell the
naturalist who stayed at Fort Rae this winter. He came down here and is going out
by Herschel Island. He and the count started for Herschel Island 6 a.m.

July 11. [Letter] The count is going to work with the whalers this summer.24

Captain Leavitt at Herschel Island

July 08. Count and Mr. Russell arrived.

-- 09. Count brought mail from P.S.W. Co. dated Oct. and Nov. 1893.

-- 24. The count’s harbour is in a poor place by the way things look now

IOS

July 29. Wrote letter to count for Mary Nité.

27
 Part D:
1894 summer
The count works on Capt. Newth’s whaling ship
and leaves for San Francisco
On August 29, 1894 the count left Herschel Island on the Jeanette for San Francisco—the ship
leaving harbor with other vessels just as Stringer arrived. The missionary missed the last boat by
a few feet: thinking it a whaler that would remain north for the winter, he did not hail it and ask
it to stop. It was one of the darkest moments of his Arctic stay and he long lamented the error.

IOS Corr,

Aug. n.d. I was anxious to catch the outgoing steamers [p. 25] before they left for San
Francisco. I had letters to send out and a packet of letters for the whalers and
Count de Sainville and Mr. Russell.25

Aug. 02. The Jeanie [the whalers’ supply ship] arrived on the 23rd of August and left on
the 1st of September. Mr. Russell while here [at the whalers’ building] slept on
the [billiard] table also. He and Count de Sainville went out on the Jeanette [a
whaling ship, probably Capt. Newth’s]. The Jeanie had all the passengers they
could very well accommodate. The count was with Captain [Edwin W.] Newth
and they as well as the other ships were in around that harbor [which the count
had discovered] to the east. It is not probable that it will become a winter harbor
in the near future as it is difficult to get in and out and is also too far east for a
supply station.

-- 08. The passenger fare down from the Arctic on the Jeanie is $200—at least that is
what they asked from Mr. Russell, but he went with Capt. Newth... The Jeanette
left Aug. 29th with count de Sainville and Mr. Russell on board.

28
 Fort McPherson 1894-1895
A Band of One
Mary Nité gives birth to Sainville’s son
Of Fort McPherson’s close-knit group of well-read men, only Stringer remained. The Hodgson
family, however, was back in part. While Joseph Hodgson was away on a year’s leave far to the
south,, the Firths at the HBC post provided a home for his wife and his son. Stringer gave almost
daily school lessons to the latter.

Giroux

Oct. 11. Premier froid et premier neige. Mary accouche du soi-disant C. de S.

IOS

Oct. 17. Learned tonight that Mary Nité had a son last Thursday [Oct. 11] but I heard
nothing of it before. I was asked tonight to give it some medicine but referred
them to the archdeacon.

-- 19. Mary Nité's boy died last night also [a deceased Gwich’in infant had been
brought in from a camp the day before] and so the Arch buried both children
together.

Nov. 06. Oiled Mary Nité's clock.

Nov. 28. Sun. Called with Arch to see old man Nité who is very ill.

-- 31. Visited old Nité twice with Arch.

Dec. 16. Sun. I went with Arch to visit old Nité who is still very low.

-- 17. Called to see old man Nité who seems to be dying... Charlie Stewart came in to
tell me that Old Man Nité died. Went over to Nité's house. Got men to work
digging the grave. Sent boards over to Mr. Firth after asking him to make the
coffin.

-- 21. Nité's body put in coffin . . . I read the burial service.

29
1894, 12, 21. Men worked away digging a grave for Nité. Ground frozen solid. Got
Nité's body put in coffin. Read over service for "Burial of the Dead" in Indian
before Peter Tuggun and then before the Arch.
At 2 p.m. I rang the bell put on my surplice and led the funeral into the graveyard.
When we reached the grave it was found that there were no lines to let the coffin
into the grave. So a boy was despatched for a sled line. Then the grave was found
to be a little too short so they had to cut a little more out of the lower corner and at
last the coffin was lowered. Then I read the burial service in Indian - the first time
I have had occasion to do so. This time it is on account of the Arch’s illness. I got
through it all.

Jan. 16. Ezhin came in with his child for medicine as it was sick.
He said he was going to put up his lodge today but did not.
His wife left him last week and they have been quarreling
in Mary Nité's house where Ezhin stays.

-- 23. Mary Nité ... in.

Feb. 04. I wrote to Count de Sainville.

Feb. 16. Many called on me [including]...Mary Nité

-- 22. Ground axe for Mary Nité .

Mar. 16. Cleaned and oiled Mary Nité's clock.

30
 Part F
1896-1899
at Fort McPherson
Between 1892 and 1894 Stringer’s close social group became smaller each year: at first they
were three, then two, and then he was on his own. So it is no surprise that he increasingly ached
for a constant companion. His longing letters to Sadie Alexander in Ontario, his 1895 journey
home to be wed to her, and the lasting happiness both found in marriage can be found in a
separate set of citations relating only to them.26
Mrs. McDonald at Fort McPherson in 1898, while the archdeacon was away in the South,
conceived a child by a would-be miner on his way to the Yukon, likely a physician. Whether the
baby was sickly from the start is not clear, but she did little to support it. It died just before her
husband returned the next year on the HBC steamer. Stringer gently took him aside and told him
the news.27
After the count went to San Francisco, few citations from the Mackenzie mention his name. One
reveals he had not restricted his sexual activity to Mary while at Fort McPherson, and had also
fathered a child by another Gwich’in lady. The boy, named Joseph, passed away in 1899.
Sainville may never have learned of the death, but about that time he published an article saying
that illness among the Loucheux was seldom a serious issue.[I must put in reference] .

1896
IOS

Nov. 22. Sun. Had talks with Philomen and Mary Nité who wished to come to
Communion. The former came, the latter did not.

1899
IOS

June 30. Joseph, the son of Kwitsitchya's wife Jane, died this morning. He was the
bastard son of Count de Sainville. Mr. Whittaker buried him in the afternoon.28

31
1
Also present: Mr. Christie, Mr. Pito, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Cumming, and Mr. and Mrs. Camsell..
2
Taylor papers, Jan-March 1892 correspondence. 143-A-1-2-F, box 2. This is from a small diary filed with Taylor’s letters.
3
This paragraph and the prior one concerning de Sainville are from the July 23 letter to Charles. Taylor repeats herself, giving an almost
identical description in her diary, but in this case it is an Indian, not an Inuk, who knocks out the mammoth’s tooth: “Among the
count’s photos is one of an Indian on the bank of a river… breaking off the tooth of a mastodon. The skull lay there on the bank,
preserved by the peat from decay. The count explained to the Indians that this animal had lived long ago, but the Indians said “no”, that
it had been there but a year, it was so fresh. I noticed the ivory looked quite white, only a little brown coating. It is now in the little
museum of Fort Simpson… to which it was presented by the count. The count has seen also the entire skeleton of a mastodon… I asked
if it was possible to carry home the skull and he said no, that he was in a small boat going down a difficult stream. After paddling a 100
feet he had often to carry the canoe, cutting away fallen trees and branches.”
4
The original typed transcription says “hours,” not miles. The error may have been in the transcription.
5
This paragraph was moved here from Taylor’s notes about Fort Good Hope.
6
The first three sentences are from the IOS diary. The next from IOS to Dear Friends at Home, Jan. 9, 1893, p. 32, from McP. The last
is from IOS to Sadie Alexander, Jan. 19, 1893, part b, from McP.
7
IOS to Bishop Reeve, 1893, 01, n.d., from McP.
8
On the 14th IOS added: I had killed 18 [ducks], Alex 2, Mr. H. 39, the Count 7. Started across portage. . . La Count shot a pheasant.
9
Across the Mackenzie Mountains in the Yukon. It was its last year as an HBC post.
10
1893, 01, n.d. To Dear Friends [at Home]” p. 81, from McP
11
IOS to Sadie Alexander, Jan. 19, 1893, part b, from McP
12
The HBC winter mail, or “packet” (a toboggan and two men) was about to leave for points south.
13
Hodgson had done so as well. As Stringer proudly wrote to his parents, Hodgson and the count had found him so good at doctoring,
they decided to leave all medical treatment of locals and visiting natives to him.
14
IOS to Sadie Alexander, July 8, 1893, from McP
15
IOS to Sadie Alexander, July 15, 1893, from McP.
16
IOS to Sadie Alexander, Aug. 31, 1893, from McP.
17
IOS to Dear Home Friends, Aug. 20, 1893, from Kit.
18
IOS to Dear Friends [at home], Oct. 17, 1893, from McP, p. 33.
19
IOS adds: “Mr. Firth... Kenneth, Wm. Smith, Kalukotok, Jim Firth and John Stewart went also. In all Mr. Firth shot 2, the count 2,
Wm. Smith 1, Kenneth 4 and I shot 4. Home 1 p.m.”
20
IOS to SA, Jan. 24, 1894, from McP, p. 47.
21
IOS adds: “We, Mr. Firth, the count, Charlie, John, Jen, Kalukotok and myself, went up small river across from the Fort and cornered
the rabbits on the point. Went up till we came to lakes and hills. Charlie shot two, Mr. Firth three, the count two, Kalukotok four and I
four, 15 in all.
22
IOS adds: “Started out 8.30 a.m. for Husky Lake direction. Mr. Firth, the count, Baptiste, Jimmy Barber, Charlie Stewart, John
Stewart, Jen Firth, Kalukotok and I were in the party.” Husky Lake was a landmark near Fort McPherson, not to be confused with the
Eskimo Lakes east of the Mackenzie Delta.
23
IOS adds: “In the company were Mr. Firth, count de Sainville, Kenneth Stewart, Jimmy Barber, Baptiste, Robert, Wm. Lepinné,
Kalukotok and I. John and Malcolm Stewart came after with the dogs”.
24
IOS to SA, July 11, 1894, from McP.
25
IOS to Reeve, Dec. n.d., 1894
26
Walter Vanast, My Love. My Dove, My Darling, the Arctic Romance of Isaac and Sadie Stringer, unpublished book.
27
Walter Vanast, “Sowing and Reaping,” unpublished article concerning McDonald, his wife, and children.
28
On July 29, 1900 there is one further reference to the count in the Stringer diaries but it relates to a geographic feature Stringer came
across (while en route from McPherson to Baillie Island) that years earlier while on a journey to the coast the count had also sighted:
“Crossed bay and next point and what appeared to be the opening of a river or inlet--probably the one Count de Sainville marked on his
map.”