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l< i

THE EMIGRANT AND SPORTSMAN

IN CANADA.

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A MAP OF

1 It

N u

THE PROVINCES OF

ONTARIO, QUEBEC.

NEW BRUNSWICK. NOVA SCOTIA,

and
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

m t\

Scalp of English Miles.

■Jo^^i A'""" " iko 4(i "" au

CANADIAN RAILWAYS AND UNITED STATES LINES
CONHE.CTING THCR &WITH, ARE. SHOWN BY RED LINCS

fTYTTrt-t- YTTTn- T ^ n rp-n-n ^ y-n ^TT^y^TTr

StanforcLs Geog^ Estate Lcmdi*

BKI

^flr^

\ THE EMIGRANT AND SPOETSMAN

IN CANADA.

SOME EXrEIflENCEH OF AN OLD CODNTRV SETTLEII.

WITH

SKETCHKH OF CANADIAN LIFE, SPORTING ADVENTURES, AND
OBSERVATIONS ON THE FORESTS AND FAUNA.

JOHN J. ROWAN.

WITH MAP.

LONDON:
EDWAED STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W.

187G.

PS~oiL
■ X

131827

)(i?ut='' /^ /■'■' O ,-i .

PREFACE,

Portions of tliis work have appeared in the columns
of the 'Field; with the nom-de-plume of 'Cariboo.' By
the courtesy of the pubh'sher of that journal 1 am now
permitted to republish my papers, together with fresh
matter, in the present shape. It contains practical and,
it is hoped, useful hints for emigrants and sportsmen,
written by an emigrant and a spoi-tsman. Good books
of travel are plentiful, and there is also a mass of
published information specially written for emigrants of
the working classes, but little or none for a class of
emigrants for which Canada is a particularly suitable
country; I allude to people of small fortune, whose
means, though ample to enable them to live well in
Canada, are insufficient to meet the demands of rising
expanses at home. In the following pages 1 have eit
deavoured to put together information for the latter
class.

i \

'^i^WBaSHHlP

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

The Emigration Question ''*°"

CHAPTER II.

Ontario .. ' ■

CHAPTER III.

Quebec

CHAPTER IV.

New Brunswick

" *• ' 91

CHAPTER V.

Nova Scotia ,.

124

CHAPTER VI.

Cape Breton

167

CHAPTER VII.

Prince Edward Island

171

Viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTEK VIII.
Anticosti *-*01

CHAPTER IX. ^

The Intercolonial Railuoad. The Bay of Chaleuk .. 223

CHAPTER X.

The Fokests of Canada 262

CHAPTER XI.
WlNTEU 288

CHAPTER XII.
The Trapper 321

CHAPTER XIII.
The Angler 3(7

CHAPTER XIV.

Climate, Etc 419

mmmmmmmaasm

201

223

THE EiAIIGEANT Ai\D SPORTSiMAN
IN CAKiDA.

262

288

321

377

419

CHAPTER I.

THE EMIGRATION QUESTIOX.

On the emigration question, as on most others, there is a
considerable conflict of opinion. Some deplore the annual
loss of the bone and sinew of the country, and fear that,
owmg to the continued stream of emicrration from her
shores, England will not be able to hold her position as
the first manufacturing country in the world. Others
maintain that were it not for the outlet thus afforded for
the overflow of population in these little islands, famines
riots, and epidemics would be the consequences of an
overgrown population confined within too narrow bounds
I would only observe on this subject that if a careful
exammation were made, it would be found that those who
are most vehement in decrying emigration are those
who are most actively employed in enriching themselves
by means of cheap labour. The cheaper the labour
market, the faster they can make money. It is hardly
decent for a man to say, ^'I am opposed to emigration,
because I want to keep down the labouring dosses • I
want to keep labour low in order that I may make money

2 THE EMIGPiATION QUESTION.

quickly." So he takes a patriotic tone, and laments the
loss to his country of so much vigorous and youthful life.
Those who talk in this way of the emigration of British
subjects from one part of the empire to another part are
men of narrow views. England is their world, money is
their god, and to the general interests of the empire
they are altogether indifferent. It is all one to them
whether men emigrate from their neighbourhood to
foreign countries or to British provinces. In either case
they have to pay their work hands higher. A certain
portion of the old country press, which is in the pay of
the manufacturers and tiie employers of labour, does not
scruple to make use of gross misrepresentations — to use a
mild word — in order to check emigration. Men, however,
who take a broad view of the matter, and think of the
welfare of others as well as of their own shops and mills,
are glad to know that by emigration their fellow-subjects
will not only better their own condition, but the condition
of those they leave behind them. And they will con-
gratulate themselves on belonging to a nation whose sons
can emigrate to any quarter of the globe without changing
their flag, their allegiance, or their language. An Eng-
lishman beginning life has great advantages over the
citizen of any other country. He has the choice of half-
a-dozen splendid countries to live in, of every variety of
climate ; he may choose according to his fancy, and re-
main an Englishman always. At least I hope this is the
case. All the best men in the colonies, and I venture to
say the majority of Englishmen, would consider it a great
misfortune if their magnificent colonies were reformed
away out of the empire ; and I may here remark that if I

WOULD-BE EMIG HANTS.

d laments the
I youthful hfe.
don of British
lothfir part are
orhl, money is
of the empire
il one to thera
ghbourhood to
In either case
iier. A certain
is in the pay of
labour, does not
;atious— to use a
Men, however,
nd think of the
shops and mills,
ir fellow-subjects
|3ut the condition
they will con-
ation whose sons
[vithout changing
;uage. An Eng-
[utages over the
|ie choice of half-
every variety of
is fancy, and re-
hope this is the
and I venture to
onsider it a great
Is were reformed
remark that if I

were asked to lay my finger on that spot of the map of
the empire where the inhabitants are most loyal to their
Queen and most attached to the institutions of the land of
our common origin, I sliould not point to any part of the
British Isles.

I shall have something to say farther on as to the right
class of men for emigration to Canada ; but I should first
like to call attention to the mistalvo often made in think-
ing that when a young fellow is unable to do anytliing at
home he has only to bo sent off to the colonies in order to
make his fortune.

Anyone who reads the ' Field ' newspaper must be
familiar with advertisements such as the following : — " A
young gentleman of good family, a good rider, a first-class
shot, and fond of country pursuits, would be obliged lor
information as to what colony he would be most likely to
succeed in as a farmer, «S:c., &c."

An inquiry of this kind shows what erroneous ideas
prevail among young gentlemen in England as to the
qualitications required for colonial life. Probably, in
addition to being a good rider and a first-class shot, this
would-be colonist is also a good judge of sherry and a fair
cricketer ; probably he knows to half a degree the tem-
perature at which claret is most grateful to the palate,
and can concoct a " cup," perhaps even cook an omelette
at a pinch, and is altogether a pleasant companion on a
yachting cruise, and a welcome addition to the party on
the First. But I have no hesitation in saying that these
accomplishments are so much dead weight on the emi-
grant who, along with them, does not possess a good
income. Men in good circumstances who may wish to

I ' I

4 THE EMIGRATION QUESTION.

leave the fatherland can travel, and select a cam[)iiig
ground to suit their incomes and their wants. But it is
only right that intending emigrants who will have to
make their own way in the world should look the thing
fairly in the face ; that they should know what qualifica-
tions and what accomplishments will be likely to assist
them in their new homes, and what, on the contrary, had
better be left behind.

To commence with the "good family." As our ad-
venturer, in all probability, leaves many members of it
behind him, let him also, in all fairness, leave his family
arms, crest, cS:c., for the benefit of the majority. He
should take with him, however, the pluck and energy
and the honourable ambition which enabled his ancestors
to found the " good family," leaving behind him — to be
forwarded afterwards if required, together with the arms
and crest — aristocratic prejudices, squirearchical stiff-
backedness, and social exclusiveness. Not the exclusive-
ues3 that leaves a gentleman to fight shy of snobs and
blackguards, but the exclusiveness chiefly developed in
the female side of the family, and which shows itself in
the Smythes of Smythe Abbey losing no opportunity of
asserting tiiat " we do not know the Brownes " of Haw-
thorne Villa, though the latter very respectable old
gentleman has dropped his H's for fifteen years at the
Abbey gates, and Browne, juu., is at Eton, with the heir
of all the Smythes.

Now, as regards the " riding." It is good just so far as
that a young fellow who rides well to hounds is probably
possessed of good nerve, good health, fair strength and
wind ; at least, horsemanship has helped to develop all

XECESSAIiY QUALIFICATJOXS.

a camping
But it is
ill have to
c the thing
\i qualifica-
)ly to assist
mtrary, had

As our ad-
mibcrs of it
e his family
iijority. lit'
and energy
his ancestors
him — to be
th the arms
•chical stiff-
le exclusive-
)f snobs and
leveloped in
)W8 itself in
iportunity of
es" of Haw-
pectable old
years at the
ith the heir

just so far as
is probably

itrength and
develop all

tlieso qualities, and to make him a manly fellow, with
heart enough for a colonist. The mere fact of being a
good rider will not be of much service to him. Almost
any Englishman with a little practice can stick to his
horse in a gallop across a prairie. But if he is a good
judge, and thoroughly understands the treatment and
food of the animal in health and disease, can nail on a
shoe, administer physic, saddle, harness, hobble, and
handle a horse in every way — if he is horsey enough to
do all this, the knowledge will stand hiui in good stead in
some colonics. Provided always — and here is the risk —
that he kee[)s his taste in horseflesh in its proper place,
and does not allow it to divert him from his business,
whatever it may be.

As for the shooting, I am reluctantly compelled to
admit that being a good shot is no more a qualification
for being a good colonist than for being a good gio-^er,
and in one case as much as the other is a terrible temp-
tation to a man to neglect his work in the shooting season.
Candour obliges me to confess that fresh deer-tracks led
to the loss of the greater part of my grain crop one
"fall;" and to the untimely flight of a flock of black
ducks I attribute the loss of a valuable cow. I dare say
a hundred years ago it was as essential for a colonist to be
a good rifle shot as for an Irish " gintleman " to be a good
pistol shot ; but at the present day life and property are
as safe in any of her Majesty's colonies as they are in
England — much safer than in Ireland. I may except,
perhaps, the Gold Coast, a colony I could not conscien-
tiously recommend, save to a reforming minister or two
and a few elder brothers.

THE EMICIBATION QFESTIOX.

', H

I 1

'1
I

Tliore is no part of tlie world in wLicli a man can live,
as an Englishman wants to live, on the products of liis
gun and his rod. Such a paradise exists only in the
drcnms of over-fed sportsmen ; but if there were such a
plane, and I had the luck to find it, I fear I should be
selfish enough not to share my happiness with my readers,
f^elf-prescrvation is the first law of nature, and we all
know the vast numbers of men who look upon shooting as
the great aim and object of their existence — or, as it was
forcibly jiut by the old keeper who heard the game laws
were to be abolished, " Lord, save us, what icill ^the
gentlemen do then ? "

Let no one suppose from what I liave just written that
I am not an advocate for emigration. Within the last
twenty years the cost of living in the old country lias
doubled, and a fierce war has sprung up between capital
and labour which is paralyzing the manufacturers of
England. Every day the line which separates rich from
poor is getting broader and broader. Every day the
rich man is getting richer, and the poor man poorer.
Every day, owing to a fierce competition, the latter
finds the difficulties which hinder him from rising in the
social scale at home, more insurmountable. Nothing
remains for him but to turn his thoughts to emigration.
In this struggle for existence there is perhaps no class
worse off than poor gentle-folk. As the line widens
between rich and poor, they become more isolated and
more helpless ; there is practically no place left for them in
the old country. When I see all this, I would advise no
Ibrtuneless young man to stay at home who has the right
stuff in him to push his way in a new 'country; I would

■i
,«

inn cnn live,
diiots of liis
only in the
were such a
I should be

my readers.

and we all
1 shooting as
■or, as it was
B game laws
iiat u'ill ♦the

written that
thin the last
country has
ween capital
ifacturers of
es rich from
ery day the
man poorer,
the latter
rising in the
Nothing
3 emigration,
aps no class
line widens
isolated and
't for them in
lid advise no
has the right
try ; I would

GENTLKMEN EMIOnAXTS. 7

onlv try to disabuse his mind of the idea that ho will
always find a venison steak at hand in the colony when
he wants it.

I would not take the responsibility upon myself of
advising any young fellow to emigrate whoso education
and '* bringing up" have made him a conventional
English gentleman, and nothing else. It is a very good
thing to be an English gentleman in the ordinary accep-
tation of the word — a very good thing indeed, and it by
no means disqualifies him from being a good colonist; but
something more is needed. All public offices, all appoint-
ments in the colonial military and naval services, together
with professional appointments, commercial appointments,
bank appointments, are as crowded and as eagerly sought
after as in the old country. An outsider stands no chance
whatever. The reason of this rush to the towns may be
found in the dislike to country lite which is common to
Americans and most colonists When a man makes money
in the country, he likes to go to town and spend it, and,
if possible, get into the House of Assembly and listen to
his own voice. In this respect he is unlike the English-
man, who, when he has made his money in the city, often
moves into the country to spend it. In preparing, there-
fore, for colonial life, the unprofessional Englishman must
turn his thoughts to country pursuits, probably farming
of some ^ort ; more especially so as the before-mentioned
disinclination of colonial-born men to country life, while
it overcrowds the cities, leaves all the more openings in
the country.

The question now arises, why should not a certain pro-
portion of gentlemen's sons be educated specially for

77//; KM TO IJ ATI ON QUESTIOX.

colonial life? This class cannot possibly bo all absorbed
into the army and navy and learned professions. What
is to become of all the drones, unless a bloody war breaks
out? And assuredly the life of a sfpnittcr or a back
settler is far before that of a loafer. \Vn<;es are very
much higher in most colonies than they are at homo,
mechanics', artiiicers', and tradesmen's wag(\s especially,
a!id the demand for such men is nearly always greater
than the supply ; so that the emigrant labourer or trades-
man runs no risk. It is otherwise, however, \\\i\\ the
penniless gentleman, who is at frrst unable to ^\ork with
his hands, and has to endure much hardship during an
irksome apprenticeship. In preparing young men for
colonial life, in addition to their other education, they
should each be taught thoroughly at least one trade or
handicraft, such as carpentering, saddlery, turning, &c. ;
they should be made to shear sheep with their own hands,
feed stock, and acquire a practical knowledge of the
hundred things which the squatter or backwoods farmer
may any day have to turn his hand to.

I do not pretend to be competent myself to prescribe
an exact course of education for would-be colonists ; but I
desire to direct attention to the necessity of some special
training, in the hope 'hat a properly qualified person may
be induced to tak « '.p the idea and elaborate it. Of this
I am sure, that a trade or handicraft should form part of
the curriculum of evei-y young man destine^ for colonial
life, and I can speak strongly on this point, as I often felt
the want of such myself. It would possess the double ad-
vantage of ensuring its possessor against want, and would
teach him early — and this is a great point — how to work.

GENTLEMEN EM/tlRAXTS.

nil ubsorltod
ons. What
r war breaks
:• or a back
es are very
■0 at home,
3 especially,
vavs greater
er or trades-
er, with the
:o \vork with
p during an
ng men for
icution, they
one trade or
urning, &c. ;
r own hands,
edge of the
voods farmer

to prescribe

onists ; but 1

some special

person may

it. Of this

form part of

I for colonial

s I often felt

e double ad-

t, and would

low to work.

lu the last CLMitury emigrants to the United States
were sold as slaves on arrival at New York to defray the
costs of tlieir passajrcs ; that is to say, they were indented
to purchasers for such a term of years as, at a stii)ulated
rate of wages, should clear their passage expenses. A
writer on emigratiim of that day said that the most un-
saleable articles in the market were "military oflicers
and scholars." It may be said with truth to-day that
military oflicers and scholars are the articles for which
there is least demand in the colonial labour market.

There are thousands of men in the old country who
have not been brought up to work of any kind, and who
consequently are unable to contribute towards their own
8Up[)ort. Many men of this class naturally turn their
eyes to the colonies, and it is hard to have to tell them
that their prospects of success as chance emigrants are
not much greater abroad than they are at home. But I
think that any man with a practical experience of colonial
life will bear me out in the assertion that emigrants of
this stamp are almost invariably disappointed. They
arrive in the colony of their choice very often with little
or no cajtital, and no plans beyond vague ideas that land
is cheap, tliat farming is a thing that any fellow car.
learn, and that " roughing it in the bush is a jolly sort of
life, you know." I have no hesitation in saying that
roughing it in the bush is a jolly sort of life to a man who
takes off his ^ coat and works, who makes up his mind to
leave England and English ways behind him, and who
tries to adapt himself to the ways of colonial life and
colonial people. Many Englishmen fail in these parti-
culars. They try to take England along with them to

^mmm

wmm

■!!i I

1:1

1;!!

THE EMIGRATION QUESTIOX.

wliatever part of the earth they may favour witli their
presence, and to ram English ways and English notions
down the throats of the ignorant natives. It is not un-
common to see a Britisher just arrived in the bush as-
suming an air of superiority in all matters, great or small,
and endeavouring to teach the old colonist everything,
from milking his cow to governing his colony. In time
he finds out his mistake, but often not before he has
wasted all his money. Other men never get beyond the
city. I once met a friend in the streets of New York,
driving two old ladies and a Skye terrier in a one-horse
brougham. He left the old ladies in a " store," boxed
up the Skye, hung the old horse to a lamp-post, and we
liquored up at a neighbouring bar. He informed me that
he got thirty dollars a month and his clothes. He is
on a surer road to success than he was when, some years
ago, with the price of his commission and two imported
thoroughbreds, he endeavoured to indoctrinate the Ameri-
can mind with the superiority of real racing over trotting.
Others, who have friends to fall back upon, return from
the colonies, and spend the remainder of their lives in
assuring their acquaintances that the "colonies are a
mistake," and that " every man thinks he is as good as
you are there." The colonies are not a mistake— they
are a splendid reality ; but colonial men are hard to beat
on their own ground, and the Englishman should know
what he is about, who enters for colonial stakes.

Englishmen are proverbially hard to get on with at
first. They cannot get over their insularity. See at the
railway station the swell who enters a first-class carriage ;
he deposits his gun-case, &c., in the rack, he seats himself

BlilTISII RESETt VE.

>ur witli their
ifflish notions

It is not im-

the bush as-
^reat or small,
st everything,
ony. In time
before he has
fet beyond the
of New York,
in a one-horse
' store," boxed
p-post, and we
ormed me that
othes. He is
en, some years

two imported
ate the Ameri-

over trotting,
n, return from

their lives in

olonies are a

is as good as
mistake— they

e hard to beat
should know

tkes.

et on with at
See at the

class carriage ;

9 seats himself

in the corner, his lower extremities wrapped in a robe of
fur, and his whole person in a denser, thicker, more im-
penetrable robe of British reserve. Another swell, simi-
larly wrapped up in the opposite corner, shares the
carriage with him. Each lights his unsocial weed, and
pulls out his ' Field ' or his ' Pall Mall,' and in morose
and gloomy silence these two very good fellows travel
from Euston Square to Edinburgh. Perhaps they both
belong to the same club, and have seen each other's faces
for years, without ever having once during that time
asked, or cared to ask, or even thought aboiit, each
other's name. That is the way of the English. But this
sort of thing would be torture to a cclonist. He of
" Greater Britain " would prefer the society of a chatty
lunatic, of a sociable convict, or even of a friendly nigger,
to that of a British swell who from first to last would
politely, but decisively, ignore his existence. English-
men often complain of the freedom of colonial manners,
but it is a question whether a little over-freedom is not
preferable to an over-reserve. There is hardly any man,
at home or abroad, from vihom the wisest of us cannot
pick up some servicpa V ' knowledge.

If your cole nil)' fell >\v- traveller asks your name, where
you are bound • , and even what is your business, he is
perfectly ready ic ft.iswer any question you may put to
him. The Englt '.liinan who has passed his liie in a cer-
tain corner of a certain coterie of a certain class, in one of
the most densely-peopled and class-abounding f)pots of the
globe, ought to make suine ullcwance for tbf inquisitiveness
of the man of the thinly-populated couilry, where classes
and class prejudices have not he J fine to '.^ke root. He

I 1

^'««11„

THE EMIGRATION QUESTION.

perhaps has seldom had the opportunity of " interview-
ing " a stranger, and a Britisher to boot. When such an
opportunity does arise, he cannot be blamed for making
the most of it.

There are two very fatal errors into which emio-i-^-nts
frequently fall. One is the hasty, precipitate investment
of their capital. A arrives in the colony with the in-
tention of settling on land. He hears of a tract likely to
suit, and, after a brief and superficial investigation, sinks
his small capital in purchasing and stocking a farm. At
the time of the purchase the advantages are all j'^* ')e! .)re
him in the clearest light; the drawbacks only L^ilold
themselves one by one later on. Often many circum-
stances which in his ignorance he classe.^ as advantages,
will eventually, as he acquires experience, prove unmiti-
gated disadvantages. Then he tries to sell, anc' finds he
cannot do so without ruinous sacrifice. A loses heart,
becomes a disbeliever in the colonies, and fails.

B arrives in the colony of his choice with an amount of
capital which, with energy, industry, and frugality, might
enable him eventually to acquire a comfortable indepen-
dence, if not wealth, and to bring up a family in the New
World with every prospect of success. But B is unfor-
tunately indoctrinated with that melancholy idpa of
" keeping up appearances " so fatal to many of his class.
Instead of taking off his coat and working with his own
hands, he endeavours to act the gentleman farmer. He
does not like to see men around him, his inferiors in birth
and education, living like gentlemen whilst he works on
his land. He forgets that these very men who are now
able to live in luxury worked their own way up, and he

MISTAKES MADE BY IMMIGRANTS.

31'view-
uch an
making

lio-v^nts
estment
tbe in-
ikely to
in, sinks
rm. At
i^ 'lei .)re
' u^^iold
circum-
antagGj,
unmiti-
uQcls he
s heart,

nount of
, might

indepen-

the New
unfor-
idpa of
lis class,
his own

Iier. He
in birth
,orks on
are now
, and he

does not know that they would respect him infinitely more
if he showed a disposition to do likewise. That most ter-
rible of misfortunes, genteel poverty, so prevalent in the
old country, is almost unknown in the new. Keeping up
appearances, so far from being of any use to him, damns
our friend B. Colonists do not welcome the arrival of non-
producers to their shores, and look with suspicion upon
the little devices by which men without the reality seek
to surround themselves with the semblances of comfort.

It would be impossible to lay down a precise code of
rules for the newly-arrived immigrant; but there are
certain general maxims which under ordinary circum-
stances, be he poor or rich, he will do well to recollect.
In the first place, as we have seen, he should be in no
hurry to invest his money in land or in any other specu-
lation. If he belongs to the working classes, let him place
his money (if he has any), in bank, and work for wages for
a year or two. He will thus acquire experience at his
employer's expense, and not at his own ; and at the con-
'^lusion of a short period of profitable labour he will be
;■«,:■>•, if possessed of ordinary shrewdness, to invest his
ouvmg,? to good advantage. The immigrant with capital
/ill also find it to his advantage to spend a certain time
ia lov kii;g about him before he makes his venture, and he
must guard against allowing a comfortable house, a pretty
prospect, society, sport, or any otlier non-essential, to in-
fluence him in his choice of a homestead. It is no doubt
very hard on the man who is fond of society to banish
himself in the bush ^ ut the same necessity which drove
him to emigrate ought to reconcile him to his banishment.
Sv) it is hard for the sportsman to give up shootinj

'O '

• I t

■S

THE EMIGRATION QUESTION.

though we read and hear many glowing accounts of the
wild sports of the colonics, I have come to the con-
clusion that these are no more within the reach of the
ordinary settler who has to make his own living, than a
grouse moor in the Highlands or a salmon river in Nor-
way are within the reach of the English farmer. In some
localities the settler may get a day's sport now and again
near his homestead, as the farmer does at home. And my
rei. rks apply only tc the immigrant who has to make
his ly in the world. The man who takes up his

resideii ,. i a colony to make his means go farther than
they would at home, will seek for society, sport, &c.,
according to his taste.

This leads us to a third class of emigrants — neither the
small capitalist nor the working man, but the man of
small fixed income. To this class some of our colonies
offer the greatest advantages. C, in the prime of life,
with an income of say 300?. a year, finds himself utterly
unable to bring up his family in England as he himself
was brought up. Like most English gentlemen, he is
fond of outdoor occupations. He hates the loafing life
led by many of his countrymen in similar circumstances
in cheap European watering places. As a last resource,
he tears himself root and branch from the old soil, and
transports himself to the colony. I think he does wisely
lor himself and for his children too. In a comfortable
cottage, situated, let us say, on the shores of one of the
great Canadian lakes, he will lead a life more suited to
the English temperament than he could do at Boulogne-
Bur-Mer. The family will have a better opening in the
colony than in the overcrowded parent land. C will find

CO- OPERA TIVE EZIIGEA TION,

3 of the
he con-
i of the
, than a
in Nor-
In some
ad again
And my
to make
s up his
lier than
ort, &c.,

ither the
man of
colonies
of life,
utteily
himself
he is
fing life
ustances
resource,
soil, and
s wisely
fortable
e of the
uited to
oulogne-
in the
will find

many places in the colonies where his income will go
much farther than in England; he will find pleasant
society, a little inexpensive sport, and he will not be
oppressed with the riches of some of his neighbours, nor
tormented by the poverty of others.

The plan of settling down shiploads of poor emigrants
in the wilderness has failed whenever and wherever it has
been tried ; the process of gradual absorption has always
been found to answer best. But I am inclined to think
that many of the difficulties which beset the path of the
better class of emigrant might be cleared away if these
people went in batches. Suppose, for instance, that a
dozen friends and acquaintances agree to form a settle-
ment. They choose a colony where improved farms can
be bought, and also where cheap Government land can be
acquired. The man with 1000?. or 2000Z. can settle down
comfortably at once on a made farm, while his poorer
friend would content himself with uncleared land. It is
not to be supposed that a dozen men will all grow rich
together ; but if even half that number remain together,
a pleasant society will grow up with the settlement. A
society like this may take England with them, and indi-
viduals will be spared the wrench of parting from all old
friends.

There is in Canada some subtle charm which appeals
most strongly to the old country man — to the gentleman as
well as to the working man. It has been said of Ireland
that there is something in that country which rapidly
converts strangers into Irishmen, " Hiberniores ipsis
Hibernicis." The same may be said of Canada, with the
addition that the latter country possesses also the power

THE EMIGRATION QUESTION.

denied to the former of moulding aliens into contented,
law-abiding Canadian citizens. Witness the French, who
are Canadians imr excellence. Witness also the old
country settlers, \\\\o are more Canadian than the Cana-
dians.

There can be no doubt that an immigrant ought to
identify himself thoroughly with the country of his
adoption ; the more he does so the better he will succeed.
The Englishman or the Scotchman who carries his in-
sular habits about with him wherever he goes, and loses
...I opportunity of sneering at everything colonial, always
remains a nobody. He has left one country behind him,
nd ' i.. insular to attach himself to the land he honours
with his presence. This is specially absurd in Canada, a
country in many respects more English than England.
But the men who do this are the exception, not the rule.
Grumbling is an Englishman's privilege, and I have
heard them exercise it unsparingly in Canada ; they
" condemn " the climate, the people, the musquitoes,
everything Canadian. They want to get back to old
England. They go back, and they find they cannot live
there at all. They liave become Canadians insensibly
and against their will as it were. Much as they wanted
to go home, they are twice as anxious to get back again to
Canada. The following are among the reasons for this :

1. Any good man can be a somebody in Canada.

2. Any man can become a landed proprietor there.

3. There are fewer class prejudices and more friendli-
ness and sociability than in an old country.

4. The climate, though severe, is infinitely more bracing,
exhilarating, and enjoyable.

PnOPER PERSONS TO EMIGRATE.

ontented,

inch, who

the old

he Cana-

011 ght to
:y of his
[I succeed,
es his in-
and loses
ial, always
;hind him,
le honours
Canada, a
. England.
)t the rule,
id I have
tida; they
ausquitoes,
,ck to old
lannot live
insensibly
ley wanted
:k again to
for this :
id a.
there,
■e friendli-

)re brachig,

l 5. There is mom freedom of movement, as, for instance,
.in the sport afforded, which, though very moderate, is
% wild, free, and charming.

5 We have seen the sort of men who are not likelv to

f make successful immigrants in Canada ; let us now en-

'deavour to ascertain the different classes who will be most

likely to get on well — to enrich themselves in the first

place and the Dominion in the second place.

1. Working farmers with ca])ital, be it more or less.

2. Farm-labourers and domestic servants.

3. Artisans and tradesmen ; but as the demand for such
8 limited, a tradesman, though eventually sure of remu-

erative employment in his own particular line, should
ybe willing and ready to turn his hand to the first occupa-
Ition tiiat is offered to him on his arrival.

4. Capitalists. These I will divide into two classes.
a. Men of small fortune, who find themselves unable to
live as they would wish in an old country. The advan-
tages Canada has to offer to such can hardly be over-
•tated. Their money, invested with perfect security, will
yield them double the income it would at home, and each
shilling of their increased incomes will go twice as far iu
providing the necessaries and comforts of life. h. Enter-
prising and ambitious men of business, who, owing to over-
competition, strikes, &c., have no opening in the old
country. Canada possesses all the materials for becoming-
It great manuiacturiug centre. Her geographical posi-
tion and maritime facilities are unrivalled ; her supply of
|:aw material is immense — practically unlimited — coal,

n, wood, &c., &c. All she wants is capital and enter-
se to develop her resources. I am as confident as I

■I

THE EM m RATION QUESTION.

can be of anything, that many fortunes, both above and
beneath the soil, are only waiting to be gathered in
Canada.

All attempts to force emigration have been attended
with failure. Emigration, whether as regards the immi-
grant himself or the new country in which he makes his
home, in order to be successful, must be spontaneous.
Emigration schemes that have been carried out for poli-
tical objects or for trade-union objects, or by interested
and unscrupulous emigration arrents, whether of a Govern-
ment working out an emigration scheme for its own ends,
or of a land company doing the same, have always been
attended with much privation and hardship on the part
of the immigrant, and have been, if not a positive loss to
.the colony, at least a very doubtful advantage. The
reasons of this are obvious. In the first place, as regards
the immigrant himself; the very fact of his allowing
himself to be herded, as it were, like a sheep, and driven
off to a new pasture, shows that he lacks the very
qualities most essential to the success of the settler in
a country like Canada: I mean self-reliance and inde-
pendence of character. He prefers to lean upon some
one else for support, rather than to strike out a path for
himself. It is almost invariably the case that the man
who allows himself to be led out like a child or a domestic
animal to a new country, makes a grumbling, useless,
discontented settler, and is a burden rather than an
advantage to the colony to which he goes.

The following is an example of forced emigration. In
the year 1861 a bad Old-World system of land tenure wa^
the means of forcing one hundred families of Acadian^

IIAUDHIIIPS OF EMJa RATION.

above aiul
ithered in

a attended
tlie immi-
niakes his
pontaneous.
ut for poli-
j interested
if a Govern-
3 own ends,
Jways been
ya. the part
itive loss to
itage. The
8, as regards
lis allowing
and driven
:s the very
e settler in
e and inde-
upon somo
t a path for
lat the man
r a domestic
ixm, useless,
er than an

gration. In
d tenure was
of Acadian>

; to emigrate en masse from the Island of Prince Edward to

; Canada. They were allotted a large tract of hardwood

; land— 100 acres to each male adult, if ray memory serves

me right — to be paid for by simply making a road to their

own settlement, which lies on hi'di table-land three miles

from the Ilestigouche River. The immigrants arrived at

their new homes in the early summer, men and women all

on foot, and carrying their bundles on their backs. The

men at once commenced to swing the axe, whilst the

women looked after their chihlren and kept up a continual

•^ smoke of cedar bark to drive away the flies from them, or

felse sat down on the stumps to do their knitting. The

|jneu chopped and burnt each an acre or so of forest, ami

ifin the land thus cleareti the women planted a few seed

^potatoes with the hoe, and sowed a little buckwheat and-

a few garden seeds in the blackened ground amongst

the still smoking stumps. In the centre of each little

clearing a log shanty, roofed with spruce bark, was

'Erected. The wealth of each family consisted of a slender

itore of food, clothes, seeds, and yarn contained in a

bundle, and of a few shillings in cash.

As soon as possible the young men set to work to earn
some money, and, a Government road and line of tele-
graph happening fortunately to be in course of construc-
tion between Canada and New Brunswick, many of them
obtained employment. For this they received "store
Ipay," i. e. goods out of their employer's stores ; and when
SSunday came round these fellows, with their week's wages,
Iconsistine: of flour, salt fish, a

pork or a con

pie of

pernaps

their backs, trndger

ounces
some

of tea done up in a bundle on
10, 15, or 20 miles to their

THE EM TO EAT ION QUESTION.

'I|!| ' .

homes in the wilderness. Others made shingleh on
the river's edge, and rafted them down to market. It
is to be observed that all the industries the men had a
chance of participating in were such as required some
knowledge, more or less, of woodcraft and the use of the
axe. The women made homespun cloth for the winter,
attended to their gardens and home duties, and some-
times picked berries. They all got on well enougli
during the summer, notwithstanding the ceaseless tor-
ments of the flies ; but when winter came round a despe-
rate struggle for existence commenced. The young men
without families did well enough. Used to logging,
cooking, &c., they readily obtained employment in the
lumber woods. Here they were comfortable and well
fed; but, unfortunately, they were rarely able to assist
their friends, owing to the distance, and to the fact that
in those days wages in the lumber business were never
paid till the spring. How the main body of the immi-
grants, numbering over two hundred souls, managed to
pull through that winter, they only can describe. Every
morsel of food thev ate had to be carried on the backs, or
" portaged " on the traboggens, of the men. They just
kept alive, and that was all. Fuel was plentiful, and,
literally buried in the snow, they lived like bears in their
dens. In some cases two or three families were dependent
on one pair of snow shoes for their daily bread.

The other side of this picture is pleasanter. A short
time ago I visited this Acadian settlement ; it is stil!
embosomed in the forest ; no trace of it is visible from
the outside world. On the forest road leading to it, wen .
it not for the everlasting cow-bells, the traveller might

IfAIlDSmPS OF EMWIiATION,

lingleb on
laikot. It
men had a
lired some
use of the
the winter,
and some-
ell enoiigli
iseless tor-
nd a despe-
young men
to logging,
lent in the
B and well
>le to assist
he fact that
were never
' the immi-
mauaged to
■ibe. Every
le backs, or
They just
i^ntiful, and,
ears in their
e dependent

QY. A short
it is still
visible from
g to it, were
veller miglit

imagine that lie had loft man and his works behind him,
and that this wood road, like many another, only led to
^i the other end of nowhere. Quite the contrary ; a sudden
y| turn opens up a large and fertile tract of cultivated land,
i studded with snug homesteads— fields of wheat, of pota-
toes, of oats, and of buckwheat smile upon him through
the charred stumps. The crops are excellent, as they
always are in Canada on new land. The Intercolonial
Railroad, which crosses the Restigoucho at this point,
affords lots of profitable employment to the men, and
an excellent market for the surplus produce of the
reformers.

;^ Tiiese Acadian emigrants, be it remembered, were
liardy people, inured to the climate, accustomed to no
food the year round but potatoes, salt herrings, and buck-
Wheat cakes. The men were good axemen, and able to
turn their hands to the hundred and one little jobs indis-
Jjensable in backwoods life.

, It must be conceded that a body of Englishmen in like
Circumstances, unused to woodcraft, would have perished.
I myself can remember the day when to be benighted in
the Canadian forest in winter time would have been
ceitain death ; now, given an axe, two or three matches,
and supper, I should rather enjoy it than otherwise. I do
not mean to say that emigrants of the present day would
undergo such extreme hardships as these Acadians wen<
through. Population has increased since then, railways
"jhave doubled, the demand for labour is greater, and
'ages are higher ; but still, let a crowd of poor English-
len with their families settle down together in any part
)i Canada, where free or even very cheap land is attain-

illi

T/f/-: KMK, RATIOS Ql h'STION.

aide, mul their siiflcrings fur tlio firnt year or two must be
extnniie.

Tliero is room in Canada for any number of good farm-
labourers, and for their sons and daughters ; niter
serving their apprenticeship and learning the ways of
tiie country, there is plenty of vacant land for them to
settle on ; but for nevv-comer& to cluster together on one
of the back townships is the very worst possible course for
themselves, us it is for Canada also; for, if it conies to
pass that new settlers undergo a tithe of the hardships 1
have indicated, their letters home will frighten many a
gooil man much wanted by Canada. 'J'he capitalist and
employer of labour, though a hcte noir to the working
man, is nevertheless as necessary an institution in the new
as in the old country.

As regards the colony itself, it is a recognize . that
when the stream of immigration to its shores is spon-
taneous — the overflow of the population of the parent
land — it is the strongest, most pushing, most enterprising,
and most energetic men who leave the hive to carve out
for themselves fortunes in the new country. The working
man who has the pluck to emigrate to a new country, and
who by hard work and thrift has been able to save out of
his scanty wage even the small sum required to take him-
self and family across the Atlantic, is, under Providence,
sure to succeed in a country like Canada, and is as surely
a valuable acquisition to the land of his adoption. Canada
has never forced immigration, and has consequently only
attracted the most adventurous, pushing, and energetic
people to her shores. It may be said that she has got the
very pick of the working population of England, Ireland,

Ci-

CArfTAIJSTS.

must bo

;oocl farm-
niter
) ways of
I- them to
Lior ou Olio
course for
i comes to
lardships 1
311 many a
litalist and
le working
in the new

. that
es is spon-
the parent
nterprising,
,0 carve out
'he working
ountry, and

save out of
o take him-
Providence,

is as surely
on. Canada
uently only
d energetic

has got tho
ind, Ireland,

and Scotland, and this partly explains the fact that of all
England's cohmies she is the most loyal, and that in no
other part of the world — not oven ni England itself — is
'!■> life and j»roperty more secure. This laisser faire emigra-
tion policy was until quite recently pushed too far in
Canada. For although all forced emigration is bad, and
although by far the best emigration agent is the letter of
the thriving settler in Canada to the friends ho has left
behind him, still in these times when so manv new conn-
tries are jealously competing for immigrants to develo[>
their natural resources, it is necessarv for Canada to set
forth the advantages she lias to offer to industrious men.
As far as I am able to judge, Canada is now doing this
fairly enough. I have read some of the emigration
pamphlets published by authority, and I have seen no-
thing in them that a Canadian fond of his country might
not have written with the most truthful intentions.

Ill fact, as regards one class of immigrants, and that the
one most wanting to develop the great natural resources
of the country, I do not consider that these emigration
circulars have put forward with sufficient distinctness the
advantages tliat Canada undoubtedly possesses. I refer
to capitalists large and small. The vast forests, the rich
mines, the many favourable conditions for manufacturing,
finch as water-power, cheap food, &c., the unrivalled faci-
lities for moving and shipping goods, all these advantages
have not been to my mind sufficiently demonstrated. At
the moment I am writing these lines, I know old-country
'^farmers who have their few hundred pounds in bank bear-
ling the paltry interest of one and a half per cent. Such
|inen in Canada could on their first arrival get six per cent.

::*

1*'

III,.

■lir If

THE EMIOBATTON QUESTION.

for their money on equally good security, and after they
liad acquired a little experience of the ways of the country
they could as easily get eight or ten per cent., and this in
a land in which the necessaries and comforts of life are
cheaper than in an old country where money is a drug in
the market.

One great advantage that Canada possesses over every
other land to which emigration is directed is, that :t is
near home. The intending emigrant may think that this
is no advantage, that when he once emigrates he emi-
grates never to return. If he goes to the antipodes pro-
bably this will be the case. He must make up his mind
never to see his Old-World friends again. Quite the con-
trary in Canada, which is in point of time and personal
fatigue no farther from London to-dav than Ireland and
Scotland were fifty years ago. The wish to see old friends
and old faces will surely come back to the immigrant
some dav or other, and if Canada is his new home he can
gratify tliis wish at a trifling expense and at a loss of but
little time. By the Allan Line return tickets from Liver-
pool to Quebec, available for a whole year, cost only 25^.
Canada is nearer to England than the United States.
The distance from England to New York is 3095 miles ;
from Liverpool to Quebec 2(549 miles. The latter voyage
is 446 miles shorter, and for fully one-third of the way
between Derry and Quebec the ships of the Allan Line
(from the Straits of Belkisle to Quebec) are in compara-
tively smooth water : whereas from Liverpool to New
York the traveller is all the time on the stormy Atlantic.
The route from Derry to Quebec admits of a great im-
provement, which will no doubt come in a short time.

IT^

NATIONALITIES OF IMMIGRANTS.

after they

;he country

[ind this in

of life are

a drug in

over every
, that :t is
ik tliat this
es he emi-
Lipodes pro-
p his mind
ite the con-
ad personal
Ireland and
i old friends
immigrant
ome he can
I loss of but
from Livsr-
)st only 25?.
ited States.
3095 miles ;
itter voyage
of the way
Allan Line
in compani-
ool to New
uy Atlantic,
a great ira-
short time.

' Wlien Newfoundland comes into the Dominion, St. John
twill become the summer port of Canada. Here passen-
gers will land after a five days' ocean voyage, and crossing
the island by rail, will re-embark in a steamer for Mira-
miclii or Restigouche, two ports on the Intercolonial
Eailroad, within fifteen hours' rail of Quebec. The total
journey from Loudon to Quebec will thus only occupy
seven days, and the route will touch some very charming
scenery.

The Dominion of Canada, and especially the province of
Ontario, is the most English of all Her Majesty's colonies.
From the year 1820 to 1873, both inclusive, 1,325,000
immigrants in round numbers came from the Old World
to Canada. Of these 543,000 were English, 506,000 Irish,
146,000 Scotch, and the remainder of other nationalities.
Comparing the returns of the English immigration with
those of the Irish, it will be found not only that the
number of the former are greater, but also that the Irish
:' araigration has been steadily decreasing since 1848,
whilst the English immigration has been as steadily
increasing. The great bulk of Irish immigration to
Canada took place in those decades from 1829 to 1849,
These people have now become assimilated with the
Canadian people, and their children are thorough Cana-
dians. Again, of the 506,000 Irish immigrants, a very
large proportion are north of Ireland men. The real
Irish element in Canada is scarce ; the bulk of the emi-
gration from the south of Ireland has always been directed
- to the United States, where they cluster in the cities in
I such multitudes as to outnumber all the other people put
1 together. I do not wish to make any reflections upon the

H'jt

'\ I

THE EMIGRATION QUESTION.

\\ \

Irish character, indeed I ought to be one of the last
persons in the world to do so ; but I must mention as a
significant fact, that the one of England's colonies which
has least of the Irish element in it is also the one whicL
is most loyal to England, and through good report and
evil report most devoted to British connexion.

A large proportion of the 506,000 immigrants returned
under the head of " Irish " are, t i mentioned before,
Ulstermen, or Scotch-Irish, as they are called in the
United States. Many of these are settled in Ontario,
and wherever you find an Ulster settler you find a
man who is doing well. There are two reasons for this
success, of which the first of course is character. The
Ulster farmer is frugal and industrious, a staunch Pro-
testant, and a law-abiding good citizen. He can drive a
hard bargain and stick to it. He does not cringe before
wealth or power, neither does he stand bareheaded before
his landlord at one moment and take a shot at him
the next. Treat him with respect, and he will do the
same to you. He has not been brought up to look to any
one for help, but to depend upon his own shrewdness and
his own strong arm. Hence he possesses a rugged inde-
pendence of character, which fits him well for a settler's
life in Canada. The second reason of his success is, that
as a rule he possesses the means for a fair start in a new
country. Thanks to Ulster tenant-right and the enor-
mous competition for land, he can always get a good
price for his farm. He can get an extra good price for
it, because land both in England and Ireland is at a
fictitious value ; but there is this difference between the
two countries, that whereas in the former the excess of

DEPRESSION OF TliADE.

of the last
mention as a
denies which
le one whicL
i report and
I.

mts returned
ioned before,
ailed in the
in Ontario,
you find a
isons for this
tractor. The
staunch Pro-
can drive a
cringe before
leaded before
shot at him
will do the
look to any
rewdness and
rugged inde-
br a settler's
iccess is, that
art in a new
nd the enor-
get a good
ood price for
land is at a
between the
he excess of

Talne goes into the landlord's pocket, in the latter, i.e.
in Ulster, it goes into the tenant's. In Canada popu-
lation is comparatively small and land is plentiful, there-
fore tliis fictitious value does not exist, and the immigrant
can acquire a freehold farm at a fair commercial price.

It is a well-known fact that trade and commerce are not
in a very flourishing condition at present all over the con-
tinent of North America. This depression of business has
Its origin in the wild extravagance and over-speculation
of Americans. The native American citizen is above
working for his neighbour, and considers that he is born
with an inherent right — whether he has the capital or
not — of setting up in business on his own account. It is
a free country, and he has an undoubted right to put up
a store and to look out for customers under his own sign-
board. But this course does not tend to the prosperity of
his country, and the evil even extends to a neighbouring
country, for the business relations of the United States
and Canada are so interwoven together that failure and
Oommercial depression in the former country are felt more
Or less in the latter also. It is a noteworthv fact that in
the year 1873, 9000 Canadians returned from the United
States to Canada. Times of commercial depression iall
comparatively lightly on the latter country, where the
actual cost of living is less than one-half that it is in the
United States. The most remarkable circumstance in
the history of Canadian immigration, however, is the fact
that in the last two or three years Americans have com-
menced to emigrate to Canada and to settle there.

i I

^11

! I

ONTARIO.

CHAPTER ir.

ONTARIO.

The province of Ontario is in many respects the most
highly favoured region in all the continent of America.
Though situated far enough to the west to be within
the wheat-growing and fruit-growing region, it has an
extended coast-line and direct communication with the
ocean. The lakes, besides the economic advantages they
confer, have a most favourable effect on the climate,
modifying alike the excessive cold of winter and the heat
and drought which parch up some of the Western States.
Farming is carried on in other provinces of the Dominion
with more or less success, but in most of them it is asso-
ciated with other industries, such as lumbering, but
Ontario is essentially an agricultural country. Its area is
80,000,000 square miles, about the same as that of Great
Britain and L eland; three-fourths of this are suitable to
agriculture, while at present only one-fourth is under
cultivation.

Land is so abundant in Canada that as yet only those
places most ftivoured by nature as to situation, soil, &c.,
have been chosen for settlement. When manufactories
spring up they will hold out other inducements to the
settler in the shape of good markets, which will bring into
cultivation land that is at present neglected.

Ontario is in my opinion the most suitable place in the

ORIGINAL SETTLERS.

he most
America.
3 within
has an
,vith the
ges they
climate,
the heat
n States.
)ominion
t is asso-
g, but
ts area is
of Great
itable to
is under

Britisli empire to which the small capitalist can emigrate.
A farmer with a growing family and a capital too small to
enable him to make a comfortable living in the old country,
is the very man to succeed in Ontario. 1 believe many men
of this class are under the impression that if tliey emigrate
they will have to settle down in the wilderness, and with
painful toil and privation hew themselves farms out of
the forest. This is quite a mistake. No immigrant pos-
sessed of a little means and with some knowledge of
farming need ever dream of taking such a course in
Canada. He can make far better use of his knowledge
and experience, and of his capital also, no matter how
small that capital may be.

The original settlers in Ontario were not as a rule good
farmers. Even if they were, the process they pursued
spoiled them. They found laud which when cleared of
forest produced splendid crops of wheat. So they grew
wheat year after year till the land would grow wheat no
longer. Then, when they discovered tliat in order to
make their farms reproductive it would be necessary
to farm in a more scientific way, many of them, instead of
taking the trouble to establish a system of rotation of
crops, flitted to other localities where they cleared new
farms on which they were able to repeat the process of
scratching the soil for wheat. Even at the present day,
although there are many good farmers in Canada, this
system is still pursued, and the consequence is that there
are always in the market numbers of farms, well situated,
with good buildings, fences, orchards, &c., the soil of
which, although temporarily unfitted for one particular
crop, is admirably suited for many others, and is capable,

if \
1 1. \

i '

ii^

,7W^

ONTARIO.

"];r

'! »

1 'i

with a very moderate outlay of labour and capital, of
being brought into a high state of fertility. These farms
seem to me to offer most favourable conditions of success
to the practical farmer who, owing to the fierce com-
petition for land in an old over-populated country, is
unable to obtain a farm on such terms as will enable
him to make a profitable living out of it. Those are the
men — good practical farmers with a moderate capital —
who are also of most value to Ontario. The Canadian-
born farmer is the man to clear the forest and to act as
the pioneer for the skilled farmer from the Old World, who
in turn possesses just the necessary qualifications to take
up the land his predecessor has left, and while making out
of it a valuable property for himself and his heirs, to add
thereby largely to the wealth of Canada. I repeat there-
fore that no old- country farmer with capital should settle
in the backwoods, where his previous education in
farming will be wasted, and his money, in all probability,
lost.

Two other causes have tended lately to throw a larger
number than usual of improved farms in Ontario into the
market. One is the opening up for settlement of the
fertile lands of Manitobah, and the other is the rapid
extension of railways through the hitherto unsettled parts
of Canada.

This opportunity for acquiring farms on profitable
terms may not last. Ontario is growing very rapidly in
population and in wealth. In 1830 the population was
about 200,000, at the present moment it is two million.
And wealth has increased even in a greater ratio than
population. As we have seen before, there is no country

SOIL, climate:

pital, of
sse farms
f success
ce com-
antry, is
1 enable
le are the
capital —
Janadian-

to act as
^orld, who
as to take
aking out
irs, to add
teat there-
)uld settle
cation in

■obability,

V a larger
io into the
at of the
the rapid
ttlod part:^

protitablc
rapidly in
iliition was
vo million,
ratio than
no country

in the world better suited by nature for a manufacturing
country than the Dominion, and as soon as manufactures
arise, land and the produce of laud will double in value,
not in the manufacturing districts alone, but all over
Ontario.

That good farming pays in Ontario has been proved
wherever it has been tried. Tlie land is capable of pro-
ducing any crop that the climate will ripen, and the
climate, while suited to the growth of all the crops grown
H in England, admits many others that are supposed to be
JDeculiar to hot climates. Thus wheat, oats, rye, barley,
potatoes, turnips, peas, beans, clover, and grass, grow
side by side with maize, grapes, peaches, pumpkins, &c.
Many other crops, such as flax, hemp, and tobacco, could
also be profitably grown, and probably will be grown
when the rise of manufactures creates a demand for
ithem.

Highly bred cattle imported from England thrive
Swell in Ontario. The progeny of imported shorthorns,
lAyrshire cattle, and Leicester and Southdown sheep, so
far from deteriorating in quality, have decidedly im-
proved. The climate and soil of Ontario are both suited
to stock raising. Epidemics are as yet unknown. The
Englishman in the best settled districts will see as good
cattle as he has left behind him at home. Large quanti-
ties both of live stock and butcher's meat are sent from
Ontario to the New England States, where meat is almost
'. at famine price, also to the eastern provintei of the
■I Dominion, whose inhabitants are so much taken up with
lumbering, fishing, shipbuilding, aud other pursuits, as to
neglect stock raising.

.IS'

ONTARIO.

■( '!

!)1

■J ■;'

The capital necessary for a practical man to commence
farming in Ontario is from 500?. to 3000?. With the
latter sum he can buy and stock an excellent 200-acre
farm in a good accessible situation. On a farm such as I
am speaking of, tliere will be a good house and out-
buildings, 100 acres or more of arable land, garden,
orchard, and a patch of woods. The latter is perhaps the
most essential item. Coal is the dearest, in fact I may
say the only dear necessary of life in Ontario, and some
wood for fuel as well as for fencing and other purposes is
most desirable on a farm. A man who owns a well-
cultivated farm in Ontario is as comfortable and indepen-
dent as a farmer can be. His farm gives him and his
family all the necessaries and most of the comforts of life,
and in a new and rapidly growing country he has tlie
satisfaction of knowing that each year as it rolls away
adds to the value of his property, and that every hour's
well-directed labour spent on his land will be entirely for
his own advantage and that of liis heirs.

Gentlemen farmers sometimes complain that in settling
in the country districts of Canada, they are out of reach
of congenial society. This is to a certain extent the case
at present. In a new country one cannot expect to find
men of leisure like country gentlemen in England. Men
who have acquired an independence in Canada naturally
live in or near the cities, where there is plenty of society
and amusements. But after all, what society can a man
of this class have in England, whose sole income is derived
we will suppose from a capital of 2000?. or 3000?. ? He
may perhaps dine once a year with the squire, and his
wife will probably pay a formal visit once in a way at the

rents.

CO-OPERA TI VE EMIGL'ATIOX.

)mmencc
Vith the
200-acre
such as 1
and out-
, garden,
rhaps the
,ct I may
and some
urposes is
is a well-
l indepen-
n and his
irts of life,
3 has the
rolls away
ery hour's
ntirely for

in settling
; of reach
lit the case
ect to find
md. Men
naturally
of society
can a man
is derived
OOZ.? He
e, and his
way at the

parsonage or the doctor's house. This sort of shabby
gentility is, I should imagine, more aggravating oven
than downright seclusion. When a man makes up his
mind to emigrate, he emigrates not for amusement or for
society, but to make a living, and to provide for a family.
The only way by whi(di men of this class can secure r.
certain amount of congenial society for themselves and their
families is by co-operation. There are many fertile districts
in Canada West, where several im^jroved farms can be
bought in a cluster, sometimes even two or three lying
alongside each other. These farms are in almost every case
too large for one man to farm well and thoroughly. Each
one of them might be subdivided into farms of from 50 to
100 acres, and these smaller farms well cultivated would
yield more than the original farm badly cultivated. A
Com[)any of gentlemen, each one possessing a capital of
from 5U0Z. to lOOOZ. up to any higlier amount, might
associate together and purchase several contiguous farms
in a Canadian townsliip, divide the laud amongst them-
selves according to their means and inclinations, and in
addition carry out Avith them from England a certain
number of agricultural labourers with their families. By
this means not only might a little friendly society be
organized, but also expensive implements of agriculture
purchased for the joint use of the settlement, which would
be beyond the means of a single fiirmer. I feel convinced
that a (Jay will come when Ontario will be farmed like
;?|he lichest distri(;ts of England, and when wheat will be
:^iterally manufticturecl by steam power.
i| Good iarms can be rented in Ontario for very moderate
its, but the leases given are short, and the system does

i; I

ONTAItlO.

(1:

:b!

not fhicl favour either with the native-born Canadian or
with the immigrant. The great object of the latter in
coming to a new country is to acquire a property of liis
own. lically good wiieat bind cannot bo rented, and it is
the height of folly to rent a run-out farm for a short
period. Eented farms, as might be supposed, are the worst
kept and most untidy in Canada. I was shown a fair
farm in Ontario of 100 acres half cleared, to let for seven
years at 20Z. per annum. Another of 150 acres, 100
cleared, to let for six years at 30Z. per annum.

The immigrant has great facilities for travelling about,
and should avail himself of thorn to the full before tying
himself down to a locality or a farm. Travelling is very
cheap in Canada West, as tlicre is plenty of competition.
From Quebec to Montreal, for instance, a distance of
something like 180 miles, the steamboat fare is i|2. This
includes cabin and supi)er. The voyage occupies ten or
eleven hours, and the traveller is quite as comfortable as
at an hotel. Both on water and land there are two classes
of passengers. Canadians, though a thoroughly democratic
people, have yet the sense to know that in all countries
there are at least two classes who require separate accom-
modation — the dirty and clean, the drunken and sober —
butrthe industrious man who does not drink is always first
class in Canada.

A great breadth of land in Ontario has the last year or
two been under barley. Bushel for bushel this grain sells
for nearly as much as wheat, and the land, acre for acre,
produces a great deal more of it.

The potato crop suffered severely from the ravages- of
the Colorado beetle for some seasons, and farmers conse-

CROPS.

mndian or
B latter in
3rty of \\\i
\, and it is
>r a short
e the worst
lown a lair
t for seven
acres, 100

ling about,
tefore tying
ling is very
om petition,
distance of
■i$2. This
ipies ten or
ifortable as
two classes
democratic
11 countries
rate accom-
md sober-
always first

last year or
s grain sells
n-e for acre,

ravages- of
mors conse-

quently have reduced their crops. Last season, however,
the potato bug, as the animal is called, did but littlo
damage. These bugs attack the leaves of the potato
when the plant is about half grown, and if not checked
strip the stalk bare. The remedy for them is, when the
second bud begins to appear, to sprinkle the plants with
Paris green dissolved in water.

Flax grows well in Canadii, and will perhaps some day
be largely cultivated. It is a crop not well adapted to a
new country as it requires so much manipulation.

It is not an easy matter to get at the average yield per
acre of crops in a country, so much depends on tlie season,
on the district, and last, but not least, on the farmers
themselves ; but taking a fairly good farming district in
Canada West and a fairly good farmer, I think the fol-
lowing will not be far from the mark :

Fall Wheat 20 bushels.

Spring „ 15 „

Barley 30 „

Oats •ii> ,>

Rye 15 „

Inrlian Corn SO .,

Potatoes 250 ,,

Turnijis 400 „

Mangold 500 „

Ciirrots 450 „

Pens 25 „

Beans 20 „

Hay IMoii.

V. With high farming the yield of many of the aiiove

jToots, such as turnips, mangold, &c., and also hay, could

Ibe doubled. The prices are about one-third less than in

\\\ old-country market town. Beef, mutton, pork, and veal

'1
it

ONTAUIO.

;':;'i

are about half the price iu Canada that they are iii
En<j:lun(l.

Atjrienltiiral soeieti<>s aro a great institulioii in Ontario.
Eacli county has one of its own, and so liavo many of tho
townshi[).s. ^I'lio snhs('ri[)tion of nicniUcrs is triilin^^ gene-
rally 'fil per annum. Th(> JiOgishitnreaids ouch society with
a grant. This money is ('X[)en(lc(l in improving tlie breed
of cattle and tho quality of seed. Th(>se societies have
yearly shows, which arc well attended l»y tho farmin;,'
community, and to a certain extent take the place of old*
country fairs. Prizes aro {^iven at thes(; shows not onlv
for stock but for all sorts of farm produce; emulation is
thereby arouped, and farmers have an opi)ortunity of
seeing the difference between good and bad farming, as
evidenced by the produce displayed, and have thus an
opportunity of educating themselves. Each member gets-
a copy of a weekly or n;onthly farmer's journal. High
farming, rotation of crops, and drainage of land are en-
couraged. Tho latter is a very necessary step to higli
farming in Canada. Drained land is fully a fortnight
earlier than und rained land. In wet seasons it is of
course an advantage, and, strange to say, in protracted
summer droughts drains have also been I'ound to be an
advantage to the crops, preventing the soil from baking.
Canadians, as a rule, dislike sinking much capi' il in
improvement and cultivation of the soil a is moii

plentiful than money, and they see tha u the fort

is cleared, the soil for the time brings iiMih abundantly
without much labour ; therefore they go on eho^ ping and
sowing. As we have seen before, this gives a favourable
opportunity for the immigrant former who has been brought

•"^;

STOCK IIJISIXG. CHEESE FACTOIUES.

[«y are lu

11 Ontario,
iinv of the

liii^ir, i^Giw
Dcii'ty with
; the breed
i(!ti(js litivo
lie hirniiii;:
hice of ohl-
VB not only
•innlation is
ortunity nt
iiirniing, as
ive thus iiu

ember gets
i-iuih High
and nre eii-
tep to liijili

a fortnight
ms it is ot
I protracted
id to be an

rom baking.

pi' il in
is moi'

u the fore
lib' .ulantlv

u.^ping

and

a iavourable
;een brought

nj) ill another .s(!liool, and who knows that capital pru-
dently invested in the iinproveinent of the soil is money
well spent. There can be little doiil)t that in years to
como stock raising will largely take the place of wheat
growing in Ontario. Yvom its extremely central and
uccessibh^ position on the map of North America, Ontario
is able at a trilling cost to suiiply the markets with beef
and mntton in those portions of the continent where
butcher's meat is as high or liigher in [aiee than it is in
London. Cattle, as we have seen, thrive particnlarly well
in Ontario, which in respect to stock raising oecu})ies the
sjime position towards the New England States as Ireland
does to Englaml, with the considerable exception that in
Canada it costs little more to raise an ox than it does
to raise a sheep in Ireland. Stock raising naturally
succeeds to wheat growing, and it is this branch of farming
which most commends itself to immigrant farmers from
the Old World. To winter stock well, roots are necessary,
and roots can be grown in Canada as well as in Englaml.
I have seen 80 tons of turnips to the acre, 45 of mangold
wurtzel, 25 of carrots, and the same of parsnips.

It is (piite a mistake to suppose that the severe
Canadian winter is against stock raising. In England
good farmers keep their cattle in the house almost if not
quite as long as cattle have to bo housed in Ontario.
Under these circumstances it is all one to the farmer
whether his land is in iron or in mud, I mean as far as
his stock are concerned ; in many other ways the balance
is in favour of the Canadian farmer. Land that has been
^ plough ed in the fall harrows into dust in the spring. No
lod crusher is so efficient as Jack Frost. Vegetation at

iri

ONTARIO.

1 1 '

this season is wonderfully rapid. This is one reason why
roots such as turnips, mangolds, and other crops, to which
a quick start is essimtial, do so well in Canada.

In great measure owinji to the instrumentality of these
Agricultural Societies, cheese factories have been largely
established in Ontario. This is a doubly valuable industry.
In the first place, the export of cheese from Ontario
amounts to some ij>;2,000,U00 per annum ; and in the second
place, the process of converting milk into cheese saves the
farmer an infinity of labour. Butter making has to be
carried on at that season of the year when other farm
work is at its height, and labour not always abundant.
Therefore, some years ago, Canadian farmers laid their
heads together and formed joint-stock companies for the
manufacture of cheese. The factories are in central situ-
ations, each member is paid so much a gallon for the
milk he sends in, and at stated times over and above this
amount he gets the profits that have arisen by the sale of
cheese on the shares of the company which he holds,

Anotlier joint-stock association worthy of notice is the
Grangers Society of Ontario. The grain growers of the
province, thinking that the merchants and shippers de-
rived too large a profit from the grain which passed
through their hands, formed themselves into an association
with the above name, which, under good management,
secures to each member the entire profit tliat can be
made on eacli bushel of grain grown on his land and
shipped from Montreal to European markets.

Ontario is as well adapted for the culture of a great
variety of fruits as any part of the world. Its climate
closely resembles that of the grape-growing provinces of

the

ason why
to which

r of these
n largely
industry.
L Ontario
he second
saves the
bas to be
ther farm
abundant,
laid their
38 for the
[itral situ-
n for the
ibove this
he sale of
olds.

ice is the
ers of the
ippers de-
(;h passed
issociation
nagement,
at ran be
land and

of a great
ts climate
roviuces of

ORCHARDS.

the lihine. The western portion of Ontario has been
-pronounced by antlioritios to be the most suitable part
>?of the American continent for grape culture. There is
ample sun to ripen tlic li'uit, and the vines can stand the
frosts»of winter without artificial proti^ction. Vineyards
require too much labour for a new country, but in process
of time no doubt Canada will be able to make its own
wine. Peaches, apricots, and uectai'ines ripen in the ex-
treme south and west — I mean as orchard crops. In
favournbie situations these fruits ripen in gardens here
and there all through Canada West.

The ap[)le orchards of Ontario, both as regards the
(quantities and qualities of the fruit, are second to none
"in the world. The export of apples has been found such
u profitable business, that farmers through the province
have been adding largely to their orchards during the
last few years. A ten-acre orchard is not an unusual
sight, and I have seen orchards as large as forty acres*
Many of the so-called American apples that we see in the
shops at homo are grown in Canada; the following are
some of the iuvouiite kinds : Rhode Island Careening,
Northern Spy, Baldwins, Swurzes, Pomme Grise Fameuse,
Duchess of Oldenburgh, Swaar, Gravensteins, .Blenheim
Orange, Keswicks' Codling, Holland Pippin, Alexander,
American (j olden Ivusset, Red Astracan, Ribston Pippin,
Esopus Spitzenburg, and King of Tumkin's County.

T'lu* Fruit-growers' Association of Canada recommend

the ibllowing varieties, viz.: — "For summer, the Early

Harvest and Red Astracan, as sour ajiples; and the Sweet

i; Bough. For early autunni, the Duchess of Oldenburgh,

" ravenstein. Primate, and Jersev Sweet. For late autumn

;1>

')!

ONTARIO.

•!

111

and early winter, the Ilibston Pippin, Ilubbardston Non-
such, Full Pippin, and Snow Apj)le. For midwinter tn
]March, the Ilhode Island Greening-, Nortliern Spy, Esopu.<
Spitzenburg, Ponime Grise, and Tolinan Sweet ; for spring,
the Golden Russet, and Roxbury Russet. »

" For market, the most profitable varieties are Red Astra-
can, Duchess of Oldenburf^h, Gravenstein, and Hnbbard-
ston Nonsuch, ripeninj^ in the order in which they are
named, for a near or home market ; and for shipping, the
Rhode Island Greening, Raldwin, Golden Russet, and Rox-
bury Russet will yield the largest pecuniary returns." *

Apples are barrelled in the orchards, and dispatched
there and then to market. The orchard in Canada West,
with very little labour and moderate attention, is a source
of a clear annual income to the farmer who possesses one,
To make an orchard 25 cents per tree is the estimated cost.
The trees commence to bear in ten vears. Farmers who
do not like the risk or the trouble of marketing their
apples, can sell them in the orchard for from $1*50 to
^2 per barrel.

Pears do equally Avell as apples, but being a tenderer
and more delicate fruit they are more difficult to bring to
market. Tlie following are the chief varieties grown :—
Louise Bonne de Jersey, Bartlett, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre
Clairgeau, Flemish Beauty, Duchess d'Angouleme, Graslin,
Sheldon, and Winter Nelis.

JMelons, both sweet melons and water melons, ripen
throughout Canada. The habitants of Lower Canada
grow musk and citron melons in their little gardens that
would throw in the sliade the melons forced at great cost
in good English gardens.

♦ ' Report of Canadian Fruit-growers' Association.'

Li'dston Non
nidwinter tn
Spy, Esopus
; ; for spring,

#
re lied Astra-
id Hubbard-
icli they are
flipping, tlie
set, and liox-
returns." *
1 dispatched
Canada West,
a, is a source
lossesses one.
timated cost,
arniers wlio
keting their
m $1-50 to

a tenderer
t to bring to
es grown :—
njou, Beurre
me, Graslin,

elons, ripen

wev Canada

ardens that

,t great cost

on.

S2IJLL FRUITS.

I All the well-known English small fruits, except the
gooseberry, do admirably in Ontario. The cultivation of
Ithese fruits for market is now a very profitable business in
certain localities. In the vicinity of Oakville, on Lake
Ontario, there is a large breadth of land under straw-
berries ; an acre or so on every farm, and occasionally as
much as ten acres. Both climate and soil in the vicinity
of Lake Ontario seem admirably adapted to this fruit.
The fitcilities for marketing fruit or vegetables either by
land or by water carriage are unrivalled, and the demand
for both, but especially for strawberries, seems to be un-
limited in tlie Eastern States. The capital required for
imall fruit farming is not large, and I know of no way in
which an industrious immigrant with some knowledge of
this species of agriculture could do better than by buying
a small farm in Ontario and devoting himself entirely to
fruit furijiing. He might, along with strawberry plants,
plant apple, pear, and currant trees, which would be
an ample provision for his old age. Or three or four
small capitalists might buy one of the large Ontario
wheat farms between them and divide it into small fruit
ferms. .

Strawberries in Ontario are planted in rows about three
or four feet apart. The plants bear in the second year.
In the fall they aie top-dressed with litter or stable
manure. After the Iruit is picked in th esummer, hor.se-
hoes are worked up and down the drills, the .eoil well
loosened, and the weeds taken out. This is all the culti-
vation strawberries require. The plants bear abundantly
lor two or three seasons, and should at the end ot that
riod be ploughed down, when a crop of turnips can be
ken off the land without extra manure. The land can-

\v)

i 1

'^ i

ill

^'1

ONTARIO.

not be too highly manured in which the plants are put.
To do the strawberry culture properly, and keep up a
rotation of crops, a man would require four fields, say of
four acres in each. The chief labour connected with
strawberry culture is picking the fruit. This is gene-
rally done by cliildren, who pick at 1 cent the quart.
The demand for strawberiies is so great that buyers come
to the country and give 8 or 9 cents a quart for the fruit
on the spot, thus saving the cultivator all trouble of
marketing. At the latter price I havt* known of $500
worth of strawberries being sold off one acre of land. The
variety of strawberry most in favour among fruit growers
is Wilson's Albany. The wages of a good man in Ontario
accustomed to this work is $1 per diem if hired by the
whole year, or $1 • 25 if hired for eight months of the year.
There are those who think that it is the fate of Canada
to be absorbed into the great Eepublic. I think ^t will be
found that the people who hold this opinion are (1) either
English or Americans who, for some reasons of their own
wish for this result ; or (2) people who are fond of theo-
rizing, but who have no knowledge of the circumstances
of the case. I believe, on the contrary, every day that
rolls by, instead of bringing the two peoples together,
helps to build up an impassable barrier betM'een them.
In character and temperament, as well as in appearance
and physique, the two English-speaking peoples, Cana-
dian and American, diverge more and more. The lan-
guage is the only common ground between them, and
that, as we know, has not always proved itself a sure bond
of union. The native American is a compound of English,
Irish, German, Spanish, African, Indian, Chinese blood.

ANNEXATIOX.

To delineate the compound character he lias derived from
this heterogeneous stock is beyond my power. The Cana-
dian is simply an Englishman, who has learnt by expe-
rience to take care of himself instead of depending upon
his Government to do it for him. The native-born Ameri-
can is a slight, sallow, lanky man, A\ith poor muscular
development. He is like the weakly child who has all
gone to head, and neglecting boyish games has stuffed
his brain at the expense of his body. The Canadian is
robust and strong, and presents as favourable a type of
the Anglo-Saxon race as can be met with in any part
of tiie world. This wide difference of physique arises
from two causes: 1. Climatic conditions. The climate
of the United States, taken as a whole, is undoubtedly
not favourable to the develo^jment of a robust and vigorous
manhood. The climate of Canada, on the other hand,
like that of northern Europe, matures a hardy and
powerful race of men. 2. The native-born American, as
a rule, comes of a stock that has had servants to do its
hard work for it — hewers of wood and drawers of water
from Africa, from China, and from Ireland. He directs
their labours ; his brain expands in the action, his limbs
shrink from want of exercise. These traits are reproduced
in his children, and exaggerated in the third generation.
The native-born Canadian, on tiie contrary, is sprung from
a well-grown and muscular parentage, and preserves the
type. He is not the " tenth transmitter of a foolish face,"
but he is the transmitter of a sound mind in a sound
body. .

It might be supposed that the society of Americans
would charm Canada into union with the United States.

,■ '(

\ n

:; ' 11 1^

,.i

;

!f'

!ii

V:i|

1:1

ONTARIO.

I believe the intercourse between the two people, such as
it is, has the opposite effect. It so happens that the very
scum and refuse of American society frequent the borders
of Canada. The cost of living in Britisli America is just
one-half the cost of living in the United States. The price
of liquor is about three-fourths less. It therefore happens
that idlers, loafers, drunkards, smugglers, and a host of
disreputable Yankees infest the borders of Canada, to the
disgust of the Canadians.

Wliite men are like Indians in some respects ; the real,
true, unspoiled, and unconverted red man is a gentleman.
The semi-civilized Indian is a scourge. So the roughest
back-settler in the remotest township in Canada is a
thoroughly good fellow and an obliging one to boot.
The pests of Canada are these border rowdies — men who
have come in contact with civilization, who wear good
coats and sometimes wash their faces, but who, beyond
this slight veneering of decency, have derived no benefit
from civilization, and, like the semi-civilized Indian, have
learnt everything that is bad. These vile pests flourish in
the neighbourhood of rum shops, and in border towns
congregate about the corners of streets as affording a good
position for outraging respectable passers-by. They hold
the theory that one man is as good as another, and take a
peculiar way of illustrating their theory, viz. by being on
all occasions as brutal and disgusting as possible. They
never give a civil answer to anyone, for fear that such
politeness might be construed into a mark of inferiority.

Even the American tourists who travel in Canada for
amusement and economy — for, strange as it may seem, it
is cheapei* to travel in Canada than to live at home in the

nOUDER itowniES.

('^l

United States— are uot of a stamp likely to eliarm Cana-
dians into annexation. The better classes of Americans
do not travel on the beautiful Canadian lakes, for fear of
the rouL'h and motley crowd of their own countrymen that
they encounter on the steamboats. I do not think these
latter people derive much enjoyment from the scenery of
*' Kennedy," as they call it, although they undoubtedly
enjoy the good living. I recently had the pleasure of
travelling in company with some four hundred of thes3
tourists. One hour before dinner, though at the time our
boat was running down one of the finest reaches of the
St. Lawrence, these people crowded the dinner tables in
the saloon. The waiters told them that nnless they left
the tables, the cloth, &c., could not be laid. Upon this
they drew back their chairs a foot or two to enable the
waiters to pass to and fro, and there they sat for one hour,
their hungry regards fixed on the table, their black-
panted extremities tucked under their chairs, like rows
of carrion crows waiting for a dying horse. At last dinner
was put on the table, and a fierce joy lit up the solemn,
yellow laces of the four hundred, and in the words of the
captain they " went it strong," so strung indeed that the
outsiders preferred bread and cheese on deck to partaking
of that horrid repast.

The political relations between the two countries have
not tended to make Canadians enamoured of the United
States. The latter country, in revenge for supposed Cana-
dian sympathy for the South, abrogated the Iteciprocity
Treaty that had existed between the two countries, and
put a prohibitory tarifl' on Canadian goods'. This, although
it will serve Canada in the long run and develop home

f; r

-f'J

I '

ii i

tiii

OyTAIilO.

manufactures, was yet a temporary inconvenience, and
has left a soreness behind it. The refusal of the United
States Government to compensate Canada for the Fenian
raids tliat were organized in American territory, and car-
ried destruction to life and property into an unoffending
and peaceable neighbouring country, has not tended to
diminish that soreness. For many years a conflict has
existed between the two nations on the subject of the
fisheries of Cnnada ; the American fishermen, by fair
means or by foul, by riglit or by wrong, have always en-
croached upon the fishing grounds of the St. Lawrence.
Their persistency has had its reward at the expense of
Canada, for these fisheries have been finally thrown open
to America by tiie mother-country in an outburst of that
cheap generosity which gives away other people's pro-
perty. Even now the American Government refuses to
give adequate compensation for this encroachment.

Of He})ublican institutions it may be said that "dis-
tance lends encliantment to the view." Close observers
like the Canadians are not enchanted. The best class of
American citizens are not enchanted. The latter hold
themselves aloof from their own jobbing Government, look
down upon the class of " politicians " who pull the wires
at Washington, and make it their proudest boast thftt, low
as their families may have descended in the social ladder,
they have never furnished a member of Congress. In
Canada all this is different ; the best men in the colony,
as in the mother-countrv, esteem it an honour to write
M.P. after their names. Twenty times I have heard such
words as these from intelligent Americans : " You Cana-
dians ought to be the most contented people on the face

man,

}'J XKEE SMARTXESS.

ice, and
J United
) Fenian
and car-
•ffending
}nded to
fliet has
t of the
by fair
ivays en-
awrence.
pense of
wn open
i of that
le's pro-
fuses to

at "dis-
bservers
class of
;cr hold
nt, look
lie wires
hftt, low

ladder,
less. In

col on V,
write
rd such
11 Cana-
he face

of the curlh ; your taxes arc low, your food is cheap, you
have all the advantap^os of self-government without the
curse of a presidential election every four years, yqiir
laws are good, your judges are above bribery, you have no
army or navy to maintain, if you want protection from an
enemy all you have to do is to telegraph for it across the
Atlantic."

Yankee smartness is proverbial. Smart tricks, as a
rule, do not tend to make neighl)onrs good friends. As
with individuals, so with states. I will give one instance
of this '* smartness." V>y the treaty of Washington, Cana-
dian fish were admitted free into American marlcets.
Sidinon, lobsters, and other sorts of tlsli are made up for
market in hermetically sealed tin cases. The Yankees,
though obliged by the letter of the treaty to take the
duty off the fish, transferred it to the tin cans, and so, no
doubt to their satisfaction, drove a four-horse team through
the spirit of the treaty. Canadians revolt from this un-
gentlemanly treatment, and each one of the.'-e "smart"
or *' shabby " tricks, call them which you will, strengthens
the bonds which unite Canada to old England.

There is a small and insignificant anti-British party in
Ontario who are probably working for annexation. A.
certain Oxford professor, whose own country became too
hot for him, and who then tried America, where he was
not appreciated, finally lionoured Ontario with his pre-
sence. This gentleman nourishes an implacable animosity
against England and everything English. Being an able
man, he manages to attract to him every man and every-
itile to the old country. He finds little difiicultv

;i i;

1 %

i 'It'

in picking holes in the colonial jiolicy of the empire, and

i li

OM'AIilO.

in lioldiiii,' up cortuin acts of Eii<^lish stutosmcn to con-
tempt. Under tlie specious prctc^xt of fostering; a national
sentiment, lie endeavours to inflame the minds of Cana-
dians a<.^ainst Eiij^land and England's policy. In a less
loyal country lie might work mischief. If he transferred
himself and his pen to the Ejuerahl Isle, one-half the
malignity ho displays would give him a proud jjlaee in
the roll of Ii-ish patriots. Ikit in Canada he is harmless.
Party spirit runs high there, and both sides are glad to
avail themselves of the assistance of able men with
grievances at tlu.'ir command. It is therefore saying
something for the loyalty of Canada that each party
has discovered in this discontented stranger an enemy
of England, and as such lias tabooed him.

The province of Ontario has a preponderating power in
the Dominion of Canada, and this will undoubtedlv in-
crease, as it is by far the most growing province. Ee-
presentation by population, one of the main principles
adopted at the confederation of the Ihitish North Ameri-
can coloni(.\s, gives Ontario 88 members in the House of
Commons, as against Quebec 05 and the maritime pro-
vinces 45.

Some years ago there was amongst certain people at
home a feeling that Englimd would be better without her
colonies, that the old couutrv should be turned into a
gigantic shop to sell to all the nations of the world, that
her colonies were a waste of money, and that if they were
gone no army or navy would be necessary ; that Prussia,
France, and Russia might do police duty in the world, but
that John Bull would dwell at peace for evermore, and sell
cottons and ironware to all the world. This policy showed

I {I

FCTriiE OF CA NA DA . nELIO TO I'S MA TTEIiS.

to con-
uitionul
[' Cana-
i a less
isfcrred
lulf the
)lace in
aimless.

j^lad to
311 with

saying
h party
. enemv

power in
ledlv in-
e. Ee-
ineiples
Ameri-
louse of
me pro-

Bople at
lout her

into a
Id, that
ey were
Prussia,
jrld, but
and sell

showed

itself

the'Ti

In its coll

Canada was for

even m tne 'Times, m its columns L/anaua
Ha while sneered at and told that it was a useless burden,
'that it was wanted no longer, and that the sooner it assumed
its indopt'iidcnco the better England would be pleased.
These insulting taunts originated the annexation party
above referred to. ]>ut things iire very diflerent in
England now, and the leading men on both sides re-
pudiate the idea of casting ofi' the colonies.

If the world lasts long enough there is a glorious future
in store for Canada. The northern countries and tlie
hardy northern races possess an energy and a vitality
which in all times have enabled them, in the long run, to
win the race and go ahead of tiieir Southern rivals ; but
any attempt to hurry on the manifest destiny of Canada
• would invite disappointment and defeat. Its place for the
present, as the most important colony in the empire, is at
England's right hand. When manufactures die away in
England and spring up in Canada, when capital and
popuhition by little and little leave the former country
for the latter, then it will be time enough for the son to
set up house for himself, and not only to support himself
, and his family in independence, but if necessary to lend a
helping hand to his parent.

The emigrant going to Canada from England will find
religious controversies and creeds much the same in the
new country as in the old, with one exception in favour
of the new country, that there is less acerbity between
Churchman and Dissenter. There is no State Church to
provoke envy and discontent. In the United States a
common expression among men is, "We leave religious
matters to the women and children." It would no doubt

ii''

\'k

rt- « ,'1

ONTAniO.

do very woU if tlio women nnd (jliilJreu atlondod to tli08(;
miittors ; tlio rest would Ibllow in dno time. J]ut liere is
the hitch ; the women say, *' Wliat is not worth tho
attention of the men is not worth our attention — wo are
as good men as they are ; wo want to make money in
trade, to vote at eh:>otions," &c,.,&c.,&(i. So reli^j^ion {^ocs
to the wall. This is partly the effect of carryinj^ toleration
to excess. The peoi)Ui who hold these opinions are the
descendants of the old Puritan fathers. As has been
often the case in history, a generation of bigots has
been followed by a generation of freethinkers. Few
native-born Americans are Roman Catholics, few belong
to the Church of England. They are Congregationalists,
followers of Mi\ Ward Beecher, or of any otlier gentleman
who tickles their fancy. j\[any of them " take their
religion around,' AngUce, they go to listen to any new
])reacher they hear of. And yet these very people have
the consummate impudence to send missionaries to con-
vert benighted Britishers. . '

Things are very difterent in Canada. There in every
city or village the Cliurchman can attend his own church,
the Roman Catholic, the Presbyterian, and the ]\[ethodist
can do the same. There is tolei-ation here too, but not
carried to excess. There is not war to the knife, as in
Ireland, between Protestant and Catholic. Political
parties are not divided according to religion ; Protestant
and Catholic, Churchman and Dissenter, vote together
at the polling booth, and yet each loves and supports
his own church. In Lower Canada, where the Roman
Catholic church is predominant, the Church, as might bo
expected, is driven to an extreme, and, as in Ireland, may

!..>

do go(

TKKrOTALISM.

l)p voo-nnhMl us ultrji-Protostant. On the other Imnd, in
Oiitiirio, wliei-o tlio bulk of tlu; popnlatioii is ^Eotliodist,
tlif (-hnrcli takes the opposite extreme, iukI is hi<^h.
Ciiimdu is a relijjjions, witliuut beiii-,' u hi^'oted, country.

There is a stronj^' ptirty in Ontario who believe that it
would bf an advantajre to apply the 3[aino Liquor Law
to their province. These pL'oi)lo cannot iind much to
encourage them across tlio border in those states where it
has been trieil. I believe that one reason why Canadians
are a healthier and more robust race than the Yanlcees is
that they drink better liquor. Perhaps they would bo
better still if they drank none at all ; I do not venture
to oft'er an opinion on this point, but we know that men
will have alcoholic stimulants, and prohibitory laws have
never banished the bars from Elaine or [Massachusetts,
though they have driven them to the cellar and the attic.
They have never prevented drinking, though they have
made men drink in a skulking, guilty way, as if they were
about to commit a murder or a robbery. They have had
the effect, however, of damaging the liquor and making it
poisonous. It is a misfortune for paupers to marry and
beget pauper children ; granted ; but try and check the
pauper po[)ulation by prohibitory laws, and the result will
be a still worse quality of pauperism. If the good people
who shout so lustily under the temperance banner would
onlv turn their energies towards substitutin;r jrood un-
adulterated liquor in place of alcoholic poison they would
do good service. Ai present they are spending their
time, their brains, and their money in an attempt which
is about as impracticable as to cheek the ebb and How of
the tide.

I I,

i 't

'! I

ON T All 10.

Tlio hotels ill Canada are very fair, and the charges
reasonable, viz. from §2^ to ^3^ per diem. la Toronto
there are two excellent hotels. Hotel life is pleasant
enough for a short time, until one gets tired of the crowd,
the racket, and the din. The ordinary crowd in the dining
room of a largo Canadian hotel is an interesting study.
There are the commercial travellers who do congregate
together, and are charged at lower ratey tlian the ordi-
nary travelling public, as are also the residents, who are
boarded by the week or the month at less than half the
rates chari^cd to tourists. Uncle Sam is sure to be there
with his wife and daughters, who dress to astonish the
natives, and succeed. There is the travelling theatrical
or operatic troupe, the members of which are contracted
for at so rach a head; the temperance men, who make
up for no drinking by eating enormously, and who get a
little surreptitious stimulant out of the pudding sauce,
which the cook, who knows their tastes, furnishes in
gallons ; the burly senator from the country, who carries
his senatorial labours liuhtlv : the M.P.'s and M.P.P.'s,
who, perhaps, enjoy themselves all the more as their
grateful country pays the bill ; the judge on circuit ; the
militia colonel on his rounds, and the English tourist and
his wife ; the former is strictly on the defensive, and the
latter shows her sovereign contempt for the smartness of
the ladies by her austere simplicity of costume ; and last,
but not least, there are the inevitable bride and bride-
groom. These unfortunate jiersons have always the
knack of blundering or simpering into the great dining
hall in such a way as to attract as much attention as
possible.

^: m-m:

IP"

wmm^

hargos
orontu
leasant
crowd,
dining
study,
^regale
le ordi-
vlio are
lalf tlie
je there
lish the
leatrical
Qtracted
10 make
10 get a
g Gaiice,
islies ill
o carries
M.P.r.'s,
as their
uit; the
urist and
and the
•tness of
and last,
lid bride-
Yays the
at dining
ention as

nor ELS.

As for the dinners, they are generally very good, but
barbarously put on the table. Although Canadian hotels
have made a great stride in civilization — I mean late
dinners — the art of dining in these places is still in its
infancy, What can a man possibly do \vith a dozen
difterent dishes all at once before him? This style of
living suits the Yankees, I believe, but Canadians ought
to nianaire these things better in their hotels. On one
occasion I sat next to a lady from Vermont who fed pro-
miscuously off nine dishes, viz. one fish, three entremets,
two rots, three vegetables ; she then topped off with
pudding, cheese, and a cup of tea, and the whole meal
from first to last only occu[)iod twelve minr.tes by my
watcli. This hasty feeding would kill an Englishman ; it
does make the Yankee bilious, but it seems to have no
bad effect on the Canadian traveller.

Actual living, i. e. food and bed are very reasonable in
Canadian hotels. I cannot say so much for the extras,
which seem to bo out of all proportion; in the St.
Lawrence Hall, IMontreal, the charge for board is $2 50c.
per diem, for a tub 50 cents, for a pint of ale 25 cents.

The little hotels in the backwoods, as might be ex-
pected, are rather ron^ii. 1 had the misfortune to le
travelling at night once in the lower province in a
tremendous snow storm ; our horses done out, pitch dark,
and very cold. We were blundering tlirough the drifts
at the rate of a mile an hour. " How far to the nearest
stopping place ?" I asked the driver. *' Only a mile," lie
replied. This cheered me up somewhat, and I said, "Oh,
that's all right, we'll soon be there;" but my cheerfulness
was not shared by my driver. Qji my asking what sort

1'.

I !

'li

mmm

■■p

wmmmmmmmmm

i,f,

ONTAUIO.

of hotel it was, he made the following mysterious reply :
" First-rate, when Dickey's not on tlie beer." In my
innocence I imagined that any hotel or house, " even if
Dickev waj on the beer," would be all riii^lit. I soon found
my Diistake, On arrival at the "hotel," I opened the
door of a comfortable-looking house, and was on the point
of ordering supper, when an immense fellow, brandishing
the leg of a chair, and backed up by half-a-dozen drunken
companions, made at me, and with terrific threats ordered
me out. A man who is half frozen, as well as tired and
liuno;rv, is not much in the humour to fifjlit, so " I
retired." IMy driver had already made off. He told nie
afterwai-ds that Dickey had once killed a hungry traveller,
but that when not "on the beer" he was one of the
whitest men on the earth.

The book-keeping at some of these little country hotels M
is very primitive. Here is a specimen, with the trans- 1
lation. Dates, as may be seen, are quite unnecessary.

Uotel Booh.

Translation.

John Smith

, " a grub find a sleep."

H 51

L-

))

two grubs aiul a sleep.

>' 1)

three do. do.

»t I»

•• \l

four do. do.

•obablj'

J. S. had a friend witii

Totel .. 10 grubbes & f(jre sleeps. ' him on this occasion.

The cost of "a grub" and "asleep" being the same,
viz. 25 cents, making up the accounts is an easyl
matter.

Ontario is unquestionably the best jirovince in tliei
Dominion to which the agricultural labourer can emi-
grate. It costs emi^-rants no more to go to Toronto thauj

s reply :
In my
" even if
(HI found
med the
the point
.ndisliing
drunken
s ordered
tired and
t, so "1
B told me
traveller,
le of the

trv hoteU
he traiih-

ssary.

nd a sleep."
ar.d a i<iecp.
do.
o.
u friend witi.

the same.
an ea>v

ice in tilt
can emi-
ronto thaii

GOVEBNMENT AID TO EMIGBANTS.

to Quebec, as their railway fares are paid from the latter
place to the former. The regular steerage fare by the
Allan line from Liverpool to Quebec, or Halifax, is GZ. Qs.
for adults. To encourage emigration the Dominion
Government reduce this to 4Z. 15s. for adults, 21. Is. M.
fur children under eight years, and 15s. lOd. for infants.

" But io meet the case of domestic servants, and of
farm labourers desirous of emigrating with their fjimilies,
and who from their circumstances are unable to pay the
forejjoincr rates, airangements have been made to carrv a
limited number of such passengers, at certain periods, at
the following reduced rates, viz. each person of eight
years and u])\vards, 21. 5s. ; children under eight years,
1/. 25. Q)d. ; infants under a year, 7s. Gd. ; and to each
e ^ ,dult passenger a bonus of six dollars (about 1/. 5s.)
will be paid after three months' residence in Ontario, and
in some spe(!ial cases this bonus may be paid in advance.
These special privileges are, however, strictly confined to
the cLisses above mentioned, and all applicants must
I'urnish the Government agents with satisfactory proofs of
their good faith before they can obtain the necessary
warrants.

" Unmarried farm labourers also receive the Govern-
ment bonus of six dollars after three months' residence in
the province, and in certain exceptional cases it may be
advanced to them also in reduction of their passage-
money." *

By this it will be seen that approved emigrants of the
working cksses can, for the sum of 1/. each adult, obtain
passages from Liverpool to Toronto. In addition to this

* Euiigr.ition Circular.

I •

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ONTAIiJO.

they require bedding, and knife, fork, tin mugs, &c. Ten
cubic feet (equal to a box 2^ feet long, 2 feet wide, and
2 feet deep) is allowed for luo^ga^^e for each adult ; for all
over that quantity a charge of one shilling for each cubic
foot will be made for ocean I'reight.

In the ships of the Allan line, when they are not much
crowded, steerage passengers are made fairly comfortable.
The food is of good quality, fairly cooked, and ample in
(juantity. I have seen provisions enough to feed one
hundred hungv men thrown overboard in one day. I
have frequently, when at sea, been through the steerage of
the Allan vessels, and, with the one exception of over-
crowding, which I su[)pose is an evil not to be avoided in
emigrant ships, I have never seen anything to complain
of in the tieatment of the emigrants. And after all they
are not more crowd-^d than are H.M. soldiers in a transport
ship.

In this little work I only desire to touch upon the
emigration of working men and their families, in con-
nection with that of the farmer and small capitalist. The
paid emigration agents of the Dominion appeal chiefly to
the working classes, and no doubt explain very fully all
the advantages that Canada has to offer them. But it
soems to me that among the advantages Canada offers to
the emigrant farmer with small capital, the favouiable
terms on which he can import labour from the Old World
are especially to be remembered. Newly arrived emi-
grants in Canada, of the working classes, are now liired
through the medium of the local emigration agents.
They are hired by the year, alter a probationary term of
a month. Able-bodied men get from §10 to j«il2 per

■m .-, ■

WAGES, won KINO MEN.

mouth, \vith board, and raw girls about $5. They can
generally earn higher wages than this after the first year.
I cnn see no reason why farm labourers and domestic
servants should not be hired before they leave the old
country. It would be a g]-eat comfort to these poor
pt'ople to liave a berth ready for them on their arrival in
the colony. It would often save them much anxiety and
great liardship. Tlie emigration agent in England or in
Ireland would be quite as capable of recommending a
man as the agent in ]\[ontreal or Toronto. In either case
the employer has to run his chance as to character and
so on. Given an employer iu Canada who wants a man,
and a man in England who wants employment in Canada,
and surely some plan could be organii^ed for bringing the
two together. Indeed, I believe this has been successfully
carried out on a small scale by an Ottawa Immigration
Society.

To the poor working man emigration is even a more
serious matter than to ^he man of capital. The latter
(especially fiom a country like Canada) can return home
if the new country does rot come up to his expectations.
The former, if a family man, has only managed to emi-
grate by a great effort, and must take the new country
for better or for worse. As a rule I believe that working
men do as \^e^l iu Canada as in any other part of the
world, but there are two or three things that emigrants
from England of this class should guard against. They
should not go out with the idea of settling down upon
wilderness land, not in the lirst instance, at least, until
they have become inured to the ways of the country.
They should not herd in great droves to any one par-

I ■'

i
h

I *§.

<;'l

NT A mo.

I i

1 1 i '

ticular ])laco. In a now country the labour market is
easily drugged, and farmers in Canada do with less than
half the labour required by farmers at home. They
should not go out in the autumn or the winter. In the
winter montlis farmers require no extra help ; indeed
many of the small i'armers do AAithout all hired labour
during that season. The Dominion is a large and growing
country, capable of absorbing a great proportion of the
overplus population of the mother-country to the mutual
advantage of all parties concerned ; but the process must
be gradual, and not spasmodic or forced. Capital and
labour should go together as well as possible ; and I think
it would be both for the interests of Canada and of the
working people at home if the system could bo introduced
of hiring working men before they left their old country,
instead of after they landed in the new.

"Weak or sickly men do wrong in emigrating to Cana4a.
In return for better wages and better food men have to
work harder than in England. The Canadian farmer, as
a rule, does not spare himself nor his men either when
work has to be done. In hay-making and harvest time
especially the hours are long and the work hard. In
return for his hard work the emigrant workman re-
ceives better wages and better food, as we have seen
before, and he has the prospect, if he is only industrious
and oAving, of becoming a farmer himself. Then his
social position from the very first is better than it was at
liome. If frugal and industrious, he can afford to buy
better clothes, read his paper, and generally polish him-
self up more than the working man at home, thus quali-
fying himself to mix on more equal terms with his richer

uirket is
ess than
:. They
111 the
; iDcleed
d labour
growing
n of the
} mutual
ess must
)ital and
1 1 think
d of the
troduced
country,

1 Canacla.
L have to
armer, as
ler when
s^est time
ard. In
cm an re-
ave seen
dustrious
rhen his
it was at
d to buy
lish liim-
lus quali-
lis richer

OTTAWA.

fellow-eitizons. The mean of civilization is fully as high
as tlie mean in England, even though the extreme may
not be.

Ottawa, tlie capital, thongli in the ])rovince of Ontario,
is on the borders of Quebec, and in the very heart of the
Dominion, It was chosen as the capital for two reasons,
(1) central position and distance from frontier; (2)
because to liave made tlie capital in one of the then great
cities of Canadfi, viz. ^lontreal, Quebec, or Toronto, would
have created jealousy in the others. Although at the time
Canadians were dissatisfied that a small lumbering village,
called By town, should liave been selected for their capital,
yet events have quite justified the selection, and it is now
generally conceded that Ottawa is a fit capital for their
Dominion ; Montreal, the commercial capital, is unfit to
be the political capital. In the first place, it is on the
frontier; in the second place, it is just the point in Canada
where two races and two religions meet, and where conse-
quently in time of pulitieal or religious agitation popular
feeling and popular demonstration run highest. In the
third place, it is no doubt wise to separate as much as
possible politics from commercial jobbing. As matters
stand at present, this is not always an easy task, but if
]\Iontreal, the centre of commerce, was also the centre of
government, the difficulty would be the greater.

The Government buildings are beautiful, and beautifully
-ituated. On the summit of a rocky bank they rear their
stately heads above the river. With the same good taste
which led to the sounding and peculiarly Canadian name
of Ottawa being given to the capital instead of calling it
Siuith-ville or Jones-ville, the rock and the spruce

'i il

; -1

■ if

SI'

:i'

ONTARIO.

bushes arouud the buildings have been left as much as
l)o.ssiblo as nature fashioned them. There are no terraces,
no statues, no tawdry railings, or ornaments on the river
side. Where nature is so grand these would be quite out of
phu'e. The House of Commons grows out of the spruee-clad
rock, emblematic of a great and powerful country growing
out of the pine forest and the prairie. The view from the
library of tlio House of Commons is magniiiceiit ; on one
hand the Ottawa river, foaming through countless little
wooded islands, dashing itself over the falls; on the other
a fine reach of the river presents itself to tiie eye. All
around, as far as the eye can reac^h, and this is a long way
in the clear (dimate, is the great forest in its glory of
colour and form.

Ottaw'a city is at present in the condition of an un-
finished house. Stone, bricks, and wood lie about in piles.
Private houses, banks, churches, &c., are springing up
here and there, not in a desultory way, but with an
ulterior plan. Ottawa is not a cardboard city; there are
no shanties, no shoddy. Everything is solid, substantial,
and handsome, giving promise of a great future. Much
civilization is centred here. There is indeed a peculiar
charm in these Canadian cities, which combine the advan-
tages of civilization with the charm of a wild country.
Ottawa has some resemblance to the country-seat of a rich
English nobleman, whose house is hospitably filled with
pleasant people, while his park stretches far around him
in the midst of a quiet rural landscape. But there is one
great difference between the two. In an old country, side
by side with immense wealth and excess of luxury, squalid
poverty and extreme want are always to be seen. It is a

uncli as
terraces,
le river
te out of
uce-cltid
growing
rom the
; on one
'ss little
lie other
ye. All
oug way
glory of

■ an un-
in piles,
giiig up
with an
here are
)stantial,

Much
peculiar
e aclvan-
country.
of a rieh
led with
und him
re is one
try, side
'■, squalid

It is a

TT'J TPn rUIVILEOE.

8igiiificant fact that in Ottawa all the public buildings
found ill Enulish cities exist, all but one — and that is
the poor-house.

]\liin st'izi'd ui>i.ii that beautiful work of nature, the
Cliaudierc falls, and turned it into a ten million horse-
power saw-niill. 'i'hc beauty of the fall is much impaired,
but it is a wonderful sight to see the logs drawn out of
the water by the water into twenty different saw-mills.
Eiich log is first squared by one saw, then cut into boards
by another. I'lic rough edges are not wasted. Cnculars
whirling round with inconceivable rapidity, rip them up
mU^ thinner boards. Even the edges are utilized and
made into laths by a very ingenious process ; nothing is
wasted but the sawdust.

As the Americans say, Ottawa possesses a first-class
water privilege. Each house has a hose with which the
doorsteps, pavements, windows, &c., are watered in dusty
weather. It speaks volumes for the steadiness of the
rising gerc ration of Ottawa that to them these hoses are
generally entrusted. Fancy the English boy of ten in
uncontrolled possession of a water hose ! The child is
father to the man, and the colonial boy grows up a steady
and sober though somewhat phlegmatic man. Tiieir edu-
cation makes men of them earlier than with us. They
begin from their earliest youth to incur responsibility.

The public conveyances in Ottawa will excite the
w^onder of the tourist. They are skeleton lord mayors'
coaches : silver springs, painted glass windows, oak facings,
hug(, crt^sts in gaudy colours, &c., (Src. The lumbermen
have a great weakness for these coaches, and spend many
of their hardly earned dollars in driving about the city in

J!
■ !■

OSTAUIO.

thoin. 1 was mucli aimisetl l)y sodiig u liiniboniiaii
without foat ur waistcoat — a inai^iiilieent fellow about G
feet 2 iiurhes iu lieif^ht, and as sluif^^yas a bear — .solemnly
taking liis pleasure on a hot July day in one of tlios^'
gori>;eou8 vehicles, drawn by two horses. Jlo drove all
round the town, stopping here and there to have a friendly
glass with a comrade. When he wanted to get out he
stopped the driver with a whoop that could bo heard twn
miles off on the river. lie disdained to open the door,
but stepped backwards and Ibrwards over it — a pr(K;eeding
that somewhat detracted from the dignity of the turn-
out.

In the Ottawa district there are plenty of improved
farms always in the market. In an accessible locality a
farm of 200 acres half cleared, with fair house and out-
buildings, can be bought for from 800?. to 1000?. Close
to the cit}' the price of good fiirms is 20?. an acre. In the
more remote sections of this district equally good farms
can be bonght for half the money, viz. for 400?. or 500?.
The latter are situated i2;enerallv on the borders of the
lumber woods, and the objections to them are, (1) the
difficulty of obtaining labour, the best men being picked
up by the lumberers ; and, (2) distance from society, &e.
As regards markets, the proprietors of these back farms
are as well off as their neighbours near the cities. They
can dispose of all their surplus produce at high prices to
the lumber merchants. In foct, the nearer to the lumber
woods the higher are the prices of farm produce such as
hay, oats, pork, and beef. These back farms are gene-
rally in the hands of native-born Canadians, who, as we
have seen elsewhere, are in the habit of selling out their

as.

I'; i

111! II I

FAHMS. MhWEIiAL^.

iniprovod ur run-out t'arnis in the sottlomoiit, and pushiui,'
bick further in tlio forest.

Tho wtij^es of nirricultural labourers in tlic Ottawa dis-
trict are rulijd by the lumber trade. Where the latter is
tiourishinj;, waf^es are high, and vice versa. At present
a labourer hired by the year, ^^ets from islO to $12 per
month with board. Without board, but with free house,
fuel, patch of land for garden, about $18. On tho latter
terms a man and wife can be hired f(jr about $25 per
mouth. The.se wages are rather below tho average, as
the lumber market is somewhat depressed at present, and
cou.se(piently a number of men who usually earn their
living in the woods are now competing with emigrants lor
farm labour.

Excellent iron ore is found in Ontario. IJut there is no
means of smelting it on the spot. It is therefore sent to
the United States, where it is manufactured, and then
returned to Canada as pig iron or in the shape of iron
tools and implements. This should not be so. There is
both iron and coal in abundance within the Dominion.

Both silver and copper in large quantities are found on
the shores of Lake Superior.

13ut more valuable than either of the.se are the petro-
leum wells. Some of these wells in the county of Lamb-
ton yield 100 barrels of crude oil per day. And the -wells
of Canada West, as at present worked, yield over 10,000
barrels per week. The oil region of Ontario is supposed
to be very extensive, and the supjdy is apparently inex-
haustible. The capital now employed in the trade is
upwards of 2,000,000^.

In the British Islands there is plenty of Uionoy and very

EMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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■ 1 ii'

OXTAinO.

little land. Ono consequenco of this is that land possesses a
fictitious vahio and cannot b3 bought at a fair commercial
value. Another is that money is cheap. Interest is only
2 or 3 per cent. The immigrant in Canada sliould
bear in mind that land is cheap and money dear. Farms
are seldom paid for at the time they are bought, but
generally by instalments, spread over a number of years,
Therefore, if the immigrant is prepared to pay cash down,
he will be able to buy at great advantage. In the mean-
time he can always get 8 or 1 per cent, for his money in
Ontario. I certainly am not exaggerating when I say
that 8 per cent, can be obtained for money in Ontario,
upon as good security as that on which 4 per cent, can be
got in an old countr)\

The following is a synopsis of tlie game laws of Canada
West:—

IMoose, cariboo, and deer may be killed from the first
day of September to the first day of December.

Wild turkeys, grouse, pheasants, or partridges, from
the first day of September to the first day of January.

Quail, from the first day of October to the first day of j
January.

Woodcock, from the first day of July to the 1st of
January.

Snipe, from the 15th of August to the 1st of May.
Water fowl, which are known as mallard, grey duck,
black duck, wood or summer duck, and all the kind of j
duck known as teal, from the 15th of August to the 1st
of January.

Hares or rabbits from the 1st of September to the 1st
of ]\Iarch.

GAME LAWS.

ssessef? a
imercial
t is onlv
I should i:
Farms ^
^ht, but I
of years, |
sh down, I
lie mean- t
money in ^
Bn I say >
Ontario, -
it. can be

f Canada

the first
%

j;es, from

No person shall have in his possession any of the said
animals or birds, or any part or portion of such animals
or birds, during the periods in which they are so iiro-
tcciud ; provided that they may be exposed for sale tor
ojitj month and no longer al'tor such periods, and may be
had in possession for the jjrivate use of the owner and his
family at any time ; but in all cases the proof of the timo
of killing or taking shall be upon the party in possession.

It is enacted that no beaver, musk-rat, mink, marten,
raccoon, otter, or fisher shall be hunted, taken, or killed,
or had in possession of any person, between the first day
of ^lay and the first day of November.

The penalties attaching to transgressions of this law
are as follows :

In case of moose, cariboo, or deer, i»;50, and not less
than SiO.

In case of birds or eggs, $2d, and not less than ss5.

In case of fur-bearing animals, J*;25, and not less than ijkS.

The principal s})ort in Ontario is shooting. There is
I no salmon fishing, and for really good trout fishing the
[angler has to go far back to the streams that flow into
[Superior. The maskinonge, bass, and pickerell fishing in
^ the lakes hardly comes under the head of sport.

The only big game is the red deer {Cervus Vlrginianns),

jan animal very much smaller than the red deer of Scot-

I land, and much like the fallow deer. The range of this

[deer is very wide ; it is found in all the Northern States

of the Union, in New Brunswick, in Upper Canada, at the

[base of the Rocky ]\Ionntains, and on the Pacific slope.

During the long winters these animals, like the moose,

make yards in the greenwoods, and feed on the browse.

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OyTAIilO.

In the deep snow they arc unfortunately very easily run
down by hunters on snow shoes. I do not know a more
pitiable object than a Virginian deer endeavouring to
escape from its pursuer in deep snow. When i'orced out
of the well-beaten paths of its yard, the active creature
makes a succession of desperate bounds, each one shorter
than the one before. At each plunge it sinks to its
withers in the snow. The cold-blooded pursuer knows
that his game is safe, and does not even waste a bullet.
He comes up leisurely behind the totally exhausted
quadruped, disregarding the pleading glance of tiie
wild and beautiful eye, and getting on its back, holds
it down in the snow till he cuts its throat with his knife.
Of all butchery this is the worst.

13ut creeping deer in the early winter, when the snow
is light, is really good sport, and requires a very good
hunter. The old bucks shed their antlers in November,
but the young ones retain theirs till January, or even
February. In summer deer feed very much on grass
that grows in the open places in the forest and on the
edges of lakes and rivers. Paddling my canoe noiselessly
along the shores of a backwoods lake, I have often ap-
proached quite close to them. In districts where deer
are plentiful they make roads or paths through the bush,
and hunters in the fall of the year, stationing themselves
in the vicinity of these paths, or in passes between lakes,
have the deer driven up to their rifles with dogs. The
ilesli of the Virginian deer is capital venison, better than
the cariboo, or even than the moose ; and the antlers of
the bucks are branchy and handsome.

The bpst sport in Canada West is unquestionably the

WILD-FOWL SIIOOTIXa.

duck shooting. Notwithstanding the vast numbers that
jiro shot every year, the wild fowl manage to hold their
own. Numbers hatch their y(ning in the marshes, ishmds,
swamps, and woods of Upper Canada ; but much greater
nundjers hatch in the inaccessible northern regions, from
whence they come in renewed multitudes every ''fall," to
rest on the lakes and marshes of Up[)er Canada, and feed
on the wild rice that grows round the edges of the lakes
and in the creeks. The ^t. Clair Hats and Long l\)int,
Lake Erie, are two of the most famous i)laccs for wild-
fowl shooting ; but in the whole province, from the
Oorgian Lay and Lake Nepissing down to the Thousand
Islands, there is an abundance of wild fowl. I have had
good sport along the shores of Lake Ontario, both in the
Thousand Islands and in the Bay of Quinte ; and there
are also many smaller lakes, such as Ixice Lake, Simcoe,
Holland Marsh, &c., where the duck shooting is vei-y
good.

Duck shooting is much the same all the world over,
but one great charm of this sport ii Canada is that there
are so many different varieties of birds. At the head of
them, both as regards sport and the pot, I place the black
duck (-4. ohseura). Great numbers of these hatch in
Canada, but many more come from the north, and I
have noticed that these latter are finer and heaviter birds
than the home-bred ones.

As regards their nesting and habits, they are almost, it
not exactly, identical with those of the mallard duck.
They are shot in spring and fall, either by the system of
flight shooting in the evenings and mornings, or in the
beginning of autumn, by paddling a canoe silently along

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tlio odfres of tlto lakes and swamps — tlio sportsman soatcd
in tlie bow, and the Indian paddling with that skill and
total absence of splash and noise for which the Indians
are unrivalled. The black duck, when taken on the rise,
is a very easy shot; wdien in the full swinj^ of its flight, it
is a very diflicult one. It is the shyest bird that I know.
Even in remote lakes, whore it Iias never been disturbed,
and where one might expect to find it pretty tame, I have
never caught the black duck napping, though they decoy
weU, particularly in the spring. Shooting out of a canoe
requires a great deal of practice, and it is a much more
ditlicult matter than when on one's legs, owing to the
cramped ])osition of the shooter and the corky motion
of his craft. Putting pot-shots out of the question,
the sportsman who can show ten black ducks for twenty
empty cartridges has done well.

The mallard {A. Boschas) is identical with our English
wild duck in every respect. It b.:is not nearly so wide a
range on the American continent as the black duck. The
mallard goes no farther east than the great lakes, neither
is it found in the far north. When it leaves Upper
Canada at the commencement of winter it migrates to
the Southern and South-western States.

The wood duck (A. Sjmisa) is the most beautiful of all
ducks. - To describe the plumage of an old drake would
simply be impossible ; it must be seen. Fishermen know
the value of its feathers. They make their a}>pearance
in April, and leave early in the fall; for, unlike most other
wild fowl, they cannot stand the cold. In spring they
may be seen in pairs, swimming about the most sheltered
lakes and rivers, or else roosting like crows on the trees.

DUCKS.

I hive never been able to iiiul a nest, but I am tokl tlmt
thcv build in a hollow stumii, or in the fork of a large
tree, near the water. They bring out about eight or ten
of a brood, and manage to carry them from their lofty
birthjdaee to the water— in their bills, I presume. In the
fall the sportsman frequently oomes across them when
blaek-duck shooting. They are tamer than the latter,
and much more easily shot. They are excellent birds on
the table, and sometimes give very pretty si)ort in the
early fall as they rise out of the marshes and. wild rice
swamps.

The famous canvass-back [Aytlnja Vallisneria) is a visitor
to the Canadian lakes. This bird, which is considered
such a deli(!acy in the Southern States, is in Canada not
considered better than the black duck and two or three
other species.

The pochard {Nyroea Ferina) ; very numerous on Cana-
dian lakes ; is often mistaken for the canvass-back, which
it resembles in ;ippearance and flight.

Thi.' widgeon (Mareca Americana) is very like our own
widgeon in habits.

Tlie gad wall (Chauhlasmus Strejierus), the shoveller
(Spatula Chjjyeata), and the pintail (Dajila Acuta) are
three ducks known to the English wild-fowl shooter, but
which are very numerous on the Canadian hikes. The
blue-winged teal {Qnerquedula discors) and the green-
winged teal (Nettlon Carolinensis) are both beautiful little
birds, and give good sport.

To be a successful duck-shooter in Canada a man must
not only be a good shot, but he must be well up to the
habits of the birds ; he must know their haunts by day

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ONTAIUO.

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and nif^lit, and tlicir line of flight ; he must also under-
stand many devices by whicli to circumvent them. Even
to get a pot-shot at ducks requires the most careful stalk-
ing. I know of no deer or otlier animal so hard to a|>
proach as a flock of black ducks on a lake or pond ; a
lumdred eyes are on the watch and a hundred ears are
listening, and I even think they can wind a man. Even
the actual shooting is an art of itself; it is quite different
from snipe, cock, or i)artridge shooting ; in fact, I am
inclined to think that the one spoils a man for the other.
In vild-fowl shooting one must necessarily follow one's
bird and calculate how far to fire ahead of him. Tliis
does not answer at all for snipe, cock, or general shooting.
In flight shooting it requires a long experience to know
exactly when a bird is in range, and what allowance to
make for the speed of his flight. I have seen excellent
shots at general game signally fail at wild fowl, and vice
versa.

Elsewhere I have alluded to the absence of animal life
to be met with in Canada in winter. The swamps and
lake shores present a total contrast to this in the spring
and fall of the year. The sportsman in his canoe, hid
away in the long grass, by the edge of a lake, need never
be lonely in a fine autumnal evening. The ducks, sweep-
ing round their feeding ground with outstretched necks,
chiefly occupy his attention ; but if they give him a few-
minutes' leisure, he can watch the musquash hauling
rushes to his house, and listen to him paddling in the
mud. Great flocks of the *' field-oflicer bird," or red-
winged starling {Agelaius Fhoenicem), alight chattering
on the reeds around him. The osprey (Pandion Caro-

Qi'AiL snooTixa.

linensis) may be seen oircling about high up in the clouds.
The kiugfisher (Alcedo Ahijon) screams and throws hini-
pclf into the water. Nund)er8 of snipe fly shriekin<j: round
the marshes, liigli up in tl»e air. Tlie heron (Ardea
llerodlas) an<l the Indian hen or bittern (Botauriis Len-
iiffinosus) also choose tlio evening for tlieir flight, and
croak most histily as they ily. When darkness closes
in all these sounds cease, and the owls commence to
hoot and laugh. The sportsman then paddles to a dry
bank where driftwood lies scattered about in abundance,
and, with his upturned canoe at his back and a good
fire at his feet, makes himself comfortable for the night.
I have seen very comfortable crafts for duck shooting
in Canada. They are large flat-bottomed boats called
*' scows," on which the shooter has a cabin or hut, with
stove, sleeping berth, &c. This floating habitation can
Ik? poled about the flats from place to place by an
attendant, the punt or canoe being either towed astern
or hauled up on the deck.

The quail (Orti/x Virginianiis) is only found in the
more western districts of the province of Ontario. This
is one of the few sorts of game that do not disappear
as the forests are cut down ; on the contrary, cultivated
land seems to be essential to the quail, whose chief food
is found in the buckwheat and Indian corn-fields. Quail
would be very plentiful in the settled districts of Canada
"West if they were protected during the winter and spring ;
at these seasons, especially in snow, they are easily
poached. Quail shooting over a steady pottering old
pointer or setter is capital sport. When a covey is
broken the birds often take to the bush or patches of

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woftds and sorub noar tlio cdi^os of tlio woods nnd lio vrrv
clo.so. I iiov(!r siiw qimil cust of Toronto, I)Ut to the west
and novtli-wcst of that city tlioy are pretty i)l('ntiful in
some districts.

Woodcock aro fonnd all over Canada West wliorcvor
tlie covers aro Huitable. In tho noiglibourl\ood of Sarnin
cock sliooting is very good, but as in the States tiiey
aro shot too early in the season. In September and
October they are lull-grown and strong on tho wing; the
weather is cool, and the leaves are oil* the bushes, and a
bag of six or eight couple of birds is very nice si)ort
indeed for one gun.

The American snipe (Scohjmx Wihonii) is so like
our English bird that it requires a very close observer
to detect any difference. The former has, I believe,
sixteen tail feathers, while the latter lias only fourteen.
In colour the American snipe is slightly darker than
the English snipe, and it is an easier bird to shoot,
as it not oidy lies closer but also flies straighter and
slower. I must say that these comparisons between the
two birds are drawn at the time when the American
snipe is seen in Canadij, as I have never shot it in
the United States. Snipe leave Canada West early
in November, but I have picked up an odd bird both
tliere and in Prince Edward Island as late as Christmas.
I have seen it stated that the American snipe is
smaller than our snipe, but perhaps the statement is
made by persons who have only shot the American snipe
in the months of September and October, at which time,
of course, it ought only to be compared to the English
snipe at the same seasons of the year. At the end of the

SXIl'f: SIlVdTlSG.

It
■i

shooting sonson in ('aimdii 1 Imvo killrd as large snipo as
I liiivo ever scon. Audubon asjicrts that tlirn' is a dini'r-
riK'c iM'twocii tlio notes ol" the two birds, but this I was
iK'Vcr ablo to distinguish, whether as regards the shrill
crv or tliu bh-ating iioisi' luaih; in tho breeding season,
allhuugh J iuivc heard numy hundreds on both sides of
tho Atliinti.". Xiiiiibcrs hatch in tlio hike districts of
Canada, selecting dry spots for the nests in the vicinity
of the inarsiies and swamps. The young birds C(»njnicnco
to llv in July. Uut th<» Canadian snipe-shooter does not
relv altogether upon these birds. Numbers of snipe that
breed lunch farther north in remote and inaccessible
swamjts visit the snipe groinids of Canada West in their
southern migrations. 'J'hese migratory birds are some-
times found by the sportsmen in great numbers after a
severe north-easter in the month of October. The Ameri-
can snipe is a much hardier bird than tho American
woodcock, and its summer range is much farther north.
In Newfoundland, where there are no cock, there are
plenty of snipe. The American snipe dislikes a grassy
bottom, and is particularly partial to soft oozy places, in
which the shooter sinks to the knee in a clinging and not
over-fragrant black mud. I have often seen them in
little muddy islands, in lakes, and along the edges of
creeks, where there was positively not a blade of cover ;
but even in these exposed situations they lie closer than
English snipe as a general rule. Their backs being just
the shade of the mud enabh'S them to escape observa-
tion. The best dog for snipe shooting in Canada, as else-
where, is a steady old setter, but close-hunting spaniels
answer very well, and whatever dog is used it is almost

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cfisontiul thiit lio should rotriovo. In vory stormy wontlu-r
lato ill tlu' I'iill snipe coii<,'r('j;iit(; together in ('crtaiii
I'livouritn pliiccs, wIkto tlioy reniiiin for n vrry sliort
time previous to tiikinj; flii^'ht for the mouthwunl. At
l.hirt tinio vory lar^o bags ciin bo mudo by sportsmen wlio
ure bieky enou;;h to hit off the rij^ht time juul the right
phwe. On several occlusions I huvo sliot twenty or thirty
<'ouple of snipe on a Humll spot of marali not over an acre
in extent, the birds coining in as fast as I was able to
shoot th(.'in. The American snipo is very fond of alder
Rwamps, nnuMy places generally near the edges of lakes
and marshes, in which tho bushes grow to the height of
eight or ten feet. To make a bag of snipe in such jjlacos
requires very straight powder.

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CIIAPTKR III.

(^r!'.I5EC.

Tin; farthor one tmvols west in tho fontiiiont of North
Aniorlca, tlio more Anioriean do tho citios become, and
less like the old-counti y type. St. J. 'm, Newfonnd-
liuid, in tlio extreme east, mi^dit well pa; for an Irish
town. 'Die str(>ets are dirty and irref/'dur, the side wnlks
iieL-^Jfcted. Tiie ixilieenian and the iiot less inevitable
! .; . r may bo observed prowling abouo ;ii pursuit of
their respective avocations ; even tho stray pig may be
occasionally mot with, and a touch of tho bi.i^ue may be
heard. Quol)ee is a French city. "What a \niy it was,
by the way, that the old Indian name of Stadacona was
not preserved! From the flagstaff of the citadel, a spot
to which every newly arrived immigrant ov tourist
naturally turns his steps, a magnificent panorama presents
itself to his eyes. The old city nestles close under the
guns of the citadel as if for protection. A dozen steamers
lie at the wharf close under the ramparts, and the sight-
seer can look down upon the decks of forty or fifty large
sailing ships lying at anchor in the stream. Opposite is
Point Levi, with its acres and acres of floating lumber
and its high lands, which in the old wars were out of the
range of the guns of the citadel, but which in these days
of improved ordnance would command them. But up the
river and down the river, what glorious views ! "What an

i I

QUEBEC.

I')'' a

expanse of bliio water and glorious sky ; what masses of
rock and forest, with the rugged and sharply defined
Laurentide mountains in tlie background, rising appa-
rently sheer out of the water ! There are not many cities
in the world so favoured. But everyone to his taste.
Yankees look upon Quebec (" Quecbec " as they call it) as
a miserable place, a " finished city," a place that does not
go ahead. It is in fact an Old-World city, and as such
inexpressibly refreshing to the Old-World tourist, whose
eye is wearied of the level uniformity and terribly regular
rectangular cities of the west. It is devoutly to be hoped
that no improving lord mayor or energetic municipfil
council will ever try to adapt Quebec to the sealed
pattern of American cities. But even if they did their
worst, I ftmcy that nature would thwart them.

The old war-worn parapets of the citadel are crumbling
away. Peace bears harder upon them than war. One
cannot help thinking that the richest country in the
world might well aftbrd to keep such a fortress in repair.
In former times large sums of money were lavished on
the fortifications, as well as on others at Kingston and
elsewhere. By-and-by came a change of government, and
the historic guns of Quebec were sold by auction as old
iron, the sentry-boxes sent to Woolwich, and the whole
affair left to go to ruin, while millions were laid out in
constructing new fortresses in other outlying portions of
the empire, such as Bermuda, Malta, &c., which some
future change of policy will probably also leave to ruin.
A regiment or two of soldiers (like the old Canadian
rifles), made up of picked men who had served their time
in the line, would be invaluable to Canada, both for the

QUEBEC.

purposes of garrisoninjj^ and keeping in repair the for-
tresses, and also as forming the nucleus of a Canadian
urmy. 13y this course another imperial purpose would
also be gained, viz. to make the army more popular, for a
period of reserve service in Canada would bo a great
boon to the British soldier, who in former times looked
upon Canada as his best station.

There is no city in the New World that has a more inter-
esting liistory of its own than Quebec. A statue to the
memory of AVolfe and Montcalm, reminds the visitor of a
passage in this history. On one side is inscribed "Wolfe,"
ou the other " Montcalm." Notliing more ; but what a
glorious junction of names, equal honour alike to vicv,or
and vanquished ! There is nothing after all like a fair
fight. Tiie French and English fought it out in Canada,
and have ever since been the best of friends. If the Irish-
man, instead of asking everyone to tread on the tail of his
coat, and being generally "blue-moulded for want of a
bating," had only fought it out with the Sassenach, the
neighbours on each side of St. George's Channel might
now be as good friends as are the people who live ou the
banks of the St. Lawrence.

The province of Quebec is of such extent that it is
really liard to tell where it ends. On the south and west
the boundaries are plain, but to tlie not thward and east-
ward the province has practically no bounds. It is com-
puted to contain about 130 millions of acres, over 100
millions of which have not even as yet boon surveyed. At
a rough calculation, about one-tenth of this vast territory
is good farming land, the remainder is rocky and bai-ren.
The best lands ere generally found near the rivers and

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QUEBEC.

lakes. Along the banks of some of the former there are
as productive intervales as can be found anywhere. The
island of Montreal, for instance, is a garden, and along
both banks of the St. Lawrence, between Montreal and
Quebec, there are many fertile districts and rich settle-
ments. Eelow Quebec the land is of inferior quality, the
seasons are shorter, and the people poorer. In many
districts the high lands are clothed with hard-wood timber,
and when this is the case they make good tai'ms when
cleared. The best farms are, however, those which com-
bine upland and intervale. The latter is easily cleared,
and produces a yearly crop of hay without any further
labour, a great matter where winters are so long as in
Lower Canada.

To every sportsman who has been much in the Cana-
dian forest, the log hut of the back settler and the new
settlement are familiar objects. If approached from the
side of the forest the first sign of civilization is the sound oi'
the cow-bells, which are strapped to the necks of the cattle
to enable their owners to find them. A good-toned bell ou
a still day can be heard two or three miles off. The
roads leading out from these back settlements are of the
very roughest description in summer, but in winter,
thanks to the snow, are level and excellent. Of courso
as the settlement progresses the roads improve, and in a
very few years the back settler's house of to-day is in the
centre of the settlement, accessible by good roads and
possessing every advantage. For the first seven or eight
years, however, the back settler leads a hard life. Having
chosen his land and purchased it (one-fifth of the purchase
money being paid down and the remainder in four annual

r'"

THE BACK SETTLER

instalments), he proceeds to build himself a log house about
18 feet by 20 feet, which he roofs with sjilit pine or cedar.
Externally these log huts are of the roughest description,
no tool being laid upon them but the axe. Internally
liowever, when the good woman is tidy, they are comfort-
able enough. The back settler, though content with a
lui^ hut for himself, puts up a more pretentious building
for his hay and his cattle. His barn is generally built of
boards hauled from the nearest saw-mill, and roofed either
with shingles made by his own hands, or with spruce bark.
Those buildings are situated in the centre of an open
space in the forest, from which it is fenced off by the half-
burnt poles arranged in what is commonly called a " rip-
gut fence." The crops, potatoes, oats, hay, and buck-
wheat, grow in patches amongst the black, charred
stumps, and grow so well, too, as almost to hide the
latter, though they are two feet in height. Outside
the fence the back settler's stock roam about the neigh-
bouring forest, where I am afraid most of his leisure time
is taken up in hunting for them. But, indeed, his leisure
moments must be few, for a back settler has to turn his
hand to everything; he must be his own carpenter, his
own blacksmith, &c., &c. There is no division of labour
in the backwoods. The man and woman of the house do
everything.

The knowing old settler never breaks his back in
tearing green stumps out by the roots. His modus
operandi is somewhat as follows; in winter, when he has
ihe time to spare, he chops a few acres of forest, hauling
off the soft wood for logs, fence rails, &c., and the hard
wood for firing. The waste wood and branches he makes

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QUEBEC.

into piles, and Ifurns, when dry, in tlie spring. In the space
thus cleared and burnt he plants potatoes with the hoe,
here and there, in little hills amongst the stumps. The
following year he sows grass seed and lays it down as
pasture. After seven years the hard-wood stumps are
rotten and come out easily. The pine, owing to its
resinous nature, does not rot so quickly, and gives a little
more trouble. The land is now ready for the plough, and
in the eighth year he takes a crop of wheat off it and
brings it into regular rotation. Say five acres of forest are
chopped every year, he will thus have (after the seventh
year) ten acres of new land coming in each season, viz.
five of burnt land for potatoes, and five to stump and
plough for wheat. The virgin soil needs no manure, and
yields magnificent crops. When the settler has new
land coming in each year, he, from time to time, lays
down portions of his longest cleared land in permanent
pasture.

One of the greatest if not the greatest annoyance to
the back settlers are the flies. The larger his clearin":
becomes, the less he is annoyed by these pests, which
disappear with the forest. Where his house is near water
or swampy land the flies are intolerable. In the valley
of the ]\Ietapedia I have known families who were put to
rout and driven out of the country by the black flies.
Where the house is built in a high exposed situation the
flies are not so troublesome, but they annoy the back
settlor more or less for the first eight or ten years, that
is to say, until he has made a large hole in the forest.
His cattle, too, are terribly annoyed by a large fly called
the cariboo fly, whose bite is only a shade less severe

EASTERN TOWN SHIPS.

tlian the bite of a dof^. The poor creatures conform to the
habits of the moose, wliich animals, wlicn tortured by these
])ests in the months of June and July, plunge into the
lakes and rivers and remain there during the heat of the
(lay with nothing but their heads above water. As a set-
off to the plague of Hifs in summer, tlie back settler is
well situated as regards the cold of winter. He is
sheltered from all winds by the surrounding forest, and
fuel in profusion of the clioicest quality is ready at his
hand. Tiie back settler's life is a life of toil, but it is one
also of great independence. Every hour's work he spends
on his clearing makes him a richer man, every acre he
ploughs, every stump even he takes out, makes his farm
more valuable. All his work bears fruit, and at the end'
of ten or fifteen years it is wondt-rful to see what a trans-
I'ormation the industrious back settler has made in the
forest.

In the eastern townships of Canada there are very good
farms. This district is most favourablv situated as rejjards
markets. Its staple })roducts are beef, mutton, pork,
and butter, and for all these articles there is a great
demand in the adjacent New England State>!, where they
sell at even higher prices than they do in England. The
farming season in the eastern townships is somewhat
loi'gcr than in other parts of Lower Canada, and the land
when cleared is well suited to jrriiss and stock raisinu'.
Iu)proved farms with buildings can be bought in the
eastern townships for from 4(jOZ. up to 12U0?., and about
half as much more capital as the price of the farm would
enable an immigrant with a good knowledge of farming
and stock to do very well there.

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QUEBEC.

There are large blocks of suiveyed laud in Lower
Canada which are offered free to hondjide settlers. These
free-grant lands are situated for the most part on coloniza-
tion roads rniniiug through remote districts of the country,
and are not of very good quality. Unless he has been at
least a year or two in the country and has acquired an
intimate knowledge of the locality, no immiurant should
be induced to settle on these free-grant Lmds. It cannot
be too often repeated that in a country like Canada, where
iniproved land can be bought reasonably, and where good
wild land in the vicinity of settlements and railways can
be bought for iSl per acre, that no immigrant should be
tempted to bury himself in a remote wilderness by the
offer of a fiee grant. By working for a year or two for
wages he will be able to lay by enough to buy a farm, and
he will thus acquire experience of the country to boot.
The free-grant lauds of Quebec are chiefly on the south
shore of the St. Lawrence along military and colonization
roads which lead from the back settlement towards New
Brunswick and the peninsula of Gaspe. The latter
district is both from its soil and climate unsuited to
farming ; it is, however, rich in minerals, and the fisheries
on its shores are the richest in the world. Although the
farmer pure and simple cannot make a good living in this
district, yet here and there on the mouths of rivers and
elsewhere in the valleys there are patches of good hind on
which the families of fishermen can raise sulficient crops
lor household consumption. Much the same may be said
of the corresponding district on the north shoi'e of the
St. Lawrence, with the doubtful exception of the Saguenay
valley, in which there is an agricultural population who

THE SAGUEXAY

fiud a ready market for their produce in the luiuber woods,
where hay, oats, pork, dfcc, eoinniaiid higher prices than in
the cities. I said tlio valley of the Saf^iieimy was a
"donbtCul" cxcf'ption, and for tliis reason, that a place in
which the welfare of agriculturists depends upon lumbor-
in"- cannot bo called a good farming district. But the
I'arms, such as tlioy are, on the upper waters of the
Sagueiiay, surprise the tourist, >vho sees on his way up
that river fioin the sea nothing but barren rocks and
inaccessible cliffs until he comes to Ha Ila bay, a distance
of GO miles. From here to Lake St. John and all round
the shores of the latter large sheet of water there is good
land which cnn be bought for about a shilling an acre.
Here the hardy French Canadians, wdio are at home in the
woods, can, with tlie help of lumbering, make a good
living, but it is not a place for the old-country immigrant
to settle in. Below the mouth of the Saguenay there
is positively no land fit for farming, and no roads. The
inhabitants of this country, fishermen and trappers, are
entirely dependent upon water communication, and for
six months in the vear are shut off from the world. But
although the land is rocky and sterile along the lower
r^t. Lawrence, the waters are rich beyond conception^
From the Avhale down to the capelin the quantities and
varieties of fish are an)azing. This wealth ot the waters
amply compensates for the sterility of the soil, and renders
tlie lower St. Lawrence by no means the least valuable
part of the Dominion.

It would be of great advantage to Canada and to
Canadian farmers if some industrv could bo originated
and carried out which would give employment to hands in

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■winter, leaving tlicm free to farm in sunimor. Liiin])ci'ing
in Lower Canmla does this to a certain extent, but only to
a certain extent. Lumbering operations, including streani
driving, vS:e., last till near midsummer, and arc conmienced
again early in the fall. Besides, tin? lumberman as a rule
has no greater liking to farm drudgerv than the sailor
has. The raw materials in Lower Canada are varied and
abundant ; besides the products of the vast forests there
are many different sorts of minerals, but manufactures to
use up this raw material are scarce. Iron ore is mined in
Canada, sent to the Lnited States to be smelted, and
bought back again by Canada. \\'ant of ctqtital and
want of labour, though helping to explain tin's state of
aifairs, do not quite account for it. A\'e must look for the
reason outside of Canada. The commercial relationship
between Canada and the United States is unsatisfactory in
the extreme. Canadian manufactures are shut cnit from
the American markets by an insuperable barrier — protec-
tion. But even that is not all. When anv commoditv
happens to be manufactuied in tin; United States in {>xc( ss
of the demand, then the uveri)lus is thrown into ihe
Canadian market and sold off at a sacrifice. 'Jhis is
very hard upon the Canadian manufacturer who is under-
sold, but it is a decided convenience to the iVmerican
manufacturer, who, by selling off his surplus produce
in a foreign market, keeps up the prices in his home
market.

The fisheries of Canada are of twofold value; firstly, as
aftbrding a most valuable article of export, second only in
value to the lumber ; secondly, as breeding a biave and
hardy race of seamen. The mother-countrv beini; of

FISUElilKS.

coiirso the first, Cannda, one of her colonics, takes rank
as tlie fil'tli or sixth greatest sliip-owning country in the
world. This is a fact wortli noting l)y those who are always
predicting tlic decay of the Britisli J'impire. As a school
for seamen the fisheries of the lower St. Lawrence are
invaluable, (xreat numbers of forc^-and-al't schooners of
from 2') to 50 or GO tons are employed in this business,
l»ut a great deal of the cod-fisliing is done in opi-n boats.
These are of the Avluile-boat shajx', stem and stern alike ;
the rig is generally two spritsails and a jib. Two men
fish in each boat ; erich man has a pair of lines, one at each
side of the boat, and when fish are plentiful in 20 fathoms
water the work is very laborious. These boats live in the
most tremendous seas, and their owners fear no weather.
The baits used for codfish are capelin and squid, the former
of which is cast up by the sea at the doors of the fisher-
men's cottages in incredible quantities. The peculiar
I'eatnres of a fishing village on the shore of the St.
Lawrence are the stages, or phitforms, for drying cod-
fish. They look like huge ladders lying side by side in a
horizontal position, some three feet from the ground. These
])latl'orms are covered with layers of spruce boughs, on
top of which the fish, wdien split and salted, are spread to
dry in the sun. In the front of each cottage, where
one expects to see a garden, there is, instead, one of
these stages redolent of codfish. The average annual
take of a boat such as I have described is about 10,000
codfish.

It might naturally be supposed that these fishermen
are well off. This, however, is not the case. The great
Jersey merchants who monopolize the fisheries have made

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QUEBEC.

immenHO fortunes out of the codlisli, l)ut their fisljerinfii are
poor and (lopcjuk'iit. The hitter are <;en<'rally in debt to
the f(»rmer for their lioats, their lisliiiif^ tacUk% their
clotiies, their [)r()visioiis, and often even for their lioiises
and potato <i;ar(h^ii8. Where there is no eonn)etition the
buyer puts his own price on the fish, and in order to drive
off competition it is the interest of the nierchjint to keep
the fisherman in debt, and therefore in servitude.

It is a matter of wonder to many that the Freneli
Canadians take so kindly to Enji^lisli ruh^ and En^dish
institutions. I believe in no other part of the worUl will a
popuhition of nearly 900,000 Frenelimen be found living
so contentedly. When we look into the matter, however,
the wonder ceases. These Frencli are not French of
the liejaiblie, nor yet of the Empire, they are Freneli of
the old j\[onarchy. France of the jiresent day, with its
revolutions and its wars, has no charms for them. They
have the sense to know when they are well off. They
love the country wIk re their ancestors first settled and in
which they displayed so much heroism ; and they respect
the nation which, alter haviuL!,' conquered them, received
them on a footing of perfect equality. But there is
another strong bond which binds the French Canadians to
the British Empiie, and that is their religion. The
French habitants of Lower Canada are under the rule of
their priests. It is customary to look u})on their political
slavery as a misfortune, but I cannot regard it in that
light. The priests no doubt order them how to vote, but
they do so for their good. Better that an ignorant people
should be led by an educated priesthood than by an

Fli IINCII VA XA D I A A'S.

iim (liicated luid brutal mob as in the United Stntcs. I'lio
j»iiests are good snbjoetM to l"]ii^la!Ml ; they know well that
under no other rule would they enjoy so niueh toleration ;
in Lower Canada they have their flocks well in hand,
wliile next door, under mob rule, they see that their eo-
ruligionists have emancipated themselves from priestcraft
and would pursue the almighty dollar in the teeth of the
IV) [)e himself.

The attachment of French Canadians to their country
is very strong. They are handy tradesmen and skilful
incclianics, and often migrate to the United Stat(?s when
wages rule high there, but never to settle; they always go
witli the intention of returning to their beloved Canada.
In 1873, as we have seen before, 9000 Canadians returned
from the States to live in their own country.

The province of Quebec has many attractions for the
sportsman. The angling is unquestionably the finest in
the world. There is still [)lenty of big game in the forest,
although each year the hunter has to go farther back in
rpiest of sport. At the head of the Ottawa, the Gatineau,
and most of the other large tributaries of the St. Lawrence
on its northern banks, moose are still to be found. Also
on the south shore, in the districts of Bonaventure and
Temisquata. The legal season for moose hunting is from
September 1st to January, and if the close season were
rigorously enforced moose would be extremely plentiful in
all parts of Lower Canada ; the browse they feed on grows
abundantly everywhere in the forest, and there is a
mixture of lake, swamp, and hard-wood land, which they
delight in. To hunt the moose successfully in the legal

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season is nn nrt tliat iu»t orn* nitm in a tlionsand can
attain to, and consconcntlv tliov arc well aMo to tiil<o can;
of tlniinsclvos at this period, and, imlcod, at all times,
Nivo in tlio lato winter and early spring', wlien tlie snow is
deepost and when the feniales are in calf. This, nnt'ortu-
natelv, is the s(>ason when moose are chieilv slanj^htered,
and it is found to be inijtDssihle to enforce the; law I'nr their
jirotection over siieli an immense and thinly po])ulated
district as the forests of Lower Canada.

(wuihoo arc fonnd all over J.ower Caiuula on both banks
of the 8t. Lawrence: sometimes these Wandering deer are
found in the <^reenwooils, sometimes on the barrens and
on the bare mountains. The best hunting grounds are
below (Quebec on both baidvs ol' the river. Li i)art8 of
the peninsula of Gaspe they are very i)lentii'ul and quite
undisturbed by the hunter. In the Shickshock mountains
and in the barrens at tlui heads of the rivers very good
bags can be made. In the deep snow in spring cariboo
often come quite eh)se to the settltMuent. I have never
seen the Virginian deer in Lower Canada, but I am told
there are a lew on the borders of the New England States
and probably also on the Ottawa.

There is excellent wild-fowl shooting in spring and
autumn in many places along the St. Lawrence, both
above and below Quebec, (jleese are shot chiefly in the
spring. The most recent enactment as regards wild-fowl
shooting is as follows: — "No person shall fire at, hunt,
take, kill, or destroy any wild swan, wild goose, or any
kind of wild duck, sea duck, widgeon, or teal, between the
first day of May and the first day of September of any year

spoiir.

in tlmt part of tlio provinfo west of Tliroo llivors; nor
l)('t\V(Mii till' 15th of JMiiy niid tlio 1st September in any
year to the eiist of Three llivers, ex('(»pt in that ])art of tlio
|)roviin'(> to the east of tlie Ihaiidy J*ots, in wliicli part of
tlio province the iiiliMhitants may kilJ wild fowl at any
tiinn of tlio year for food, but for no other purpose."

From the 1st of Sej)tendicr till tlie eojumencement of
December, and apain from the 1st of April to the middle
of June, the lower St. liawrenee swarms with wild fowl of
inanv dift'erent varieties. ]\Iost of them bn-ed in Ijower
Caiiac ' ; u few, such as the brant jjooso {Bernida Brenta),
the old squaw {llan-lda Glacialis), and a few others, go
further north to hatch. There are two sorts of grouse in
Lower Canada, the T. UiiiheUiis and T. Canadensis. The
Xewloundland grouse (21 Bupedris) occasionally migrate
to the adjacent mainland, and I believe specimens have
been shot not far from (Quebec. There is fair snipe shoot-
ing on some of the islands in the St. Lawrence (whore they
breed) in the months of September and October. This is
also the cock-shooting season, but cock are more plentiful
in Canada West on the one side, and in the maritime
l)rovinces on the other, than in Quebec.

The trapper flourishes in the less frequented parts of
the province. Some of the French habitants are good fur-
hunters, but the best are the INFontaignais and Squawpe
Indians of the north shore, who spend half the year in the
fur countries. Beaver are still pretty numerous on the
heads of most Lower Canadian rivers, so are otter and mink.
Of land fur bears and loup-cerviers are the most plentiful.
Marten and foxes are getting scarce. The best ground for

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bears and foxes is in Anticosti and the adjacent mainland.
Jjotli these animals come to the seashore for fish at cer-
tain seasons. There is a law for the protection of the fur-
bearing animals in summer (except the boar, the wolf, and
the loup-cervier), and it is forbidden at any time of the
year to kill them with ])oison or s[)ring guns.

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

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CHArTER IV.

NKW BRUNSWICK.

New Brunswick is not ca farming country ; such at least
is the character it bears, and cousecpiently there is little
or 110 ('migration to the province. The vast army of
emiirnuits that vear alter vear crosses the xVtlantic,
leaving the British colonies on one side, pushes o:; farther
west, and distributes itself among the great cities and the
fertih^ prairies of the United States. Without pretending
to the gift of prophecy, I may fairly predict that at a
future period something will occur to divert this stream
of eniiiiration elsewhere ; and, looking forward to this
contingency, it might not be amiss to glance at this
wilderness, and see why ** New Brunswick is not a
farming country." Is it impossible to clear the land?
When cleared, does it not yield good crops ? Is the
climate too vsevere ? Are the markets too remote ?

With an area of about 20,000,000 acres, New Brunswick
has a po])ulation of about 250,000, or, deducting the
population of the city of St. John, one to every hundred
acres. If the province were equally partitioned out
amongst the adult males, each one might have a farm
of fi\e hundred acres. But every man in a country
Ciinnot be a farmer — some must be shoemakers, tailors,
&c. ; even doctors and lawyers are necessary evils.
With this scanty population it does not seem so strange

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that nine-tenths of tlie province is still forest; nor is it tn
be wondered at that a easiial visitor, seeinj^ tliis iirimeval
forost, slionld carry away with him the impression that
." New ]>riins\vick is not a farminjx countrv."

But this population, small as it is, does not live hy
agriculture. Like the Americans, they look upon farming
as too slow a means of makinij^ money, and prefer occu-
pations which, toii^cther with greater risks, combine
quicker returns. Both these desiderata liave hitherto
hef'n supplied by the lumbering and shipbuilding trades;
but, now iron ships are taking the \Aace of wooden
ones, the lumber trade is depreciated, and farming, if
farming can be made to pay, must be entered upon
largely.

The best way to judge what can be done is to look at
what has been already accomplished by the comparatively
few individuals who have devoted themselves entirely to
the cultivation of the soil. These men, so far from being
worse off than their neighbours, are in/ariably more
prosperous and well-to-do ; they cannot, it is true, amass
fortunes, but they can live well and comfortably, and
give their children a fair start in life. In travelling
through the jjrovince, if one sees a more than ordinarily
comfortable and prosperous looking homestead, one may
be quite sure that it bidongs to a man who has stuck to
farming. This fact tends to upset the notion that New
Brunswick is not a farming country ; and looking more
closely into the matter, comparing the crops grown hero
with those of other countries, and weighing well the
drawbacks of climate and the difficulty of clearing the
land, I am led to the conclusion that at a future period

FARMING,

New Brunswick, stripped of its forests, will maiutain by
iigricultnre a population pro[ortionate to its area.

\\\\\\ the rich prairie lands and the seini-tro})ical
climate of the south-we.^t it would be folly to attempt"
11 comparison. These regions would be the El Dorado ot
the farmer were it not for certain drawbacks in the shape of
scarcity of labour, heavy taxation, fever and ague, &c. In
British America the difliculty of procuring farm labourers
is also felt ; but, on the other hanti, taxation falls lightly
oil the farmer — in no part of the world can ho enjoy
greater security of life and pr()[)erty, or a healthier and
more invigorating climate. I'hese advantages, combined
with gri'at and growing facilities for marketing his
produce, go far to compensate for the hard labour of
clearing the land and for the shortness of the farming

season.

The land may be divided into three lots — viz. upland,
intervale, and swamp. The latter, so far from being low-
lying, is often the highest land in the province — either
cariboo barrens clothed with lichens and stunted bushes, or
else densely wooded with spruce, fir, and cedar; for farming
purposes it is almost useless. The best farms contain a
certain portion both of upland and intervale. Stock has
to be housed and fed for nearly six months ; but nature,
us a set-off against the length of winter, gives most
bountiful crops of grass. The intervale lands along the
rivers and lakes are periodically flooded by the freshet,
top-dressed by the sediment that remains after the waters
have receded, and year after year, without cultivation,
yield an abundance of hay. Nothing strikes the stranger
more forcibly than the rapidity of the vegetation : hardly

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

has tho snow vanished, when the trees burst into foliage
as if by mngic ; and the grass — I was going to say one
might see it grow — but this I can say, that I have seen a
first-rate crop of hay cut off a fiehl that seven weeks
before was as bare and bi-own as a worn-out carpet.

Excellent crops of wheat aie grown in parts of the
province, chiefly on the bay of Chaleur; with a better
system of farniinn: I believe it could be universally
cultivated with success. Barley is not grown, chiefly I'or
want of a mar]<et. Oats and buckwheat are th.e staple
cereals, and these grow to })erfection. I have seen 7U
bushels of oats, weighing 40 lb. to the bushel, taken off
one English acre of land. Buckwheat grows almost wild,
and is a most useful crop to the former ; the meal takes
the place of oatmeal, even of w^heaten meal, at his table,
and the bran fattens pigs and poultry quicker than almost
any other sort of feed. Turnips, carrots, parsni|)s, beets,
nningolds, and potatoes grow to perfection, but the latter
root only is largely cultivated ; all the others requiring
hand labour, are considered too expensive for field crops,
and are merely grown in small quantities. Potatoes may
be said to be a certain crop ; not only do they grow
luxuriantlv, but thev are scarcely, if at all, affected bv
disease. Calif\>rnias, a very large but coarse variety, take
the place of turnips for stock feeding. All the vegetables
grown in English gardens do as well or better here.
Cucumbers, pumpkins, and tomatoes rij^en in the open air,
and so does Indian corn, which, however, is only grown
as a garden crop. IMelons and grapes require a little
forcing.

The market for farm produce is very good, and can

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MARKETS. CLIMATE,

never be overstocked, fur the large cities of tlie Northern
States will always be ghid to get any overplus that New
Brunswick may have to (lisj)ose of. The facilities for
sciuhtig goods to market are, as I said before, unsurpassed.
Besides roads, wliich are numerous and tolerably good,
the whole province of New Brunswick is intei'seeted by
rivers and lakes; many are navigable in smnnier, and all
form capital roads in winter when bridged over by the
frost. Railways too are springing up in all directions,
and the feelings of the moose and the carii)oo are rudely
shocked by the scream of the locomotive. There are now
over 700 miles of railway in New Brunswick, or a mile of
lailway to every 350 of the population.

Tlie coast-line of the province is of great extent — about
400 miles — with innumerable good harbours. The inland
navigation is considerable ; steamers run 200 miles up the
St. John in high water, 80 miles at all times.

As regards the climate, the principal drawback — and it
is a serious one — is that the total work which the English
I'armer spreads over twelve months, must in New Brunswick
all be compressed into six or seven months. It is said, and
I believe with truth, that an acre of land here will yield
as good, or better crops, than an acre of equally good
land in Eno-land. In estimating: the advantages and
disadvantages of climate, there are several things that
must be set aijainst the len;rth and severitv of the
wintei's — amongst others, the pulverization of the land
by frost, which saves labour ; the small number of days
in the season in which the farmer is impeded in his
operations by rainfall, and consequently the ease and
rapidity with which he secures his crops ; great heat of

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NE W Bll UNS WICK.

Sim in summer, and raiiid vefi;etation. Even the long
winter itself is not wholly without its advantages ; it
affords the fanner great facilities for hauling firewood,
manure, fence lails, &(i., on sleds, and the long housing of
his stock enables him to accumulate a larger ])ile of
manure. Although extensive lumbering operations are
incom[iatible with funning, there is no reason why
farmers should nut in winter cut and haul materials
for building purposes, fences, &c. ; on the contrary, no
farm sliould be without a certain qnuntity of forest at its
back, which may little and little be cleared, and in the
meantime furnishes necessary lumber and fuel in winter,
and a run for young cattle in summer.

New Brunswick is a good j)rovinco for emigrants of
the working classes. If wages are not nominally so
high as in the States, they are actually higher, because
living is one-third less. A hard-uDrking man, accustomed
to farm labour, can earn from ten to fifteen dollars a
month all the year round, with his keep, and in two or
three years save enough to commence farming on his own
account. It is not one of those countries (are there any
such?) where a man can invest a small capital in land
and in a few years make a fortune; but it is a country in
which a man with a certain small income, can live much
more comfortaldv than he can in Eniiland, have some
shooting and iishiug, and do everything that he sees his
neighbours doing, which I believe to be half the battle. It
is a mistake here, as elsewhere, for a man with little or no
idea of farming, tn rush out and invest all his capital in
land. He should rather take plenty of time to look about
him, and in the meantime can always get from 6 to 8 per

WILDERNESS LAND. ST. JOHN.

cent, for liis money. Good cleared farm?, with houses
aud buildings, can be bought, stocked, and furnished lor
about lUOO/. A good method for a gentleman to pur-
sue, is to get a countryman to farm lor him on shares.
This man, under the owner's eye, and guided by his
orders in all matters of importance, cultivates and crops
the land, and pays the labour bill of the farm, receiving
fur his share one-half of the crops, or an equivalent.

Wilderness lands can be bought for about three shillings
an acre. In choosing them, the settler is guided by
the timber. Wiiere black birch, majtle, and beech grow
is always the best land. The trees are first chopped down
and then burnt. The stumps, as I have said before, do
not come out for seven years, but in the meantime a crop
of oats, and another of potatoes, is taken off the land
without manure, and it is then laid down in grass for the
remainder of the time. Fuel is inexhaustible, both wood
and coal ; the latter crops up to the surface in some parts
of the province, and is sold in the city of St. John for
about 1?. per chaldron.

St. John, next to Quebec, is the greatest lumber port
in America. There is a good deal of friendly rivalry
between this city and Halifax. The latter, besides being
a large naval and military station, is also the nearest port
to Europe, and has its line of ocean steamei'S. The
harbour of Halifax is one of the finest, if not the finest in
the world, but in exceptionably severe winters it is liable
to be frozen over. Although navigation is never impeded
for more than a week or two at a time, and that only at
intervals of two or three years, yet it enables the St. John
people to draw a comparison between the two harbours in

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

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fiivonr ofthoir own, which has never been known to»frceze
over. 'y\\(i hiirbour of St. John is the mouth of the river
of that Diinie, and tlie rapid current of the latter to-
|j:ether witli tlie higli tides of the liay of Fnndy, wliich
rise from 40 to GO feet, are an effectual remedy against
ice.

The river St. Jolni, wliidi formerly drained only tlie
])rovince of New Brunswick, is next to the St. Lawrence
the finest river in Canada. By the Ashburton Treaty, an
immense tract of land, including in its area several fine
tributary streams of the St. John, was handed over to the
United States. It thus happens that American lumber
has to be rafted down the St. John river, and shipped from
St. John harbour. This arrangement has been a continual
source of trouble in the regulation of the tariff, and might
at anytime be a cause of ill-feeling or quarrel between the
two countries. From the Grand Falls of the St. John to
the Bav of Fundv, a distance of 220 miles, the river
flows through a level fertile country ; it averages from a
mile to half a mile in width, and is dotted with rich
alluvial islands, and its banks well settled. AVhen the
river is high, steamers run up to the falls. They run to
Fredericton every day during the summer.

Fredericton is to New Brunswick what Ottawa is to
the Dominion. It is commercially overshadowed by St.
John as Ottawa is by IMoiitreal. The New Brunswick
Legislature meets at Fredericton, which is also the
residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the province.
Fredericton is a charming town, beautifully situated
on the banks of the St. John ; it has a splendid library
a beautiful little cathedral, a real English bishop, and a

FliEDEniCTON.

sooiiiblo little socioty. Besides tlio ordinary ways in
which pleasant people are able all over the world to
amuse and be amused, in their leisure liours the inhabi-
tants of Fredericton have the most ample opportunities
tor delightful rides, drives, canoeinj^ parties, skatinf;
parties, slei/^hing parties, trabogening, &c., &c. It is also
a very good central position for the sportsman.

There are two or three new settlements on the upper
St. John river, one of Danes at a place called New Hellei'up,
a short way below Grand Falls, another of Scotchmen at
Glassville. This is a fertile tract of country, and although
the winters are long and severe, good crops can be grown.
This district was formerly (when the navigation of St. John
river was closed) very inaccessible. It is now c lunected
with both the United States and the chief cities of the
Dominion by the recently constructed railways.

In old times the Indian when he travelled "porta;7ed"
his canoe from the St. Lawrence to the head waters of the
St. John, a distance of only a few miles. At the present
day a canoe voyage down the St. John is one of the
pleasantest imaginable. For a distance of nearly 400 miles
there are only two " portages," and, unlike most Canadian
rivers, the St. John is quite free from rocks or dangerous
rapids. The scenery is beautiful ; forest-clad hills in the
background, pretty settlements sloping down to the banks
of the river, and charming islands in endless numbers and
of many sizes and shapes. On these the voyageur finds
famous camping grounds and abundance of firewood.
Every here and there rivers and pretty streams discharge
their waters into the parent stream, sometimes tumbling
over picturesque falls. The St. John only requires to be

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

better known to the tourist world in order to enjoy as widp
a reputation as the far-i'amed Hudson.

Tlie soil of New Brunswick is fertile and produces ns
good crops of certain kinds as any part of the Dominion.
A great deal more than onohalf of tlio total area of the
province is ungranted. Free grants of 200 acres are given
in certain parts of the province to heads of families, and
any adult male can obtain a grant of 100 acres. But even
where free grants are not given, wild land is obtainable for
next to nothing, viz. hondjide settlers can get 100 acres in
return for three years' statute labour on the roads, say one
week's labour in each year.

Improved farms can be bought for very little in most
parts of New Brunswick. This is the case in all lumber
countries, where the first settlers are in the habit of moving
back after the forest. From 200Z. to 500?. will buy a farm
of 100 acres, 20 or 30 acres being arable, with buildings
sufficient for the immigrant to commence with. The terms
of payment are very easy.

There is not a great demand for immigrants of the
working classes in New Brunswick ; the main business of
the province is lumbering, an industry that requires skilled
labour ; a limited number of farm hands and domestic
servants can, however, get good wages. A good man able
to turn his hand to any sort of farm work gets from 3Z. to
3/. 10s. a month and his keep, women servants from 1?. to
21. Carpenters can always get work at from Gs. to 8s. a
day. Wages, like almost everything else, depend very
much upon the condition of the lumber market.

There are numbers of alluvial islands on the St. John,
and marshes along its banks, which are flooded over in

NA TURA L MEA D WS.

101

the sprinir-timo. Tlu-so are the most valuablo lands in tlio
jiroviiici', as tliey give a heavy crop of hay every year
with no hibonr but the cutting and saving. Tlio New
Ihiinswiciv limner who owns a farm on the bank of the
(St. John, and an island or a ])ortion of an island, is a
hicky man. He can keep a large stock, for wliidi he has
always a good market, as the price of meat in the mari-
tinio provinces is very high. A good farm on tlie St. John,
w itii luiMiiigs, and inchiding a portion of island or marsh,
can be bought for about 1500?. A man witli a capital of
2000/. and money enough besides to keep him going for
one year can make a very good living on a farm such as
this. On the New Brunswick side of tlie Bay of Chaleur
there is also good laud, as there is also in Sussex vale and
along thej\liramichi river.

Tlie New Brunswickers are famed for their achievements
on the water as canoe-men and boatmen. In boat-racing
St. John has taken the lead in America, beating all
coiners both from the United States and Canada, and
holding her own against any English crews she has com-
peted with. It is to a certain extent the water that makes
the waterman. In the harbour of St. John — the mouth of
the river of that name — the tide rises to a height of
40 feet, and the boatmen have alwavs a tremendous
current to contend against. The man who can row here
can row anywhere. But independently of this, the fact of
a small city in Canada turning out a crew of four men
who are able to beat any crew in the United States, and to
hold their own against any crew in the world, goes far to
prove that the Anglo-Saxon settler in Canada i)ossesses an
unimpaired vitality.

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.vAir njii'yswTf'h'.

Tlioro is very good angling in Now l*rims\vick. I liiivo
miide mention of tlio salmon rivt'i'.s olscwhoro. All tlio
rivers tlmt inn into tlio Gnlf of St. Luwrcnco and tlio
many linndrods of lakes which dot over the province aro
t'nll of tront. There is, I believe, one sjiecies of trout
peculiar to Now Jirunswiek and tho eonti;jjuoiis State of
i\raino. I allude to tho *'lake shiner" {S. Gloverii), a very
beautiful and sportin;^ fish, as liUo as possible in size,
shape, and colour to a grilse, and also in its mode of
taking tho fly and juni{)ing out of water when hooked.
There is a chain of larg(! lakes on the St. Croix river, in
which sliiners are very plentiful. They are also eanglit in
the Schoodie lakes, in Skiilf lake near the St. .John iiver>
and in several other lakes in that locality. They rise very
freely towards tho latter end of j\ray and bcfynning of
Juno at any sea trout or grilse fly, and tho season being
so early does not interfere with salmon fishing. On Grand
Lake in the beginning of Juno there is often a little
canvas town inhabited by anglers. It is a very accessible
place for Americans, and consequently tho shiner fishing
is in danger of being overdone.

A very fine fish that runs np some of the largest of the
New Brunswick rivers, such as the St. John and the
Miramiclii, is the striped bass {lioccus Lineatus). Bass run
up the St. John r;ither earlieV than salmon, viz. about the
beginning of June. They take a bait freely, and I have
heard instances of their having risen at the fly. Bass
spearing in the St. John is capital sport. At the extreme
head of the tide on that river, a few miles above Fredericton,
on the fine June evenings dozens of bark canoes may be
seen darting about the broad surface of the river. They

JiASS Sl'EAIilNa.

103

arf piirsuiiif? liitlicr imd thither shoals of bass which every
now Mild tlieii rise to tlio surface of tlio water, i)lun^'o uiul
roll fi>r a few sccoiids, iiiul then <livo to reappeur in
aiiothor place. The oaiuies are paddled furiously after the
shoals, and the barbed spears, or har[)oons, are hurled into
the midst of thcni. When a lish is impaled the harpoou
disa[>i)oars, but the wooden shaft soon causes it to rise to
the surface a;,'ain, when iish and all are secured by the
owner, t^triped bass average 8 or 10 lbs. in weight, but I
have frequently speared fish that weighed 20 and 30 lbs.
They are fairly good fish on the table. I do not think the
reason is (piite understood why the striped bass perform
these antics at this particular time and place, and at this
time and this place ouly. It has something to do, however,
with the propagation of their species. I have more than
once observed that when a shoal comes to the surface
there is a slight milky discoloration of the water, which
can only bo accounted for by the supposition that the
male fish void their milt on these occasions.

The llsheries are so marvellously rich in Canada, and
fish of the choicer qualities are so abundant, that tl.e
coarser varieties are passed by. The fresh-water fisheries,
except salmon and shad, are almost entirely neglected.
The striped bass are only killed for sport. Sturgeon,
which are very abundant in the St. John river, are not
caught at all. I do not know whether caviare can be
made from the roe of this fish, but certainly isinglass
could. The Canadian sturgeon {Acipemer Oxijrhynchus)
is a fish of from 6 feet to 12 feet in length. It ascends the
rivers in June, and may be seen at this season on fine
evenings throwing itself out of the water. I believe it

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104

xj:w nnuxswiCK.

does tlii-! to free itself from some salt-water parasite,
because after its first arrival it never jumps. Later on,
when the rivers get clear and shallow, sturgeon may be
seen lying at the bottom like logp of wood. Ppearing
sturgeon by torchlight is great spoi-t. A well-tempered
speaihead and a strong stroke are rec^uired to pierce the
armour-plated back of the monster. A float or bladddT
is attached by a string to the spear handle, because when
a large fish is struck the spear has to be let go, otherwise
the canoe would bo upset.

There are immense numbers of eels in some of the New
Brunswick rivers, but these very excellent fish are treated
with contempt by the people of the country, who have a
strange prejudice against them, founded, as far as I can
discover, on their fancied resemblance to the snake. There
are at least two, probably three, varieties of the eel. The
lamprey eel is a coarse fish, wliich almost justifies the
prejudice which exists, but the common eel is an excellent
fish, and when canght in season is fully equal to our best
English eels. The eel ascends the rivers in June and
July, descending again in the month of October. In
winter they remain in the mud at the mouths of the
rivers or in the bays or estuaries into which the rivers
flow. At this season they are in splendid condition, and
are speared by the Indians through holes made for the pur-
pose in the ice. The Indians say that in their ascent of the
rivers they " poitage " round the fjilK They certainly can
go, like the late President Lincoln's gunboats, wherever
the ground is the least damp. I have seen them, old and
young together, wriggling themselves in vast quantities
over a large flat rock, which was not covered with water,

EELS. SHOOTING.

105

but simply wet with tlie wash and spray of an adjoining
rapid, which, I presume, the eels considered too strong
fur them. At the outlet of the Grand Lake near the St.
John river in the month of October I have seen the eels
so plentiful that two men bobbing nearly filled a canoe
with them in a couple of hours. Some day or other,
when fish shall have become scarcer than they are at
present, people will begin to find out the value of the eel.

There is good shooting to be had in New Brunswick by
a man who knows where to go for it and when to go for
it. Among the ]\Iilicete Indians who live on the St. John
river there are some good guides — none better than old
" Gabe." Moose were very plentiful in ISew Brunswick
some fifteen years ago, but have been shamefully
slaughtered for the sake of their hides. There are still
some of these fine animals left on the New Brunswick
side of the St. John river, and in that district of country
drained by the Nepisiguit. Cariboo are plentiful enough
all through the centre of the province, from the Bay of
Chaleur down to the Grand Lake. This is a district
generally of spruce woods interspersed with barrens, old
burnt woods, and patch * of hard woods near the banks of
rivers. Theve ai*> ah.o a few beavers in this district.
Deer are foun^ ..'. the country bordering on tht Bay of
Fundy between tiie fit. John river and the St^te "<" Maine.
Bears are plentif d, but rarely met with by the sportsman.
The fur-bearing animals, except otters, musquash, and
loup-cervier, are scarce.

In some of the settled distiicts there ii fair snipe and
cock f;i.ooting. The latter part of l?ept( mbe: tnd October
13 the season for these birds. Hoie, i^^f.t^-. a man who

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

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knows the covers and the particular spots on the marshes
freque^ited by tlio long-bills will have good sport, while
the man who does not know the ground will probably
come home with an empty bag. The knowledge cannot
be picked up second-hand, as there are very few mf^n in
the province wlio shoot snipe and cock.

Partridge shooting is a more common occupation.
There is not much similitude between the sport as prac-
tised in New Brunswick and in England. On the 1st of
September, when the English sportsman is in the tu^'uips
and stubble, the New Brunswick " pattridge '•••in«r''
may be seen leisurely driving in his waggon a, i.;' an
unfrequented wood road, 'vliile his little dog roams the
woods around. Here a steady set, a ntat right-and-left
shot, and the first birds of the seasori are brought to
bag ; there an exceeditig yelping warns our gnnAar that
partridge have been "treed," and, leaving his well-trained
nag to stand on the road, he snatches up his gun and runs
through the woods to the spot where his noisy cur is
located. By dint of some peering about, he discovers his
game seated on a branch and clucking like a hen ; boldly
he advances, and when withirt ten or fifteen yards
distance takes steady aim and knocks its head off, then
fights witli his faithful hound for the mutilated remain.
In England the " partridge " is a partridge, in Canada it

IS a grouse.

There are two sorts of so-called partridge in Canada,
and of these the " birch" (Tetrao Umhellus) is tlie better
bird for the pot, and the more numerous. For these
reasons it is known as the " pattridge " in contradistinc-
tion to the "spruce partridge" (T. Canadensh). ~'

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107

birch partridge is rather larger than the Scotch grouse,
it is capital eating, not unlike an English pheasant, and
though it is the game most sought after by gunners, it does
not, except in the immediate vicinity of the towns, seem to
decrease in numbers as fast as one might suppose. This
is owing to the fact tliat there is still a thick belt of woods
for these birds to fall back on and to breed in, and the fur-
bearing animals which prey upon them are being rapidly
thinned off. They are, moreover, very prolific. The
hen brings out twelve or fifteen of a brood in June ; she
is a capital mother, and will face a dog in defence of her
family. On coming suddenly on a brood in the woods,
the old lien will advance defiantly to within a yard or two
of the intruder's feet, and occupy his attention till the
young ones have hidden themselves away. I have never
been able to catch a chicken. They fly in a very few
days after they leave tlie shell, and this is lucky for them,
as they have many enemies on the ground ; the fox, the
loup-cervier, the sable, the black cat, and the weasel are
all great partridge hunters, but none of these animals
t Mi catch them on tlie trees. The birch partridge has
been cJb'd a stupid bird, because when disturbed by the
•rimner or his dogs, it takes refuge on the nearest branch,
oheii it considers itself perfectly secure, and peers
curiously at the strange animals underneath ; but this
seems to me no sign of stupidity. How is tlie poor bird
CO know that the strange animal, whom it has never seen
before, carries in his hand a weapon which can reach the
top of the liighest trt " By similar tactics it has no doubt
often before baffled its other enemies, all except tho hawk ;
aou when the latter appears, the partridge knows well

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

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enough that its perch is no place of security, and takes
rapid and prolonged fliglits to avoid its sharp talons.

In the late summer and early autumn partridge
frequent tlie low-lying thickets and alder swamps, the
females remaining with their broods, while the old cocks
live apart in solitude. Later on, as the ground becomes
wet and the broods get thinned by the " gunners," they
J'^'ve the swamps and are found scattered about among
th hwH. woods, where they feed on beech nuts and berries>
parudu aly the tea berry. In dull weather, in the late
fall and uaiiy spring, a low regular noise is often heard by
the hunter, as if a drum was being beaten by a practised
hand far off in the bush. This is the cock partridge
"drumming." It is a rare thing to see him thus cm-
ployed, for at the least alarm he ceases ; and, moreover,
the sound is very deceptive, and seems to come from a
much greater distance than it really does. Nevertheless,
1 have managed to stalk a cock drumming, and have had
the satisfaction of watching his curious manoeiivres. First
of all he looks round to see that the coast is clear, and
then, puffing out his ruff and cocking his tail, he seems to
swell to twice his natural size with importance as he beats
tattoo with his wings and sidles along the log which he
has chosen for his stage, his audience consisting, as he
believes, only of the hen, who is no doubt deeply im-
pressed by her lord and master's pantomime. As winter
commences, the birds may be seen, either singly or in
pairs, along the edges of brooks and springap where they
resort for gravel. Later on, when the snow gets deep,
they are rarely seen, as they spend most of their time
either on the trees or under the snow. At this season

PAUTRIDGE SHOOTING,

109

tlieir food consists mainly of browse, the tender buds
oF the black birch, from which tree they take their

name.

Tlie most comfortable, I may say the most aristocratic
way to shoot partridge, is to drive slowly along a wood
road ; but this luxurious spoit is not within reach of
everyone, and a few words about the regular "pattridge
gunner " of the country may not be amiss. There is one
in every back settlement, sometimes in every house —
a tall, powerful, long-haired young fellow, in a red shirt,
and homespun continuations tucked inside his boots.
His accoutrement consists of a long single barrel, a cow-
lioru full of powder, and a bag of shot. He is also the
proud owner of a "pattridge dog," which ranges the woods
in an independent way, scorning either call or whistle,
now close to its master's heels, now a mile off in the bush.
But this matters not, for the beast knows his business :
mutely he hunts every likely - looking spot, treating
hares, squirrels, &c., with contempt; perseveringly he
puzzles over cold scent, till at length it grows hot, and he
runs right into the middle of a covey. With a great
whirr and rustling, they " tree " all round him. Now is
the time that calls forth the good qualities of the " pat-
tridge dog." Finding birds is nothing, any dog with a
nose can do that ; but the thing is to show them to his
master, who is jierhaps half a mile off. Does he point or
set? No! he sits down calmly on liis tail, and fixing his
eye on the " treed " birds, he commences to bark and yell
and howl with ail his might, and never ceases nor stirs from
the spot until his master comes up. Be it long or short,
five minutes or five hours, there he remains, making all

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110

NEW B SUNS WICK,

the noise he can. When our sportsman arrives lie takes
careful and deadly aim at the nearest bird, and seldom
fails to lay it low (for is he not the best sliot, or, as tliey
quaintly say, the "boss gunner," of the settlement?).
Rushing in, he secures his game, if possible, before his
faithful cur gets his tooth into it. It might reasonably
be supposed that the remainder of the covey would take
warning by the sad fate of their comrade and disappear ;
but this is not the case, for, charmed by the yelping of
the dog, they remain chained to their perches till the
single barrel has been again and again loaded and fired
mth deadly effect.

It must not be supposed that anyone can go into the
voodb and kill as many pai-tridges as he likes. A good
dog is absolutely essential, and a thoroughly good partridge
dog is as hard to get as a thoroughly good dog for
any sort of shooting. I doubt if the partridge dog does
not show more sagacity than the iiointer, the setter, or the
retriever. Although the shooting part of the business is
easy enough, the walking is tough, and it requires sharp
eyesight and some practice to see the birds when they
" tree." They are exactly the colour of the branches, and
sit so close that it is sometimes impossible to make them
out. Sometimes, when beating the low alder covers for
cock, the dogs put up a brace of partridge. As they have
no trees to light on, they must fly, and on these occasions
it takes a good shot to stop them.

The spruce partridge, as its name implies, frequents the
spruce woods. It is a handsomer bird than the other,
but inferior eating. These also "'tree," and feel so
secure on their perch that they suffer themselves to be
noosed with a piece of string at the end of a stick. I

SPliVCE rAElTdDGE. WILD FOWL

111

think this species may fairly be called stupid, for, when
pelted with stones, the spruce partridg(3 will rarely stir
!^ill it is either struck or shaken off the branch. I was
once out with an old Indian and his son, and finding
a covey of these birds in a place where stones were scarce,
we set the old man to cut boomerangs with his axe. This
he did almost as fast as the young fellow and I could
throw them, and the partridge remained stolid'y on their
perches till two of their number had been brought duwn
by these primitive weapons. Their favourite haunts are
in swampy land, and along the banks of lakes and rivers.
At certain periods of the year their food consists entirely
of the buds and leaves of the spruce and fir. The flesh
then both tastes and smells strongly of these trees, and is
not good to eat ; but in the fall of the year the flavour is
better.

There is very good wild-fowl shooting in New Brunswick.
It is a sort of half-way house where a moiety of the vast
myriads of wild fowl that hatch their young every summer
in the extreme north of the continent stop for a month or
two in spring and autumn on their way to and from more
southern latitudes. Few breed in the province, and none
winter in it, for obvious reasons, save a few of the hardier
of the Ftdigulinx, who weather out the cold in open bays
and in the mouths of rivers which are not frozen over.
The wild-fowl shooter in most countries has to expose him-
self to a great deal of hardship, and New Brunswick is no
exception to this rule. Fine weather, dry feet, and good
shooting seldom iro together. A bark canoe is an essential
for the New Brunswick duck shooter. A network of
rivers, lakes, streams, and creeks covers the whole province,
which can be traversed from one end to another in a canoe.

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There is f^ood duck sliooting on tlie swamps, marshes, and
islands of the St. Jolin river, and on its tributary, Salmon
river, and all along the north shore of the province a man
cannot go wrong for wild fowl.

The wild goose (-4. Canadensis), so well known over all
this continent, makes its first appearance on the north
shore of New Brunswick in the first fortnight in Septem-
ber, and from this time to the Ist of November fresh
flocks are continually coming in. They then commence
to leave, and whenever the wind blows from the north and
east large flocks take advantage of the fair wind, and may
be observed flying south and west. In an early winter
they are all gone by the 1st of December, but I have seen
them passing over as late as the 15th. Thus people learn
from their flight whether the winter will set in late or
early. Winter never catches them napping ; instinct
enables them to anticipate Jack Frost's arrival. For some
days before their departure they assemble in great flocks
on sandy islands and spits, where, according to the natives,
they take in sand as ballast. They are expected back
about the 1st of April. In Prince Edward Island they
are said always to make their first appearance on Patrick's
Day (17th March). A welcome sight to everybody is the
first flock of geese, for it is also the first sign of spring.
Not a bright look-out for the geese though ; for, save in a
few bays and inlets where the tide runs strong, there is
nothing to be seen by the first comers but snow and ice.
They remain during the daytime seated on the ice in long
rows, with their heads tucked in, looking like so many
sticks or stones. At night they rise and fly to the open
water, tideways, &c., where they pick up some little food ;

WILD GEESE.

113

but, as niiglit be expected, they fall off rapidly in condition
at this time of year. They remain on the New Brunswick
water, till the middle of l^lay, when they fly to their
nesting grounds across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. I am
told that thousands of geese hatch in tliat boundless
wilderness, full of lakes and swamps, to the northward and
westward of the Labrador coast. A great number breed
in the island of xVnticosti, but none remain in New
Drunswick during the summer. They make their nest
a1)()ut the middle or end of May. It is a small, hastily
('onstructed affair, made of dry grass and their own
feathers. They generally select a dry " tummock," or
little islet, in a lagoon or swamp. Their great enemy at
this season is the fox, and the fox, like the cat, does not care
to wet his feet. Although at other times a shy and wary
bird, the goose at this period is quite the reverse, and will
do battle w itli a fox or other enemy in defence of its young
with great gallantry. They allow a man to approach
within shot, and if fired at and missed will merely fly a
few yards and alight again. On one occasion, in Anticosti,
I shot a gander, and sent my dog (a poaching terrier) into
the swamp to fetch it. The dog, while looking for the
gander, stumbled upon the old goose in her nest, and
endeavoured to fetch her to his master, but he soon found
he had caught a Tartar. She hissed and struck at him
most viciously, and, taking him at a disadvantage as he
struggled through the swamp, the poor dog got a good
thrashing, and was compelled to fall back on the dying-
gander, which, terrier like, he worried unmercifully.

Shooting geese in the spring is always a cold, and not
always a very safe, amusement. The gunner, on the

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very first appearance of goeso, selects a field of ico
wliicli he thinks is well anchored to the shore and not
likoly soon to move, bnt yet as near the open water as
possible. lie then chops eight or ten sqnare blocks of ico
with which he constructs his hide. A load of brown sea-
weed has next to bo hauled from the nearest beach, and,
when wet, is made up into little bundles about the size
and shape of the body of a goose. This seaweed is exactly
the colour of a goose's back, and a little block of ice in
front of each bundle makes th white breast. Sixty or
seventy of these decoys are arranged artistically on the ice
within about thirty yards of the hide. To a dozen or so
of them he adds necks and heads roughly cut out of wood
and then charred blaclc, the white markings of the goose's
neck being whittled out with a knife. These decoys
freeze to the ice during the night, and never blow down or
give any further trouble. If the site be judiciously chosen
these arrangements will last for ten days, or even longer;
and the gunner, whose camp is in the immediate vicinity,
by watching the turn of the tide, can always be at his post
when geese are on the move. He should have a liglit
flat-bottomed punt, sharp at both ends, and decked in;
this is painted pure white, and finished oft' with a coating
of oil, which gives it an ice-like gloss. Two parallel
runners shod with steel are fixed to the bottom of this
craft, which serves either as a hand sled or a boat, and
should always be within reach of the gunner, in case of
ice running, or wounded birds taking to the water. 1
usually propel this craft with a single paddle in preference
to sculls, and carry a little boathook to cling on to the ice.
Over his usual clothes the sportsman wears a blouse and

OOOSE SHOOTING.

115

cap-cover iniule of white linen, and some even paint their
(runs white.

Jli.sarraiigenionts being completed, our sportsman S(|uats
iu his hide on a bundle of hay or dry seaweed. When the
wind is southerly he is kept all his time on the qui vive.
The geeso give him fair warning of their apjiroach, yelling
most vociferously, and to them he must resi)ond " Aw-auk,
aw-auk, auk-auk," yelling with all his might; indeed, his
success in a great measure depends upon his ability to call
them. J^Iy notes are rather cracked, so I have to get
someone to do this part of the business for me, not a diffi-
cult matter, as goose-calling is a part of the education,
otten tlie sole education, of the Indian boys who live on
the coast. Although my voice is inferior, as I said before,
my ear is good, and I usually have a class of boys up for
examination — much as one would test a number of musical
instruments — and enlist the best into my service. The
calling serves to attract the geese's attention to the decoys,
and if they are new comerji, or have not been too much
lired at, they never fail to descend to them.

Goose shooting, at first sight, does not strike one as a
very high branch of the art of *•' gunning " — indeed, I have
heard it compared to shooting at a haystack by men who
have never tried it ; but, on the contrary, I can bear
witness to the fact that many men whom I have known to
be good shots at partridge, cook, snipe, &c,, have en^rt^ly
failed to distinguish themselves at goose shooting. There
are two reasons for this: the first and principal one is, they
do not know the right time to fire ; and, secondly, they do
not fire far enough in front of their bird. The flight of
geese is very deceptive ; they loom so large in the aii-, and

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move tht'ir \vin;j;H ((•(nn|ninitiv('!y) ho slowly, tlmt the
li»'<:iiiut'r does not give tljcin crcclit for the great riij)iility
ot'thoir flight, wiiich o(iuals, if it docs not oxceod, that ot
iiny ollior wild fowl. Tho boginner, too, is up \rticii-
liirly if an oxt'itablc [icrson — to fiddle with hjo gun and
hob his head about when ho sees and hears the approaoli
(if tho gecso ; and any movoniont, no matter how sliglit, is
I'atal to his chanco of succpss. Tho sight of the decoys is
the signal for the geese to give tongue, which tlufy (1(»
with a will, making a deafening row, and Hying past or
over the decoys at the distance of lUO yards or so.
During this time the sportsman must not move, any more
than the bhickof ice he represents; and the geese, having
satisfied themselves that all is right, sweep round in tho
jiir, and lower rapidly towards the decoys. .^ loon as
they come directly o})posite to the gunner hi gs his

gun, and the geese, alarmed by the movement, hurl them-
selves up ten yards or so in the air with a couple of
powerful strokes cf their wings. This is the moment
to pull the trigger, selecting, if })Ossiblo, a broadside
shot. The dead birds are made to do service as decoys,
by propi>ing up their heads with forked sticks, and all
stains of blood must be effaced from the ice, as, wheio
all is white, a small spot of colour serves to alarm the

geese.

Although in very stormy or foggy weather geese come
(juite close to the hide, and even have been known td
alight among the decoys, yet, as a general rule, the sports-
man rarely gets a chance under forty or fifty yards, con-
sequently good guns and good powder are requisite to
ensure success. I have done great execution with a single
muzzle-loader No. 6-bore, which I used to load with seven

nons/': suooti ya.

117

<lni"hms cnarso pouder, and a loose clmrpt; of two uiid u
(|imrt('r onnri'S of double It. This wus before tlic days of
lirccfhloiidcrs ; but I now find tlmt a lO-bore centml-fire,
with livi> dniclnns of powder and jin onnco nml alitdfof
slidt, iinswors the |»urj)os(^ well enun<;l», tliou<j;li ocoiisiouully,
at lon^^ ranges, 1 K:idly miss my old oanmm, Tlie Indian
HJiootn with an old Itrown ]Jo.sk barrel, and " nine finj^ers"
of a eharg'e; he sometimes kills, but Bufters for it. A pood
wild p»o.s(» will w:oifj;]i from ton to twelve pounds, and in
th<> fail of tint year when in fjood condition, even ashi^h as
ilftccn or sixteen pounds. Tlieir bones are mucji harder,
longer, and stronj^iT than those of the tamo f?oose, and
tlioir featliers are much thicker, so that they require a
<j;roat deal of killing. The liesh, nidiko that of our
Eiii^dish wild goose, is delicious. Their food in New
Brunswick is a sort of seaweed, or rather grass, that grows
in the muddy flats in the bays and along the low flat
sliorc-i of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When first thoy
arrive in the spring they are in pretty good condition
At this season grains of rice and maize have been found
ill their crops, showing that they must have flown many
liiuidreds of miles in a single night. In the spring food
is scarce, and they fall off in condition, but in the fall, on
the contrary, they improve.

As spring advances, and the ice begins to leave the
spheres, the sportsman must relinquish his ice house and
seaweed decoys, and take to his punt and floating decoys.
The latter are cut out of dry soft wood, and when com-
pletely charred over the fire, are well scraped and oiled
This represents the colour of the goose's back better than
paint. Patches of white are then put on the breasts and
tails of these decoys. They are weighted to float correctly

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NEW Bit UNS WICK.

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and anchored in the feeding ground of tlio geese. Tlie
sportsman either liides his punt under the lee of a clumpet
(miniatui-e iceberg), or else dresses it out with cakes of ice,
and waits in it for the geese. At this season brant geese
and ducks of different sorts are coming in also, and sonio-
tinies give him plenty of emjdoyment. If the gunner
possesses a " paddle boat," now is the time to make use of
it, nnd very large bags of both Canadian and brant g<.'ese
have been made by aid of this contrivance. The paddle
boat is a light, handy, canoe-shaped punt. The paddle
wheels are constructed so that the sportsman can use both
arms and legs in working them, and are completely hid
from view by white linen curtains. It is, of course, painted
white, and the deck garnished with ice cakes. In front of
the paddle boxes an 8-inch board, with a peephole in the
centre and an embrasure for the gun, is adjusted athwart
the punt to hide the gunner, who when stalking birds
reclines on his back, and slowly propels the punt with his
feet, holding the rudder strings in his hands, nothing
visible from the outside but the tip of his white cap and
the muzzle of his gun, the latter of which reclines in the
embrasure. These craft so thoroughly resemble the lumps
of floating ice with which the bays are covered, that on one
or two occasions I have been stalked by a friend to within
a few yards distance without having detected his approach.
When near enough to the geese, the gunner drops his
rudder strings and lets fly, having previously, if the birds
are on the feed, given a low whistle to make them put up
their heads and club together. Eight or ten geese are
sometimes bagged to one shot of a shoulder gun. A punt
gun I have never tried, but I am sure it would do great

Q008E SnOOTINQ.

119

execution at times. No one Mho does not thoroughly
undeistand the tides, \h.e ice, and the weather, should
attempt this punting business ; for to be swept out to sea
at this season of the year is certain death.

Although wild geese are very partial to the seaboard,
they cannot live without fresh water ; this they procure in
the spring on the surface of the ice ; but in the fall of the
vear, when there is no ice, they have to seek for it, once
at least in the twenty-four hours, in the inland ponds,
swamps, and lakes. In very stormy weather, when the
ice is rough, and in spring tides, when their usual feeding
grounds are submerged, they take refuge altogether in
these more sheltered spots. Perhaps in the course of the
autumn there are halt'-a-dozen days of this sort when
really good shooting can be got. I have been out more
than once for ten days without getting anything worth
mentioning, and on the eleventh I have quite made up
for lost time. Can my reader picture to himself a vast
swamp, miles in extent, surrounded by forest and remote
from human abode, full of little lakes, ponds, gullies, reeds,
long grass, stumps of trees, bushes, and " rampikes " ?
The time is evening, at the close of an October day. The
north-east wind is howling dismally over this dreary waste,
bringing now and then a shower of rain or sleet. In the
centre of this howling wilderness may be observed the
gunner of the period, squatting in the driest spot he can
find, his retriever at his feet, and surrounded by geese and
ducks and empty cartridges. How ho ever got to this
spot appears a mystery at lirst; but look behind that bush,
and you will see a log canoe or a catamaran, in which he
has managed to paddle laboriously through the swamp.

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XEW BRUNSWICK.

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Every five minutes may be seen a flock of geese or of
black (luck, flying low for shelter, and wheeling round our
gunner in search of their comrades, who liave gone before.
]]ang, bang ! goes our friend's gun, and again and agaii)
bang, bang ! I'or here the geese must come, and no amount
of shooting can drive them away. In such weather, and
in such a place, I have got through t" • ty-eight pounds
of shot in two davs, and that with a mi. ,zlo-loader.

Occasionally geese can be approached by moonlight on
their feeding grounds by a very skilfully handled canoe;
but 1 have observed that a few shots at night do more to
frighten away the birds than as many hundred in the day-
time, and on this account it has been made illegal to shoot
wild fowl at night in Lower Canada. On very dark nights
the Indians sometimes chase the geese by torchlight. .A
number of canoes, each with a blazing torch in the bow,
circle round a bay or inlet in which the geese are feeding,
surround them, and gradually edge tiiem in to some little
creek surrounded by forest, where they are easily killed by
the poles and paddles of the canoers, and by the boys on
shore. The Canada goose is easily domesticated, and in
this state is invaluable to the sportsman as decoys. They
also seem to fraternize very well with the tame goose ; the
hybrid bird is very handsome and in every way superior
to the domestic goose. I have on one or two occasions
seen individuals of the white wild goose {A. Hyperborem)
on the coast of Nev,' Brunswick, along with the Canadian
geese.

Of sea ducks so called {FuliguUnm), and divers, there
are great numbers and many varieties, nearly all of them
migratory, on the coasts of New Brunswick. Although

SEA DUCKS.

121

inferior for the pot, tliey aflford capital sport, and they
hold out great attractions to collectors of bird skins and
plumes, as the plumage of some of them is very fine. In
a morning's or evening's flight shooting it is no rare thing
for tlie sportsman to bag six or seven different varieties.
They are ranch less shy than the Anatidse ; indeed, some
of tliem seem to think that when on the wing they are
perfectly safe, and fly in a bee line, regardless of shot or
anything else. They take straight and strong shooting
to bring to bng.

The Fuligulinoi, as a rule, do not leave the salt water.
With one or two exceptions they are never found on tlie
lakes and rivers, except after tremendous gales. Among
the most common are the Scoter (Oidemia Americana), the
velvet duck (Melanetta Vehetina), the whistler {Clangula
Glaucion), this bird, so called from the whistling noise
made by the wings, is often seen on the lakes and rivers,
and is one of the first of the spring visitors, being occa-
sionally seen even in the depths of winter in places where
there is open water. The spirit duck {Clangula Albeola)
is like the former, only much smaller. The surf duck
(Pdeoneita Persjncillata), so called, I suppose, because no
sea seems too rough for it. T'lie old squaw (Harelda Gla-
cialis) is very common on thc3 coast, but when seen in the
interior is a sign of tremendous weather. The red head
{Aytlnja Americana) breeds in some rivers in the north of
the province, so does the shell drake {Mergits Americanus),
and leads its young brood down to the sea in the fall of
the year. The goosander (Mergns Merganser) is a rare
visitor in Lower Canadian waters. I have oidy shot one
of these handsome birds. The red-breasted shell drake

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NEW BRUNSWICK.

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{Mergus Serraior) is another handsome bird, and quite
common. The little shell drake {Mergus Alhellus) is also
common ; the iiooded shell drake {Mergus CucuUatus) is a
rare visitor. Eider duck (Somateria MolUssima) are some-
times shot, but they do not frequent tlie Kouth shore of
the St. Lawrence in anything like the numbers that are
found on the north shores. The scaup {Fulix Marila),
the Labrador duck (Camptolastnus Lahradorius), the harle-
quin, or pied duck {Ristrionicus Torquatus), and several
other sea ducks are occasionally shot by the wild-fowl
shooter on the coast; indeed, in a good day's shooting
it is no unusual thing for the wild-fowl gunner to have
eight or ten different sorts of birds in his canoe.

There are three very handsome divers, the loon (Colym-
hu3 Glacialis), the red-throated diver (G. Septentrionalis),
and the black-throated diver (C. Ardicus) ; the plumage
of these birds is very pretty and glossy. The two last-
named are more plentiful on the north than on the south
shore of the St. Lawrence, but the loon hatches on the
less frequented lakes, and may be seen at all timps of
the year, both on the salt water and the fresh water. The
settlers hiive a.^ idea that this bird cannot be shot on the
water, that it dives at the flash, and thus escapes the shot.
This may be the case when the sportsman uses an old
flint firelock ; but I have often known the shot too quick
for it. They are easily enticed within range of the banks
of a river by imitating their cry, and waving a coloured
handkerchief. But it is a great pity to shoot these beau-
tiful birds. Thev are ornaments to the lakes of Canada.
Those who are accustomed to the sound of their wild
laugh, and who have watched their pretty manuers, half

DIVEnS.

123

shy and Imlf inquisitive, become quite attached to them.
They only hatch one young one, which sometimes sits on
its mother's back as she sails about the placid surface of
a backwoods lake.

The best stations in New Brunswick for the wild-fowl
shooter are Points Miscou and Escuminac, and tlie lagoons
adjacent to these points ; but all the north coast is good,
from the Bay of Chaleur down southward to Bay Verte,
on the Nova Scotia side.

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NOVA SCOTIA.

Nova Scotia, from the fact of its being the principal
naval station and the only military station in Canada,
is better known to Englislimen than any other province
of the ])ominion. But yet many Englishmen spend years
in Nova Scotia and go away with a very limited know-
ledge or perhaps no knowledge at all of the capabilities
of the province. The reason of this is evident. Halifax,
the capital, where the mail steamer lands these people,
is situated on as barren and as rugged a tract of land as
is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Men therefore who
never get beyond a day's drive or two from the capital
are apt to carry away with them a very unjust estimate
of the resources of the province.

Nova Scotia is not an agricultural country. Scarcely
one-half of its total area is capable of cultivation, and of
this moiety less than a half would at present repay tlie
cultivator. In process of time, when the other resources
of the province become developed, farming will no doubt
be stimulated, but more as an auxiliary to mining, manu-
factures, &c., than as the main business of the people.
The land, though not so well adapted for extensive farm-
ing operations as some other parts of the Dominion, is yet
well calculated to afford comfortable homes to a large
manufacturing population, and to give these people what

WILDERNESS LAND.

125

they sigh for in vain in the crowded and smoky manufac-
turing districts of the Old World, viz. pure air, pure water,
little homesteads, and little patches of land for gardens,
potatoes, &e., &c. When I say that Nova Scotia is not an
agricultural province, I am well aware that it comprises
tracts of country which produce as good crops as any land
iu the Dominion, but these are the exception, not the rule.
Conspicuous among these is the vale of Annapolis. In
this charmhig valley, which is sheltered from the cold
winds by a high range of hills, and consequently favoured
with a slightly higher temperature than any other part of
the province, Indian corn ripens and fruits grow to perfec-
tion. The Annapolis orchards are famous, and send to
Europe some of the best qualities of the "American apple"
of commerce. In King's county and in Cumberland there
are also some fertile tracts, but for every good farm the
traveller sees in Nova Scotia he sees many hundreds of
acres of rocky barren land. In many places there is such
a crop of mighty granite boulders deposited by the ice in
the glacial period, that the only wonder is how the stunted
s[)ruce and birch trees and other hardy bushes and plants
have found soil enough to take root in. There are some
four million acres of Crown lands in the province which
are offered for sale at 8Z. 16s. per 100 acres. But of
this a very small quantity, if any, is fit for profitable
cultivation. The labour of clearing this land is hercu-
lean. The young man who takes a ^ract of forest with
the intention of turning it into a good farm by the labour
of his own hands, has his life's work cut out for him. If
he has to clear rocks and stones as well as timber, it will
be more than he can accomplish. There are always,

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NOVA SCOTIA.

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however, some really good and productive cleared farms
ill tlio market. These vary iii price from 500?. up to
1500Z., or I'rom say $5 an acre up to $30 or $40.

But if the surface is rough and rocky, there is vast
wealth hid underneath it. Nova Scotia is intended for a
manufacturing country — one of the great workshops of the
world. Everything that nature can eflect for this purpose
will be found here. Its position is most central. Two
steamers of equal speed, one sailii-'g cast from the great
lakes, the other west from Liverpool, would meet at Nova
Scotia, which lies just half-way between the great bread-
producing country of the world, and the great markets of
the world. The harbours are numerous and excellent ;
some of the best of them open to navigation all the
year round. Close to these harbours there is excellent
coal in inexhaustible quantities; iron also in abundance,
and many other minerals. The climate is bracing and
healthy ; the necessaries of life plentiful and moderate in
price. There is water power on all sides; in fact, the
whole interior of the province is one network of lakes,
which form natural milldams and reservoirs, discharging
their waters by humlreds of rapid streams into the At-
lantic below. The forests of this and the neighbouring
provinces supply timber of many varieties, at less than
half the cost of timber in the Old World. Nature, in fact,
has done everything she can do, and man must do the rest.
1 know no other part of the globe so well adapted by
nature as Nova Scotia to become a manufacturing centre.

It is strange that English capitalists have made no effort
to utilize these natural advantages. B3--and-by, no doubt,
as coal becomes scarcer and dearer at home, and labour
also more expensive, manufacturers will have to turn

COAL FIELDS,

127

ll-'.

thoir attention to Nova Sootiii, where coal lias not to bo
raised from the bowels of the earth, but lies comparaiively
near the surface in apparently inexhaustible quantities.
The coal field of Pictou, Nova Scotia, is said by mineral-
ogists to be the most extraordinary carboniferous deposit
in the world. A seam of coal occurs here 40 feet in
thickness, and not more than a couple of hundred feet
from the surface, besides many other lesser ones of
18 feet, 20 feet, and so on. Coal can be delivered on
board ship at Pictou harbour for Ss. or 9s. per ton ; and I
presume if there was more capital employed in the mines
and improved machinery, the cost would be very much
less. In Cape Breton county the productive coal measures
cover 250 square miles. In Cumberland county a seam of
coal 12 feet 9 inches lies near the surface ; and another
11 feet 9 inches, about 200 feet below the surface.
Around the coast of Cape Breton seams of coal many feet
in thickness are exposed along the cliffs.

The quality of the coal is excellent. For domestic
purposes the Cape Breton coal is fully equal to the best
English coals, and little, if at all, inferior to the best
Welsh. For steam purposes. Nova Scotia coal is superior
to English and Scotch coal, and equal, if not superior,
even to Welsh coal. In an inquiry instituted by the
Admiralty into the steam-producing qualities of certain
samples of coals, the following results were arrived at :

M*>; M

Description

Coal.

Welsh

Newciistlo .
Lauoateliire
Sootcli
Djrbyiliiie

rouiiiis of Water

cvrtpiiruteil by 1 lb,

otCuul at •IVi''.

!)-05
8-37
7-91
7-70
7-58

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VIS

NOVA SCOTIA.

Professor I low, an eminent mineralogist, ascertained,
by experiment, that at the same temperature, viz. 21*2",
the evaporative power of 1 lb. of coal from the Albion
mines of Nova Scotia is 8 '49 lbs. ; from the Acadian mines
9*26; and from the Montreal and Pictou mines 1 lb. of coal
evaporates 9*41 lbs. water.

Tho coal fields in Nova Scotia were, until recent years,
monopolized by an English company, who obtained their
monopoly from the late Duke of York who obtained it —
I do not know how ; England, has always been most
generous in giving away the land and the wealth of her
colonies. In 1857 this monopoly was broken, the company
retaining, for their own advantage, the mines they had
actually in work, but opening the rest of the coal fields to
the province.

For a short time after this, coal mining received u
stimulus. But a check soon followed. To punish the
Canadians for their unwavering loyalty to England at
the time when the "Trent aifair" seemed likely to em-
bioil the two nations in war, the Eeciprocity Treaty was
abrogated by the United States, and one of the conse-
quences of this was the imposition of a prohibitory tarifit'
upon Nova Scotia coal. At one blow its best market was
closed, and the Nova Scotia coal mines languished. But
the Northern States damaged themselves even more than
they damaged Nova Scotia. Dear coal is one of the
causes why the manufactories of New England are doing
so badly. ^J'hey find they can get no coal elsewhere to
replace Nova Scotian coal at the same cost. There is now
a growing trade between Canada West and Nova Scotia.
Steamers carrying flour to Nova Scotia return laden with

MINING.

129

coiil to Toronto. Tl»c Ainerioau's curse, like Balaam's,
bids fair to turn into a blessing, and to be the means of
cuiisiii^f nianulactories to rise up in the Dominion, which
ishull su[)ply the heavily-taxed people of Now England
witii the commodities they cannot themselves alVord to
nuiko.

Mining licenses are granted as follows :

" An exploration license, giving a power to search for
iiiinorals, other than gold, over a tract not exceeding 5
scpiare miles in extent, is grant(»d on payment of $20, or
■1/. sterling. This license is for twelve months. At any
time before the expiration of the license, the holder may
seb.'ct 1 square mile, which must be in one block, and
must not exceed 2| miles in length, for the pui^pose of
uoiking the minerals therein ; and on application being
made, in writing, to the Commissioner of IVlines, a license
to work is granted for a term of two years from the date
of the ap[)lication, the cost of such license being $50, or
lOZ. sterling. On the termination of that period the
holder is entitled to a lease, provided eifective mining
operations have been begun and carried on. Before these
licenses are issued a bond must be given to the Com-
missioner, with sufficient sureties, that in the event of
entry being made upon private lands, recompense shall
be raade for damages. The conditions of the lease are
similar to those usually inserted. The lease is for twenty
years, with a power of a second and third renewal for a
similar period, but not to extend beyond sixty years from
the 25th August, 1866, and with a liberty to the Legislature
to revise and alter the royalty in or after the year 1886.
The royalty at present is 10 cents, or 4|cZ. per ton of

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130

NOVA SCOTIA.

2240 lbs., up to 250,000 tons, sold in each or any year,
and about 'Ml jter ton on every ton over that quantity. It
is jiayablo only on tbe round coal sold ; slack and coal
tised by iigents, workmen, and engines, being exempt. A
statement is required quarterly, of all coal worked and
sold, and of tbe expenditure in extending tbe works ; also
payment of the royalty incurred. Tbe other conditions of
the lease are of tbe usual character with respect to a
proper working of tbe muie, the right to examine the
workings, and books of accounts, surrender of the lease,
right of transfer, &c." * •

Coal and iron have been the making of England, and
there is no reason why they should not make a second
England of Canada. Nova Scotia is rich in iron of a very
superior quality. I again take tbe liberty of borrowing
some figures from Professor How's ' Mineralogy of Nova
Scotia ' to show the relative value of English and Nova
Scotian iron :

ij s.

Stnffoidshirc pig iron averages 4 10
Ditto bar iron „ DO

Nova 8cotian pig iron „ 7

Ditto bar iron ,, 15 10

per toil,
„
„
..

There is said to be only one iron in the world— a
Swedish ore — superior to that found at the Lond' "dorry
mines, Nova Scotia, in the manufacture ^ "^ -1.

Nova Scotia is essentially a maritiu vince. A p-^ Mt

extent of coast-line (it is almost an uid), Tnagniiii- ut
harbours, a central position, vast supplies of coal and of
timber, all these advantages favour both ship building and
ship owning; while the large j roportion of the popula-
* Eeport of Commissioner of Mines.

FonnsTK

1:51

tinn onf^aged in tlie lishories keeps up a supply of
liiinly and excellent s(>ainon. At present only wooden
ships are built, but when Canada comes to be one of tlin
great countries of the world, her dockyards, winter
liarbours, and buil(lin<jj yards will be in Nova Scotia.
There is no better place for the manufacture of iron ships.
Even as it is Nova Scotia boasts that she owns nioro
siiippinj^ per head of her population than any other
country in the world. As a coaling station for the steam
navy of England the importance of Nova Scotia cannot be
over-estimated. In fact, it is not too much to sav that if
iu any future war we had the misfortune to be shut out
from Nova Scotian ports, we might at once proceed to
haul down the Union Jaek on the Atlantic Ocean.

There is a good deal of lumbering done in the province.
Two thousand acres of forest is the nominal limit allowed
to one person for lumbering purposes, but there are ways of
evading this law, and it is held by many that the forests
are better protecttd when leased by individuals for lum-
bering purposes than when owned directly by the State.

" In a province like Nova Scotia," I quote from the
report of the Commissioner of crown lands, " which in the
nature and fitness of things, must become largely a
manufacturing and commercial country, every effort
should be made to save and protect the trees, every day
becoming more and more valuable, and which cover and
render more beautiful aiid profitable, large tracts of
country; which, if stripped of its timber, would become
an unsightly barren waste. The rate at which the settled
portions of North America are being denuded of trees,
and the rapidly increasing demand for timber, and

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NOVA SCOTIA.

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fliminishing supply, has become a matter of serious
concern."

To an Englishman the reckless waste of timber that
takes place in the forest regions of North America is
positively appalling. The old-country man is very tender
^^ith trees, the Canadian ruthlessly destroys them. The
latter, like the beaver, may be described as a tree-
chopping animal. From the day the back settler's little
son is able to lift his father's axe up to the day of his
death he wages incessant war against the forest. If he
wants a stick for any purpose he chops a dozen to choose
from. If he wants bark, instead of chopping one or two
trees and peeling them he " rings " a hundred. But the
axe alone, even when swung by the best choppers in the
world, is not the worst enemy of the forest. Fires, the
result of wantonness and carelessness, have devastated some
of the finest forest regions of North xVmerica.

The summers and autumns in Nova Scotia are charming;
tlie cool breezes and fogs of the Atlantic temper the heat.
The winters are severe. I know of no other part of
British America where the changes are so sudden. The
prevailing wind is the nortli-west, which, blowing over a
frozen continent in winter, brings frost ; in summer, dry
clear weather. The south-east wind, blowing in from the
" misty Atlantic," brings rain both in winter and summer.
Snow comes generally from the north-east. Changes of
40^ of temperature occur in a few hours, consequently the
snow does not lie as in Lower Canada, and sleiuhinn; is
uncertani. It is not unusual to see the rain as it falls
form a coating of ice on the ground. But, notwithstanding
• the severe cold and the sudden changes, the climate is

HALIFAX.

133

undoubtedly healthy. The mortality among people of
sound constitutions is lower than in the old country,
as is proved by the comparative medical statistics of our
troops.

Nova Scotia wants capital in the first place, and labour
in the second place, though even at present labourers and
domestic servants can earn fair wai-es, and there is alwavs
a demand for a limited number of each of these classes.
Besides being well worth the attention of the capitalist,
Nova Scotia is a good province for the man of limited
means to settle in. The necessaries of life and even the
comforts of life — those that can be boujj'ht for monev — are
cheap. Halifax is one of the few towns in the world which
combine all the advantages of civilization — clubs, pleasant
society, and so forth — with the great charm of being
within easy reach of the forest, tlie river, and the lake.
This constitutes a charm not only to the sportsman but to
tlie lover of nature. Five Englishmen out of six, if asked
for their beau-ideal of a pleasant life, woukl probably
re[»ly *1 at of a wealthy English squire, with its round of
hospitalities and social gatherings indoors, and its field
sports and country pursuits out of doors. The nearest
ap[)roach to this life withni reach of the man of small
means is to be found in or near some of these Canadian
cities like Halifax. Halifax is within ten days' travel of
London, and within two of the chief cities of the United
(States and Canada.

About thirty or forty years ago Nova Scotia must have
b.eu an angler's paradise. Fully one-fifth of the whole
area of the province, viz. 11,000,000 acres, is lake and
river. Thousands of charming little lakt^s, embosomed in

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NOVA SCOTIA.

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the forest, and studded with pretty vooded inlets, are
thickly sprinkled over the whole province. These are not
muddy ponds, but real lakes and lakelets, with rocky
hanks, with beds of gravel and sand for spawning on, with
boulder roclis for shelter, such as the Salmonidse delight
in. Thousands of sparkling streams, many of them never
fished, save by the kingfisher, flow from these lakes into
the rivers, which discharge their waters into the sea.
The rivers are to look at all that tlie salmon fisher could
desire. There are no impassable falls, as in many of the
rivers that discharge into the St. Lawrence ; no natural
obstructions to impede the ascent of the Sahnoniche to ten
thousand spawning beds. They form a succession of
rocky rapids and glorious pools. Thirty years ago the
salmon fishing in Nova Scotia was superb. But where
nature is so bountiful in her gifts man rarely appreciates
them. As with the forest so with the fish. It would really
seem as if Nova Scotians hate the salmon, and have deter-
mined by every possible means to deny them access to
their rivers. Over-fishing is bad enough, but to shut the
fish out of the rivers altogether is little better than
insanity. Hundreds of miles of river stream and lake are
closed against the Salmonidm by horrid milldams, many of
which are of no industrial value. By-and-by, when the
forests have been utterly destroyed and the rivers ren-
dered barren, Canadians will spend large sums of money
in, perhaps, fruitless efforts to bring back that which they
could now so easily retain. The rivers are not leased to
anglers as in New Brunswick and Lower Canada. They
are nominally protected by the Government. A club of
sportsmen was formed in Halifiix for the protection of the

i !

ANGLING.

13o

fish and game of the province. But with the best inten-
tions they have never been able to effect any good result.
The fact is that it seems impossible to enlist the sympathy
of the country people in any protective measures, and
without their sympathy and co-operation all legislation
and private efforts in a sparsely-settled country are
rendered nugatory.

Salmon run earlier. in Nova Scotia than in any other
part of the Atlantic coast. They are taken in the end of
April and beginning of May in some of the rivers to the
westward of Halifax. Eastward their time is June. Gold
River, a beautiful stream running into Mahone Bay, is
about the earliest. La Hc*ve, a good river, comes next ;
also Port Medway, Tusket, Indian Eiver, and Ingram
River. Close to Halifax there is a little river called the
Niue-mile-river vhat often holds a fish. To the eastward
Ship Harbour River, Sheet Harbour River, St. Mary's,
Country Harbour River, and Salmon River are about the
best. None of these streams are by any means so good as
tliey used to be, and some fine rivers, the Musquodoboit for
instance, in which twenty salmon have been killed by one
rod in a day, are now quite destroyed. There is good sea-
trout fishing in most of the rivers I have named, and in
many other streams and estuaries.

The brook-trout fishing is still very good, as good,
perhaps, as in any part of the world. All the lakes and
all the streams abound with trout, some of them as sporting
fish and as pink fleshed and good for the table as angler or
gourmand need desire ; but, and I can give no reason for
this, even the brook trout (8. Foniinalis) does not rise so well
at the fly when the river or lake which he inliabits is shut

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NOVA SCOTIA.

bi*

oflf from the sea. It may be that, when all intercourse
with the ocean is cut off, minnow and ground bait increase,
on which the trout gorge themselves, or it may be that
these dammed-np trout deteriorate in sporting qualities
from in and in breeding, and that they want a little fresli
blood to infu.^e new life into them. Angling for trout in
Nova Scotia is not an art as in our English streams,
coarse tackle and hirge gaudy flies are used ; nevertheless
it is very good fun, and the surroundings, all but the black
flies, are })erfect. The great art in filling a basket is to
know the best place and time for the sport (trout fishing
lasts from May to September), and either experience or a
good guide is essential. The latter is to be found in the
person of Cliarley Fredericks, of Boom Bay, a man whom
nature meant for an angler, but hard fate transformed
into a cooper. He makes and mends fishing tackle, ties
a good substantial fly, knows the haunt of every lisli in
Nova Scotia, and overflows with sporting anecdotes.

We have noticed elsewhere the wealth that lies hidden
under the rocky land of Nova Scotia. Bound her coasts
there are other mines of wealtli. The fisheries, as at
present worked, yield about *f;7,000,000 per annum.
Codfish and mackerel are the two most valuable fish.
The take of the former is valued at 2^ millions, of the
latter about 1^ million. Next to these comes the lobster ;
in 1874 the take was estimated to be worth i^l,403,loG.
This sum represents the value of 5,612,545 one-pound
cans of preserved lobsters put up in that year. It takes
three fair-sized lobsters to fill one can, which gives
16,837,635 as the number of lobsters used up in this
manufacture. Probably it would not be outside the mark

LonsTEliS.

137

to say that 20,000,000 lobsters were taken in Nova Scotia
in the summer of 1871. It has been estimated that iti
the two provinces of New Brunswick ami Nova Scotia
50,000,000 tons weiglit of L)bsters are used up by the tin-
nun in a year. Fresh lobsters in the Halifax market
cost one penny each. They are probably bought much
cheaper by the manufacturers. Now, here we have a
Crustacea, very tenac.ous of life, which can be bought
in immense numbers for one penny each in Halifax, while
tlic ])rice of lobsters in Liverpool is about two shillings.
We have also a line of steamers running direct from one
port to tlie other, and making the distance in ten days.
Is it unreasonable to expect that sooner or later some
iniionious persons will turn these Nova Scotian lobsters
into British gold ?

This fishery will be of immense value some day, if,
indeed, it be not destroyed in the meantime by reckless
iishing. The Yankees have killed off the lobsters on
their own shores, ami now they pursue them to Nova
Scotia, and carry them off in tins. We have seen above
the amount of raw material consumed in this business.
The waste that takes jdace is deplorable. Only the
tails and big claws are made use of, the bodies, legs, &c.,
are thrown aside for manure or washed away by the tide.
8o it comes to pass that three lobsters, weighing two
pounds each, go to fill a one-pound can.

There is a law against taking any lobsters under 1^ lb.
weight, or any female lobster in spawn ; but this law, like
other protective measures, is almost a dead letter. It
unfortunately so happens that the natural close season,
i. e. the season in w hich the lobster spaw ns, is the very

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138

NOVA SCOTT A.

time in which the fishing is carried on. The spawning
season in Nova Scotia is in the months of July, August,
and September, and at this season the female lobster
carries her eggs about with her under her fan until they
are hatched. The legislature probably considered that
by making a close season, the catch of lobsters, which is a
source of considerable profit, would be greatly lessened,
therefore they adopted the alternative of making it
illegal to take undersized lobsters ox females in spawn.
This law is not and cannot be enforced, and the process of
killing the bird that lays the golden eggs is being applied
to the lobster fishery, as it is to the salmon fishery, and as
it is to the lumbering business.

On still summer nights, when the tide suits, lobster-
spearing parties are the fashion among the Halifax people.
A birch-bark torch, carried in the bow of the boat, enables
the spearer to see the lobsters crawling about among the
seaweed at the bottom. In those bays, where lobsters are
really plentiful, I have seen two hundred taken in one
tide by a couple of little boys, wading about among the
rocks, armed with cod-hooks tied on to sticks. On one
occasion, after a heavy gale in New Brunswick, which
threw up tons of lobsters on the beach, I saw several
acres of potato ground manured with them. To give
some idea of the little value put upon lobsters by the
country people, I may mention that on some parts of the
coast they boil them for their pigs, but are ashamed to be
seen eating lobsters themselves. Lobster shells about a
house are looked upon as signs of poverty and degrada-
tion.

As regards small game, there is good snipe shooting in

SNIPE SHOOTING.

139

the months of September nnd October, on tlie Tanta-
niara marsh, and in a few other places in the county
of Cnmberland. The snipe grounds are, however, in-
fested by pot-hunting Americans, who kill the birds
before they are fully fledged. To try and put a stop to
this unsportsmanlike ^practice, a club has been formed to
protect some of the best of this ground. But it is to be
feared that without the hearty co-operation of the settlers
the club will not be able to effect much. Thirty or forty
couple of snipe have been bagged by one gun on the
Tantamara; but the shooting is uncertain, some years
good and others bad. A pottering old setter or pointer
is required as the birds lie close.

Nova Scotia is a favourite breeding ground for the Ame-
rican woodcock (PhiloJiela Minor). The maritime provinces
of British North America seem to be the extreme northern
limits of this bird's migration. I believe the woodcock
has never been met with to the northward of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. They winter in the Southern States, and
are among the first of the migratory birds that make
their appearance in Nova Scotia in the spring. They lose
no time in nesting. The young birds are hatched by the
end of May or beginning of June, usually four in a brood.
They select for tlieir nesting place a spot where there is a
thick young growth of hardwood situated near a spring or
stream, shunning alike the depths of the forest, where
they are never found, and those covers in which wild hay
or long grass grows. An old clearing or deserted farm,
which has become overgrown with bushes, is rarely with-
out a brood or two of cock. Cutting down the forest
drives away most kinds of game, but the cock is an excep-

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140

KOVA SCOTIA.

I I

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tion to this rule. Cultivated laud in the vicinity of their
covers seems to be a necessitv, for their food consists
mainly of worms, which they find in the tilled land in
the old ])astnrcs and in the roadside ditches. The Ame-
rican cock is quit(! different from the European bird. In
size he is a third smaller, and in colour there is a complete
difference, the breast and thighs being of a reddish colour,
very similar to the breast of a robin. In Canada West
they are shot in July, but in Nova Scotia they are not fit
for the gun till the 1st September. The cock is an essen-
tially sporting bird, and irom its small size and nocturnal
habits, is ccjmparatively sate from the pot-hunter, who can
only get a chance at him on moonlight nights, or in the
dusk of the evening when on the feeding ground.

There are men whose idea of sport is a maximum of
slaughter with a minimum of exertion. To such I would
say go in for pigeon shooting, or any other shooting you
like, but avoid cock shooting in Nova Scotia, and indeed
I may say all Canadian shooting. The .s[)ortsman here
must not only be able to hold straight but to work hard ;
he must not only have good dogs, but he must? know how
to handle them, and in five cases out of six to break them
himself; finally, he must know sometliing of the habits of
the birds he seeks and of the places they frequent in dif-
ferent seasons and in different weathers, for in Canada he
will have no gamekeeper to post him at a certain corner of
a cover, nor will he always find a sporting mentor to guide
his wandering steps. It is frequently impossible to get trust-
worthy information as to cock covers and snipe bogs. The
men who know them have acquired their information at
the cost of many a hard tramp, and are not very eager to

COCK SHOOTING.

141

take every chance sportsman into tlieir confiilonco. In
cock sliooting especially a good knowledge of tlie ground w
requisite. Certain covers hold cock year after year, while
other covers equally likely looking never hold a bird.
Little information as regards cock and snipe can be
obtained from the farmers, who know all the varieties of
the several families of Scolopaeidfe, Tringidce, Chara-
driadw, Arc, by the oue name " snipes." The newly arrived
sportsman wiio has a soul above sandi)ipers and abhors
turnstones, &c., is at the mercy of every boy he meets,
and after several weary tramps and wasted days he
loathes the very name of " snipes," and learns that he
must expect no further assistance in finding the long bills
than is afforded him by his own eye and his dog's good
nose. Above all things let him beware of asking for wood-
cock ; if he does he will be told that they are " quite
plenty a bit back in the woods," and on pressing for some
more deiinite information perhaps a youth will volunteer
to guide him to this long-wished-for spot. Unencum-
bered with superfluous apparel, this youth will press gaily
through the familiar forest, striding through swamp,
through thicket, and through burnt wood. Pausing at
last in his mad career at the foot of a lofty pine tree he
will point triumphantly upwards. Imagine the i'eelings of
our wretched cock shooter, panting, torn, perspiring, and
indignant, when he sees a woodpecker zealously boring for
larvfB. But let him restrain his homicidal propensities,
for if he slays that blue-nose guide he will never be able
to find his way out of the forest primeval, and if ever
again he wants to find out the whereabouts of P. Minor,
let him ask for the " English snipe," for the " mud

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NOVA SCOTIA.

Ji<

lien," for the *' bogsiicker," or for the "whistling red
euipe," but let him beware of the word *' woodcock," a
name applied indifferently to two or three species of wood-
pecker, but never to the bird ho seeks.

As soon as the young broods are able to fly the old cock
leads them to the alder swamp — low-lying land, generally
on the banks of brooks or little rivers. The bottoms of
these alder covers are composed of a deep black mud, which
retains the moisture during the summer droughts. Later
on in the season when the autumnal rains make these
alder covers too wet, the cocks are generally found in the
second growth of young hardwood. 'J'hese bushes spring
up spontaneously in places where the pine forest has
been cleared away on the outskirts of the arable land.
The first night's frost of sufficient intensity to seal up the
swamp is the signal of dei)arture. They fly by night nnd all
at once ; to-day they are in certain covers, to-morrow they
are gone. They do not go at once to their winter resorts
in the south, but follow, or, perhaps, I. should say precede
the frost, tarrying here and there in the more northern States.
They leave Nova Scotia generally about the 1st November,
and the best shooting is just before their departure. The
birds are very fine at this season, the weather is cool and
pleasant, the leaves are off the bushes, and the covers,
though shot out one day, may hold as many birds on the
next, as the cock at this season make short flights prior to
their departure.

A good cock dog in Nova Scotia is a treasure ; money
cannot buy one. The shooting season is short, and there
is absolutely no game during the greater part of the year
to train dogs on. Authorities differ as to the best breed.

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COCK fillOOTING.

143

Americans shoot cook over setters, and some of the very
best cock dogs I have seen, have been indnstrious, patient
old pointers and setters. For my part, I prefer retrieving
spaniels, they are generally more diligent and pains-
taking. As cock lie very close, and in the heat of the
day leave no foot scent, a very close hunting dog is
necessary, as it is also to find dead birds. As the covers are
very thick, the dogs are generally hunted with bells, and
should be trained to keep within 20 to 25 yards of their
master.

The American hare is a most troublesome animal to the
sportsman, if he happens to have young or unsteady dogs.
He does not go straight away, not he ; nor does he even
take a tolerably large circle ; no, this aggravating beast
apparently delights in drawing the dogs after him. He
waits, sitting upon his hams, till they almost touch him,
and then ho goes round leisurely in a sort of circus canter,
leading the poor dogs to believe that they have only to
persevere a little in order to catch him up. I believe he
enjoys being hunted, it is the only fun he has ; the wily
vagabond can keep in front of a greyhound, just as easily
as he can of a spaniel.

On sunny days, at the (dose of the season, birds are
sometimes found in the dead ferns at the edge of the
covert, they are then easily shot, but cock shooting
in thick cover requires considerable knack. The bird
gets up in a fluster, making a whistling sound caused by
the very rapid wing strokes. As he rises, he is impeded
by the bushes, and if the sportsman can get the least
glimpse of him, he is then an easy shot. No. 10 shot is
used because in the early part of the season, for one shot

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NOVA SCOTU.

tlio 8j)ortsjnan ^v\h at ,25 yards, lie gets throo at lessor
ranges, and ol'ton lias to cut down his bird at 1(> yards dis-
tance. A fatal error nuulo by beginners, is to let tlio birds
get too far. Shoot whenever yon see a feather, is the
maxim of the cotdc shootor. I have often seen the Ameri-
can cock, when flushed by a spaniel, struggh; up through a
thick bush, top it, and then drop like a stone at the other
side. ^Vhen they alight in this way, the tail is spread out
like a fan, the bird's attitude on these occasions, and the
expression of the large melancholy and half-scared eye is
very pretty. The same bird may be flushed a dozen times
in the Ix^ginning of tiie season before it is bronght to bag,
and each time he is harder to find than the time before;
the old scent is pnzzling, and cocking dogs cannot be too
close-hunting, painstaking, and diligent.

Eight or ten brace of cock, with perhaps a brace of
ruffed grouse and a couple of snipe, is considered a very
good, bag for two guns in a day's shooting in Nova Scotia.
This is not large, but 1 repeat that large bags cannot be
made in Nova Scotia, and the f-ize of the bag is not quite
a faiir measure of the day's sport. In the first place as
regards the actual shooting, if the cock shooter can show
one bird for every three empties, he need not coinplaiu.
Then in the cocking season, the Acadian woods are very
lovely, and the weather very charming. To a man of a
certain way of thinking a flavour is added to his day's
sport, by the thought that he owes his bag, small though
it may be, not to his well-filled purse nor yet to the favour
of a friend, but solely to his own skilled labour, know-
ledge, and experience. I shall, perhaps, be set down as
" slow," when I say that I would infinitely prefer to shoot

Ttjii a ami:.

115

five coniilc of cock in Nova Scotia over a bnico of doj^s of
my (uvii traiiiiii<,', than to kill uiy share of a tliousaiul head
()t'i,'iinio in my lord's covers. lUit chacun a son yout.

Tile big ^aiue of Nova Scotia an.' mooso and caiiboo.
There are i»lenty of bears; but huiitin;;' tiie.se animals
ill tlie woods is like iiiintin;^ for a needle in a bundle
of straw, altliou!j;li when moose hunting iIkj sportsman
sonii'tiines gets a chance at a bear. The best seasons
liir cariboo hunting are in tlie first snow and in the
litter |»art of winter (when snow-shoeing is good). Tht-ro
are a few of these deer here and tlu-re all over tlu; jiro-
viucc, but Cumberland is considered the best liuntmg
i;roun(l.

About twenty years ago Nova Scotia was tlie ijest
;,'round for moose hunting in Dritish America, and
iilthuugh greatly diminished in numbers there are still
ii ii:ood many left. The local legislature in view of their
rapidly decreasing numbers enacted a law making it
illegal to kill moose in any way for a certain time
(three years, I think), and this close period has not yet
expired. If this law could be enforced we might expect
ti» find the moose as plentiful as ever in a short time, but
iiiifurtuiiately it is only enforced against sportsmen, who,
as a rale, are a law-abiding class ; it is little check upon
those persons who butcher moose in the deep snow for
the sake of their hides. I have heard of one instant-e of
a man's having fifty moose hides in his possession last
winter. If this traffic in hides were prohibited in toto,
itud the moose efficiently protected in that season of the
year when they are unable to protect themselves, viz.
fr(jin 1st of February to 1st of May, when the snow is

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NOVA SCOTIA.

deep iuid the cows lieavy in calf, it would bo quite
sulllicient.

Nova Scotia is a(lniiral)ly adiijitod to the mooso. The
forests abound with tlioir favourite browse, and tlu) snrfaeo
of tlio country is dotted over with lakes, which afford
them a r(>fui>;e from the Hies in summer. The moose, since
the extinction of its relative the great Irish elk, is the
largest and tincst of the deer tribe. And as an ornament
to the Acadian forest and a g-uest whoso keep costs
nothin<i- he (h^servcs to be takom care of. I say that liis
keep costs nothin;^, because if moose were exterminated
to-morrow the pj'ovince conld not pasture one head of
e'ittle or one sheep the more.

Whether the moose (Cerviis alas) of North America is
identical with the elk of Northern Europe is a matter
that has not been quite settled by naturalists. There are
some slight diffi'rences, chiefly, I believe, in the size and
shtide of colour ; but these points of difl'erence we sec in
almost all species, man in(dud(Kl, who live under different
conditions of country, cdimate, &c. Several animals and
many birds are common to the more northern parts of
both continents,* and it seems more than probable that
the moose is one of these.

Most animals whose homes are In tlie north are pro-
vided by nature with a disguise in the winter, their colour
more or less appro;Tching to that of the snow. The moose
is an exception to this rule, his coat turning darker in

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* For instance, lynx, ninrton, snowy owl, liawk-owl (P. Tn'dactiihis),
nnd otlier wno<l]irclvers, wnx-winir, Know l)nntnip:, black-cnp, tilmoua'.
pine gro.slicnk, willow grouse, also several gulls, clucks (^Anatidu-), waders,
•livers, and puffing.

THE MOOSK.

147

wintor; il\o bulls, in fact, iiro qiiitn Mack at tin's soasoTi.
The cariboo turns ucavly wliitc in winter, tlio orniine,
weasel, and tlio American liaro pure white. l>ut tlie nioos(i
is the monareli of the forest and needs no disf::uiMe. He
fears no beast of prey that lives in the norlhei-n rei^ions.
Nature never con1eni[)lated f;i\iiig animals jiroteetion
against man, to whom in the beginning was given dominion
over the beastis of the iicld.

The nioosf! is essentially a tree-eating animal. ITis
fore h>gs are so long and his neck so short tliat he could
not graze with comfort. The long prehensile upper lij)
or niouflle serves the same jiurpose to him as the trunk of
tin; elephant. Mis neck is oidy about twelve inches in
lenfrth.but cnormouslv p+ronji-and nius<!ular, as it needs to
be in order to su])port the great head, which is two feet in
length, and the horns which weigh about fifty pounds in
a lull-grown male.

Th(^ fall is the best time of the year to visit the haunts
of the moose. ^J'he weather at this season is all that can
bo desired, bilglu and clear and bracing, and if there is a
little irost ai 'dg/it, it only vserves to make the sportsman
enjoy his ct-mp fire all the more. Although he cannot
refrain from an involuntary sliiv^er when he thinks of the
rigours of winter, yet he is disposed to be very tolerant
of these early nnd mild symptoms of Jack Frost's arrival,
for the sake of the brilliant and varied colours which the
woods assume at his first approach. N(j one who has not
seen it can have any conception of the beauty and variety
of the autumnal tints of the foliage in this country. On
one maple tree, even on one leaf, may be seen green,
yellow, scarlet, and crimson, and many different shades of

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each of these colours, which appear the more vivid by
conlrast witli the dark and gloomy pines and firs. Tliere
are more signs of animal life in the woods at this season
than at any other. The young birds are strong on ilie
wing; none of the migratory species have left; and the
animals and those birds that remain the winter are either
busily engaged in putting on a good coating of fat to
protect themselves from the cold, or, like the beaver, are
laying in stores of provisions.

. This is the rutting season of the moose, and the hunter,
for his own base purposes, imitates the amorous roars of
the cow, which she utters periodically to make known her
whereabouts to the bull. From the 20th of September to
the 20th of October is the season for moose calling, and
the full of the moon is the best time, as the bulls seldom
come up to call before sunset. I have had most suc-
cess in that short half-hour between sundown and dark.
Later tlian that, even with moonlight, no one can make
sure of his shot; and the moose, though not a very
difficult animal to kill, is, I have always thought, more
tenacious of life at this time of year than at any other,
and requires to be hit in the right spot. The old bulls
leave off running the soonest ; the young ones I have
called as late as the first week in November. They are
very pugnacious in the rutting season, and fight des-
perately. On one occasion, had it not been for my
impatience, I should have witnessed one of these en-
counters. I was calling in a little barren or open space in
the woods, and during a quarter of an hour of breathless
suspense I could hear two bulls advancing towards lue
from different directions, and both so near that it was u

MOOSE CALLING.

149

toss-up wliicli would come first. At last one fellow came
out into tlio opoi), and stood defiantly awaiting the
approach of liis rival, whom he could plainly hear ram-
l)afring through the neighbouring thicket. Had I been
able to control my impatience for a minute or two, I
should no doubt have seen a set-to between these gigantic
beasts ; but it is a hard matter for the sportsman to keep
liis finger off the trigger of his rifle when a beast some seven-
teen or eighteen hands high, and with a pair of antlers
five feet in the stretch, lying back on his withers, stands
broadside on within fifty yards. The temptation was too
much for me, and as I fired I heard the horns of his
would-be antagonist crashing through the alder bushes
not fifty yards off". After getting liis death wound he
never moved wliilst one might count thirty, and then,
lurching heavily once or twice like a boat in a sea, he
came down with a crash, stone dead. On another occasion
r. wounded bull charged me repeatedly, in a most de-
termined but rather blundering way. Fortunafidy I was
in the woods, and had no difficulty in avoiding his attacks
by dodging round the trees. ]lad it been in the open, I
might not have fared so well.

The call of a cow, which the hunter imitates through a
horn or triimjiet made of birch bark, is a series of grunts
or groans, winding up with a prolonged, dismal, and
rather unearthly roar, which in calm weather can be
heard distinctly at a distance of two or three miles. One
peculiarity of the moose is that for a great distance he
can go straight to the point from whence the call pro-
ceeds, even after a considerable time has elapsed, and
^vithout a repetition of the sound to guide him. Thus

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NOVA SCOTIA.

after calling unsiicccssf'nlly of an evening, I have known
a moose come straight to the place on the following
morning from a distance of nearly two miles. The most
favourable time for calling is a still frosty evening — in
fact, a bad scenting evening ; anything but " a southerly
wind and a cloudy sky." Many a moose I have lost from
his having crossed my tracks on his approach. For this
reason, when practicable, it is best to call from a canoe,
paddled up to, and concealed in, a little island or point ou
a lake or river, fitting in a spot like this for the greater
part of a night is sometimes a severe tax on the sports-
man's patience — repeating his call at intervals of a quarter
of an hour or so, and getting no response but the more
dismal echo of his dismal call repeated here and there
through the woods. But, on the other hand, I know of
nothing :.iore exciting than to hear a moose slowly
approaching tlp'ough the woods: one is sometimes kept
on the tiptoe of expectation for half an hour or even
longer. The stillness after sunset is so profound, that his
slightest movement is distinctly audible. The sportsman
hardl} dares to breathe ; and when at last the animal
comes out on the lake or opening within range it is a
grand moment, if happily he harj not delayed his coming
till too late to be seen. Moose walk at the rate of about
four miles an hour, even in woods so thick that it is hard
to understand how they get their horns through. They
carry their heads high, noses well up, and horns thrown
back on their withers. When disturb«'d they move in a
long shambling trot, clearing every obstruction in their
stride ; they never jump or gallop.

The Nova Scotian Indians are the best moose callers in

MOOSE CALLING.

151

the world, and among them the old men are better than
the young ones. I have never seen a white man who
could call moose really well, t'^onietimes they answer to
the call much more readily than at others. I once brought
up a lusty young bull by tearing a piece of birch bark off
a tree to make a horn ; he heard the noise and came up,
so I had no further trouble. I have at diflerent times
brought up moose from a distance, who came to my call
unsuspiciously, without needing any further stimulus in
the shape of a low, half- suppressed call, which the more
wary old bulls sometimes need to bring them within shot.
These low calls, made when the moose is pausing, un-
certain whether to come or go, close to the caller yet not
within shot, require the greatest skill — a false note, and all
is lost. I have at times seen an old Indian trembling with
excitement, the small end of his horn to his lips, the other
end (-n the ji^round to deaden the sound — his face puffed
ii[) with the 'olumes of wind he is pouring into his horn,
which produce a low and far-off-sounding series of grunts.

There is something very charming in moose calling on
a lake or river far back in the woods on a fine September
ev^'uing, when one is dry and warm. The foliage is
beautiful, as I said before, and so are the reflections on
the water, owing, I suppose, to the clearness of the atmo-
sphere. The smooth surface of the water is broken here
and there by the rising of a trout, or by the ripple in the
wake of a musquash. The only sounds heard are the
shriekhig and hooting of the owls, the chattering of the
squirrels, the drumming of the partridge,* and the dis-
cordant voice of the kingfisher as he throws himself into

* T. Umbellus,

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102

NOVA SCOTIA.

I ii!''

the water after Lis prey. Sometimes black duck may Ik-
heard quacking and shaking their wings, and an odd fox
yel[)ing ; and where beaver abound they make known
their existence by liitting tlio water great whacks with
tlieir tails. After sunset most of these sonmls cease, and
the sik-nce is most profound. The ears then get very
sharp, and detect the slightest sound of an approacliing
beast. It is very annoying, but it often happens that the
moose, although quite close, will not come out to the lake
till after dusk, when it is too dark to see. I have seen a
moose's reflection on the water, and yet have been unable
to discover the beast, so profoundly dark is the background
of woods.

The old bulls cast their horns early in Xovember, but
the young ones retain theirs much longer, sometimes till
the month of IMarch. In July the horns are soft and
velvety, next month thoyrnb off the velvet against the
bushes, and in September they are in full bloom. The
largest horns I ever measured were five f(?et three inches
across from tij) to tip, but I heard of a pair that measured
six feet. In summer moose frequent the swamps and low-
lying lands in the proximity of lakes and rivers, and in mid-
summer they spend the greater ]iart of the day in the
water, to escape the flies wdiieh torment them, xit this
time they eat the leaves and stalks of the water lilies, and
when thus employed they are easily a])proached in a canoe.
During the rest of the year they live altogether on browse.
In summer the bulls are very fat, but later on they fall ofl'
in condition, and in the fall are hardly fit.to eat ; but at this
time cows are excellent. No beef is more juicy or tender
than the meat of a dry cow moose in tiie fall of the year.

MOOSE HUNTING.

153

The cows liavo soinctimos one, goiierally two calves, in the
montli of i\[ay, and llie calves remain with their mothers
for one year, and then go off on their own ac^connt. The
hair of the moose is of two different sorts — one long, coarse,
and brittle; the other or inner coat, is of a soft, woolly
nature, and is manufactured by the squaws into gloves and
stockings. The hide is the most porous of any skin that I
have seen, and when well dressed by the Indians with oil,
soap, and above all, hand-rubl)iug and camp smoke, it is as
soft and pliable as cloth, and makes famous mocassins.
The green hide is worth five dollars; for this hundreds of
moose are butchered in the deep snow, and the carcases
left to rot.

As the haunts of the moose are in thick forest, where it
is impossible to see any object at a greater distance off
than sixty or seventy yards, and as their senses of hearing
and smell are very acute, it requires more skill and ex-
perience to creep them in the fall than it does to hunt any
other animal in this country. The jMicmacs of Nova Scotia
are by far the best moose hunters. The hunter would
seem to require two or three pairs of eyes instead of one.
He must steer clear of rotten sticks, for to tread on one
is ruin'to his ho])es, and the ground is covered with them.
As he creeps along on fresh tracks, he must keep a sharp
look-out for the animal, and at the same time watch the
wind and the browtse. Unlike the cariboo, who are always
travelling about feeding as they go along, the moose, when
tlie rutting season is over, if not disturbed, choose a
locality ab(mnding with their favourite browse^— young
maple and moose wood— and remain there for the rest of
the year, contracting their daily rambles in search of food

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NOVA SCOTIA,

as the snow gets deeper, until at last tlie " yard " is only
about an acre or two in extent. One great difficulty in
creeping moose is that, whereas the tracks one is hunting
are going in one direction, the hunter cannot be certain
that the moose may not have doubled round and got In's
wind ; for this reason the Indian, when well to leeward of
the yard, quarters liis ground against wind much as a well-
trained pointer quarters a stubble field. Moose lie down
invariably to leeward of their yard, so that anyone coming
on their tracks where they have been feeding is at once
detected. Although they rely chiefly on their noses for
protection, their great ears, which resemble a donkey's, are
always on the alert. When the wind is howling through
the tree tops, and the trees are rustling aud groaning
as they are swayed backwards and forwards, let the hunter
tread on a rotten stick, and the moose will at once detect
it, distinguish it from the other sounds, and be off. As I
said before, moose are well able to take care of themselves
except for a short time at the close of the winter, when
the snow is deep and the crust sufficiently hard to give
gooi footing on the surface.

I shall never forget my first introduction to moose
hunting. It seems but yesterday that I sat on a ftillen
tree in a narrow neck of land that divides two lakes in the
Ship Harbour country not fifty miles from Halifax. I was
then new to large game, but Peter Joe, a six-foot Micmac,
and the best moose hunter I have ever seen, had sworn to
show me a moose within forty yards, "suppose you not
break tdo many sticks." Two days I toiled in the wake
of this man of steel and whalebone, till every joint in my
body ached. We started heaps of moose out of their

MOOSE HUNTING.

155

yards, but it was the still Indian summer weather, and I
had not got a shot. " Surtin, ]\Iister, yuu break too many
bticks," said Peter. That wius all very well, but as I could
not walk iierfectly silently at the rate of five miles an
hour through a thick wood barred witli treacherous ram-
pikos and underlaid with rotten sticks — as I was neither a
crawling serpent nor a jack snipo — as I had to perform or
try to i)eribrni these acrobatic feats, moreover, with my
backbone doubled up like the letter S — and finally, as my
leave was up next day, 1 rather despaired of getting a
moose. But Peter Joe, as I afterwards learned, was at all
times and under any circumstances able to circumvent the
wily moose. On the third day — like the man of genius
that he was — he determined that as I could not go to the
moose the moose should come to me.

It was a still mild morning — the trout were jumping in
the rivulet, a restless kingfisher was Hying backwards and
ibrwards screaming harshly, and a loon was laughing as he
tloated on the smooth surface of the lake — when I heard
a sound which made me liold my breath; it was the
who-o-o-oop of the hunter thrice repeated. This was the
signal that the fleet Peter, who had taken a long circuit
through the woods, had started a moose. What glorious
excitement ! My eyes are strained peering into the forest.
A stray black fly not yet frozen up looks as big as a turkey,
and when a cock partridge at the edge of the lake beats
bis mufiled drum my heart leaps into my mouth. Dead
silence succeeds, and the woods swim before my over-
strained eyeballs. I listen in vain for the sound of
approaching steps, when close to me a moving object
catches my eye. It is — no, it isn't — yes, it is — a grand

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bull nidoso, lookinj:^ black as jot, all but liis nose and
horns; the latter arc laid back on his withers as lio
noiselessly apjtroaches. I^lio buck fever is on nie, and I
fire the rifjht barrel wildly. Ho stops, turns round, and
for one moment stands broadside on. The buck fever is on
me still, but the mark is as biii; as a house, and only thirty
yards ofTT, and by some fluke my second barrel tells.
Then, not noiselessly ns Ixdbro, hut with a tremendous
row, the f^i-and animal dashes back throuji^h the wood.
Loup: alter I lose sight of him I hear the crashing of the
branches. I reload mechanically, but remain, like a msui
stunned or dazed, rooted to the spot. Peter soon arrives
and wakes me up, and after half an hour's trackin;^' wr
get up to and dispatch my first moose.

>ts

CHArTEU VI.

CAPE BRETON.

Cape Breton is the hi'rliiaiul.s of Nova Scotia, and fitly
enough we find it settled by Hi;i;hhinders whose ancestors
(•aine out from Scotland about the coiumencoment of the
century, and finding a country that somewhat reminded
tlioin of their own, since it was lashed by the same ocean,
enveloped in the same fog, and peltcul by the same merci-
less snow, sleet, and rain; finding the surface of the
country, its rocks and its hills, something like Scotland ;
the lakes and rivers inhabited by the same kinds of fish ;
the soil yielding the same sort of crops ; finding so many
points of resemblance between Cape Breton and their
native laud, these hardy fellows settled down among the
Acadians whom they found there.

The scenery of Cape Breton is very fine. The hills fall
somewhat short of mountains, but they rise boldly from
the water's edge, and are clothexi to the summits with
beech, maple, and birch, the light green of the deciduous
trees being relieved by the dark green, almost black, of the
fir tribe which grow in sombre masses in the ravines, and
•' gulches " forming an effective setting to the hills. Cape
Breton has an extraordinary length of coast-line. Instead
of being one island, it narrowly escapes being a group of
islands. The Bras d'Or, a pretty landlocked sea, navigable
for vessels of any size, which has its outlet into the oceaa

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CAPE lilt ETON.

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at Sydney, oxtonds to within a mile of the other extremity
of the ishind, so tliiit Cape Breton is in fact a horseshoe of
land in the Atlantic with an exterior and interior coast-
line. Notwithstanding the severity of .the weather in
winter, it is not shut off from the rest of the world. Owing
to the strong tides, the prut of Canso, which separates the
island from the mainland, is always free from ice.

The Acadian-French part of the popnlation are fisher-
men and live on the sea-coast. The Scotch depend npon
their cattle, for which the island is well adapted. As a
provision against tho long hard winter, nature has provided
an ample suj)i)ly of gniss which grows on the intervales.
The hills make good pastures in the summer. Grass
springs uj) on them as soon as light is admitted by the
clearing of the forest. As for the intervales, they are
flooded nnd top-dressed every sjiring by the overflow of
the rivers swollen by the melting snow. The intervale of
Margaree, which extends for some miles along both sides
of the river of the same name, cuts 2-J tons of hav to tho
acre. This intervale hay, though inferior to ujdand hay,
is well suited to horned cattle and slieep. Large quantities
of beef and butter are exported to Newfoundland and
other places. The farmers get about $10 a cwt. for the
former and 18 or 20 cents a lb. for the latter, and these
prices pay them very well. On 3Ir. Campbell's farm at
Margaree I saw thirty young calves in a paddock. I mention
this to give some idea of the stock that can be kept even
in this cold country by farmers who are fortunate enough
to own some intervale. The cattle are good milkers but
small, with a good deal of the Ayrshire blood. For six
months of the year they get nothing but hay. When

STOCK FAliMTXa.

159

Slimmer comes each farmer bramls his cattle and turns
them out. Tliey wander about in lierds over the hills
and through the forest, and are not perhaps seen by their
owners from the day that they are turned out till the snow
falls. A stranger on seeing the rough and rugged nature
of the pastures is astonished at the condition of the cattle,
but the practical farmer knows the value of a large scope
for his cattle, and the advantages of a variety of feed in
keeping his stock in health, and ho will readily under-
stand that these animals thrive on apparently scant
pastures because they have miles upon miles of rough
country to feed over, with plenty of water and shelter.
I have had the opportunity more than once of comparing
the condition of cattle enclosed in fat though contracted
pastures with that of others who roved through the wilder-
ness in the manner I have described above, and the
comparison has invariably been in favour of the latter.
The diversity of feed caused by the many varieties of
grasses and herbs cropped as they ramble at Mill
through the wilderness, more than compensates for the
abundance of one sort of feed which the civilized ox sur-
feits himself upon in his rich though narrow pasture.
Upland farms with buildings cost from 2()U?. to 500/. in
Cape Breton. Intervale land about 7/. or 8?. an acre.
Crown land can be bought lor 10/. the 100 acres, but this
land is not even worth this small price, the best of it
having all been picked out. There is little or no emi-
gration to Cape ]jreton. Farm labourers can earn about
$12 per month, but there is no great demand for labour.

The chief wealth of Cape Breton consists in her coal
fields, which contain coal of excellent quality, and are

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CAPE BRETON.

apparently inexhaustible. They crop out liere and there
all over the island, but are worked mainly in the vicinity
of Svdnev, where there is an excellent harbour.

No part of 33ritish North America is better situated as
regards the fisheries than Cape Breton. Cape Breton
schooners are to bo met with on the N<'W found land banks
oft' Anticosti and off Labrador, following tlicir business.
The owner of the fishing schooner is often the merchant,
who gets half the catch, the crew getting the other half;
but as the latter are obliged to take all their food, stores,
gear, A'C, from the merchant at his own valuation, the
balance that remains to the poor fisherman after his debts
are paid, is very small at the best, and often there is no
balance at all. It is the habit of certain people to talk
of the tyranny of an aristocracy. The little finger of a
merchant where the truck system is in vogue is thicker
than the loins of any aristocrat in the Old World. In all
but the extreme outlying places of the Dominion the
people have emancipated themselves from this tyranny,
but the poor fishermen in many places still groan under
it. The merchant waxes fat and kicks, tiie fisherman
toils all his life at an occupation fraught with har<l-
ship and danger, and, though the fisheries of the 8t.
Lawrence are rich beyond the imagination of an oid-
country man, he remains always poor and often down-
trodden. Jersey merchants monopolize some of the best
fishing stations in the gulf. One of their factories is
at Chetecamp, in Cape Breton. Tliese establishments
are models of order, system, and good management ; no
woman is admitted within their precincts, and mar-
ried men are objected to. Codfish abound on tlie

FISIIETtlES. HOUSES.

161

coasts, so do mackerel, herring, salmon, sea trout, and
halibut : the latter fish are enormous ; one of them will
sometimes make two barrels of fish (of 2 CY/t. each) when
cleaned and salted down. Seals are scarce, and so are
white porpoises. In the Bras d'Or there are lobsters and
capital oysters. In the winter, when this inland sea is
frozen over, there is excellent fishing in it, through holes
in the ice, for cod, haddock, and other fish.

Cape Breton horses are small, but wonderfully tough
and hardy little animals, possessing a turn of speed. By
the way, how is it that horses appear to do work in an
inverse ratio to their looks and size ? I mean, how is it
that the neglected-looking mustang, or the rough little
grass-fed Cape Breton horse, can do a better day's work
than the higldy-cared-for 16-hand English carriage horse.
I saw a Cape Breton horse 14.3 high, just off the grass,
travel 80 miles on rough and hilly roads with two hea\ v
men in a waggon behind him, and this on a summer day
between 4 a.m. and 7 p.m., and he was none the worse for
it. I believe it is the climate. The bracing air of the
maritime provinces of the Dominion enables the horse to
do double work, as it certaiulv does the man. I have seen
a yellow, faded American who could not walk five miles to
save his life in his own country, sniff the air of the St.
Lawrence, and do his ten miles without turning a hair. It
seems a pity that in a country where horses thrive so
admirably, they do not take a little more jiains in their
breeding. By judicious breeding there is no reason why
they should not combine size and good looks with the
native hardiness, and thus produce a highly valuable
animal, which would command a high price and be a

162

CAPE BRETON.

source of wealth to the province. The Cape Breton men
are fond of horseflesh, and are fast and apparently reckless
drivers ; only apparently, however, for the little nags are
as sure-footed as goats; were they not, the road fro"a
Port Hawkesbury to West Bay would be one hecatomb
of mangled travellers. The roads are bad. If anyone
wishes to see a trap driven down a steep hill at the rate
of 12 or 15 miles an hour, on a road full of deep holes
and covered with big boulders, I can recommend him to
Cape Breton. He will also (a rare sight in North America)
see the farmers and their wives and daughters riding to
church or to market. Sometimes the ladies go in pairs,
and stout indeed must be the little nag who can carry the
buxom charms of two Cape Breton lasses.

The Scotch settlers in Cape Breton are a fine, hardy
good-looking race of people. The old men who were born
in Scotland complain that the young fellows are falling
off in strength. If there is any falling off, it is caused by
their neglect of the commonest rules of health. The inha-
bitants of these maritime provinces would be the strongest
men in the world, and live to extreme old age if they only
took ordinary care of thouiselves. They utterly disregard
wet and cold, ice and snow, and treat their digestive
organs with contempt. Neglecting the good old porridge
which strengthened their ancestors, and the coarse but
nutritious bread made out of the home-grown corn, they
now eat quantities of the finest American flour, badly
cooked, and washed down with a black and bitter infusion,
called tea. They do not take the trouble to grow any
vegetable but the potato, and very rarely eat fresh meat.

Scotch settlers, even in the third generation, still speak

SCOTCH SETTLERS. GAME.

163

Gaelic. An Englisliman, and especially an Irishman*
settled in a now country, soon becomes assimilated ; a
Scotchman never. Now I feel that I am treading on
dangerous ground when I say that the Scotchman does
not make the best of settlers. I consider that the north
of Ireland man makes by far tlie best settler in a new
country. He possesses all the sterling qualities of the
Scotchman witiiout the overweening conceit which causes
the latter to think and to maintain that nothing can be
good and nothing can be right that is not Scotch.

Cape Breton was formerly celebrated for the number
and size of its moose. They are now very scarce. Cariboo
are more plentiful. Towards the north point there is a
large district of unsettled country in which there are
large plains, where I believe the hunting is good. Fur of
all sorts is also scarce, all except the irrepressible mus-
quash. It was once a beaver country, but now I am told
that animal is extinct on the island. There are still,
however, a few bears, foxes, otter, mink, marten, and loup-
cervier. The Canada goose and brant touch the island in
their spring and fall migrations, also a fev plover and
curlew. The black duck, red head, wood duck, and two
or thi'ee of the mergansers breed on the island. There is
good duck shooting in the fall, in the month of October.
Kiver Deny and Lake Ainslie are about the best localities
for the duck shooter. Snipe also hatch in Cape Ureton,
and a few cock, but not in suflicient numbers to afford
much sport.

The angling in Cape Breton, as in Nova Scotia, is free.
The principal salmon rivers are the ^Eargaree, the Chete-
carap, and the St. Annes. The rivers are not so much

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CAPE bueton.

(lammed as in Nova Scotia, and salmon run up many of
the other rivers, but late in the season.

The Margaree is the best free river, not only in Nova
Scotia, but in the Dominion, and it is the only river in
the Dominion on which the angler is not devoured by
flies. When the forest is cut down, the flies disappear.
This river flows through a large cleared intervale between
two ranges of high forest-clad hills. But the Margaree,
notwithstanding its many charms, is not the angler's
paradise. Were it so, I fear I should be selHsh enough
not to divulge the fact to my readers. Angling, thougli
a refining, civilizing, gentle sport (the partisans of vivi-
section notwithstanding), brings out some of the worst
qualities of our nature, and those of the fraternity who
are not troubled with a superfluity of coin, when they hit
upon a really good thing, are forced to be selfish, in order
to save their own fishing. There are only a few miles of
really good fishing water, and on this there are twelve or
fourteen rods generally. The xVmericans have destroyed
all their own rivers by reckless mismanagement, and of
late years, having taken to angling, they haunt Canadian
rivers to the advantage of canoe-men and others, but to
the sad perplexity of Canadian anglers.

On a river, such as I have been describing, the idiosyn-
crasies of anglers can be studied. First we have the
plodding, patient, persevering fisherman, who flogs the
water from early morning to late evening, often without
even seeing a fin. What an amount of hope, faith, and
patience he displays ! He takes his pleasure sadly enough,
for when you tell him that there is no use in fishing, lie
acknowledges with a sigh that you are right, but flogs

ANGLEIiS.

1G5

away as iudiistrioiisly as ever. He is hated for tlisturbiuj^
the waters, but his temper is perfect, and he is proof
against any amount of ehaft'. Jle takes tlio rough with
the smooth, and is certain of his reward in the long
run.

Tlien there is tlie jealous man, who is always racing to
got ahead of you on the river, and when he gets there
will not take time to tish it properly, but hurries on to
anticipate you at another pool. An angler of this stamp
hates you if you catch a fish, and is not good company on
a river.

There is also the unlucky man, who never kills a fish.
He and the fish never can hit it off, so as to be on the
river at the same time, or even if he does manage to
hook an odd salmon, the fly is sure to go at the head, the
line to get a hitch round the handle of tlie reel, or after
twenty minutes' play the fly conies back in his face.
What is the cause of this ? Sometimes laziness, some-
times stupidity, sometimes want of faith — a knowledge
that he is the unlucky man, v/hich produces a feeling of
nervousness quite fatal to success. Nine times out of
ten we can account for the unlucky man's failure, but in
the tenth case we are forced to set it down to pure ill
luck.

AVe are all familiar with the novice, whose rod is broken
two or three times a day, and wiiose fly, when not fast in a
tree, is hitched securelv in the seat of his knickerbockers.

There is the father of the river, the gentleman who
fished it for twenty years undisturbed, and whose indig-
nation when first his favourite pools were invaded and his
pet casts ravished cannot readily be described. Time

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has not hciilod l»is wounds, lunl tliou^di lu? still takes liis
C'liiiuco on tlio river, it is as a disappointt'il and an injured
man.

'J'iicn there in tlio man who goes a-flsliing merely to
have a heavy drink. He drinks at liome, lie drinks every-
where ; ho rarely easts a fly, so what partieular pleasure he
doriv(}s from making a beast of himself on the bank of a
river, I never eonld discover, nnless, indeed, it is that on
his return to his family he may brag of having killed fish
when no one else on the river conld got a rise, or display
to his boon comi»anions the identical fly that killed the
(imaginary) forty-pounder.

All the above types of the genus angler are, I suppose,
common to all free rivers, but on the ]\largareo and a few
other Canad'an rivers may, in addition, be found Yankee
fishermen who spoil sport. The American gentletnan is a
delightful companion wherever you find him. But I allude
to the Yankee sportsman — the man who may be seen in
his native country driving in a buggy with a black frock-
coat, a wideawake, and a big cigar; he now fishes your
pool, clad in the same black frock-coat with a deringer in
his pocket.

All this diversity of character on the ]\rargaree (with
the exception of the gentleman in the frock-coat), if it
does not make good fishing at least tends to a "good
time." There is a little society, a little visiting from tent
to tent, and a little entertaining gossip, which is often
welcome to the angler.

Different men have different ideas of comfort. One
sleeps under his upturned canoe and eats pork and
biscuit with bis fingers; his next neighbour has an

ANOLINa.

167

eliibornto tont, and eats dainties with a silver fork. A
middle course between these oxtrunios comnieiids itself
most to mo. A man wants a dry bed and wholesome
food. Luxuries api)ear to me to be a mistake on these
occasions. Exercise and fresh air give health and appetite
for simple fare, and the man who lives well at home is all
the better for abstinence from luxuries when carai)ing out.
Tlie most luxurious anglers are tlie Americans ; they are
generally good fellows, but indifferent fishermen. They
can talk for hours most sagaciously on the theory of
angling, but they fall off in the practice of it. Their rods,
their reels, their flies are all works of art, expensive ones
too, as they take care to inform you. They are always
self-satisfied, always droll, always hospitable. They never
go anywhere without pistols and champagne, and have
altogether too much excitement and froth for genuine
anglers. I know no man who goes in for sport like the
Englishman ; he goes in for sport and sport alone. The
American, on the contrary, looks for a *' good time." He
cujoys a little sport well enough when it comes, but as a
rule he will not work hard for it, or perhaps I should say
he cannot ; he lacks the stamina necessary for prolonged
physical exertion.

The season for Margaree is from June 20th to about
July 20th. I have known one rod kill fifty salmon in
tliat time. Fish average about 15 lbs. The river is
greatly over-netted at the mouth, and there is very little
attempt made to enforce the fishery laws in Cape Breton.
The law itself is satisfactory enough ; several of the clauses
struck me as being particularly good ; for instance : " Any
person finding a net or other machine illegally set, can

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168

C'yl/'/; BUKTOS.

destroy snme," but tlio person so doing must make the
matter public according to a certain proscribed form.
Again, "Any ])erson discovero*! at nigiit with a spear or a
torch, shall bo considered in the act of spearing salmon,"
of course unless lie can prove to the contrary. And again,
" Every net, trap, or machine for catching fish must have
attached to it the name of owner legibly written."

There is good trouting in Cajie Breton, both sea trout
and brook trout ; the latter abound in all the rivers
and lakes as in Nova Scotia. Sea trout run in ]\[ar-
garee, Chetecamp, St. Annes, Black River, River Inha-
bitants, Bedeque, Middle River, and many others; they
pursue tho smelt into the mouths of the rivers in the
month of May, but do not ascend till July. The unin-
itiated are apt to confound the brook trout {S. Fontinalis)
with the sea trout {S. Canadensis). In many Canadian
rivers the brook trout descend to the tideways probably
for food, and there acquire a bright silvery hue, which
is supposed to be one of the characteristics of the sea
trout.

The gaspereau, sometimes called the " alewife " from an
Indian word aloof (a fish), {Ahsa tyrannus), is a member
of the Clupeidse which frequents the Nova Scotian, Cape
Breton, and New Brunswick rivers in great numbers,
but which I have not seen in any other waters of the
Dominion. The catch of these fish in the two provinces
amounts to 50,000 barrels a year, and they form a very
welcome addition to the means of the farmers who live
along the banks of the rivers they frequent. I heard of
one farmer on the Margaree whose catch in one year
amounted to 50/. worth. The expense connected with

OASrKIlEAr.

1C9

tlio fisliory is very triflin'; ; in fact, it is mcn^ly tho labour
of the man who fishos. In asecndinp^ tho river, tho
•jiisperean keep close to tiie hank to avoid the rapid water.
A busli fence a few yards in h n*,'tli is ri<r^f'<l ont to
compel the Hsh to pass up throu<,di a little chuunol which
is left open near tho bank. Tiie fisherman stands on a
platform with a large box at his side and scoops up tho
gaspereau with a scoop-net — a sort of exaggerati'd landing
net — as they pass up through the channel, emptying them
into the box. When the fish are running fast, he gets as
many at each scoop as he is able to lift. The fish pro
then salted and barrnll A for market. They are inferior
to herrings, which they much resemble in appearance;
but I am told that in certain hot climates they are pre-
ferred to those fish, as they are less affected by the heat.

The gaspereau chooses a shallow lake with a sandy
bottom to spawn in, and only ascends rivers or streams that
flow from such lakes. JMany of their favourite rivers in
Nova Scotia have been dammed, and a source of much
profit has thus been lost to the inhabitants. The gaspereau,
like the salmon, returns always from tho sea to its own
river, but unlike the salmon it remains a very short time
in the fresh water. They ascend the rivers before the
salmon, viz. in the end of May and beginning of June.
They are then gravid, and after depositing their spawn they
return at once to the sea. From the time of their ascent
to their return, is only three weeks. After spawning
they are very weak and impoverished, and descend the
rapids, tail foremost; they soon recuperate iu the salt
water, where they have been taken with the "fall
mackerel " in splendid condition. After being hatched>

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170

CAPE BRETON.

the young fisTi remain in the lakes for about a year, viz.
till the following August, when they make their first trip
to the sea. At this time they are about two inches or
two inches and a half in length. They do not breed till
the third year. I base this assertion on the fact that a
eecond run of small-sized fish, without spawn or melt,
follows immediately after the ascent of the gravid gas-
pereau. They are said to be hostile to the Salmonidie,
and I have noticed that lakes which they frequent in
great numbers seem to be shunned by salmon and trout.
On two occasions when angling I have caught gaspereau
on a salmon fly. It is a stupid thing, and I might almost
say a wicked thing, to shut the gaspereau out from their
spawning beds. Settlers along the banks of Nova Scotian,
Cape Breton, and New Brunswick rivers are not generally
so rich as to be able to dispense with the little fixed
incomes which these fish would surely afford them if they
were allowed fair play.

CHArTER VII.

TRINCE P:DWAKD ISLAND.

Prince Edward Island is a small corner of the Domi-
nion which, from its beauty, fertility, and great maritime
facilities, only requires to become better known to the
world in order to make a rapid progress in wealth and
prosperity.

Two circumstances, one the work of man, the other of
nature, have hitherto contributed to keep this island in
the background : I allude firstly, to its peculiar system of
land tenure ; secondly, to its isDlated position.

In order to make my reader understand the first of
tbe.«e, a short sketch of the early settlement of the island
becomes necessary.

The Isle of St. John — which afterwards became Prince
Edward Island — so called after H.R.H. Prince Edward
Duke of Kent, was by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 ceded
by the French to King George III. Soon after it was
divided into sixty-seven townships, each containing
20,000 acres, and these townships were distributed by lot
amongst hangers-on of the court, who had, or were sup-
posed to have, claims upon the Government of the day.
This is the way colonial affairs were managed in the olden
time. Two conditions were attached to these grants of
land ; one was the payment of a certain quit-rent to the
Crown ; the other was, that proprietors should send out

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172

PRINCE ED WARD ISLAND.

I i

German Protestants to their lands in the proportion of at
least 200 to each township. Neither of these conditions
were complied with, and this is a feature in the case which
should not be forgotten when one comes to consider the
treatment which the descendants of those original pro-
prietors have just received at the hands of the Prince
Edward Island Government.

Prior to its cession to England, Prince Edward Island
had been settled by Acadian refugees from Nova Scotia,
who, driven from their old homes earlier in the century,
had fraternized and even intermarried with the aboriginal
inhabitants of the island. The Acadians are, and always
have been, a quiet, simple, and inofifensive people, but
they clung with tenacity to the soil, and thus became a
troublesome squatting element on the new estates.

Lord Selkirk, the most enterprising of the original pro-
prietors, sent out a shipload of emigrants from his estate
in Scotland to his fief in the New World. But with this
honourable exception the first proprietors never performed
one of the duties of a landlord — they never helped to
people their lands, they never lived on them, nor spent
money on them.

This system of land tenure — almost, if not altogether,
the only one of its kind in tlie New World — has been from
first to last a serious drawback to the development of
Prince Edward Island, and it has been the unceasing task
of the local legislature for many years to endeavour to
counteract its ill effects. The descendants and represen-
tatives of the grantees have, with one or two exceptions,
always been absentees. Their affairs have been managed
by agents who, in many cases, thought more of putting

FEUDALISM,

173

money into their own pockets than of attending to the
interests either of landlord or tenant. Consequently rents
fell in arrear to an almost incalculable amount. Squatters
sprung up who held adversely to proprietors. In short
the land tenure of the island became an Augean stable
which required a strong broom to cleanse it.

It is true that the grievance of the tenants was in most
cases a sentimental rather than a matter-of-fact one.
Many of them held their lands at rents varying from 6d,
to Is. an acre on leases of 999 years — a tenure which, to
an old-country farmer would, no doubt, be vastly satis-
factory. But a grievance is none the less a grievance
because it happens to be one of sentiment. On the
American continent there is a firm and ineradicable objec-
tion to the landlord-and-tenant system, and many Prince
Edward Island farmers, sooner than clear and improve
land for which they were obliged to pay the trifling rent
of Qd. or Is. an acre, emigrated to other provinces where
land when cleared and laboured would be absolutely and
entirely their own.

The method at first adopted by the local government
to check this evil was to buy land from such proprietors
as could be induced to sell, and then resell on favourable
terms of payment to the occupiers of the soil. By this
means two-thirds of the proprietors were disposed of. The
other third, however, could not be tempted to part with
their seignorial rights, for the desire to be a landlord,
even of a barren inheritance, is as strong in the Old World
as the desire to escape from landlordism appears to be in
the New. So matters stood at the confederation of the
colonies.

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174

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

'ii

Prince Edward Island, considering its interests, not
identical with Canada proper, for a long time held aloof
from confederation. Finally it was won over by bribes,
one of which was a sum of $800,000 to buy out the claims
of the proprietors. A compulsory Act was then passed
by the local government, and approved by the Dominion,
providing for the purchase of land from proprietors, and
appointing a commission to value the claims and assess
payments. The commission consisted of three members,
one appointed by the local government, another by the
proprietors, and the thircl by the Governor-General of
Canada. Lord Duflferin appointed Mr. Childers, who, as
holding the balance between two contending parties, has
been virtually the arbitrator. The proprietors got from
4s. an acre in some cases, up to nearly 1?. in others. The
principle that seems to have guided tlie commission in
their decisions, appears to have been to capitalize the net
profits of landlords (excluding arrears of rent and deduct-
ing expenses of collecting and management), giving them
each a lump sum which, at 6 per cent, (interest of
Canadian bonds), will be equivalent to their old net
income.

The worst feature of these sweeping land measures is
that they hold out a premium to tlie hard and grasping
landlord, while they are hard upon the indulgent and easy-
going one. The amount of the paid-up rent was the basis
of the final settlement, not the actual value of the land.
An injustice has been done in this case to one or two kind
and indulgent proprietors who did not screw up their
rents to the highest pitch. Every arbitrary law that
interferes with the rights of property and forces one

ISOLATION.

175

citizen to part with his goods to another, must necessarily
carry along with it a certain measure of injustice to the
individual. But, on the other hand, this measure has
swept away the remains of a system of land tenure not
suited to the atmosphere of the New World, and which has
in times past been a heavy drag to the progress of Prince
Edward Island. Feudalism has at last worn itself out in
America, and the soil of the island can now be acquired
aud held as in other settled parts of the Dominion.

The second cause that retards the advancement of
Prince Edward Island is one that cannot be so summarily
removed. I allude to its geographical position. Situated
at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is just in the
right place to intercept the floating ice of which there is
such a plentiful winter crop in these waters. Although
only eight miles distant from the mainland at the
narrowest part of the straits, the extreme danger and
diificulty of the navigation virtually cuts off the island
from the rest of the world during five months of the year.
This is caused by the ice, which, owing to the strong
currents that prevail, does not form into a solid bridge,
but is continually moving and shaping itself into walls
and barriers which greatly obstruct the navigation. Mails
cross these straits with a certain amount of regularity
during winter, but passengers only do so when compelled
by urgent necessity. The vehicles used for this service
are very light boats, sheathed with tin and fitted with
sleigh runners. They are dragged along the uneven
surface of the ice by straps, which are fastened to the
gunwale of the boat. Each man passes one of these straps
round the shoulders for safety. Occasionally patches of

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176

PltlNCE EDWATtD ISLAND.

open water of greater or less extent occur, when the men
jump in and row. Now and then barriers of broken ice
as high as house tops have to be surmounted. But, worst
of all, " lolly " has to be crossed. Lolly is a description
of soft ice, which is too soft to walk over and too sub-
stantial to work a boat through. I can only compare it
to those soft green and oozy places in a bog or swamp
with which most snipe shooters are familiar, into which
the novice blunders up to iiis armpits, aud which require
a cat-like and rapid step to cross. Carrying the mails
across these straits is therefore an arduous and perilous
service ; it is rarely done under four hours of hard toil, and
often takes ten or twelve hours to perform. The boatmen
are such admirable judges of ice and of weather, that fatal
accidents rarely occur, but when it is considered that
the mercury is sometimes 10° or 20° below zero during
these crossings, it cannot be wondered at that Jack Frost
sometimes seizes hold of a toe, an ear, or a nose. To
drive him away the part has to be rubbed with snow, or
if the toe is affected, a little brandy is poured into tiie
boot.

I do not know whether it is possible for engineering
skill to conquer tlie difficulty of these straits, but, even
if it be, the money required to build a bridge or to
tunnel under the water would be enormous. An ice
steamer could be constructed capable of forcing its way
across the straits for at least two months longer than
navigation is now open, viz. seven months, and the sug-
gestior 'as been made by a local engineer of running out
long wharfs, say a mile in length, at each side, round
which ice would lodge and form in sufficient strength to

THAVEL. RAILROADS.

177

support the weight of a horse and sleigh. Tliis is certainly
feasible, and would shorten the passage considerably,
and probably also abutments might be made in mid-
channel.

Even in summer the island is somewhat out of the
beaten track. The only steamers that ply between the
isliind and the mainland are owned by a company who
run their boats to suit — I don't know who, unless it be
themselves — they certainly do not endeavour to suit the
public. The travelling public therefore stay away, and
the island, which is admirably suited from climatic and
other reasons for a summer resort, loses those dollars with
which travellers pave their way. It is not sufficiently
known, and its resources are not therefore developed as
thev might be.

The second bribe given to Prince Edward Island to
induce her to cast in her fortunes with the Dominion was
a railway. The other maritime provinces and British
Columbia were also "railwayed" into confederation, and
the same process is being now applied to the recalcitrant
province of Newfoundland.

The process of " railwaying " a province into confedera-
tion is briefly this. Send agents into the coveted province
to raise an agitation for a railroad. Square the press and
foster this agitation by every possible means. Get a
railway bill passed in the local legislature, keeping the
cost quietly in the background. This can be accomplished
by liberal promises, a few substantial gifts, and an order
or two of St. Michael and St. George. Money seems
plentiful at first, and the railroad progresses. Everything
goes smoothly until one moi-ning the province finds that

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178

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

it has plunged itself deeply into debt. This debt is made
the most of, popular alarm is fanned, and the frightened
province, to avoid supposed bankruptcy, throws itself into
the arms of its absorbing neighbour.

And the worst of it is that in these railways got up for
political ends there is no small amount of " axe-grinding "
and " log-rolling." Contracts are given in such a way as
to put money into the pockets of political partisans, and
not with regard to the best interests of the countrv. The
Prince Edward Island railway meanders through the
island like a stream through the meadows. It was pro-
bably contracted for by the mile, and so the more miles
the merrier for the contractor. Not only did he escape the
hills, but i'lso, by following rivers up to their sources, he
escaped bridging. The fences are neither ornamental nor
useful, and cattle treat them with contempt. It is possible
that I take a jaundiced view of this railway. I only
travelled on it once, and then I was two hours and a half
late in a journey of 40 miles. This delay was accounted
for to the satisfaction of my fellow-passengers, who were
merely having " a ride on the car " for amusement. In
the first place a herd of cattle belonging to a personal
friend of the engine driver, notwithstanding the frantic
screams of the whistle, persisted in remaining on the
track until the functionary before named, assisted by the
conductor and some passengers, got off and drove them
home. Then at a wayside station a picnic party, con-
sisting of about twenty young people, got in, and were
altogether too much for our locomotive, as my friend, the
driver (who spent a good deal of his time in cruising up
and down the line on foot), remarked, " She was kind of

CONFEDEIiA TION. ANNEX A TION.

170

balky at the hills." I must, however, state that this inci-
dent happened when the railroad was quite in its infancy.

Confederation was no doubt desirable, but I question
whether it is desirable to employ smart Yankee tricks
even for the attainment of a good object. The maritime
provinces had to sacrifice a great deal when they cast in
their lot with Canada. Ultimately it will be all the
better for them no doubt, but provinces as well as indi-
viduals are apt to think of the present and of the im-
mediate future rather tlian of the more distant day. Had
they been asked to make this sacrifice in the interests
of the British Empire, their loyalty would not have per-
mitted them to refuse, and they would never have re-
gretted their voluntary act. Trickery, however, always
leaves behind it a certain soreness in the breasts of those
who have been its victims.

And it is quite possible that at no very distant day
those people who feel aggrieved at having been confe-
derated against their will may turn the same weapon
against their own government, and endeavour to "rail-
way " the Dominion into annexation. The strongest
argument that can be brought home to the million is
the argument of I. s. d. The necessaries of life in Canada
are as cheap as in almost any other part of the world, and
the taxes are as light. In the States taxes are very
heavy and the expenses of living almost intolerable. If
by preposterous and extravagant, or by fraudulent railway
schemes the public debt of Canada, the interest on which
is something like $1.50 per head of the population, be
even brought up to the burden of the public debt of the
United States, viz. $12 per head of its population, then

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VRIXCE EDWARD IbLASD.

one great obstacle in the way of annexation will fade
away. ]}ut tho good sense of the Canadian j)e()plo will,
it, is to bo hoped, cause them to keep their expenditure
within bounds, and tho enormous debt and oppressive
taxation of her neighbour will serve as a warning to
Canachi against public extravagance.

Its insular position has many drawbacks, but it has also
its compensating advantages. When commercial failures
spread ruin over the continent, little Prince Edward
Island never feels the shock, but jogs on as usual, whilst
her neighbours are enduring the miseries of a commercial
panic. The ice-bound straits, however, must not get all
the credit for this. The island is mainly a farming
country, and farmers, Avhile unable to make fortunes
quickly, are at least as secure as any other class on the
globe from disastrous loss. AVhen crops are poor, prices
rule high ; when one crop fails from want of rain, another
is doubled by the same cause. Prince Edward Island
also, perhaps, owes her immunity from blights and devas-
tating insects to her insular position. There is little or
no potato disease, and the grasshopper, the potato bug,
the army worm, and Iwc genus omne are unknown. No
epidemic has ever reached the cattle, and island stock
are proverbially healthy and hardy.

Prince Edward Island is about 150 miles in length, its
greatest width 35 miles, but so indented by arms of the
sea that in some places it narrows to 3 or 4 miles. The
extreme extent of coast -line is favourable not only to
fishermen but also to the farmers, who are in no instance
out of reach of a harbour from whence to export their
surplus produce. Many of the larger indentations form

CmiATE. SOIL

181

excellont harbours for sluYpinj?, and the smaller oiios are
navigable for iishinj^ and coastinj^ oraft, and oft'or i^roat
facilities for ship buihlinj^. In winter tlieso numerous
inlets are bridged over by the frost and form the best of
roads.

The climate is healthy and invigorating^. The islanders
are as robust in person and as florid in complexion as
English people. Epidemics are unknown. Contagious
diseases imported in ships soon die out iu the (to tliem)
uncongenial air. The sea moderates both the heat of
summer and the cold of winter, and gives it a more
equable climate than exists on the adjacent mainland,
and vet the fogs of the Atlantic Ocean never reach its
shores. The winters are less severe than in Lower Canada
and New Brunswick.

Prince Edward Island is an alluvial deposit of the St.
Lawrence. The soil is a light sandy loam very easily
cultivated. The latter is an advantage which cannot be
over-estimated in a climate in which seedtime is short.
The staple crops are barley, oats, and potatoes, all of which
grow to great perfection. Over two million bushels of
oats, and half a million bushels of potatoes are annually
exported to England and the United States. The pork
fed on the island is said to be equal in quality to Irish
pork. Most farmers grow enough wheat for their own
use, but it is not such a certain crop as oats and barley.
Owing to the equability of climate the pastures are
greener than in any other part of British North America
that I have seen. White clover grows naturally, and iu
the early summer the pasture fields are white with the
blossoms of this sweet grass. From 600 to 800 bushels

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PlifNCl': EDWARD fSLAXD.

of turnips oiin bo ^^M'own to tlie aero, about twenty busljols
of wljcat, and forty bushels of barley aud oats. The sandy
soil requires lime and also some stittening substance.
Nature has supplied this compost in apparently inex-
haustible quantities, and has placed it within reach of
most farmers on the island. " Mussel mud," which
abounds in all the creeks and inlets to a depth of several
feet, is a still' retentive substance composed of the remains
of many generations of oysters, mussels, clams, and other
molluscs. The shells, when exposed to the weather,
gradually crumble away and mix with the soil, imparting
to it the lime of which it has need. It remains in the
land for ten or twelve years. In winter, numerous parties
may be seen at work on the ice, each of them j)rovide(l
with a long shovel-shaped implement. A hole is cut
through the ice, a block and tackle rigged up on a tripod
above the hole, the dredging shovel is lowered, pushed
along the bottom, and when full of mud, raised to the
surface by horse power, and its contents capsized into a
sleigh which is drawn up alongside ready to receive the
load.

Good farms with house and barn accommodation can be
bought in the vicinity of towns for from COO/, to lilOO/.
Small farms of 100 acres in the country districts, with
20 acres cleared and small house and barn, cost from
200Z. to '6001. There are no free-grant lands on the
island. Wilderness land can be bought for about 4s. an
acre in certain places. Farmers have always been able
to make a comfortable living, but within the last few years
prices of agricultural produce have doubled, and the
farmers now are as independent and comfortable as any

FARMS AND FAIiME'RS.

18a

people in tlio Dominion. Excellent houses with pretty
gardens and orchards and capacious woll-rtlled barns meet
the eye on every side. Each considerable farmer owns
improved farm machinery ; ho keeps a harness liorse and
waggon to drive to market, &c., and has a piano for his
daughters to play on. 1 mention these things to show
that he possesses the comforts of life, but like every
farmer in America, he has to work hard. The old-country
man would be surpris i to see with how little assistance
he puts in his crops. The Canadian farmer, with his
brace of sons in their teens, manages a hundred-acre
farm with little or no hired help.

The only direct tax the farmer has to pay is a land tax
of about 48. per hundred acres ; in addition to this he
has also to perform statute labour on tiie roads. Every
male who has resided for twelve months in the island
lias a vote, subject only to the performance of the said
statute labour, or payment of an equivalent — a mere
trifle. Hitherto the one absorbing subject of public
interest has been the land tenure. In the outside world
empires might rise and fall and continents be convulsed,
but the islander thought of nothing and cared for nothing
but his land-bill of the dav.

There are no stones on the island. Stones are trouble-
some things on a farm, but the total want of them is not
an unqualified advantage to the farmer to whom good
roads are a necessity. In summer and in mid-winter the
roads are admirable. In the former season they are
smooth and level, with a strip of elastic turf on either side,
on which the equestrian may canter to his heart's content ;
in the latter season they are excellent for sleighing, but

184

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

ill the sprinf]^ and late fall they turn into a soft, sticky
mud, in which wheels sink to the axle and heavy loads
are out of the question. Tliis will luirdly surprise tlie
reader when he understands how the roads of the island
are mended. They are simply plou^ijlied and harrowed !
Sooner or later the main roads will have to be macada-
mized ; stones will have to be brought over from the main-
land, or else clay ^aust be baked for the purpose.

T!ie market- Ii'juse in Charlotte Town is a sort of assembly
room twice a week, where the farmers and their families
meet the town's-folk. Gussip is exchanged over a pair of
chickens, and two people are often made ha])py for life
over a pound of butter, or a dozen of eggs. It is by no
means unusual for a farmer to sell 40?. or 501. worth of
produce in one market. What of that, the English farmer
will say. Well, it is not very much, but remember that
the Prince Edward Island farmer has oidy Is. an acre to
pay for his land against the Englishman's 21. or 31.

A stock farm is maintained by the local government,
near Charlotte Town,for the purpose of improving tiie breed
of cattle, and good blood is imported from England and
elsewhere.

The province is famed for its horses. Labour beinp:
scarce, and hay and oats abundant, tl.o farmers do as
much work as possible by horse power. Numbers of
horses are bred for exportation, and they have deservedly
a high reputation. Thorough bred stock has at different
times been imported from England, and the progeny,
though slightly undersized, are tough, hardy animals, with
A turn of speed. American buyers come over annually.
Prices run from 20/. to 50/. Trotting is the one pace

TBOTTING HORSES.

185

valued in America, and the value of a nag is in proportion
to the time in whieli he can trot his mile. The Yankee
is always practical; he looks upon a horse as a trotting
machine ; and the equine machine, be it hideous beyond
expression, that can do its mile in two minutes and forty
seconds is worth more than the really good-lookiug beast
whose time is three minutes. The island-bred horses
have gi-and constitutions and are as touirh as nails ; owing
to the absence of iron in tlie roads their leirs and feet
wear well ; one rarely meets with an old horse groggy
about the knees. Fifty miles a day for several consecu-
tive days with a horse and buggy is thought nothing ex-
traordinary, and the horses do not receive one-half the care
or attention we are in the habit of bestowing upon our
nags in England. The winter afl'ords great facilities for
locomotion and for practising the horses in trotting. Once
set in motion on the ice a heavy load is no draught. The
air is cold, and both horse and driver like to get over their
journey as rapidly as possible.

The island " Dei'by " is held in mid-winter. A circular
mile course is laid ofi' on the ice and marked out with
spruce bushes. Tie races are trotted in mile heats.
Some of the jockeys sit behind their trotters in light
skeleton-racing sleighs, others in ordinary sleighs, a few
adventurous spirit? bestride their fiery coursers. They
are off is the cry. The jockeys yell hideously at their
flying steeds, 100 sleighs follow in their tracks, 500 bell
jingle. Men on foot and boys on skates crowd towards
the winning post in indescribable confusion. An ice-boat
shoots past at the rate of 30 miles an hour, and half-a-
dozen runaways is the immediate and inevitable conse-

RPB^

186

PItlNCE EDWARD ISLAND.

quence. But nobody is hurt. Each competitor claims
the lieat, swearing lustily that all the rest " broke ; " each
man is upheld by a circle of his own backers, the judge is
bonneted, and the crowd, pending the next heat, is
supplied with alcoholic refreshment by a speculative indi-
vidual who has driven a puncheon of rum on a sled to the
racecourse. How the winner is ultimately decided upon
is a mystery, nor does it matter much, for the stakes are
small, and as for the honour and glory they ars equally
divided.

The population of the island is about 90,000. Amongst
these are a number of Scotch Highlanders, descendants of
the old colonists sent out by Lord Selkirk a century ago.
It is generally supposed that Scotchmen do well wherever
they go. But the Scotchmen in Prince Edward Island
are by no means a good class of settlers. Other immi-
grants rapidly assimilate themselves to the people they
find in a new country, but the Scotch Highlander never
changes. He still speaks Gaelic in Prince Edward Island,
sometimes it is the only language he knows. Neither
are the French Acadians good settlers; they also are
clannish, and stick to their own language and peculiar
costume ; they live on potatoes and fish, marry in their
teens, and seem to have no ambition to improve their
condition in life. These people, however, are not nu-
merous. The majority of the population is of English
and Irish extraction, and not only in appearance but in
manners and customs they bear a stronger resemblance to
the parent stock than perhaps any other people in the
Dominion.

And the likeness to England is not only to be traced in

c 1(

A LITTLE ENGLAND.

187

the people, but also in the features of the country. The
green pastures, the trees which, with a taste rarely met
with in the New World, have been left here and there
standing amongst the fields, the hedgerows, the hops, and
honeysuckle that embellish the walls of the cottages, all
these remind the old-country man of home, and he can
fancy himself here in a little England, not indeed an
England of to-day, with its numerous smoky cities and
enormous wealth, but an England where wealth is evenly
distributed, or rather where there is no great individual
wealth, but universal competence. There can be no surer
sign of contentment than when people are orderly witliout
any restraint, and the fact that half-a-dozen policemen
serve to keep perfect order among a population of 90,000
proves that such is the case in Prince Edward Island. It
is even said that this " bloated armament " could be dis-
pensed with, were it not for the occasional visits of crews
of English and American ships.

This quiet and order are all the more noteworthy as
the population is equally divided into Protestant and
Koman Catholic. As in other countries where this is the
case, the Protestants are very protestan.. The Church of
England is not largely represented, and episcopacy is far
from being regarded with fervour. There is one Angli-
can church in Charlotte Town which is to its Puritan
neighbours much what a red flag is to an angry bull.
Pecple who live in isolated situations are not usually very
tolerant of the opinions of others. But in Prince Edward
Island, though religious feeling does run rather high, it
shows itself in a perfectly harmless and rather amusing
way. It is only kind of people who believe that you are

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188

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

going straiglit to a very hot place to feel sorry for you
and to tell you so.

Unlike the other maritime ])rovinces, farming is the
chief indnstry of Prince Edward Island. Ship building
comes next. Wooden ships can probably be constructed as
c!ieaply here as in any part of the world ; they are built
up the numerous creeks and rivers. Siiips in different
stages of progress may be seen in winter apparently in
the fields or in the middle of villages. Many of them
when finished are loaded with oats and dispatched tn
Liverpool, where both ship and cargo are disposed ol.
There are a few tanneries, cloth mills, and breweries on
the island. The beer is the best in America ; that is not
saying very mucli for it, but I can see no reason why as
good beer should not be brewed in Canada as in England.
Barley is good and plentiful, and hops grow well. There
are some who affirm tiiat beer is not suited to the climate
of America, and is injurious to health. Perhaps beer
drinking is a matter of education, and it is possible that
if Canadians drank more beer and less tea they would be
the better for it. Ciieese factories are much wanted in the
island, and would be a boon to the farmers who have
plenty of milk to dispose of.

Prince Edward Island has been called the garden of
the St. Lawrence. A good thing gains by contrast, and
tlie rough banks of the St. Lawrence form a frame to the
picture that shows it off to the best advantage, but inde-
pendently of this, the island, no doubt, possesses great
natural advantages. That is the opinion of tiie Americans,
than whom no people in the world are quicker in forming
a just estimate of the natural advantages of a country.

I f-

FISHERIES.

189

They are greatly attracted to tlie island wliieli can furnish
the northern States with commodities mncli needed by
them, viz. fish, farm pi'oduce, and a cool summer h)unge
for dried-up Yankee citizens. It has been j)roposcd to
connect the Bay of Fnndy with the Straits of Northumber-
land by cutting a canal across the isthmus, a distance of
15 or 2 niles. When this is done the markets of the
United States will be close at hand.

The good harbours and excellent fishing grounds of
Prince Edward Island are of an importance that cannot
be over-estimated. Codfish, mackerel, and herring abound
on the entire coast. Salmon strike in also, and are taken
in small quantities, but owing to their having no spawn-
ing ground this fishery is declining. The streams are all
dammed, and the fish get no protection. Lobsters are
very plentiful indeed, and hundreds of thousands are
taken annually and put up in tins for exportation. The
oyster beds of the island are very rich, and their value in
these times of dearj oysters ought to be enormous. On
all parts of the coast, up every river and creek, the
remains of ovster beds occur. Elsewhere an allusion has
been made to the agricultural value of these old beds ; the
molluscs of which they were composed were in all })roba-
bility destroyed by the action of ice, but the living beds
are also mines of wealth. The Prince Edward Island
oyster, though large, is well-flavoured. They are raked
up in an indiscriminate manner, with hardly any regard
to season. As the supply has as yet been fully crpial to
the demand, no steps have been taken to cultivate or
protect them. These oysters were evidently appreciated
by the Micmac Indians, the aboriginal inhabitants of the

f ml

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190

P BINGE EDWARD ISLAND.

island, for in Richmond Bay kitchen middens occur many
feet in depth, composed of oyster shells, with here and
there flint implements for opening them interspersed with
the sliells.

As regards emigration, Prince Edward Island is but a
small province, and is not capable of providing for a great
rush of new settlers. It offers, however, a good chance of
success to a limited number of certain classes of emigrants,
viz. (1) farmers with a small capital, say from 1000?. to
200?. A man with the latter sura can buy a farm with
house and land ready for the plough. If industrious, he
cannot fail, especially if he has a growing family to assist
him. (2) Agricultural labourers. There is a fair demand
for men of this class at about 2?. 10s. per month (with
keep) if hired by the year, or 5?. per month in the height
of the farming season. Farmers complain of the difficulty
of procuring extra hands in the summer. There is no
floating population like the lumberers in Lower Canada.

The fauna of Prince Edward Island, with one or two
exceptions, is the same as on the adjacent mainland. The
exceptions are the deer (moose, cariboo, and Virginian
deer) and the beaver. Of the former, cariboo once ex-
isted on the island as evidenced by horns which have been
found in different places, but I am inclined to think that,
as in Anticosti, beaver never lived on the island. They
are animals whose traces endure long after they have
become extinct, and I never saw or heard of any beaver
works. There are a few bears in the wooded districts.
The fur-bearing animals are scarce with the exception of
the musquash, which are very plentiful, their great
enemies, the Indians, having been civilized into basket-

GAME. SHOOTING.

191

makers. The forests are too small to hold in any number
moose, cariboo, or the fur-bearing animals, but they are
well adapted to the Virginian deer. If these deer were
imported, I think they would thrive. The snow is rarely
very deep, and if protected for a few years they would
multiply and afford good sport.

There might be very fair shooting if the birds that
breed on the island were protected in the breeding season.
There are some game laws, I believe, in the statute books,
but they are a dead letter and will probably remain so, as
the very persons whose duty it is to enforce the laws, are
those who set the example of slaughtering the birds
almost as soon as they leave the egg. The principal game
birds that breed here are the woodcock, snipe, ruffed
grouse, and black duck. The migratory birds are very
numerous, but they need no protection as their nesting
places are far removed from the Charlotte Town pot-hunters.
These gentry have light boats which run on wheels, and
form a sort of box waggon on the roads. Guns, dogs,
oars, &e., &c., are stowed inside. On coming to a pond,
river, or lake, the boat is detached from the wheels and
launched, and the horse tied up. In the months of July
and August the young broods of ducks are exterminated
by these gunners, to the great vexation of genuine sports-

men.

There is fair cock shooting from September 1 to the end
of October. With good knowledge of locality and a brace
of spaniels that will not chase rabbits, ten couple of cock
or so may be brought to bag in a day's shooting by two
guns. A fair day's snipe shooting can also be had, parti-
cularly at the end of October, when the birds, warned

' iA\

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192

PniNCE EDWARD ISLAND.

by the commoncement of rongli weatlior that winter is at
hand, have congre<^ated togetlier in some favourite swamp
to prepare for their departure. In the Litter end of
August and the beginning of September tl)e snipe falls
an easy victim to the pot-hunter, as the birds are then
very tame. I have often seen them walking about the
mud at the edge of creeks and niilldams; when put up at
this season they make a very short flight and then pitch
again. Snipe remain later than cock. I shot a couple of
these birds as late as December 20.

Owinji; to the diminished numbers of the fur-bearinjj
animals that prey upon them, rabbits, or rather hares
{Lepus Americanus), are very plentiiul. Their favourite
resort is the thick second growth of young forest which
abounds with tender twigs of maple, moosewood, birch,
willow, alder, &c., which supply them with browse. In
summer they eat grass, and at that season they resemble
the English rabbit in colour; in winter they turn white.
The farther north they are found, the purer the white.
Tracking a rabbit in Gaspe, after a fresh fall of snow, I
have come to the end of the tracks and been unable for a
while to see anything of the animal, until at last I have
made out a single spot of colour amid the pure white
surface — the unwinking eye of my little friend Lejms A.,
who was squatted motionless in the soft snow, relying
upon his colour to escape detection. The change of
colour commences about November 1, and at Christmas
they are pure white. In other words, the change of
colour exactly coincides with the fall of the snow. Were
it not for the disguise kindly lent them by nature, they
would fall an easy victim in winter to the loup-cervier, the

THE AMERICAN HARE.

193

iimrten, the weasel, the fox, the cat owl, the hawk, and
many other animals and birds, to say nothing of man.
The roots of the hair seem to preserve the same dark
brownish colour all the year round ; at the approach of
winter the fur grows much longer, and the tips first as-
sume a light grey or dun colour, changing as the snow
comes on to pure white. Early in April (with the
(le})arture of snow) they commence to cast their winter
suit, and by the 1st of June all traces of white have dis-
apjx'ared, and they are clad in their new short brown
summer coat. At this season of the year they are much
troubled by fleas.

In winter they form yards like the moose and the
(leer. Alter a heavy fall of snow, the yard is very
small, not more than 15 or 20 yards in circumference.
(Gradually they enlarge the circle, making numerous little
paths in all directions through it in search of browse,
until the next fall of snow comes, when thev contract
their yard again. In the very deep snow they are often
hard up for browse and have to take to spruce, which
gives their flesh a strong flavour of turpentine. At this
season I have caught them in sable traps, set considerably
above the surface of the snow, and baited with cariboo or
tish. They are an unmitigated nuisance to the loup-
cervier hunter, as they unconsciously save the life of their
greatest enemy by gnawing the twine snares that have
been set for him. On one occasion a rabbit entered
through a hole in my camp on a cold winter's night and
singed his jacket at the tire. AA'hen hurt, they scream
like an English rabbit, only much loud(3r. On another
occasion I shot a jet-black rabbit in mid-winter, that is to

•■■*

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194

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

suy tho tips of the fur wore black instead of white, the
roots preserving tho natural colour. This was perhaps
disease, although I saw nothing else about tho animal
which pointed to ill health.

Kabhits are sold in the Charlotte Town market for about
8d a pair, not an extravagant price, considering that thoy
are fully as large, and, I think, as good as the English
rabbit. The flesh is dark-coloured and makes good " huro
soup." The liver, kidney, and heart seasoned, tied up in
the paunch, and broiled on the clear coals, make a good
flat, and is supposed by the Micmac squaws to be a
certain cure for barrenness. They are snared in winter
by the Indian boys, who make brush fences through the
woods, leaving little apertures here and there for wire
snares. These snares are made fast to saplings which
are bent down to the ground, and spring back with the
snared rabbits, who are found in tho mornings hanging
up by the necks, frozen stiff", some three or four feet from
the ground.

Kabbits are shot in the fall and even on mild days in
winter, when the scent lies wonderfully well on the snow.
For this sport two or three beagles or other slow-huntiug
dogs are used. The Lepus A. never burrows, and when
started from his bod under a spruce bush or a bunch of
ferns, he always runs in a circle. The gunner who is
posted on a wood road or in an open glade will sooner or
later get a chance at him, provided he stands perfectly
still ; for a man blundering through the bush is much
easier seen and heard than a rabbit. The country
gunner who does not usually shine at a running shot
when he catches sight of the rabbit whistles before wasting

PL VER sua Tixa.

195

his powder, and tliis has •>;enenilly tlio cfibct of causiiijj^
LeptiH A. to pause in iiis wild career lor a fatal mouient
or two, whicli gives opportunity for the deadly pot.

Prince Edward Island lies right in th(; line of flight of
tlie Charadriadie and Tringidie, wliose brooding ground
is in Jiabrador, Newfoundland, and the countries still
further north. About the 25tli August, the golden
plover makes its appearance, closely followed by the
Hudsonian curlew, the Escpiiinaux curlew, and a great
number of plovers, sandpipers, and godwits. The i)asturo
lands of the island and low sandy beaches are favourite
rt'sting places for these birds ou their southern flight,
but, unlike the AnatidiVy they make no stop in the
spring on their return journey to the north. They
always seem to take the same line of country in their
migrations, viz. across Prince Edward Island, from thence
across the isthmus that separates New Brunswick from
Nova Scotia, and so on down the shores of the Bay of
Tandy. They are not seen in any numbers either in
Lower Canada or in those parts of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia that do not border on the Bay of Fundy.
After a nor'-easter in the early fall great flocks of these
birds are found on the island, and good bags are some-
times made by the gunners. It is not a very high order
of sport, but nevertheless the weather at this season is
charming, the labour is light, and last but not least the
birds are delicious eating. The plover shooter drives
along in his waggon until he sees flocks of plover wheeling
about in the air or feeding on the pastures. He then ties
his nag to a fence pole, sticks his decoys in a conspicuous
place, and hides himself within shot. If he has a com- ■

W'^m

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il<

***' >.}.

:'f ify f.i

196

I'lllSdE t'JtWAlih ISI.ASIK

I I

jiiinion — iiikI liall' tlie luittlo on ihvnv occuHiotiH is a gdoi]
conipanioii — the liiUcr [»\its uji tli(! birds, tiikiii-^ liis clmiiH?
ol ii slidl, Mild llion luiviii^ also |)ut up soinc decoys, a I'ow
jlclds distant IVom his I'riond, ho waits his I'haiicc. Tlic
plover and curlew, when disturbed, fly about in all <lirec-
tions, and sonietinios <::iv(* very pretty sport wheelin|; ovei-
the decoys. l»ut as J said before, the chief oharni of this
sport is in the surroundings. ^V'ith a fast-trotting na*,'', a
drive alouf^ the delightful country roads of the island is n
pleasure^ in itself. Here and there a liltle creek or niill-
(lani concealed in the woods, has to be searched for black
dn(,'l<. A|4'ain a likidy spot is tried for snipe, or an aldcr-
<;ovor betitou for cock, or a flock of curlew are nnirked down
in a pasture, or a flock of <>'oldon plover lly whistling over-
head. Then tlie picnic follows on the turf at luncheoii-
tinie near a sparkling brook, while the horse, i)icketo(l
out, is filling himself with white clover. In the evenings,
by a judicious choice of halting i)hices, there is generally
some flight-shooting to be got at ducks, and if the weather
suits, i.e. is wild and stormy, good shooting may be hud
at the geese, us they come in from their feeding ground
on the salt marshes to get their usual drink in the fresh-
water ponds. A very enjoyable week can thus be passed
driving about from j)lace to phi.c<; in Prince Edward
loland. The sportsman, for shooting purposes, is lord of
the manor wherever he may go, and if his bag is not very
large, at least it is varied, and has cost him nothing but
the powder and shot.

The Hudsonian curlew {Numenius Hudsonicus) is rather
a stupid bird that fiills an easy prey to the pot-hunter;
but as both this bird and also the Esquimaux curlew

! I

CUltLKW.

1U7

(iV. Boroal'm) iiro only luijjfratory vl.sitors tlioy lU'i' (^onsidercl
tiiir {^'iiinc, sittin;,' or llyiii;;, uii<l tlio inoro es|K'(;iully as
tlicy ur(! (l«'Ii(Moii,s hinls on tlio taMc, as iniK'li sujx'rior
to tilt! Mnj^lisli curlow as a Canadian wild ;j^ooso is fu
an l']ni>lisli wild gooso. A sinj^lo curlew is ofton seen
living with a Hock of ;;oldoii plover. I liavo seen two
curlews on a nuirsh and shot one, his companion took
a sJKU't lliglit and alij^hted beside tho dead hird, <pii(;tly
waiting thero till 1 had ndoaded u muzzle-loader and
was ready tor him. This aimplo pair had probably jnst
arrived from somo remote rcigion in the north, wherii
that cruel devouring monster, man, had never S(5t foot.
A short stay in Prince Jvlward Island tiMches thcsi;
hirds a lesson. Amongst the other birds tiu^ plover
shooter will come across are the n[)land [dovcr (ToiamiH
Bartratnim), golden plover (Charadrius Mannoraias),
lilack - bellied plover (C Ilelveticus), telltale godwit
(Totaims Mehmoleucua), yellow shank (2'. Flav/2)es); this
bird, I think, breeds on the island, at any rate it is to
be seen all the summer and fall. j\Iarbled godwit (Liiaosa
Fedoa); I picked up one of these after a violent nor'-easter.
Solitary sandpiper (T. ISolitarius) ; this bird also pro-
bably breeds on the island. Piping plover (C. melodus),
sanderling {TriiKja Arenaria), tnrnstone {Strepsilas In-
(er2)res), ring j)lover (C. Semijialmatus), and numy otlifn-
varieties. I have on two different occasions shot one-
legged plover. These birds had just arrived from the
north, and must either have been born with one leg, or
must have lost one in their early youth.

The numerous bays, rivers, creeks, and inlets with
which the island is indented are favourite feeding grounds

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198

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

of the wild goose {A. Canadensis). Geese arrive in tlie
end of March and remain about a month. Ajjain on their
southern migration they are'looked for early in September,
and they remain on the coast until their feeding grounds
are all frozen up, viz. about the middle of December.
Good bags are sometimes made in the spring, but few
are shot in the fall, although they are to be seen in
thousands.

The brant goose {A. Bernida) is even more numerous on
the coast than the Canadian goose, frequenting the same
haunts, and resembling the latter bird in its habits. They,
however, differ in one or two essential points, viz. that,
whereas the Canada goose cannot get on without fresh
Avater, the brant never leave the salt water; and their
dislike to land is so great that, sooner than cross an island
or promontory in their flight, they will fly miles and miles
out of their wav to avoid it. Their favourite haunts are
shallow bays and flat muddy shores. Notwithstanding
their salt-water diet, they are capital eating, and very
much superior in that respect to the bernicle, which in
other points they resemble. As wild fowl go, they are
easily killed, and do not require as much shot as some of
the ducks. In stormy weather and high tides, when
driven from their usual feeding ground, they afford capital
sport to the gunner, who lies hid on a point or promontory
in line of their flight. The locality of this hide is fixed
upon by watching the first flock ; all the rest will be sure
to follow in their tracks — higher or lower, perhaps, but all
in the same line., I have seen flock after flock of these
birds flying over ray head for two hours, and so close upon
each other's heels that I often had not time to load. They

THE BRANT GOOSE.

199

differ, also, from the other geese in their mode of flight ;
the latter fly in regular order, generally in form of a V,
sometimes m a string ; but brant fly in a confused, irre-
gular mass, and give one the idea that each and every
bird is hurrying on to try and overtake his neighbour, and
vying with the rest as to who can make most noise. I
have lieard a flock of brant compared to a pack of hounds
in full cry; and, if I don't mistake, they are called
" beagle geese " in some parts of the world. They arrive
in Prince Edward Island from the south early in April,
and remain till the middle of June. They leturn again
in the middle of September, and remain till the beginniLg
of December. It will thus be seen that all their breed-
ing operations have to be got over in about three months'
time, and on their return in the fall of the year there
is hai-dly any perceptible difference between the young
and old birds. This is the more remarkable as they
hatch very far in the north (I am told in the remotest
parts of Hudson's Bay). They certainly do not hatch,
Hke the geese and most of the duck tribe, in the more
accessible parts of Labrador.

In the months of May a^.d jjiim the pot-hunters
make great slaughter amoii ■ I unt in the following way.
In the falling tide the birds lae fond of resting on the
bare mud flats, where they stand preening their fea-
thers. The pot-hunter choosfjs a favourite resort of the
birds, and sinks a half-puncheon in the mud as a hide.
Inside this he takes his seat when tiie tide commences
to ebb. If the extant of bar left bare at low water if:
too large for a fx>mpact family shot, he construcLr a rid^o
of mud or sand running directly end on to 'id hi dp.

This

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200

PlilNCE EDWARD ISLAND.

from its elevation will be the first spot left bare. The
gunner has a couple of well-trained decoy brant, who
collect the wild birds around them, and when he thinks
there are enough for a family shot, he gently pulls a little
string, fastened to their legs, at which signal they neitlier
flap their wings, nor make any disturbance, but quietly
disengage themselves from their companions and swim
towards their master. Sometimes ten or twenty brant
fall to a couple of barrels. The longer the birds stay in
Prince Edward Island the better and fatter they get. In
June they are perfectly delicious, and fully equal, in my
opinion, to the much vaunted canvass-back.

fishing
fishing
for hi.

CHAPTEE VIII.

v: ■

ANTICOSTI.

An attempt lias recently been made by a company to
"olonize the island of Anticosti. A number of families
f ora Newfoundland were induced by this company to
'nove to the island, where they settled in groups of a
doze'i families or so. One of these settlements is at Bel
Bry, anotlier at English Bay, and another at the soutli-
west point. But little success has as yet attended this
scheme. Some of the poor settlers would have perished
of starvation in the winter if they had not been fed by the
Canadian Government. The latter is interested in the
success of this experiment, because if tliere were a self-
supporting , f ulation on the island, however small, it
would entbi. iii Government to dispense with the stores
of prov" . ns it has been hitherto obliged to maintain
there Wa \1. '4ief of shipwrecked mariners. For six
UK iths of the year Anticosti is shut off from communi-
cation with ,',Le world. Some parts of the island are
capable of producing fair crops of potatoes, oats, hay, and
vegetables, and a few small farms in connection with
fishing stations could be made to pay very well. In the
Kshing season all produce could be " posed of on the spot
for higi' pric^'" to the fishermen, who are often short of
provisicD s und are always glad to get potatoes and other
vegetable^. TJus is the only kind of settlement for which

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202

ANTICOSTI.

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the island is fitted. It is wholly unadapted for farming
on a large scale, and I am told stock imported from the
mainland last only one season and then pine away. Pro-
bably they die of starvation. Pigs and poultry, however,
would do well enough, and with care a few milch cows.
Manure, such as kelp, fish offal, &c., can be gathered
on the sea-coi, in immense quantities. I visited the
island about teo ^ ago, and wrote a short description
of it,* which is her' --printed in an abridged form. With
the exception of the two or three small settlements above
alluded to, there has been no change in the island since
that time.

'* The north shore of Anticosti resembles the adjacent
country of Labrador, and is bold and rugged : but the
south, on the contrary, is low and flat, and in that respect
not unlike the opposite coast of New Brunsw'ck. Along
high-water mark a sloping ridge of pebbly beach, some
12 feet high at the land side, separates the salt water from
the numerous swamps and lagoons. About half a mile
outside of this a line of breakers stretches almost uninter-
ruptedly along the south coast of the island, and will
probably at no very distant day resolve itself into a beach,
such as the one I have described. Within the line of
breakers the water is shoal, and in fine weather as smooth
as a duck pond. Outside it is also shoal for a long way
out. The bottom is flat, shelving rock, as smooth and
polished as a London pavement, so that there is literally
no anchorage for vessels. When the wind blows in shore,
a nasty sea gets up at once, but falls as suddenly as it
rises, owing to the shoalness of the water.
* The ' Field ' newspaper.

WOODS. COAST.LINE.

203

" The island is part wooded and part plains, plentifully
dotted over with small lakes and ponds ; but all along the
beach, or the lagoons which adjoin the beach, a stunted
growth of spruce and fir, not more than 6 feet in height,
but so thick that it is sometimes possible to crawl along
the top of it, forms an impervious hedge, varying in width
from a few yards to half a mile. This hedge never wants
clipping; the cold winds off the Gulf of St. Lawrence
keep it down. The soil is mostly a black peat of great
depth, and many of the unwooded places are exactly like
the bogs of Ireland ; so much so that my Irishman re-
marked that * it was the prettiest place he had seen since
he left the Bog of Allen.' The woods consist of spruce,
fir, willow, dogwood, white birch, and an occasional tree
of pine, tamarack, and ash. They are of small growth,
generally gnarled and ragged, and unfit for timber.

"Every league or so along the coast are small rivers or
brooks, which form at their junction with the sea nice
little coves or harbours for small boats and canoes. Near
some of these coves may be seen little houses or shanties,
10 or 12 feet square, containing a stove, a stool, and a
table. These are the winter residences of trappers from
the mainland — sweet spots for a man to winter in by him-
self! But in fine weather, in the months of May and
June or in the autumn, camping out in Anticosti is one
perpetual picnic. Here the traveller can have a charming
little harbour for his canoe, a dry grassy bank to camp
on, and a fragrant bed of fir boughs or dry grass. If he is
given to sea-bathing, no better place could be desired ; if
he prefers fresh water, a walk of a few yards will bring him
to a clear pebbly pool ; if table, chair, or roof of shanty be

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204

ANTICOSTL

required, the materials for making them lie close at liand,
in the shape of boards of all shapes and sizes with which
the beach is sti'ewed. Firewood is plentiful enonoh,
goodness knows, in the Canadian and New Brunswick
forests; but then there is the trouble of chopping it.
Here the best and driest of firewood, cast up by the sea
and dried by the sun, is piled in immense profusion along
the beach. In addition to all these luxuries, the traveller
or the sportsman is, for the time being, also lord of the
manor, and c> i ilways keep his larder well supplied with
game or fish, ducks, geese, salmon, trout, herrings, cod-
fish, capelin, '^'>' lob^'*'.•"s. One or more of these delicacies
can generally be procured at short notice, and in spring,
fresh eggs in abundance.

" On two occasions in Auticosti I camped entirely by
myself for two or three days at a time, my men being
weatherbound with the baggage. There are so many little
things to be done on these occasions, that one never feels
the least lonely. One time I shot and skinned two bears,
My bill of fore was usually — breakfast, tea and biscuit;
dinner, tea, fried pork or fish, and pancakes, i. e. fiour and
water fried in pork fat; supper (the meal of the day),
boiled black duck or goose, tea, and biscuit. ^Vhen I am
in a hurry I cook a bird as follows : Having lit my fire, I
put on a kettleful of water with a slice of salt pork in it ;
by the time the water boils the bird is plucked or skinned,
as the case may be. Chopping it into quarters, I pop it
into the kettle with a little pepper, and if possible an
onion and a doughboy. In twenty minutes it is cooked.
A black duck thus treated is not a bad dinner for a
hungry man ; but a goose is a better one. A man with

MISCELLANEOUS AliTICLES CAST VP ON DEACIL 205

gun and book and line need never starve in tlie sunimer-
tiine here ; but in winter I can well imagine tliat not a
living thing is to be seen for days and weeks together.

*' The climate of Anticosti, so far as frost and snow are
concerned, is not more severe than that of Quebec ; but
the summer is rather later. The bulk of the snow goes in
May, but on the 12th of June there was still some left in
ravines and under rocks. That particular day I. have
reason to remember. It was so bitterlv cold that I Mas
glad to let down the ear-flaps of my old hunting cap, and,
crossing a river in pursuit of a wounded bear, I got wet to
the middle in snow water, and then sat shivering in a
canoe i'or four weary hours. There must be days in winter,
when the nor'-wester howls over this icy region, that no
man could live on the open. On the 1st of July, or
perhaps a little earlier, the hot weather commences, and
with it come the flies, which I shall have to notice by-
and-by.

" The debris along high-water mark is astonishing. The
variety of things, both floatable and unfloatable, that find
their way to this beach is quite incredible. Almost
everything that is lost in the river St. Lawrence and its
lakes finds its way here, and every ship wrecked in the
Gulf contributes towards it. In a five-mile walk alonfr the
heach I noted the following articles: 1. Parts of the
wrecks of several ships, some embedded in the sand,
others high and dry j 2. Sugar canes ; 3. Carcases of
seals ; 4. Do. of a whale ; 5. Ship's boat, in tolerable
repair ; 6. Sticks cut by beaver (there are no beaver on
the island) ; 7. Iron handspike ; 8. Child's boat (perhaps
lost in Montreal, perhaps in .Toronto. The owner little

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206

ANTICOSTI.

thought that it would one day be used to knead a loaf of
bread in) ; 9. A bucket ; 10. No end of empty pun-
cheons and barrels; 11. Coal; 12. Empty bottles. Then,
as I said before, the amount of driftwood is incredible, in
every shape and form, from sticks as hv^ as a man's finger
cut by the beaver, to magnificent piae logs, the pick of the
Canadian forests. Along one particular mile of beach I
saw enough square timber to load a large ship, to say
nothing of boards, deals, &c. In another plao."» I found
the figurehead of a vessel — a gentleman in blue, red, and
gold, resembling the pictures I have seen of the discoverer
of America. I cut off his head, intending to take it home ;
but,- with many other relics, I was obliged to leave it
behind.

" Anticosti would be a charming place in summer were
it not for the flies. They are an intolerable pest, and I
think have done as much towards preventing the settle-
ment of the island as anything else. Cold and heat can
be endured, but I defy a thin-skinned person to exist in
Anticosti during the months of July and August. It is
the home of the black fly. Mosquitoes, too, abound, but
not many sand flies. This plague is attributable to the
quantity of swamp and stagnant water. It may be Irish,
but I cannot help making the remark that the greater
part of the land is water — lake, pond, swamp, and river.
Thougii the lakes look shallow, the soft black mud is
almost bottomless. One of the few inhabitants of the
island when I was there fell into one of these ponds, while
trudging along after nightfall with a gun and wild goose
on his shoulder. He got out with great difficulty, at the

SHIPWRECK.

207

expense of his gun apd goose, and, to use his own expres-
sion, was obliged to ' tough it out under a tree till day-
light.'

" There are altogether six families on the island.* Three
are lighthouse keepers, and two more are in charge of the
Government provision stores; the sixth is a professional
wrecker; but I fancy none of them are above doing a
little in that line when they get the chance. B., one of
the storekeepers, informed me that he has lived twenty-
nine years on the island. He has provisions enough under
his charge to winter ten men, also clothes for them to
wear, and a little house to sheher them. The Govern-
ment sends a steamer twice a year with supplies to the
different posts. These depots of provisions were placed on
the island in consequence of a great disaster that happened
thirty-five years ago. Late in the autumn, a large ship
called the Granicus went to pieces on the south-east point.
The crew escaped the wreck in their boats, and got as far
as Bel Bay on the northern shore, where they were frozen
in. When their bodies were found in the following spring,
one man had evidently only just died. He had lived for
months on his comrades, some of whose bodies, neatly
butchered, were found hanging up outside the camp. This
could not happen now with a small number of men ; but
if a troop ship or an emigrant ship were to run on shore
late in the fall, and the crew escape the wreck, nothing
short of a miracle could save them from dying of starva-
tion, which fate the other inhabitants of the island would
in all probability share with them. On Sable Island, I

* Now about fifty or sixty.

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208

ASTICOSTl.

. 1:.

\:l

am told, a liberal Govornment tiirnod pigs iidrH't for cast-
away mariners to cat; but the pigs got so hungry that
tliey ate the castaway mariners instead.

*' I met two of B.'s sons going with their sister to pay a
visit to their next neighbour, distant about 50 miles.
They travelled in a skiff', camping on the beach at night.
When I came across them they were in a trapper's shanty.
I observed a looking-glass hanging up outside, so I knew
that there was a huly in the case. Miss B. is about
twenty-two years of age, and the belle of Anticosti. She
had never seen any house but her father's. She is now
* coming out,' and may preside over a lighthouse yet.

" The geology of the island must be very interesting ;
so numerous are the fossils, that it is almost impossible to
pick up a handful of pebbles from the beach without
finding one or two in it. Old B. offered to show me the
fossil of a ' lobster ' (?) perfect in the rock some distance
off. The prevailing rock is limestone. The soil is said to
be very poor, though I saw capital crops of wild hay
growing at the mouths of some of the rivers. The natives
say that cattle will not live longer on the island than one
year. Except in one place, they certainly do not live
longer, because when the cow ceases to give milk she
is made into beef, and a fresh one imported. B. has
two hungry-looking animals, which, he informed me, had
lived for a great part of tlie winter on the branches of the
dogwood, as his hay ran short.

" Anticosti has no animal peculiar to itself. It is not
to be expected that it should have, but it is strange that
it wants many — in fact, most — animals common to both
shores of the mainland ; for instance, beaver, musquash,

K 1

FAUXA.

209

cariboo, squirrels, rabbits, &c., &c. For all these animals,

aiul others tliat I liave not named, it seems quite as well

adapted as either shore of the St. Lawrence ; indeed, it

looks as if it were originally intended for the musquash,

which thrives in every other part of British North

America. The mink, too, is generally found along with

the otter, but not in Anticosti. The list of wild animals

comprises bears, foxes, otters, martens, and mice, and no

others that I could see or hear of. Bears, though not so

numerous as they once were, are still plentiful ; so are

otters. I observe everywhere that otters outlive the other

fiir-bearing animals ; from their wandering habits, their

strength, and their 'cuteness they are more difficult to

trap than any animal, except perhaps the carcajou and the

fox. Foxes were very plentiful some years ago, chiefly

cross foxes and silver - grey ; black foxes (the most

valuable) and red ones (the least so) being about equally

rare. But these valuable animals, together with martens,

have of late years been destroyed by bungling trappers,

hy means of poison laid in little balls or pellets of grease.

Tiie grease allures the fox, and preserves the poison from

the weather. Sometimes a crow flies off with one of these

savoury morsels, and drops dead in the woods. A fox in

turn picks up the crow, so that many more animals are

destroyed than are found by the poisoner. The trappers

speak of four different sorts of fox skins, which differ

greatly in value; thus, while the black, the silver-grey,

and the cross or patch foxes are worth respectively $100,

$60, and $25, the red fox is barely worth $2. The quality

of the fur is equally good in all four varieties, it is merely

the colour that makes the difference. South of the St.

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210

ANTICOSTI.

Lawrence red foxes are the rule, the other varieties the
exeei)tions. North of the St. Lawrence and in Anti-
costi silver-greys and patch foxes are tlie rule, while
the others are the excei)tions. In fact, as with all tlu-
other fur-bearing animals, the farther north they are
taken the more valuable will their fur be found ; and 1
am inclined to think, notwithstanding the great differ-
ence inc olour, that they are merely varieties of the same
species.

"On a summer's evening, on the opposite shores of
Canada and New Brunswick, the bull frogs, the night
hawks, and the owls join in a chorus of sounds which one
misses in Anticosti. Whether St. Patrick ever paid a
flying visit to the island or not, I cannot say, but cer-
tainly there are no frogs, toads, or snakes on it, and
I never saw or heard an owl or a night hawk. Two
par<'idges (so called) are found on the island, viz. the
'birch' {Tetrao Unibellus) and the Newfoundland ptar-
migan {T. Bupestrls), the latter only a visitor. The other
birds that I noticed were the goose {A. Canadensis), brant
[A. Bernicla), black duck {A. Ohscura), shell-duck (Mergus
Serrator), blue-winged teal (-4. Diseors), eider duck {F.
Mollissima), scaup duclv {F. Marila), surf-duck [F. Perspi-
Gillata), whistler {F. Clangula), scoter {F. Americana),
buffel-head {F. Alheola), old squaw (F. Glacialis), and two
or three other sorts of ducks. Of the divers I saw three,
viz. the loon (C. Glacialis), the red-throated diver (G. Sej)-
tentrionalis), and the black-throated diver {G. Arcticus).
Of seagulls and terns I saw a great many varieties, but I
cannot give them their proper names ; also two sand-
pipers and two cormorants ; yellow-legs {Totaiius Flavipes),

HEARS,

211

bittern (Botaurun Lenii/jinosutt), crow (Corvus Amerkanus),
raven {C. Corax), eagle (Haliaetus Lcncocephalm)^ osprcsy
(Fandion Carolinemis), hen hawk {F. Borealia), and another
very Htnall hawk; tiie niooso bird (Garrulua Canadensis),
pine grosbeak (Pinicola Canadensis), the robin {Turdvs
Americanus), swanij) robin {T. Swainsonii), crow blackbird
{Quiscalus Versicolor), poabody {Fringilla Pennsylvanica),
fihickadoe (Parus AiricapHlus), kingfisher (Alcedo Alcyon),
great woodpcekor {Plcm Pileatus), gannet (Sida Bassana),
sea parrot {Mormon Ardieus), foolish guillemot {Uria
Troile), black guillemot {U. Grylle). With the one excep-
tion of the brant, all the above-mentioned birds breed in
Anticosti, and I have no doubt many more that escaped
my observation.

" Hunters say that there are two sorts of bear, viz. the
long-legged and the short-legged, but this is not the case ;
there is but one species of bear in all these provinces, the
IJnus Americanus. Individuals of this species diifer much
in appearance ; some are round, })lump, and short-limbed ;
others gaunt, leggy, and scraggy. This depends npon
age and condition. The Anticosti bear is famed for the
beauty of its fur, which is at its prime in the months of
April and May. The muzzle and eai-s are yellower than
those of the bears on the mainland. On the south shore
of the St. Lawrence bears den in hollow trees ; here there
are no trees large enough for the purpose, so Bruin
retreats under the thick scrub, which, when covered with
suow, is doubtless a warm and comfortable den. They
retire in November, and come out again in April, at
which time the females have cubs, generally two, some-
times three. The cubs stay with the mother till the

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212

ANTICOSTT.

i ;. {

following spring, and then shift for tlieinselves. The
young females have cubs in the third year, though they
have then by no means attained their full size. In spring
and early summer they feed entirely on fish and fish
spawn, which is thrown upon the beach by the sea. A
large ugly fish, called by the French jyoule dii mer, is
Bruin's favourite tackle, though he is very fond of capelin
and herring spawn, both of which are cast up in immense
quantities. After a storm, I have walked along the beach
for half a mile up to my ankles in herring spawn. Bears
are very fond of digging and scraping in the kelp and sea-
weed, where they pick up grubs and insects. When Bruin
is hungry he comes out of the woods, and strolls along
the beach a little above high-water mark. When he finds
a poule du mer he carries it off into the woods, there to
devour it at his leisure, crouching over it the while as he
holds it between his paws. His action looks awkward —
short shuffling steps wide apart, and head wagging from
side to side ; but for all this he gets along pretty fast,
picking his steps too, for the water 's cold in spring, and
he does not like to wet his feet. Neither does he like tlie
cold sea breeze ; but in fine warm weather, particularly in
the mornings and evenings, ho spends a good deal of time
on the beach, rambling about, licking up the spawn, and
grubbing and rolling in the kelp. His food he finds more
by nose than by sight. Young bears are as playful as
kittens, and when two or three of them meet they play
high jinks in the seaweed. The best chance to shoot
them is in the morning and the evening, when the tide is
on the ebb. Paddling along the coast of Anticosti, it is
quite the exception not to see one or two bears in the
course of the day. I have seen as many as seven in one

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BEAM nUNTIhG.

213

day. There are two ways of approaoiiing them. When
the wind is blowing on shore, the sportsman must stalk
them from the land side ; when the wind is off shore the
better way is to paddle up to thorn.

'* Shooting bears out of a canoe requires some practice
on the part of the shooter, and considerable skill on that of
tlie canoe-men. Bruin does not mind a canoe in the least,
so long as the wind is in the riglit direction, and he can
see no sudden movement of tb.e paddles. Wary in the
extreme about any unusual appearance or sound on the
laud side, he never expects danger seaward. He looks back
over his shoulder along the beacli, peers into the bush,
and now and then stops for a good sniff to windward ; but
be is so accustomed to see seals, floating ice, and drift-
wood, that he never looks out for an enemy in that
direction, and takes no notice of a skilfully handled canoe.
Crouching down, with r.othing visible but our heads, I have
been paddlti to witiiin 30 yards of a bear. The canoe-men
never take their eyes off him. When he feeds or looks
away, with noiseless but vigorous strokes they propel the
light craft swiftly towards him. When he looks up they
are still as statues. A charge of buckshot at 30 yards
is always fatr.l. I cut down two bears in great style with
a large No. 6-bore single-barrel that I brought with me
for goose shooting, charge 8 drachms powder and thirty
buckshot — one at a distance of 55 yards. In bear shoot-
ing, even more than in other large game shooting, the
sportsman should always wait for a broadside shot, and
aim 6 inches or 8 inches behind the shoulder, and rather
better than half-way up. Ordinary prudence ought to
prevent a man from going too close to a crippled or dying
bear, or indeed to any other powerful animal ; but I have

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always looked upon Ursua Americanus as a most shy and
timid animal, and from what I have seen of him in
Anticosti I have no reason to change my opinion.

" The thick hedge of spruce, which I have spoken of
before as lining the coast, though almost impervious to
men, is not so to the bears. They have paths all thrmrvh
it. On one occasion, as I was paddling along the ct t I
saw a large bear emerge from one of these paths, and
descend a steep little clifif stern foremost ; he then, having
picked up a dead fish on the beach, retired with it by the
way he came. I immediately landed, and posting myself
right under the clifif, and some 20 yards or so to leeward
of his tracks, awaited his return, my men shoving off in the
canoe the better to watch the little game. I never stirred
for twenty minutes, expecting to see him come down again
where he went up ; but, as I heard subsequently from my
men, who almost split their sides with laughing, ' Mooym'
(as the Micmacs call him) came to the rock 20 feet or so
straight above my head, and putting his head over,
watched me intently for nearly a minute. Eventually he
winded me, and made off. My men tried to attract my
attention by telegraphing, but all to no purpose. They
imitated the cry of loons and of seals so well, that neither
' Mooym ' nor I took any notice of these not unusual
sounds.

" It is only in the spring of the )ear that bears frequent
the sea-coast. In the summer and fall they go back to the
interior of the island, and live on berries. In fact, they
only come to the beach when hard pushed by hunger.
They know well enough that they are safer in the woods.
They are so easily scared away from one particular place.

SEALS.

215

that I found it best to move my camp every niglit. They
are generally trapped in Anticosti by means of rope snares
set in their paths. The skins are very easily saved in the
spring of the year, as the animals are then lean. The
method I adopted was to sprinkle the hide with salt, and
roll it up for twenty-four hours. I tlien stretched it, fur
down, on a dry bank, and in three or four days the sun
thoroughly dried it.

" Seals, as might be expected, are very numerous on
this coast. In the early part of June I camped for two or
three days at a place called Lac Le Croix, where a long
strip of rocks that make out into the sea is a favourite
haunt of the seals. At this season they have their cubs
with them, generally three, and they are as playful as
kittens. I have watched the old woman playfully knock-
ng the young ones off a rock with her fore flipper. The
little fellows would then swim round and come up on the
other side of the rock, when the operation would be
repeated. The poor little fellows cannot dive, they are so
fat that they won't sink ; so they put their heads under
the water, and fancy they are all right. Donald always
carried a gaff in the bow of the canoe, with which he
secured many a young seal, which we killed for the sake
of the skins. Besides the common round seal, there is
another sort in Anticosti, that my Indians called * horse-
heads.' Tiiey are immense speckled monsters, as big as a
heifer. I shot a few of them in the following manner.
Donald, gracefully robed in a dirty blanket, would lie flat
on a rock in a conspicuous position, whilst I concealed
myself a short distance off. When a ' horse-head ' ap-
peared above the surface, Donald grunted, bellowed,

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rolled about, and kicked up his heels, to attraot the
animal's attention. These pantomimes seldom failed to
allure the animal within 30 or 40 yards, when a bullet
just at the butt of the ear generally did for him. Seals
are wary, but very inquisitive. They will follow a man
walking along the beach, or a canoe, for ever so long,
popping up their shiny heads every now and then, but
they dive wonderfully quickly when they see a gun
pointed at them. I have seen them following a bear; the
bear did not pay the least attention to them. Bruin
dearly loves a fat seal, but he knows he camiot catch
them in the water. In sunny weather their deligiit is to
bask on the rocks. I have seen twenty or thirty on one
surf-washed rock, grunting and rolling about in an absurd
way. A round seal in good condition yields five gallons of
oil, and a ' horse-head ' about twenty or thirty. They are
at their best in j\[ay, and are also very easily killed at
that season, as they eome on shore to cub. The Indians
stealthily approach the poor beasts from behind, and kill
them with a single blow on the head. They are very
easily killed by a blow in the rigiit spot ; but a muff may
cudgel a seal for half an hour without killing it. The
Indians are very fond of the hind flipper roasted, and they
also out the flesh into long strips and dry it in the sun. I
think it very nasty ; but everyone to his taste. I see the
following * memo' in my note-book as regards seal shoot-
ing : ' If ever you go to Anticosti again, don't shoot seals.
The temptation is no doubt great ; but the Indians will
make oil. What of that ? Why, every cooking utensil
you possess is pressed into the service, and although
seal-oil pancakes (flour and oil) are well enough once

WILD FOWL.

217

in a way, the flavour this oil imparts to tea is simply
abominable.'

"I do not think there is any better place in America for
wild-fowl shooting than Anticosti. In the fall and spring,
geese and many different kinds of ducks swarm along the
coast and in the lagoons. I have seen bays black with
the sea duck of dift'eient sorts {Fuligulinfe), and flights of
these birds at least half a mile in length. The ducks
(Anatidw) and the geese divide their time between the
beach and the fresh-water lakes and lagoons contiguous to
the beach. Not being harassed by gunners, the birds are
comparatively tame, and the wild-fowl shooter in Anticosti
can for once in his life glut himself with his favourite
sport. There is but one drawback, and that is that he
caniiot share the contents of his bag amongst his friends.

" I found that many of the water fowl, including the
l^eese and the divers, were of a very inquisitive turn of
mind, and I used often to decoy them within shot by
waving a coloured pocket-handkerchief. The geese, mis-
taking my dog for a fox, would often approach quite close
to him in a defiant way. But more inquisitive even than a
woman is the red-throated diver. These birds are some-
times a positive nuisance, coming in from miles round to
look at a canoe, and then circling, chattering, and shrieking
around it. On the plains I have brought them up from a
great distance by standing on a tummock and shouting
aud waving my hat. Although there are great numbers
of them, I could not find a nest. Tiiey are called
'wobbies' by the fishermen, who often catch them in
their nets. On the hiijrh rocks on the north shore of
the island, incredible quantities of sea birds hatch —

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ANTICOSTI.

cormorants, gulls, puffins, paroquets, and pigeons. These
birds all live sociably together. Hundreds of them lay
their eggs side by side on the same ledge of rock, and
may be seen seated in front of them in rows like soldiers.
On one occasion, when I fired a shot to alarm them, the
number that rose were so great that for a minute or two
I could hardly see the sky, and their droppings in the
water resembled a heavy shower of rain or hail.

" Great numbers of geese hatch in the island in the
lagoons and ponds. On the 27th of May I was barbarous
enough to put a goose and her four eggs all in the pot
together, and when eating them could not help thinking
of the following line in ' The Dead Shot,' descriptive of
the pot-hunter : ' Despicable and despised, the inflictor of
torture, he has no music in his soul.' In the hatching
season I observed several small flocks of geese, who were
unincumbered with families, and evidently intended to
remain in that happy condition. I shot a good many of
these birds, and found them, unlike the hatching ones,
fat and plump. I noticed the same thing with ducks,
On the 18th of June I came across a flock of bachelor and
maiden black duck. I shot three or four of them, and I
never tasted better ducks in my life. Brant do not hatch
in the island, and, except in a couple of bays in the
western end, they do not seem to like it even as a resting
place.

" Black duck are very abundant. They are always good
birds to eat, but late in the fall they are best. I think
there is no bird or animal on this continent so wary
as the black duck ; they are always on the qui vive>
Here, where in all probability they have never heard

RIVERS.

219

a shot fired, it requires almost as much caution to get
a shot at them as in inhabited districts. The best
way I found to shoot them was at low water, to sit down
on the beach behind a heap of seaweed, or a log, and
send some one to stir them up above and below.
I never had any trouble in keeping our larder supplied
with black duck. In the spring they seem to live
entirely on herring spawn and small shellfish, and feed
amicably on the beach along with the gulls and crows.
The latter birds are in clover here at this season.
I could not at first account for the number of urchin and
other shells which lay scattered about the plains, but I
soon found out that they had been carried there by the
crows. I saw a crow one day fly up in the air with an
urchin and drop it on the rocks, and repeat the operation
two or three times before he managed to get at the
interior.

" The rivers in Anticosti are small, some of them almost
dry in midsummer ; but in most of them there are deep
pools just above the tide mark, which teem with sea trout.
These pools are capital little harbours, and charming places
to camp. I don't know that I ever saw a prettier place
in my life than the mouth of * Fairy River.' Flocks of
ducks and geese continually visit these pools for fresh
water, seals pop their heads up a few yards ofi" in the
salt water, and Bruin once in a while comes sneakir?
down to the shore, so that gunning, angling, and some in-
teresting little studies of natural history can all be com-
bined. The salmon on this coast are small, seldom weigh-
ing more than 10 lbs. Where rivers are small, I have
always remarked that salmon are small. On a coast where

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the rivers pre deep and rapid, salmon attain tlie largest
size. The largest river on the island is Jujjiter, and. in
comparison with the rivers on the mainland, it is little
better than a brook.

" The varieties of sea fish are so many tluit I eannot pre-
tend to enumerate them all. Of whales there are at least
two varieties, viz. the Greenland whale and the grampus.
One of the latter rose close to my canoe as we were
l)a(ldiing along the north shore. I imagine he was follow-
ing the capelin. My rifle being ready in my hand, 1 put
two bullets into him in the region of his back fin. The
commotion he made was so great, that for a moment I
thought it Avas all up with us. The water was coloured
with blood and oil. We never saw the monster again, but
his carcase was found by some fishermen two or three
days after I left the island.

"In the month of June the capelin come in shore to
spawn, followed by all the hungry monsters of the deep.
Each tide leaves thousands of these little fish high and
dry on the beach. After a storm I have seen cartloads of
dead caj)elin on one little strip of beach, and I have fished
up enough live ones out of the water with one scoop of
my kettle to do for breakfast. They are the best bait for
codfish.

" On the 23rd June we met a schooner cod-fishing close
in shore, and I went on board for a short time. They were
fishing in about three fathom water, and we could see the
bottom actually paved with codfish. I caught a dozen
for ourselves in about fifteen minutes ; my next neighbour
on the deck of the schooner caught three times as many,
grumbling all the time that it was the worst fishing season

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COD FISniNO.

221

he had ever known, that fish were scarce, and did not take
the bait well. Each man fishes two lines, two hooks on
each line, bait one capolin. Between every two men a
large box is placed, into which they put their fish, and the
rapidity with which they haul up their fish, unhook them,
and put on a fresh b.ait can hardly be believed by a lands-
man. In a 30-ton schooner there are generally eight
hands ; in smooth water four of them fish in the schooner,
and the remainder in boats alongside, two in each boat.
They fish on the * half-line ' principle, i. e. each man
keeps half the fish he catches as his pay. Each schooner
has a drying stage on shore. The livers are exposed to
the sun on boughs ; the oil runs out into puncheons
placed underneath, and the cod-liver oil thus procured
pays for the salt.

" At the very extremity of the East Point stand the
lighthouse and provision store. The prospect from the
top of the former is uninviting enough — on three sides
water, and on the fourth a great brown plain, miles in
extent, as flat as a table, and dotted over with lakes
and ponds. The only occupants of tiie lighthouse were
Mons. D. and a servant girl. When we saw him in the
middle of June he had not had a letter or a paper, nor
had he seen a soul, since the previous autumn, when his
son (who is the paid lighthouse keeper) and his daughter-
in-law went off to Quebec. The old gentleman was half
glad to see us, and half afraid of us, and I am bound to
confess that our appearance was against us. Elsewhere
I am often taken for a lumberman or an Indian, but in
Anticosti (I say it with no small pride) I passed for a
'boss' — of a fishing schooner. My boots, socks, and

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ANTICOSTI.

mocassins were all worn through by the sharp pebbles,
and this caused mo to walk in an unsteady and nautical
manner.

" It is easy to perceive from the behaviour of the do-
mestic animals in th(?8e places that visitors are rare birds.
The dogs growl and ulink into corners ; even the cow and
the horse were much startled at our approach — the former
especially behaved just as a wild deer wlien he catches
sight of a man. The people at these out-of-the-way posts
eat nothing from one year's end to another but salt food,
and, strange to say, they do not care about fresh meat. I
thought that fresh codfish would have been a welcome
dish to them ; but they never ate them until they had
been two or three days in salt. From their appearance,
I should not say that their food agreed with them."

There are two salmon rivers in Anticosti — the Jupiter
and Salmon rivers. The angling in neither of these has
as yet been let. Tliey are poor angling rivers and very
inaccessible.

CHAPTER IX.

THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILROAD. THE BAY OF CHALEUR.

The Intercolonial Railway, connecting Canada proper
with Halifax and St. John, the winter ports of the Domi-
nion, has just been completed. Its length is 490 miles.
It is not a colonization road, but as a great part of the
country it traverses is as yet a terra incognita to the tra-
velling public, a brief description of some of the places of
interest to the tourist and the sportsman may not be out
of place in these pages.

When the different provinces which now form the Do-
minion were confederated, it became a part of the policy
of the federal government to construct a great system of
railways to bind together the new Dominion. It is said
that railroad making has been pushed on too rapidly, and,
as is undoubtedly the case in the neighbouring Republic,
that the railway system has outgrown the growth of the
country. Be that as it may, the responsibility of making
the Intercolonial cannot be thrust upon Canada. If it
proves a failure in a commercial point of view, that is not
the fault of the Canadians. It was built for imperial pur-
poses, and its line chosen by imperial engineers. The
mother-country, who determined not only where it was to
be built but how it was to be built, guaranteed a loan of
two and a half millions to Canada for the purpose. A
great deal more was made of this guarantee by the English

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INriCnCOLONIAL liAILHOA D.

pross tlian good tasto or oven common justice wotild spein
to require. The imperial guiiraiiteo enabled Canada to
raise the necessary money at perliaps ]^ or 2 per cent,
less interest than slio could have done it herself. At the
time the loan was gmiranteed to a perfectly solvent and
ra])idly growing colony, compensation for Feniun raids
had 1)0011 unjustly refusi^d to Canada, and her magiuficpiit
fisheries had been thrown open by England to America,
as j)ayment from tiie former to the latter of the Alabama
claims. Tlie mother-country in fact gave away Canadian
property to America to save its own cash, and then made
a greit flourish of trum])etsaboutgnaianteeing a perfectly
safe loan to the child to enable it to carry out the parental
project.

No expense has been spared in the construction of this
railroad, which is said by competent authorities to be the
very best on the continent of AnuM-ica.

There seems to be no doubt that this line must always
be a source of great expense to Canada. From 200 to
300 miles of it can never pay running expenses. To keep
it open in winter numerous trains must be run, and at
that season the traffic will not probably, for many years at
least, pay for the oil. For over 100 miles it runs through
as wild and barren a country as there is in the ^^•orld, and
generally speaking through its entire course it carefully
avoids all good lands fit for settlement, and, like the ■
pursues its solitary way through the wilderness.

Had Canada, in connecting Quebec with St. John and
Halifax by a railroad within her own boundaries, been
actuated only by commercial principles, a line could have
been chosen running through fertile lauds oue-third the

LOCATION OF T1TE USE.

22i"

lonj^th of tlio Intcn'colonial, and Iniilt niilo for inilo at ono-
liiilf tli(! (!()Ht. IVolialtlv tluj fortilo vallov of tlie St. Jolm
would liavo been chosen, and in all jtrohability a lino will
soon 1)0 con.stnu'tod horo, whioh on rcforcnoo to tlio nuip
will bo soon to form tlio dianiotor of a circle, of which the
Intercolonial is tho .sonii-circiiniforonco. On a former
occasion th(^ blnndoring diplomacy of Eni^land had lost to
Canada an immense tract of the present State of j\Iaino
which abuts on the St. John vallov. This tract of land,
which liord Ashburnham probably thought of no value, was
eagerly seized by the smart Yanlcoe. It pushes in like a
wedge into the Dominion frcmtier, and renders tho valley
of the St. John unsuitable for a military road. So Canada
in this instance, as in many others, has to pay for the
blunders of tho mother-country.

Ihit though in a commercial point of view the prospects
of the Intercolonial are not very })romising, it will be un-
questionably during tho summer months a great boon to
the tourist. Through its instrumentality, the dried-up
New Yorker can in less than forty-eight hours breathe
about the most bracing air in tho world ; and the English
tourist, fresh from the trim fields or smoky cities of the
old country, can in ten days without hardship or fatigue
make the acquaintance of the illimitable wilderness.

The distance from Quebec to Halifax, N.S., via tho
Intercolonial, is nearly 600 miles. For the first 200 miles
til' railroad follows the river and gulf of St. Lawrence
along the south shore. This district is thickly settled by
French Canadians. These people, who marry young, rear
families in the shortest possible space of time ; and, unlike
the American or Western Canadian, seldom migrate from

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INTERCOLONIAL RAILROAD.

their native place. The sons and daughters cluster round
the parental homestead. The farms are divided and sub-
divided. They always remain poor, but their wants are
small, and they are as contented as obliging, and withal- as
gay and lively a set of people as there are in the world.
They are eminently a social people. This even the tourist
can note by the arrangement of the houses — wliich are
all close together, like a street — along the road tliat runs
down the soutli shore of the St. Lawrence from Quebec to
St. Flavie. The farms are mere strips or ribbons of land,
a few yards in width, with tlie liouse in front, and running-
back a mile or even more in rear. There are some pretty
villages in this district, such as Rimouski and Riviere dii
Loup ; also two or three fashionable watering })]aces, such
as Cocouna and Metis, whither Upper Canadians resort in
July and August for sea-bathing. The houses of the French
habitants are all built on the same pattern — wide overhang-
ing eaves, clean white walls, and gaily painted windows
and doors. Xear each house there is a well, with the old-
fashioned arrangement of balance pole and bucket ; also
queer brick or blue clay ovens supported on wooden legs,
that look like immense turtles. I can testify to the ex-
cellence of the bread they bake. The process is to light
a fire inside the oven, and when the whole structure is
thoroughly heated the cinders are swept out, the dougli
put in, and th(i aperture closed, the bread being cooked by
the heat of the bricks and cLiv.

After leaving St. Flavie, the Intercolonial plunges into
the wilderness, and from thence to the Rcstigonche ruii-^
through one of the wildest and most uninhabitable districts
in all Canada. The sceuerv here would be verv fine were

FOREST FIRES.

221

it not tliat the whole surface of the country has been de-
vastated by fire. This wanton destruction, besides deform-
ing the face of nature and wasting immense quantities of
valuable timber, will probably cost the Canadian Govern-
ment large sums every winter. In the green forest there
is little or no drift. When it is burnt the snow piles up
to an almost incredible extent, and nothing short of costly
snow sheds in all the levels and cuttings will tend to keep
the line clear in winter.

I do not know a more melancholy sight than a burnt
forest. In this district nothing meets the eye on every
side but blackened stumps and half-charred rarnpikes.
This dead and weird-lookiii;ir forest gives the idea tliat one
has got into some enchanted land under the spell of evil

genu.

These fires are mainly caused by the carelessness of the
stream drivers in the spring of the year. In driving their
logs down the river the hardy lumbermen camp each
night, when darkness overtakes them, on the edge of the
stream. They stea'i: all night before an enormous fire,
and often leave it burning when they decamp at daybreak.
The Indian never leaves a spark behind liim, he is too
good a woodsman ; and instinct warns him that iiis fate
is bound up with that of the forest.

The jMetapedia lake is a fine sheet of water, about the
centre of the peninsula. All this region bears traces of ice
action. In the bed of the lake and on its shores the course
of immense boulders may be traced for many yards by
their furrows in the solid rock. The only liabitable land
in tlie whohi of this district lies round the Metapedia lake,
and is locked out from settlement. The old seigniory of

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INTEBCOLONTAL liJ TLHOAD.

Metapedia has someliow or other got into the hands of a
cute Yankee specuhitor, and the consequence of this is
that the wliole shore of the lake, which has a circumference
of 20 to 30 miles, and would support a thriving settle-
ment, is monopolized by a foreigner or by foreigners. The
railroad runs along the sliore of this wild and pretty lake,
and then follows the course of the river of the same name
for 35 or 40 miles. The parallel terraces on this river are
the most perfect I have ever seen. Frequently three and
even four of these steps or terraces may be seen at each side
of the stream, of corresponding form and equal altitude.
This is a wild and rapid stream. Its rocky banks, bristling
with charred cedar and spruce trees, rise sheer up to a
height of several hundred feet. The Intercolonial winds
under them along the river's edge. At the mouth of the
Metapedia is the charmingly situated residence of Mr.
Dan Fraser, whose kindness and hospitality to sportsmen,
in those days when his comfortable and beautiful home-
stead constituted the last outpost of civilization, will be
long remembered from one end of Canada to the
other.

For many years the mails were carried once a week
from the St. Lawrence to the Restigouche by dog sled.
The Indian who drove the team had to walk, backwards
and forwards, a distance of over 200 miles in six davs.
This \Aas not bad walking for a continuance, along a mere
track (there was no road at that time) through snow aud
ice and rough forest. Yet I knew a man who never missed
the trip during a whole winter.

After a road was made, the mail was carried by "stage."
I travelled it once or twice in this way, and I sincerely

STAGE DRIVING.

229

hope I may never have to do so again. The stage horses
were overworked and half starved. The convevauee was a
buck-board, a trap peculiar to Lower Canada. JMy driver
on one of these occasions was the most accomplished
swearer I ever met in a hard-swearing country. One horse
dropped dead in the shafts, and the oaths of the driver,
who had before then " sworn as steep " as any white man
in America, became now positively appalling. I wonder
why stage drivers as a rule use such fearful language.
Why does that most willing, obedient, and patient of
animals, the horse, demoralize everyone who has anything
to do with him ? Does he thus revenge himself for the
cruel treatment he often receives at his Piaster's hands ?

Crossing the Kestigouche just below the mouth of the
Metapedia, the Intercokmial runs along the bank of the
former river down to the Bay of Chaleur. Tliere are many
charming places in the Dominion, but I know of none to
equal the Bay of Chaleur in the summer and autumn.
Hitherto it has been shut out from the world, but now it
is probable that many tourists in search of health, of sport,
or of beautiful scenery, will find their way here. To the
lialf-bakod American it oifers a delicious summer climate,
cool and bracing, with unrivalled sea-bathing ; to the
lover of the picturesque it Ou'ers wild and lovely scenery ;
while for the sportsman it has many charms. The rivers
are full of salmon ; trout of the largest size and the finest
quality abound in every stream, lake, and pond. In the
spring and fall the bays are black with wild fowl ; and
large game, though not so plentiful as formerly, are still
to be found deep in the forest. Hotels have yet to be
built ; but the sportsman, if not very fastidious, will get

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SAY OF CIIALEUn.

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fair accommodation Ayherever he goes, and will meet with
a rough and ready hospitality for which the settlers in the
back parts of Canada are famous.

The Bay of Chaleur is about 100 miles in length, 30
being its greatest breadth. The southei-n or New Bruns-
wick coast is flat and comparatively tame, but the north
or Canadian side is bold and mountainous. At. the mouth
of the bay are the islands of Miscou and Shippegan.
They are low, flat, and swampy, tennnted chiefly by
French fishermen. The banks of Miscou are second only
to the banks of Newfoundland as a cod-fishing station,
and in the season they present quite a lively api)earance,
the water being covered for many miles in extent with
fleets of fishing boat:. In the spring and fall myriads of
wild fowl resort to the shallow waters and flats around
these islands, and fatten on the sea-grass, undisturbed by
gunners. Caraquette, a pretty village in the neighbour-
hood, is celebrated throughout the provinces for its oysters.
These bivalves are small, but for delicacy of flavour are
unequalled. Here also is a branch of the Jersey establish-
ments which have for so many years monopolized the local
fishery trade.

The Bay of Chaleur is not without a history. It re-
ceived its name from the discoverer, Jacques Cartier, wlio
dropped anchor in its quiet waters on a hot July day, in
the year 1534. Had he arrived three months later or three
months earlier, it would now be known by some other
name. Jacques Cartier left it in undisturbed possession
of the Indians, and it was not settled by whites for a
century afterwards, when a band of Acadians, probably
fugitives from Port Iloyal, established themselves at

THE JCADIANS.

231

Batliurst. This country then formed part of the seigniory
of Gaspesia, belonging to M. Denys. In 1638 there was
a war between the IMohawks and Micmacs, in whieli tlie
former were victorious, and the Acadians of Bathurst had
to fly for their lives to the Isle of St. John (now Prince
Edward Island). In 1670 they returned and resumed
possession of their land, from which they were again driven
away by the IMohawks, in 1692. A portion of them, how-
ever, having formed an alliance with the Micmacs, remained
and established themselves at Petitte Rochelle, on the
iiestigouche. By the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, this
seigniory, together with the rest of the maritime provinces,
was ceded to England, and the whole country assumed
the name of Acadia.

The Acadians were a gentle and inoffensive people, and
wanted those sterner qualities which enabled our English
fathers to make good their settlements in strange lands
peopled by hostile tribes. They never turned upon an
oppressor, nor made themselves feared. They were hares
amongst wolves. They married early and multiplied
exceedingly, intermarrying with the Micmac Indians. At
the present day the two races can hardly be distinguished.
Within one century they changed masters no less than
fourteen times, so that they had the misfortune of always
beins: liable to be styled rebels, and as such to be attacked
and robbed by every needy adventurer. In the year 1755
this people numbered nearly 20,000, and owned over 60,000
head of cattle. They lived by agriculture, fishing, and
hunting. Now occurred the famous exodus described by
Longfellow ; 7000 of these poor harmless wretches were
expelled tiie country by the British, who at that time

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nJY OF CHALEUn.

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hated witli an uiireasouing hatred any man who spoke the
French tongue. Some of these fugitives went to New
Enghmd, *jtne to Capo Breton and Prince Edward Tshind,
and but 1300of tlie number returned to Aea'lia at thecon-
chision of tlie war. During the ])eriud of their wanderings,
like the Israelites under Closes, they cam[)ed in the wilder-
ness. The sites of these camping grounds are still plainly
to be seen throughout the province of New Brunswick,
and can readily be distinguished from tlie camping places
of the aborigines by circular pits lined with stone, which
are supposed to have been the cellars under their wigwams.
In 1760 an effort was made by the French to retake
Quebec, and a fleet destined to assist in that enterprise
made its way into the St. Lawrence. To avoid a collision
with the British fleet, it took refuge in the Bay of Chaleur
— a doubly disastrous move, which involved not only its
destruction, but also that of Petitte llochelle, which, hid
away up the Restigouche, might otherwise have escaped ;
for Captain Byron, with five English frigates from Louis-
burg, followed close on the heels of the French, who took
shelter under the batteries at Petitte Eochelle, and after
a severe engagement captured or sunk the wliole of the
enemy's fleet, consisting of four frigates, two or three pri-
vateers, and twenty-two store-ships. The vilhige, containing
about 200 houses, was burnt, and the wretched Acadiaus
were again homeless. The site of Petitte Rochelle is nearly
obliterated by the spruce trees, the weeds of this country;
a few cellars and stone chimneys alone remain. Cannon,
muskets, shot, and shell, have been dug up in some quan-
tities, and are kept as trophies by the neighbouring settlers.
Not long ago two bottles of French brandy were found by

PETITTE nOCIIKLLE.

233

a fortnnato individual. Off Boiirdo Point, so called after
M. Bourdo, the French eonunander, >vho was buried
there, the hull of a French frigate lies embedded in the
sand. The iron has rusted awav, but the oak timbers are
still sound.

Years rolled on, but the history of Pctitte Rochelle was
still preserved in the archives of the Acadians ; and in the
year 1861 seventy families of these people, driven from
Prince Edward Island, not this time by fire and sword, but
by an oppressive feudal law Avhich then existed in the
island, returned to the home of their ancestors. They found
their old lands occupied by English and Scotch settlers ;
and pushing farther up the river they obtained a govern-
ment grant of land in the heart of the forest, 3 miles from
the Hestigouche.

I have elsewhere alluded to the hardships these poor
people endured in their battle with the forest (p. 18). I
happened to be in the neighbourhood a few years after their
arrival, and took the opportunity of visiting their settlement.
The men at that time S[)okc a little English, and dressed
like the other settlers in the country, but the women were
as Acadian as ever; they were the women of Grand Pre.
They dressed in the homespun kirtle, generally black
striped with red, a white handkerchief round the shoul-
ders, a black one on the head, black stockings, and thick
%al)ots. Not one word of English could they speak, nor
French either, for that matter : the Acadian patois is as
unintelligible to the Frenchman as to the Englishman.
Their settlement was a cluster of log huts, hid away in
the bosom of the forest, with their chapel in the centre. To
build this latter edifice was the iirst care of the Acadians*

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234

J} AY OF CIIALEUR.

even wlien they themselves were homeless. It was built
of logs, witlj a birch-bark roof; the altar was pasted over
with scraps of paper of different colours and patterns, and
oruainented with four brass candlesticks, placed on a
similar number of empty cigar-boxes. Underneath the
altar was a homespun rug, and a large cow-horn suspended
over the door served to summon the congregation to mass
when the priest paid his fortnightly visit to his flock.
Even those who see least to admire in the Roman Catholic
religion, cannot help being struck with its wonderful
vitality, and the strong hold it has on the affections of its
adherents, whether they live in palaces or in log huts.

Fifteen miles from Ualhousie there is a small emigrant
settlement in the wilderness, called Baluioral. Twenty or
thirty English families settled here two or three years ago.
Besides free grants of land, government provided them
with log huts, and provisions lor a winter. Nevertheless,
they suffered great hardships at first. Many of them were
mill hands and small tradesmen, and therefore quite unlit
for roughing it in the bush. It cannot be too often re-
peated that the only men to make new farms in the
wilderness are the Canadian-born people. Among these
there exists considerable dissatisfaction at the system of
restricting free grants of land to immigrants. The old
settlers cannot see why their sons should not have equal
privileges in the acqnisition of land as the stranger. lu
my opinion the old settlers in this part of Canada at least.
Lave more land than is good for them. Smaller farms in
a higher state of cultivation would pay them better than
large tracts of half-wilderness land. The land about Resti-
gouche and the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Chaleur

SALMON FISHERY.

235

is very good. The farming season is short, but the rapidity
and luxuriance of the vegetation is most remarkable. Tlie
snow is not off the ground till the middle of May, and yet
I have often seen barley in ear and potatoes in blossom on
the 20tli of July, about which time hay-making commences.
The intervale land on the Kestigouche river is particularly
rich. If the people in this country would only attend to
their farms, and make their sons stay at home and help
them, they could not fail to do well, as the price of all
agricultural produce is good. Instead of this, they look
upon their farms as only of secondary importance, as mere
adjuncts to lumbering, fishing, &c.

The Indian name of the Bay of Ciialeur is Echeetan
NemacJm, or sea of fishes. There is probably no oth(3r
expanse of water in the world of the same extent in which
the finny tribes exist in such multitudes and in such
variety. It is a favourite resort of the Sahnonidic, a
species that delights in pure clean water, in rough and
rapid rivers. This is essentially the nature of the rivers
in this region, which flow through an uncultivated and
rocky country, and in which the Sahnonidw find beds to
deposit their spawn safe from molestation. Both salmon
and trout are particularly large and fine. At the head of
the bay, more especially at the Canadian side, salmon
average 20 lbs. in weight. The fishery is a very impor-
tant and lucrative business here; it commences on the
1st of June, and lasts for two months. During that short
period I have known one fisherman take 20,OUO lbs. weight
of salmon, which at 6 cents would amount to $1200. It
would be hard to estimate the total amount exported
from the bay, but it must be very large. The greater

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HA y OF CITALKUn,

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part of it is manufactiirod in tins. Oiio American firm
puts \i\) as mnah as 280,000 lbs. in a season. Lobsters
are niunufacturod in the same way ; they are worth
about $1 per hundred here. Hcrrinnj abound in count-
less shoals. Anyone not familiar with northern waters
will suspect me of romancing when I gay that I have
seen 000 barrels taken in one sweep of a seine net.
Often sufficient salt cannot be procured to save them, and
they are used as manure. An American schooner struck
a school of mackerel somewhere in the bay at 8 o'clock
in the morning, and before midnight, fishing with hook
and line, the crew had 100 barrels caught and cured. Fish
are destroyed and wasted in the most reckless way, but the
supply never fails. For a week in the spring of the year
smelts run up the rivers in one unceasing stream. It is
an astonishing sight to paddle down the llestigouche at
this season and see the farmers "smelting " — scooping up
the little fish in hand-nets. The amount they take is in-
credible, and most of the potatoes grown near the river
spring from this fishy manure. Now that the railway is
completed, fish of all kinds can be sent to market in
ice, and the value of the fisheries is consequently much
enhanced.

White porpoises {Delphinus Leucus) visit the bay in
considerable numbers everv summer. These huge men-
sters, measuring from 25 to 30 feet in length, go in shoals,
probably in pursuit of the salmon, and may be seen from
a great distance disporting themselves on the surface of
the water. I am told that one of these fish will yield
oil to the value of $100, yet no means of capturing them
has yet been devised. I have mentioned a few of the

I i^- *.

FISJlKJifES.

237

principftl fishes, but all other vjirioties known in tlie Ciiilf
of St. Lawrence are re})resentecl in proportionate numbers.
Even in the dcijths of winter, lish can be procured in large
quantities. At this season, at the nioutli of Itestigouche,
dozens of Indian boys earn their livelihood by lishing
through the ice with hook and line for sea trout, and spear-
ing eels, tommy-cods, and smelts. '^I'lic cod fishery in the
bay is almost wholly in the hands of Jersey lirms, who have
been established on this coast for one hundred years. Their
establishments at Paspediac, at Perce, and at Cariujuettc,
are models of system and order. In the lishing season they
employ thousands of men and boats, and ship the cured
fish direct to Europe, the West Indies, and the Brazils.

Notwithstanding this wealth of lishes, the fishermen
round the Pay of Chaleur are a very jwor class. This is
partly owing to the wretched truck system which still
prevails. Instead of getting cash for their fish, tiiey are
always in debt to the merchant for supplies furnished in
the winter and spring. Whilst the merchant makes out
of the fisherman 50 per cent, on his goods, and 50 per
cent, more on the fish he buys, he has also to take the risk
of supi»lying goods for which he may never be paid. This
trucking system is perhaps unavoidable in a new country
where conmiunications are difficult, settlers poor, and pro-
visions scarce ; but the necessity for this state of things
exists no longer in the Bay of Chaleur, and probably the
completion of the Intercolonial railroad will put an end
to it.

Hitherto the salmon caught in the Bay of Chaleur has
been put up in hermetically sealed tins for exportation.
Several firms have been engaged at this business, some of

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2^8

BA V OF CIIALElin.

them iniinufiicturoil as muoh as 200,000 ll)s. wnii^'lit of
salmon in the soaHon. Jt is a pretty .si;j;ht to kco tho fisli
comin;^' in of a moriiiii;!?. Canoo al'tor canoi; (liscliar;^o.s its
load of silvery bcautios fresh out of the nets. Sometimes
in the early part of tho season whole canoo loads will
ftvcraf:;e 2;j lbs. each, and I have seen fish here up to 50 lbs.
in weight. As tlie Hsh come in, they are ^it once prepared,
and pass throuf^h a good many hands before tliey are done
up in tlie tins with which we are all familiar. The (irst
man into whose hands tho fish comes lays it on a bench
and scrapes off the scales ; the next ojjens and (deans if,
wushin-,^ it in a cistern provided for the purpose ; the third
cuts tho fisli into junks of the thickness of the length of
the tin. All this is done in an outhouse or shed, but the
pieces are now passed into the workshop, where they are
further cut up, weighed, and packed into the tins by a suc-
cession of hands. Another man wipes the tins and passes
them on to liave the covers fitted on. In each of the.se
covers a small hole is punched. The solderers next re-
ceive the cases, and seal them up carefully, including the
hole in the cover. They are now packed in perforated
trays and passed out of the workshop through a trap-door
to the boiling house, where they undergo a certain amount
of boiling. The trays are then raised out of tlu* boilers,
and as each one comes out of the water, a tinsmith applies
a hot iron to the soldered hole in the lid of the tin. The
solder' melts and the heated air fizzes out. The instant
this air has escaped, a second tinsmith finally seals up the
aperture. The cases are then doused in cold water and
passed into the storeroom, where they are painted, labelled,
and packed in boxes for exportation. But now that the

FiiozEN rrsrr.

239

Iliterenloiiiiil railroad is ooinplctrd, salniou will bo too
valuable" to ])ut iiji in tins; it will {lay tho fishornien niucli
bt'ttor to send thorn fresh to market. Hitherto the price
of salmon in this country has been from 'Id. to3rZ. a pound.
Fresh salmon is worth at least a shilling in the cities of
Canada. There are two ways of sendin;j: salmon fresh to
market. "When the time taken in transition does not exceed
two or three days, they are packed in boxes with broken ice,
or better still with snow. Collecting and storing these pack-
ing materials is not a great labour in this country. Snow
is considered the better of the two. It is collected in
wooden sheds built with double walls and roofs, with a
vacuum between the outer and inner one. As the snow is 2)ut
in, it is tramped down, and in this state there is no trouble in
preserving it all summer. The otiier way of sending iish
to market has the advantage that by it fish may be kept
perfectly fresh for almost any h ngth of time, and can be
held up like wheat until the market is high. The fish in
this case arc frozen solid. By the kindness of one of the
owners of these great refrigerators, I was allowed to see
the process. The fish when brought in are exj)osed to a
temperature of about 30 degrees of frost. This intense
cold is caused by ])acking a freezing mixture, the main
ingredients of which are crushed ice and salt, into a cham-
ber wliich surrounds the fish about to be frozen. Between
1)00 and 400 can be frozen at a time. A fish requires about
an hour's time to freeze for each pound that it weighs.
Not only arc they frozen perfectly solid, but they are
coated with ice. They are then removed to a storeroom
ill which the temperature is kept below freezing point.
The vessels in which they are shipped are supplied with

Mm;,

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240

BAY OF CIIALEUR.

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AW^'

refrigerators, as are also the warehouses at the port of de-
livery. By this process a fresh salmon from tlie Bay of
Clialcur can be put on the table at Chicago in perfect
order a month after it has left its native element. As
fresh fish by the treaty of Washington is allowed to go free
to the United States, there ouglit to be a great deal of
money made in the Canadian fisheries. Even in mid-
winter, trout, tommy-cod, eels, and delicious smelts are
talcen in great abundance in the Bay of Chaleur, and at
this season these fish can be sent frozen to the American
market in perfect order, without resorting to any artificial
process whatever.

From Bathurst northwards to Kcstigouche an excel-
lent road folio ,s the shore of the Bay of Chaleui-, cross-
ing a host of little rivers, all of more oi less interest
to the angler ; the limpid waters of the bay in places
almost wash against the edge of the road. The land here
has been cleared, and supports a comparatively lar^e
population, wlio seem to live in comfort on their farm
produ(;e, and the tish that are literally v/ashed to their
doors. For 60 miles the railway runs alongside the road.

At the head of the bay is the beautifully situated little
town of Dalhousie. The surfaco of the country is so
rough and rugged that some little ingenuity must have
been displayed in finding a site for the town. The bay
here narrows to about 3 miles in width, and the h.;rbour
of Dalhousie is one of the finest in tlie world. Two or
three little islands jut out from the shore, and form a
natural breakwater. There is great depth of water—
9 fathoms, I am told — and room for all the ships in
America. When the railway system is completed, there

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DALnOUSIE.

241

is no doubt that a saving of two or three days' time can
be effected in the transmission of mails and passengers
from Canada and the Western States to Europe, and fully
one-half the terrors of a sea voyage will be spaied to bad
sailors. Thus, from Quebec to Dalhousie by vail, twelve
hours; from Dalhousie to the west coast of Newfound-
land by steamboat, thirty-six hours ; across that island by
rail to the harbour of St. John's, six hours ; IVoia thence
to the west of Ireland, following the line of the Atlantic
cable, five days ; total, seven days and a quarter ; or from
Quebec; to London, eight days, Avith an ocean voyage of
only five, and during the balance of the journey the
traveller, instead of groaning on the Atlantic, can ^njoy
some of the finest scenery on two continents.

I can confidently say that in the whole range of coast-
line between New York and Quebec there is not a more
charming summer resort than Dalhousie. In no place
can be found clearer water, purer air, and finer scenery.
The whole of this vicinity seems to have been upturned
by some convulsion of nature, and hill is piled upon hill
and rock upon rock in the mu, t fantastic forms imaginable.
It seems ridiculous to speal: of a place being Alpine in
appearance where peii.aj s the highest hills do not reach
a greater altitude than 2000 feet above the level of the
sea, but effect in landscape is not produced solely by
l^'reat heigiits and vast expanses. The hills rise abruptly,
aud as it were unexpectedly, to their full height from the
water's edge ; glaciers lurk in the summits, which are
generally rocky and barren ; while the valleys and slopes
are densely wooded, and mountain torrents thunder down
the ravines. The atmosphere is wondei fully clear, and

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242

J] AY OF CHALEUR.

hills and other distant objects appear sharply cut and
distinctly defined. What a place for a painter ! People
will say there is sameness in Canadian scenery. I can-
not see it ; with the play of light and shade on the
hills, the gorgeous autumn colours, and the ever-varying
reflections on the marvellous water ; but if there is, it is a
sameness that I for one never tire of.

Fifteen miles above Dalhousie we come to Campbelton,
a small town at the head of the navigation of the liesti-
gouche. Close in its vicinity is the " sugar-loaf," a curious
cone, which rises precipitously from the level bank of the
river to a height of 1000 feet. To ascend it is a gym-
nastic feat of no mean order ; the summit once gained,
however, the view is very fine and panoramic. x\s we
pursue our journey farther up the river, the scenery,
though narrowing in extent, unfolds new beauties. Tlie
river is here full of islands, rich alluvial meadows, round
which the stream meanders in a hundred channels. Here
the cultivated banks and comfortable homesteads show off
to advantage against the sloping background of forest.
Not only is the intervale land good here, but the upland
also is of the finest oualitv, and orows better wheat than
most other parts of Lower Canada. Farming, however, is
not properly attended to in this country; the settler lets it
take its turn with fishing, lumbering, and other occupa-
tions.

If there is any fault to be found with the trout fishing
in the Bay of Chaleur, it is that it is too good. The
angler occasionally sufiers from a glut of fish. The trout,
after spawning in the fall, run down with the salmon, but,
unlike the salmon, tiiey remain in the tideway all winter,

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TROUT.

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and in spring they follow the smelts up the rivers. xVt
this season they take bait ravenously, and large num-
bers are caught in the mouths of the rivers, and even off
the public wharfs at Campbelton and Dalhousie. But
the fly-flshorman must follow them farther up the streams^
where, in July and August, he cannot go wrong. Nouvelle
and Escuminac, two little rivers on the Canada side, are
famous for the size and quality of their trout. The trout
iishing in the latter stream in the month of July is
about the best I know of anyw here. This sti'eam, flowing
from the snow-clad Shicksliock mountains, is icy cold and
as clear as crystal. Civilized trout would object to rise
at a fly under these conditions, but in Escuminac they are
no< .V, tidious. On one occasion I counted from the bank
sixiiii: lying together behind a little rock; I caught them
all one after the other, and was then giving up, when my
Indian, who had climbed a little tree close by, sung out,
" Try again, more trout come," and sure enough I went
on till ue had two dozen (quite as many as we were able
to carry, as they averaged 3^ lbs.) ; while fresh fisli
seemed immediately to take the place of those that were
hooked. On another occasion, finding no trout in a pool
which I had never before fished without success, I sent
my Indians in their canoe to beat a long shallow reach of
the stream which was overgrown with alder bushes. The
effect of this battue was magical ; in ten minutes my pool
was full of fish, and, what is more, tliey took the fly as if
uothing had happened. On tlie New Brunswick side there
is another very good little river, called the Charlo, where
I have had good trout and grilse fishing, with an occa-
sional salmon.

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BAT OF CEALEUIi.

On the Canadian side of the river, opposite Canipbelton,
is Bourdo Point, the scene of a oom) at between the French
and English. liOokii?!^ up-stieam from here, the Ecsti-
gouche presents the appearance of a lahe walled in on all
sides by mountains. Below, on two opposite points, may
be seen the villages of Campbelton and the Mission ; the
former overtopped by the sui;ar-loaf, while in the distance
the waters of the bay stretch away towards the Blue
Mountains of Gaspe. Near here is the commencement of
an old military road leading to Quebec, called the Kempt
Road, after a British general of that name. It is merely
a track, but until quite recently the mails were carried
this way to Quebec, on horseback in summer, and by
dog sled in winter.

8ome time since a Californian miner, who happened to
be passing through this " portage" road, found indications
of gold ; and having purchased the contiguous land, he
brought his family with him, and built a house. He pro-
cured the assistance of an Indian, and for three years
these two men dug persevci'ingly, but with no result. At
last means of subsistence failed, and the Californian died
in want, believing to the last that his house was built ou
gold. I had the curiosity to visit the scene of the poor
fellow's labours, a f?0 mile ride fi'om Bourdo through the
wilderness. It is a wild and dreary place ; the house is
in a Viilley on a little river, shut in by great hills, which
were then covered from top to bottom with bluebcries.
Through the blueberry bushes giant boulders protrude,
and charred rampikes bristle. What a place for a man to
live and die in ! But where will men not go for gold ? I
procured specimens of the quartz, which abounds in great
quantities, and submitted them to a mineralogist, who,

TJIE MWMACS.

215

though unable to find any trace of gohl, pronounced it to be
gold-bearing quartz. The Kempt Koad in the fall is worth
a visit by the s])()rtsman, as partridges are very plentiful,
and bears are often met with feeding on the blueberries.

The Micmacs, a branch of the great Iroquois nation,
are the aboriginal inhabitants of this country. When
Jacques Cartier visited the Baie des Chaleurs in 1034, he
was charmed with the friendly conduct, hospitality, and
politeness of these people, who says one of the party, " in
one of their boats came unto us, and brought us pieces of
seals ready sodden, putting them on pieces of wood ; then
retiring themselves, they would make signs unto us, that
they did give them to us." This tribe being an essentially
canoe-going people have always lived near the sea-shore,
their villages generally being built on the mouths of large
rivers. The network of lakes and rivers which intersects
the large tract of country drained by the liestigouche and
its tributariet', is peculiarly favourable to their mode of life.
As appears from the passage I have quoted, they were never
a ferocious people, thoug'a undoubtedly valiant warriors.
They were perhaps the laost formidable of the tribes who
contended with the fi^'rce iMohawk. In 1639 there was a
great war between the tribes, and a bloody battle was
fought about that time at the mouth of the liestigouche.
It does not need a ^strong effort of the imagination to picture
one of these combats. The season is summer, the time
midnight. The IMicmacs are asleep in their village at the
Flat Lands. A hundred IMohawk conoet., each one con-
taining four warriors, are floating noiseless down the rapid
Rostigouche. No splash can be heard, no paddle touches
the bark, and the gurgling of tl:e stream is the only sound
that breaks the stillness of the night. These canoes have

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24G

BAY OF CHALEUR.

i 11

been "portaged" from the St. Lawrence into the St. John,
from thenco into the Restigouche ; and now thirsting for
blood and plunder the Moliawk nears his foe. He sees
the camp fires, and the canoes are noiselessly beached in a
seclnded inlet. Four hundred warriors, with mocassiued
tread and ready tomahawk, creep stealthily towards the
wigwams. Then the quiet night is startled by the shrieks
and groans of the dying, and the dreaded war-cry of the
Mohawk rings througli the forest. Viwt the surprise is
not always so successful, and then the denonmeni of
the tragedy is somewhat different. Perhaps a Micmac
scout has discovered the invader, while yet he is far
off, and paddling down the river for love of life and
tribe has given the alarm. The sturdy IMicmac does not
quail ; the women and cliildren are packed off to the
woods; sentries aie posted to give timely notice of the
approach of the enemy. The fires are kept burning, but
the wigwams are deserted. The good spirit of the
Micmac is invoked with hurried rites, knives are
sharpened, tomahawks ground, and arrow-heads fitted.
The foe lands and steals on the village. He sees the
ruse, but too late ; a shower of flint-headed arrows are
poured into his ranks, and on all sides the I\Iicmae war-
whoop r< sounds. Many an invader falls, bnt the remnant
cut then way to their fleet. Woe! The canoes are gone,
and far oft" in the darkness is heard the mocking laughter
of the IVlicmac squaws. So witli back to the river which
is to be his grave, and with face to the foe, the gallant
Mohawk sells his scalp as dearly as he may.

Before their conversion by the Jesuits, the Micmacshad
ranch the same beliefs and superstitions as the other tribes

THE MI CM ACS.

24-;

of North America. Tims they believed in a good spirit
and an evil spirit — beings of supernatural powers, — the
former of whom made all that is good, such as life, fine
weather, corn, moose, salmon, Arc. The latter made
everything bad, such as death, storms, disease, and hurtful
animals (amongst which they probably included the
Mohawks). They lived on fish, game, and berries, whicli
latter were dried and eaten as bread. 'J'hey clothed them-
selves with furs and the skins of tlie moos(; and the cariboo,
which wlien dressed by the squaws were as pliable and
soft as cloth. Before the coming of the white man these
people probably led a happy and contented existence.
They had food in abundance, and if the winters were cold,
the supply of firewood was inexhaustible.

The largest village of the JMicmacs is at Mission Point, an
Indian reserve, where there are upwards of two hundred
families. They have a chapel, a schoolhouse, and a store.
Each man pays !|2 per annum to the priest, and this money
is, I think, fairly earned, for tlieir priest looks after their in-
terests, settles their disputes, and is of much service to them
temporally as well as spiritually. Their dwellings vary from
the bark wigwam up to the one-and-a-half story shingled
house. Some of tliem are very neat and comfortable, and
the crucifix suspended over each bedstead shows that they
are good Roman Catholics. There is certainly something
in that religion which causes it to be more acceptable to
a semi-barbarous people, than the bald worship of many
other Christian denominations. The Indians are very par-
ticular about keeping all fasts, feasts, and holidays, which
they spend in fiddling, dancing, loafing, and drinking rum.
St. Aniie IS their patron saint, and her day is the greatest

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BAY OF CnALEVn.

event of the year. The Mission is decorated with spniee
boughs, particularly the chapel, which is really very taste-
fully ornamented. After service St. Anne's bones are
carried about in a birch-bark box, followed by every man,
woman, and child in the ]\rission in their gayest costumes.
The procession is enlivened by a hurdy-gurdy, a couple of
fiddles, and an incessant discharge of musketry, for every
man and boy carries his firelock on his shoulder, and burns
his half-pound of powder in honour of his patron saint.
Afterwards they dance, and smoke, and chatter, and enjoy
their festivities more thorougldy, perhaps, than we enjoy
any of our conventional amusements.

These Indians are not decreasing in numbers, but the
admixture of white blood is so great that there are few-
full-blooded Micmacs. Children with blue eyes and light
(mrly hair are not an uncommon sight in their camps.
They are, or were not long ago, divided into two parties,
under the respective leadership of Sam Soap and Peter
Basket. The latter personage, some twenty years ago, went
to London as ambassador from his tribe to Queen Victoria,
to obtain redress for Indian lands that had been appro-
priated by the whites. Being unsuccessful in his mission,
and making some friends in England, who showed him the
Lion, he remained in that country for fifteen years, living
at his ease. But all this time he had a longing for the
Restigouche, for the smoky wigwam, for the salmon spear-
ing, for the hunting, and the freedom of a savage life. So
uncontrollable these feelings grew, that getting a sum of
money from his patrons he started off, and arrived safely
at the well-remembered wigwavvi. The old squaw was en-
gaged at her household duties when her husband entered-

'^V^Hl*

PITER BASKET.

249

She handed him his pipe from the cliimney corner, and as
he puffed in silence, she siiid to their dan<.diter, " Nancy,
here is the okl man come back ^vitli a now hat." A day
or two after l^etor might have been seen in front of his
camp making himself a canoe. This is tlie true history
of Peter Baslcet. Now Sam Soap was tlio interpreter,
and a sly fellow to boot ; and on one occasion, when the
priest told his congregation '* that unless he was better
paid not a soul would ever get out of purgatory," Sam
interpreted into Micmac, adding, "that every one who did
not give interpreter a dollar, would go to hell sure." Peter,
after his travels, knew too much for Sara. So the latter
made a bold move and spread a report that Antichrist had
come into the IMission. There was division among the
Micmacs, half arrayed themselves under Sain, the re-
mainder followed Peter, and the strife was internecine.
The question was, " Is Peter Basket, Peter Basket ; or is
he Antichrist in Peter's form?" I don't know that the
matter is settled yet. Although not involving such large
stakes as the famous Tichborue trial in England, as a
case of identity it is equally interesting. Mrs. Basket
sticks to it that he is he, which is to say the least of it
strong pnmd/ac«e evidence for Peter.

The Indians are always glad to hire with a sportsman ;
they are ready, willing, hard-working fellows ; know
every inch of the country, and generally do their best to
show their employers sport. On these occasions, so far
from being taciturn, they are just the reverse, and sitting
over the camp fire at night they spin many queer old
yarns. The following is a specimen of one of their legends,
which, however, loses much in my language. Here it is :

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250

HAT OF CTTAIEUR.

Tlie Story of the Loon.

"It was wurtimo \vitli tlie IMoliiiwk. Tlie loaves bad
fallen, the beavor bad iinisbod tbcir lodj^es, and tlie geese
were assembling togetber for tbeir fligbt to tbe south,
when a eanoe was seen approaebing. It was paddled by
one man, a stranger, bis name was Nic-ca-boc-oa-lic, and
be came from tbe east, but no one knew more than that.
He was a mighty hunter and a great warrior, and a
scourge to tbe Mohawk. But at last Nie. (as we will call
him for shortness) was taken prisoner by a war-party of
twelve Mohawks, who were folhjwed by a dog. So pleased
were they with their prize, that it was determined to take
him to the Mohawk country and dispose of him at their
leisure. But Nie. made the winter come, and the llesti-
gouebe froze over, so that tbeir canoes Avere useless. Then
they tried to walk, but Nie. made the snow fall deep, and
that too was impossible. Then they were in danger of
starvation and tried to catch beaver, but all tbeir efforts
were in vain, as these animals bad retired to winter-
quarters. But Nie. said if they would follow him he
would show them how to catch beaver. So, they con-
senting, he took them to a lake and cut twelve holes in the
ice with a tomahawk, and at each one he posted a Mohawk
with a spear, and arranged them in such a way that each
man was hid from bis fellows. Tlien Nie. commenced
with tbe last man and said, " Jeuem look down your hole,
perhaps beaver come ;" and when the Mohawk did as he
was told, Nie. came behind him and shoved him under
the ice. He took the same course with each of the
twelve, till at last only the dog was left, and he, poor

THE MI CM ACS.

251

quadruped, kopt running from one liolo to nnotlicr,
howling pitoously. So Nic. chungt'd him into a loon,
and ho Hew to the south. Nic. himself disappeared, and
was never seen again, but the loon returns every spring
to the Bay of Chaleur, and swimming round and round
the shores, never ceases to cry for his lost masters."

The Canadian Government, as a rule, treat the Indian
tribes within tlie Dominion liberally and well, but I think
they have been rather hard upon the poor Miemaos of the
liestigouche. They have not prevented greedy settlers
from robbing them of their land, and latterly they have
prohibited them from spearing salmon. For hundreds, or
perhaps thousands, of years, these Indians have lived upon
the salmon in summer, and if it was thought advisable in
the interests of the fisheries to prohibit spearing alto-
gether, the Government should have given them some
equivalent. What they did give them was one net which
brings in about a dollar per annum to each family. When
the spearing was put an end to, the Indians were told
that large numbers of anglers would visit the Bay of
Chaleur, and employ them at high wages, besides giving
them the salmon they caught. '!liis would be tiie case
if the rivers were open, but under the present system of
leasing them, not one Indian in a hundred is employed,
and I am told that some lessees endeavour to recoup
themselves for the rent by salting and carrying off the
salmon. The laws are enforced against the Indian, but
not against the white man ; the former requires a torch
which makes him conspicuous, the latter uses his net
quietly but effectually in the dark.

The people one meets in Eestigouche add to the enjoy-

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J) A Y OF CHALEUIi.

ment of the j^^ice. Tlefresliing as dew to the tliirsty
herb, as sleep to tlie tired, as pale ale to the thirsty
man, is it to find a spot in this world where men are
not striving fnriously after money, where natnre is not
destroyed by mills and stores, a place that neither changes
for better nor for worse. What effect the Intercolonial
will work, I do not know, but at present such a place is
Kestigouclie — charming liestigonche, where you get better
value for a little "chumming" and handshaking than for
dollars. But the traveller must not be in a hurry at
liestigouohe, or he will be likely to lose his temper, per-
haps his mind. Time is not mcjney in this peaceful spot ;
he will do well to float along quietly with the tide, and
enjoy life. Tlie mail driver will stop for an hour on the
road to have a friendly chat with the driver of your
" express." Kemonstrance is unavailing. The ferryman
is perhaps lending a hand on an unmanageable raft of
timber, for no Ivestigouche man will see another Kesti-
gouche man stuck if he can help it, and unless you can
ferry yourself across the river you may camp on the bank
till furtiier orders. Expostulation is useless, and haste is
worse than useless : you may jnst do in Restigouche as
Restigouche does. It is different from the rest of the
continent, and suits an idler to perfection.

In the rivers and lakes that flow into the Bay of
Chaleur there are at least five different species of the
Salmoniclas.

1. The American salmon (Salmo solar) is allowed
by naturalists to be identical witli the European fish,
although its habits are slightly modified by different
conditions of climate, &c. In the Bay of Chaleur salmon

SALMOXIDyE.

253

commence to run into the rivers about the 1st of June.
Tlie first fish taken in the nets are medium sized, viz.
about 12 or 14 lbs. These are merely skirmishers, and
are not taken in numbers. Next comes — commencing
from June 7 to June 15 — the main army. In the Resti-
gouche and Cascapediac these fish average over 20 lbs.
For two or three days together I have known the average
size taken in a net, to be as high as 25 lbs., and^running
up to 40 and even 50 lbs. As the season advances the fish
get smaller, with an occasional monster. The grilse com-
mence to run about July 20, and run all August. It is a
remarkable thing that in rivers such as the llestigouche
and Metapedia, where the adult salmon are particularly
large, the grilse are very small, viz. averaging about 3 lbs.,
and I have taken them as low as 1 lb. Salmon spawn in
Canada somewhat earlier than they do at home. In
Ireland, where I have had ample opportunities of noticing
their habits, I have seldom seen them on the rood much
before Christmas. In Restigouche I have killed a gravid
fish on the 1st of September, and in October most of them
are on the rood. Nature teaches them that the seasons
here are shorter. In Canadian rivers, if they put off
rooding till December, the action of the ice on the shal-
low spawning beds would make rooding impossible. Many
kelts — probably all the June run — return to the sea in
Nuvember, or just before the ice makes ; the remainder
return in April, May, or on the break-up of the ice. Some
fish only spawn every second year. I base this assertion
upon the fact that I have killed female kelts in the
Restigouche as late as the month of August; these fish had
probably spawned late in the season of the preceding year,

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BAY OF CIIALEUR.

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and would most certainly not have been in condition to
spawn again before the following year.

2. Salmo trutta, which is, I think, identical with the
British sea trout. In the Bay of Chaleur the sea trout
follow the smelts into the mouths of the rivers in the
month of May, and remain in the tideways of the rivers
for a considerable time swimming backwards and forwards
with the tides, and feeding on smelts. They can then
be taken with the bait, but will not as a rule rise at the
fly. Off' the wharfs at Dalhousie and Campbelton, and
about the head of the tide in the Kestigouche river, the
boys of the country make immense bags of these beautiful
fish, which average about 2 lbs. and run as high as 8 lbs.
The next time we see the S. trutia is far up the rivers,
generally at the mouth of cold streams, where they lie iu
the months of July and August for the sake of coolness.
The colder the water the more they seem to like it, and in
this respect they differ from the S. solar, which seems
to prefer a moderate temperature. Although an odd sea
trout may be taken now and then by the salmon fisher iu
the lower portions of the rivers, they seem to make little
stay after they leave the tideway till they have pushed
right up to the mouth of the little rivers in which they
mean to spawn. At the mouth of Tracey's Brook on the
Ilestigouche, and at Assamaquagan, Amquag, and other
streams on the Metapedia, they take the fly voraciously
about the 1st of August.

3. There is another migratory trout which I have else-
where alluded to, but which I regret to say my ignorance
of natural history prevents my describing so that it can
be identified. I have met with it in the rivers Nouvelle

SALMONIDJE,

255

and Escuminac ; also, I think, on the extreme liead waters
of the Miramichi. Its average size is larger tlian the
S. trutta, its colour deeper, and the spots more clearly-
defined, and its habits seem identical with those of the
S. salar.

4. The tooladi (8. confinis) I have only seen in the
Metapedia lake. It is very like the great lake trout of
Scotland and Ireland. It is a non-migratory fish, though
in the Metapedia there is no obstruction. It is coarse
eating, and gives no sport to the angler, though it attains
an immense size. I am told by the Indians that they
have speared them as high as 30 lbs.

5. The brook trout {S. Fontinalis). In its habits, food,
and other particulars there are some remarkable points of
difference between this fish and its British congener. In
winter they leave the rapid rivers and move eitlier to the
tideways or to lakes and deep holes. At the mouth of the
Restigouche they are caught in large numbers and of
considerable size, through holes in the ice, in the months
of February and March ; and indeed at all seasons of the
year the brook trout are to be caught in the tideways of
the Bay of Chaleur rivers. I have noticed the same in
Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. Here they
acquire that silvery hue which in the old country we
associate with the S. trutta. Nor is the resemblance
between tlie two species confined to colour alone, for the
good feeding they get in the tideways tends to build them
up in shape like the sea trout, and even to make the flesh
more firm and pink than in brook trout in general. The
American brook trout is a more voracious and indiscrimi-
nate feeder than his Britisli congener. I luive cauofht them

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256

BAr OF CIIALEUR.

continually with mire and moles in their stomachs. They
are cannibals also, for when pulling in a little fellow,
about 5 inches lon«r, in the Causapsacol, it was seized by a
monster about 5 lbs. weight. In fact, they cat anything
and everything, pork, beef, partridge, tish, mice ; nothing
comes amiss. I have made my biggest bags en a worn-
out old salmon fly, with a junk of pork attached, a bait
somewhat resembling the " chicken and ham for one " of
the restaurant. Again, the British brook trout, as a rule,
leaves the lakes and spawns in the brooks. The Canadian
brook trout adopts just the opposite course ; he leaves the
brooks, which become jammed up with ice in the winter,
and runs down to the lakes. In the shallow sandy edges of
the lakes in the end of October and 1st of November I
have seen large shoals of spawning fish, many of them
with their backs out of water. This is harvest ti:ne for
the otter, the kingfisher, and the Canada jay. In the
Nepisiguit the brook trout is gravid about September 20,
and on the rood early in October. The hauls of brook trout
that can be made on the Bay of Chaleur rivers and lakes
passes all belief. At a deep hole in the Upper Nepisiguit,
called the Devil's Elbow, an American made a bet that he
could catch 400 lbs. weight in one day with hook and line,
and won his bet. It is remarkable how the colouring of the
trout is adapted to the colour uf the water they frequent.
A brown-coloured fish would be a conspicuous object in
the beautifully clear water of the liestigouche, so we find
the trout in it pure silver. Again, a silvery fish would be
a very conspicuous object, and would therefore run in-
creased risks of capture in the darker coloured lakes and
streams in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where we

FROZEN FISn.

257

accordingly find them brown or red, as tlie case may be.
Even in two different branches of the same river, one
dark the other clear, we find the trout shaded exactly to
suit the water.

I do not know what the trout and other fish in the
lakes get to eat in winter when they are frozmi up ; they
must, of course, prey U})on each other's fry to a con-
siderable extent; but all their supply of worms, grubs,
Hies, insects, &e., is cut off. I have observed that fish
in winter always miike for an open spot in the ice,
probably for the sake of light. Thoy certaiidy come
to the fisherman when he cuts a little hole in the ice.
Near the head waters of Salmon river, a tributary of the
St. John, I saw a very odd winter's sight. When cariboo
hunting, in mid-winter, I came on a little lake in the
woods, in which, whether caused by a hot spring or from
some other reason, there was a large circular basin of open
water in the centre. On the ice round the edges of this
basin, and in it, there were great numbers of dead fish,
perch, trout, sunfish, &c., &c., on which owls, frxes, mink,
and the ubiquitous meat-bird {Garrulus Canadensis) were
living. The latter bird we saw eating fish, the presence
of the others we saw by the tracks. The question arose,
what had killed all these fish ? As it was near evening
we determined to camp on the lake. About sundown I
noticed that the waters suddenly became troubled, dozens
of little fish sprang out of the water, and some of them
fell on the ice, and were immediately frozen stiff. But
what caused them to do so? This was soon explained.
Presently an otter put up his head in the basin, and I
put a bullet through it. On fishing him out I found that

'''''■^•'■l|lt'

258

DAY OF CIIALHUR.

be had a steel trap attached to his hind lej?. The poor
fellow liad evidently carried it about with him for a con-
siderable time. Finding a lot of fish congrej^ated together
in this open place he had taken up his abode near it, and
when he wanted a meal had only to show himself to
create a panic and cause the foolish little fishes to jump
on the ice, where they became an easy prey to him.

The facilities for canoeing are unrivalled in and around
the Bay of Chaleur ; the whole of this part of New Bruns-
wick and Lower Canada is one great network of lakes
and rivers. A canoe can go from the head waters of the
liestigouche, with a very short " portage " of a mile or so,
into the head waters of the 8t. John. Again, back from
there up the Tobiquc and down the Nepisiguit to the bay
again. From the head of Upsalquitch a very short
" portage " takes one into tbe Nepisiguit. Up thesv3 rivers
the lumberers and the trappers take tlieir provisions in the
fall of the year, towing them against the stream in scows,
to which horses are harnessed at the end of a long line,
canal fashion ; only with this difference, that there is no
road for the horses, who are generally in the water, some-
times even swimming ; and that instead of a smooth canal,
raging torrents have to be stemmed.

Hardly has the ice vanished in the spring when the
rivers and lakes teem with canoes of many different
shapes and patterns, from the log propelled with con-
siderable skill and much noise by two stalwart red-
shirted lumbermen, to the handy little Indian bark
paddled smoothly, gracefully, and noiselessly by the
red man and his helpmate. The lumber is now runuiug

<;!

CAXOA'JXd.

259

down the rivors; countless floating lo^^'s testify that the
axe lias not been idle during the past winter.

The rivers at this season are swollen by the melting ol
the snow, and to navigate them requires the greatest skill
on the part of the canoe-men. An upset at this season is a
serious matter. In these desperate torrents and in the
treacherous undertow of the edtlies the strongest swimmer
is baffled. One of the best swimmers I ever met, when
stream driving, lost his balance and fell off a floating log
into an eddy at the edge of the river. He tuld me that
for several seconds after he fell in he tried his best to
reach the surface, but without success. He thought it was
all up with him ; but with great presence of mind gave \\\i
wasting his strength in fighting against the undertow, and
tried to crawl along the bottom. This tactic succeeded ;
he got out of the influence of the eddy into the strong
torrent of the stream, when he immediately rose to tha
surface, and although almost exhausted, managed to
paddle to the opposite bank of the river.

It sometimes happens that a caiioeless trapper finds him-
self in a situation where some craft is absolutely necessary
to transport his goods to market. He may be unable to
build a birch canoe, or unwilling to waste the time.
What is to be done ? Well, that depends upon circum-
stances. If he is provided with moose or cariboo hides,
he can in a very short time extemporise a skiff after th(3
fashion of the old coracle ; or, in spring time, his easiest
method is to peel a large sheet of spruce bark, sew up
and gum the ends, chop a rude paddle, and then and there
embark with his peltry.

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260

SAY OF CTTALEUn.

Given an axe, and the old backwoodsman is never at a
loss for a ship. His last resource is a catamaran — not
a luxurious craft, it is true, but beautiful from its sim-
plicity. Two dry lt)gs of crpial lenj^th, laid parallel to
each other, and about 18 inches apart, are securely joined
at both ends by stout crossbars. Over these a few slabs
are laid as a deck or seat. Individually I object to cata-
marans, my experience of them being anything but
pleasing. It happened on one occasion that I had been
watching beaver in a brook, and having delayed too long,
[ only just managed at nightfall, on my homeward tracks,
to reach the bank of a big river, on which, but some miles
lower down, was my camp. There was no moon, and to
walk any farther in the dark, hampered as I was with two
beaver, was impossible, so I lit a fire with the intention of
remaining where I was till morning. Whilst collecting
wood for the night I chanced upon an old catamaran,
which caused me to change my mind, and, lashing my
gun and beaver to it, I started homewards. For the first
mile or so I poked cautiously along close to the bank;
but by-and-by, wnxing bolder, I launched into the centre
of the stream, and floated down gaily at the rate of 7 or
8 miles an hour. All of a sudden, over the wash and
surging of the river, I heard a suspicious noise as of a
waterfall right ahead. In vain I tried to stop my craft —
the stream was too strong; and through the darkness
I could perceive white water in front of me. In a
moment the foremost end of my catamaran shot over
a sheer pitch of about 2 feet, and the hinder end, on
which I stood, striking against the ledge, I was shot
head foremost over my unmanageable charger's head. It

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CAN OKI NO.

261

seemed as if the plunge was likely to lluisli mo; but after
a few kicks I canio to llio surface, and the catamaran just
at tlie same instant coming nearly over me, I was luckily
able to seize it, and resume my journey down the rapids,
which I passed without another upset.

i '

CIIArTEIl X.

TIIF, FORESTS OF CANADA.

JiiMTisii Noitli America contains probably tlio larp:ost
and the most valuable forests in the world. Notwith-
standinf]; the enormous quantity ot" timber tliat is exported
yearly and manulaetured at home, notwithstiindinij the
millions of trees annually used for fuel, and the yet
greater numbcn-s that arc each year wantonly wasted and
destroyed, the forests still seem to bo perfectly inex-
haustible. From the head of the Ottawa westward, the
traveller can go for days, for weeks, or even for months,
through the virgin forest. Each year, however, the
lumberer has to ])ush a little farther back. The value
of the lumber annually exported is about $.'30,000,000.
In preparing this for market thousands of men and
horses are emidoyed, at wages running from $10 ]ier
month per man, up to $30 for skilled hands, and $20 or
.$30 for a pair of horses, with food in all cases both for
man and horse.

One has to push very far back indeed into the woods to
get beyond the traces of the lumbermen. Like the other
tree-chopping animal of the country, the beaver, he leaves
his mark wherever he goes. He requires no railways nor
turnpike roads. Wherever in the forest there is a stream
w ith water in it enough to float a stick of timber, there
will his tracks be found. He makes his home in the

Li'MIiKlilSa.

2<J3

woods \vli(?u first the snow fulls, jiiid romaiiiR tlioro till
tlni s{)riii<^ ; tlicn ho j^oos down the; rivers with tiic lo'js,
uiid tor a brie;!' jx-riod tho towns are inundatcMl witli thcso
sailors of the r()r(!st. Tlu^v work in mint's of from six or
('i;;ht men np to twenty. Tlicy build lo^' camps for them-
selves and for their iiorses, and make their own roads
Each camp has a main or '* |)orta;j;e " road, leading to the
nearest settlement or tuinpikf^ road, which is sometimes
QS much as 50, 60, or 100 miles distant. Along this n>ad
their provisions are *' portaged." This alene , ives work
to one team when the gang is large and the distance
great. Flour, pork, tea, and molasses fc • i the staph .i of
their di-t. They breakfast before daybreak. ■ ine about
ten or eleven, have a "bite" at two or three, supper at
.six, and a '' luneh " bel'ore they go to sleep — not bad
living ; and at any hour of the day or night that u
stranger happens to visit them, on goes the kotth? and
frying-pan, and he is treated to the best they have got.
Their hospitality is unbounded, sometimes ombarrtissing.
Once or twice, when I have been travelling in the lumber
woods, I have had occasion to call in at eight or ten camps
in the course of the dav, and at everv one of them I have
been compelled to stop for a dinner, a lunch, or bite. In
a camp of twenty men the division of labour is as follows :
the "boss" {Anglice, ''skipper"); the cook, who has no
sinecure ; the teamster and the teamster's assistant, com-
monly called the " teamster's divil " — they look after the
horses, and haul the logs from the stump to the river
bank with their teams; five broad-axemen, who square
the logs; the "head swamper," i.e. engineer and road-
maker, and six assistants ; and four " fallers " (of trees).

i|tj

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2G4

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

Their wages vary from $10 to $30 a month, with food ;
the cook, teamster, and broad-axemen receiving the highest
rates. These wages, when looked into, are not as high
as they appear at first sight. Very often but a small
amount of their winter's wages is paid in cash ; the
balance is taken out in goods, clothes, &c., from the
shop or "store" of their employers. The horses are
hard worked, and fed chiefly on oats, hay being diflScult
to carry; they do not last long in the lumber woods.
The logs have often to be hauled a distance of 3 or 4
miles to the river or brook. The amount of flour and
pork consumed in the lutnber woods is prodigious. Five
men in one month get through two barrels of flour and
one of pork. Supposing no other kind of food, that is the
minimum allowance ; and experience has proved that
these are the articles of food best suited to the climate.
Lumberers look down upon moose and cariboo meat, and
will not touch beaver or rabbit. As for tea, no working
man in Canada ever thinks he has had a " square " meal
without it.

The camps are generally situated in hardwood land,
near a brook or river. They are built of spruce logs,
well padded with moss, and roofed with cedar or pine
splits. The hearth is in the centre of the camp, with a
bench or " deacon seat " on each side of the lire. Back
of this are the beds, made of fir boughs, constantly re-
newed. The stables or hovels are close to the camps,
and are made in the same manner, but of course without
the fireplace, and with a loft for hay overhead. Neither
horses nor men ever suffer from cold in the lumber
woods; there is no wind, and the deep snow banked

LUMBERERS.

up round the camps and hovels adds greatly to the
warmth.

To move the great j)ine trees from the stump to the
river, often a distance of some miles, strong heavy liorses
are required. In the lumber woods horses are bought
and sold by the pound, like beef. This amuses an old-
country man at first, but he will soon find that there is
some sense in this arrangement. He will find that a
horse which scales more than he is calculated to do from
eye measurement is invariably a good one ; whilst the one
that weighs less than might be calculated from the size of
his frame is invariably a bad one. The horse that weighs
well always girths well, and vice versa. The following is
a specimen of horsey conversation in the lumber woods :

First Lumber Boss (admiringly) : " That's quite a horse
of yours."

Second Lumber Boss : '* Yas, he is con-siderable of a
colt."

First Lumber Boss (interrogatively) : " Guess he'll
weigh twelve hundred ? "

Second Lumber Boss : " Wal, if he don't weigh twelve
hundred all out, I guess he'll pinch it up pretty snug."

Chorus of Lumber Bosses : " A bul-ly colt, yes, sir ! "

A lumberers' race is a thing to be seen. It is not quite
like an Ascot meeting, nor a grand military. It has a
special identity of its own. Course, a hauling road some
4 feet wide in the forest, a 5-foot wall of snow on either
side. The two horses starting for the race are ridden by
their respective teamsters, who have " gambled " at least a
month's wages on their favourites. The men of two camps
assembled to witness the race, back their respective team-

i;pi| ;

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1 {

2G6

THE FOUESTS OF CANADA.

sters, ami stand to lose or win various stakes, from a gallon
of rum to a montli's wages on the event. So fur, tliougli
the course is a singular one, we have only the common
features of all horse-racing. Now we come to the special
peculiarity. The rival steeds, instead of standing neck and
neck eager for the start, stand tail to tail in the narrow
wood road ; i. e. Tom, the favourite of " Salmon brook,"
looks towards the north, whilst Bob, the champion of
" Trout crik," apathetically faces the south ; and, stranger
still, they are harnessed together with chain traces. One,
two, three, and they are off! well, no, not quite off, but
they are hanging on the traces. The forest rings with the
whoops of the excited partisans, with the cracking of the
teamsters' whips, and numerous quaint oaths and ejacula-
tions. For a few excitin"; moments the horses tuj; and
strain, when Bob, getting a good purchase in the well-
beaten snow with his hind legs forges a k^ngth ahead, and
the champion of " Salmon brook " goes stern foremost into
the snow bank and is almost lost to sight. He of " Trout
crik " is the heavier animal, bets are lost and paid, and no
indignant British householder writes to the ' Times ' to com-
plain of the " demoralization " attendant upon horse-racing.
The " freshet-time " is the most critical period of the
year to the lumberman. If the snow thaws very rapidly,
and the freshet rises to an unusual height, his logs are
scattered over the meadows and intervales, and collecting
them is a great labour. Each log and stick of timber is
marked with the private mark of the owner. They all
float down the stream together, but are claimed and sorted
out at the rafting grounds. Here booms are stretched
across the river to collect the lumber, M'hich is made into

ting
[v is

all
Hed

led
Into

LUMBEIilNCr.

2G7

rafts, and either floated down by tlie stream or towed by
steam tug down to the sea. Tlie rivers in Canada have a
lively appearance in the months of May and June ; hardly
has the last of the ice disappeared when the logs commence
to run. From daybreak in the morning until dark the
stream drivei's are at w^ork, some in the water, some walking
on the slippery floating logs as only a lumberman can,
others paddling about in their canoes, pushing off their logs
from the bank, guiding tliem through the broken water,
and finally making them into rafts. This is a period of very
hard and severe work for the men, who are highly paid, and
of great anxiety to the lumberer. A sudden fall of water,
an error in judgment in neglecting to seize the proper
moment to launch his logs into the river, or a wiint of
hands to help him, may be the means of leaving his logs
high and dry on the shore, and of keeping him out of his
hardlv-earned monev for a twelvemonth.

If a log could speak it would tell of many an hour's
hard toil spent on it from the day it was first marked for
cutting in the heart of the forest to the day it was sliipped
at Quebec. It would also bear testimony to the honesty
of the Canadian people. The lumber is cast away in all
sorts of strange places by the freshet, in meadows, in fields,
in creeks, and gullies far from the banks of the river,
where it lies sometimes for months unsought and un- ♦
claimed, but rarely if ever is a stick of timber stolen in
Canada.

Only the square timber is exported, the logs are manu-
factured at home. A first-rate sawmill at work is one of
the sights best worth seeing in Canada. The timber is
drawn by machinery out of the water into one end of the

1 i
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268

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

mill, ripped up by the saws and passed out at the other
end in planks or boards, or some other shape. Nothing is
wasted but the sawdust. One saw takes oif the slabs and
squares the stick. Then the great gang-saw, that gives the
idea of resistless power, slices up the square part into
boards, while the circular saws whizzing round with im-
mense velocity rip up the slabs into laths or some small
sort of board. The sawmills at Ottawa are situated just
at the foot of the falls of the Ottawa river, and even in
the hottest weather the air is cooled by the spray of the
waterfall. Unquestionably this is one of the finest " mill
privileges" in the world. IMany of these sawmills are
very complete and well-managed establishments. Being
frequently situated in remote and rather inaccessible
places, they have to contain within themselves everything
necessary to carry on the business. Stores of provisions,
shops, accommodation for workmen, for tradesmen, for
managers. Then besides the sawmill there is in all pro-
bability a great lumbering business to be looked after, and
most likely the proprietor has a thousand men in the
woods and a couple of hundred horses all employed in
providing food for the devouring insatiable saws. It must
take a good head to run a sawmill such as Mr. Gibson's
on the Nashwaak in New Brunswick, or Mr. Price's on
* the Saguenay, where sea-going vessels lie alongside the
mill and take in the deals direct from the saws.

Lumbering presents no attraction to the immigrant from
the Old World, for a long education is required to make
him an adept in the use of the axe. On the other hand, lum-
bering is the favourite winter occupation of the native-born
Canadian, who, like the typical animal of his country, loves

LUMBEBTNO.

269

to chop the trees of the forest. And there is undoubtedly
some irresistible charm in forest life, which, when a man
has once tasted, leads him back to it winter after winter
and year after year. Wages are good in the woods, and
so is the living, and although the hours are long and
the work hard, the ambition of the Canadian in the
back settlements is to put in his winters in the lumber
woods. None but good men are employed, and lumbering
thus becomes a regular trade or handicraft, and is placed
out of the reach of the immigrant, who can no more com-
pete with the trained lumberman than he can with skilled
workmen in any other trade with which he is unacquainted.
But although immigrants cannot be recommended to go
into the woods, they benefit indirectly from the lumber-
ing; they can fill the places in the farmyards or elsewhere
vacated by the lumbermen.

I do not know where a better exhibition of strength and
skill and manly vigour can be seen than in the woods of
Canada. The lumberers are the pick of a tall, strong, and
hardy race of people. Their physique is admirable. It
is a pleasure to watch two or four (as the case may be) of
these fine fellows felling a pine tree. Their wedge-shaped
axes at the end of 3-foot handles swung far back over
their h^ads descend in perfect regularity one after the
other, just on the spot to within one hair-breadth of
where the blow is aimed, llapidly fly the chips, and the
great pine tree shivers to its very summit, and presently
with a thundering crash falls on the very spot it was
meant to fall.

The forests of Canada are the more valuable, on account
of the scarcity of timber in the United States. In those

i:i

'fit

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' 'mm\k3LJl

270

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

states which are naturally adapted to the growth of timber,
such as New York and New Eugland, the old fori.'sts have
been long since cut down, and \\ill probably never have a
chance of springing \\\) again, as these states are the
most thickly populated parts of the Union. Then again
that immense region lying between the ]\Iississippi and the
Rocky IMountains is positively treeless, excei)t along the
margins of a few of the streams. Two things are neces-
sary to the growth of forest trees, viz. a certain degree of
summer heat and plenty of moisture. The latter condition
they cannot get in the western states, where the evaporation
is more than double the rainfall. Given a certain degree
of summer heat, say from GO' to 70'^, with plenty of mois-
ture, and the most valuable timber trees will grow to per-
fection, and will stand almost any degree of winter cold.
In Canada the melting snow nourishes the roots, while the
hot sunshine playing on the foliage draws up the stems
straight and branchless to a great height. In the pine
forests it is not unusual to see trees 6 feet in diameter at
the butt, and straight as an arrow, growing to the height
of 100 feet without limb or fork.

Nature's rotation of crops in the forest is an interesting
study. Where a deciduous forest has been cut down or
destroyed by fire, spruce and fir trees rapidly si)ring up.
Where a pine forest has been destroyed by fire, blue-
berries and raspberries grow in immense profusion for the
two or three subsequent seasons ; then cherry, white
birch, maple, and popple (American poplar) commence
to make their appearance, shoot up with surprising rapi-
dity, and soon a forest of deciduous trees occupies the site
of the ancient pine forests of the country, relics of which

HOT ATI ON OF CHOPS IN THE FOREST. 271

maybe soon in the gigantic half-charred steins, thoroughly-
dried by firo and weather, which remain standing amongst
tlie young green wood for twenty or thirty years. These
immense trunks, standing high over the heads of the
young forest trees with uplifted arms, and stems blanched
white .with successive storms and sunshine, look like the
ghosts of the forest primeval, and present a weird and
rather melancholy appearance.

In Lower Canada and the maritime provinces spruce and
fir are the weeds of the country. They seem to spring up
everywhere and under any circumstances. They grow
equally well in the open or under the shade of larger trees.
The latter has often surprised me, knowing the difficulty
that is experienced in getting undor-cover to grow in
English woods. On land that has been left in pasture for
a few years, the weeds that grow up, and warn the farmer
that his land is ready for the plough, are spruce and tir trees.
In rocky districts of the lower St. Lawrence and of Nova
Scotia, of the Thousand Islands and of the Laurentian
j\[ountains, wherever there is a crack in a rock large
enough to hold a thimbleful of soil, there one may see a
little spruce or fir tree.

Walking in the woods brings more of the muscles into play
than road walking, and what with stepping over this wind-
fall and stooping under that one, it is no doubt fatiguing
work ; but it is a very different 'and a much pleasanter
sort of fatigue than that caused by road tramping.
A little rest makes the latter grow or increase, whilst
the fatigue caused by walking in the woods, though more
distressing at first, vanishes after a short rest, and leaves
no trace behind ; in fact, if one may compare oneself to a

»' i
" I *

4 M 'J ' ^

■I?

1-f«

: •: 1 ,i

272

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

horse, it is like a sharp canter over turf compared with a
long jog on tlie liard road. Let a man start at 6 a.m. and
do his eiglit miles in a bee line through the woods before
raid-day (very good walking), he will feel thoroughly and
completely gruolled after his six hours' hard work, more
so than after twenty miles on a hard road. In the former
case an hour's rest, a feed, and a pipe will enable him to
perform the same distsince in the ai'ternoon without any
distress ; whereas in the latter case, after an equal rest,
he will, unless in first-rato condition, feel stiff and sore,
and unable to retrace liis stops.

The worst woods to walk in are those that have been
burnt some years before ; then one has not only the burnt
stumps, rampikesi, and windfalls to contend against, but
also a thick matted second growth.

Fires only run through the woods when very dry
weather occurs in the late foil and early spring times.
The snow is an effectual damper in winter, as is the young
vegetation in summer. The effect of these fires on the
general features of the country is not at all pleasing. I
know nothing more dreary than a long drive through burnt
lands, and nothing dirtier than a walk through them.
The loss of valuable lumber, firewood, &c., is incalculable,
as is the destruction of fur and feather. Extensive fires
affect to a certain extent not only the climate, but also
the crops, of a large district of contiguous country. The
atmosphere becomes oppressive, and the sun is often
obscured for days together. They are caused by the
carelessness of the back settlers when clearing their land,
and more often are the work of the " stream drivers "
{Anglice, lumbermen employed in driving logs of timber

THE MlRAMICm FIRE.

273

down the rivers and streams). Tliese men are, by the
nature of their work, compelled to camp in a different
pUice every night during the "freshet time," i.e. in the
spring, when tires are most likely to run ; and wlien
starting in the morning, they often neglect to put out
their fires.

In New Brunswick the settlers calculate events and
reckon time from a great fire, well known there as " the
Jliramichi fire," whicli occurred, I tliink, in. 1825. This
fire swept over most of the north of the province, causing
much loss of life and property. Such was the fury of the
conflagration that the IMiramichi river, nearly a mile in
width, w'as not a sufficient barrier to arrest the flames,
which crossed over in the neighbourhood of Chatham.
The destruction of animal life was appalling. Moose left
New Brunswick about this time, and went to Nova Scotia ;
and I have no doubt that their departure may be attri-
buted to the Miramichi fire. Beaver and other fur suffered
severely. Tlie fish, I am told, perished in tlie shallower
streams and lakes from the intense heat. Four or five
years ago, traces of this destructive fire, in the shape of
huge burnt upstanding rampikes, could be seen in tlie
devastated district, and probably remain there to this day.
A man cruising in the woods ought never to be without
a pocket compass. AVithout one, in dull, overcast weather
the best woodsman cannot keep a straight line. The
tendency on these occasions is to walk in circles. It is
very annoying, but by no means unusual, to find oneself
after two hours' hard walking at the exact spot one started
from. Indeed, I have completed my circle in half an hour
when lost in the woods without a compass. I have re-

t «

' ■ ^' 'I '

^ !■;

iii

1 i
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274

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

marked, too, that I almost iuvariably trend to the right,
not to the left , and, on comparing notes with otlier " bush
whackers," I find that I am not singular in this respect.
Can it bo that the left is generally the better leg of the
two, and takes imperceptibly the longer stride ? The
wind is a capricious guide to the lost woodsman, and the
trees are not to be dei)ended upon, although in exposed
situations six out of seven incline to the eastward, owing
to the prevalence of westerly weather. There is no time
when one is so likely to get lost as when hunting freslj
tracks. The attention is so much absorbed by the sport,
that a man is particularly liable to lose his reckoning, and
to find himself at sundown far from his camping ground.
On these occasions it is the better plan to make oneself as
comfortable as possible for the night, for when darkness
sets in walking is simply impossible, and ordinarily it is
no great hardship to pass a night in the woods. A man
should never be without matches, and firewood can always
be procured. When matches are lost or wet, a little bit
of the lining of a coat or of a pocket-handkerchief, rubbed
with powder and fired out of a gun into a dry, rotten
stump, forms a substitute. Without means of kindling a
fire it is a serious matter to be lost in the woods, and I am
thankful to say I have never been in that difficulty. Old
lumber roads are most mischievous, and, when lost, it is
better to have nothing to say to them ; they twist about
in every direction, and after following one for a couple of
miles it is heartbreaking to find that it leads to an old
pine stump, and there ends.

The idea that Indians never get lost in the woods is
erroneous. No man in the world without the aid of a

FOREST TREES.

275

compass can keep a straight line through strange woods
on a dull, foggy day ; but Indians can walk straighter
than white men under tlieso circumstances, and are, more-
over, wonderfully quick at seeing and deciphering old
marks on trees, and in finding and following old paths,
tracks, or blazed roads. A good Indian, too, will recognize
any place that he has ever seen before, whereas a muff
may circumnavigate the same hundred acres of wood all
day long, and be under the pleasing delusion that he is
getting many miles ahead. When all the woods seem
alike to the novice, the Indian will discriminate between
this hill and that hill, between this brook, swamp, «>r
thicket, and others almost exactly resembling them.
Lumberers are not so good in this respect as one might
suppose. Although they spend one-half of their Hfe in
the woods, they seldom leave the neighbourhood of their
camps and roads ; and when they do so, they blaze lines on
the trees. In hunting strange ground, it is advisable to have
a straight road, river, lake, or barren as a starting point.

There are between sixty and seventy different kinds of
wood in the Canadian forest. The following is a list of
some of the most common and most useful species.

Coniferoi.

White or Prince's pine {Finns Strohus). This is tlie
pine of the lumber markets. It grows everywhere in
Canada, but owing to its value the best pine has been
long since cut away in the more accessible portions of the
Dominion. Most of the lumber that now finds its way to
other countries, comes from the heads of those great
rivers that flow into the St. Lawrence from the northward,

i 1
ill

\ k

276

THE FOUKSTS OF CANADA.

8U('h as the Ottawa and its tribiitarios. Tlio best of tlio
l)iiie is 8(|nar(Ml in tho woods, and exported in that shape
under the niinio of " square timber." The snuiller frees
are merely cut in h'n<;tlis, and eaUed lop;s ; they are jj^i^ne-
rally nianufaetured in tlio sawmills into deals. This tree
is the most viduable of Canadian timber. It finds its way
into every carpenterin;j^ establishment in Great Britain,
is easily wrouj^ht, durable, and free from knots. The best
sliin*^les for roofin<jj purposes are made out of split pine,
and the log canoes used by the lumberers are hewn out of
pine trees.

There are two other pines in the Canadian forest, the
yellow pine (P. mitis) and the red pine? (P. resinosa).
The latter is the most resinous of the fir tribe, and is
consequently very durable, the resin acting like paint in
preserving the timber from decay. Neither of these trees
are much lumbered at present, owing to the 8U[)erior si/e
and excellence of the white i)ine. The old roots and
knots of the red pine, which ai'e of great weight and com-
pletely saturated with resin, are called " pitch-pino " ;
they burn liercely, give a brilliant light, and are much
used for torches.

The hemlock {Abies Canadensis). This tree grows to a
great size, second only to the white pine among the
Coniferte. Although considered an inferior wood for
general purposes, and not known in the himber markets,
it is a valuable tree. In the first place the bark, which is
thick and heavy, forms the chief ingredient used by the
tanner in preparing hides. It is collected in great quan-
tities by the back settlers, hauled into market when
sleighing is good, and sold like firewood by the " cord "

t of tlio

it HluilHi

x)V troos
re p;ono-
'his troo
? its way
Britiiin,
Uho best
[)lit pino,
^vn out of

brest, tho
reslnosa).
)e, and is
paint in
hese trees
perior sizo
roots and

and eoni-
|eh-pinG " ;

are nuicli

Igrows to a
lmon<jr the

FOnfCSr TL'KES.

277

measuro. Tlie timber, thouf^li soft and inferior for •general
eari)enterin_u; pur|)osos, is tho most (hnablo of all \vt)0(l
when iinmersi'd in water; it is therefore used in buildinf^
wiiarfs. Jlendoelv {^em-rally ^rows on un(lulatin<; hind,
niix(;d up with birch, bcceli, maph', and other iiard wood;
and th(; sctth'r looks u[)on it as an indication of «^ood soil.
There are two sjieeies of spruce in tiie Canadian forest,
tho white spruce (A. alba) and tho blaelc {A. nigra) ; also
a variety of tho lattiM*, calliMl by tho Indians "skunk
s[)ru(.'e," from its smell. The spruce is excellent wood,
and grows i'l iinniense ipiantities all over Catuula. It
constitutes tne main arti(do of hunber in certain districts
out of which the pine has all been culled. The lumberers
raft it dt)wn to tho sawmills in logs, where it is manu-
factured into deals, boards, cla})-boards for walls of houses,
laths, and twenty other things. The black spruce grows
on rough and rocky places, and is in general a mark of
bad or indifferent land ; the white spruce grows mixed up
with hardwood and pine on a better description of land.
The bark of the white spruce can be peeled off in the
month of June with the greatest ease, and is used by
the back settlers for roofing barns and shanties. The
sportsman camping out in tho summer knows the valuf3
of this bark in wet weather. From the young twigs of
the black spruce spruce-beer is made, an abominable
concoction, said however to be wholesome. The roots of
this species are tough and supple ; they make excellent
ties, and arc used by the Indians for sewing their bark
canoes. Spruce sparks and crackles too much for fire-
wood, but it answers very well in close stoves.

The tamarac, called also hachmatao and juniper

.i|

I-

278

THE FOBESTS OF CANADA.

{Larix A.). A deciduous tree, almost identical witli
the EnglisJi larch. It grows in clumps in low-lying
giound, generally in the vicinity of lakes swamps and
heaver meadows. It indicates inferior land. A very
hard, durable, resinous, and valuable timber; in great
demand for ship timbers, knees, and so on. It also
makes admirable railway sleepers. When dry it is
(•a[»ital firewood. Pendent from the boughs of this tree
and of the black spruce hangs in festoons the moss on
which the cariboo feed in winter. It comes next to cedar
for I'encing purposes, and the young trees run up straight
and free from knots, and make the toughest of poles for
canoeing and other purposes.

The fir [Abies halsamea), called " var " by the settler, is
a pretty tree, but the wood is not much valued. In fact,
C'anada is so rich in valuable woods, and there are so
many kinds to choose from, that Canadians can afford to
be particular and only use the best ; however, it is used
for making tuK-J, butter dishes, milkpails, and so on; it is
a soft, easily-worked wood, and tasteless. The fir, as we
have seen before, grows everywhere, sometimes in clumps
by itself, more often mixed with spruce and hardwood.
It grows very rapidly, but does not attain a great age.
Fir trees left in isolated positions by themselves generally
blow down or decay. The smell of this tree is delicious ;
it scents the forest. The tender boughs form the most
elastic, fragrant, and sleep-provoking of couches for the
camper-out ; and the balsam, which is found in large
bubbles under the bark, is the best and quickest cure that
I know of for cuts, scratches, and bruises, and it possesses
the great advantage of being always at hand when re-

FOREST TREES.

279

quired iu the woods. Of tLe sixty or seventy varieties of
trees in the Cnnadian forest, there is not one without its
use ; it may be said of tliem in the words of the Psalmist,
" In wisdom liast Thou made them all."

The cedar, or arbor vita) {Thuja occidentalh) is the most
remariv'able wood in the Canadian forest, the most useful
one to tlie settler, and, next to the white birch, the most
valuable to the Indian and the backwoodsman. It grows
generally in wet places and on the banks of lakes and
rivers, and is by no means a sign of bad land. There
are hundreds of square miles of cedar forests in Lower
Canada and New Brunswick, but, strange to say, it does
not grow in Nova Scotia. This is the lightest and the
most durable of Canadian woods. A bridge made of it
lasts for fifty years without repairs, and a fence for seventy
or eiglity. Cedar, exposed to the air and clear of the
f^Tound, as fence rails, actually wears out before it rots.
It is largely used for making shingles ; also for telegraph-
posts, gate-posts, sills of houses, &c., &c. I think if ita
wonderful durability were better known in England it
would be largely imported. A good woodman can split a
cedar log into boards of a uniform size, using no tool but
Ills axe. It is very useful in the ba'^kwoods for roofing
sheds, barns, and camps. The bark peels off in long
strips, and when green is as tough as leather, and makes
excellent ropes. The cedar is a very pretty tree, and
grows to a large size. I have seen it in the Bay of
Chaleur from 3 to 4 feet in diameter at the butt. The
scent of the timber is delicious.

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280

THE FOP.FSTS OF CAXADA.

Betulacex.

Black birch {B. lento) grows in dry undulating land,
and is a very common forest tree in Lower Canada and
the maritime provinces. It indicates good soil, and is
generally found in company with the yellow birch, with
the maple, tlie beech, the hemlock, or the pine. It is
valuable, but owing to its great weight, hard to bring to
market. Birch timber will not float down the streams
when green, and consequently has to be cut a year before
it is rafted. The wood is dark in colour, pretty in the
grain, and much used for furniture. It is used to make
keels for wooden ships, and for other purposes in ship-
building and machinery, where strength, hardness, and
durability are required. A great deal of birch timber is
exported to Europe ; it makes capital fuel.

Yellow birch [B. exceha). This is like the black birch,
both in foliage and quality of timber, but smaller. It is
abundant in Canada, and is chiefly used for flrewood.
When bled in the spring the sap makes good vinegar.

AVhite birch {B. alba). The general character of a
North American forest is dark and sombre, but wherever
this tree occurs it helps to light it up. Its tall, graceful
stem of pure white forms a charming contrast to the
spruce and other trees it grows amongst. It is very
hardy, and is found the farthest north of the deciduous
trees. The wood is inferior, and not much used even for
fuel ; but the bark is a treasure to the Indian and the
backwoodsman. The former makes his canoe of birch
bark, his wigwam, his troughs for holding water and
collecting the sap of the sugar maple, his torches for
spearing fish, and the numerous little ornamental wares

FOVEf^T TJiEh'S.

281

he brings into market. Formerly the squaws cooked their
food in bark cauldrons, in which water was brought to the
boiling point by putting in a series of red-hot stones.
The back settler uses birch bark for roofing purposes, and
it is highly prized in house-building ; a layer of bark
under the clajvboards makes a very warm and comfort-
able house. The Indian wigwams, made entirely of birch
bark, are perfectly tight in all weathers, aud very warm.
But perhaps it is in kindling fires and making torches
that birch bark is most valuable. Without bark it is
very hard to kindle a fire in the woods in wet weather ;
bat the bark is always dry and always inflammable.
Often and often the backwoodsman would have to spend
the nii!;ht in the woods were it not for the birch-bark torch
which serves to light him home to his camp. Out of it he
makes his plates and his drinking cups, even his spoons.

Aceriness.

Two of these trees are very common all over Canada,
the rock maple {Acer saccharinum), and the white
maple (A. dasycarpum). These are the most beautiful
trees in the Canadian forest. Their tall rugged trunks
tire crowned with a mass of ^oliage, beautiful in summer,
but doubly beautiful when turned by the early frosts
of the fall into twenty gorgeous colours and shades
of colours. ]\ry pen is quite unable to describe the
beauties of the Canadian forest at this season of the
year. No painter has ever done justice to it. The rock
maple is a very tough, close-grained, and hard wood. It
is highly prized for axe handles, sleigh runners, shafts,
poles, machinery, and any purpose for which strength and
elasticit) are required. The bird's-eye maple that we see

y- I

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282

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

in furniture and ornaments is meiely a variety of the rock
maple, so is tlie curly maple. The woodsman never knows
before he strikes liis axe into the tree whether it is bird's-
eye, curly, or plain.

The rock maple is the tree from which the maple sugar
is made. Early in the month of April, in Lower Canada,
when the snow is still deep in the wood, the habitants, the
Indians, and many of the back settlers hie into their sugar
camps ; sometimes accompanied by their wives and fiiini-
lies, who enjoy the picnic immensely. The sugar-maker
provides himself with a large quantity of birch-bark
sheets in the summer, which he makes up into troughs
or pails to hold the sap. Some hundreds of these are re-
quired in a large sugarie. The maple tree is tapped by
cutting the letter V in the bark. At the angle a little
peg of wood is stuck in, to act as a spout, and convey the
sap into the trough which is placed below it. A good tree
will yield 3 gallons of this sap in the day. The sap only
runs in warm sunny days after frosty nights ; 4 gallons of
this sap are required to make 1 lb. of sugar. It is boiled
down in a cauldron over a hot fire until the syrup on
being dropped into the snow turns hard. When it is
sufficiently boiled it is strained through a blanket (let us
hope a clean one), and poured into bark dishes, when it
soon hardens. The boiling and straining is the work of
the women ; the men are kept very busy in attending to
the trees and collecting the sap. One man will some-
times tap two or three hundred trees. An Indian, with
his wife and little child, can make COO lbs. of maple
sugar in one spring. A very good maple tree in one
season will yield 8 lbs. of sugar. Some springs the sap

FOnEST TnEES.

283

runs better than others. Stranj^e to say, this great deple-
tion — 8 lbs. of sugar represents about 32 gallons of sap —
does not seem to hurt the tree, which is tapped season
after season without any bad result to its health. The
average run of large trees is about 20 gallons in the season.
The stranger is astonished to see this very ornamental
and useful timber used as firewood, llock maple is the
best of fuel, and constitutes the staple firing of Lower
Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Hundreds of
thousands of trees are burned every winter. IMany thou-
sand stoves in Lower Canada alone glow all winter with
red-hot maple brands, and yet they make no perceptible
difference in the maple forests. With fair play the maple
and the other valuable woods in the Canadian forests will
sufHce not only to warm and to shelter many generations
of Canadians yet unborn, but also to adorn and beautify
their country for ages to come. Detestable forest fires,
the result of gross carelessness, do more harm to the
forests in twelve hours than all the stoves in Canada do in
a year. The rock maple indicates good dry soil, and is
generally found growing with beech, black birch, and
white maple. The white maple is an equally ornamental
tree, but the wood is inferior both as timber and as fuel.
There are also two or three other varieties of the maple,
one of which, A. Fennsijhanicum, is the favourite food of

the moose.

Ciqmliferfe.

The white oak (Quercus alba) occurs here and there
in the lower provinces, but is abundant in Canada West.
It is a large and valuable tree, indicating the best quality
of land. The wood is made into staves, and used for

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284

THE FOBKSTS OF CAXADA.

carriage building and other purposes. The bark is used
in the tanneries. Tiie swamp oak (Q. prinus), a variety
of tlie above, so called from its growing in swampy places,
is also an excellent and very tough wood. The red oak
{Q. rubra) is a somewhat inferior wood to both of these.

The beech {Fagm sylvestris) is common all over Canada,
and is generally found in company with the maple and
the birch. It is a hard and excellent timber, but not
much lumbered. Together with maple and birch it is cut
up in 4-foot lengths, split, and piled in little heaps 8 feet
long by 4 every other way. In this shape it is called
cordwood, and is sold as fuel. The winter beech is a
varietv so called from its retaining; the dead leaves all
winter. It is a small tree, but the wood is much valued
for axe handles and agricultural implements.

The chestnut {Castanea vesca). This tree grows only in
Canada West. Tiie wood is light and durable. It is
very like our own chestnut, if not identical ; the nuts are
much alike.

The hornboan (Ostrrja Virginica) is one of the hardest
of Canadian woods. It is a small-sized tree ; the wood is
used by carriage builders.

Oleacem.

White ash (Fraxinus Americana) grows in low land.
A very tough and flexible wood, of closer grain than the
English ash. It is found all over Canada ; used by carriage
makers, barrel makers, &c., &c. It is the most flexible of
Canadian woods, and is used for making hoops, also by
the Indians for making snow-shoe bows.

Black ash {F. sambucifolia) grows in swamps. It is

FOREST TREES.

285

chiefly used by the Indians for basket making. A tree
is cut down, and after having been macerated in water it ij
beaten with the poll of an axe until the wood peels off in
narrow ribbons, which tlie Indians dye and weave into
baskets. Ash trees of both kinds indicate a poor soil.

ZJlmaceie,

The white elm {Ulmus Americana), a magnificent tree,
that grows in rich intervale lands, generally near the banks
of rivers or creeks.

The rock elm (JJJmus raccmosa) grows chiefly in
Canada West, in the same sort of land as the foregoing.
Both these elms are very valuable wood.

TiUaeex.

Basswood {Tilia Americana). A very soft wood, some-
thing like our sycamore ; useful for turning and carving ;
also used in furniture and machinery.

Salicacese.

The American poplar, aspen, or popple (Pojmlm ire-
muloides). This tree is commonly found occupying the
place of the old pine forests that have been destroyed by
tire. It is a very soft wood, of not much value. The
halm - of -G Head is a variety of the above. The seed
coverings of this tree are a sort of down or cotton, which
falls in the summer like snow. •

Juylandacem. (Not found in the northern forests.)

The black walnut {Juglans nigra) grows only in Canada
West. A very valuable wood, used chiefly by furniture

iW i

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286

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

makers ; also makes stocks of guns, &c. Well known in
this country.

Butternut {Juglans cinerea). This is an inferior species
of walnut, the wood is ligliter in colour and more open in
the grain, but makes very pretty furniture. The nuts are
like walnuts in shape, only much harder in the shell and
the fruit more oily, not unlike tlio Brazil nuts in flavour.
A very pretty tree ; grows in poorer soil than the walnut.

The hickory {Carya alba) is the heaviest of all Canadian
woods. Used for tool handles, carriage spokes and shafts,
fishing rods, tfec, &c. There are two varieties of this tree,
the rough bark and smooth bark. Grows only in Canada
West. The nuts of the rough-barked variety are very
good eating.

Anacardiaceoe,

Sumac (Rhus typhina). A small and very pretty tree
that grows chiefly in succession to the first forest crop.
Indicates bad land. The wood is of a yellow colour, and
used for furniture and dyes. The bark is valuable for
tanning purposes. The seed is contained in large crimson
pods, which makes the tree very gay in the fall of the
year. The sumac is a very pretty ornamental tree, and
grows freely when transplanted.

AmygdaUfe,

There are three cherries, of which the red cherry {Cerasiis
Penneylvanica) and the choke cherry (C. Virginiana) are
the most common. The former is one of the first trees
that springs up on burnt land in succession to the pine
and spruce. In some districts in the early summer whole

r¥TTi-»'iirrfi» THiM" irf illMt— >«

FOREST TREES.

287

tracts are white with the blossom of the red cherry. The
fruit is not good. The black cherry (C serotina) is a
larger tree, aud the wood is of some value, also the fruit.
It only grows in Canada West. The choke cherry, so
called from the fruit, which is such a strong astringent as
almost to choke the eater. This pretty shrub grows in
the outskirts of the forest.

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CIIAPTEll XI.

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WINTER.

Old-country people are often positively frif»htene(l from
emigrntiiif^ to Canada by stories they heiir of the rigour of
the Canadian winters. It appears to them that their own
winters are quite severe enough, and tliat a climate, where
ice is measured by feet instead of by inches, and where
snow covers the land for months instead of for days,
must be unbearable. The Canadian winter is undoubtedly
too hmg ; were it two months shorter, the Canadian
climate would be one of the pleasantest as it is already
one of the healthiest in the world. Five months of
winter is somewhat monotonous, but where shall we find
a climate that is perfect? Certaiidy not at home. As
regards severity, those who have some experience of
both climates are not dismayed at low temperatures, in
fact actual cold as indicated bv the thermometer, when
unaccompanied by wind or dampness, is positively enjoy-
able. A March east wind in England is infinitely more
trying and more chilling than 30 degrees of frost in
Canada. Quite as much clothing is required at home
as in Canada, for damp cold is more searching than
dry cold. In Canadian winter weather there is no damp,
no wet feet, consequently colds are less prevalent than
with us. The Englishman's idea of snow is that of a
wet sticky substance, in fact, 7 inches of it make 1 inch
of water. Canadian snow is as light as feathers, — it takes

CAXADIAN nOUsK.'^.

280

18 iiK'lios of it to niako 1 I'lU'li of water, and it shakes
off' tiie clothes like dust, loaviiij]^ thein perfectly dry. I
have often and often in the extreme depth of winter slept
iu the forest rolled up in an ordinary blanket, with my
feet to the fire, and no covering of any sort over my head.
Tliis I have done and seen others do hundreds of times
witliout any bad result, but I confess I should not like to
try it at home.

As regards indoor life in Canada people there suffer
much less from cold than we do at h(jme. I cannot imagine
anything more thoroughly uncomfurtable than the ordinary
English house on a cold winter's day. Windy halls and
passages, drafty rooms, and the fire heat all going up the
chimneys ; the inmates hanging over the hearth with one
side warm and the other cold, coughing, sneezing, blowing
their noses, rubbing their hands, and evincing distress in
various other ways. There is none of this in Canada. We
have much to learn from the Canadians in the art of house-
warming both as regards public buildings and private
residences. Indeed Canadians often go a little too far in
the opposite extreme, and instead of an even tempera-
ture of 60 they keep the steam up to 70 in their houses,
which I believe is injurious to their health. Sitting in one
of these warm rooms in the depth of winter, with the bright
suu shining through the windows, one can hardly realise
the fact that the mercury is at zero outside. The ordinary
settler's house in Canada is built of wood from top to bottom
with an inner and an outer sheeting of boards, between
which there is a vacant space. Often between the boards
there is a sheeting of birch bark. Frequently a verandah
runs either partly or altogether round the liouse, which

h, I

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290

WTSTim.

has to bo made ciipiiblo of rcsistinf? tlio lu^it of summer as
well as tlio cold of winter. A very conifoittibU! furnier's
house, fitted with double doors and double windows, with
verandah, two sitting rooms, kiti'hen, and four or five bed-
rooms, ean bo run up in a very short time at a cost of
about 3007.

A great drawback to the English climate is its cnpri-

ciousness. The most weatherwise individual, with the aid

of barometer and thermometer, cannot with any degree of

certainty foretell the morrow. Kven on those rare days

when the sun manages to struggle through his watrry

shroud, the jaudent man doesnotdreamof dispensing with

his umbrella. h\ Canada, on the contrary, any observant

person who has studied the subject can count upon the

weather for twenty-four hours. Sudden changes, of course,

<lo occurence in a way, upsetting the calculations of the most

weatherwise ; but they are exceptional. A halo round the

sun or moon almost invariably precedes rain or snow. The

best human judges of the weather are the Indians, for they

not only study the heavens attentively, but also take lessons

from the wild animals ; and in weather-wisdom these exceed

domestic animals as much as the red man exceeds the white

man. When tame geese become restless and take long

noisy flights, we know wliat to expect. Cattle and sheep,

too, at the approach of bad weather, come in for shelter.

Lutchers pretend to foretell the deptli of the snow in the

ensuing winter from some part of the intestines of the pig.

Indians look inside the moose for the same information, and

are also guided by the wild berries in the woods ; M'heu

these are plentiful, it is considered a sign there will be

much snow in the following winter, and vice versa. In a

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country wlioro tlio lanniiif^ soason is ho sliort, jin "()[icn full,"
i.o. a latu wintor, is desired l»y overyone. Natnro uhvays
gives timely warniii'j^ of (ho iipiirouch of winter, and the
close observer is ran'Iy mistaken in his prognostications.

I led a hunt(;r's life in the woods of Upper Canada and
New r>ruuswick for the greater part of two years. On re-
verting to my log book of that ])i'riod, I S(U3 the following-
entry: — "Nov. 5 (18(1.')). Winter to all a[»i)earance ;
3 inches of ice on small lak(;s and ponds; l inches snow on
gronnd ; bnt animals say that winter has not yet set in f(»r
good. Cariboo, hares, and weasels in summer colours;
bears still rambling about; geese not commenced to lly to
the sou'-west in any numbers; and beavers not finished
cutting antl hauling their winter supplies." And sun^
enough the aninuils were right; the weather continued
wintry until the 11th of the month, when snow and ice
vanished, and were succeeded bv another summer of a fort-
night's duration. This Indian summer (so called) d(jes
nut always occur, but when it does it is a boon to every,
one. Having experienced a taste of winter, we ap[)reciate
it all tlie more. Still, mild, hazy weather, it seems as if,
old Winter's iirst attack having been repulsed, he had
been compelled to retire for awhile to get fresh wind for
another assault.

Another curious and, as seen in the woods, very beauti-
ful phenomenon often follows or precedes the Indian sum-
mer. It is called the " silver frost." A flue thick rain,
falling at a temperature of about 33^, freezes the instant
it touches the ground. Once after a silver frost I hap-
pened to visit a tract of country thickly clothed with a
young second-growth of timber ; the sun had just emerged

,,JiJD"a;W"»ll*w«:W:l"""M'^'!"^<!Pl*W«MBB^^i

I ! PI i . .

292

WINTER.

from under the clouds, and the effect was curious. For
acres and acres all around, the young birch and maple
trees, averaging 15 feet or 20 feet in height, were bowed
down until their heads touched the ground ; tiny branches
no thicker than a pocket pencil were bloated to the size of
a man's finger, and the larger ones in like proportions.
Farther advance was out of the question, so I was con-
strained to stop and admire. Everything that met the
eye seemed to be plated with silver nnd festooned with
diamonds.

The ice commences to make in the rivers about the first
week in December. First of all shore-ice forms along the
banks and in those places where there is least current, this
gets broken off piece by piece by the action of the stream,
and for a few days the rivers are choked with lumps of
floating ice which reduce the temperature of the water.
Simultaneously in the shallows a soft spongy ice forms
on the bottom encircling the stones, and this rising to the
surface accumulates in the eddies. This stuff, called
" lolly," serves to check the force of tlie current and make
the stream more torpid. Then the frost which is every
night getting more intense, seals up the floating masses,
and the rivers are bridged for the season, leaving, however,
air-holes (so called) in the rapids, which often remain open
all winter.

Even those animals who do not regularly hybernate
retire to their dens for warmth and shelter in intensely
cold weather, coming out on milder days to take their
pleasure ; but cariboo are exceptions. Always restless,
these hardy animals are doubly so in very cold weather,
and travel about incessantly to keep themselves warm,

I. For

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WINTER NIGHTS.

293

leading the hunter a weary chase. The cock of the woodS)
or the great red-headed woodpecker, hates the cold, and is
never heard or seen in winter, except when a change is
near. If on a winter's day you do hear him giving tongue
— chuckling away hoarsely on the extreme summit of a
giant rampike — no matter iiow fine and bright the day, be
sure tiiat to-morrow it will rain. In the fall of the year
beavers oil themselves at the approach of wet weather;
and the hunters at that season form an opinion as to the
severity of the coming winter by the thickness of the
roofs of these animals' lodges.

As I have remarked elsewhere, actual cold as indicated
by the tliermometer is lightly felt, but a mach less degree
of frost accompanied by a high wind and j^oudre of drift-
ing snow penetrates the warmest clothing, and chills the
wretched wayftirer to the marrow. Such days are for-
tunately few and far between in the interior, owing to the
shelter of the surrounding forests, but of frequent occur-
rence on the more exposed seaboard.

The nights in this country are lighter than in England,
and owing to the clearness of th^ atmosphere, the moon and
stars are much brighter A still, cold Canadian winter's
night is one of the ''Idn;^ > ta ue seen, and to see it to per-
fection one must ^^- in the woods. The stars then tppear
little higher thaa tlu tree-tops, and the flashes of the
aurora borealis in the north are like spectres flitcmg about
in the distance ; t le smooth surface of the snow reflects
the light of the moon and of the stars, so that it is possible
to read small print ; the pilt-nce is most profound, and a
dreamy, drowsy feeling steals over tliewntchev — that feel-
ing which causes the lost Arctic tAav^ilet to he down and

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294

WINTER.

quietly sleep to death. But of a sudden a loud and sharp
report close to his ear rudely wakes him from his reveries.
AVIiat is it — a rifleshot? No: simply a tree cracking with
the frost. What causes these sudden cracks or reports I
do not know. They only occur when the mercury is below
zero, and are evidently not caused by the freezing of the
sap, for in the first place there is little or no sap in the
Avood in winter ; and in the next place I have heard the
same cracks in drv and seasoned timber, as for instance in
walls of a house.

Savage Winter can never lay hands on the migraf^ ry
birds, nor does he ever find Bruin unprepared with a ■■, d,
nor the beaver without a full store of provisions and a frost-
proof roof to his house. Come soon or come j^'te. he will
find the rabbit disguised in a snow-white suit, and the fur-
bearing animals arraved in warm winter-iacl<ets.

A thaw is looked for in Canada about the commence-
ment of the new year. This January thaw only lasts a
couple of days or so, and is often the only one in the
winter. It has its use. The snow lying on the top of the
,. ice is melted, but only to be frozen again, and after this
process it is thoroughly safe for men, horses, and the
heaviest loads during the remainder of the winter.

In many parts of the Dominion the rivers and lakes form
a perfect network, and in summer the voyageur can, with
one or two trifling " portages " of his canoe, traverse the
country from one end to the other by four or five differen'.
routes ; and wherever there is water in summer there is a
good road in winter. Sometimes, in the beginning of
winter, or after a thaw, the lakes and rivers are coated
over with glassy ice ; then teams, with heavy loads and

SKATING.

295

1 sharp
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after this
and the

akes form
can, with
verse the

differen'.
thoro is a
inning of
re coated

load? and

jingling bells, may be seen trotting along merrily, side by
side with skaters and ice-boats.

Canada is j>ay excellence the country for the skater.
Every Ca ladian can skate more or less. The rink is the
great winter amusement, and is to be found in every
Canadian city. In these enormous wooden tents, well-
lighted by day and by night, and fitted with every conve-
nience for the skater, the bands play and the young people
meet to skate, to dance (on skates), to gossip, and amuse
themselves. I am credibly informed that even a little flirt-
ation can be managed on skates. Happy the possessor of a
good foot and ankle, and a neat figure ; these, for the time,
almost throw the pretty faces into the shade. Though, on
the other hand, where does the pretty face look prettier, or
the rosy cheeks more rosy, than on the rink ? Many of
the girls are good and graceful skaters. The boy of the
country is addicted to hockey, and is, I am compelled to
admit, a nuisance to the non-hockey-playing skating
public ; happily, he is excluded from the rink. His chief
victim on the open is the timid, elderly skater, or the
Iv >iner; such a one, on glare ice, surrounded by his tor-
»iicaLor«^ is indeed a pitiable object. I see him now.
i '.e has, in an unlucky moment, shuffled into the centre of
ibft h ckey strife, or, more probably, the strife has, with
lightning-like rapidity, closed around him; and there he
stands, or rather wobbles, despair depicted on his counte-
nance, beating the air with his hands, his body bent to an
angle of forty-five degrees with the ice, with no power in
his legs nor bone in h" '^nkles, whilst his tormentors swoop
and da;.'t around him like so many martins round a sparrow-
lia/ii.

! V i 1

;S 'i "

. h^^f vvruB

i.M

^i''!i'4

St .

jii

296

WINTER

Perhaps it is not gcnpnilly laiown with what easo and
speed journeys can be performed on skat( s. From the
mouth of thi; river St. .Fohn upwards to Fredoricton is
about 80 miles, and skaters frequently aocomph'sli this
distance in the day. I skated 150 miles in two days —
one-half of the distance in rather less than six hours — and
tliat without feeling any fatigue or stiffness in excess of
that felt after a long day's shooting. In one or two
straigi^ reaches of the St. Jolm river a good skater, with
a breP/i. .. is favour, can cover 20 miles in the hour.
Skating at n''^ pace can only be compared to a gallop on
a thorouglibi'ed ; the peculiarly exhilarating feeling that
pace alone can give is here enjoyed to perfection, flavoured
with just a spice of excitement wlien the skater charges a
crack or a bit of shell-ice at this headlong speed. The
skates used for long journeys differ from the ordinary
ones in beinfj much lon<irer and strai<rhter in the iron.
The " Acme," and other patent skates, though convenient
for the rink, are useless for long journeys.

In winter, as we have seen, the rivers and lakes become
the highways of Canada. As every settler owns a pair of
horses, few people are to bo seen walking; for when the
pedestrian is overtaken by a team, he jumps on, whether
invited or not invited by the driver. And this he looks
upon as his right; for a sleigh once in motion on the
ice, a few pounds or a few hundredweights more or less are
but a straw. In the latter part of the winter the ice
measures from 14 inclies to 18 inches in thickness. From
3 to 4 inches of good ice is sufiicient for a pair of horses
and load, and 1 inch, or one night's frost, will safely bear
a man. The skater comes occasionally to patches of

ICE-BOATS.

297

133 and
■om the
icton is
ish this

days —
rs — and
xcess of

or two
;er, witli
he hour.
;allop on
iiiK that
lavonved
harges a
3d. The
ordinary

le iron,
iiveuient

become
a pair of
hen the
whether
ne looks
on the
r le^s are
the ice
s. From

f horses
fely hear

tches of

clear, black, oily-looking ice, miles in extent, through
whic'li he can see every pebble in the bottom of the river.
As he skims along, youths dart out from pockets in the
bank, accompany him a short way, pirouetting around
him, and tlien tly off again as rapidly as they appeared.
Men fishing through holes in the ice, for a hideous but
excellent fish called the cusk {Lota maculosa), are occa-
sionally passed.

Ice-boat sailing is a very cold amusement, but I cannot
say that it is a slow one. In fact, with the single excep-
tion of an express train, I know nothing can equal ice-
sailing in pace. On one occasion I sailed 20 measured
miles in thirty-one minutes, and I believe that even
better time has been made. The ice-boat generally used
in Canada is a very simple construction. It is simply a
triangular platform on three skates, the one at the apex
of the triangle being rigged on a pivot, so as to form the
rudder. The mast is stepped in the bow of the craft —
the base of the triangle. The rig is usually one leg-of-
mutton sail. In beating, the ice-boat goes as close to the
wind as any cutter, and inakes i)ositively no lee-way. It
loses no time in stays, going about so rapidly that one
has hard work to hold on. In running free on good ice
the ice-boat goes at the same pace the wind is going at.
The best ice-boat sailing is generally after the January
thaw above alluded to. In the smaller lakes of Canada,
in the bays and arms of Ontario and the other great lakes,
and also on all the large rivers, there is ample scope for
ice-boat sailing for those who like pace and do not mind
the cold.

I happened to be staying for a few days in a pretty

vt-

11 1»

Wli

298

WINTER.

village on tlie northern shore of New Brunswick, called

IJathurst, a great resort of anglers in summer, who are

attracted there from great distances by that prettiest of

salmon rivers, the Nepisiguit. At the time I am speaking

of tlie ice was strong, but rougli. .1 wanted to go to the

head of the bay, a distance of 3 or 4 miles, but was rather

nervous about the air-holes (spots that never bridge over

in rapid rivers and tidal waters). As I was picking my

way cautiously througli the rough ice, I came upon a

small French boy steering in my direction, and followed

him. TTe was a diminutive youth, with a shock head and

fur cup, homespun shirt and trousers, the latter immense,

probably an old pair of papa's ; they served this little

man lur coat, waistcoat, and continuations, the ends being

tucked under his boots, and the upper part tied over his

shoulders with a bit of tape. I thought at the time he

was the best skater in the world. He was rolling along

on the outside edge, one arm plunged into the paternal

pocket, the other employed carrying a crooked stick as

long as himself. He saw I was following him, and a nice

dance the urchin led me. On smootli ice I could keep up

to him ; on rough ice I was nowhere. The young wretch

soon perceived this, and took advantage of it. Fancy a

river with a strong stream and strong breeze meeting it,

frozen over instantaneously, and you may form some idea

of the places this youth piloted me over. He never fell,

nor even made a false step. Now and then, when he

> happened upon a bit of smooth ice and I was a long way

behind, he would perform some fantastic feats for my

edification. Once we passed a whole lot of boys playing

hockey. I cannot do justice to the conduct of my little

FISHING Tnnovan the ice.

290

friend ; lie scented tlie battle from afar. The pluck he
showed was admirable. Putting the crooked end of his
stick to the ice, and seizing it with both hands, he bent
down till nothing was visible to me but a small pair of
skates supporting an enormous pair of pants ; then, with
a little shout, he plunged into the thickest of the fray.
In less time than it takes to relate he was out again at
the other side of the crowd, zigzaging like a jack snipe,
shoving the ball before him, and pursued by at least
twenty youths. They could not touch him. He did just
what he liked with the ball ; three or four of thom lay
sprawling on the ice. He paused a second, struck the
ball in one direction, and himself darted off in another,
just looking round at me, as much as to say " Come on ; "
and on I went, but not sure whether I was following a boy
or a merman on skates, or a watery Will-o'-the-AA'isp, or
Fome other species of ice-fiend. But what is that ahead
on the ice ? A lot of spruce bushes. Ha ! now I am sure
that my guide is an uncanny thing ; he has suddenly dis-
appeared. No doubt he is taking a turn under the ice,
by way of change.

But I must just go and see what the bushes are doing
on the ice. There were six of them all in a row, at inter-
vals of about 6 feet, and they were simply sheds or little
camps to shelter from the cutting wind six individuals
who were fishing most assiduously through as many holes
in the ice. It was plainly a family party — father, mother,
three girls, and a boy ; and, by all that's wonderful, the
boy is my little iriend. Mamma sat on a three-legged
stool in the centre of the family group, and the ice around
her was covered with frozen tommy-cods. That woman

5 "' <'ii

!■ I

■A

. 1 i.i

Sill

r/fi

—sp,-

300

WINTER.

must have been the best tommy-cod lisliorwoman in the
world.

If a cynical an«jflcr remarks, " But what art is there in
catching fish through a little hole in the ice with a yard
of string, a hook baited with lish, and G inches of stick
as a handle?" I miglit re[)ly by asserting that, with
similar apparatus and a fair start, that woman will catch
four tommies to his one ; for so skilled was that female
angler, that she never tlrovo the hook any harder into a
fish's mouth than was just necessary to lift him gently
out of the water and deposit him on the ice, where, after
a few wriggles, he was frozen stitt'. Surely that female
had a light and sure hand on a tommy-cod !

She had a basket full when I came. They all had
baskets full, but the ice round the old lady's stool was, as
I said before, strewed with fish. The governor sat on a
trebogen, brought there no doubt to haul home the fish ;
the children sat on lumps of ice. My small friend had, I
thiuk, been getting a scolding for neglecting his business
— I imagine so from his behaviour — when I took six
tommy-cods out of his basket, and gave him in return the
large sum of sixpence. He stood up the easier to deposit
the coin in his trousers' pocket, and gave a triumphant
look at mamma (who had narrowly watched this little
mercantile transaction), as much as to say, " You can
catch 'em, but I am the boy to sell them."

On my remarking to the governor that the fish seemed

<5. very plentiful, he replied tliat they had not commenced

to bite well yet; that the water was not cold enough.

" Well," thought I, " fond as I am of ' casting angles into

EEL SFEAL'fXa.

301

the brook,' I don't think I should care about tommy-cod
fishing on a regular good fishing day."

Bidding adieu to tliis interesting grou[), I made my way
towards another figure that I observed in the distance,
apparently churning ; but on approaching closer I found
that he, too, was a fisherman. His appliances were an
ice-chisel and a four-pronged barbed spear, with a 2U-foot
handle. With the latter he was dilii,'ently prodding the
mud through a hole in the ice, now bringing up an eel
on the point of his spear, now a stick ; and the ice around
him for many yards was covered with eels in three different
stages of preservation, viz. some alive and wriggling
briskly along, some frozen as hard as sticks, and some
half-frozen half-wriggling. I thought it was the most
wonderful take of eels I had ever seen ; but this fisher-
man complained bitterly of his luck. Formerly, he said,
he could spear two hundred or three hundred through
the same hole ; now he had to cut a dozen holes to catch
the same number. It seems that some new settlers came
to Bathurst, who fished on Sundays, and fought for the
best places. Since this unseemly work commenced the
eels had gone somewhere else. I need not say that the
discovery of this amiable trait in the character of the eel
afibrded me, as a naturalist, the greatest satisfaction, and
I pursued my way rejoicing.

In sortie Canadian rivers large quantities of bass are
taken in scoop-nets through the ice. In the Miramichi
alone, I am informed that over 100 tons of these fish
have been taken in a winter. Smelts, a most delicious
little fish, are taken in great numbers at the mouth of

: .5 I •

■ i'm \

I -n

■> m

1 .

. .- L-

ill

l\\

302

WlNTEn.

every LvodIc. Brook ti-out take the bait voracionsly in
the fresh water; and sea trout, sometimes attaining to the
weight of 8 lbs., are taken in the mouths of the larger
rivers ; so that there is no time of tlie year, ^\ inter or
summer, in which Canadians are not supplied with fresh
fish. Salmon (kelts) are sometimes caught by the trout-
fishers; but the most extraordinary feat in fisliing that
has over been heard of by me was performed by a youth,
at the foot of the river Restigouche. Fishing for tommy-
cods through the ice, he felt a tremendous pull ; fortu-
nately his tackle was equal to the oceas;ion, and, hand
over hand, the lucky fisherman hauled out a fresh-run
20-lb. salmon. Think of that, ye scientific anglers !
What an ignoble end for such a noble fish ! But this is
an extremely interesting fact for those interested in the
natural history of the salmon, as it goes far to prove that
a run of fish come into the mouths of the rivers along with
the sea trout, and long before the ice breaks up.

About Cliristmas, perhaps a week earlier or a week
later, everything is covered with a soft mantle of snow.
At no time does the forest look more beautiful than after
the first fall of snow. Light as down and in the smallest
of flakes the snow lodges in feathery masses on the foliage
of the spruce, the fir, and the pine. The beams of the
sun have no power to thaw it, they can only make it shine
and glisten. The roads are now beaten as smooth as a
croquet ground, and the driving becomes brisk. Of all
the institutions peculiar to the country there is none
pleasanter than the sleighing party. The horses are fast,
the roads smooth, the bells ring merrily, the air is sharp
and bracing, and nestled in warm furs, nowhere else do

TRAnOCt ENINCI. SNO W-STIOKING.

303

the fair ones look more bloomiiif^. The slcij,^hing party
generally drives to au '* eight " or a " teii-iiiih) house "
wlicre ten, itc, is ready for them. Or p(;rhaps they have
a dance, and drive home by moonlight, the latter part of
the proceeding, when the right people manage to get
together, being by no means the least i)leasaut part of the
programme. Another winter's amnsemont, viz. " trabo-
gening" is also peculiar to Canada. For this four items
are requisite, viz. a trabogen, a steep hill, a young
gentleman, and a young lady. Contrary to etiquette in
other matters the gentleman sits with his back to the
lady in the front or bow of the trabogen, holding on with
his hands and steering with his feet. As he cannot hold
on to his vehicle and hold his partner too, she is compelled
to hold on to him. The sensation is curious but pleasant,
and the pace is great ; but like every other pleasure it
has its drawback — in this case a literal one.

When the snow gets deep, although the roads are beaten
smooth and hard, one cannot walk in the woods or the
fields without snow shoes. Snow-shoeing is very hard
and laborious worlc immediately after a heavy fall of
suow, but in the latter part of winter when the snow gets
well packed and hardened, a man will walk nearly, if not
quite as far and as fast on snow shoes as on the bare
ground. In most Canadian cities and towns there are snow-
shoe clubs, and when the snow is in good oi'der the yourar
people of both sexes meet and have pleasant walking ex-
cursions on the ice and through the woods, and the young
men have snow-shoe races.

There is nothing left for the sportsman in winter but
to make long excursions into the forest.

'"VM

1 i?

:Pi

4 ,

, I

1 !1

i I

304

wixTi:n.

Wlien Winter lays his hand on tiio hind, thr feathered
game, with one exception, (ly from his icy toueh to warmer
sliores. The bear, hid away in iiis (h'n, fares sniiiptuously
(it is said) on his paws. Tlie only game left worthy the
sportsman's notice are the cariboo iind the moose,
reindeer and elk of Europe are, if not identical, as like the
cariboo and moose as any two beasts on one side of the
Atlantic can bo to any two at the other side.) Hunting
these animals successfully is not such an easy niatt(.T as
might be desired. The sportsman cannot breakfast com-
fortably at home and return to dinner to talk of this moose
and that cariboo that have fallen to his unerring rille.
No I He has to seek for them far away in the depths of
the howling, snow-covered wilderness ; he has to make a
regular business of it, to tear himself from the bosom of his
family for a fortnight, to undergo a certain amou f
hardship, devour a certain amount of nastiness, and t.. .
all, if fate be unkind, he is liable to return empty-handed
and be chaffed by his friends. But, on the other hand,
should his luck be in, his powder straight, and his hunt
successful, the difficulties he has encountered have but
added to his enjoyment.

In these excursions sportsmen usually go in pairs, and
their first step is to secure the services of two good Indian
hunters. The Indians of Canada belong to the Iroquois
or " six nations." The best hunters are the Micma(.*s and
Milicetes (branches of the six nations) ; the former live on
the sea-coast in Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ; the latter live inland on
the St. John river. The Montaignais and Squappies of
the north shore of the St. Lawrence are also good hunters.

INDIANS.

305

liored
,arraor
uously
,hy tho

ike tlio
of tho
luntiii^'
attor as
ist com-
s moi)S(!
ng ritlc.
.ejitlis of
make a
jui of his

lOll t'

r-haucled
or hand,
his hunt
avo but

Ivppies

Tho lanj^uagfts of all these tribes nro different, although I
have no doubt otymolonjists would have little difliculty in
tracing their dialects back to the same parent tongue. In
habits they are all much alike. They are not addicted to
scalping, and have never been known (when sober) to utter
a war cry. On tho contrary, they are o quiet, civil,
obliging, lazy lot of people, given to making baskets and
smoking, and, I am sorry to say, drinking when they have
the means. They have entirely renounced paint and
feathers, and dress, the men in coats and continuations,
the women in petticoats, like white people ; Mith one
grand exception, viz. the lady wears the beaver. It is
indeed a fine sight to see a squaw comin'j^ to market with
lier baskets and a papoose on her back, a tall hat on her
head, mocassins on her feet, and a silver brooch like a tin
plate on her bosom. Their names are peculiar. I never
knew an Indian called Smith, Jones, or Robinson. A dozen
of our commonest male Christian names would include the
names of almost every man in the tribe; whilst half-a-
dozen female Christian names prefixed to these would
take in all tho women. This apparent simplicity of
nomenclature is rather puzzling ; thus, in a party of four
Indians with their squaws, two of the men will perhaps
answer to the names of Peter Joe, the other two to Joe
Peter, whilst all the four ladies will be Nancy Joes and
Nancy Peter^^i

Having secured the services of two good hunters at a
dollar a day each, rifles, blankets, axes, snow shoes, and
provisions are packed on a sled, the trabogens are tied on
behind, and the hunters start for their ground. Each year
this hunting ground moves farther away as the settlement

, I

■i

,':il

Ir/I

306

WINTER.

advances, and it always takes at least one long day's drive
to reach the last house.

" TJie last house " — i. e. that house in the settlement
whic'li is most remote from tlie civilized world — deserves
some little notice : for there are manv of them in Canada
(may I be pardoned for the bull). It is a little square
building, made of logs and bark, containing one small
room with an enormous fireplace. The furniture is simple,
generally consisting of a bedstead or two, a table, a couple
of stools, and a few barrels. But small as is his accommo-
dation, the projirietor of the last house is invariably of a
hospitable turn of mind, and does his utmost to entertain
his guests ; while the good woman cooks the supper, he
spins them yarns (which are not always to be relied upon)
about the moose and bears he has slain ; he handles the
guns, down the muzzles of which he squints, discrimi-
nating between them, and *' guessing " that " she is good
for ball," " she for shot."

The hunters sleep rolled up in their blankets before the
tire, as tho back-settler's beds are usually occupied to
their utmost capability. One of the accomplishments
learnt in the backwoods is to sleep in one's clothes. The
regular backwoodsman turns in without undressing, and
I hereby saves himself an immensity of trouble in dressing
next morning. The remainder of the journey has to be
performed on foot, the baggage being hauled by the
Indians on their trabogens. These are long, narrow hand-
sleds ; the runners are very wide, and turned up in front,
and they run lightly on the top of the snow, or in a man's
snow-shoe track. It is wonderful to see the loads an
Indian can haul through the woods on one of these pri-

.1 I

's drive

tlement
Lleserves
I Canada
e square
ae small
s simple,
a couple
ccomrao-
xbly of a
entertain
ipper, he
led upon)
iidles the
1 discrimi-

le IS

2:ood

)eforo the
upied to
ishments

Hes. The

sing, and

dressing

ms to be

I by the
o\v hand-
) in front,

II a man's
loads an
these pri-

LAMPINO OUT.

307

mitivo conveyances; two hundredweight is nothhig out
of the way for a trabogen load. Four or five miles of a
tramp along a lumber road generally brings the sportsmen
to their camping ground.

Camping out in the snow, in a climate wliere the mer-
cury frequently falls ten or twenty degrees below zero,
Reems, at lirst sight, to be a terrible matter. But it is i^Jt
really a very grent hardship. It must be borne in mind,
as I have bolbre observed, that into the depths of the
forest no wind can penetrate, and when well sheltered,
no matter how low the temperature, a man walking or
taking any sort of exercise never suffers from the cold.

The proper time to build a camp is in the summer or
" fall." The bark then peels off the white birch and white
spruce trees in large sheets, 4 or 5 feet square, and with
it a roof can be constructed in a very short time capable
of resisting any weatlujr. In winter, when the sap is
frozen, it is hard to get this bark, antl it is necessary
to adopt the more tedious operation of splitting cedar
into boards. AVhen time presses, canvas, tarpaulin, or
hlankets form the roof. Often, when the night looks iine,
the hunter sleeps under the stars.

I once went out huntiuu' with a friend who had never

before passed a night in the open. After a hard day's
walking on snow shoes, in the course of whieli ho had
often and often anxiously inquired how far we were from
camp, we arrived weary and jaded at our proposed camping
place, and found nothing but a few bare poles. The bark
wigwam had been burnt, and 4 feet of snow covered the
ashes. j\[y friend's face was a picture of misery when he
saw where he had to pass the night. He had been looking

, *

i ■■: a

wnli:

\ \ :U

i: iri'

im^mm^mm'

WPi

n
■r!

) •

308

WINTER.

forward for many weary hours to a snug log hut, built
entirely in his imagination. However, we worked hard to
put things to rights, and after he had, had his supper he
passed from one extreme to the other, and said he never
felt so jolly in his life.

The first step towards making a winter camp is to shovel
out the snow from a space of about 20 feet square ; using
the snow shoes as sliovels. On two op^ ,ite sides of the
square space of ground thus cleared of snow, walls 2 or 3
feet in height are made of logs, and slanting poles over
these are stuck into the snow to support the roof. The
fire is made in the centre, and on each side of it a thick
coating of young fir bonghs is laid down for seats and
beds. But the great institution is the fire : when it burns
brightly, the camp is warm and comfortable ; when it gets
low, Jack Frost comes in despite every shelter.

Nature, in this cold country, has given a bountiful
supply of fuel, which is used unsparingly, prodigally.
The Indians are woodsmen of the highest order ; no trick
in woodcraft but they are up to — as well they may be.
They use small two-and-a-half pound axes, with straight
handles. Dry spruce and pine are chopped for kindling ;
but the mainstay is green hardwood. Kock or bird's-eye
maple is the best ; beech and black birch rank next.
Great logs, 8 or 10 feet in length, and a foot in diameter,
redden and glow in the camp fire, which consumes fuel
enough in one night to keep an ordinary fireplace going
for a month. The kettle, suspended at the end of a pole,
is soon boiling, ready for tea ; the frying-pan sends forth
an odour grateful to the nose of the hungry hunter, and
he eats his supper of pork, tea, and bread in the woods with

CARIBOO HUNTING.

309

'■HI

it, built
hard to
pper he
e never

;o shovel
3; using
es of the
Is 2 or 3
oles over
)of. The
tt a thick
seats and
1 it burns
,en it gets

ountiful
rodigally.
no trick
may be.
straight
indling ;
aird's-eye
nk next,
diameter,
umes fuel
ace going
of a pole,
jnds fortli
inter, and
•oods with

more appetite than he has for the most reclierche dinner tliat
civilization can give him at home. Some of the Indians are
good cooks ; they bake capital bread, either in a tin thing
made for the purpose, or in the ashes ; the latter method
is the best. When the larder is supplied with fresh meat,
they make capital soups and stews, with the addition of
an onion or two, compressed vegetables, pepper, and salt.

After supper, the hunter wraps his blanket round his
head and shoulders, and stretching his feet to the fire
sleeps as soundly — after a little practice — as he does in his
bed, dreaming of the cariboo he will shoot on the morrow.

The woodland cariboo of North America {Itangifer
tarandus), as I remarked before, is almost, if not quite,
identical with the reindeer of northern Europe. On
both continents it is found only in the more northern
latitudes. The woodland cariboo is found in all the
northern forests of Canada, from the head of Lake Superior
i:. the west to Newfoundland in the extreme east. It
is a shy and wandering animal, travelling immense
distances in searcii of food. In some districts it makes
regular migrations to the south on the approach of
winter, returning again northward in the spring. Cariboo
frequent rocky, barren districts, and are consequently
not much interfered with by the settler. In parts of
Lower Canada, in Labrador, in Gaspe, and in Newfound-
laud, they still roam almost undisturbed by the hunter.
Except in Newfoundland, they are never hunted by the
settlers, for two reasons ; first, because the hide is of no
commercial value ; and, secondly, because they don't know
how to do it. "^Vould it were so also with the moose; but
these unwieldy beasts cannot travel in the deep snow, and

\^i-

1 i,! I

■•--rffl'

310

WIXTEIL

at certain times of the year are easily run down and killed
by the hunter on snow si iocs. Cariboo, on the contrary,
from their lesser weight, and the peculiar foi-mation of
their hoofs, which they can spread out at will, walk on the
top of the snow, and cannot be run down. It re(|uires a
good stalker, and favourable conditions of wind and snow,
to approach within shot. Unlike the moose, they are
sociable though wandering animals, and go about in herds.
Their favourite resorts are spruce and juni[)er woods, and
barren grounds. They feed on mosses of a pale green and
brown colour, that hang in iirofusion like tufts of hair
from the stems and brancdies of the black spruce and
juni[)er ; they also eat the white moss or lichen that
grows on the mountainous and l)arren grounds, digging
for it through the snow. They have three paces — walk,
trot, and gallop. When travelling in either of tlie former
ways they do so in file, so that it is almost impossible to
judge from the tracks of the number of the herd. When
frightened they gallop, clearing sometimes as much as
20 feet in a bound ; but this they cannot do in deep snow.
The does have one or two calves in the month of May.
The rutting "Oi^-on is about the 1st of October. Although
a very shy and wary animal, the cariboo is sometimes a
very stupid one, and seems so puzzled at the sight of a
man or the soiuid of a sh(jt, that he gives the sportsman
more than one chance. If one of a herd bo shot dead, the
sportsman being concealed from view, the remainder get
quite bewildered, and sometimes the whole herd falls to
his rifle. It is far otherwise if they wind a man ; indeed,
all the wild animals that I have met with seem to imbibe
fear more through their noses than through any other

ruMir

CAB ID 00 HUNTING.

311

organ. The hoofs of tlie cariboo, whicli they convert into
snow shoes in the deep snow, also, from their sharp edges,
enable them to walk over perfectly smooth ice. In fact,
they are at home amid snow and ice, and I believe that
every attempt to acclimatize them in warm or even tem-
perate climates has failed.

The great event for the hunter is finding fresh tracks.
These the Indians follow and trace out \^ith great skill, in
favourable circumstances never failing to get within shot.
This is not as simple a matter as it appears to be, particu-
larly where the tracks are filled up with fresh or drifted
snow. A herd, too, when feeding, makes a vast amount of
tracks, as from the nature of their feed thev are oblio-od to
do, walking about continually from tree to tree. Cariboo
are incessantly on the move. The prettiest spoit is when
they are feeding on the barrens — great plains dotted over
with spruce and juniper bushes. They can be perceived
from a long distance, and the stalking is very exciting
work. In stalking everything depends upon the state of
the snow. A thaw succeeded by a sharp frost makes a
crust, which the snow shoe breaks through with so much
noise as to render stalking almost impossible. The
only remedy is to take off the snow shoes and walk in
the animals' tracks ; but this, too, is sometimes impossible,
for obvious reasons. It is a charming siglit for the sports-
man to see a herd of cariboo on the barrens when he is
hid from them, and has their wind — some of them scraping
and digging in the snow, nothing visible but their rumps ;
others walking about or lying down. In favourable cir-
cumstances he can generally approach to within a hundred
yards, sometimes much less. The time that cariboo can

!|:

i i

;i ii^

rf-f"

I I

II I

312

WINTER.

te most easily hunted is in the montli of March. The
snow-shoeing then is good, and the days long. It is almost
a pity, however, to kill them so late in the season ; besides,
sportsmen naturally prefer to hunt them when there is a
chance of getting good heads, viz. in the first snow.

In winter the colour of the cariboo is a pale greyish
blown, approaching to a whitish grey in the neck and
belly; in summer they are much darker. Both bucks
and does have horns ; those of the bucks are handsome,
large and branchy, and very irregular in tlieir shape.
The old bucks shed their antlers in November ; the young
ones and the does retain theirs all winter. The flesh is
good, but rather dry ; how can it be otherwise in winter,
considering that they live on a substance much like tow,
and with about as much taste ? The flesh of a doe killed
in October and November is delicious. Plenty of game
gives the Indians hard work, for they have to haul the
carcases on their trabogens to the nearest road, sometimes
to a lumber camp, where those good fellows, the lumberers,
are always ready to assist both in eating the meat and
in hauling the haunches, heads, &c., to the nearest
settlement.

The legitimate season for moose hunting ends on tlie
1st of February. " Still-hunting " moose in the soft snow
of early winter is good sport, and requires great skill and
caution in the hunter; but, as the animals shed their
magnificent antlers in the fall, the sport in winter is
robbed of half its charms. As I said elsewhere, they are
unable to travel fast through the deep snow; and in
winter, either singly or in parties of two or three, they
choose a hill or tract far back in the forest, where their

The
almost
lesides,
3re is a

nrrevisli
ck and

bucks
idsome,

shape.
3 young

flesh is

winter,

ike tow,

le killed

jf game

aid the

etimes

iiberers,
eat and

nearest

MOOSE HUNTING.

313

favourite browse — moosewood and maple — abounds. In
this space of 10 or 20 acres, called a moose-yard, they
remain all winter, unless disturbed. In New Brunswick
and Lower Canada, during the month of March, when the
snow is deep and crusted — which serves the double purpose
of making the snow-shoeing good and of cutting the
moose's shins — hundreds of moose are annually butchered
for the sake of their hides, value $5 each, the more valu-
able carcases being left to rot, and poison the woods with
their stench. The cows, being heavy in calf at this season,
are the more easily slaughtered. This is a pity. Animal
life is not so abundant in these woods that it should be
thus recklessly destroyed. There are good laws for the
protection of moose, but it is found almost impossible to
enforce them. One cannot blame the Indian, or even the
lumberman or backwoods settler, for killing game at any
season of the year for food, but the traffic in hides should
be put down with a strong hand. In running moose in the
deep snow, a light dog that can run on the surface is of
the greatest assistance to the hunter. The cur barks and
snaps at the heels of the monarch of the forest, causing
him to plunge and sink still deeper in the snow. When
the snow is 3 feet deep and crusted, moose hunting is
simple slaughter. On the other hand, when it is not quite
so deep, or when there is little crust on the surface, moose
hunting tries the endurance of the hunter to the utmost.
On one occasion, in company with an old Indian and his
son, we started a moose at nine in the morning, and ran him
till the following evening before we killed. The young
Indian led the way, making tracks. I followed, carrying
the gun; the old man walked leisurely in our tracks,

V s

! ^ ' i

',! • ?

311

WINTER.

pickiuf^ lip liats, coats, niul otiier impediments wliicli we
dropped in the ardour of the chase. At nij^ht we rested
for a few lioiirs under a tree, and resumed tlie chase at
dayliglit next morning. The moose, a young bull, had
lain down and rested not more tlian a rpiarter of a mile
aliead of liis pursuers, but gave us another hard day's run,
and we shot him at four o'clock in tlio evening. Hard
snow-shoeing of this sort is very trying on tlie knees,
ankles, and feet, and requires a good deal of practice to
enable one to stand it.

An old Micmac Indian spun me a quaint yarn about the
moose, wliicli I will relate, not making myself responsible
for its veracity. " >Some sixty years ago," he says, " the
Milieetes made a raid upon the moose, as the white men
have done lately. The IMicmacs sent an ambassador to
expostulate, and request them to 'kill 'em more easy.'
The only reply the Milieetes made to this polite request
was to seize the ambassador and roast him. When the
news reached the IMicmacs, their sage prophesied that the
moose would altogether leave a country where such bad
people live. Accordingly, in the following year the moose
did leave New l^runswiok. Many were tracked to the sea-
side, and their tracks lost in the ocean. The medicine man
further prophesied that no man then living should ever see
a moose again, but that the succeeding generation would
be more fortunate. Accordingly, about twenty-five years
ago, two moose were perceived one fine morning swimming
towards the shores of New Brunswick. One of them was
killed, and on being opened no browse or land vegetable
was found in his belly, which was chuck-full of seaweed.

AVrAU EST ABSENCE OF ANIMAL LIFE.

315

Sartin, ]\Iist(M-," concludcil my old iuforinunt, " moose not
all the same as other boast."

Nothirif^ strikes a person traveling in the woods for tho
first tinK^ in tlie dcptli of winter so miieli as tho extreme —
I may say sohjmn — silence whicli prevails. No sound of
any sort strikes tho ear, save at intervals the cracking
of tho trees. Nor does any track or sij^n indicate to
the casual observer the existence of any animal life.
This is ex[)lained by the fact that in very cold weather
no aninnils but the cariboo and the loupcervier {Felis
Canadensis) move about much. Even the few birds that
winter in the country remain in sheltered places, in
hollow trees, or under tlie snow. Several quadrupeds
that do not hybernate regularly, like the bear, provide
themselves with little homes, in hollow trees and else-
where, and stores of provisions. Among these are the
common red S(]uirrel (Sciurus Iludsonius), the fl}ing
squirrel (Pteromys sahrinius), the wood-chuck {Ardomys
monax), the skunk [Mephitis Americana), and two or
three sorts of mice. The sable (Mustela martes), and
the black cat {M. Canadensis), in districts where they
abound, are rarely seen by the hunter. An old trapper
assured me that, in the whole course of his experience, he
had seen but one sable alive. The rabbit, or rather the
hare (Lejms A.), is rarely seen, thanks to the snow-white
jacket given it by nature for its protection in winter.
Neither is the ermine weasel (Mustela erminea), for the
same reason. The ruffed grouse [T. umhellus), and the
Canadian grouse {T. Canadensis), live aloft in the trees, or
when they do come down it is merely to take a header

^^'i

31G

WINTER,

into the snow. Thero is but one exception, the meat-bird,
or moose-bird (Oarrulus Canadensis). No amount of cold
keeps this most impudent of birds at home wlieu meat is
to be got. So far from being afraid of man, he follows
him tin'ough the woods, enters his camp through the
smoke hole in the roof, and almost takes the bit out of
his mouth. I have killed one, "joour encoiirager les
autres." His comrades stolidly looked on, and by-and-by
picked his bones. They eat anything. Meat, bread, pro-
visions of any kind — nothing comes amiss to the robbers ;
soap they are very partial to. When the hunter stops for
dinner, and lights his firo, no bird is to be seen or heard ;
hardly, however, is the frying-pan on the fire, when moose-
bird makes his appearance, and, chuckling with joy,
perches on a bough within 5 or 6 feet of the pan.
They eat the baits out of the hunter's traps, and the
trapped animals. They flock in numbers to districts where
moose have been slaughtered, and eat and fight the live-
long day. They make several diiferent sounds, each one
more discordant tliun the other. Late in the fall, when
trout go to shallow water to spawn, the moose-bird takes
a hint from the kingfisher, and feasts on small trout. I
have seen a dog feeding on one end of a piece of meat, a
moose-bird on tlie other. It is generally supposed that
birds cannot smell, but the moose-bird must be an excep-
tion, for in thick woods he cannot see; and how, then,
does he find meat so quickly ! Whilst on the one hand
they have, for their size, such a vast stowage for provisions,
on the other hand they can fast for extraordinarily long
periods. They fight like tigers. A servant of mine
caught three in steel traps, and cruelly put them all toge-

THE MOOSE-Iiini).

317

ther in a cage, where, to use his own expression, they " lit
like bulldogs." I told him to kill them at once, as they
were all mutilated ; one fellow, however, escaped amidst
a shower of missiles, hopping away on one leg and one
wing. I thought nothing more of the circumstance till
about a week afterwards, when I observed another of these
birds staggering under a load of meat. I had the curiosity
to follow him, when I observed that ho took his load to a
stump some 30 yards off, and, contrary to their usual
custom, commenced to share his booty witli a comrade,
wliom I recognized as my old friend the cripple. I took
oliarge of the poor fellow, and fed him during his con-
valescence ; and have thought better of the meat-bird ever
since. Two or three of them often take possession of a
camp, and drive away intruders ; when one is killed, a fresh
one arriving and taking his place. On a subsequent occa-
sion, I observed the treatment an intruder met with at the
hands (bills) of the two friendly meat-birds mentioned
above. He came one afternoon, very hungry, for a feed
of cariboo. My camp birds, in a state of repletion, were
half asleep ; but hardly had the interloper dug his bill
into the meat when they both went at him, tooth and nail.
X never saw a bird get such a mauling, tlie old cripple
putting in some ugly ones from behind. How the wool
did fly ! Soon they were out of sight ; but the screaming
lasted half an hour, and judging by their pleased expres-
sions when they returned, I think they killed him.

Occasionally, even in this Arctic winter, there is a mild
day or two, and then the woods present a very different
aspect. The squirrels chatter, and the woodpeckers car-
penter away at the trees. An occasional partridge, so

)

i '

i :

': 1

■,ii^ '

fit

ill)

318

WJNTEIi.

called, may now bo seen, or tlio tiiurk of u porciipiiio
(Ilysfrix inlomis) drafrf^ing liinisolf throii^di tlio hiiow. Tho
beaver h'aveH his lodjjfe, niul coiiiob out lor a bite of fresii
bark. Even the bear is sonjotimes tempted out of Jii.s den.
The pinc! grosheak (l*inieola Ccmadenais) and tht! erosHhill
(Lo.nia curviroHtnt) show them.selves round tlie camp; the
chickadee (Parws atricajnilns) adds his little note in a{)[)ro-
bation of tlas change; and even the snow bunting (P/cc^j-o-
phaneanivaUa), that hardiest of the feathered tribe, shows
its ap[)reciatiou of u mild day by leaving the forest and
flocking to the farmyard, lint the bird of all others Ihat
dislikes the cold is the cock of the woods, or great red-
headed woodpecker (Picus pileatus). He scents the
approach of mild weather, and is a sure barometer to the
hunter.

In the matter of clothing there is nothing like wool —
woollen shirts, woollen socks, cloth made entirely of wool.
Except a cap with earliaps, furs are quite unnecessary for
a man ; and in the shelter of the forest, save on the very
coldest days, the sportsman will iind an ordinary English
shooting suit quite sufficient. The only alteration in cos-
tume he will find necessary are mocassins as substitutes for
boots, and mitts for gloves. The latter are simply woollen
bags for the hands ; the lingers being all tog(>ther retain
the heat better than when separated in gloves. IMocassins
should be made of very soft pliable leather, and '
ficient size to admit of three pairs of sodv-- _;• worn

without pressure or tightness. When the ^jerature is
very low, let the sportsman beware of touchi ' the birrels
of his rifle with an ungloved hand, or of putting ; metal
flask to his lips ; it is not pleasant to feel one's skin stick

. Tho
I'rosh
in lien.
■osHbill
p ; tlio
ujtpro-
[Hcetro-
, shows
'st and
3rs that
sat ri;d-
its the
r to tho

i wool —
1 wool,
■iary for
10 very

Jiiiiglish
in eos-
tutes for
woollen
■1" retain
oeassins
r VI '■

woru
future is
i \ irrels

metal
tin stick

.S7(/iV^" ()/'• Sl'/ifXa.

311)

to tlio niotul, and the ul'tor olHocts, Htraiif^o to say, exactly
voscmblo tiioso of a burn or Hcald. Tlio oars aro tlio parts
most Husccptiblo to frost. In easos of frostbite, tho part
frozen should bo rubbed with snow till circulation returns.

It is a well-known fact, that nioii fresh from tho old
country can stand not only tin? extreme heat of tho tropics
but also the extreme cold of northern latitudes, better
than the men who have lived a lonjj: tinio subject to
these extremes. Tho men who i\'v\ tho cold of tho
Canadian winter least are the freshly arrived iinmij^'rants.

There is much pleasure and much health in the long
severe winter, but there is also, in the back settlements at
least, much monotony, so when the iirst Hock of geese is
heard ilying over his ice-bound land the Canadian farmer
is not ill jdeased. The geeso arrive about the 20th of
March, and are Nature's Iirst messengers to say, that
spring is at hand, not that much sign of it is aa yet
visible ; still everything is clothed in white. Early in
April people commence daily to scrutinize tho ice in the
harbours and rivers, and one fine morning the glad sound
goes forth that the " ice has started." But it does not
give in w ithout a struggle. For days a fierce battle rages
between the frozen and the unfrozen element. Sooner or
later the ice must give way ; and, with groans, masses of
it are piled on the banks. Occasionally it makes a sturdy
stand, and then a "jam" ensues, behind which the watei:
rises to a great height ; and then, victorious, bursts forth
with fury, carrying the ice along with it, and not un-
frequeutly doing great damage to wharfs and buildings.
The great event of the new year to the back settler is
the opening of tho navigation and the arrival of the first

i >

\ •

{

i
1

i
1 j

-■ .'!'^a^'1g:E,7"''iW.yfW-! FW-t."!": in llHiMfDiJ., mf.

320

WINTER.

steamer of the season containing supplies of all sorts. On
that occasion men meet at the wharf who have not seen
each other for a year before, and will not perhaps see
each other again for another year. It is the first day of
a n6w little life ; kind words are exchanged, hatchets are
buried, cheering drinks are in demand, and — the new
year commences.

CHAPTER XII.

THE TRAPPER.

I SUPPOSE there is no man who has more pity wasted
u[)on him than the solitary trapper. In the opinion of
those who are uninitiated in the mysteries of woodcraft
he is the most wretched of mortals. For months and
months, often for a whole year, he lives either quite alone
in the forest or else with one comrade only. He does
without the comforts of civilized life and the pleasures of
society. He has no church to go to on a Sunday ; no
doctor to })rescribo for him if he is ill. In fact, in the
opinion of the gregarious city man, his condition of life is
little if at all better than that of a prisoner in a dungeon.
But there are two ways of looking at most subjects, and
the trapper's life is no exception to the rule. The forest is
the tre;^per's home; there are all his friends, not human
ones, bnt not less dear on that account. He thinks, and I who
have tried the life fully enter into his feelings, that there
is no mode of existence so enjoyable as that of the trapper
in tlie Canadian forest. He has no church near him it is
true, but it by no means follows that he has no religion.
On the contrary, there is a religion in the pine forest,
which appeals most strongly to a man's best nature.
Nov.here else does he feel so utterly and entirely depen-
dent upon the Giver of all good. Nowliere else can
he so fully enter into the feelings of the writer of the

I';

' ■!

!.,;:M

322

THE TRArPER.

beautiful 104th j)salm. He has no doctor to consult, but,
except in cases of accident, he never wants one ; there is
no bad drainage in the woods, no bad smell, no bad venti-
lation, no epidemics ; he has a daily and nightly tonic in
the bracing air, and the pure water is the best of medi-
oiue ; he has no time for dyspepsia and its companion
the blues ; his fare is simple, but his appetite is good ; and
oil his fragrant bed of bouglis, after his hard day's labour
is over, he sleeps the sleep that the city man could not
buy for millions. To him there is no loneliness so un-
bearable, no solitude so wearisome, as the solitude of a
great city. True, in the latter case he sees thousands of
his fellow-creatures every day, but what are they to him
or what is he to them ? If while gaping in amazement
at the human hive he happens to get run over by a cab
one or two passers by may turn round to look at him, or
even say " poor fellow," but that is all. Truly in the
trapper's opinion the loneliness of the city is infinitely
more oppressive than that of the forest.

The trapper generally starts for the woods either on
foot, with his pack on his back, or else in his canoe. The
following are some of my experiences of a year's trapping
expedition in the forests of Lower Canada.

I started from the settlement in the month of Sep-
tember, accompanied by an old Micmac, of the name of
Andrew, and another young Indian, called Toma. Our
destination was a lake GO or 70 miles iVom human abode.
Our kit consisted of 10 cwt. of flour, 2 cwt. pork (all fat),
half a chest of tea, a keg of molasses, a bag of salt, a
small assortment of luxuries (such as brandy, rice, curry
powder, sauces, pickles, &c.), cooking utensils, blankets,

t, but,
lere is
venti-
Diiic in
[ medi-
ipauion
)d; and
1 labour
uld not
so un-
ide of a
sands of
J to liim
lazenient
by a cab
t bim, or
in the
infinitely

tber on
:.e. The
trapping

of Sep-
nanie of
Ilia. Our
Im abode,
(all fat),
)f salt, a
tee, curry
1 blankets,

START FOR THE WOODS.

323

guns, ammunition, axes, and four dozen .steel traps. All
these things were pacived in bags, each bag weighing
100 lbs., in all eighteen packages. I hired a scow and a
pair of horses to tow us up a river, and bought a birch-
bark canoe. On the liftli day, after infinite exertion (we
had to load and unload at least ten times, and " portage "
our baggage round several dangerous rapids), we were
stopped by a fall, or rather a tremendous rapid. Here the
river flung itself over a series of ledges, and then rushed
foaming for a mile through a narrow rocl<y gorge. I now
discharged my primitive vehicle, and we proceeded to
" portage " our effects above the falls some 2 miles. Under
each of the ledges I have mentioned there was a smooth
round basin, in which the water rested itself for a few
moments before taking a fresh jdunge. These basins were
literally alive with salmon and big sea trout. As we had
left ourselves ample time before the couimcncement of
the fur season, we were in no hurry to leave this charming
camping ground. I was provided with rod and tackle,
and enjoyed tliat sensation so rare in angling, of casting
my fly into a virgin pool. In five days, fisliing only
mornings and evenings, I took sixteen salmon, averaging
20 lbs., and about eighty sea trout, averaging 2 lbs.
Besides these the Indians speared thirty salmon; and all
these fish we kippered or salted for winter consumption
and for bait. When satiated with fish and fishing we
embarked in our canoe and continued our journey up
the river, having previously cacheecl the bulk of our
provisions and luggage in a " bear-house," i. e. a log hut
made bear-proof, to resist the assaults of that robber.
Bruin.

i; )

f.\\

Mil

h 1

324

THE TRAPPER.

The scenery on this part of the river was very wild and
beautiful. The banks were clothed with a thick-tangled
forest of cedar and s] truce. In the narrows the foliage of
these trees formed a canopy over our heads. In the wider
stretches of the river, often dotted with pretty little
islands, on which the shell-drakes had their homes, we
could see, rising far over tlie tree tops, the rocky summits
of the Shick Shock mountains. The autumn tints were in
full beauty, the colouring of the forest was most gorgeous,
and the reflections on the v,ater formed an endless and
ever-varying panorama. Occasionally, as a contrast to
these gay and sunlit scenes, we would pass through a
defile in Avhich our stream, narrowing to a few feet in
width, would bound and foam through the rocks. In such
places the banks, rising almost perpendicularly to a
height of 500 or 600 feet, completely shut out the sun,
and presented a grand though rather gloomy effect.
Here our bark canoe seemed the merest cockleshell ; but
Andrew and his boy were practised voyageurs. Twenty
times I imagined that the difficulties in our way were
insurmountable, but each time the ready wit of the canoe-
men found a method to surmount them. Now they took
advantage of an eddy ; now by sheer strength and skill they
shoved the dancing canoe up a howling rapid ; now their
keen eyes discern real danger, and our canoe is "portaged "
round the obstacle. Although they have never been on
the river before, instinct invariably leads them to choose
the right course.

Our eyes are delighted with beaver sign all along the
river. Freshly cut sticks floating down the stream, and
trees cut and felled along the banks denote that the

ild and
taugled
liage of
\e wider
,y little
imcs, we
summits
I were in
gorgeous,
Hess and
iitiast to
u'ungli a
\\ feet in

In siieli
Illy to a
: tlie snn,
ly effect,
hell; but

Twenty
way were
;lie cnnoe-
tliey took

,kill they
now their

lortaged "
been on

to choose

laloiig the

|iram, and

that the

LAKE IN THE WOODS.

325

industrious lumbermen and builders of the forest are hard
at work preparing for the winter. At every well-used
beaver or otter road we come to, we stop and set a trap.
We also make traps for mink every here and there,
baiting them with trout, that I can catch at all times by
merely dropping a fly or a bait into the river.

Our progress was necessarily slow, and although th-^
distance was only 16 or 17 miles it was noon on the third
day before we reached the lake. As our bark emerges
from the forest-hidden stream and glides through the
unruffled waters of the lake, a flock of black ducks, who
have never seen a canoe before, allow us to approach
within 50 yards, and two splendid loons seem utterly
unmindful of us. The lake appears to be about 10 miles
in length by 2 in breadth. Close to the outlet a freshly
plastered beaver camp rises out of the water, and on the
pebbly beach we discern fresh moose tracks. All these
signs denote that man is a stranger here, and in tlie
highest spirits as we eat our luncheon we feast our eyes
on this trapper's paradise. AVe would not on any account
disturb this charming solitude by the noise of the axe, so
for the present, putting off building a camp, we proceeil tu
explore.

I know of no pleasure so great, no pursuit so engrossing,
as when the trapper and the sportsman (fur the two pur-
suits are always associated) breaks new ground. Here we
three, white man and Indians, differing in colour, in
bringing up, in every respect in fact but one, meet
together on common ground. We are all three sportsmen
at heart. We would not give a fig, one of us, to stand
at a corner of a cover, and have tame birds and beasts

1'<H

11 j i

ili>i

\)\ !

» 1

!i8l^1

32G

THE TRAPPER.

driven to us to bo slaiighterod, but our greatest pleasure
is to niiitt'h our cunning and skill against the wonderful
instinct of the wihl animals of the woods, and by untiring
patience, by hard work, and a perfect knowledge of their
habits and ways of life, to outmatch and capture tliem.
I don't know that I have ever enjoyed anything so much
as this first evening's jKiddle on our lake, on " my " lake, I
mav sav, for this noble sheet of wat'/r and the surround-
ing forests for 20 miles were n\y own for all practical

purposes, as much as the Dnke of 's deer forest in

tiie Highlands belongs to his grace; mine, not by right of
my enormous wealth, it is true, but my enjoyment of it
not the less sweet on this account.

Twenty brooks and little rivers watering twenty little
valleys, discharge into my lake. As Ave pass the month
of one of thetn, Andrew's keen eye detects a beaver, but
ou this our lirst evening we want nobler game, and spare
his life for the moment. Pursuing our way swiftly and
noiselessly along the edge of the lake, we hear a splashing.
'•' Me think-'em moose," whispers Andrew, whose practised
ear tells him it is not the splashing of ducks or of beaver.
Our canoe glides through the water like a ghostly craft
towards the point from which the noise seemed to pro-
ceed. Hardly does the bow round the point when we see,
in a little bav covered with water-lilies, a cow moose

ml '

standing up to her hocks \\\ water. Andrew instantly
plants his paddle in the bottom, and holds the canoe as
steady as a rock, and shooting close over Toma's head, 1
mortally wound the moose. Toma finishes her with his
single barrel, and tlie reports of our guns echo and rever-
berate round the lake, till it would seem that we were in

,**:-

;asnre
ilerful
tiving

their
them.

much
lake, I
round-
'at'tical
vest in
riglit of
[it of it

MOOSE HUNTING.

327

the midst of a general action. Ducks start and quack at
the unusual sounds, musquash dive and kingfishers shriek,
whilst in the forest we hear a crasliing sound at whieli
Andrew says, " Bull-nioose, him go." Now tliat the silence
has been rudely broken we pursue the beaver and shoot
two of them. That night after su})per as we reposed heads
under the tilted canoe and feet to fire, the trapper felt as
proud as any laird, as rich (in enjoyment of his life) as any
millionaire. His manor was as large as a county, and cost
him nothing but a little hard work, whilst he had that
evening made two entries on the credit side of his account ;
item, fur i|0 ; item, butcher's bill for one month;" and
as he reposed on a fragrnnt bed of fir boughs, enjoying
his well-earned pipe, he soliloquized, " happy low, lie
down ; uneasy rests the head that wears a crown."

But if we had our moments of good sport and of enjoy-
ment we had to work hard for them. For the first week
we were all employed from daylight till dark in setting
traps round the lake, then taking one day to build a
winter camp, the Indians went down stream in the canoe
to tend the traps. This trip was repeated every week
during the " fall," and each time they brought back a
load from the bear-house. During their absence on these
excursions I occupied myself in trapping musquash,
shooting beaver, geese, and ducks, and fishing for trout.
What with these pursuits in addition to the necessary
cooking and cutting wood I had not an idle moment from
daylight till dark. Every evening I paddled to a quiet
corner of the lake in a "catamaran" — Anglice, little
raft — and called moose.

To lure the uxorious bull moose to his death by

■i :.

i .,

L H

TOBsz^paaocapnTrafBi

328

THE TBAPPEB.

K 'I

1 !

imitating the cry of tlie female might at first glance seem
a treacherous practice, unworthy of the name of sport.
But on the contrary I know of no sport more fascinating.
The stillness of the autumnal evening, broken only by the
occasional " call " of the hunter and the footsteps of the
approaching animal, the cloudless sky, the j)ainting of the
forest, and the reflections on the water, lend their charms.
Then the amount of skill required is very great. A first-
class "caller" is as rare as a first-rate tenor. Nature
has not been bountiful to me in the way of voice, but
a few eager moose trusted themselves within range of my
rifle, and one evening I towed into camp a magnificent
bull, with antlers measuring nearly 5 feet from tip to tip.
Trapping, shooting, exploring, and so on, the time
rapidly slipped away. On the 20th of November, when
by good luck we had just got our last load from the bear-
house, winter, which had already threatt ned, set in for
good, and froze us up in our winter home. Now we turned
our attention from water fur to the sable. We made a
*' sable line " of about 30 miles in length straight through
the woods. In this we had 300 or 400 traps, each con-
structed on a tree stump some 4 feet from the ground, so
as not to be buried in the snow. We had a wigwam at
the extreme end of our sable line and another in the
centre, half-way from our main camp. All winter long
we were kept busy attending this line and procuring bait
for the traps. Besides, we got an occasional otter and
beaver in steel traps set under the ice. As winter ad-
vanced the snow got deeper and deeper and the cold more
intense, but our camp was warm and sheltered, and firing
abundant. No coal bills troubled us. Every now and

LOST IN THE WOODS.

329

ce seem

)f sport.

nnating.

y by tlie

)H of the

i(r of the

• charms.
A first-
Kature

roice, but

ige of my

agnificent

jp to tip.
the time
iber, when
the beav-
set in for
\ve turned
e made a
lit through
each con-
orround, so
^vjowani at
Gv in the
Ihiter long
luring bait
otter and
jwiuter ad-
cold more
and firing
now and

then, wh(Mi weather suited, I used to go out on a cariboo
hunt with Toma, and from time to time we shot six or
eight of tliese doer, and hauled their carcases to camp on
our trebogens.

On one of these hunts I met witii a mischance, which
might have been attended with serious consequences. Con-
trary to my custom I went out alone and unprovided witli
axe or provisions. I soon came on fresh tracks and became
intensely absorbed in hunting them. xVfter a long and
tedious stalk I came up to the cariboo and shot one. I
then for the first time remarked tliat the sun had become
obscured. Plastily cutting the liver out of the dead
cariboo, I endeavoured to take a line through the woods to
the edge of the lal<e, wliich was at most 2 miles distant.
After an hour's hard walking I came upon my own tracks,
not 100 yards from where I had shot the deer. In fact,
I was lost in the woods, and the dav was all but done. It
may be asked, " Why not have taken your own back-
tracks ? " Because a man who has unwittingly walked a
circle as I had done becomes utterly stupefied and cannot
distinguish out-tracks from in-tracks. This was an awk-
ward position, 3 feet of snow, 40^ or .50^ of frost, and worst
of all, no axe. I saw that I was doomed to spend tho
night in the open, and I set about ])reparing for it with a
will. Fortunately I found some dead stum})s and poles
which I managed to pull down and collect before night-
fall. Then I was no longer alarmed. I dug a hole in the
snow some G feet square, using a snow shoe as a shovel.
In this pit I lit my fire, and by its light broke fir boughs
for my couch. It was not quite a case this of " happy low,
lie down," for when I heard during that long night the

H\ i

i 'I

330

Till': TRAPPER.

i.)

trees cmckinj::^ with reports liko rifle nliots all around mo,
I shuddcrotl to tliink wluit my fate would have been
had fortune not directed mo to tho dead wood. Next
nioniin;^ tho sun rose bri<;ht, and at ten 1 was breakfasting
in camp. Andrew remarked jocularly, " Suppose two
nights man no come homo, sartin ho dead." There are
two things essential to safety which the solitary hunter
should never be without, viz. a box of matches and a pocket
compass. With thest; articles addi'd to a little knowledge
of woodcraft ho runs little danger.

I do not know a more fascinating study than that of
woodcraft. Tho forest is a perfect library. There is
hardly a day or a night in which tho student may not learn
something new. Signs invisible to tho unpractised eye
are as legible as tho largest type to the old woodsman, who,
besides being a close and keen observer, must be a thinker
too, for every day he has to match his reason against the
wonderful instinct of tho animals whose senses of hearing,
smelling, and seeing are many times more acute than those
of their two-logged hunter. Woodcraft enables him to live
in plenty and oven in comfort, under circumstances in
wdiich the man unread in forest lore would miserably
perish.

The mysteries of trapping, though they are my delight,
might not interest my readers, so I shall only make a few
general remarks about them. For all fur-bearing animals
the wood-trap, or deadfall, is the surest. There are as many
varieties of these traps as there are fur-bearing animals.
They have to be set with the utmost nicety and precision,
so that while the deadfall shall come down surely on the
devoted back of the animal for which the trap is set, yet

ncl mo,
i boon
Next
cfasting
»so two
loro are
' hiint(;r
I pocket
owlcdge

I that of
Hiere is
not learn
ised eye
nan, who.
El thinker
ainst the
heaving,
lan those
m to live
ances in
iiiserably

delight,
ike a few
animals
as many
animals.
Iprecision,
lly on the
Is set, yet

MYSTEIUKH OF TRAPPINCI.

331

that a losscr bird or beast sliali tug at it with impunity.
Tliero is one aninuil and one only that completely batllos
the trapper, and tliat is oarciijou, surnamod the " Indian
devil." 'riiis evil beast if he; strikes upon a sublo lino goes
calmly from one end of it to the otlitn" robbing every trap.
For some animals traps are baited, for others, as for ex-
ample otters, tliey are set unl)aited in their roads. The
baits used are various, lish, IK-sh, and fowl. Tlum again
the trapper must be a connoisHvur o'i scents — not Kimmel's
nor Lubin's — but of those that attract fur. The castor bag
and the oil bag of the beaver seem to possess a universal
attraction. Valerian has cliarnis for some, rum for others,
so have [)e[)per, onions, anisoeil, asafcotida, &c. In my
trapping days 1 carried a bottle loaded with a mixture
so potent that when the cork was drawn everyone sneezed
within a radius of 50 yards. Even the steel trap requires
skill in the setting, for instance it is quite useless to catch
a beaver by the hand or fore foot, the trap must be set in
such a way and in such a position as to catch him by the
hind foot. In fact tiie secrets of trapping are endless and
can only be understood by i)ractical experience.

When the fur season ended (about the 1st of June), I
was quite sorry to say goodbye to the old smoke-stained
camp that had been my home for nearly ten months, and
on my return to civilization I felt as shy as a beaver, and
often caught myself involuntarily looking on the streets for
" tracks." To this day I look back upon my year's trap-
ping with the greatest satisfaction. On that year I solved
the problem which has puzzled many a vagabond, viz. to
make both ends meet. Besides skins, trophies, &c., that I
kept or gave to friends, I sold upwards of 100/. worth of fur.

■fl

1 ' '

)

■ '■« '

t . :

»i'

, M

li«i

If i

332

'/■//A' TnM'I'EU.

Tho Aniorican oltor (Lutm Canadendn) is aide to linld its
own against tlio trapper, as well as, pculiiips l)i'tt('r than any
otluM' rnr-lK'arin;j^ animal. It novcM' takes liait, 'lisdainini;
(lead foiul, and seems to tak(^ salmon in preleronci- to trout,
and trout in [)r(!l'i'ren('e to tla; coarser lake nnd river llsli.
It is V(M*v shy, possessed of <;reat strenj^th, and travels long
distances in tlu^ nijjjht-timo in search ol" now lishin^ f^rounds.
In travidlinj; tliroujj^h tho forest ono frecpiently comes
across ott(;r [)aths or '' porta^c^ roads" leadinii; from ono
lake or ono river to another. h\ the dead of winter they
frequent "air-holes" in tin; lakes, i.e. small spots which
owiuii; to s[)riM{ifs or some oth(>r cause do not freeze over;
also rapid torrents and those open places Ittdow waterfalls
where ice cannot make and where tish also do con<^regate.
Their tracks when followed in the snow always lead to such
places. The fur of tho otter is very dark, rich, and glossy,
nearly black on the back, and brown or brownish grey on
the belly. Out of a great number of skins that I have seen
I found whiti' marks only on two. One of these had three
white spots, the other a white stri[)0 on throat and breast.
The skin measures about -4 feet in length, the tail being as
long as the bodv without the head. I saw ono enormous
old dog otter that measured 5 feet from ti}) of snout to tip
of tail. The fur is in season from October to IMay, and the
skin is worth from 11. to 1/. 5.v. to the trapper. The
females have two or three pups about the 1st of May,
beautiful gh)ssy little creatures, and as playful as kittens.
The otter is a very powerful animal for its size, and a
savage fighter ; I have seen few dogs that could master the
Canadian otter, and it has been known to beat the beaver
notwithstanding the formidable cutting teeth of the latter.

THE OTTER.

333

< . •

)li()lil its
il\iin any
sdiiinini!;
to trout,
iviT llsli.
vcls long
fijrounds.
ly comes
from ono
ntor tlioy
ots which
'0/0 over ;
waterfalls
m<^rogato.
'tul to such
\w\ glossy,
,h ;j;rey on
have seen
had threo
,M(1 breast,
lil being as
onormous

[lout to tip
Ly, and the
Iper. The
\i of May,
as kittens,
size, and a
[master the
|the beaver
' the latter.

Its liinhs are short, thi(!k, and nniscniar, set very wide apart,
its neck is also innnenscly powerful. The otter is a very
hard animal to skin as tins Ixtdy is all covered with a
coating of muscular fat which lias to l»c cut llinaigh with
the knife, 'i'liis muscidar fat is considered by the Indians
an ('xc(dlcnt poultice for a strain or spniin. The eyes
are very small, and its sight is not (|ui(dv ahovo water,
though it must be remarkably good nnderneatli. Its sense
of smell is oxtrenudy acute. The best trap for the otter is
the wooden deadfall constrnctcsd on his portage road. A
small bush fence is nuid(^ on either side of the trap to pre-
vent his going round it. Cireat nicety is r«,'(piired in
making an otter trap, which should lie constructe<l in such u
way that a mns([nash or small animal can jiass through it
without springing the deadfall, which should bo mad(! to
fall as nearly as possible (m the middle of the otter's back.
When the trap is completed it is s})lashed all overwith water
to take away the human scent. The steel trap is set for otter
in much the same way as for beaver, only that it need not
be so deep in the water, as an otter is as easily held by the
fore as the liind leg. The best season for traj»j)ing otters
is in the fall. Tliey frequent the heads of rivers and lakes
at this time of year, and are assiduous in their attentions to
breeding salmon and trout. In the winter they can only
be taken vitli the steel trap, which is usually set in the
little spot of open water which is frequently seen at the
inlets and outlets of lakes, and where there is nearly always
an otter slide. These slides are made by the otter lying on
its belly and sliding down snow banks. This they do for
sport, as the boys of Canada slide down the hills on coasters.
When they come out of the water otters roll like dogs to

334

THE TRAPPER.

dry themselves and scrape, as dogs do at rabbit holes.
They are frequently seen on the fee in winter. One De-
cember morniu;^ when my lake was one sheet of glassy
black ice, Toma woke me up, saying that lie saw two otters
in the middle of the hike. We got our guns and I strapped
on my skates and went in pursuit while Toma took a short
cut through the woo Is. When lirst they discovered that
they were pursued they were about half a mile a head of me.
My skating at the best is not swanlike. In those days I
worked my arms considerably more than my legs; indeed,
the latter limbs seemed to have but little connection with
the rest of my body. But ice was good, wind and muscle
sound, and in a few minutes I overhauled the otter, and
missed them like a man at five paces distance. It was my
first attempt at shooting on skates, and for half a minute
more or less after pulling trigger it seemed probable that
I should then and there end my mad career, At the close
of tliis brief period of concentrated agony, during which I
pei'formed a variety of figures that I have never attempted
since, I regained my balance and resumed the chase.
Overtaking the hindmost otter, I made a job at him with
my gun, and he, looking anything but pleasant, snapped at
the barrels ; at the same instant, the muzzle catching in
the ice, I came a header, as it seemed to me, right on the
top of the beast. I actually felt his breath on my face,
and for one dreadful second there seemod a probability that
I should come to the ignominious end of being eaten by an
otter. Fortunately, he preferred fish and freedom to an
exhausted man on skates, and I think he was right. When
I rose he was 30 yards off in one direction, and my gun 10
yards off in another. The chase was now getting exciting ;

mmmmmmmm^

THE L UP CER VI Ell

335

it holes.
3ne De-
if glassy
vo otters
strapped
k a short
3recl that
■ad of me.
se days 1
; indeed,
ition with
id muscle
otter, and
It was my
■ a minute
3able that
t the close
.o" which I
Attempted
;he chase,
him with
mapped at
itching in
kit on the
|i my face,
jilitv that
Lten by an
Vlom to an
It. When
Iny gun 10
1 exciting ;

for Jim, who was not provided with skates, bad by dint of
short cuts come within range, and had opened fire with his
Brummagem gun. His bullets skipped phiyfully along
the ice between me and the otter, who was making for open
water not far ahead. Once again I cauglit him up, and
this time delivered a windmill blow with the butt, which
capsized the otter and myself also. A thousand fireworks
danced before my eyes, and wh* ;. dazed and bleeding from
a crack on the head, I managed to rise to a sitting posture*
I had the satisfaction of beholding Toma polishing off the
otter with the butt of his long gun, whilst my ill-used
weapon lay on the ice beside me, with the stock cracked
in two.

The loupoervier {Fdis Canadensis) is a shy roving animal
that, thougii by no means scarce, is seldom seen by the
hunter. Their chief food is the American hare, but thev
also eat grouse, beaver, musquash, even mice, anything
in fact they can catch. They have not much pluck,
and do not venture to attack an old beaver or a deer. I
therefore do not believe the anecdotes that one hears
sometimes of their attacking inen, the following for in-
stance : It sccni ' that near a certain settlement, a man was
walkinnf hcrie at night from the forge, with a set of horse-
shoes in his hands. His path lay through the woods. A
loupcervier jumped off the branch of a tree on to his neck.
The man drove the beast off with repeated blows of the
horse-shoes, but " iiis face was a good deal spoiled," sic.
The loupcervier is also said to catch ducks in a very clever
manner. AVhen he sees ducks swimming in a pond in the
woods, he creeps cautiously to the bank and lies down in
concealed positions and in proper attitude for a spring, then

'ill

336

THE TVxArPER.

V-i-

when the ducks arc looking in tliat direction he wags his
little tail (like a shaving brush) from side to side. The
curiosity of the ducks is excited, they swim towards the
moving object until one of them gets within three or four
yards of the bank, when the loupcervier pounces upon it.
The fox also gets the credit of this stratagem, and I can
quite believe it of either of these quadrupeds in the case of
perfectly unsophisticated ducks, some species of the latter
being of a very curious and inquisitive disposition. From
this is derived the system oftoling ducks with trained dogs
as practised in the United States. The loupcervier is a
bold and excellent swimmer, and also a good tree climber.
They are very easily trap})ed. A. small hough camp is made
with a bait tied to a stake at one end, and at the other a
doorway, across which two slanting pieces of stick crossing
at tlie centre are stuck into the grourid to for'ii a door-
step, inside these a steel trap is set nicely concealed, or
when the trapper has no steel trajis a cord noose is set in
the doorway made fast to the end of a stout spring pole.
The best season to trap loupcervier is in the month oi
March, when the males are runiiinii' after the females.
The trapper perfumes his traps with the musk of the
musquash, or else, and better still, with the oil bag of the
beaver. The females carry their young nine weeks. The
fur is in season from the middle of November to the end of
]\[arch ; alter that time the l\ir is spoilt, and they are then
much tormented by fleas. The flesh of the loupcervier is
white and tender, and not bad eating.

The pine marten, or sable {Mustela martes) is a very
shy and active little animal, and very rarely if ever seen
by the hunter. When hard pressed by a dog they tree.

I.H 1

THE MARTEN.

337

¥.

,-ags his
^ The
ir<ls the
I or four
upon it.
id I can
3 case of
lie Latter
. From
ned dogs
vier is a
I climber.
p is made
3 other a
c crossing
A a door-
•ealed, or
is set in
iig pole,
month ot
females.
V of the
vg of the
ks. The
he end of
are then
icervier is

is a very
ever seen
they tree.

Their food consists chiefly of squirrels, hares, grouse, mice,
and birds' eggs. They are fond of fish also, but cannot catch
them. A year in wliich squirrels are j)]entiful in the woods
is considered by marten ti-ai)[)ers to be a good season for
trapping. The fur is in season from 1st November to 1st
April. There is the greatest possible difference in the value
of the skins, ^larten skins taken north of the St. Lawrence
in tlio Labrador direction are worth from 1?. to 11. >^s., wliilst
those from Now Brunswick are not worth more than ()«.or7s.
The darker the colour the more valuable the fur. tSouth
of the St. Lawrence, though an occasional dark-fui-red
sable is now and then taken, the colour of the fur is a light
chestnut, almost a yellow. In the Labrador and the nor'-
west the fur of the marten is a dark lustrous chestnut,
almost in the back approaching to black. The farther
north the better the fur, thus the marten of CJaspe are
worth more than the marten of New Brunswick, but are
inferior to the marten of Lal)rador and the nor'-west. The
same remark applies to most furs. The best way to mak(^
a marten trap is to fell a tree, some 10 inches in diameter,
cutting it 4 feet from the ground. On this stunij[), which
must be cut flat and level, construct a little camp made of
chips sharpened at the end and driven into the stump.
Leave a small doorway at one side. Oven* this set the deatl-
fidl which should be a pole about 15 feet or 20 feet in length,
one end resting on the bough of a tree about the same
height as the trap, the other supported by the bait stick.
A trap set on the ground is of no use as it gets blocked u[)
with snow. The best bait is the head of a grouse, ))nt
any sort of flesh or fish answers. Steel traps are some-
times used, suspended by chams from trees, but wooden

5! :.'

"■■,^r

338

THE TRAPPER.

deadfalls are decidedly the best. A good woodsman will
make a great number of these traps in a day, and they
should be attended at least once a fortnight in the winter.
Different s* ents are used to allure the marten to the
traps, but nothing is more efficacious than the oil from
the beaver's oil bag.

The mink (Mustela vison). This little animal was for-
merly very plentiful on almost every lake and river
in Canada, but unfortunately for it the fur became
fashionable a few years ago and the price of a skin jumped
from Is. up to 12s. or 14s. Thic rise of price was of
course disastrous to mink. They resemble the otter in
their habits and mode of feeding, but do not travel so for
in search of food. They are rarely met with any distance
from water. The mink is a comparatively tame little
animal and easily trapped either in deadfalls or steel traps
baited with lish. In summer I have seen them come
quite close to my feet and show little symptoms of alarm
even when I moved. The fur is in season from October
to May. Next to the skunk the mink has the strongest
and most disagreeable smell. They are said by the
Indians to catch snakes, but this I have never seen.
Some years ago, when mink fur was the fashion, and tiie
price consequently very high, "niinkerics" were established
ill America. They did not pay }iowever. Amongst other
drawbacks it was found, as might have been expected, that
the fur of the domesticatea mink was quite inferior to the
fur of the wild animal.

The musquash {Fiber zibethicus) is often called a musk-
rat, and is, perhaps, on account of this name, not held in
aa high estimation as it deserves. So far from being a

an will
id they

winter.

to the
)il from

was tbr-

ad river

became

1 jumped

THE MUSQUASH.

339

rat, it is a near relative of the beaver, and in many of its
habits very much resembles that wisest of animals. The
musquash is found all over Canada, in almost every lake,
stream, and river, and even in tlie salt-water marshes on
the sea-coast. It is one of the few wild animals that
survives the settlement of the country by man. Its
fur, thouixh really excellent, is only worth 10(7. or Is.
Should the price ever rise, musquash will no doubt
become scarce. They breed like rabbits, two or three
litters in the season. In winter they make little camps
for themselves, of mud and rushes, which are generally
built in shallow lakes. The entrance to the camp is
under water, but the ppartment above water. Unlike
the beaver, they do not lay up a winter store of food in
their camps, but depend upon the grass and roots that
they can find under the ice. In some places, instead of
camps they burrow^ in the banks of rivers. The fur
is in se;ison from September to .June. The musquash,
notwi hstanciing its stroun; smell, is verv good eating.
-Uhe Indians, in some parts of New Brunswick, fast on
its iiesli in Lent, as ihey consider it comes under the
head of iw]\. ]\Iusquash are not very shy, and the sports-
man of an evening, when sitting on the banks of a river
ur ^ake watching for ducks, sees the little fellows swim-
mihg and diving all round him, and hauling grass and
rushes to their camps. They are caught in steel traps,
like otter ; also in curious little lloatiug deadfalls, baited
with parsnips, a vegetable they are extremely fond of.
In winter they are taken in steel traps set under the ice
near the doors of their lodges, or else they are speareil
through the roof, which their breath keeps from freezing

fvtt .

I • 1 l:

^ !:

lii'i

f^^r

310

THE TRAPl'En.

\ }

hard. Tliey coinmoncc to l)iiil(l tlu'ir lodfjjes in the end
of Septcniher, and build them about a loot and a half
hif^her than the surface of the water. In sprinp, like
their relatives the beaver, they roam about, and during
the summer seem to have no fixed residences. In the
months of A])ril and jVIay the smell of musk is the
strongest; this is the mating season, and tlie Indians at
this time call them within shot by imitating their cry,
which they do by sucking in air between the lips.

I'lic pekan or black cat (Mustela Canadensis), sometimes
called the "fisher," though why I cannot guess, as it
never goes near the water, and lives in the forest like
the marten, which it resembles in habits. The pekan is
the most agile of all the denizens of the forest, and the
most voracious. It eats any animal food it can get, and
does not even fear the barbed quills of the porcupine.
I have seen pekans whose skins were full of quills.
When a cariboo or moose is shot, if there is a pekan
in the neighbourhood he will be sure to find the carcase.
They are dreadful robbers, and sometimes cause great
loss to the tra})per by robbing a whole line of sable traps,
and eating the sable that may be caught therein; they
sometimes, however, carry this game a little too far, and
are caught in a trap prepared for them, either a steel
trap or a heavy deadfall, which the knowing old trapper
generally constructs at intervals along his line. The fur
is coarse, but valuable from its colour ; price about 1/.
Persons ignorant of fur have sometimes the skins of tame
black cats, with tails and ears cut off, imposed upon them
as pekan skins.

The skunk {Mephitis Americana) is, in my opinion, a

■"" "'VkT^

TIIE STvUXK.

341

lie end
a lialf
g, like
during

In the

is the
Lians at
eir cry,

metinies
ss, as it
i-est like
pekan is
, and the
rret, and
lorcnpine.
f quills,
a pekan
carcase.
ISO great
traps,
lem; they
far, and
a steel
d trapper
The fur
about 1/.
IS of tame
pon them

opinion, a

,11

nnieh inuligiiod little animal. Anyone who has watched
an okl skunlc, witli t\vo or three young ones playing
about her, as I have, could not help liking them. They
are as playful as kittens, and twice as i)rctty. It is only
when attacked and in danger of its life that it makes
use of the weapon of defence with which nature has
furnished it, viz. its stink bag. The skunk is found in
the Ibrest, but it seems to prefer old camps and barns ;
often even coming into outhouses and cellars in the settle-
ments, I believe in pursuit of mice. The fur is extremely
[)retty, and the smell of the animal when killed in a dead
fall is litthi worse than the smell of a mink. I have
myself skinned several of them. IJut, on the other liand,
when luinted by a dog, or shot, the smell is terrific. A
favourite dog of mine killed a skunk on one occasion, and
for days — I might in his case say for weeks — neither of
us was fit for human society. He, poor fellow, knew what
was the matter with him, and, tlujugh generally the most
sociable of animals, kept at a distance from everybody,
and no doubt felt himself an outcast. I gave the clothes
I had on at the time of the rencontre to an Indian boy,
who, I believe, has gone by the name of " the skunk "
ever since. No wonder that the old French liabitants
called them Enfans dn diahle. The flesh is eaten by some
Indians ; they are very fat, and the fat is said to be au
excellent cure for rheumatism. They den in winter in
old deserted camps, under |)iles of bushes, or in fallen
trees.

The porcupine (Histrix pilosus). This animal is by
no means evenly distributed over the Canadian forest.
In many parts of Lower Canada I have been in the woods

1; 11

t tl

mn^^

312

THE TRAPPEn.

for weeks, and even fur months, without sooin<^ porcnplno
sign; while in other districts of the same province, in
New Brunswick, and especially in Nova Scotia, they are
])lentiful. I am told by tra})pors that they also abound in
certain districts of the nor'-west. They are of no value
to the trapper, but the quills, when dyed, are used by the
Indian scpniws for ornamenting birch-bark boxes, cVc.
They are groat enemies to dogs.

The smell of this (to the sportsman) ol>noxious animal
is so strong that his dogs cannot help finding it, and its
moveuKMits are so slow that they seldom fail to catch it ;
but here their difficulties only comme!ice. A young.
plucky dog will tackle a porcupine, and even kill it;
while his blood is up he never feels the quills, or if he
does they only serve to irritate him the more. After-
wards the poor beast is a pitiable object; his mouth,
throat, tongue, and nose are one mass of quills, and many
a good dog has to be shot in consequence. The quills are
very sharp, and notched or barbed at the point; they
stick firmly in anything they touch, even in the stock of
a gun, and leave the porcupine as easily as they stick into
an attacking substance. As pulling them out of a dog's
flesh causes great pain and inflammation, I have found
that the best way is to cut them off with a sharp knife or
scissors. In course of time the points that remain in the
dog work out of themselves. If the dog recovers he will
seldom tackle a porcupine a second time.

The movements of a porcupine on the ground are
clumsy and absurd in the extreme ; he waddles along
very slowly, with his head down and his tail up. The
Indians say that in the daytime he is ashamed of himself

THE roncvriNE.

343

(for lu'in}^ so ugly, I suppose), and lionco his dojcctod
uppoaranco, but that at niglit lu^ lifts up his head and runs
like a (h)g. This I sliall believe when I see it ; but in
the meantime I ean answer for his being a capital
climber. He knows this, and always makes for a tree
when pursued. When there is none within reach, lie
does not turn and stand manfully to bay, but hides his
head in a hole or under a root, and expos(!S his stern to
the baflled pursuer. This he does because his head and
belly are unprotected — the back and tail being thickly
studded with quills. When scalded with boiling water
the hair and quills scrape off easily ; the flesh is not bad
eating, something like pork with a sonp^on of spruce
about it. The only wild animals that prey upon them
are the pekan and the bear. Their food is the bark
of the spruce, the maple, and other wood. In winter,
when they cotne across a tree that suits their taste, they
camp under it, and peel it from stem to top. They do
not den regularly like the bear, but have a snug lodging
under a dead tree or a heap of bushes, from whence they
come out daily for food, travelling, however, very short
distances in the deep snow. The female has one or two
young ones early in the spring, which she is said to wean
by tapping the sugar maple and making the cubs lick up
the sap ; but this (the gtatement, not the sugar) must be
taken with a grain of salt. They certainly do tap the
maples in the sugar season, and are fond of sweets, and,
like the bear, they have been known to steal molasses.

The wolf {Canis lupus occidentalism vai*. grisens). This
is a wandering animal, sometimes found in one district,
sometimes in another, its movements depending a good

s I I

344

r/M' T/,\\r I '/■:!!.

/'Jul

(leal 11 [ion those of its prey, viz. the cnriljoo and tlio Vir-
giniiiu (leer. It is scldoin scon hy the liiint(>r, tlioii<^h its
trucks in the snow when in |)iirsiiit of doer aro frccjiicntly
met with. In my tiMitpimf oxp(!rioiu'os I unly kiUcd (tiic
of tiieso animals, whiidi 1 found in a deadfall set for bear,
and baited witli beaver meat. [ am told that in summer
they frequently I )ro\vl anaiud the dams and lodj^es, on the
chance of piekiiij^' up a stray beaver. Their howl is most
dismal, even more so than that of a chained-up do;,^ On
one occasion, when moose calliii^i; on a hdce in New ih'uns-
wick, just us darkness set in, a wolf, in response to the
melanchojy note of our bircii-bark trumpet, commenced a
dismal howl on one end of the lake ; he was pr(;s(mtly
answered by anotlier in an opposite direction, and the
howl or wail was taken U[> by two or three other animals
in dilferent directions all around us. Hearing the same
identical howl repeated at intervals through the even-
ing, and echoing throughout the forest from every point
of the compass, had a weird and supernatural effect. 31 y
Indian, who iiad never heard a wolf before, was seized
with a panic. He thougiit it was "the great snake,"
refused his supper, said his pruyers, and wanted to make
tracks, and I had the greatest diniculty in preventing him
from leaving me alone in the woods.

The ground-hog or wood-chuck (Ardomys monax).
This little animal seems to be more often met with on the
outskirts of the clearings than in the heart of the forest,
and has no objection to cultivated land ; in fact, it is very
partial to potatoes and other vegetables. I saw a great many
of them in burnt woods. The fur is of no value to the
trapper, but the skin makes excellent pouches for tobacco,

sor/n/^/'L^.

345

ummunition, ite. The Indians liavo a snporstition tliat a
j^iUi tlmt oneo slioots a <;i'()im(l-li()^ is ruineil tor overy-
thing elso. The llcsli is very ^jood eatinf;. 'I'lu-y lay up
stores of nuts, (fcc, in tlu'ir dens, as S(|uirrc'ls do, and
remain at liomu all winter.

There are at least iive species of squirrels in the Cana-
dian forest. Two of (liesc, tho blaek s([uirrel {Scinriis Niyei')
and the <:;rey s([uirrel [S. Cu7'olinennis), are only found in
Canada West, and I bulieve even tliere are oidv sninnu-r
visitors, nii<2;niting southwards in the cold wenthci', but of
tlieir habits 1 cannot s[)eak with certainty. In tlu* regions
(jf the trapper I have met with only three species, viz. the
common red squirrel {S. Ilwhonlns), ;^round s(iuirr(d
(;S^. striatus), and tlyinij^ squiri-el (*S'. Sahrintis). The last-
named is a little animal of very secluded habits, which
leads a solitary life in the depths of the forest, rarely seen
by the hunter, though siunetimes caught in his traps. It
Hies from tree top to tree toj), feeding on cones of the fir
and pine trees, and nuik(>s its nest in a hollow tree.

The red squirrel nuxy be seen not only in the forest,
but in the settlements; a cheerful, noisy, audacious little
fellow, he may sometimes be met with even in the villages,
chattering on the roof tops or running along the fences.
The fur of these animals, though very soft, thick, and
pretty, is of little or no value. Their chief enemies are
nuirteus and weasels in the woods, cats and small boys in
the settlements. Systematically hunted they are not, so
that, unlike most of the other wild animals of the country,
they do not melt away ; on the contrary, they increase
and multiply, for man kills some of their natural enemies,
and helps to supijly them with food. They build their

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TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER. N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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346

THE TRAPPER.

nests in ol4 stumps or under the roots of a tree, and lay
up for themselves ample provisions of fir cones for the
winter. They also eat nuts of every kind, apples, and
even potatoes. No shell seems too hard for their sharp
cutting teeth ; even the butter-nut— a nut so hard as to
defy nutcrackers, and impregnable to human efforts
without the assistance of hammer and anvil — is breached
by the squirrel.

The habits of this species and of the flying squirrel
seem to be almost identical. Both provide themselves
with warm comfortable winter quarters, as does the bear ;
but they do not hybernate like Bruin. When a mild
day occurs, as mild days do occur even in this Arctic
winter, or an unusually warm ray of sunshine peeps
through the tree tops, then the red squirrel may be seen
emerging from his hole in the snow, scampering up the
nearest tree, and even cracking a social nut or enjoying
a friendly chatter with his mate or next-door neighbour.
In the fall they invade gardens and orchards in force,
carrying off nuts and apples to their dens, which are
sometimes a quarter of a mile distant.

The character of the red squirrel presents a curious
combination of extreme shyness and extreme audacity.
Walking through the woods we may see a glimpse of a
squirrel as he scampers out of sight, or hear him chat-
tering far off in the distance, but that is all. Let us now
sit down and remain perfectly motionless for a few minutes,
and squirrels appear as if by enchantment, and play about,
round our feet and over our heads ; then, on our making
the slightest movement, they instantaneously disappear. I
have seen captive squirrels, but I never saw a tame one,

I ';

SQUIRRELS.

347

nor do I believe it possible to tame them ; and yet in the
pairing season, in the month of IMay, I have seen them in
amatory pursuit come into my camp and run about it,
ignoring my presence altogether. On one occasion two of
thera climbed up to my head, and from thence jumped
through the smoke-hole in the roof. If any animal pos-
sesses conversational powers, certainly the squirrel does.
It would be in vain for me to try to describe the twenty
different noises they give utterance to, further than that
one is not unlike the striking of an filurm clock.

The ground squirrel is a beautiful little animal, striped
lengthwise along the back with red, white, and brown. As
his name implies, he is not a tree climber, and seems to
prefer the outskirts of a settlement or the sunny side of a
snake fence to the forest. He too has a house or burrow
in the ground, and lays by a store of food ; but, unlike the
other species, rarely if ever comes out in the winter season.
Nor yet can he be said to hybernate ; he simply stops at
home, and takes his ease, enjoying, in the bosom of his
family, the fruits of his summer's toil. His food is much
the same as that of the red squirrel.

The red squirrel and the flying squirrel plague the
trapper at times by stealing his baits of fish or flesh, and
getting caught in his traps, to the exclusion of more valu-
able fur, but I never suspected my little friend the ground
squirrel of carnivorous, not to say predatory propensities,
until I caught one (a female) walking off with a chicken.
There was no doubt about the matter ; she was caught in
flagrante delidu, cutting the cheeper's throat behind the
old hen's back, and then carrying it off to her den — pro-
bably to her young ones. I forgave the first offence ; but

.11

1 1 1

i.
If

t;.'

1'^ ^

348

TlfK TRAPPKIi.

when she returned next day for another infant Dorking,
human nature could stand it no longer, and I slow her
there and then.

There is a bhu'k variety of tlie red squirrel very rarely
seen, wiiich has given rise to the following Indian legend:
It seems that in tlie old times of flint arrow-heads and
hirch-bark kettles, when tlie jMicmacs were a great and
powerful race, living at peace in their villages along the
coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a boy of the tribe, one
Jcneni, caught this black squirrel — this apple of discord —
in the wo(jds of New I {runs wick. Ke showed it to his
father, to the old men of his tribe, to the grand totem
himself; but not one of them knew what it was, though
they all agreed that it was " bad medicine " and told the
youth to let it go. Boy-like, however, though Indian, he
thought he was wiser tlian his elders, and put no faith in
medicine ; so, instead of doing as he was told and letting
his captive go, he took him up country to a 3Ioliawk camp
as a present to the object of his young alfections, a
jMohawk lass. There was, however, a rival in the case,
a ferocious young JMohawk, who had no idea of being cut
out by a iish-eating IMicmac — not he ! This wily savage
met our young friend on the road, entered into conversa-
tion with him, came to the conclusion that the black
squirrel was " good medicine," then treacherously stabbed
his rival, and presented the squirrel to the fair one.
Whether he })rospered in his suit, history does not relate ;
but, and this is a matter beyond all doubt, there was a
terrible uproar in consequence, and many a JMohawk was
sent to the happy hunting grounds.

THE EliMTXE WEASEL.

349

Tliere are at least four dilU'ercnt spocies of mice in tlio
fur woods, and thoy are most unmitigated pests to the
trapper, eatiiiu: baits out of liis traps, spoilinuj valuable
fur, swarming in his camp and cache, iind devouring his
clothes and stores. Tiicy are in turn eaten by almost
every other (lescription of carnivorous animal — sable,
weasel, loupcervier, skunlc, &c., also by owls. Some of tliem
are naturally torpid in winter, but when they find a warm
cam}) tliey get unpleasantly lively. I am not acquainted
witli the scientific names of these mice. There is one a
groat frequenter of camps, fiimiliar to every trapper, a
biggish fellow, witli reddish back, white belly, and very
short tail ; also a shrew mouse, with a nose like a mole, a
very diminutive fellow ; also a jumping mouse, with a
long tail, I presume Meriones Lahradorias. They all seem
omnivorous in winter, and eat bread, meat, sugar, clothes,
&c., &c.

Two weasels arc met with, the ermine (MnsteJa ermlnea),
and tlu! little weasel (J/, vulgaris). Loth these are brown
in summer, in Octob >r tiiey turn a light brownish grey,
and in winter are })ure white with the exception of a black
tip to the tail, and in the case of the common weasel a
sulphur tint about the loins. The fur of the ermine
weasel is very like the Kussian ermine, so like that in
})icked skins it would take a very good judge of fur to tell
the difference. Yet the Canadian ermine is positively of
no value to the trapper, who does not take the trouble to
skin it, and is tormented with it in his sable line. The
ermine weasel is the most active and sprightly lit^'-;
animal it is possible to conceive. I saw one pursue and

i if

ill

> I

350

THE TRAP PER.

;

'■in

catch a squinvl, and I liave noticed tliat tliose that
were taken in my sable traps were invariably head out,
i. e. after the deadtall had sprunj^ and before it had
crushed them, they had wheeled rt)und. They have a
very strong musky smell ; eat hares, mice, t^'c, &c,, and
are very inquisitive, playful, and even bold. When lyinj,'
in camp of an evening I have seen a weasel come in
through a hole, walk round, and look at everything, then
seize some little bit of meat and walk out, repeating this
operation several times.

As a country becomes more thickly inhabited, it is
natural that the wild beasts should fly before the approach
of man and gradually diminish. I have observed that both
animals and birds are much more easilv banished from
a certain district in Canada than tliey are at home. I
suppose it is that, in comparisDU to the vast extent of the
country, they are fewer in number. However that may be,
I know little spots in the old coimtry — a i)articular corner
of a rushy field, or a soft spot in an Irif^h bog — where day
after day, the whole season through, the sportsman or the
poacher is almost sure to find a brace of ducks, a few
snipe, or a flock of teal ; even when shot down, others
take their place. In Canada it is quite difi'erent, very little
hunting or shooting serves to scare away the game and
drive them to more remote districts ; but I never could
understand how it is that some animals, and those appa-
rently the most shy, are so much harder to be banished
than others. Cariboo, moose, sable, and particularly
beaver, are the first to fly from the neighbourhood of man.
The loupcervier, the fox, the bear, and the otter, all par-

TTIK BKAIl.

351

)8e that
end out,
) it had
have a
&c., and
len lyin;;
come in
ing, then
iting this

ted, it is
approach
that both
ihed from
home. 1
lentof the
,t may be,
ihir corner
Iwhere day
an or the
Ic'ks, a few
[vn, others
Ivery little
[game aiid
iver could
ose appa-
banished
Tticularly
d of man.
r, all par-

ticularly shy and wary aniniali?, remain to the hist, though
the bear and otter are both much iiuntcd for tlieir fur.
In Prince Edward Island, the most tiiijklv settled of all
the maritime provinces, the moose, the cariboo, and tlie
beaver are long since extinct, but the other animals still
abound.

Bears are quite as numerous iu parts of Canada as they
ever were. The sportsman does not often see them, it is
true, for Bruin is a sly a!id sneaking fellow, and does the
greater part of his prowling about by night. In summer
they live altogether on berries, which grow in profusion in
the barrens and burnt woods. In tlie fall bears are found in
the beech woods, eating the nuts that fall from the trees.
They cltoose their dens before the snow falls, and retire to
them about the beginning of December. At this time
they are very fat ; strange to say, they do not fall off in
condition during the winter months, and at the end of
March or beginning of April, when they leave their dens,
they are as fat as when they went in. After this they
ri\pidly lose flesh, and keep getting thinner till the berries
come iu. In seasons when the berries are a failure. Bruin
is very hard pushed by iiungei", and numbers of them
leave their haunts in the backwoods and prowl about the
outskirts of the settlements^ committing great havoc
among the mutton and the oat fields, and occasionally
even walking off with young cattle. \\'\\c\\ vegetable food
can be got, they eat nothing else; but when that fails, I
know nothing eatable that a bear will refuse. Most of the
animals in this country become omnivorous when pressed
by hunger ; thus I have known the rabbit {Lepm Avieri-

:i52

THE TRAP PER.

canm)i^i\i salt nndfisli in tlie depth of wiiitor, and thf littlo
nhi('kiid(>e (Par us atricapiUm) lias visited my ico house to
f,'et a feed of froziMi hoof. I Inivo known hoars to hreak into
an oak pork harrol and devour ti»e salt junk. On one
occasion, in Antieosti, they broke into my cache, ate a
hran-now pair of hoots and lialf a barrel of (lour, and then
walked off with a tightly-corked jar of mtjlasscs — whethoi-
they managed to get at the contents or not, I never dis-
covered. With a decided leaning towards leather Bruin
combines a weakness for rum, and gets as drunk as a lord
when he has the chance. The females have two, and
occasionally three cubs, early in the spring, before they
leave their dens.

The bear has got the credit of l)eing a ft^rocious 'animal,
but, after a great deal of experience in bear shooting, I
have arrived at the conclusion that the American variety
is one of the shyest, most timid, and most cowardly of
animals. Even a she bear I have known to desert her
cubs when they got into trouble, and seek her own sal'ety
in night. Of course there have been instances of bears
turning to bay, for even a mouse will show fight when
hemmed in a corner. Like the moose, their senses of
hearing and smell, particularly the latter, are most acute.
Their sight is by no means sharp. Often they do not
appear to notice a man in the least, unless he arrests
their attention by some sharp, quick motion. Whatever
pluck they seem to possess I attribute to their defective
sight. They seem more overpowered with fear by the
smell of a man than by anything else.

The fur of the bear is at its prime in the spring, when
they first come out of their dens, and this is the best time

■PP

HE A Its.

353

10 little
louse to
jiik into
On one
;, iite ti
nd then
whether
sver (lii^-
!!' Bruin
\s a lord
:wo, and
are they

s^nnimal,
lootinj:^, 1
p variety
ardly ol"
esert her
[vn safety
of bears
rht when
[senrics ot
ist acute,
do not
^e arrest?^
^Vhatever
j defective
r by the

Ing, when
Ibest time

to trap them, as tliey are tlion most voracious. The
"deadfall" is a little canij) over the entrance of which
a heavily-woighlod log is adjusted, so that when liruin
touches tlie bait it comes down on the small of his back.
A couple of good woodsmen will make and set half-a-
dozen deadfalls in the course of a day. They are baited
with mutton, beef, })ork, lish, partridge — anything, in fact,
as long as it is pretty high and smelly. Steel trai)s arc
[•referred by the trai)per to deadfalls, for the cruel reason
that the latter kill the bear almost immediately, and cou-
se(iuently in warm weather require constant attendance,
whereas the poor bear caught by the paw in a steel trap
lives for seven or eight days. The steel trap must not be
chained to a standing tree or other stationary object, as
the bear in his lirst struggles will smash anything that
resists hiu), but when it is chained to a log he drags it
after him for a short distance, and then gets tired out.
Kope snares made fast to strong spring poles are also used
with success on their paths and roads. I knew a trapper
on the TJpsalquitch who killed thirty-two bears one spring,
and he told me he lost twenty more out of his traps. How
that may be I cannot say, but I saw the thirty-two skins ;
the largest measured 7 feet 8 inches from snout to tail.
In the spring bears tap the sugar maple with their claws,
and lick up the sweet sap which flows freely from a wound
in the bark of the tree. They also peel the spruce trees,
and eat with relish the tender inner bark.

The sportsman, when hunting cariboo in the first snow,
sometimes comes across a bear's tracks, and follows them
to the den, when Bruin falls an easy victim, as he comes
out to see what is up. Sometimes, too, when the snow is

2 A

'iff
I,

'<ii

77/a; riiAri'i.n.

still (It'(^j), they iini imliicrd l)y juild w<'atlicr 1o \vi\\i\
tlu'ir (Iciis, imd mo then (iiisily run down l»y the liiiiitor il'
li(> coinrs on tlioir traid<H. An old Indian told nio tliat
they aro .sonicliinos 8a'.a«;o ( ,) those; occasions, and that
oncro ho ran <lown a hear, and, his ;^iin niissin;jj lire, the
chase continnod, with the .slight dilVoronco that JJniin
hccanio tht; })urKn(M'. Yonn^ hears ant V(M*y phiyl'nl and
<i;(M»tle in c(»n<inenn>nt np to a certain a^e, hnt tlioy arc
a[)t ti) heconni treacherons as they <:row older. I saw a
cub at Caniphelton, on the Kesti^ouche, that had hciii
suckled by a sqnaw.

The best time to shoot bears is in the month of
August, whi^n they como out on the plains and barrens
for blueberri(>s. I have seldom found a boar when
1 have been lookinu^ for them, thongli I have seen
and shot several when salmon tishiiijij; and sn)all gaino
shootin<;. ()u one occasion, when partridjj^e shootini^, I
lanrrd my dogs making a tremendous fuss, and ran iij),
(^xpeeting to iind them engag(>(l with a porcupine. Tliev
wore running round a huge boar, who did not seem much
put out, but now and then made an ugly wi})e at the de;.'-
with his paw. As the dogs engaged his attention, he
allowed mo to come up to within 8 or 10 yards, when
1 rolled him over with a couple of charges of No. <J shot.
In some parts of Canada a reward of jij;3 is given by the
(Joverumont for each bear killed; but this incentive is
not needed. There is a gun in every settler's house in
Canada, and a young fellow who is only too glad ot
the chance of using it. Where sheep have been killed
by bears they invariably return to the carcases on the

^TO^

Tin: III: A r/;/;.

• If )• )

following; iii;;lit, wlicii they nltm lull virtiiiis to tlit'ir lovf
ofllic ilijllicil settler's inilttoli.

Tlmre are lew iiiiiinuls tlmt Imve heeii iiidre wriltiii
altoiit than tlu; ln-iiver. So immy leiiiind iiatiiiali>ts have
(lescrilieil its lialiits tliat 1 uin almost .ilVaid to a)ipro)M-li
the siiltject. What iiidiit'es tiie to do so is, that wiiereas
the older accounts of this aidtiial rather hordcr on the
marvellous, so the more recent ones — passin;^ from one
(.'xtn^mc to till! other — do nol, in my ojiinion, ih» justice to
its cleverness. I have seen a ^ood deal of tin; bcuver. I
havo met him " travcdlin;;- " in the spring and summer,
and found him "at home" with his i'aniiiy in the fall and
wint(n' ; and 1 pnr[>oM' to narrate only what has come
under my own ohsorvution.

SouK! twenty or thirty years a|ro, when heaver fur fell
from 20«. to 2s. i\d, per II)., beavi-rs were very scarce in
Jhitish North America. 'Ihoy are very prolillc, however ;
and in a short time, thanks to the (h.crease in price, tiiey
bceanio a.s iminorous as ever. J)ui'ij»"' the last ton years
tho demaud for beaver fur has been slowly but steadily
increasiiiiT, owimr to the y;rowin^ scarcity of other fur:
and althonjfli not one-half as valuable as it was in the
oldon times, it still pays to hunt them. The country, too,
is of course gettin<; o[iened U}) ; and as the price of fur
rises and population iuerea.ses, so do the beavers decrease.
They are now only to be found on tlie extreme heads of
rivers far away from settlements.

The vicinity of a large beaver camp very much re-
sembles that around an Indian camp, so much so that a
person unacquainted with and unprepared for the animal

, e

n:)G

T//I-: T/iAi'i'/:/,:

ini^^lit rt'iidily niistulvc the rnnini' Inr tlio luttfr. I will
try iind «l(,'.seribL' one that 1 tniiiui on liic licud (»!' the
Jlotapodiii.

Tlic strciun was sonic 15 or 20 IV'ot in width, with u

considcnilth! Ciill. l''onr diinis hud been constructed at

intervals of about 100 vards. The pond formed bv the

uj)|>er dam but one was jtrobably about an aero in oxtont.

of a (le|>tli of <S feet in the centre, shoalin*; aiX towards thu

edj::es. 'I'he place was thickly v/ooded ; but, as it was an

old colony, the trees in the jtond had all lieeu killed hy

tlio water; somo remained standin<^, others had fallen and

lay on the auri'aco. The dam was semicircular, convex to

the stream, and about 150 yards in length ; in an irref,niliir

way it surrounded the uppt^r half of the pond. The s|k*

for building this dam had been chosen, as is invariably

the case, with remarkable judgment; and ail natiinil

features, such as little islands, recks, stunij)S of trees, &i',,

had been tiirned to good account. The centre of the diun

was about 5 feet in height, and 8 or 10 feet in width at the

base, and so comjjact that it took two men with axes the

greater j)art of an hour to cut an aperture through it

feet wide. The camp was situated near the centre of

the pond, on the original bank of the stream. It was

about the size and shape of an ordinary haystack, a little

flattened down ; rather more than two-thirds showed above

the water (about 8 feet). Internally it contained one

large circular apartment, about 6 feet G inches in

diameter; the roof, which was arched or dome-shaped.

being 2 feet 3 or 4 inches in the centre, and gradually

sloping downwards to the edge. The floor was 10 inches

above water-mark, and contained four beds made of chips

TiiK 111: A vi:n.

Wol

,.r. I NviU
nul of thi-

til, witli 11
^tnictcd Jit
iK'd l)y the
:> in extent,
towjinls the
18 it wiis an
n killed by
il fiiUcu mill

V, CUUVCX t(i

an irroj,'uliir
1. Tlii^ ^W*
IS invariuljly
all nntunil
of trees. &e',.
. of tlie (lain
width at the
ith axes the
tlirongli it
lie centre of
am. It wfts
tack, a littlf
Ihowed above
mtained one
inches in
ome-shaped
id gradually
as 10 inches
ade of chii's

i)f wood out very line. The walls W(?ro from 1 to 5 feet
thick, and iiiadi' alto;^rlher of earth and wood. Tliore
were three entrances, all under water. Clos(» to the cump
was the storehouse, an afciiniiiliitinn of fresh lop;s and
branidies siibnior;j;ed in the water for winter use. I ealcu-
liitod that there must have Imm'U half-a-do/en ordinary
cartloads, and the pih; was not comjdeted. 'I'he peided
hon^dis had been jiilcd on the house and dam. Some of
them had been haule I ti distance.' of (!0 yards by land, and
twice that distaneo by watc. Tlu'ie wei-e six well-made
roads, 12 (U* 14 inches in widui, and worn quite smooth
and hard, running into tb'^ woods in di'Verent directions.
Trees of all sizes, from a iO(»t in di." meter downwards, that
had been felled by the beaver, l.'y scattered all round the
pond and in tin watci", .-: (Un ireshly cut, others decayed
and covered with moss. The bt».i|^dis of the larger ones
had been lop[»c(l olV and carried to the 8toiohou'^)e, the
bark of the stems havini^ been eaten on the spot. Smaller
trees had bt^en felled, cut into logs, and carried bodily oil.
Saplings of the size of an axe handle had been cut as
with one slanting blow oi an axe, but the larger trees
were gnawed all round. J-)ry sticks and roots that ob-
structed their roads had been cut neatly off at the proper
breadth, and the pieces thrown aside.

This was the tirst old-established colon v of beavers that
I had ever seen. I came upon it accidentally as I was
cruising about the woods many miles from the settlements.
Anyone who is acquainted with the Canadian forest knows
iiow few signs of animal life are to be seen in it, and how
eaiierlv the faintest track in the moss or leaves, or cut in
the bark of a tree, is examined by the hunter or trapper.

358

THE TnAPPEPi.

Imagine, then, my delight at beholding this settlement in
the wilderness. I could not take it all in for a long time.
My natural instinct led me to leeward of the pond, where,
sitting on a log and preyed upon by thousands of black
flies, I remained four mortal hours on the watch. I was
rewarded bv seeinj? the beavers swimming about and
hauling logs through the water with their teeth. The
time passed so pleasantly that I never thought of goinu'
home till too late to find my way back to camp, Tho
]irospect of passing a night with the beavers did not,
however, distress me much ; and a " baby " in the most
hospitable and opportune way presenting himself, I shot
him for suj)per, and, adding insult to injury, proceeded to
cook the poor little fellow's carcase over a fire made of
wood, which he himsolf, or some otlier member of his
family, had cut for very different purposes. Here let me
remark that young beaver, roasted whole, is rather like
sucking pig, and is by no means to be desi)ised.

From its extreme richness and oiliness, the flesh of the
beaver would not be relished by the dainty stomach, hut
in the woods and prairies, far away from civilization, that
organ soars above all prejudice, and I have made many a
heartv meal of beaver flesh without onv bad result. Old
beaver or beaver tail is the better for being smoked. The
latter, I believe, is considered a great delicacy. To save
it, hold it over the fire for a few seconds ; the scales us
skin will then peel off ; put it in pickle for a few hours,
and then hang in the camp chimney.

The beaver selects a little island, or shallow spot near
the centre of his pond, for building on. A dry bed close
to deep water is essential ; this is one of the ends secured

THE BE A VER.

359

by dam-building, wliich keeps the water much on tlie
same level throughout the year. In its earlier stages the
house resembles a gigantic bird's nest, made of mud,
sticks, and stones ; branches are then laid across to serve
as rafters, more sticks and mud being piled on the top of
them to complete the edifice. The beavers then burrow
into the pile, cut off projecting sticks, and fashion out the
apartment or apartments, for there are frequently more
than one. The walls and roof are made of great thickness,
4 or 5 feet, to resist the frost ; and for the same purpose
the roof gets a fresh plastering of mud every *' fall," just
before the frost commences. When a house is inhabited
by a large family of beavers the heat they generate is so
great as to melt the snow on the ].*oof, which is but
partially frozen.

I never could perceive tliat beavers use their tails as
trowels, though they have got the credit of it. I have
little doubt, however, but that this appendage is made to
serve some useful purpose in the plastering line, else why
should it, unlike other amphibious animals, have the tail
flat horizontallv. If of no other use, it certainlv makes a
comfortable seat for them.

Beavers do not inhabit the same house for more than
three or four successive years. The reason of this is
obvious. It is easier to build a new house, where wood is
plentiful, than to haul their provisions a long distance to
the old one. Hence, on streams and lakes inhabited by
beavers there are ah\ays a great number of camps in all
stages of repair and dilapidation, also dame without end j
but these latter are always kept in re})air within half a
mile or so of the dwelling-house. The series of ponds thus

rA k ■

'"i

1 1 ii
! ■ I?

ii :

«■

V. l!

360

THE TnAPPKR.

formed gives them a greater extent of feeding ground,
and enables them to haul wood up stream. Sometimes
beavers, driven away by a feeling of insecurity or some
other cause, will leave a new house and take up their
abode in an old slianty, returning to tlicir deserted abode
every night for provisions.

Tlie materials used for building the dams are tlie same
as for the houses. I liave never seen tlie beaver actually
at work at the building. I do not think they build in
the daytime. The sticks they use vary in size from the
thickness of a man's finger to that of his leg, and in length
from 1 foot up to 5 or 6. Most of them are peeled previous
to being worked up. Dead wood also and stones are used.
I have seen the latter as big as a man's head, that must
have been carried some little distance. Stones and mud
they carry with their fore paws or hands, pressing them
against their chest and walking on their hind legs. Some
sticks lie horizontally, others in a slanting position, with
the branchy end pointing up in the air and the butts
down stream, and some short ones are in a perpendicular
position. The chief difficulty must be with the founda-
tion ; when once that is laid it is comparatively easy to
lean boughs against it as I have described, place others
crossways, weigh them down with stones and plaster them
with mud. Often they take advantage of a windfall, or a
little chain of rocks, for they dve capital engineers. The
slope on the upper side ot the dam is much less than on
the lower, and the top is accurately levelled.

I will briefly enumerate their reasons for dam-building.
1st. To deepen the water around their camp, enabling

THE BE A VEB.

3G1

them to (live and defy pursuit. 2ndly. As a protection
from the frosts of winter, whicli would freeze shallow
water to the bottom. 3rdly. To equalize tlie height of the
water throughout the year, and ])revent tiie^r beds from
being flooded. 4thly. To enable them to haul wood with
greater ease. In addition to these, I really believe that
beavers like dam-l)uilding for the amusement it affords
tliem. I am aware that in this opinion I differ from other
writers. But, if they are right, how is it that on lakes
having streams running into or from them, such streams
are invariably dammed by the beavers of the lake ? At
the head of a lake 2 or 3 miles in circumferenee I have
seen a beaver house ; at the outlet of the same lake, a mile
off, a dam built and kept in perfect repair by the beavers.
Now I cannot see what use this could have been ; it would
scarcely raise the level of the water as many inches as the
lake was fathoms in depth.

On the IMiramichi, New Brunswick, I found a small
brook — a rapid stream with a great fall. One family of
eight or ten beavers lived on it, and in the course of little
more than half a mile they had constructed no less than
thirteen dams, each about 3 feet high. The eiVect of this
in winter time was curious enough ; the ponds, frozen over
and covered with snow, formed a series of tolerably regular
steps or terraces.

In some work on natural history I have seen it stated
that the female beaver has from six to eight cubs in a litter.
I believe this to be an error. Five is the greatest mmiber
I have ever seen or heard of. The ordinary litter is three
or four. They lie up in May, and the young females do not

^Hl

\ !'

, f-

362

THE TRAPPER.

have cubs till two yoars okl. Until within two or throe
months of that event they remain in the parental abode.
Usually the ininatos of one camp number from eight to
ten, i.e. twofold ones and two litters of young ones of
three or four each. The young })cople, on reaching the
age of puberty — i.e. about ]\rarch of tiie second y(?ar — are
turned out to shift for themselves; and having taken unto
themselves helpmates, proceed to put up a dam and house
for themselves, gema'ally near their old house, and make
provision for the expected increase to their family. Odd
beavers, whoso mates have been slain, whose young aflec-
tious have been trampled upon, or who from other causes
have remained single, lead a solitary and (no doubt)
wretched existence, generally in holes in the banks of
lakes and rivers. These sj)inster and bachelor beavers are
generally to be met with along the banks of large rivers,
where no dam or house is requisite, and are called " bank
beaver" by the trappers, who gay that they are idle
fellows, turned away from the parent roof for not doing
their fair share of work, and for showing symptoms of
incapacity or laziness in the dam-building line.

Although the principal food of the beaver consists in
the l)ark of certain trees, it is lucky for them that they
are not wholly dependent upon wood, else they would die
of starvation when large tires sweep over the land. They
dive for and eat with great relish the large cucumber-
shaped roots of the water-lily and other stalks and roots
that grow in the water. The barks they eat in order of
preference are those of the popple, or American poplar (a
soft, sappy tree of very rapid growth), white birch, alder,
rowan tree, moosewood, white maple, willow, spruce, and

THE BE A VEB.

303

cedar ; tlio two latter only when no other can bo procured.
In summer they wander about, stopping here and there to
feed. I have heard of their visiting a deserted camp and
eating potatoes tliat they found therein; and it is not
an unusual occurrence to find an old mocassin or the lid
of a kettle worlvcd up in a beaver house or dam. In winter
they pay a daily or nightly visit under the ice to their
stores, which are close at hand, and carry off a stick to
camp, where they eat the bark at leisure. They are very
cleanly in their habits, never making a mess in the camp,
which, together with their beds of chips and shavings,
they keep scrupulously clean. Periodically they have a
cleaning-out day, when the debris of peeled sticks, (^'c, are
thrown out of camp. In tliaws and on very mild days
they come out from under the ice for a '' constitutional "
and a little bit of fresh baric. Their tracks in the snow
resemble those of an enormous goose, the marks made by
the little fore feet or hands being entirely obliterated by
the webbed hind ones.

In no way do the beaver show their superior intelligence
over the rest of the brute creation more than by their
knowledge of the power of combined efforts. Thus two or
more beavers will work at the same tree, chopping away
at different sides till the scarps meet and the tree falls.
They cut trees about a foot and a half from the ground,
sitting on their haunches and tails, their arms against or
round the trunk. The chips they take out vary from half
an inch to two inches in length, chopped at both ends.
I have seen several trees of 5 or G inches in diameter
cut by a small family of beavers in the course of one
night. The hunter tells the age of the beaver by the

:1' ;

I r

3G4

77/Z: TRAPPER.

tooth marks, and from this can pjivo a very shrewd guess
of the number in the eani[>. I measured the stump of a
birch tre(! freshly cut by beavers on the ]\Iemosekel, New
Brunswick ; it was between 13 and 14 ineh(;8 in diameter.
The boughs had been neatly lopped off as with an axe,
and nothing remained but the trunk, which supplied me
and my jtarty with back logs for the night.

Loth as I am to detract from their character I must
confess that beavers cannot fell a tree which way they
will. That this power has been ascribed to them I am
aware, but I am convinced to the contrary. j\Iost of the
trees they cut fall, 1 admit, riverwards, or towards the
water. J hit why? Do not the banks always slope that
way? and, C()nse(picntly, the trees growing on the banks?
Before I became well aequainted with the beaver I Ibndly
hoped that I should lind, w here one tree had lodged against
another, that the second tree had also been cut down.
But, no ; instead of felling the obstructing tree, the original
one is cut through in a second place. This is a weak spot
in their character, but one cannot help admiring their
perseverance.

On a brook in New Brunswick (the Tomogonops) I
found a white birch 8 inches in diameter that had had six
pieces of a foot in length cut oft" its butt by the beaters.
As each successive cut hail been made, the tree descended
straight down the length of the piece which fell out, and
at last the beavers had given it up in disgust. An old
hunter has assured me that on two different occasions he
has found the bodies of beavers crushed to death by trees
of their own cutting ; and from my own personal observa-
tion (and I have seen trees in all stages of being felled,

77/7!,' n/'Li VER.

365

from a single tootli mark to wln^ro it was jnst ready to
(lro|)), I am compelled to admit that beavers have not the
smallest idea which way th(^ tree; will fall when they com-
mence to chop it.

The speed at which they worlv is wonderful. In their
particular line, viz. dam-buildinjr, I w(mld back an equal
number of beavers in a given time against men, the latter,
of course, to be without tools. On one occasion on the
Causapscol (Lower Canada) we cut a breach (I feet wide
in a dam, lowering the level of the water in tlie beaver
pond by more than a foot. The cutting of this breach
gave two men with axes over an hour's work. Next day
the family of beavers who inhabited it had thoroughly
repaired the gap, and the water had risen to its former
level.

The (to my opinion) most extraordinary pi'oof of the
intelligence of the beaver has, 1 think, never been
noted by naturalists. It is, that on the ai)proach of a
heavy freshet, which instinct teaches them would carry
away their dam, they have the foresight to cut a gaj) in
it, which carries off the extra water, and saves their works
from being swept away. On several dams that I examined
I found one spot weaker and less tirmly constructed than
the rest. If these are designed as floodgates by the
beaver, to be used on emergency, it is, if possible, a more
wonderful trait of sagacity than any that have ever been
mentioned.

Beaver, when they cross their dams, always do so at
certain places, making little roads, which the trapper
takes advantage of. Bears are very fond of beaver, and
lay wait for them on these portage roads, which they

lii

i ;

i 'f

i.t'

3G6

THE TRAPPl'iru

traverse nii»litly for frosh supplies of wood. But nriiin,
though ji eiiiiiiing follow enough, is not a good bouver
hunter; helms not enough patience, and when tired out
with waiting he tries to break into the cani}). This is
very hard work, even for men with axes, and if ho suc-
ceeds in effecting an entrance he gets at the most only a
new-born baby or two. The loni)cervier and carcajou, or
Indian devil, have a hankering aftm" beaver meat, and
both these animals are far better boaver hunters than
Bruin. AVith noiseless steps they prowl about the lodges,
and pick up an occasional wanderer. I very much
doubt though that eitlu'r of them could manage a full-
grown beaver ; his strength is great, and his bite is as bad
as a chop of an axe. J']agles, too, prey upon them. But
the beaver is very prolific, and were birds and beasts of
prey the only animals they had to contend against every
lake and river in the backwoods would bo full of them.
Like the other fur-bearin"' animals, they cannot hold
their own against man; but, unlike the other animals,
they leave their marks behind them on the surface of
the country. Ajres after the beaver shall have become
extinct, altered water-courses, ponds, lakes, swamps,
islands, and meadows, not made by nature, will remain
as monuments of the untiring industry and marvellous
ingenuity of this little quadruped of a bygone day.

Beaver trapping is a science. The skill, the cunning,
and patience it brings into play lend it a peculiar charm
quite irrespective of the profits it brings in. A retired
beaver hunter has always a hankering to be at it again.
He never can forget the days when, with his gun on his
shoulder, his axe in his belt, his blanket made up as a

«p

TIIF. HF.AVFJl.

307

bundle on his back, iiiul ('oiit!iinin<jj a small tin kottlo.
20 ll)s. or 30 lbs. of (lour, 1 II). ol' jjowder, lialf-a-dozon
pounds of shot, a few bullets, a tin pint, a pair of socks, two
steel trai)s, 1 lb. of tea, and u beaver castor, he made tracks
for the woods with the prospect of a ^rcat hunt before
him. His small stores had been procured on "tick"
from the trader of his district, with the understanding that
this worthy was to have lirst refusal of tlie i'urs ho might
bring back. Sometimes two men go bi-aver hunting
together, taking their tra[)S, eS:c., in their canoe. When
the tra[iper comes to a stream, ho follows it up or
down, as the case may bo, and in the course of a few yards,
or a few hundred yards at most, ho has read it like a book.
A stick half submerged in the water has told him what he
wanted to know. He has se(Mi a hundred other boughs
and branches of all si/os and shapes, but his practised eye
has detected on this particular one the "sign" he delights
in. It is, perchance, an alder branch, cut as if with a
knife ; he can tell at a glance the month, if not the day, it
was cut, and the age of the beaver that cut it, i. e. whether
full grown, year old, or baby. As he goes on the " sign"
increases — felled trees, logs, stumps, roads, ohl dams, and
camps; these be passes by with but little notice. Hard
work as it is carrying a pack through the woods, it is
doubly so fighting one's way through tho thicket that in-
variably lines the banks of a stream. But if the angler
will flog the waters all day long without getting a rise,
because he thinks there ought to be a fresh fish in the
river, how much more fatigue will the trapper undergo
who knows there are beaver on the brook ! l>y-and-by our
friend is rewarded by seeing " fresh sign," i. e. a stick or

r, i

i
1.

ihi

iflr.

aln

N '

11 f

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308

77//; TUArrEU.

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lof^ newly cw\. Now lie mnst prot'ood witli fiiution, roa-l-
in;? tlio siii;n us ho fjfoi's jiIoii,i^. aiid Ix; cun'rul not to conic
t^iiddoiily upon llic caiii|) and disturh its inmates. Soon
tli(3 woods prcsfMit the ajtpcaianco ot'a n(;wly-tliinncd jtlan-
tation ill an liii^lisli park ; wcll-bcatcn j)atlis, worn hard
and smoolli with constant hiinliii}^, nuiy he seen K'Uflinu:
down to the water's odj^^o ; stumps ol' trees tliat have heeii
cut down ami worked up by th(! heavers many years a^'o,
sidci by si(h' witli otlnn's that have been felled and earric*!
ofl'ijuito recently, meet the eye on every side. lV'rha})s a
white birch or popj>le, a foot in diameter, gnawed all round
and surrounded with fresh chi[)S, testilies to last nights
work ; so also do loji^s as thick as a nnin's arm, and 4 or .')
feet in length, cut and ready to haul to the storehouse for
winter use. (lam supi)e)sing it to be the "fall" of tlu^
year.) Follow one of these paths down a few yards and
you will see a jtond — one of several — each perhaps half an
acre in extent and overshadowed by the forest ; pine, fir,
spruce, birch, maj)le, poplar, alder, and willow growing
down to the water's edge, and the two latter beyond.
Fallen trees with the bark peeled off, lie half submerged ;
their boughs lopped off level with the surface of the water.
On a shallow spot near the centre of the pond, surrounded
by deep water, often near the stump of an old i)ine tree,
stands the house, presenting the appearance from a little
distance of a beehive-shaped mound of mud and sticks,
and not at all like the trim, smooth, and shapely edifices I
have seen depicted in * Homes without Hands ' and else-
where. With all these signs of life and labour on every
side one is astonished at the perfect stillness that reigns
all around, broken only by the monotonous sound of the

TiiK in: A vKii.

m,)

w, rca-l-

to COllUi

. Soon
m1 i)lim-
irn hmd
l('ii<lin,:4
ivc been
Mirs ii;i(»,
1 canit'tl
V-rliiips a
ill rouml
it ui;j;lit"s
nd -1 or .")
Iiouso for
L" of till'
^'ards and
)S half an
pine, fir,
g;ro\viiig
beyoiul.
)inerged ;
he water.
Iirrounded
Line tree,
Im a little
tid sticks,
edifices I
and else-
on every
[at reigns
id of the

water trickling over tl)e dam. The only noises made by
tlie beaver are a sort of groan or grunt, whieii tlu^ female
utters ill the spring of tlie year for the purpose of bringing
her lord and inastt;r to her side (tliis noise the trapper
imitates for liis own base purposes), and a hissing noise,
wliieii tliey make when lighting, or when they an* at-
tacked by a dog. 'i'lu-y have also a habit of striking the
water viob-ntly with their tail. This I iiave frecpiently
observed them to do when alarmed.

The trap[)er, having diseovered the house, lays down his
bundle to leeward — for few animals have sharp(;r jioses than
the beaver — and with his gun and steel traps creeps uj) to
reconnoitre the premises, to iind out the probable number
of the family, and to determine upon his mode of attack.
Frequently there are several houses and a number of
families all in the same neighbourhood. In this case
our trapper resolves to spend a considerable time on the
brook, and to set a number of trai)S on the thoroughfares
of the beaver ; milking these traps gives him two or three
days' hard work. I'he beaver trap is a deadfall of con-
siderable weight, nicely adjusted over the animal's road
or track, frequently on a dam. To make assurance doubly
sure, a little hedge of dry sticks is made on each side
of the trap, which compels the beaver to 2)ass under it.
The trap, too, should, if possible, be made of dry or
peeled wood, as it is a decided sell to find it pulled
down and carried off bodily to the beaver's storehouse.
The animal passing under the deadfall has to step on a
little stick raised an inch or two above the ground, and
this brings down the deadfall on its back. Simple and
rough as these traps appear, to set them with success re-

2 B

^ 1

I-

>>K I

370

THE TRAP VEIL

tjuiros years of pnictico. Tlioy must l)o luljiisti'd in such a
inanuor tliat u Hinall<>i' animal, hucIi as a mus(]uash, shall not
1)0 ahio to s[)iiii^ thcnijand ho as to catch a beaver by tiio
nnddlo. Wiicn tiio trap is completed the hunter puts a
twig, ruhhed with boavor castor, in its vicinity to attract
th'j animals, or, failing th(» castor, a I'resh-cut popple or
birch stick will sometimes have the same ofleet. lie next
^plushes the trap and his footsteps with water to drown tiie
scent. (Setting a steel trap also re(piires some j)ractice.
It is set under water at the animal's landing place, and
must not bo fastened to a stationary object such as a tree,
but should bo chained, to a long dry pole which yields to
the animal's struggles. The poor beaver's first eiforts on
linding himself caught in a steel trap are directed against
the trap and chain, on which he breaks and danniges his
teeth in such a manner as not to bo able to cut dry wood,
and the })ole getting entangled in roots and branches the
poor beast soon drowns.

Having set his traps along 2 or 3 miles of brook, our
trapper's time is occupied in visiting and tending them ;
also from about three o'clock in the afternoon till sundown
he remains on the watch with his gun at some spot to
leeward of, and at some distan(!e from, their habitations.
The sound of a shot does not seem to frighten the beaver,
provided the animal is killed ; if only wounded, he
sjjreads the alarm among his fellows, who remain hid for
the rest of the day. Beavers swim uncommonly fast, with
nothing but their heads visible above water, and are by no
means easy shots. Large-bodied as they are, they swim
and dive as noiselessly as ducks.
In no case must the trapper light a fire in the vicinity

he vicinity

Tin: in: A vKit.

371

of their dwellings, or othcrwiso (Hsturl) tlio bouverH. 'I'hcir
Hense of smell is very uciitf, and it is the oin; upon wliicli
they cliir'lly rely for proteetion. His evcninj,'s will l»o
spent in skinning his vietiuis antl strt'tchinf* mimI drcssinj^
the fur. To do this he heuils a sai)liiii,' into u largo hoop,
and stretelies the skin on it like u drum head, hieing it
round with tlie [)liant roots ol' the spruee tree or the bark
of the cedar. Having stretehed it, ho hangs it in the sun
or near his camp lire till iierleelly dry. In that state it
is bought by the trader lor bs. or (!». a pound ; ii good
beaver skin ought to weigh about 2 lbs. The castor and
oil bags he carefully preserves.

Cutting the dams and breaking into the houses is iin
operation that the trapper seldom rooris to unless the
Btream is very small and unless he has a comrade or two
to assist him. In a largo stream, a lake, or a swamp, it
is simply labour lost. The beaver has always holes or
burrows in the bank in which he takes refuge when his
dam or house is attacked. To succeed in this method
the greatest caution and i)atieuce are necessary, and steel
traps are a valuable auxiliary. AVhilst the dam is being
cut, every outlet must be guarded either by a man or a
trap. A breach having been made of sullicient size to
drain off all the water, pickets are driven in at such dis-
tances apart as to prevent the animals escaping through
the gap, except in one small opening where a steel trap is
set, or, in default of a trap, a sentry armed with a spear.
I have observed that beavers either endeavour to make
their escape at the first sound of the axe, or else hide
in their holes till nightfall, and then make a run for
it. I have never found a iull-grown beaver in the camp.

■ \

1 1 t

IUji

372

THE TRAPPER.

,. E /

i\[:

On one occasion we cut a dam and broke into a camp
witliout catf'hiiig a single individual, and on the following
night caught the whole family in steel traps set at the
outlets ; these must be visited every hour or so during the
night. A good dog is of great service in finding beaver.
In winter, I am told, when the dams are cut, tlie Indians,
by putting their ears to the ice, discover the whereabouts
( f the poor animal from the noise made by its teetli, which
chatter with cold and fright. The best time of year for
trapping is in April and TMay, as the fur is then lieaviest,
and at this season they leave their houses and roam about
the streams, rivers, and lakes in the vicinity, and are
readily attracted to traps by the scent of castor.

The castor is a curious brownish stuff contained in two
little bags or bladders common both to the male and
female beaver. It has a strong but not disagreeable
smell, and an extremely bitter taste. Dissolved in spirits,
or made into a sort of tea, it constitutes the great medicine
of the Indian, who has implicit faith in its healing qualities,
and takes it for as many disorders as Mr. IloUoway's pills
are recommended to the white man for. Besides the castor
bags, each beaver has a pair of oil bags wherewith to od
his jacket. I'his he always keeps pretty oily, but more
particularly so on the apfjroach of wet weather. The oil
is much prized by the trapper on account of its odour,
which serves to allure to his traps other animals, such as
the marten and loupcervier. The genital organs of the
beaver are hidden from view, and it is difiicult, if noi
impossible, to determine the sex of the animal without
opening the body.

There are two methods ,of taking them in the winter.

<m.

;S»

THF. BE A VER.

373

One is by cutting a hole in the ice (which is never thick)
over the entrance of the camp, and putting a steel trap on
the doorstep, as it were. The other is by chopping a lane
in the ice between the doorway and the provision store,
and driving in a row of dry wood jackets, leaving a little
gap in the centre of the fence thus constructed. In this
gap a little twig is stuck to give notice by its vibrations
of the approach of the animal. The hunter stands over
this at night, and, when he sees the twig shake, strikes
sharply with his spear, and generally succeeds in impaling
the beaver.

The lumberers and country people have a lot of yarns
about the beaver. One is that they spring steel traps
with a piece of stick before crossing them. Another is
that they have the power of making logs of wood sink to
the bottom which would naturally float, &c, I can quite
iniagine how they became possessed of these delusions.
The most satisfactory accounts I got about them was
from the Indians, but they, too, rather border on the
marvellous. For instance, the ]\Iicmacs told me of a
diffei-ent sort of beaver, which is now almost extinct,
with a round tail, called by them "wolla m«iskeag" (the
beaver is " quobeet " in their tongue). This animal,
according to my ^'nformants, has the same sort of fur as
quobeet, and, although much smaller than that animal,
is possessed of such extraordinary strength and cuteness
as to enable it to defy the hunter. As carcajou is the
liugbear of the marten trajtper, so is " wolla muskeag" of
the beaver hunter. If they lived by themselves it would
not matter so much, but the mischief of it is that they
prefer to live with quobeet, and one of them taking up

! 1

■r

I
;: '■ i

;n.i>

P f

374

THE TRAPrER.

■ t

Ins abode with an uiisopliisticated beaver fumily soon pnts
them up to all his dodges, so that they, too, can very soon
Lniiili at the hunter. This is really too bad, " woUa
muskeag" has no business to worm his way into the
bosom of a respectable family, and then corrupt their
morals. I cannot say that I like " wolla muskeag."
Tiiere is a legend of a foolhardy young Indian, who,
out of revenge for the loss of his traps, wow?^ try to
shoot the beast. Of course his gun burst in the attempt,
and " that young man he no try any more vshoot wolla
nuiskeai;." All 1 know of the last-mentioned animal is
that in one beaver camp that I broke into I fonnd the
young of some animal about the size of musquash, with
round tails ; what thev were I could not find' out. ]\Ius-
quash are sometimes found c3ttled in a beaver house, but
in a different compartment from the beaver.

The fur of the beaver when in good season is of a dark-
brown colour ; it is usually plucked, i. e. the long coarse
hairs pulled out by the furrier before being worked up.
Some individuals have much darker coats than others. I
have seen one or two almost black, and they are the most
valuable. I saw one piebald beaver; his back was black,
his sides white, and belly reddish. Notwithstanding their
cleanly habits they are tormented with lice. The teeth
are immensely strong and very hard, so much so that in
old times the Indians used them for knives. They are
semicircular and about 2 inches in length. The bones,
too, are harder than those of any other animal in the
country. In Kichardson's * Arctic Zoology ' I was sur-
prised to see the weight of a full-grown beaver put down
at 24 lbs. If he had said double that weight — viz. 48 lbs. —

THE BEAVER.

375

he would liave been much nearer the mark. Beaver that
have been left king in traps are frequently gnawed about
the tail and hinder parts by their comrades. Whether
they do this in their endeavours to bring them home to
camp, or as a polite request for them to " move on," I do
not know.

In old times beaver skins were the recognized standard
by which all other goods were valued, and this I suppose
was one of tlie reasons which led to the animal being
chosen as the crest or emblem of Canada. In those days
1 lb. of spring beaver was equal to a beaver skin taken at
any other season, to 3 sable, to 10 musquash, to 2 gallons
of rum, to 2^ gallons of molasses, to 30 lbs. of flour, &c.
Beaver skins were the currency of the fur countries.

And truly Canadians may be proud of the beaver. As
I remarked before, their works give the stranger who sees
them for the first time an idea of human intelligence,
industry, and forethought. The dams, even mistaken
for the works of man, are constructed with an amount
of skill whicli leads the visitor to form a high estimate of
the local engineer; and if he investigates more closely
the habits and modes of life of these extraordinary
animals, he will find, in their domestic habits, in their
foresigl t in providing food for the morrow, in the way
they regulate their water supply, so that in the highest
freshet and the most protracted droughts they are on the
one hand neither deluged nor on the other restricted in
supply ; in the construction and fortification of their lodges,
and finally in their system of government which drives
the drones out of the community, and regulates the size
of the different households and villages according to the

•■1

'ill

{

-^^-

376

THE TEA ITER.

supply of Wdod that ciui lie obtiiiiicd and stored lor wiiilci-
use, lio will find in nil tlicir iiiodc of life a siipicity, a
for(^si<j^lit, an intclli'^ciu'c, and a system of or<i;anizati(»n
whicli oleviites theiu al»ov(^ sonit^ races of savage men.
Their influence on the features of the country constitutes
another parallel with man. One -half the hikes luid
n<'arly all the wild meadows are the M'ork of past }i;(M.(;-
rations of beavers. First of nil, the small hrook is
<lanuued ; by-and-hy this dam becomes sol' ' luu' forest
trees take root and <jfrow on it; as other outlets of the
water 0(;cur they are c1os(m1 by these indefatij^able woik(Ms,
till at h'uj^th the pond assunws the i)ropoitions of a lake,
and ronuiins for all time to attest to their powers. The
meadows are fornu>d by thi' drainiujj^ of the lakes. The
boaver has loft more p(U'manent and (Mulurin^ monuments
of its existence on the surface of the country than the
aboriginal inhabitants of Canada have left, or are lik'.'ly
to leave.

\ b

B ■;;

(JIIAITEIi xiir.

THK AN(iLKU.

I THINK 1 may assort, witliout f(!ar of contnuliction, that
tlu! uni^^lin^' in (Canada is IIk^ fmcst in \\u' world. IMany
lliousaiidH of trout streams and some hiindr<'<ls of salmon
rivers discliarfjjo tlioir wafers into Iho ^ull" and rivnr
St. Lawrcnco. From Lakt^ Ontario down to the straits of
|}ello-lsl(i — a distance} of nearly 2000 milos — on each sliorn
of tho river tlieie is hardly a mile of coast-line without a
river or stream. 'riiousaiidH and thousands of lakes, all of
which hold trout, li(i hidden away in the forest; in tho
majority of them ])(n-haj»s a lly has never been cast.
Above; (iuebee; most of the rivers have been s[)oile(l for
salmon.

Lnmberin<jj is the <j;rejit business of (Canada, and al-
thoujj^h there is really nothinj^ to pnfvent lumhe'riuf^ and
ilshin<^ beiiif^ carried on to<j;ether — as a very little sacrifice
indeed on tho part of the lumber menrliant, and a few
simple and inexpensive precautions, would eimbh; him to
carry on his business on any river with a minimum of
damage to the tish — yet in this, as in many other
matters, the lesser interest is sacrificed to the greater,
and salmon are driven away from most of the great
lumber rivers.

Trout fishing on hundreds, I may say on thousands, of
charming rivers and lakes is open to everyone ; and

"• i »>

li!

til

378

THE ANGLEPi.

f\>

I '■

imdor bott<T rcq'iilations there would be salmon fishinj;
for every Ciinadian angler, and for every visitor to the
country, at a titlie of tlii^ expense of Scotch or Irish
salmon fishinu: — and such salmon fishinj^! Not pulling
from bank to bank of a dull stagnant river with lines
trailing after the boat, but casting into magnificent rapid
streams, in which the water, clear as crystal, is now lashed
into foam over a rocky ledge, now rested for a few
momcMits in an eddying pool dotted over with foam-bells,
from thence to plunge headlong into a narrow gorge, and
to pause again and again in other pools, where there is
endless diversitv of lishing water, and endless charms of
forest and mountaiu, of rock and river scenery.

Of all summer residences that I have seen, give
me a camp on a good Canadian salmon river. True,
there is not so much society as at Brighton or Scar-
borough ; but a crowd is the angler's abomination ; his
only companions on a Camidian river besides his own
party are the otter, the osprey, the kingfisher, and the
shell-drake. Tiiese are not sociable fellow fishers, but
neither are they troublesome ones, they keep themselves
to themselves as is the manner of anglers. If he likes
music he has the cat owl and the musquito hawk by
niglit, and the j))piug frog by day ; and by day and night
there is the music of the water, the rippling of the stream,
and the roaring of the torrent. The banks of the rivers
are all beautiful ; in some places clad with forest they
rise gently from the river's edge, in others they take the
form of rocky terraces, many hundred feet in height,
rising abruptly from the water. Some of these terraces
are bare, others are clothed with spruce and cedar. Here

FLIES.

379

wmmm^

there is a beaver moaclow at the niontli of a brook, sur-
rounded by undulating forest Innd ; there a naked hill-
side, dotted over with enormous boulders.

There is only one drawback to tlie perfect happiness of
the angler on these rivers, and that is the flies. I suppose
they are sent to prevent liini from being too happy.
There are days in the fishing season when the sun is
obscured by a sort of haze — dull, close, sweltering days —
when the thin-skinned man (especially if his hair be of a
reddish or ginger hue) is unable to endure them. Oint-
ments, veils, gloves, tobacco-smoke ! nothing can protect
him. He is reduced to a state of tem[iorary idiocy, and
unless he wishes that state of misery to be permanent he
had better fly to his tent, where, sitting over a smoke of
burning cedar-bark, so pungent and stifling that the tears
flow from his eyes and blood-stained trickle down his
punctured cheeks, he may experience some alleviation of
his suffering. Flies cannot stand the full blaze of the
sun, neither do they like a breeze of wind, therefore the
more open and exposed the situation the better for a
fisherman's camp. A veil fastened round the crown of a
broad-brimmed hat, tied round the throat with an elastic
band, and kept clear of the face by means of crinoline
hoops, is a good protection against musquitoes and black
flies. Of unguents, several are used, the cleanest being
the least effective, the dirtiest the most so. JMixtures of
pennyroyal and almond oil, or of oil of tar and turpen-
tine in equal parts, are of some use, especially the latter ;
but if the angler wishes to be completely fly-proof, re-
gardless of expense, he must go in for a villainous ointment
made of equal parts of tar and pork fat.

/. 'i*i

I n

t s

'i t'

380

THE AXOLEU.

There are three sorts of flics that prey upon the angler,
the nmsqnito, well described by Paddy as a bug with
wings, to eunble him to make his escape after having
punched a \\o\o in a fellow, and with a tiddle whereon he
plays a tune in derision of his baffled pursuer. Musquitoes
are most troublesome at nights. Black flies are peculiar
to the northern part of the continent of America, and the
farther north one goes in Canada the more numerous
they become. In Anticosti and the Labrador they bleed
one like leaches. The third variety, the sand-fly, is like
our midge ; their favourite pasture seems to be on the
New Brunswick rivers. Millions of tl 'jse little pests,
hardly visible from their small size, torment the angler
in the evenings, and blister and burn every spot of skin
which the musquitoes and black flies have spared. What
all these flies live on when they cannot get fishermen
lias always been a mystery to me. They are most
numerous on low, swampy ground, and prefer the soft
wood to the deciduous forests. Flies, bad as they are,
are not an unmitigated evil to the Canadian sportsman.
They devour pale-fliced men from the cities, and are
particularly hard upon hons vivants, but the red-skin
and well-seasoned old voyageur are comparatively safe
from their attacks. Were it not for the flies the Cana-
dian rivers and lakes would be overrun with Yankee
tourists. Americans have the knack of combining busi-
ness with pleasure to a remarkable extent, wliich is no
doubt highly creditable to them ; but still it is in-
expressibly harrowing to the feelings of the angler to
see placarded up on the rocks and on the stems of the
trees in those places where Nature is most beautiful

«i«pp

OPEN SEASON.

881

ndvcrtisomonts of somebody's purgative pills or so-aud-yo's
worm candy. This is worse than black Hies.

The open season for salmon iishing on the St. Lawrence
rivers is from the 1st of i\Iay to 1st of h^eptember. In
New Brunswick it extends to the loth of September, and
in Nova Scotia the open season is from March 1 to
September 15. Speaking broadly, the best time for
fishing on all the St. Lawrence rivers and Bay uf Chaleur
water is from June 15 to July 15.

Formerly in Canada the rivers were open to all anglers,
and there was a certain unwritten law, binding among
all good sportsmen, that the man who first in each season
camped on a pool or section of a river was not to be inter-
fered with as long as he remained on the river. By-and-
by, however, shoals of Yankee 5 began to invade the
provinces in the fishing season ; men s^varmed upon
the rivers, not so much to fish as to hiive a good time.
These people recognized no prescriptive rights to pools
and rivers ; they camped opposite to you, and fished across
your line. For this reason, in the first place, and to
endeavour to shift the burden of protecting rivers on
to private shoulders, in the second place, the Dominion
Government resorted to the expedient of letting the
salmon rivers on lease. It is possible that if a fair and
impartial system of letting salmon rivers on lease were
put in practice the system would work well, both for the
revenue of the country, tlu^ protection of the fisheries,
and the benefit of the angling public ; but the way
matters are conducted at present has given rise to a wide-
spread feeling of discontent, not only amongst anglers,
but amongst the general Canadian public. Every-

ar 1

, W

,f '>

382

77//; ASGLER.

tiling' ill Canmla is siitunitcd witli politics, even the
niifjjling. 3[eii get their siilnion rivers according to their
politics. It is (iven doubttiil whether a conservative
salmon would vise at a grit ily. If political jobbery iu
angling matters were done away with, and rivers put up
to fair competition among the angling public, the revenue
might be increased 10,000/. per annum, and there would
be ample room for every anghjr in Canada and for visitors
to boot. I'lic total sum yielded by the salmon rivers at
present falls short of 1000?. per annum. The Resti-
gouche, containing 50 miles of fishing water, or, with its
tributaries, over 100 miles, is perhaps the linest salmon
river iu the world. This magniticent river, which is
crossed by the Intercolonial luiilroad, is leased with its
tributaries by four gentlemen, ^vlio ^ay 41. each iier
annum for it. This river, one of the best, and certainly
the most accessible in the Dominion, if divided into
sections and let by fair competition, would aiford sport
to a large number of persons, and would alone bring iu
as much revenue as all the rivers in Canada do at present.
All good things in Canada fall to the lot of the party iu
power. Each change of ministry gives a chance to new
men ; but unfortunately in fishing matters this is not the
case. The rivers are leased lor ten years, and locked up
from sportsmen for that period. I do not blame the for-
tunate owners of the rivers — no doubt many of us would
be glad to get them on the same terms if we had the
chance : but I do blame the Government for ereatiuir a
monopoly not only injurious to anglers, but prejudicial to
the best interests of the Dominion. It is obvious that
every angler who spends a fortnight or a month on a

MONOPOLY OF Tf/h' SALMON JillJ-JUS.

3^3

river must spend a consideniblo sum of money, and rana-
dian lejjjislators know very well that circulation ol' money
iu a newly-settled ccmntry is very iiscl'nl. I'lidcr tlio
present system not one sliillinji^ is spent lor a pound that
would be spt'ut were the anglin<j^ not monopolized.
Lessees iu many instances stay a weok or two on their
rivers, and then leave them lor the rest of the season ;
sometimes they never visit them at all. The casual
angler cannot get a day's fisliing, even when the river
is deserted ; that is to say the s])ortsman cannot, for this
dog-in-the-manger system is a harvest to the poacher. It
is a case of absentee landlordism. The settlers who live
on the river have no interest in preserving the river ;
just the contrary, the angling public, whoso presence
would put money in their pockets, being excluded ; so, as
a rule, they turn poachers, and are frequently aided and
abetted by the underpaid guardians of the river. It
is said, iu extenuation of tiiis policy, that the gentle-
men who job the rivers at nominal rents do not make
money of tliem by subletting; but this to the casual
angler is a misfortune. It would be better for him if
the lessee would sublet, as it certainly would be better
for the rivers. Anglers are the natural protectors of the
salmon ; but as things are managed iu Canada at present
their interest in protecting the fisheries is reduced to a
minimum. Instances have come under my own know-
ledge where hundreds of salmon have been destroyed by
the spear and the sweep-net on a river which the lessee
rarely visited, but from which he excluded anglers ; had
he not been so churlish they would have protected his
river for hiin. It is a monstrous injustice that a man

■ri

.^84

Tl/K AXriLKn.

wlio pays II roni of M. per niiniini to tlic CiovornniPiit
sliouM hino tlio sole ri«j:lit of lisliiiifj; ii river 50 miles in
leiif^tli. A syMtein would prol»ul)ly work well, luid would
r(>rtiiiily lirinjif in ii lnrp' revenue, under which ( ■luiadiim
rivers should he divided into an^din^ diHtricts, which in
turn could ho suhdivided into an^dur's stations, tlu* jMihlic
hein;; i)erniitted to purchase tickets for the hitter, first
come first served.

The season for trout fishiu}^ in Cana(hi is from ]\Iay to
Septemher. Sea trout gencMally nni in July. Trout
fishinp^ is a much rougher husiness than in {'iUglaud ;
iish are more phMitil'uI and more voracious, coarser tackle
is used, and though bags are larger the science required
to till the bag is less. Salmon tishing, however, is much
the same as salmon fishing in the old country. A good
fisherman in one country is a good one in another ; he
knows how to adapt his colours to the colour of the water,
and he can generally form a tolerably correct opinion
from the curl of the stream as to where the fish lie. If,
therefore, I have the lujuour of uinubering an old fisher-
man among my readers, 1 will beg him to skip the follow-
ing remarks, which I make for the possible benefit of a
beginner.

And first as regards tackle. An 18-foot rod is in my
opinion long enough for any river. I have fished with
iorls of all lengths, from 15 feet to 22 feet, and consider
an 18-foot rod the best. I would also recommend the
salmon fisher in Canada to have a second rod 16^ feet in
length. As regards make of rods opinions differ. The
Scotchman prefers a stiff rod, the Irishman a limber one ;
my experience is most decidedly in favour of the latter.

vornmont
) miles in
md would
(Ju)iii(linn
which in
\]\v publi''
itter, lirHt

)m May to
[y. Trout

England ;
rscr tackle
'C required
jr, is much
y. A good
iiother; he

the water,

L'ct opinion

ish lie. If,

ohl fisher-

thc follow-

jenefit of a

)d is in my
fished with
id consider
mmend the
16| feet in
lifter. The
imber one ;
the latter.

T///:' unit.

38r.

I coiisjilcr tliat ill e<|Uiilly ^'o(k1 liiinds, out of iiu ei|Ual
iiunilier of lisl. jiookcd on liotli rods, tlio liniher one will
kill live jiuuinsi four to llu' si iff (nic 'IMiis, mh 1 suiil
lielbre, tlioii^di, is u nuilter ol' (»|)iuiou. The rod th:* i
liave most fiiitli in is the ( 'jistleeonuell (Shannon) pattern,
;rreen-heart, in two joints, with a long splice. 'i'he
single drawliacix to tiiese rods, in my <ipini<»n, is their
length when taken d(twn (!) feet (1 indies), aii<l eonse-
(juent awkwardness to carry. This matters h-ss. however,
in Canadian lishing tiian one; might iinaginc. Tliero is
!iot much driving liackwards and forwards from the river.
(Jenerally sjieaking, the angh.'r jiuts up his rod at the
commenccintiit of his lishing for the season, and <loes not
take it down till the (dose. i\rany good fishermen prefer
the threc-jointe(| rod of ash and Iancewo(jd, the top joint
of which should always bo a splice. Whatever dilferenees
(»!' o[)inion may exist as to tin; com})arative merits of a
stilf rod and a limber one, there can be none as regards
the whippy rod, which is universally condemned. lie it
stilV or limber, the rod when handled should spring from
the butt ; when the butt is stilf and the top limber all the
strain is thrown on the latter, and there is a consetpient
loss of })Ower.

The reel is a most important part of the angler's outfit,
and he should always be provided with a second one iu
case of accidents. Again, in the matter of reids lishermen
are not unanimous ; sonu^ prefer a check, others a plain
wheel. Tor my part, as I always when {)aying out line
check it between the first and second finger of the hand
that is uppermost on the rod, I prefer a re(d that runs a,s
freely as possible without over-running. The reel should

2 c

\ fl '

'^ i i

. n

'Miiii

msmFi

\ 1:

"■/

h\ fl'i

386

THE ANGLER,

be of brass, and very strongly made in that part where it
fits on to the rod. Keels of other materials are light and
[tretty to look at, but not serviceable. The line should
be plaited silk, fres from kink, smoke coloured, .'>nd from
80 to 100 vards in length. Both reel and line should
be of a weight to suit the rod. The former should
balance the rod properly, the latter should be just the
right weight for the rod to cast : this knowledge can only
be gained by trial and experience. As regards putting
on the reel, some fishermen when the reel is uppermost
on the rod have the handle to the right. In fishing the
reel is of course under the rod, and when a fish is hooked
the rod has to be turned round to bring the handle to the
right. This is in my opinion quite an unnecessary
trouble. The argument for it is that the rod which is
strained one way in casting is strained the other way
when a fish is on, and thus kept straight. If, however,
the rod when not in use is laid down perfectly flat, and
shaded from the sun, there is no need for this precaution.
We next come to a very important item, viz. the casting
line. More fish are lost through the breakage of bad
easts than any other way. In the first place, as to length :
in very rough streams a 6-foot cast is long enough ; but
in the generality of pools it should be longer, say 9 feet.
Three feet at the extreme end should be carefully picked
and tested single gut, the remainder treble gut. When
really first-class salmon gut can be procured, the very
best cast of all is a single one ; but there is no gut of
tliis description in the market at present, so the treble
line has to be substituted. In choosing the latter the
important point is to see that the gut of which it is

TVIXa FL^ES.

387

t where it
light and
ue should
, f>nd from
me should
Ler should
e just the
ne can only
:ds puttin^j;
uppermost
fishing the
h is hooked
andle to the
unnecessary
od which is
other way
If, however,
;tly flat, and
s precaution.
. the casting
kage of bad
us to length :
]enough; but
feet.

iv, say

ifuUy pi«

ked

gvit.

When

L-od, the very
is no gut of
Iso vhe treble
Ihe latter the
If >vhich it is

composed is evenly matched as to size, and evenly twisted.
If the angler makes his own casting linos, the two chief
points lie must attena to are to pick the gut carefully,
and to soak it in warm water (or tea, if he wants to take
tlie shine out of it) till i)erfectly soft, before he manipu-
lates it. Every time the angler ]»uts on his cast, he
shuukl first soak and then test it. Many a fish is lost
by neglecting this precaution.

We next come to the Hy ; and before going any farther
I would say to all young fisliermon, learn to tie your own
flies. It is easily learnt, ehan work, and it adds very
largely to the enjoyment of fishing. The old-country
salmon fisher has othc resources to fall back upon when
fishin": is slack. The Canadian anfi:ler has nothing: to do

O DO

but to fish, to think of fish, to talk of fish, and to make
flies. There is this difference between living in one's
own house or a friend's house, and being camped on tlie
rocky bank of a river. Tying one's own flies is not only
a most useful accomplishment, but it is also an agreeable
occupation that fills up many a slack half-hour's time.
There is scope too in tying salmon flies for originality and
for a display of artistic skill. Combinations of colours
w»': -oC;ir to the enthusiastic angler at odd hours of tin*
day or night, sometimes in his dreams, and to produce in
eilks and feathers these creat\ires of his imagination is, to
say the least, a pleasure tc ' .....

As in most other piscatorial matters, opini(ms of experts
are divided as to the best hooks for fli -s ; whether tlie
round or the beaten hook. The opponents of the latter
maintain that from i's shape it is more likely to wear out
its hold in p hsh's mouth. There is an appearance of

^.1

^'>;

:j*

I I' : '

S ; ■ • !

388

37/ii ANGLEB.

plausibilit}' about this, but in my experioiico I cannot say
that I have verified it, while tlic beaten hooks are nn-
questiv^nably the toughest. Double hooks are a chunsy
eonti-ivanee. One large hook is more killing than two
smaller ones. It has often struck ine that where small
flies are used it would be desirable to have a compara-
tively large hook with a short shank. I have put this
theory into practice by tiling off tlie end of the shank of a
hook. But manufacturers could, I think, turn out a
hook that would be an improvement on any that I have
seen.

The hook should be tied on : loop .\f the very best
single gut, and the smaller this loop i« tiie less it will
wear. Flies tied on h rge loops, or c.i single gut, wear
out very quickly at the head ; while a tiiplc-gut loop is
rather clumsy for the si?;ed flic? ViSed in Canadian waters.
Some fishermen have the loop at the head of the fly large
enough to admit of a loop at the end of the casting line
being passed through it. This I look upon as a clumsy
contrivance. There ought either to be no loop at the end
of the cast, or else each fly should have n (.< ' link
attached to it ; in either case the loop at t^v he^d -ji tb'^
fly should be just large enough to admit o; >' fc'u. i i thread
of salmon gut being passed thi'ough it.

Many fishermen maintain that there is not'iiiig in a
neat fly ; that everything depends on the colours. I do not
quite agree with this theory, although well aware that at
certain times and in certain places salnioii will rise at
almost anything. I once kilh^l a fish undcT very peculiar
circumstances ; I had neither rod, reel, vcv tackle of any
kind, but a whipcord line and o hook. ' impr».i»is,d a

A VORACIOUS FISH.

389

niiot say
. are im-
X clumsy
than two
jre small
compara-
put this
hank of a
irn out a
at I have

very hest
ess it will
gut, wear
n\i loop is
ian waters.
10 fly large
asting line
a clumsy
at the end
„ ; link
berd or til--
.. I ; thread

iing in a
. I do not
are that at
lill rise at
■vv peculiar
ekle of any
ipn itis-d a

fly out of some hair from a lumberman's head, a small bit
of my red flannel shirt, and the tail feathers of a ruffed
grouse. My rod was a long supple sapling. On this
])riinitive tackle I killed a 12-lb. fish, and rose two or
throe more. 13iit salmon are not always so voracious, and
I consider there is a good deal not only in the colour, but
also in the combination of colours, as there most certainly
is in the way a fly swims and shows in the water. Perha[»s
the most important point in a salmon fly is tiie wing:
this should extend as fur, but not farther than the bend of
the hook, and should not stick up stiffly like a butterfly's
wing, but should lie down close over the hackle, and
should open and shut gracefully as the fly is moved back-
wards and forwards through the water. Feathers should
predominate over wools and silks in a salmon fly ; a great
bunch of wool is an abomination, so is a badly put on
hackle ; and no fluffV materials likelv to get water soaked
should ever be put in a fly. IMost of the Canadian
salmon rivers are full of trout, and these voracious
creatures chop up one's flies in a sad way, particularly the
tinsel ; on this account I never use flat tinsel, but always
either the round or the plaited.

Some of the Nova Scotian rivers resemble the Scotch
in colour, but the bulk of Canadian salmon rivers, almost
all those that flow into the St. Lawrence, are very bright
and clear. There is no jjloughed lam I, no drains, and
very few bogs to discolour their waters. Their sources
are in the primeval forest or in the bare, rocky hills of
Labrador and Gaspe. Sitting on a high bank on one of
tn^.se rivers when the sun is high one can see every
pebble in the bottom, and count every salmon and trout.

!l >

.; 1

"' p

il'

■

m >

390

THE ANGLER.

In the fishing season there are very few of the dark,
cloudy days that the old-country angler is favoured with.
The Canadian sun has a knack of shining nine days out of
ten, or nineteen out of twenty in summer. Fortunately
the banks of most Canadian rivers are high, and often
precipitous, so that the stream is in shade up to nine or
ten o'clock in the morning, and again from four o'clock in
the afternoon. The angler who fishes steadilv from six to
ten, ar.d again from four to eight, can afford to rest and
sleep at mid-day. Owing to the excessive clearness, not
only of the water, but the atmosphere, small dark flies are
the best. I append a few patterns, which are killers on
most Canadian rivers :

1. Two turns gold thread, one turn orange floss-silk.
Tail, gold pheasant topping. Two turns black ostrich.
Body, black floss-silk ribbed with flat silver tinsel and
small gold thread. Hackle, golden yellow ; shoulder
hackle, guinea fowl. Wing, mixed guinea fowl, bustard,
dark brown mallard, with one gold pheasant topping and
two small jungle-cock's feathers. Head, black ostrich.

2. Two turns flat gold tinsel, two turns black ostrich.
Tail, gold pheasant topping. Body, three different colours,
viz. one-third (nearest tail) orange floss-silk, middle dark
blue wool, remainder very dark claret wool. Rib, plated
gold tinsel. Two dark lustrous claret hackles, with
two turns of blue jay at shoulder. Wing, dark brown
mallard, with two sprigs blue and red macaw. Head,
as No. 1.

3. Two turns gold thread, one turn orange floss-silk.
Tail, gold pheasant topping. Two turns black ostrich.
Body, black floss-silk, with gold thread and two small jet-

SALMON FLIES.

391

;he dark,
ired with.
ays out of
)rtunately
and often
to nine or
o'clock in
rom six to
to rest and
arness, not
,rk Hies are
} killers on

e floss- silk,
ick ostricli.

tinsel and

shoulder

wl, bustard,

opping and

ostrich.

ck ostrich.

ent colours,
middle dark

Eib, plated

ckles, with

dark brown
jaw. Head,

ore floss-silk,
lack ostrich,
wo small jet-

black hackles. Wing, very dark mallard, with two or
three sprigs of wood-drake and two sprigs orange macaw.
Head, as above.

4. Commence as No. 3. Body, rich claret wool. Ilib
gold tinsel. Two hackles, one dark blue, the other rich
claret, with two turns blue jay at shoulder. Wing, dark
mallard, with a mixture of golden pheasant breast feathers,
wood-drake, jungle-cock, and two sprigs blue macaw. Head,
as above.

5. Two turns silver thread, two turns black ostrich.
Tail, gold topping. Body, one turn orange wool, re-
mainder silvery grey. Eib, silver tinsel. Two mottled
grey hackles, with one turn orange hackle at shoulder.
Wing, mixed grey turkey, guinea hen, wood-drake, shell-
drake, with two jungle-cock feathers. Head, as above.

N.B. — Instead of orange, either blue, black, or claret
may be put in this fly as a change.

6. Commence as No. 2. Body, bright orange floss-silk.
Rib, gold tinsel. Two cock's hackles, black in centre
with bright red tips, two turns guinea hackle at shoulder.
Mixed wing, wild turkey, argus pheasant, bustard, jungle-
cock, gold pheasant breast, and flamingo. Head, as
above.

7. Two turns gold thread, two turns black ostrich.
Tail, mixed wood-drake, golden pheasant breast, and
scarlet. Body, darlc blue, almost black. Rib, silver
thread. Hackle, rich dark claret. Wing, dark mallard,
with two or three sprigs each of wood-drake, argus
pheasant, and blue and red macaw. Head, as above.

N.B. — The body of this fly should look quite black till
held up to light. In addition to above, several of the

IS \

V-

! i

i!t

i i-

)u.

'll't

\ :

s ! ■ ■■ •

i\'

!i.'

77//; AXdl.ri!.

well-known old-country piil terns nro (>x<'('II<Mit, hucIi jis
llu! Irish " ti(>ry brown," the " hutdu'r," and tho Scotch
'Mock Scott."

Two snud! hackh^s niiiUc a in'ccr (ly than one hit:; one ;
th(» hest wool is dyed seals' I'nr; nnd, iis a j^'eneral rule,
then^ is no better win;r feather lor a sidnion llv than the
brown mallard picked olY an old <lrako in tln^ months
of l'\'bruary or ^lari'h.

Th(» <2,!ilV should be of «j;ood sto(d, and not nuide with ii
scnnv, but with a lonu: llattcni'd shjink to tie on. Screws
ar(» liable to \i,oi out of order, and there is never any
dillicnlty in nrocnrinj^ a pill" iiandh* in the Canadian
forest; it should bo aluMit -I feet in len<i:th, e.\cej)t for
ilshinu^ ah)n(\ when the ufail' must be short enough to
carry slunjj: ov(M- the shoulder.

Casting a salmon line is a knacdc that can only bo
ac(|uirod by ])riictic(\ Theory is almost usolos.s; never-
theless, a few general hints nnght bo of some i)Ossible
service to a bi>ginntM\ CommiMicing with a line the
length of his rod. he will gradually get (tn to be able
to east tour tinn^s the lenirth of the rod, and (!vcn more.
In salmon lishing every (wtra foot of water a man can
command increases his chances of success, llo must
learn to cast iH]ually well from lH)th shoulders. In cast-
ing a pool, the line should be thrown not straight across,
but diaiionallv across and down stream, and where it is
possible one step should be taken by the angler between
each cast. When the banks are clear of bushes, rocks,
«S:c., the line should be allowed to stretch to its full extent
behind the angler between each cast. If the line is
abruptly checked in this backward swing, the usual

i'lii

CASTIXd.

.",!).•{

r(>snlt is a cnick liUc ii whip, iiiwi ii. Ily f^'oiio at tlu;
head. W'licn llic line Iimh Hirclclicil to its lull cxtriit in
tlu! air in (he direction just. ()|)|)(»Hi((^ l(» that in \vlii<'li tlio
now <'iisl is (Icsircil lo l)c niadci, tlic new cast is niad(^ not
with a vioh'nt mnscnhir rn'ort ol' the; arms and l»ody,
hnt cntirtdy hy the s[irin^ ol' the rod, which lolh)Ws Imt
(h>os not j)rc(V'(hi ih(! line;. 'I'h(! linci, which in tho coni-
incnccnicnt of tho cast is sonu^thinuj V\kv ihr. shape ol"
tho letter S reversed, shoidd .straighten out as it nears tin;
snrfiice of the water, iind fall sinootlily and (ivenly on
the pool. To nialv(; <^ood casting; a^^ainst the wind nioro
power is retpiired, an<l of eours(! tho lieavier tin; lino tho
bettor. This is wln^re a ]towerl"nl rod sprin;^dni^ t'roiu tlu;
butt is most rcMpiirod, tlui ])ower of tiio east coniinj^
alto_i!:ether frojn th(; lirst joint. \\'\\\\ a lair wind tho
dillienlty to l)e avoided is to keep tlie fly from tiu^ ;jjronn<l
in its hatdvward swin^'. ()win<:i^ to tho nature of tin; hank
it is, of course, often iinpossil)lo for tin! anf^ler to let hia
lino stretch strai<;;ht hejiind liiin. Wo will in this ciiso let
it out whorover thoro is an o[»onin<r, probably u[) stream,
and then by a (piick motion of his wrist spring tho rod in
tho direction ho wishes tho lino to take, soni(itinios at
right angles to tho dire(!lion tho lino has taken in tho air.
Where, owing to trees, ov(.'rhanging rocks, &c., tliero is
positively no room l»;ft for a (iast such as I have boeu
trying to describe, tho lino is drawn near to tho angler's
feet, and then, by a sudden S2)ring of the rod, it is thrown
upwards and outwards over the pool ; but it will no doubt
cost tho beginner many a Ily and several broken tips
before he can learn how to cast in a place of this sort.
In these cramped casts, which are often found on tho best

r!l

m^m

> ' I

394

TIIIJ ANGLKB.

Canadian salmon pools, one yard may make all the dif-
iurenoo, and the angler who can get his fly ont that much
ijirthor tlian another may have all the sport But, indeed,
on most rivers the angler who can command the most
water has the advantage. In fishing a pool it should be a
rule always to commence with a sliort line, fishing the
nearest water first, and then gradually lengthening line
each cast.

Trout fishing and salmon fishing are both arts, might I
say fine arts ? but they are diametrically opposed to each
other. If two apprentices, both equally anxious to become
salmon fishers, one an old trouter and the other a man
who had never held a rod in his hand, were to present
themselves to me, I should prefer the latter as a pupil.
In trout fishing the movements of the natural fly are
imitated, and the fish takes the fly with a rush. What
salmon take or mistake the artificial fly for I do not
know, although I imagine it must be for some gay-
coloured mollusc which they have fattened upon in the
depths of the ocean. As regards their method of taking
the fly, any person who has fished much in Canadian
waters has had ample opportunities of observing it.
Grilse come with a rush something like a trout — and I
may here remark that on two occasions I have seen grilse
rise at a natural fly — but the mature salmon swims
leisurely enough up to the surface after the fly, and
when he has got it, returns to where he came from.
Salmon seldom take a fly that is moving rapidly on the
surface of the water. I have often seen them make a
movement towards it, and then retire in apparent disgust
to their lie. It is therefore to be observed that in

MO VEMENT OF THE FL Y.

395

salmon fishing tlie more leisurely and quietly the fly is
moved through the water the better. It ought not to be
dragged along the surface nor violently jerked up and
down, Init made to swim G inches or even more below
the surface with an even, graceful motion.

I said that in fishing a pool the line should be cast not
straight across it, but diagonally down ; the reason for this
is that, particularly in pools where there is a heavy
stream, when the fly is thrown straight across, the cur-
rent catches the belly of the line and sweeps the fly over
half the pool so rapidly that fish cannot take it. Young
anglers often think that they have fished a pool thoroughly,
whereas, although they have cast it honestly enough, their
fly has been swept rapidly over perhaps the best of it.
The fly must dwell for a certain space of time, be it ever
so short, over the fish. With a long line, this can only
be effected by fishing down stream. As regards the
motion that is to be given to the fly, authorities differ
again. The Irish use a quick, jiggy motion, the Scotch
a slow, churning motion. My impression is that the former
is better for still water, the latter for rough streams. But,
indeed, in rapid water I have come to the conclusion that
the less motion there is the better, and that the more the
fly is sunk, and the longer it is allowed to dwell over
the lie of the fish, the better the chances of success.
Where fish are inclined to be sulky, however, the angler
must try different ways of fishing over them, both the
lively motion and the slow motion.

There is one error the trout fisher almost invariably
falls into when he commences to angle for the nobler
fish, viz. he strikes. There is no such thing as striking

r^-'i

390

THE ANdLi'in.

Ill SfUinoii lisliin*;"

! If

TIk! tiou( iislicr'g strike is fata] ; it
moans cither of two thinj^s: (1) pnllinf^ tlio lly away
before the iisli lias had tinu! to get hohl of it; or, (2)
and more fro(jnentIy, loaviiif; the lly in the tish's month.
With jj^ood unjxling, if tlie salmon means business, Ik?
will hook hiins(df. Ihit there is one |)oint that the angh'r
must bear in mind, i.e. thut in salmon iishin<^ he must
liave no slack lin(> between the lly and the top of the
rod. Tluj lish <;(Mierally rises at the fly when it is from
1 foot to ;} feet higher up stream than his own nose;
wheth(U' he takes it or not he swims back again to his
lie, and the rise seen by the angler is made by his tail
when he is on the turn back again. Occasionally rising
fish show their whole length out of water, but it is on
their downward course that they take the lly, and the
strike of the trout fisher or the involuntarv ierk of the
excitable or nervous man pulls it away from them.
The fly, as we have seen, should be sunk 6 inches, there
should be little or no slack line, the rod should be held in
such a way that neither elbow nor body interferes with
the free action of the handle of the reel, and the line
should be felt between the first and second fingers of the
hand that is upi)ermost on the rod. The fish hooks itself,
and when the fisherman feels his weight on the line, then,
and not before, he should raise the top of his rod and
gradually, avoiding all jerks, give the fish all the pull
that his rod and tackle will stand without danger of
straining. This drives the hook over the barb in the
fish's mouth ; when he feels it, he probably runs out 20,
30, or 40 yards of line at express pace, and then throws
himself once or twice out of the water. In this first race

/7,.l VlX'l Tin: FISH.

807

lie ciiimot 1k' (■licckrd iit nil witliout Ijitiil rosiilts, but
ininicdiiitcly it is oviM- \\(\ slionld he tijrlitfiicd up u^'iiiii.
TIk! rod t;lioul(l 1)0 broiiplit nearly to ii piMjX'ndicular
])osition so as to bring tlio strain on tlif rod, tlic give and
tako of which is most tirinj; to the' ilsli, and if the ho(»k-
hold is light, is less likely to break it than a straight i)ull
with the line. From the beginning to the end of the
struggle, whether Salmo runs away or eotnos towards one
(except only when he rushes and jumps), there should bo
a perfeetly even strain kept upon him. 1 know nothing
more provoking to the angler than after ten or fifteen
minutes, or even a lialf-hour's play, to see the ily come
back in his face. This is generally the result of too light
a hand. ]\[y theory in salmon iishing is to give the fish
all the strain the tackle will bear at first, and when this is
done, in nine cases out of ton tlu^ first ten seconds will
decide the fate of the fish. Another very serious objection
to bearing lightly on a fish is the increased length of time
it takes to bring him to the gafi". b^almon are not always,
indeed I may say very seldom, in a taking humour, and
when they arc, the less time that is lost the better. Never
let a fish run out more lino than can be helped ; the farther
he is away from the angler, especially in rapid water, the
less command he has over him, and consequently a foul is
more probable. For the same reason, if possible, ahvays
keep square with the fish on the bank of the river. In
angling, as every angler knc - there are lucky and
unlucky days ; but taking one with another, ho should
kill at least two fish out of three that he touches with
the hook. Broken tackle is in nineteen ca'^es out of
twenty the fault of the angler. fcJalmon sometimes take

'('

mm^>m'

398

Tf/K Axni.En.

tlifi fly at tlif> first rise, buf just an often at tin; sofond or
third. When a lish rises h(! shoiihl ho rested u minute
or so hef'ore lie is covered aj^ain ; if ho icfiises tiie lly
then there is no use whij>j>in^ e'«'i' liim ; the h(>ttor way
is to nuirk the spot, fish the r t tlio pocd, and tiion.
after a ^ood interval, return over hini with a fly of
another (!olour.

There is a j^reat deal in having a good man to gaff.
The quicker the fish can be laid on the bank the better,
or, in other words, the longer ho is played the greater the
chance of the hook-hold breaking. A good attendant will
seize opj)ortunities for slipping in the gafT", not seen by
the muff, or if seen, probably bungled. When tishing
alone, the fish has to be tired out, there is in this case
no help for it ; he must be turnf ' on his side, when tin?
angler, if unable to reach him iny other way, may
lay his rod down on the bank, TuKJng care to eave the
handle of the reel uppermost, and, running his hand uj)
the rod, may take the line carefully between the finger
and thumb of the left iiand while he uses his uaft' with
the right ; but many a fish is lost for want of an attendant.

The best attendants the angler can have in Canada are
the Indians. In the first place, they know wdiere fish
lie, and, in the second place, these peoi)le are all born
sportsmen ; they take as much delight in the fishing
as their master, and pick up the method of using the
gaff, the rod, or any other sporting implement, with
quickness.

The fisherman in Canada has to learn to fish out of a
canoe. Sometimes the canoe is held stationary by the
poles of the men, but in large pools the better way is to

A nr.v AFTKn a sai.mox.

DOO

drop down witli a liiu> and ;j:r;i|tiiel. Wlu'ii tishiiif? in tliis
way I l\avo luul runs us exciting as a last twenty niinutt's
with foxlionnds. On ono occasion, at the forks of tlio
]\Ie(aj)(Mlia, a river wliicli in lii|^h water is not a suc-
cession of rapids, hut ono continued ra]>id for nearly 'AO
inih'S, a fisli came at ine with a ^reat rush at the junction
of the two rivers. 1 a/ichored in liini at once, and tlien
tlio beast, witlh)ut any pndiininary skirmishing, sailed
down stream. I nii^dit as well have tried to stop a
steamer, so, jumping into the eanoo which my men
luckily wore pre[)ar(Ml with, wo gave chase;. Three miles
we followed him through roaring rapids and the most
intricate navigation before 1 could get a pull at him.
The way my Indian^ handled the canoe was a marvel of
skill, through roaring rapids, past threatening snags,
they followed just 40 yards in the wake of that fish, who
strove to reach the ocean. At last we tried another
tactic, and shooting past him in a broad reach of the
river, I got the pull on him down stream, and immediately
turned him over on his side, when we found him to be a
32-lb. fish hooked by the tail. I have often remarked
that foul-hooked lisli always run down stream, as do invari-
ably fish that have been wounded by the spear or the gailf.
Heavy fish do not, as a rule, make the lightning-like
rushes and throw the succession of summersaults that the
moderate-sized salmon and grilse often do. They are
either sulky, or else they make deliberate journeys here
and there. A fish will sometinu^s sulk for hours at the
bottom of a deep hole if he is let, but he should always
in those cases be stirred up with a pole. On one occasion
I hooked a large fish almost at dark — very soon it was

i-j

'i\

■1:

\i.

mmmmmmmm

Hu-

It:

400

77//; AKGLKR.

pitoli (liirk — and lie lay on tlie bottom liko a lo{^. I^Fy
Indians made a hirch-bark torch und speared liim.

A canoe is essential to tlio angler in most Canadian
waters, and as canoo-nicn tiie Indians are unrivalled. Tl\e
lumberers, too, are good canoe-men, and force tlijir pon-
derous dug-outs up most formidable rajjids, but the Indian
does by consummate skill what the white man does by
sheer strength ; he knows that his bark is as fi-agile as a
lady's bonnet, that, buoyant and graceful Jis it is, a little
touch against a r(jck will rend its delicate skin. He must
therefore thread his way with the utmost caution. Ivunning
the rapids in a bark canoe is exciting work ; as the canoe
bounds along at great speed, a rock seems to s[)ring u})
from the bottom of the river right ahead of the bow ;
instant destruction seems unavoidable, for in this head-
long torrent the strongest swimmer w(mld iiave but little
chance. But the watchful Indian is perfect master of his
craft, and steers clear of every danger. Two or three sale
runs in a canoe beget confidence, but the novice carries
his heart in his mouth down the rai)ids.

The Indian method of salmon fishing is with the torch
and spear, and the skill they dis})lay in this operation is
simply marvellous. Gliding rapidly down stream, through
shallows, whirlpools, eddies, and rai)i(ls, it requires a quick
and practised eye to detect a lish,and a quick and skilful
hand to strike it. A slight miscalculation as to the depth
of the water, and the unlucky spearman follows his spear
headlong into the dee}). Dark, still nights are suitable
for salmon spearing, and the blazing birch-bark torch,
which throws a brilliant but fitful glare on tlie canoe and
on the water just around it, makes darkness more dark

liAEK CANOES.

401

02. My

3iin

atUan

led Tb.c

\\i\x pon-

Lie Iiidiau

I does by

■agile as a

is, a little
He must
Kunning

1 the canoe
sitring up
the bow ;
this head-

e but litth^

aster of his

I- three sale
ice carries

111 the torch
Lporation is
fin, through
ircs a quick
and shilful
the depth
s his spear
lire suitable
lark torch,
canoe and
more dark

outside tlie circle of its light. The canoe seems to
stand perfectly still, and the bottom of the river to run
rfi^idly away from it. Suddenly the man at the bow
makes a dart at a fish, and if fortunate enough to strike
a heavy salmon lets go his spear, and recovers it after-
wards with the fish between its jaws. The spear is made
of two jaws or shoulders of tough -pliant wood, which open
out to admit the lish, whicli is held firii^ly by an iron spike
in the centre.

An invaluable treasure to the backwoodsman is the
bark of the birch tree. It is easily detached from the
trunk in the early summer. At this season the Indian
prowls about the forest seeking for a canoe birch, i.e.
a tree from which a sheet of bark can be procured of
sufficient size to make a canoe, and free from ilaws.
The tree having been found, felled, and chopped oif to
the proper length, he proceeds to nick the log along one
side, and then tenderly and carefully peels ofl' the bai'k.
Sticking pegs in the ground to mark out the exact size of
the canoe, he then moulds the sheet of bark into shape,
warming it as ho goes on at the fire to make it soft and
pliable. Next the gunwale of cedar wood is bent to the
required shape and stitched to the bark : the latter is his
squaw's work, and the threads she uses are the tough and
stringy roots of the spruce tree. The lining is made of
cedar splits or laths, and five transverse bars of tough
wood securely fastened to the gunwale keep the cauoe stitf
and shapely. For caulking purposes, a pitch made of
resin and grease is used, and with this mixtiu'e the stem,
stern, and other unavoidable seams are hermetically sealed,
and the pitch-pot is a part of the furniture of every canoe.

l!|i

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i02

THE ANGLER

, I

The tools used by the Indian for building his ship are the
axe, the awl, and the crooked knife — the latter a curved
blade used as a spokeshave.

The paddles are made of rock or bird's-eye maple,
6 feet 6 inches or 7 feet in length. They should be light
and springy. In paddling the upper hand is at the ex-
treme end, and the lower one (or the left hand if the
paddler is working at his left side) grasps the paddle close
to the blade. The y ther apart the hands are held the
more power can be put into the stroke. At the com-
mencement of each stroke the paddle is nearly perpen-
dicular, and throughout the arms are held nearly stiff, the
motive power coming from the shoulders.

The birch-bark canoe weighs about 60 lbs., and can be
paddled or " portaged " by one man with the greatest
ease, yet, light as it is, can carry four heavy men with
perfect safety. With two or more of a crew two persons
paddle, one at each end of the canoe, .and at opposite
sides. When the canoer is by himself he steers, not by
shifting the paddle from one side to the other, but by
pulling the water towards him as it were, or by pushing
it from him with the blade of his paddle. Paddling in
smooth water is by no moans hard work, and the art can
soon be learned.

Kapidly as the Indians are degenerating and losing
their characteristic traits, still the particular tribe to
which a red man belongs can be told at a glance by the
pattern of his canoe. Thus the Micmac, who lives on
the sea-coast, has a larger and more weatherly craft
than the IMilicete, who " paddles his own canoe " only
on the inland waters. Both arc, however, made out of

BAUK CANOES.

403

I are the
a, curved

3 maple,

be liglit
i tlie ex-
d if the
idle close

Iield the
the com-
jr perpeii-
y stiff, the

,nd can be
e greatest
men with
wo persons
it opposite
ers, not by
ler, but by
»y pushing
laddling in
Ihe art can

md losing
Iv tribe to
Ince by the
|o lives on

lerly craft
Inoe" only

Lde out of

the same materials, and diflfer only in size and shape.
The Micinac canoe has high bows and stern, with gun-
wale raised amidships to throw off tlie sea. These c.moes,
when well handled, will stand as much sea as any open
boat, and in a short, chopping sea are perhaps drier.
Their extreme length is about 22 feet, beam 3 feet, and
weight 115 lbs. They are paddled and "portaged" by
two men, one at each end. In smooth water a Micmac
canoe will carry 1.5 cwt. of a load with perfect safety.
The Milicete canoe is as long, or nearly so, as the Mic-
mac; it is much lower and narrower, and the lines are
finer. Inferior to the other in sea-going qualities, it is
admirably adapted for lake and river navigation, and
although capable of carrying four men (or weiglit equiva-
lent), is so light that an Indian thinks nothing of throwing
it on his shoulders and carrying it for 2 or 3 miles at a
stretch. In old times I have heard that it was not unusual
to "portage" canoes in one day from the head of the
St. John to the St. Lawrence, a distance of IS miles ; and

I myself have seen an Indian " portage " his canoe

II miles through the woods. In " portaging," the centre
bar of the canoe rests on the back and shoulder.

The canoes of the nor'-west are very much larger than
the above, and are capable of carrying eight or ten men
and a large load ; they are sometimes as much as
6 fathoms in length, but they are made exactly in the
same way and out of the same materials as the above.

The log canoes are about 30 feet in length by 22 inches
in width, and are made out of a single pine tree. I have
seen good rough canoes on which no other tool Init an axe
had ever been laid ; for the world cannot produce better

m\.

P|l

404

tup: anoleu.

;■ * *■

li^.i

I l:!f: I

choppers than tlio Canadian lumbermen ; the axe is thoir
plaything in childhood and their companion through life.
Log canoes are capital things in shoal, rocky rivers;
no amount of bumping can hurt them ; but, on the other
hand, they are clumsy and difficult to " portage," and for
general purposes are inferior to the bark.

To make a complete angler's list of all the rivers and
lakes in the Dominion, and to give particulars of the sport
obtainable on that vast extent of water, would be a task
beyond my power. I may, however, briefly mention a few
of the best rivers for the possible guidance of anglers.
To commence with the south shore of the St. Lawrence :
we find that the streams above Quebec, though presenting
a most inviting appearance, have been almost depopu-
lated of fish. The first really good salmon river is the
Rimouski, which is let on lease up to the year 1878, for
the sum of !j;20 per annum. Salmon average about
16 lbs. in Rimouski. The Metis comes next, and is, I
believe, let for the same period, at a nominal sum.
j\[atane is a nice little river, leased up to the year 1882,
at $40 per annum. Besides these tliere are several other
small unleased rivers in the county of Rimouski, which
occasionally hold fish. This district is very accessible;
there is a railway to Quebec, and in summer frequent
steamers. The Upper Canadians come here in numbers
in the hot weather for sea-batliing, and there are gene-
rally plenty of anglers among them.

Farther down the coast, passing the Cape Chatte, which
is a good trout stream, with an odd salmon, we come to
the St. Anne's des Montes, a beautiful river, which is
leased for $50 per annum up to 1879. Salmon run large

i'f

SALMON RIVERS.

405

. tlioii-
h life,
rivers ;
s other
ind for

jrs and
le sport
a task
n a few
anglers,
wrence :
3senting
depopu-
!r is the
|878, for
about
,nd is, I
al sum.
ar 1882,
il other
which
essible ;
requent
numbers
re gene-

in St. Anne's, averaging nearly 20 lbs. The Magdalen is
the next salmon river on the coast, it is leased up to the
year 1881, at $20 per annum. This river, like many
others, had been fished out, but, under better manage-
ment, is improving.

Emptying into the beautiful basin of Gaspe there are
three perfect little gems of rivers. They have the ad-
vantage of being very accessible, two or three steamers
a week in summer, calling in at Gaspe. Unlike the big
rivers in the Bay of Chaleur, one has not to go far up
these streams for sport; indeed I have had excellent
sport in the York river from the hotel at Gaspe. With
better hotel accommodation Gaspe would Le a charming
summer retreat for the tourist. There is no heat in
summer, the air is very bracing, and the scenery pretty.
The St. John is the best salmon river of the three ; it
is a charming stream to fish, and salmon run large;
it is reserved for the use of the Governor-General and his
friends. The Dartmouth is another charming stream ;
2 or 3 miles from the mouth there is a beautiful pool
at the foot of some falls, where I have killed big sea
trout and salmon till my arms were tired, llecently these
tails have been blasted to let the fish higher up the river.
This river is leased up to the year 1882, at the yearly
rent of $100, but I believe that the lessees allow casual
anglers to fish at a small payment per diem.

The York river is leased up to 1883. for $75 per annum.
Fish do not run quite so large as in the St. Jolin, but
there are plenty of them, and they take the fly very freely.
Tliese three small rivers show what the fishing would be
in the many hundred little rivers that flow into the river

ifiil

■ (

1 1,

' ti

Il^

mrnn

40G

THE AKGLEE.

and gulf of St. Lawrence if obstructions and sawdust were
removed. Malbaie is a nice-looking stream, which salmon
liave access to, but it has been poached to death. It is
unlcased. Big and Little Pabos are also unleased ; they
are offered by the Government on five years' lease, at
respectively $200 and $100. They are both rivers that,
if properly looked after, would no doubt afford good sport,
but they have never as yet been taken in hand. Grand
river is a good stream ; salmon plentiful, averaging about
12 or 13 lbs. ; it is leased up to the year 1878, at a yearly
rent of $200. The angling season for all these rivers on
the south shore is from the 10th June to the 15th July ;
of course this is only approximate, because seasons vary
according to the melting of the snow in the Shick Shock
mountains. After the middle of July most of these rivers
run very fine, and salmon fisliing is then uncertain, though
sea trout and grilse never fail.

The rivers flowing into the Bay of Chaleur are among
the best in the Dominion. The Bonaventure is a nice
stream, which is leased up to the year 1880 at a yearly
rent of $20. Two rods have killed sixty fish in ten
days' fishing hero, averaging about 14 lbs., which is con-
sidered small for the Bay of Chaleur. The Little Casca-
pedia is let up to the year 1878 for $300 per annum.
Salmon were until quite recently shut out of this stream
by a timber jam, but naturally it is an excellent salmon
river. Fish average about 16 or 17 lbs. The Grand
Cascapedia is celebrated for the immense size of its fish.
This is a large and very rapid stream ; its water not so
clear as most Canadian rivers, owing to a branch that
flows out of a large lake, round which are peaty barrens,

SALMON RIVERS.

407

which discolour its waters. On the other branch salmon
ascend to the fallc, which are near tiie Shick Shock moun-
tains. Poling a canoe up this river is heavy work ; it is
in fact one hard push all the way up. The angler who
meditates a long stay up the river is obliged to take
two canoes, one for himself and the other for his traps.
Salmon average 23 lbs., and every season mighty monsters
of the deep are hooked by anglers. Fortunately, owing
to the colour of the water, somewhat coarser tackle can
be used than in most other rivers. The Cascapedia is
leased up to the year 1878 for $600 per annum. There
is occasionally a vacancy for a rod on it for 1 100.

Just opposite Dalhousie two beautiful little rivers run
into the bay, viz. the Nouvelle and the Escuminac.
There is no artificial obstruction on either of these
streams, and yet salmon do not ascend them. The reason
of this, in my opinion, is that both of them empty their
waters into the bay over flat, muddy bars, which are
grown over with sea grass. In both these streams there
are a peculiarly large and fine run of sea trout. These
trout are quite diiferent in colour and in shape from the
sea trout that are taken in the other Bay of Chaleur
waters. I regret that I am not learned enough in fishes
to give their peculiar ichthyological marks. Their aver-
age weight is larger, their colour darker, their flesh
firmer, and their habits different from those of other sea
trout that I have met with. In their habits, the places
they choose to rest m, and the way they rise at the fly,
and play when hookcJ, they exactly resemble salmon. In
fact, trout fishing with light tackle in Escuminac is
salmon fishing in miniature. They average about 3 or

'in )

408

THE ANGLEn.

■'■

3^ lbs. ; the smallest fisli is not under 1^ lb., and tlie
largest not over 6 lbs. It is perliaps wortli noting that
tliese tront are pecub'ar to the only two streams in the
IJay of Chalenr in which there are no salmon.

The next salmon river is the IMetapedia, which is leased
np to the year 1882, at $20 per annum. The fish in this
river are nearly, if not quite, as large as in Cascapedia, a
stream which it resembles in characteristics. Salmon
average 21 or 22 lbs. It is noticeable in the Bay of
Chalenr, and I think in Canadian rivers generally, that
the stronger the stream the larger the tisli. There are
about 40 miles of fishing water on this river. The best
pool is at the Forks, about 35 miles from the mouth.
Here the Causapsacol, a very rough and rapid little river,
joins the main branch. The largest fish go up this
branch ; the fish average about 25 lbs. It has seldom
been angled, owing to the great difKeulties to be encoun-
tered — first in getting up it, and next in fishing it. On
one occasion I pushed some 10 miles up this stream with
great trouble. The bed of the stream is so rough and
rocky, and the stream so strong, that it is a herculean
task to push a canoe up ; while the banks are so pre-
cipitous that it is impossible to walk. In one place I
found a long gorge, through which the stream foamed,
throwing itself over a lot of ledges into as many basins.
In these there were plenty of salmon, but I found it
almost impossible to catch them. A canoe could not live
in this place ; the banks were precipices, and even when
one could get one's fly into the water and hook a monstei-,
the chances were ten to one against getting him. The
Intercolonial Railroad runs for 30 or 40 miles along the

SALMOy JlTVEnS.

400

vory bank of tlio ^[etapediii, so tliat it is porlinps the most
accessible river in all Canada. The fish do not take tho
fly quite so freely in the Metapedia as in the Itcsti^ouche;
seldom more than one hundred fish have been taken in a
season. Season, July and August.

The Restigoueh(i is divided into two ang' .ng stations,
one eonimcncing at the mouth of iMetapedia, and extending
u])\vards about 20 miles, the other includes all tho upper
waters of the river; these are let for ljj;"20 each ])er annum
up to 18(S0. Of the two, the lower section is the better.
At the mouth of Metapedia there are one or two pools,
in which casual anglers can get fishing on payment of
'i<l per diem ; but these pools are generally over-fished.
Salmon average about 10 lbs. on tho Kestigouelie. The
river is very large, and a good deal of fishing is done
out of canoes. In the year 1874 over fifteen hundred
salmon, averaging 10 lbs., were killed with tlie fly on
Restigouche and its tributaries. Before tin; confedera-
tion of the provinces one bank of this magnificent river
belonged to Lower Canada, the other to New Brunswick.
Each province had difi'erent fishing regulations, and, as
might be supposed, between the two all protective mea-
sures fell to the ground. After confederation matters
mended. The fishing regulations were assimilated, and
to a certain extent enforced ; one-half tho stake-nets
were done away with, and the take of fish, five years after
these salutary reforms were effected, was trebled. In
1873 the total catch of salmon in liestigouche was about
500,000 lbs. The Upsalquitch, a large tributary of Eesti-
gouche, on the Brunswick side, is an uncommonly pretty
stream to fish. It is leased up to 1880, at §20 per

il!

1 .' v

-'I

I!'

n ;!-;

410

THE ANGLEIi.

■ i ! ; ;

'':h

annum. Tlic Upsalquitch salmon are much smaller than
the l{estij,^ouc'he or Metapedia fish ; averaging perhaps
12 lbs., but tliey take the fly very freely. The fishing
season on the Restigouche and its tributaries is a little
later than on the rivers farther north ; it is seldom in
fishing order before the last week in Juno or the 1st of
July. Farther down, on the New Brunswick side, we
come to the Jacquet, a good little river, which is leased
up to 1878 for $105 per annum.

The Nepisiguit, one of the best known of Canadian
rivers, is leased up to 1883 for $300 per annum. There
is frequently a vacancy on it for a rod at $100. As
far as numbers go, there is no river in Canada of the
same size that can beat it ; ten, twelve, and fifteen fish
are frequently killed by one rod in the day. Fish are
small, averaging about 11 lbs. The fish can only ascend
as far as the Grand Falls, viz. about 20 miles. This is
a lovely spot; the falls are about 80 feet in height,
and underneath them the water froths and foams through
a gorge or cleft in the rocks, which rise almost perpen-
dicularly to a great height. Farther down the cliffs
suddenly recede and form a broad basin, in which the
waters are as smooth and unruffled as a mill-pond. The
casts are within the gorge, and just at the mouth of the
basin. The fish fall back into the deep water during
the heat of the day, but take the fly freely in the pools
in the mornings and evenings. Twenty- four fish have
been taken here by one rod in the day. At a place
called the Pabineau Falls, 8 miles from the mouth, there
is another famous pool, perhaps the best one in Canada

SALMON lilVEIiS.

411

for a lazy angler. Hero tlic river suddenly narrows and
]irec'ipitates itself over a ledge into a smooth roek-bonnd
basin, in which the water bnbbles and eddies. All round the
rocks are as steep as walls, except one immense Hat fellow,
nearly hjvel with the water, on which the angler stands.
The fish lie in one spot, close to where the water shoots
out of the basin, and can be covered with a very short
line. When a fish is hooked little persuasion is necessary
to get him out of the basin, where he must be handled
with judgment in a thundering rapid to prevent the line
from fouling on a rock in the centre. This danger
avoided, it is all plain sailing. The fish is bound to go
down, and the angler follows him along a little path high
up in the rocks to the landing place. When the river is
in right order in the early part of the season, viz. about
July 1, there is room on the flat rock for two rods, " one
down, t'other come on." There are many other excellent
casts on the Nepisiguit. At the rough waters, close to
the mouth, there are 3 or 4 miles of beautiful pools, which
afford excellent sport in the first of the season, and are
within a few minutes' drive of the town of Bathurst.
Season for Nepisiguit, from June 20 to August.

In several rivers that flow into the Bay of Chaleur,
notably in the Restigouche and Metapedia, trout have
greatly diminished in numbers during the last half-dozen
years. Before that trout were really worth nothing,
anglers were few and far between, and the Salmo trutta
and Sahno fontinalis had a good time of it. The con-
struction of the Intercolonial Railroad brought thousands
of people into the country, many of whom liked to catch

i;?

412

TIIK ANniEn.

.1 K t.

l w

the trout, mid all dI" wlioin wltc! \i\m\ to j^ct tlioin to (Mit.
So trout Imvo bron <xr('atly tliiim<<l, to th(5 undoubted
udvantiigo of the Hiilinou fishery.

The Miriiiuichi, a very tine river, is divided into two
Itranehes, tho nortli-weht and th(! soutli-west. Tlie former
is, I believe, still in the market; it is offered on a five
years' lease, at lj;200. It is not a lirst-class salmon river.
I'he south-west branch is leased uj) to tho year 1882, at a
rent of jjiilO per annum. This is, 1 venture to say, one of the
nicest streams to lish in the world, 1 ut with one drawbaek,
viz. that the best pools are noaily 100 niihs from the sea,
and consecjuently salmon have a ])erilonsly lon<^ journey,
and, the jMiramichi bein<^ a settled river, many enemies
to elude. In no river that I have ever seen do sahnou
rise more freely at the 11 y. There are over 150 miles of
beautiful tishiufj^ water on this stream. Salmon average
about 12 lbs. Grilse fishing is llrst rate, and both salmon
and grilse fishing are improving, owing to regulations
being better enforced. The season is from dune 20 to
August.

On the north shore of the St. Lawrence there aie some
good rivers within easy distance of Quebec ; among them
are tho Jacques Cartier, St. Anne du Nord, a very good
stream, rivers IMurray and Du (Jouffre, both very fair. I
am not aware of the terms on wlij' ^' these rivers are let,
but some of them are o, '^n > the casual angler by pay-
ment. The Burgaroi a-eam free ' anglers stopping
at the Tadousac Hote NTear the mouth of the magnifi-
cent Sajiuenav, to which eonv >rtable steamers run three
times a week from Quebec, is one of the best ^'vers in
Canada, viz. the St. Marguarite. It is rentea by the

SALMON liJl'EIiS.

4irj

propriotor of tin- Riissc^ll House, (Jiiclicc, on lease to llu-
year 1883, ut u yearly rent of iiifh)r). Tlio le.sseo lins
iurnished eottii^^cs oti the river, which he lets to an^l-rs
at $50 per wec'k uj) to the lOtli of Au,:;ust, and at J«5H.')
per week from that date up to the closti of the season.
The ri<'ht of an"lin;r is attached to the cottayre, eanoo-nien

r)'">

and food Ixing extras. Salmon averafjjc! about 10 lbs.
the St. Marj^niarite, and as many as .'iOO llsh anj tak(;ii in
the season. The sea-trout lishin<,' is also ca])ital. The
St. Jean, liittlc; Saj,nienay, A i\lars, Sault-au-eochin, and
Laval are a ^n'oui» of excelKmt strenins, which an," all
leased by one ^'entleman up to the year 1888 for }f?4r)0 per
annum. The Bersimites is a lovely river, but it is given
up to the Indiana for spearing. The I'ortnenf is also a
good river, but 1 do not know the terms on which it is
let.

The (u)dbout is leased up to the year 18S2, at a yearly
rent of ,*j^300 ; great numbers of fish are killed in this
stream, sometimes 500 in one month, but the size is
small, viz. about 12 lbs. The ^loisie, another famous river,
is leased at the same rent up to 1881. The fish are much
larger on this river, and average about 20 lbs. I am told.
The St. John's is another excellent stream, and fish large.
I do not know the terms on which it is let. The Mingau
is leased uj) to 1878 at an annual rent of ,^520. It is a
famous river. So is the Romaine, which is leased up to
the same date for $500. The Natasquan is perhaps one of
the very best rivers in Canada. The only drawback to this
and to many other splendid streams on the Labrador coast
is the difficulty of getting at them. A Government
steamer makes two trips down the coast in the summer,

'1^

414

Tin-: AXOLFJl

'. \

jMid if (li(! aii<i^l(M- nuHsos thoso cliancos ho must go by
sailing boat. Tho Natas(|nuu was unl<'as('<l iip to tlio end
of last year (187;")), and wits oircrcd on biaso of five years
I'or ^800. Tiic water of most of tlieso rivers on tbo nortli
b\\o\\\ of ibe St. Ijawrenco is very bright and elear. (Jood
canoe-men are re(|uired on them all, as tho rapids arc
most formidable. Tlio angler must of (H)urso have his
own camp. Hut this is no hardship, lor tho elinnite is
charming in tho iishing season, and the scenery jterfoct,
])otli the salmon and tho sea-trout fishing are probably
the b(\st in the world, and the only drawback is the
ilies. 'V\\Q season for all those rivers is fnmi the lOtli or
15th of .lune up to the end of July. Tluvre are many
splendid streams (>ast of the Natasquan that have never
boon pro})orly explored by tho angler, amongst others
the Jvegascha, the Washecootai, the Mecatina, and the
St. Augustine. It would bo a delightful expedition to
visit and explore these rivers during tho fishing season.
* There are capital harbours, I am told, all along the coast
for a yacht or coasting schooner, and a party of anglers,
bent on discovery, might have capital sport and spend a
most enjoyable summer cruising about tho Labrador. \n
ornithologist too would find much to interest him on this
shore, wliich is one of the greatest breeding places in the
world for sea birds.

I was particular in mentioning the exact rents paid for
all the above rivers in order to bear out a statement mad<'
at the commencement of this chapter, viz. that by a fair
and im})artial letting of the rivers a much larger revenue
would fiow into the exchequer of the Dominion. Let any
one who questions this statement compare the rent paid

SALMON IfATC/flNO.

415

by two rods for tlio (sxclusivo rif^lit, <»r over ;")() inil<'s of
^rund lisliin;^ wiit(;r in tho Uostif^oiudK!, vi/. 8/., with that
whicdi tho lossoo of tho St. Mar^iiarito ^cU from a miinhcr
of rods, viz. 107. per rod por weok. Of tho two rivers,
wliich arc both very jjjootl, tho former is in ov(!ry respect
tlio better, whetlier as rcf^ards uccesHibility, scope of
water, or si/e of ilsli.

To amuse thcMiiselves or to amuse tho public, I do not
really know which, the I)(;partmeiit of Fisheries have esta-
blished a iiujubei- of salmou-hatchin*; houses on tho cliief
rivers of Canada. I sup[)ose it must bo for their amusement,
for to propagate iish artilicially on such rivers as the Gaspe
river, tiie Miramiehi, the K<;stigoucIie, and the •Sa;^uenay,
seems to me about as unnc^cessary a prooeediuf^ as the
artificial propaj^ation of Irishmen would be in Indaud.
Tho argument niiido use of is that out of a hundred eggs
laid by the IV^male salmon in tho natural way, only one
comes to maturity, whereas a percentage of about seventy
or eighty are hatched in the artificial way. I believe
it is (juite true that by great care this percentage of
young fish can be produced, but I venture to say that
not more than 1 per cent, of these fry ever attain maturity.
They are turned into the river when little more than half
an inch in length, poor little, helpless, artilicially reared
creatures, as food for trout, shell-ducks, and goodness knows
how many devouring monsters. But, of course, it is a
great thing when brought to task for jol^bing away the
rivers of Canada for a tauth of their value, to be able to
reply, *' We hatch so many milliijus of young salmon in
these rivers every year." They get credit with the outside
world, and the toys amuse them. I do not presume to run

5 I

i !

li^

41G

TJUi ANGLKIl

\€

■;^

;

I .

u tilt at the iirlilicial propa-^ation ol" saliuou. Unquos-
tionably it is most valuable in ro-.stockiiifj; riv(;r.s with lisli.
Thon* arc many Imndi'cds of riv(!r8 from Niagara down to
(iucboc, from which th(3 Salmomdm havo boon oxi)ellod,
and it would bo doiuf^ a good scrvioo to tho country to
ro-vstock those witli iish. A gontloman of the iianio of
Wilmot lias in fact ro-stockod two or throo tributaries of
Ontario, but it sooms to nio to bo au absurdity to put up
a Ush-hatching house on a river like Ivostigoucho, where
there are hundreds of miles of spawning beds to which
iish have access. An experienc(> of many yinirs on salmon
rivers has proved to me conclusiv(.dy that the best and
indeed the only way to increase the suj)[»ly of salmon is to
curtail the fixed engines of destruction at tho mouths of
the rivers. In several instances 1 have seen those lixed
eniiinos cut down to a fraction of their former dimensions
amid the outcry of the proprieti^rs, who swore they would
bo ruined. ])ut what was the result? Why in. a f((W
years afterwards their take of Iish had increased in pro-
portion to the reduction of their nets. In tho river
JiFoisie, in 1850, it required 15,000 fathoms of nets to kill
250 barrels of salmon. In 1873, tho nets being reduced
to 2500 iiithoms, the yield of salmon was (iSO barrels. In
tln» Restigoucho one-half the iixed nets wore cut down,
and in four years the take of salmon had doubled. Every
fathom cut oft' a iixed net is worth a thousand artificially
hatched fry, but then the pro})riotor of that said fathom
makes a tremendous disturbance if it is taken from him,
and the member for his county loses a lot of votes at
the next election, whereas the public consider a thousand
artificially hatched salmon fry cheap at the money.

MONOPOLY OF SALMON ItlVLL'S.

417

IJnquos-
vitli lisli.
, down to
oxpoll<'(l,
nintry to
name ol"
ntiirios of
to put up
lio, whoro
to which
ju srthiion
best and
Imon is to
mouths of
jieso lixed
limcnsions
lioy wouhl
in. a few
od in pro-
thc river
lots to kill
o; rcductid
irrels. lu
cut down,
Every
tirtilicially
id fathom
from him,
votes at
thousand
ey.

lero is sonu'thing to h(^ said Itoth for and ji|^aiiisl iht;

system of h'asing rivers. 'I'hosi; in favour of it maintain
that it lalvcs th(^ hurilcn of pn)t('ctin<;" riv<'rs (df the
shouhh;rs of iho (Jovciiimcnt, that l>y making tlie angling
private ])n»[)(Mty IIkj rivers arc Ijctter cared for than they
could he hy the (jlovornmont, and finally that the rcints are
a source of revenue. On th(! other hiind it is maintnineil
that there is room enough and to s[)are for every lislier-
man in Cjinadii, on Canadian waters, hut that under louses
a very limited numher of rods ni()no[)(jli/e iiundreds of
miles of Wiiter ; that with aM,L;liiig licensiis ii mu(di larg(M'
revenue could bo raised, and that anglers are tluj natural
protectors of tin; salmon, and that on iiv(;rs that How
through a wild, unsettled country the mon; iinglers tliat
aro on the rivers, the less poaching there would he. The
inhabitants of those districts in which there are salmon
rivers aro universally o[»[iosed to the leasing system ; tliey
say, and say with truth, that if the angling were o[)en,
ten anglers would visit tln-m for one that comes nou,
and tcm times as much money wouhl be spetd. If uncling
licenses were issued by the l^'ishery Dcipartment at SI'',
ij5l5, or 5jj?20 lor the season, em[)owering hohhrs to angle
anywhert! within the JJominion, a much linger revenue,
oven taking the smaHest sum 1 have named, would accrutj
to the' country than under the present system, and tlu;
protection of the rivers would be self-su}>i)orting, to say
the least of it.

But although opinion is dividi d on the subjc ct of lenses
or no leases, there is, as 1 remarked elsewhere, general
and wide-spread discontent, not only among s[)ortsnu,'n

2 I]

i I

li|»'^!

418

THE ANGLER.

but among all classes of the community in Canada, at
tho way in wliich tlicso leases are given. They are not
put up to public competition and knocked down to the
highest bidder ; they go by private favour and by back-
stairs influence.

m ■ -I

CHAPTER XIV.

^ II

CLIMATE, ETC.

MIGRATION to (Jaiiuda bus iii times past been nufavonr-
ably iuilueiicecl by erroneous opinions that have prevailed
as to the severity of the Canadian climate. I have been
over the greater part of the continent of North America,
and have no hesitation in saying that in no other place is
the climate so healthy and conducive to length of life as
in Canada. The medical statistics of our army show that
there is no healthier station for a sound man tiiroughout
the length and breadth of the British Empire than
British North America. I say for a " sound man," be-
cause I believe there are certain complaints of the lungs
and bronchial arrangements for which the great cold and
extreme changes of temperature are not suited ; but even
in these cases it is a question whether the Canadian
climate is more trying tlian the damp cold of our average
English winter. In a country as large as Europe, there
are of course varieties of climate ; but, as compared with
that of the British Isles, two general characteristics pre-
vail over its entire extent, viz. greater heat in summer
and greater cold in winter. Nova Scotia, Cape Breton,
and that part of New Brunswick bordering on the Bay of
Fundy, owing to their pro})in(puty to the Arctic current,
combine the worst features of the Canadian and of the
English climates, viz. savage cold with rain and fog,

iillV

; 1

; I

mmmmmm

420

CLIMATE, ETC.

-1- 1'

rapidly alternating' from one to the other. Travellorp,
therefore, who do not get beyond the sealtoard, carry
away with them an unfavourable and unjust idua of the
Canadian climate.

A stranger having penetrated the fogs of the Bay of
Fundy finds himself in the city of St. John a victim to
the wind, ^^'hen it blows from the north or north-west,
the weather is dry and cold in winter, dry iind warm in
summer ; the instant it veers round to the east it brings
rain. Fogs roll in from the westward, and both rain and
fogs from the southward. Let him now travel 10 or
12 miles inland, and he will escape all those sudden
changes. Fredericton, 60 miles off as the crow flies,
can boast of as much sunshine as any place I know of —
steady cold winter, and a warm summer, with an un-
clouded sky six days out of seven all the year round.

Of secondary importance only to the health of the
immigrant himself is the health of his stock. There is no
part of the New World better suited to cattle than the
Dominion of Canada. Both horned cattle and sheep are
entirely free from the diseases and epidemics tliat pe-
riodically make such havoc among the fanners' stock in
England. The air and water are eminently suitable to
their health, whilst the climate and soil are equally
suitable to the growth of their food. Professor Ilurlbert
in a treatise on American climates proves conclusively
that those districts on the continent which nature clothed
with forest are those best suited to the production of
grasses and cereals. The latter like the forest require a
certain aiuount of humidity. All Canada, east of the
Eed river, is or was clad with fcresi, and when cleared the

EFFECT OF FOREST ON CLIMATE.

421

'%.

'Tr

lure clotlied

land is most favourable to grasses and stock raising. Tlie
immense fresh-water lakes and rivers of Canada have a
counteracting effect on the dry and warm summers, which
as a general ruh^ piirch vegetation throughout the most
fertile districts of the great republic. The forests also
exercise a very beneficial effect on the climate both
in summer and winter. In the western states of the
Union there is no forest to afford shelter from the cold
winds and snow-storms of winter, and to check the eva-
poration in the early summer, which is consequently very
rapid, and tlien as a natural consequence the land is
burnt and the crops withered. The forests of Canada
exclude the sun from the ground saturated with melting
snow, therefore evaporation proceeds slowly and lasts all
summer. Owing to this humidity, which favours grass
and cereals, and to the heat of summer, which equals that
of southern ICurope, there is a wider range of crops grown'-
in Canada than in perhaps any other country. On the
one hand there are the crups of a cool climate, such as
potatoes, turnips, wheat, barley, hay, and oats; on the
other hand the crops of a hot climate, such as Indian
corn, grapes, peaches, pumj)l<ins, &"c.

In Canada West the mean temperature during eight
months of the twelve is 40°. The mean temperature of
the summer is about 70^, autumn 48"^, winter 15^, spring
40". Jvain falls from sixty to seventy days in the year.
The navigation on the lakes and rivers is closed for nearly
five months. In the eastern provinces there is not much
difference in the heat of the summers, though the winters
are longer and more severe. Even in Quebec the mean
temperature for seven months in the twelve is over 40°.

122

('inrATi:, et<\

Hero tlio mercury li.as boon known to fall H')' bolow zoro,
and 1')" or 2lf bolow is not looked upon as anything!: un-
usual. I liiivo myself soon a chanfro of 70" of tomperaturo
within twenty-four hours in the maritime piovincos. The
•greatest heat in summer is about OS' in tlui shade; but
altIiou<j;h now and then the mercury does ascend to this
heijrht, the heat is never overpowerinj^'. ]lowever hot the
sun may be, the breeze is always braciuf.^ and refreshin^^,
and the nights are cool. Tlun-e is no day in the year in
which a healthy man cannot do a good day's work ; and
sunstrokes are unknown. The extremes of heat and cold
occur in cycles of not more than three days' duration.
I have rarely known more than three very cold nights in
succession, nor more than throe very hot days. The hot
days are often brought to a close by a heavy thunder
shower, and the cold ones by a fall of snow.

The length and severity of the winters is generally sup-
posed to be a serious drawback to farming in Canada. To a
certain extent this is the case ; but, as compared with our
English climate, the disadvantages of the Canadian
winter are by no means so great as might be imagined ;
in fact, their severity is a positive advantage.

Stock has to be housed and fed for ratlier more than six
• months of the year. During this time it is customary to
turn them out in the straw-yards for a foAv hours each day.
During this long winter none of the farmyard manure is
lost or wasted. It is not subject to a deluge of rain,
which in the old country washes away a great part of its
value, but, on the contrary, is sealed up and preserved by
the 'frost. The time during which cattle have to be fed
is certainly not more than one month longer than in

THE LAND SL/'JKI'S.

423

England, altlumgli, owinj^ to tlio cold, a (;onHi(l(n-al)ly
larf^or amount of to(l(l(!r is required. When |)ro[)orly
fed and sheltered, stook do not mind the cohl ; nature
furnislies them witli warmer elothinu^; and tho Canadian
farmer rarely if ever loses stoek from any cause other
than his own ne;,4(!('t.

From the beijfinninf^ of Novombor to tho middh; of
April tho Canadian farmer cannot touch his land. His
ploughinf^, sowing, and harvest have all to be completed
within, at the outside, seven mcmths of tlio twelve. In this
respect he is disadvantageously situated as regards the old-
country man, who can [)lough, diteli, drain, and do sundry
other jobs in the winter. But, all things considered, I am
not sure but that live months of frost and snow, with a hot
summer and a dry s(3ed-time and harvest, is not better
for the farmer than the damp yearly level of our English
climate. In the first place, all growth ceases in the
Canadiim winter; the land has perfect rest, and awakes
from its sl(!ep in the spring like a strong man refreshed
in the morning. The soil is then so friable from the
action of the frost that it can be ploughed with the
greatest ease, and all clod breaking, together with a great
deal of harrowing, can be dispensed with. Seed-time and
harvest, especially the latter, are very busy times with
the Canadian farmer. All his crops, roots as well as
cereals, have to be stowed away before the winter. During
this six and a half or seven months of farming season he
has, however, the inestimable advantage of a steady
climate, with unfailing sunsliine to ripen his crops ; none
of that catchy wet weather tliat makes haymaking and
harvest so laborious to the old-country farmers. During

I '

1 • 'V

424

riJMATf:, ETC.

the season niin seldom it' ever impedes I'ariniii^ openitioiis
for three days in snci-cssion. These two n^asons — vi/. the
loosenini; oi'llie soil lhi'on}j;h frost action, anil the stability
()l'(diniiite (lmin<jj the farminii; season — enabh; thi^ (Cana-
dian farmer to dispense with fnlly one-half th(! labour
rtMjnired at home. As an examph; of this, 1 may mention
the system of haymakin^r common all over Canada. J'^arlv
in the day — say on ]\ronday niornin;;' — the machine is
driven over the land. The following morning, as soon as
the dew is off, two or three hands go over it with forks
and shake ont the swards. In the afternoon the liorse-rake
is put on, and tho grass raked into wind rows for the
night. On the third morning these art^ o])ened out with
the fork, and the hay is made ;uid hauled into tho barn
on the afternoon of Wednesday.

Nature, by way of compensation for the long and hard
winter, during which not only many of tho aninads but
the hind itself remains in sound sleep, luis bh^ssed Canada
with a marvellously rapid vegetation. Travellers i'voin
-l"'nglancl are always struck with this. Tho trees do not
slowly bud and struggle into leaf as do our English trees,
but they positively burst forth at once into glorious
bloom. So with the crops. The thaw heaves up the
surface of the soil into loosi^ mould, thoroughly moistoried
by the melting snows. Ou this comes a great heat, and
the farmer or gardener can see his seeds growing. I have
seen buckwheat, a ra])id growing cereal, sown on the 15th
June and reaped on the 15th September. It is needless
to tell the practical farmer the value of this quick germi-
nation of the seed and rapid growth of the young plant.
It brings it safely through the most critical period of its

JlAriniTY OF VFAIKTATIUX.

425

existf'MPo, and on.iblcs it to (listiiiK.'(» tlio weeds. Hero
ugiiiii tlie eliiiuite of (Jiimulii Ims uii ii(lvaiit;i}:;o over tlio
Hnu^linh climate. TIk! IVost kills the roots of tlio weeds
ill winter, and oik? hoeiiii;- in the siininier time in (Junuda
is as <j;ood as two in En;j,land. The snn dries the nptnrned
weeds and withers them, lland-weedinf; can he dispensed
with alto'^ether, and thus a vast amonnt of lahonr is

savei

'J'lio Canadian snmmors arc decided Iv hot. There ia
never any danger of crops bein^ lost for want of suHicient
heat and sunshine to mature them. The degree of heat
can 1)(^ estimat(;d by considering some of the crops grown.
In Canada West, Indian corn, that most Ijeautiful and
most bounteous of cereals, grows well as a Held croj) (as a
garden cro]> it is rij)ened all over the Dominion), ^^'o
know that even in gardens at home this corn cannot be
ripened, as it requires at least one month of a higher
temperature than any lOnglish weather. Cucumbers,
melons, pnnn)kins, scjuash, and tomatoes come to perfec-
tion in the open air all over Canada. Even in the vicinity
of (Quebec all those may be seen ri})ening in the gardens
of the habitants. In Canada West grapes and peaches
do well in the open; and so would many other crops
which are but little cultivated at present, as, for instance,
tobacco and hemp.

There are some advantages of the long Canadian
winters tliat may be called negative ones ; to the farmer
there is at least one jiositive one. I allude to the lacilities
afforded by the frost and snow for hauling loads of all
kinds, and transporting produce. The swamps, the rivers,
the creeks, and the lakes are all scaled up, and make the

'\\

12(i

CfJMATi'. F.rr.

Im'sI (if roiuls. Tlicrc is iii» wvwv tind Icar ot" rMriii-rondH.
nor (Icstnict ion < 1' l.-iml, wliicli liikcH pliicc' more or less on
i'vory oM-conntrv lurni dnimiif (Ik^ wet winter. Tho
Ciinadiiin larnicr mid liis ((<ain of liorsos liiivo lull cin-
liloyincnt nil winter, l^'ncci-rails arc cut in llin woods
and lijinlcd on to llio I'arni, wlicic tlicy aro left ready to
li(> put up in tin* s|irin<;. I^'irowood is cut and liaidcd to
tlio larniyard. Ijnmlior lor ('ar|>»'nt('rinj>^ and iMuldin;^
]>urjK)S('s is cnl. and carried to and iVoni the sawmills.
Snrplns produce is lianled to market. Maniiro is hauled
I'rom tin* farmyard and from the town on to the farm. Jf
the farmer has not full employ nuMit for Ids own team or
teams he can easily ^ct employment hy carrying; for
others at <j;ood wa<;es. When the slei<;iiin<jf is <j;ood there
is hardly any limit to tli(> weii^ht of the loads that horses
will draw, and the length of the journeys they will
])erform. It is an every-day sight to sco teams trotting
alonjj: at the rate of (i or S miles an hour, with loads
of from 2 to 15 tons behind them. 1 have seen one horso
drawing tlu'ei> loads of hay on the ice on three sleighs, one
tied behind the; other, and each weighing over a ton, or,
in other words, one nnm and one horso doing the work of
three men and three horsi's. The first necessary step in
clearing new land also comes under tlu^ head of winter's
work, viz. chopping down the trees. The industrious
settler breaks in a few acres of fresh land every year, and
in the winter he elio})s down the trees, putting the brush
iu piles to be lired, and hauls olT the firewood, the fence-
rails, and the logs. The backwoods settler generally con-
trives to turn some of the ])roduce of the adjacent forest
iuto cash during the winter. He sometimes hauls cord

/■:rr/:<'T of ci.niArF. ox rFoi'i.i:

127

wood to the city or \ illii<j;(', tiiid sells if, soTiicfimcs Imrk to
tlio liiiincrics, or I(i<,'h Io llic mill, uv sliip tiinJM'is to tlio
Kliip-yiinl, or sleepers to tlie niilwiiy, i^c, iS:c., ueconlin/^dy

lis he liii|)|ie||s to l)e Hitliuled.

A eomjMirisoii hetucen the eliniMte (iI'IIk^ Uiiitotl StatcH
mid of Ciiiiiidii, MS e\eiii|ililie(| hy the phyHi(|ni! niid ap-
poiiniiK'o (»r the people, is very Hlroii;j:ly in favour of tl

hdter (dimatt^ A (dimatc; siiitahle !•> the forest, as \V(J
havo seen, is also that oiii' iiiost suitahle to ihe fjji'owth of
;j;rasses uiid 1(» ihe health of cattle. It is also most
favourai)le to man, who appears to lieiielit hy a ('(trtaiii
amount of hunudily in th(! atmosphere as nnndi as tlio
fonist troo. 'riius the natives of tlu; fonjst re<;ions in
North Anu^rica aro robust and ruddy, while those of the
prairies and trooless re<^ions an; lanky and yellow. Tho
world cannot [)rodu('0 liner spt.'cimons of manhood than
aro to bo inet with in tin; backwoods of Canada, moro
especially in the lumlxjr districts, ('anadian-born men
are, if anythin^s talh^r than th<^ old-eountry peojde, and
loHH lleshy ; tla^y are iiardy, robust, and vigorous, pre-
scntiii}^ a very Htrikinfj^ ccmtrast to tlieir next nei;j;h hours.
Althouji^h tlus e(doni(,'S are bettcu* known and moro
thought about in the old country than they wore a short
time ago, still there is a certain amount of mist to be cleared
away. Untravelled and unthinking Englishmen are apt
to suppose that because the tw(j countries lie side by side
in the map of the New World, separat(;d through many
degrees by only an imaginary boundary lino, that there-
fore the citizens of Canada and of the United States
must be abnost identical in physi(iuo, appearance, habits,
character, and so on. There cannot be a greater mistake.

! M

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428

CLIMATE, ETn.

Canadians aro simply En£;lislnnon wlio liavc Leon taken
out of the nursery, and transplanted into a new field. As
the strongest plants are generally chosen by the gardener
for planting out, so in emigration it is generally the men
of most strength, s})irit, energy, and anihition that leave
the old country to push their fortunes in the new.
Conquering the wilderness, and making liomesteads out
of it, is an oc(!upation calculated to stimulate, and not
to subdue, those (jualities of mind and body, such as
self-reliance, energy, paticnice, on the one hand, and
hardiness, strength, and activity on the other, which are
supposed to be characteristics of Englishmen. There is
as much difference between the United States citizen and
the Canadian as between the Enulishman and the French-
man. 13y blood the American of to-day is a strange
mixture of all the Old-World i-aces — European, Asiatic,
and African. He is famed and feared all over the world
for his cleverness and shrew^dness, or ^cuteness. But even
the least observant traveller cannot fail to discover that
he has cultivated his brains at the expense of his body.
The citizen of the United States has also fought against
and conquered the wilderness ; but he has done this not
with his own strong arms, like the Canadian, but with the
hands of the Chinaman, the African, and the Irishman.

I suppose in considering the future of the two peoples,
an ethnologist would study the women more than the men.
There is quite as great a diflerence between the An. erican
vomen and the Canadian women as between the men.
American women who have not to work for their living
object to any sort of exercise except perhaps dancing. They
neither walk nor ride. They go by rail and drive in qar-

■ I

WOMEX.

429

iji car-

I'iagGS. They object even to the work of lookhig after and
superinteiuh'iig' a liouse, and on tliat account prefer to live
in hotels. Those who are obliged to work for their living
do so as school teachers, as clerks in post ofl'ces, in tele-
graph offices, ill shops, in any way in fact where pliysical
exertion can be dispensed with. TIk^ Amoricjin woniiin has
perfectly regnlar thongli rather sliarp features, and when
very young is nidonbtodly very pretty, the bloom however
rapidly fades away, and she is an old woman at thirty. She
has only one or at most two children. The Canadian
woman is a marked contrast. She is in appearance quite
the Eiiglislnvoman — generally a blonde. Canadian ladies
are fully as much addicted to out-door pursuits and amuse-
ments as are Englisli ladies. Even in the depths of winter
they have their daily walks or their snow-shoeing, trabo-
gening, or skating i)arties. Thanks to this more healthy
mode of life, to their robust constituticms, and to their
healthy climate, they preserve their good looks to the
last. As to the poorer women in Canada they have no
Chinamen, negroes, or Irishwomen to work for them, and
so they are compelled to attend to their own households
and dairies, and this seems to agree well with them.
Unlike the Americans there seems to bo no limit to their
families and no end to their good looks, and the middle-
aged Canadian women (if such an expression can be
applied to the fair sex) ])resent as great a contrast to the
V orn-out and faded American women of a similar unmen-
tionable age as can possibly be imagined.

1 cannot help thinking that those people who speculate
upon the absor[)tion of the Dominion of Canada by the
republic must be quite ignorant of the characters and

« I

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430

CLIMATE, ETC,

■ , I

physical traits of the two peoples. As for the possible
conqnost of the smaUer country by the greater, I don't
believe that it will be ever attempted. The constitutional
disposition, which renders Americans averse to bodily work,
renders them also averse to employ force. Tiiey would
infhiitoly jirtder to acquire the whole of Canada by over-
reaching England in a bargain or series of bargains as they
have already gained considerable slices here and there.
But I believe that if any power attempted to gain posses-
sion of Canada it would not have a ciiance of succeeding
without the consent of the Canadian people, and it will
assuredly be the fault of England if Canada ever wishes
to transfer her allegiance to another power. Tlie conquest
of a United Canada seems to me to be an impossibility.
The hardy races of the north have gene ally proved able
to defend their soil against invaders, and with an Eniilish
fleet on her sliores and in h^r lakes Canada is well able to
hold her own.

It is now generally thought that the continent of
North America is too larp-e a countrv to be under one
government ; and it is jiossible that if the world lasts
long enough it will be divided into many rej)ublics or
kingdoms, as the case may be. When tliiy disruption
takes place there are certain natural and geographical
lines of division that m.ust greatly inlluence the partition.
Thus, for instance, Calilbrnia, the gate of the Pacilic, and
the remainder of the I'acilic slope is divided froui the
other habitable parts of the United States by a lofty range
of mountains and a sea of desert. The southern and sou'-
vvestern states, thougli not geograpJiieally divided from
the other states of the Union, are yet divided by a broad

SOCIETY.

431

line of diversity of interest and mutual antipathy which
the civil ^var oniy rendered broader. Climatic conditions
too make the south a totally different country from the
nortli and north-west. In the south white labour is im-
possible, and the same laws and institutions that answer
for northern people will not answer for Africans and
Chinamen. When this partition of North America takes
place the north-western states of the Union must unite
their fortunes with the Dominion of Canada. Their
interests are identical and they have the same outlet
to the ocean — the same great water highway — the St.
Lawrence.

One often hears as an argument against emigration
that an emigrant and his family btinish themselves from
society. People who use this argument imagine, I sup-
pose, that outside their own little circle, or at any rate
outside England, thei'e is no society worthy of the name.
And unquestionably there is no part of the world where
wealthy English people are so likely to find society suited
to them as in England. But people W'ho emigrate are not
wealthy, and I maintain that educated people of small
means are far more likely to find congenial society in
Canada than in England, for several reasons. In the first
place wealth is more equally divided, and as people are
more on a par in point of means, so there are fewer cliques
and divisions in societv. Probably the iileasantest sort of
society is that in which the members are most on a level
in point of means, and therefore able to parti(,'ipate on an
equal footing in the same pursuits and amusements. In
the second place society is more centralized than at home.
Here it is scattered over the lenjith and breadth of

f :)

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432

CLIMATE, ETC.

' I

the land, in Canada there is not yet a countrv-lioiise
society, people are collected more into the nei^lil»oni-liood
of tne cities and towns, and the con!^e(jUence is that a
much larger and pleasanter society is to be met with in a
Canadian town than in an English town of similar size.
There are also more amusements. In every Canadian
town there is a musical society, a club or news room, a
rink, an assembly room, a snow-shoo club, &(:, &c., where
people enjoy themselves all the more as they have no
" county people " to look down upon tlietn. Canadians
are deeply attaclied to the old country, and in no way do
they show their attachment more than the cordial way
they welcome presentable British newcomers to their little
circles. Everything that the settler requires can be
bought in Canada, and most of the necessaries of life are
as cheap or cheaper than in the old country. I should
recommend an emigrant to take nothing with him but
cash, bearing constantly in mind the fact tliat money is
worth twice as much in Canada as in the old cou.itry, < nd
that for everything he pays ready money for, he nay
expect a considerable discount. Thus, if the credit price
of a commodity be 10?. let him in the first place offer 51.
cash, and certainly not give more than 7?. 10s. Imported
clothes, linen, and tinery are of course rather highev than
in England, but even these articles de luxe are reasonable,
so much so that carpet baggers come over from the Siutcs
with empty trunks, and take them back lull of clothing
and finery, the cost being so much less than in their own
country, as to enable them to save enough out of the
price to pay all the expenses of the trip. Clothes are
made up very fairly. A Bond Street tailor has an

)| !

CLO THING.

433

0')

I nd

Sir

;lotliing
oir own

of tllf

;lics are
has an

establishment in Toronto. As regards rough clothing —
cloth, flannels, woollen socks and stockings, &e., &c., all
these can be bought cheaper in Canada than in England,
and quite as gooil. Canadian homespun is famous stuff;
it is woven in the settlers' houses, and made out of the
undyed wool ; the black, the white, and the grey shades
being judiciously intermingled. For shooting dress this
is even better and more enduring than Scotch tweed.
Canadian tweeds of very good quality are manufactured
in the 'cloth mills. The country-knit stocking and
mittens are very cheap and excellent, in fact so are all
articles of clothing that come from the sheep's back.
Boots are also fairly good, and very cheap ; so is harness
and all leather goods. Furniture is cheaper than in
England, so is everything that is made out of wood, as
might be supposed. There are numbers of large furniture
manufacturers in Canada. A house can be built, painted,
papered, and furnished in a very short time, and at very
moderate cost. Carriages and vehicles suitable to the
country are manufactured of excellent quality. A driving
waggon costs from 201. to 251., a farm waggon about 121.
Agricultural implements of all kinds, on the most im-
proved principles, can be bought better and cheaper in
Canada than in England. There is a reason for this. In
a new country, where labour is dear and not always pro-
curable on any terms, men have had to set their wits
to work to invent labour-saving machinery, and in no part
of the world have they been so successful as regards
farming implements as in America. From a stumping
machine, to drag the stumps out of his farm, to an apple-
peeler to assist the good woman to make the " apple-pie,"

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434

CUM ATE, ETC.

there is no labour-saving machinery that the Canadian
tarmm' cannot procure at moderate cost.

The sportsman can get everything he requires in
Canada with two very important ( xceptions, of whieli
more anon. All sorts of fishing tackle are, however, better
and cheaper in the old country. Cartridge cases can now
be bought anywhere in the Dominion. Some years ago I
bought a box of jHJwder, in O'-lb. canisters, manufactured
in Hamilton, Canada West, which only stood me about
Is. i)d. per lb., and was as good powder as wa-i ever ])ut in
a cartridge; it had one positive advantage over Curtis
and Harvey, viz. the dirt was of a damp, soft nature, and
each discharge completely eradicated the dirt of the
previous discharge ; the gun was no fouler after a hundred
shots than after one.

I would recommend sportsmen to take both guns and
dogs with them to Canada. The guns for sale in Canada,
and in the States too, are of the cheap Birmingham
pattern, that may be seen in the windows of hardware
shops. Although I have had an experience of many
years in Canadian shooting, yet there is such a wide
diflerence of opinion among gunners as to make, bore, and
weight of guns, that I feel some diffidence in recommending
any particular iiattern. I do so, however, for the benefit
of any possible reader of these pages who may not
already have formed any o[iinion of his own on this
subject.

To begin with makers. There are about a dozen in
England and one in Ireland to choose from. Get your
guns from a firm with a reputation. You will have to
pay ten guineas for the name, but it is well worth it.

auN,s.

43:>

What is ten guineas in an article that will last a lifetime,
and tliat will be your oom[)aniou and iViend in the tield
and the forest during inaiiv a pleasant ramble? You mav
get a good Birmingham gun elicai) or you may not, but
with a lirst-rate name on the barrels you ai-e sure of a
tirst-rate article. The guns of Messrs. Ivigby, of Dublin,
aro as near perfection as possible.

As regards weight and bore of guns it must be remeni-
beretl that the chief shooting in Canada is wild-fowl slu)ot-
ing. Fortius sport guns must hit hard, and guns will
Jiot hit hard without a big charge of powder, and to burn
a big charge re([uires a big bore. A big bore means a
heavy weight to carry. But alter all a moderately strong
man when he gets accustomed to it will not feel an extra
2 lbs. weight on his shoulder. A mm of the folluwinir
dimensions fulfils my idea of the re({uirements of a gun f( r
general Canadian purposes, when one smooth bore only is
used. Woiglit, 1) lbs.; bore, No. 10; length of barrel, 30
inches. As regards action I consider the double grip
lower action as enduring as any other. A very handv
second weapon is a light 14-bore for cock, snipe, and
cpiail. The drawback to this is that a man cannot shoot
in equal form with two different weapons. 8-bores are
much used for wild-fowl shooting, but a good 8-bore weighs
11 or 12 lbs., and with a gun of this description the num-
ber of extra long shots one makes in a day's shooting does
not comj)ensate for the near snap-shots one misses when
llight shooting at dusk, to say nothing of the ponderous
mass of iron on one's shoulder. One great advantage of a
10-bore over smaller bores is that it shoots with cartridge
and big shot much better. The choke bore 2:uns, about

i ; f

»i

436

CLIMATE, ETC.

§'

which wo liave lioard so much hitely, arc no doubt good
for duck shootiiirr, but I prefer tlie okl system. In a good
day's sliooting one has as many near shots as long shdts,
and the gun that makes a ftiir pattern with the maximum
of penetration is a better weapon than the gun that makes
an extra good pattern witli lesser penetration. Such at
least lias been my experience. To attain the greater pene-
tration one must have a big charge of powder behind the
shot, and to avoid disagreeable recoil a certain weight of
metal at the breech is positively necessary. The idea of
having the left barrel choked and the right plain looks
well, though I have never tried it ; but the same result or
even a better one can be obtained with a loose charge in
the right barrel and a cartridge in the left.

As regards rifles a '450 double express is about as good
a weapon as man wants in the Canadian forest. It should
be flush-sighted for snap-shots in the forest, and balanced
like the shot gun which the sportsman is in the habit of
using. A Holland or Rigby pea-rifle is a toy capable of
affording a good deal of amusement.

As regards tlie care of firearms there is not much to be
said, except that in very cold weather little or no oil should
be used, as when in a frozen state it is liable to interfere
with the action of the breech and the lock. Oil should
never be rubbed into the stock. In hard frost wood satu-
rated with oil becomes as brittle as glass. In mid-winter
oil is quite unnecessary, the air is dry and so is the snow,
the latter dusts off" the barrels like feathers, and guns keep
in better order outside the camp than inside. In the
matter of gun-covers seal-skin is the best material, next

DOOS.

437

t good
a good

r sll(»tS,

ixiranni
t makes
^ncb a1
3r peiie-
iiiiid the
eight of
) idea oi'
an looks
result or
harge in

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apable of

uch to be
oil should
interfere
11 should
'ood satu-
lid-winter
the snow,
;uns keep
In the
srial, next

to that comes blanket. The *' waterproof" (so called)
gun-covers of commerce aie worse than useless, they are
merely rust traps.

It is next to impossible to buy a well-trained dog in
Canada, and very difficult to train one yourself as for
more than half the year then; is nothing to train them
on. The Allan line carry dogs at 3/. a head, and it is
well worth the sportsman's while to take out a couple with
him to Canada. Wiiat is required is a strong, hardy, all-
round dog, an animal that will retrieve by hind or water
and work a winged duck by the nose through the intri-
cacies of the most tangled swamp. He must also be
a good dog in thick cover, free from chase, a close hunter,
and of high courage. He should not be large, about
40 lbs. — a big dog is a nuisance in a canoe or a waggon
— and yet he must be strong to stand the fatiguing work of
an alder cover or a swamp. We find these qualities com-
bined in the spaniel. The clumber from his strength
and sagacity ought to be excellent, but my experience of
this breed is not favourable ; they are often sulky and
pig-headed. The cross however is good. The best dog
I ever knew was half clumber half welsh cocker. When
flight shooting with this animal in the swamps, I never
looked after dead or wounded birds. We made a fair
division of labour, I shot the ducks, he looked after them,
retrieved them, and laid them out in a little pile beside
me. He worked perseveringly without word or sign, and
never lost me a bird. Often ho was away for an hour
after nightfall, and on these occasions always returned
with a winged black duck. He gave mo notice of ap-

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438

CLlMATi:, ETC.

« f

proa('liiii<,' (liu'ks by a, wliinipor, at tlio sanio tiiuo sqnattinfi;
to esoajjo oltsorvation. lie was o({iially jj^ood in tho cock
cover ami in tlio siiipi^ niarsli.

rorlia[).s tli(; very best breed of dog.s for general Cana-
dian sliooting is tlio Snssex spanicd, if yon can only get
them. These dogs have greattir endurance, [)Inclc, and
teachability than the clnndjer. Tl' broken to Held and
hedge-row shooting in England they re;idily fall into all
Canadian shooting. They should hunt iit(! mute, ex-
cept when they flush a bird, or get on a hot scent. These
dogs make as good retrievers as any in the world.
Retrieving setters are also used, they are often very gootl
on quail, snipe, and cock, but a spaniel from ."^5 to 45 lbs. is
by far the most useful dog in Canada, and to be a retriever
is a sine qua non. What English sportsmen see to admire
in that big, heavy-looking breed of dog, the so-called
" retriever," I do not know. Almost any dog can be taught
to retrieve, and the spaniel, from his industry in following
up foot scent, his perseverance, his courage, and his activity,
seems to me to be a breed particularly suited for retrieving
purposes. The Irish retriever is full of pluck, a dashing
water dog, very intelligent, and a capital companion, but
like the Irishman he is too impulsive. If he had a coat, he
would always be wanting some one to tread on the tail of it.
When game is in view he is positively irrepressible, and
is addicted to hunting by the eye in preference to the
nose. A big rough terrier is by no means the worst sort
of dog.

As regards the government and [)olitical institutions of
Canada the pages of this little Avork are not a proper
place to discuss such matters, even were its 'author coni-

^'t :<

a ov tins Mi: ST.

431)

potcMit to do so. But, as boariujj n{)<in tlio {^onoriil comfort
and widl-liL'iii^' of iinniij^iauts, I may iVMuark tliat tlic
political institutions anil |j;ovoi'nmt'nt of tiio Dominion nt"
(Canada is jnst the f^ovcrnmcnt and jxiliticid institntions
of ]']n^land, modilied to snit a country in wluVli [topnlation
is not oidy more thiidy distriliutfd, Imt individuals ol'
which aro of rt loss helpless disposition than in the mother-
country. Thanks to their connection with England,
(Janadians are saved the disre[)utahl(3 and dcm»jralizin<^
periodical election of a president. They are free on the one
hand from the license that disgusts many in the neighbour-
ing republic; and, on the other hand, IVom the rather
irksome paternal authority which an old country is com-
pelled to exercise over its numerous children who remain
at home. Each Canadian has so much elbow r(jom that
he can practically go where he likes, and do what he likes,
without interfering with his neighbour. There is practi-
cally no such thing as tres[)ass. Canadians have, perhaps,
mastered the theory of self-government more completely
than any other people. IMuniciixd institutions, which in
an old country only exist in cities and towns, are uni-
versally applied through the Dominion. Every parish and
every township numbering three hundred souls is a local
municipality, for the nninagement of its own local affairs,
making its own roads, bridges, &c., &c. Every man over
twenty-one years of age, who pays rates in this munici-
pality, has a vote; and the business is transacted by a
certain number of elected officers.

But, indeed, no people in the world require less govern-
ing than the Canadians. Except in the cities, where, of
course, scamps collect, as they do in other parts of the

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Sciences

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY 14S80

(716) 872-4503

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CLIMATE, ETC.

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world, police are not needed in Canada. Canadians are
orderly, peaceable, and honest to a degree. I don't know-
that 1 ever saw an enclosed farmyard in Canada, and in
the rural districts locks and bolts are quite unnecessary.
Vahiable lumber lies, as I have before said, for months
unclaimed and untouched on the banks of the rivers, but
as safe as if it was in its owner's lumber-vard. Farminji:
imj)lements are left lying in the fields, and valuable crops
in tile back settlements are sometimes never seen by the
farmer between seed-time and harvest. In many districts
the sheep and cattle of a whole settlement wander through
the woods and pastures in droves, and are never seen by
the owners from spring till " fall," when tliey are driven in
and claimed by their respective proprietors. In religious
matters, a fruitful subject of cpiarrels, Canadians either
agree or agree to differ. Education is free and com-
pulsory, a school-tax being levied on every citizen. The
settler's farming utensils and home necessaries are pro-
tected by a homestead law from seizure for debts con-
tracted within a given period of the commencement of
his occupancy. The British immigiant in Canada is at
once on arrival entitled to every privilege, civil and
political, enjoyed by his Canadian-born fellow-subject,
privileges which he cannot obtain in the United States
short of a three years' residence, and which he can never
obtain there without surrendering the dearer privilege of

calling himself an Englishman.

LOKUON; rr.lKTBD UT KDWAUU ST.\Nl-(inD, 55, CMAHINU n:u»s, s.w.

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s.w-

December, 1876.

LIST OF BOOKS

PUMLISIIED BY

KDWARD STANFORD,

LONDON, S.W.

AGENT, BY APPOINTMENT, FOB THE SALE OF THE ORDNANCE AND

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS, THE ADMIRALTY

CHARTS, INDIA OFFICE PUBLICATIONS, ETC,

BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. Edited by

G. Phillips Bkvan, F.G.S., &c. A Series of Handy Volumes, each
containing throe or more subjects by Eminent Writers, Post 8vo,
cloth, eacii 3s. Gd.

List of tlie Subjects of each Volume, with the Names of the
Contributors: —

Iron ami Steel .. ., W. MATTiior WiujAMS, F.C.S., F.R,A,S,

Copper ». A. I'liiuji's, F.C.S., F.G,S. (Mem, Inst. C.E.).

Brass, Tin, ami Zinc .. Waltkr GuAiiAM, *

Metallic Mininsr

PuoK. W. Waiungton Smvtm, F.R.S., F.G.S.

(Schocii of Mines).
A. (jALLKTLY (Kdinb. Mus. of .Science .ind Art).
ruoK. W. Wakington Smyth, F.R.S., F.G.S.

(School of Mines).
PuoF, Hlll, F.K.S., F.G.S. (Director of Geological

Survey of Ireland).
Explosive Compounds.. W. Mattiku Williams, F.C.S., F.R.A.S.

Coal

Collieries

Building Stones ..

The Birmingham Trades.

Guns, Nails, Locks,]

Wood Screws, Hinges, ^^^^ j^^^ y^ (, ^,^^^,^ (Birmingham).
Buttons,Pms,Needle8, 1 ^ f /

Saddlery, Electroplate;

Pens and Papier-mache G. Lindsey (Birmingham),

Acids and Alkalies

Oils and Candles . ,
Gas and Lighting

Prof. Church, M.A., F.C.S. (R. Agricul. Coll.Ciren-

CGstcr).
W. Mattieu Williams, F.C.S., F.R.A.S.
R. H. Patterson, F.S.S, (late Metropolitan Gas

Referee).

Hosiery and Lace
Carpets

, . The late W, Felkin (Nottingham).
.. Christopher Dresser, Ph.D.
Dyeing and Bleaching T. Sims (Mayfield Print Works).

%* For Contintuition of Subjects, see page 2,
EDWARD STANFORD, 56, CHARING CROSS, S.W.

■ l*v-

BOOKS.

BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES-^o»<m"«/.

Wool I'ltoK. AuciiKU, F.U.S.L (Dirtictov of Kilin. Mus. of

Sciciut! aii'l Art).

Flax iiiul Lin.'ii .. ,. W. T. Ciiahi.i;v, M.I'.

Cotton I,SAA(.' Watts (Sec. Cotton Supply .\ssofiatic)ii).

Silk B. F. COUB (Sec. Silk Supply Association).

Pottery L Arxoux (Art Director of Minton's Manufactory).

Glass and Silicates .. Frok. Bahtk, M.A., F.C.S. (K(iisini,'tiin Catholic

University).
Furniture ami Wood-
work J. W. PoTjLEN, M.A. (S. Kensington Museum).

Paper Prok. Arciikr, F.K.S.E. (Director of IMiu. Mus. of

Science and Art).

Printing, Bookbinding .losi;i'ii Hattox.

Kui^raving Samuki. Davkm'ORT (Society of Arts).

Photography .. .. P. Ij; Nevk Fostku (Society of Arts).

Toys G.O.Bartlky(S. Kensington Museum).

Tobacco John Dunning.

Hidesand Le;ither,Gutta-j

percha, and India-| J. COLLINS, F.B.S. (Edinburgh).

rubber )

Fibres and Cordage ., P. L. Simmonds, F.R.C.I.

Ship Building .. .. Capt. Bkdford PiM, R.N., M.P.

Telegraphs HoisKRT Saiun'K, C.H.

Agricultural Machinery Prof. Wrkihtson' (H. Agricul. Coll, Cirencester).

Railways and Tramways D. K. Clark (Jlem. Inst. C. E.).

Jewellery G. Walus (Keeper of Art Collections, S. K. Museum).

Gold Working .. .. Ri:v. CiiARi.ics BoL'tki.l, M.A.

Watches and Clocks ,. F. Brittkn (Britisli Homlogical Institute).

Musical Instruments ., E. F. iiiMUAir.r, LL.L). (Musical Examiner, Coll. of

Preceptors).

Cutlery F. Callis (Sheffield).

Salt, Preserved Provi-
sions, Bread .. ., J. J. Manlky, M.A.
Sugar Refining .. ,. C. Haugiiton Gii.L.

Butter and Cheese .. Morgan Evans (late Editor of 'Milk Journal ').

Brewing and Distilling T. PooLLY, B.Sc, F.C.S.

The Industrial Classes j

and Industrial Sta-> G. Phillips Bevan, F.G.S. Ifn the Press.

tistics (2 vols.) ) ^ ,

EDWARD STANFORD, 66, CHARING CROSS, S.W.,

rr^X ' '^— «ssb.-

nll).

ulMctiiry).

iin).

in. Miis. ot'

once

ster).

k. Museum).

L).

Inev, CoU. "f

Uinuil ').

fn the Press.

S.W.,

BOOKS.

BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES— o»u.«w./.

From the 'AriiESJEVii,' April Ht/t, lH7t!.

This sories of siniill books is proft^ssuiiiy iimlortalion for tiio purpose of
briugius; "iuto one focus the leading f(!iit,uves anil the presi'nt position of the
most important industries of the kingdom." The idea of publishing, in the
same form of volume, a number of essays on Hritish industries— they are not
all manufacturing — which should bo from the pens of men whose positions are
a guarantee for the correctness of the descriptions given and of the facts
detailed, is certainly a good one. A large number of peo|)le desiri.' to ])ossess a
general acquaintance with those industrial operations, which have, for a long
period, distinguished this country ; but they have not the time, or the oi)|)or-
tunity, or, perha])s the imlustry, for hunting out the details of them, wliich
are |)robably scattered through numerous books and journals. For this (dass
these books appear to us to be exceedingly well adapted. VVr; have now before
us six volumes, each with an average of 187 pages; th(,'y contain about
twenty-seven essays, by eighteen dillerent auth(U's, all of whom are more or
less intimately associated with the subjects upon which they have employed
their pens. When we state that we lind amongst them I'rof-;. Wariugton
Smyth, Hull, Archer, Barff, and Ciiurch, Dr. Dresser, .ind tJK.' Messi-s. Patterson,
.1. Arthur Phillips, (ialletly, Arnoux, and other e((ually well-known names, we
have certainly said enough to recommemi those essays to the attention of all
who desire to know something of the industries of which they treat. These
volumes are not intended to take the place of Handbooks ; it is not their
purpose to impart technical instruction; they are designed to conv(!y, to those
who desire it, a general knowledge of the principles and of tli<; more striking
points of the practice of the worksho[>s. The subjects are siilliejently varied :
Mining, Quarrying, Afetallurgy, Fictile and Textile Manufutun'S, Woodwork
an<l Furniture, and Chemical Arts are comprehen<led in the books now published.
The articles ai"e not all e(iually good ; but although a few of them appear to
have been thrown olf hastily, showing a want of method, and, in some few
cases, a want of thought, yet, as each author has been selected for his special
knowledge, every one of them contains trustworthy information. We coiiM
have desired that the statistics had been com])leted up to a more recent date
than they are, and there are a few other ))oints which we should advise the
editor to look carefully after when new editions are required ; but, on the
whole, the impression left after a careful examination of each of the subjects
dealt with is most favourable.

ADDERLEY (Sir C. B.).-COLONIAL POLICY and HIS-
TORY—REVIEW of "The COLONIAL POLICY of LORD
J. RUSSELL'S ADMINISTRATION, 15 Y EARL (JREY, ISr)!?,"
ami of SUBSEQUENT COLONIAL HISTORY. By the Right
Hon. Sir C. B. Addeiu-ey, K.O.M.G., M.P. Duniy 8vo, cloth, !)».

AMERICA, NORTH. -NOTES on the GEOGRAPHY of
NORTH AMERICA. PHYSICAL and POLITICAL. Iiiteiuled
to servo as a Text Book for the Use of Ei.ementauy Classes, mid
na a Handbook to the Wall Mai* jjrcpnrt'd under the direction of
the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and the
National Society for Promoting the Education of the
Poor. With Coloured Physical Map. Crown 8vo, cloth, Is.

V in ,

AMERICA, SOUTH-NOTES on the GEOGRAPHY of SOUTH

AMKKIOA, I'liYSICAL im.l rOMTK'Al,. Intend. d to mrvo iis
a '1'kxt Hook for tlio I'sk nf Im.kmkntauy Classks, and iis a IIandikiok
to till' Wam, Mat i)rc!)iirid under tlie direetioii of tlie Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge, and the National
Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor. With
Coloured I'liysieal Miip. Crown Svo, ehitli, \s.

ANDLAU'S (Baron) GRAMMAR and KEY to the GERMAN

LANMiVACE: l?ein<; iin eiisy nnd oinplele SyHteni tor aeciuiring
this iiwelul toii;;ue, with I'roj^reH^ivo Kxereisen, Ae. 15y tlie IJahon
Von ANiti.Ai', late Direetor of tlic (ieriiiaii, Freiieh, aii<l Clnwsicnl
College, Claphaiu llise. Fourth Edition. Demy J2nio, cloth, I'.ji. (!</.

GERMAN READING BOOK : Containing Sentences, Dc-

Hcrijitioiis, Talo«, and Poetry, with (ho neeewsary cxj>laimtionH in
Kii;;li(*h, tor tho Use of Schools, i'rivate, and Self Instruction. First
Course. Demy I'imo, cloth, y«. G(/.

GERMAN READING BOOK. Second Course. 12nu), 4«. Gd.

ANSTIE.-THE COAL FIELDS OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE

AND SOMFRSETSHIHE, AND THEIU KKSOUUCES. By
John Anstie, B.A., F.G.S., A.ssoc Ini?t. Civil Eugiucer.s, &.c. With
I'ables nnd Sections. Imperial 8vn, clotii, Gs.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES and aUIlRIES. For the Uso

of Travellers nnd Residents in Uncivilized Lands. Drawn up by a
Connnitteo appoint.d by the British Af-jociation for the Advance-
ment of Science. Fcnp. 8vo, cloth, lea^'icr back, 5.-.

ARCTIC EXPEDITION. - MANUAL of the NATURAL

HISTORY, GEOLOGY, and PHYSICS of GREENLAND. Pre-
pnre<l for the Use of the Arctic Expedition. Edited bv Pugfesbor
T. RiTEUT Jones, F.R.S., F.t^.S., &c. Demy 8vo, cloth, Kk «(/.

BAILEY (J.).-CENTRAL AMERICA: Describing each of the
States of Guatemnln, Hondurns, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica
— their Natural Fentures, Products, Populntion, and remarkable
capacity for Colonization. Witk Three Views. Post Svo, cloth, 5s.

RAINES. -The GOLD REGIONS of SOUTH-EASTERN

AFRICA. By the late Thomas Baines, F.R.G.S. Accompnnied by
a Biographical Sketch of the Author; with Portrait, INIap, and nu-
merous Illustrations and Photographs. Demy Svo, cloth.

BARFF.-ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY. By F. S. Barff,

M.A., Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Academy of Arts. Illus-
trated with Diagrams, and containing Questions for Calculation, and
a Special Chapter on Apparatus. Fcap. Svo, cloth, Is. Gd.

BEAUVOISIN'S (Mariot de) FRENCH VERBS at a GLANCE.

New Edition, Thirty-third TliousanJ, enlarged and entirely rewritten.
Demy Svo, price Is.

BELLAMY.-TABLES FOR THE USE OF ENGINEERS AND

ARCHITECTS in Taking out QUANTITIES of MASONRY, IRON-
\/ORK, &e. By C. J. Bellamy, C.E. Royal Svo, cloth, 15s.

EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W.,

)TJTH

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BEVAN.-TOURISTS' guide to the county of KENT:

Coiitiiiiiiti;^ lull Iiilurniiitioii roui'i rniuj? all its CaVdiiritt! I'liu'cs of
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BIRCH.- EXAMPLES of LABOURERS' COTTAGES, with
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BOLLAERT. -The WARS of SUCCESSION of PORTUGAL

and Sl'AIN, from 1H20 to ISIO; Containing an Aeeouiil of the Siego
of Oporto, 18;{'2-i{; ReniiniwccneeH, Political, Military, &e.; with U»f«uni(i
of Political IILstory to tho PicHent Time. IJy Wii.mam I>ui,lakkt,
F.U.G.S., (Jor. Mem. Univ. Chile; Kthno. Sees. London, Now York,
&c. With Maps and IllustrationH. 2 vol.s. demy 8vo, cloth, 'Mg.

BOOK-KEEPING.-THOUGHTS on DOUBLE ENTRY and
BALANCE SHEETS, with Examples of a Ledger, the Balancing of
Accounts, &c. Post 8vo, cloth. Is. (id.

BOULOGNE.-GUIDE to BOULOGNE and its ENVIRONS.

With Maps and Illustrations. Demy P2mo, cloth. 2h. Gd.

BOWRING.-The DECIMAL SYSTEM, in NUMBERS,

COINS, and ACCOUNTS. Uy the late Sir John Powuino, LL.D.
With 120 Engravingsof Coins, Ancient and Modern. Post 8vo, cloth, 4«.

BRADLEY (Lonsdale, F.G.S.).-An ENQUIRY into the DEPO-
SITION of LEAD OllE in the MINERAL VEINS of SWALE-
DALE, YORKSHIRE. With Geological Map of Swaledale, and
numerous Geological Sccl,ion.s. Royal 8vo, cloth, 21s.

BRAZILIAN COLONIZATION, from an EUROPEAN POINT

of VIEW. By Jacakk Assu. JJemy 8vo, cloth, 2«. ijd.

BROWN.-CANOE and CAMP LIFE in BRITISH GUIANA.

By C. Bauiungton Brown, Associate of the Royal School of Mines,
late Government Surveyor in British Guiana. Demy 8vo, cloth, with
Map and 10 Coloured Illustrations, 21«.

BROWNE (W. A., LL.D.).-The MERCHANT'S HANDBOOK.

A Book of Reference for the use of those engaged m Domestic and
Foreign Commerce. Second Eilition. Demy 12mo, cloth, 5s.

This work affords fidl and reliable information from olHcial sourcea
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of all the great commercial countries in the world.

MONEY, WEIGHTS, and MEASURES of the CHIEF

COMMERCIAL NATIONS IN THE WORLD, with tho British
Eiiuivalenta. Fifth Edition. Demy 12mo, cloth. Is, 6d.

ARITHMETICAL EXAMPLES for MILITARY and

CIVIL SERVICE STUDENTS: Being a complete Treatise on
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Military and Civil Service Examinations, with Rules, Solutions, and
Answers. Demy 12mo, cloth, 5«.

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BROWNE (W. A., LL.D.)- ARMY TESTS in ARITHMETIC :

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ANSWKUS. Diiny riino, clotli, Wx. M.

CIVIL SERVICE TESTS in ARITHMETIC : BoinR

Hm^imonH of tlio inor.' .liflicnlt QuoHtions in llicChvil S.rvicn U.;j.ortH,
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ARITHMETICAL aUESTIONS in tlio Htli CIVIL

SKUVR'H ilKroUT, witii Sohitiona. Doniy Tiino, \x.

CIVIL SERVICE GUIDE to HISTORY: IJcin},' the

IMstorical Questions in the ('ivil Survice Kiports. Arran-.'cd under

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clotli, 2f. M.
CIVIL SERVICE GEOGRAPHY: BoingthcGcograpliical

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CHAMBERS.-HANDBOOK for EASTBOURNE and SEA-

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CHERPILLOUD'S (Prof. J.) BOOK of VERSIONS ; or, (Juide

to French Translation and C^onstruction. New Edition, revised, by
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KEY to the ABOVE. — TARTIE FRANCAISE du

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CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINES of ENGLISH HISTORY,

from the ANCIENT BRITONS to the Reign of QUEEN VIC-
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COLONIZATION CIRCULAR, 1874. Issued by Her Ma-
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Official Information respecting Emigration Agents, &c. — Cost of
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COOTE.-THREE MONTHS in the MEDITERRANEAN.

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BOOKS.

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DALLY.-GUIDE to JERSEY and GUERNSEY; witli Notes

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DAMON (Robert). -GUIDE to the GEOLOGY of WEYMOUTH

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DE HORSEY. -RULE OF THE ROAD AT SEA: Being
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ning the Navy,' * Our Iron Navy,' &c. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 1«.

DE MORGAN.-ELEMENTS of ARITHMETIC. By Augustus

Dk Mouoan, of Trinity College, (Jambridge ; Fellow of tlie Royal
Astronomical Society, and of tho Candiridgo riiilo.sophicftl Society;
late Professor of Mathematics in University College, London. Sixth
Ldition. Roynl 12mo, cloth, Ss.

DENNIS.-STUDIES in ENGLISH LITERATURE. By John

Dknms. Editor of '' Englisli Sonnets, a Selection from 1547," &c.
Cr.'nvu 8vo, cloth, Is. iid.

Contents: Pope — Defo<' — Prior — Steele — The Wartons — John
Wesley — Soutiiey — English Lyrical Poetry — English Rural Poetry —
The English Sonnet.

DE RICCL— FIJI : Our New Province in the South Seas. By
J. H. De Ricci, F.R.(;.S., H.M.s Attorney-General for Fiji, and
Author of ' llow about Fiji V ' With two Maps. Large post 8vo, cloth, 98.

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DREW.-THE JUMMOO AND KASHMIR TERRITORIES.

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DUN- BRITISH BANKING STATISTICS; with llomarkB

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EASY LESSONS in FRENCH CONVERSATION, luhipted to

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EDWARDS.-THE GERMANS IN FRANCE. Notes on tho

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EHRLICH.-A FRENCH METHOD, THEORETICAL and

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EVILL (Wm.).-A WINTER JOURNEY to ROME and

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Third Edition, with Map and Appendix. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4«. Gd.

FITCH (J. G., M.A.).-METHODS of TEACHING ARITH-
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Edition. Price Gd.

FITZ-GEORGE.-PLAN of the BATTLE of SEDAN, accom-

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FOSTER. -MANUAL of GEOGRAPHICAL PRONUNCIA-
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Ninth Edition. Fcap. 12mo, limp cloth, 2s.

pA'l

EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W.,

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RIES.

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CH of

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ovrrn-
ctor of
iU"M by

LcttorH
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mtiT "f
;)f llor

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wilh II

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itional

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ifi; ilhlH-
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^1 Pro-
Survey
iij^iucers

ITED

luiucrouB

it) now

imlcr : —

In ITED

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litions of
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