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FEB J 2 59 LONDON' : 6II.BKET AND HIVINGTON, PRINTERS, • ST. JOHN'S SqUARE. 1^ CONTENTS. 1. 2. \ 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. t ai. \ 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Making a Start in New Zealand The Zulu in England .... Sunshine and Flood in Australia A Miner's Funeral in British Columbia A Word about China .... An Earthquake in the Sandwich Islands Boarding a Slave-Ship . Adventures in an Indian Canoe The Chinese in Australia In the Far West At the Diggings The Last Shilling . Queen Charlotte's Island Fi M Canada to British Columbia South American Indians at Work Perils in the Wilderness Life on the Labrador Coast FAGB 1 . 21 . 31 . 37 . 41 . 4& . 51 . 56 . 64 . 71 . 75 . 81 . 90 . 97 . 105 . 109 . 117 2lUi:j36 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. In the New Zealand Bush . . . . . Mount Hutt Zulu-Kaffib Boys . Kaffir Village On Daelino Downs, Australia .... After the Flood Mountain-Road to Cariboo, Britisit Columbia Down in a Mine, British Columbia On TUii Yangtze River, China .... Bay where Captain Cook was killed . ; Volcano, Sandwich Islands Boarding a Slave-Ship, on the East African Coast A Slave Dhow .... In the Whirlpool Along the North- West American Coast Chinese Joss-House, or "^emple Chinese Fishermen . Douglas, British Columbia On the Hill Tops, New Zealand At the New Zealand Diggings Road-Making in Australia Log-House, Queen ChaiJlotte's Island Queen Charlotte Indians fishing by Torchlight EsQuiMALT Church, British Columbia . North- West American Indians Line-Fishing South American Indian shooting from a Barbracut In a Demeraea Forest On the Essequibo River Battle Harbour, Labrador Coast .... Travelling in Labrador . . . ... PAGE 1 . 19 . 20 . 80 . 31 . 35 . 36 . 40 . 42 . 48 . 50 . 52 . 66 . 66 . 63 . 65 . 69 . 70 . 75 . 80 . 82 . 90 . 95 . 96 . 103 . 104 . 110 . 115 . 116 . 122 i^alftincj: n ^tnrt in ^cU) Zttdrnti. PACK 1 . 19 . 20 . 30 . 31 . 35 . 36 . iO . 42 . 48 . 50 . 52 . 65 . 56 63 65 69 70 75 80 I. 82 90 95 96 103 104 110 115 116 122 Zealand. Were the fact otlierwise, we * MANY LANDS. i should have fewer instances of men utterly unsuited to such a life embarking on it, and consequently much less of disappointment and failure. It is not too much to say, that some men, starting with every circumstance in their favour, are as sure to fail as settlers in New Zealand, as others, with every disadvantage to contend with at starting, are sure to succeed eventually. My object in the following pages will be to show, by a simple narrative of facts, what is the real nature of that life, and what are the requirements for success in it. New Zealand, as all should know, is a coun- try belonging to England, about ten days' sail east of Australia, and consisting of two large islands, with one smaller. The omall or Stew- art's Island is thinly inhabited, and many natives live in the North Island together with our own countrymen ; but the Middle Island is wholly peopled by Europeans, few natives sur- viving there. Canterbury is one of the chief settlements of the Middle Island, and it was to that part I was bound, when I sailed from England for New Zealand, some ten years ago. The first land we sighted, after a prosperous voyage of eighty daja, was the Snares, a curious block of rocks lying to the south of the Middle Island, along the coast of which our course then lay. We had a magnificent view of the MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. 8 plains of Canterbury, with the hills in the dis- tance, gradually increasing in height, their sum- mits clad with perpetual snow. We soon rounded the headland at Akaroa, a place of call for whale-ships, but I believe not so much so now as formerly, on account of the sailors constantly deserting, tempted by tho high rate of wages on shore. An old sailor, who had married a native woman, used twenty years ago to make a living by persuading the sailors to desert, and then getting so much a head for bringing them back again, until a sailor who found out his treachery stuck a harpoon into his back, and rather cooled his ardour for the trade. Akaroa has become a great fruit market. Many Frenchmen are settled there. The headland is covered with the finest timber, principally white and black pine, and totara, running up thirty and forty feet without a branch. On our arrival at Port Lyttelton, the health- officers came on board, and, bv reason of one case of scarlet fever, we were sent to the quarantine-ground. After being detained two or three days, we were allowed to land. I con- fess to a feeling of regret at leaving the ship, which had carried me so safely and so well over so many thousand miles. At Port Lyttelton, largo ships are compelled to anchor about a mile from the shore. Lyt- b2 '-"'r-':' i''i 4 MANY LANDS. telton lies in a hollow, surrounded by hills. The harbour is exposed on the south-west side, vessels frequently dragging their anchors, when the wind is from that quarter. As we went in, we saw a vessel just starting for England with a fair wind, when an eddy out of one of the land gullies took her aback, happily without muoh damage. Lyttelton and Christ Church are now con- nected, by means of a railway and long tunnel : • but at the time I speak of, there was no com- munication between the port and Christ Church, the principal town of Canterbury, except by , walking straight over the hill eight miles, or taking a dangerous carriage-road about twelve miles long, or else proceeding by a vessel round the hill and up the river on the far side, which is navigable for small vessels within two miles of Christ Church. I preferred to walk over the hill. Afterwards, I got accommodation at Ca- versham House, Christ Church, at 21. 10s. per week. The inmates of the house took all their meals together, according to the usual custom in all the hotels. I met some very agreeable men, and found every body most courteous and willing to give information. I next proceeded, to present some of my letters of introduction, stating my wish to learn sheep-farming, and was introduced to several sheep-farmers, from whom I received invitations to visit them at MAKING A RTABT I\ NEW ZEALAND. s tlieir stations. I could tell some curious stories of letters of introd iction. I will content myself ■with one, which, I need not say, had been given to the bearer sealed : — "This is Mr. Dash, whom his frienUi are only too glad to get rid of. He is idle, rxtra- vagant. end useless in every way. Yours truly." Christ Church lies in a swamp, and forms a block containing 640 acres. It is surrounded by a belt of trees. The houses at that time were all of wood. The town is rather damp, on account of its low position, and is considered unhealthy. Most of the houses are supplied with artesian wells, which give an unlimited supply of water. My first business was to buy a horse, whicii I did for 45Z., — a little game bay horse. Saddle and bridle I had brought with me, preferring an Englioh saddle to one of Australian make, with its huge knee-pads. I lost no time in getting my goods deposited in a store, and in putting my small stock of money at a mer- chant's at ten per cent, interest, the money being at call. I then packed up my blankets, a top coat, a pair of trousers, a tether-rope in front of me on horseback, so as to be provided for two or three months if necessary. By the way, I should advise a traveller in New Zealand never to have a top coat, as it is only so much ifBH 6 MANY LANDS. li additional weight, and a hole cut in a blanket makes a very good substitute. As an illustration of the various uses to which blankets may be turned, an old digger once told me he was on some very high ranges, when it came on to snow ; having two blankets with him, he put one in water, and then held it up in the form of a tent; the water soon froze, making it totally impervious to wind. He had thus an excellent tent, into which he crept, , and, with the other blanket, made himself as comfortable as circumstances would permit. Having accepted an invitation from Mr. Smith to visit him at his station up country, we lost no time in starting on our journey. About six miles from the town, we got into open country, after which there was nothing but a track with occasional wheel-marks. It was well, that I had a guide; for, I much doubt, whether I should then have made much of the only directions which one is ever likely to get, even if one meets any one to get directions from. An unusually clear direction would be, " Follow the track to such and such an accom- modation-house, or wayside public-house, then keep Mount So and So — seen in the distance — so many miles on your right or left hand." About twelve miles from Christ Church, we came to the first accommodation-house, but did not stop, save to get something to drink, ac- MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. W- cording to invariable custom. In about three hours, we arrived at the Selwyn river, twenty- five miles. The river is usually dry, except in vrinter. Owing its existence to local rains, it is termed a rain-river, in contradistinction to the large rivers, which are highest in summer. We now stopped about an hour, getting dinner and giving our horses a feed of corn, and then pushed on to the Eakaia River, ten miles farther on, where, after another feed of corn, we took the trusty animals and " tethered them out." i' This ferry and accommodation-house is about the most important in the country. It was then kept by a man named Dunford, formerly a Wiltshire labourer. He began as shepherd to the owner of a sheep station, on the other side of the river. As the traffic through the district became greater, he opened a sort of shanty for the accommodation of travellers. He is now a *' squatter," that is, a settler on land without a title, has +he reputation of being "worth thou- sands," and is respected by every class. His judgment on all points connected with the river, is considered final. Sometimes, when the river wa*" very high, before there was a boat, travellers on important business would ask him to show them over the river. He would say, "I wouldn't advise 'un, but I'll cross 'un." His sons assisted him in driving his drays, as carriers to Christ Church, largo prices being obtained. Others n B MANY LANDS. I 1 also, tempted by the fortune lie made by his steady industry and a good head on his shoulders, entered into the same business, but I do not be- lieve any one did more than pay his expenses. The Rakaia river is a most dangerous moun- tain torrent. It takes its rise amongst ice- fields, and is therefore high only in summer time. At its lowest, a man could ford it on foot. But when at its height it is nearly a mile wide, rushing down with great swiftness. The river then carries with it a mass of shingle, and constantly shifts its banks. On one occasion it carried away the accommodation-house, before they had time to remove any thing. The expense of a bridge over it would cost 150,000?., to say nothing of the probability that it would be some day several miles away from the stream it was intended to span. All the Canterbury rivers bring down enor- mous quantities of shingle, every gully contri- buting its quota, until a river-bed rises higher than the surrounding country, when the water makes a fresh course for itself. The country is marked in every direction with old river-beds. It was a task requiring cool courage, to find a ford in the river after a heavy flood, as there were no life-belts at hand, and every thing depended upon the swimming capabilities of our horses, who are always more or less at the mercy of the current and quicksands. ^- MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. I may mention, that, on my return subse- quently from a visit to England, I presented a belt of the Royal Humane Society, capable of supporting three men in the water, for the use of the fordmen in this river. On one occasion, as I learned afterwards, three young men were crossing the river at this point, under the pilotage of the ferrymen, when the horses became restive, and all three were thrown off into the water, and two of them drowned, the ferrymen just succeeding in rescu- ing the other. This accident arose from the horses not being used to the water. It is a question always asked by a buyer in New Zealand, whether a horse is good in the water; and it much increases his value, if he is known to be so. Some horses never make good river horses. One horse, in swimming with his rider, will have his back entirely out of the water, while another will only have his nose out. -' •"•• *■ ■• On the present occasion, we crossed easily enough, choosing a place where the river was widest, as there it is always shallowest. I con- fess, I felt nervous ; but mj little horse proved himself very steady and quiet, and I soon gained confidence in him. On emerging from the river, we passed Mr. Brown's house, and then turned p towards the hills. The track now lay through a grassy country, covered with water-worn stones. We passed two other sta- ■ n I I 10 MANY LANDS. tions, and arrived at my new companion's house about two o'clock. All the station-houses were built on the river banks, as on the inland plain of this neighbour- hood there is no water. The plains were totally devv^id of timber, with the exception of the cabbage-tree, which has a stem about eight feet in length, with a top not Tmlike a pine-apple plant. By a " station " the reader must understand waste or unoccupied land, leased for a term of years from the Government at a low rental, the tenant being liable to be bought out by any one, who will give the Government 21. per acre for the land. The extent of these "runs" varies from 5000 to 100,000 acres. "Bushes," or woods, as they would be called in England, grow thick on the hillsides. Mr. Smith's " run" consisted of 20,000 acres of country, on which he had 2000 sheep. The same run, fenced and subdivided, now supports 13,000 sheep, with which number it is fully stocked. j The buildings comprised a four-roomed house, thatched with toi-toi (a plant similar to a South American one I have seen in Hyde Park, near Eotten-row), and furnished only with necessa- ries. Outside one house was the men's hut, a kitchen, wool-shed, stock-yard for cattle, and a small sheep-yard. Next morning, my host proceeded to harness ; \ ,. MAKING A START. IN NEW ZEALAND. 11 his bullocks, making them stand side by side, and placing the yoke on their necks. The yoke he fastened by an iron bow, put under their necks. He then joined the four front bullocks to the hind ones with a chain, and put the team into the dray, which is a strong two-wheeled cart with high wheels, and a pole kept in its place by a ring between the bullocks' necks. On the bullocks being yoked, my friend shouldered his bullock- whip, a pliable stick about eight feet long, and a hide lash, with a piece of flax, instead of whip-cord, twisted into the end of it. With this the driver can, if he wishes, draw blood at every stroke, and you hear many a ruffian boast of his prowess in this line. We then went down to the river-bed, to pick up firewood. It astonished me at the time, though I got used to it, to see Mr. Smith go over stumps and great pieces of rock without troubling to turn out of the way, and I soon saw how admirably the bullocks and dray are adapted to a new country. Next day, we again yoked the bullocks, and went up to a bush about twelve miles off. My friend then proceeded to load his dray with wood, previously cut, and with dead trees, cut down with the American axe. I was surprised to see what loads he carried on his shoulder, and what large logs, by the help of a lever, we were able to put on the dray. The bullocks !"i i m 12 MANY LANDS. t went where no horse would attempt to go, one wheel being first up in the air, and then the other one. I really thought, sometimes, they would pull the pole out of the dray. I recollect once, long afterwards, having two half-bred horses in a dray with an enormous weight on it, and a bullock-dray alongside of us, when, coming to a bank which I could not get my horses to face, I called to the bullock-driver to bring his leaders in to yoke. He took them and put them in front of my shaft-horse, which jibbed violently, partly through fear of the bullocks and partly through obstinacy. The bullocks soon pulled the cart, load, jibbing mare and all, right up the bank. Another time, we brought eight bullocks down to a tree in the river-bed, and I told the bullock-driver to pull the tree farther out. He put them on, and their strength soon broke a chain four times the size of a horse- trace. On putting them on again, the bullocks pulled out the entire tree, there being a fang or root, nearly four feet in the bank. Hardly any thing can resist -a good team of bullocks, well driven, and all pulling together. • - I must not forget an accident, which just then occurred near Mount Hutt, a mountain of that neighbourhood, and which is too charac- teristic of the danger of a settler's life, not ij be mentioned. /. 11 1^ ■I MAKING A START IN NEW ZEAIAND. 13 A young settler, who had given up an ap- pointment in the War Office to go out to New Zealand, was with a surveying party. They were many miles from any station, and it being necessary to send back some one for provisions, he was selected for the duty. His course lay along the river, which in that place had high terraces, interspersed w^ith precipices. He was left in the camp, smoking by the fire, when the others went on their surveying duties. He must have wasted a long time before he started, as he had ample time before dark to make the station he was bound to. However, from hig diary it would seem, that, before he reached his destination, the darkness overtook him, and he slipped over a precipice. The fall did not kill him, but he broke his leg, and was unable to proceed. He was not missed for a week, as he was not to return to the survey party. On the return of that party, they made a search, and his body was found, with a diary, by which it appeared he had lived for some days. My host next took me up one of the branches of the Ashburton river, running at the back of Mount Hutt, to see whether we could find a more available country for sheep. We fol- lowed the windings of the stream, continually riding in the water. To my great annoyance, I soon found my horse had lost a hind shoe, no common loss when you are sixty miles from a il 'II 14 MANY LANDS. !! blacksmith. AYe kept on, till we came to a water- fall, where we could not take our horses. Not seeing any thing to tempt us farther, the country- being covered with scrub, we turned back and got home just at dark. It was then agreed between us, that we should go and look at some other land he had behind Mount Hutt. Accordingly, starting early one day, we ^^eached Mr. Smith's land, some forty miles off, about nightfall. Our road had lain up the Ashburton river, along a narrow valley with high hills on each side. "We crossed and recrossed the river many times, only passing one house, of which two cats proved to be the sole occupants for the time. Mounting our horses in the morning, we pro- ceeded up to the run, which lay about seven miles from the hut. Here, my host proposed, that I should live by myself and look after the sheep, he undertaking to get up stores and do any business required in town, and coming to see me once in three months. However, I could not make up my mind to this entire isolation, so I declined the offer. Accompanying him home, therefore, pai't of the way along the river Ashburton, I branched off to the Kangitata river. I received a kind welcome, from the settler to whose house I then went. Finding this second friend short-handed, I turned my little MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. 15 horse loose with the other horses not in use, and at once settled down to a turn at shep- herding. In New Zealand, the unused horses are always run loose. They keep together, and seldom go more than a mile or two from the house, though, of course, there are no fences to stop them. I was to look after the ewe flock, which was about to lamb, and which lay up the river-bed for four miles and two miles out into the plain. My general day's work was, to get breakfast, to chop some firewood, and then to start on my rounds either on horseback or foot, occasionally taking the opportunity of breaking in a colt for my friend. My round generally was about twenty miles, and used to take me all day, as I had to head the sheep back at difierent points. One day soon after my arrival, getting home rather earlier than usual, and having just set to work mending a fence at the end of the garden, I saw a bullock- driver approaching evidently rather the worse for liquor. He came close to the fence, then stopped his dray, commenced to boast to me of his skill in bullock- driving, and asked me to drink out of his bottle. I declined, at which he immediately took offence, and said, " You may either fight me or drink." I was excessively amused at the alternative proposed, and thought it best to choose the latter, in spite i \n m 16 MANY LANDS. of a strong inclination to teach my drunken friend better manners. I may here mention an instance, by no means an exceptional one, of the kind, Christian feeling which generally exists in a rough country. A friend of mine (who had been a medical student) 11 sed to ford the river daily on foot, the water reaching to his armpits (at that time he had no horse), to dress the hand uf a poor child, whose mother had let it fall into the fire. Its fingers were growing together, and the mother had not the courage to dress it. Many a cold, wet night, have I seen this man turn out to go to some poor shepherd's wife, from whom he would not get the smallest remuneration for his services. Letters to this remote district only came once a week. The mail was carried by an Australian black, Andy, who used to swim all the rivers like a duck. Being much addicted to drink, always the night before he started he was put in gaol, so that he might start sober in the morning. The station I was then in consisted of 40,000 acres, partly on the hills and partly on the plains, and is capable of carrying about 25,000 sheep. At that period, it held about 5000. A pleasant wood lay at the back of the home- stead, and also a good garden. My settler- friend judged rightly, that a garden was a great MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. 17 economy, on account of the high price of flour. I have frequently paid 30/. a ton for it. ■ ' After I had been with that friend three months, my wardrobe needed replenishing, and being anxious to go to Christ Church to look after my property, I bade him a kindly farewell, and mounted my little horse, now quite fresh from his long rest, and very unwilling to leave his old quarters. At Christ Church, a settler, whom I had met on the Rangetata river, asked me to help to drive some cattle just landed up to his station. I was to have 11. per day, and my expenses paid up and back again. Thus I earned my first 5/. note. Really good stock- men, like hill shepherds, are scarce, because many men who are too lazy to do any thing else take to it, and think that at all events they can sit on a horse and crack a whip. The con- sequence is, they only half-do their work. I had not been many days back in Christ Church, when a settler, who had a **run" on the Ashburton, made me an offer which I gladly accepted. I was to have 55Z. per annum and to live at his table. This run consisted of 20,000 acres of country, with about 4000 sheep on it. My principal duties were bullock-driving, and in bad weather assisting with the sheep. In fact, the worse the weather, the longer and the earlier we had to be out, as the sheep after shearing would sometimes drift from the Ashburton river ! I II "itil 1* l| ■V .J ■4 18 MANY LANDS. \\ I down to the Rakaia, a distance of twenty miles, before a soutli-westerly wind. I remember, just after shearing, one rainy morning, the shepherd of the wether flock came in to say he coukl not see any thing of his sheep. There was a strong south-west wind, and a driving rain, whereupon the overseer and myself got a couple of horses, and started off " down wind " as hard as we could gallop. Of course, the wind gave us our direction, and in two hours we were on the Rakaia river, twenty miles off, and caught the flock just about to join a diseased one. We soon started them back right up wind, the cold sleet pelting in our faces. We got home just at dusk, leaving only throe out of 600 wethers, the animals having accomplished forty miles between sunrise and sunset. On this station, I got a thorough practical initiation into all sorts of work. One day it was bullock-driving, the next shepherding, the next hurdle-making, then digging, or post and rail-making, a useful accomplishment. Proba- bly, if I had gone to work as a pupil, I should not have learned half as much, to say nothing of getting no pay. Whilst still there, I often went over and spent the evening with a gentleman, who had a station on the opposite side of the river, his house being about a mile from where I lived. This was a great comfort to me, as he had travelled much, ^ MAKING A START IN NEW ZEALAND. 19 amusing- was a good musician, and a most companion. Ho kindly lent mo books, also. It IS certainly sad to see delicate friendless lads of good birth, about seventeen or eighteen years of age, sent out to such a colony as New Zealand. Some of them degenerate into nothing better than working hands, often for want of a little good advice. But it is a grand colony for the Englishman of sound constitution, of rough, ready, and persevering habits, who can com- mand some small outlay to begin with. He is pretty sure to keep his health in New Zealand, and to return to England with an independence. m MOUNT HCIT. c 2 I ZULC-KAFFilt BOYS. Il,llffl^ HrfA I ^^^>ti,,,. m : Cfte Zulu in (^nglairtr* . ; BEFORE the colony of Natal was so well known as it is now, an enterprising man undertook to bring a party of Zulus to Eng- land, to exhibit them as specimens of a hand- some, athletic, and superior race of savages. He had no difiBculty with the men themselves, .who were anxious to see new countries ; but he was not allowed to take them away, till he had bound himself, by a contract with the Govern- ment, to return thom safely to their own coun- try. The following account of their travels was taken down by the Secretary for Native Affairs, who was present when the party, having re- turned, were called upon by their elders to relate their adventures. Upon a certain occasion, a young Zulu-Kaffir of about twenty-two years of age, sat or the floor of a large room in the city of Maritz- burg, surrounded by twenty older men of the same race, most of them persons of rank and influence in their tribes. The countenance of the young man was open and clear; but the faces of the elders were ciouded with doubt, or i';!' H I 22 :.rANY LANDS. I r 1 fixed in the impassible mould of incredulity, whicb. savages of experience and dignity so well know how to assume. The occasion of the gathering was that the young Zulu had under- taken to speak of *' the dangers he had passed," and to recount his adventures in strange lands. For some time the entire party sat in unin- terrupted silence, the old men unwilling to ad- mit curiosity, and eyeing their travelled enter- tainer. At last oii'^. of the elders put an end to the silence by saying, — *' Well, young man, it is said you are older than we are. You have travelled farther, and seen more. You have crossed the sea. Now, tell us of your wanderings, and what you have seen. But, do not pour lies upon us." " Yes, father," replied the youth, deferentially (for great respect is always shown by these people to r.ge as well as rank), " I have crossed the sea. I have seen London, the great place of the English." ^-^ ' '- The old councillor said, — - - -• < " Go on, my son ! begin with the sea." ' ' " Going on the sea wf s hard to us ; but we said, * "We will try ; othf rs have gone, and gone safely. Should we be selected for a different fate because we are black ? ' At first, the ship went well enough ; soon, it began to lean from side to side, and it felt so loose in the water we THE ZULU IN ENGLAND. 23 said, * It will fall over ;' we saw no reason why it should remain upright. Presently we became very sick, and coald eat nothing, and we thought we should die. Our hearts turned behind us, and we lamented for our friends. At length, however, we found ourselves recovering, and the ship still keeping its right position, and we said, * All may yet go well with us.' "We reached Cape Town. Until we had seen England, we thought Cape Town a great place, but then we saw otherwise. After leaving the Cape, we lost sight of the land, and we thought, * How can the ship find its way without a path ? — before, be- hind, and on every side is nothing but sea.' We bewailed our condition, and said, * "We shall all die in this waste together ;' but the white men laughed at us, and told us they saw their way in the sky — that the stars were their guides and the sun their path, and that they had not lost their way. We hoped this might be true ; but we could not see such a path, and we could not believe. We said, however, * Surely these people do not die joking, for if we die they must die also.' After some time, the Captain said we should see land the next day, and this would prove that he knew where he was. We said, * We shall see.' The next day, truly, we did see land ; then our fears ceased, and our bodies mel :ed into comfort. This land, however, was not England, but some island in the sea, which il 1 f. 24 MANY LANDS. Tve were to pass by. In the third month of being in the ship, we saw England ; then, we were told that we were in the mouth of a river, and soon after, that London was before us. Those who knew London saw it ; our eyes, however, saw nothing but a cloud of smoke. Then we saw houses, and poles standing out of the water, like reeds in a marsh, and these were the masts of the London ships. We went in among them, and our ship stood still, and we found ourselves in London, the great place of the English !" ' One of the listeners inquired how large this great place was. The young man replied, " We never saw the end of it; we tried hard to find it, but could not. We ascended a very high building, like a pole (the Monument), to see where it ended ; but our si^ht was filled with houses, and streets, and people. We heard that many people, born and grown old there, had never seen the end of it; and we said, * If such is the case, why should we, who are strangers, look for it ? ' So we gave it up. " The people are so numerous that they tread one on another. All day, and all night, the streets are crowded. We thought some great thing had happened, and said, ' Let us wait till the people have passed on ; ' but they never did r>ass on. If any one falls down, he is trodden upon, and dies ; there is no rising again for him, unless his own strength helps him; the /.. THE ZULU IN EXGLAND. 20 /. surface of the eartli is too small for the people, and some live under tlie earth, even under the water " (an allusion to the shops in the Thames Tunnel). " That must be a lie, young man," exclaimed one of the elders. " No, chiefs, it is no lie," replied the young man ; " for I saw it with my own eyes." . Chief. — "Did you go among the crowd in London?" v-:;;.^.'^-- ..•'-■•> ■.'..■:■■: 'v.. ■. ;,u.'''? ■;,,:. :'.d=--.v- YouNG Man. — " Only while holding the arm of a white man ; for people lose themselves in London, and are sometimes never heard of. We were told that two brothers got separated in the streets, and it took two months for a letter from one to find the other, and he was in London all the while — you know how fast letters always travel." • ; .x . Chief. — " Young man, if you speak the truth, you must be old, for you have seen much : we are but children." Young Man. — " Besides the crowds in the streets on land, the water is covered with large and small ships, all full of people; and I was told tliev live on the water, because there is no room for them on the land. When I saw all these people, I thanked for you that England was not joined on to this place, for if it were, they would trample you into the earth with their boots." - ^ . ,n . *..;., j m 1| 26 MANY LANDS. ••;;•. Chief. — " Are the houses of London large ? '* Young Man. — " They are so tall, that they shade the streets from the sun till midday. The spirits of the place live in the highest part of the buildings, where men never go, and day and night utter a wailing sound, which I heard." (Probably an allusion to the chimes in the churches.) A man is never alone in England. He could not be so, where I was. But I tra- velled so fast, my eyes were puzzled." Chief.—" How ? " Young Man. — " I travelled in a waggon drawn by another waggon ; but how, I never could understand. What I know is, that it went so fast, that, if you were to start from this place at daylight in the summer-time, to go to Dur- ban (fifty miles off), you could go there and be back again by gun-fire the same morning." (This would be from half-past four to nine, a.m.) " No, no ! " exclaimed his hearers ; " that is faster than a horse can go ! " Young Man. — " A horse I When you want to go quickly in this country, you ride on a horse ; but, there, you take the horse with you into the waggon, and he feeds as lie travels." Chief. — " Young man, you are laughing at us. What is it you say ?" Young Man. — " One waggon draws a great many other waggons. It goes so fast, that a 5. TLIE ZULU IN ENGLAND. 27 ! horse cannot keep up ; tlierefore, you take your horse with you. "When you have arrived at the place you are going to, you mount him, and ride about to finish your business quickly, in time for the return of the waggon. Having done this, you put him back again into the waggon, to be taken home with you." Chief. — ''And what is this waggon that draws the other waggons along?" ■ Young Man. — "It is a large kettle on wheels, full of water, with a fire under it to make it boil ; but, before it boils, other waggons are tied behind it, for the moment it does boil it runs away on its own road; and if it were to boil without the waggons fastened to it, I do not know where it would go to." Chief. — '* Are the people of London all rich?" f Young Man. — " Many are rich, and many are poor. He is not rich, who has not been obliged to build a house to keep his money in. I saw many large houses in London, built for nothing but to keep money in." -• "•■• *^'^ Chief. — "What more did you see in Eng- land ? " Young Man. — "I saw more than I can tell you, and yet 1 saw nothing. Some of our party stayed behind, because they said they wished to see more. I saw men ascend into the skies, and go higher than the eagle." ♦ ' ■^1 28 MANY LAIsDS. "By Chaka!" said one of his hearers, "the young man is inventing now. Where did the men get wings, who went into the skies ?" Young Man. — " I saw all that I tell you. The men did not go up with wings, but in a basket." (A subdued "Au!" from several showed, that they thought the young man was becoming incor- rigible.) " The basket was tied to a large round bag, filled with smoke ; it looked like a large calabash, with the mouth downwards, and the basket hung beneath. In this two people sat, and, when the bag was let go, it went up with them. I looked at it till my eyes were tired, and it became smaller than a bird. They took up sand with them, and poured it on the people beneath; some of it fell on me." Chief. — " Did you see them come down agam r - Young Man. — " No, I did not ; but people said the coming down was dangerous, because the thing mostly went where it liked, not where tho people in it wanted ; sometimes, they found themselves on the top of a tree, or a house, or in the water." Chief.—" What did they go up for ?" Young Man. — " I don't know ; they told me there was some work they went up to do, but what it was I did not hear." Chief. — " It is hard to believe this ; but, if it is true, the whites have large livers" (much THE ZULU IN ENGLAND. 29 daring). " If you have any more to tell us that is true, go on." • - ' ?■ ' •- ^^; ' ■ ■' • Young Man. — '* I saw many things that I did not like. When a man dies in the streets (and many do, because the streets are always full), if he has no brother or friend, he is taken to a house, and his things hung up, and he is salted, and papers put out to ask who he is ; and if no one claims him, he is taken to the doctoring houses, and cut up and dried." Chief. — " Wliy is all this done ?" Young Man. — " Because they say the doctors learn to cure the sick ; and because they don't want to bury more than they can help, for the ground is but small in England." Chief. — " No wonder they come to Natal, if their own country has grown so small for them ; but this cutting up dead people looks as if they knew how to ' takata' (use witchcraft)." Young Man. — " They may know that also, for they know every thing ; but I heard that the doctors were the people who liked dead men, and that, if the graves were not taken care of, their people stole the dead bodies for them ; we were also told, that the man of our party who died at Berlin, was only buried because we were there, and that he was afterwards taken out and cut up, to see if he was made inside like the white people." Cni7,F. — " "VYe thank you for your news : you 30 MANY LANDS. have made us older than we were : but you are older still, for you have seen with your eyes what we only hear with our ears. As you say, eyes are more to be relied on than ears, and, it would bo well to see as well as liear." KAFFIE VIILAGE. ••.';i*i»'i-r' 1 ^uns;f)inc nnti jTlootr m atisJtralia* * r • ■/■ '• " ON DAELINO DOWNS, AUSTKALIA. IAVILL try and give you my first experience of an Australian wedding in the year 1867. Every one is married by licence, and tlie marriage is performable at any time between sunrise and sunset. A bappy pair required my services. It was a very pretty sight, as I stood at the church door watching them coming — some ten couples, all riding at a good pace — the bride in a white habit, white veil, and gloves, and her 32 MAXY LANDS. bridesmaids also having a preponderanco of white. They dashed into the churchyard to- gether. Down sprang the men, bodily hfting down their fair companions, who gathered up their skirts, and came into the church. Each of the happy pair then had to come and take an oath, in the vestry, of no impediment of age, or want of consent, after which the cere- mony began. I went to my place within the rails : but they thought, I suppose, they could be married in the seats just as well ; for they would not come up, till I had actually to call them by name. After the marriage was concluded, and the register signed, they went out into the church- yard, and a scene of mutual cono^ratulation and kissing went on from the fnenftf-T who had pre- ceded them out of church, till T thought they never would stop and be off. But, at last, they mounted their horses, and rode away as hard as they could, two and two, looking very happy and very pretty. It seemed so strange to see a bride in her riding-habit, with her bridesmaid holding a whip for her instead of a nosegay, as, I believe, is usual. This couple were only labouring people, and yet evidently had an eye to the picturesque, or else it was possibly my fancy ; but I thought they looked extremely well. So far, all sunshine. However, in countries ^1 SUNSHINE AND FLOOD IN AUSTRALIA. 33 where the climate runs in extremes of heat and wet, frequently no more than ten minutes is required to change the most sunshiny of days into a day of flood and wretchedness. It turned out thus, on that wedding-day. Poor things ! my beautiful bridal-party had scarce started homewards in the highest of spirits, when the sky began to darken, and down came big drops of rain, then a heavy shower, which gained force as it went on, and at last grew to a perfect flood. I looked after them Tv-ith heartfelt compas- sion : for, I knew by my own experience, that they would be drenched through and through, before reaching their home fifteen miles distant. Rain, as it falls in hot countries, can hardly be imagined by those, who have not seen and felt it. On this occasion it fell in right earnest, unlike showers or even storms of rain in Eng- land, but positively like great tanks of water, as though some flood-gate had been let loose in the clouds ibove. And so it poured away, without the least stoppage, for thirty-six hours. Many bush-travellers, and many hard-working farmers or shepherds too, while riding long distances to attend to their corn-fields or flocks, must have been waylaid, and have found no shelter either, in the midst of that merciless water-course. -. c-i ' -' ' ' ' . My heart was with my late wedding-cus- ; ^ D 34 MANT LANDS. tomers. For they liad to bear the first brunt, and submit to their pretty wedding-dresses being spoilt, and their spirits being not a Httle damped. Pleasure and wretchedness are close neighbours in Australian life. • The next morning, the downfall still conti- nued. Yet, the farm-butchers, whose peculiar business out there often does not allow them to delay it a single day, had to muster just the same, and to ride round to the various farms, continually swimming their horses through the flood, in order to get in their supply of fat stock. But when the rain was all down, what then ? Only those houses and roads, which lay high, had escaped being flooded. The valleys and the meadow-lands were, every one, many feet deep in water, j^s for the roads or bush-tr-acks, nearly a week elapsed before they could be pro- perly used again, and, in some cases, before even a trace of them could be discovered. In one particular instance, near a spot where the land happens to fall suddenly, the flood had risen to the height of ten feet, and caused a grievous loss of cattle. As soon as its waters had sufficiently subsided to admit of the owners seeking their live stock, not a few strange scenes came to be witnessed. " ^ A fine heifer, driven with her companions from one place to another by the rising flood, had strayed away into this meadow-land, where ■^ ilUNSHIKE A.ND FLOOD IN AUSTEALIA. 35 she must have sought refuge in a tree, the top branches of which wore just out of water. As the flood retired, the poor beast, in her strug- gles to regain a looting on the ground, got hopelessly entangled in the branches, and so ' W^^iKMSM^^ '^MJ:W=^'' remained. In SHBHBHK^is^t^"^^^-^ until, on M)^^§|B^^^^^^^S3l . the foUow- -'^<3B»^^k^^^- her forlorn n| condition ^//IliBi lMf ligMyi WiB E fl B^ ^^s disco- f^'^^jHRHHlHlliB^KH^ vered by ,^ ^ _^ _^ some far- ili^^^^lStSRI^^R mers. ^*^^^*^'* ■"■■"" ^ "-".'iMIli'^. : li^»^ The fact •^►^.l - "^^^i^IKI J£mjj^%^ currence of ('-:M)PHMlil the kind ^,,^.^'': being pos- »f.-i: -' /v^ sible shows AITEK THE HOOD. C 1 6 a T 1 y what ravages ordinary rain-storms may cause in very hot countries. England has not the sunshine of Australia; but neither has she to suffer from such destruc- tive floods, as too often happen there. (^ 1) 2 « 1^ o u W CO H-t H l-l O o n »-« o o H A -< o M 1 2 o a illmer*5 ffmxtvnl in 3Sn'tisi6 Columljia* ^ o 1-7 O O w m d o n o H < o H Hi O THERE U no more healthy climate any where, than that of British Columbia and Van- couver Island. During the many years I was in the colony, I do not recollect any serious instance of a catching sickness, except a yeir of smail-pox among the Indians. Cariboo, in the summer months, such time at least as I knew it; was splendid. The nights are never hot, and t le air upon the mountains is the finest in the •'vM'd. There was comparatively little disease, a^xsi'fj That arose in earlier days from want of proper food, especially of fresh meat and vege- tables. Eheumatism, ar'.sfng from exposure to cold and working in the ;vet, ^^fas the most common disease, and the surest to bring out the seeds of consumption in weakly constitutions. One out of the two deaths, which happened on l\ mining creek while I was there in 1865, sprang from this cause. The sufferer was an Englishman, but had been in Canada or the United States most of his life. He lay in a miserable hovel, waited on by his brother, who, though a rough nurse, yet proved himself an attentive one. The sick man Lad lived a csrc- 38 MANY LANDS. less life, and did not know much, but he showed great sorrow for mis-spent time. The afternoon of the day he died, some of his mates called on , ">^out his funeral. He had expressed a wish bo buried at " Maloney's Ranch," across the mountains, on the upper part of Antler Creek. It was arranged, then, that the burial should be next day. They thought that, starting in the early morning by seven o'clock, they could get the coffin over the mountain by noon, despite the eleven miles of stiff ascent and descent. Thinking that the bishop, who had seen so much of this man, and was now encamped only five miles from the Mining Creek, might like to be present, I got a packer, who was starting that afternoon, to take a note, telling him the hour of the funeral. Next morning I called at the cabin where the dead miner lay, and, finding the cortege was not likely to start before eight o'clock, I set off alone. I followed the pack mule trail. The first few miles was a fearful ascent through the forest. Sometimes, I sank nearly to the knee in mud. Then, I reached more open ground,, and struck off along the ridge above a valley, which divides Williams Creek from Grouse Creek. Another ascent brought me to the highest part of the Bold Mountain, crossed by the Williams and Antler Creek trail. Near this point was a roughish cabin inside A MINEE's rUNEEAL IN BEITISH COLUMBIA. 39 some rouglier fencing, known as the " Milk Ranch.'' In British Columbia, be it remembered, every location or farm up country is spoken of as a ranch. Here lived a man, who, in the early part of the season, drove a dozen cows into the Cariboo district. They found abundance of feed on the Bold Mountain ridges, and, every morning, their enterprising owner took his milk down to the settlement below, and sold it at three dollars (12s. 6d.) a gallon. By this time, he has doubt- less become a rich man. I had started without breakfast, and was glad now to expend a dollar in the purchase of a bowl of milk and a lump of maize bread. In the crisp bracing air of the morning, I thought it as delightful a meal as I had ever tasted. After aboui; an hour's delay in this ranch, the funeral train appeared in sight. The cofl&n had' been borne by relays, some forty or fifty people following it. The bishop and I headed the pro- cession, when it drew near the burial ground, and, having first distributed hymn cards to the party, we proceeded, singing the ninetieth Psalm, to the spot where the grave was dug. It was on a grassy flat, up a bank by which the trail ran. There the bishop read the funeral service, the mourner's standing in clusters around. He then made a short address to those assembled. ^ • The attendance of so many of the poor a 'i i 40 MANY LANDS. /■( miner's mates was an example of the sympatliy that exists among these men. Many of them worked for wages, which rated ten dollars (two guineas) a day ; but they were ready to forego DOWX IN A MINE, BRITISH COLUMBIA. a day's work and pay, and take a fatiguing tramp, in order to honour the memory of a comrade, and aid his brother in performing his last wish. r*r ? 91 TOorii about €f)im. NOTHING is more likely to strike any one, who goes out from Europe to China, than the immense number of people living together in that empire. Hills, islands, plains, all swarm with dwelling-houses, towns, villages, and ham- lets. Every canal and water-course is covered with boats filled with men, women, and chil- dren, while, in the streets of every one of the 1659 cities of China, vast crowds are constantly to be seen hurrying, jostling, and husthng each other. No nation, probably, possesses greater facili- ties than China for accurately numbering the people. The records kept by every household, the list of inhabitants kept by every district mandarin, and forwarded by him to his superior mandarin, from him again to the mandarin of the circuit, and so upwards to the Imperial Government, afford first-class means for arriving at a just estimate. The latest census known to foreigners was taken in 1839, which returns the population at the astonishing figure of 415,000,000. Thus, a nation, which, until recently, had remained almost unknown to the II J ■f M i f ., ^^ ■r\' /'if;y,^& I'll ■<(,i|. ' ; H-l » » N H O H 'A O ':;^■;?^;■;\^fl' ^m A WORD ABOUT CHINA. 43 peoples of the West, is now found to surpass them all put together in the number of its population. China contains about fourteen times as many people as Great Britain and Ireland, seven times the population of Russia, and nearly twice that of all Europe. Indeed, the whole of Europe, the continents of North and South America, and Australia, with the Pacific Islands, contain within their large territories a population 40,000,000 less than this single empire. '^■' ' One of the causes of the rapid increase of the early Chinese, was the draining of the marshy plains, which were then turned into rich rice fields. The land, once thus cultivated, proved productive, and ofiered every advantage that nature can ofier for increasing the population. Again, in former ages, no Chinese could leave their country, even for a time, without incurring heavy punishments if they returned or were caught, whilst, on the other hand, foreigners were encouraged to go and settle in China. Of all causes, hcwever, producing the enor- mous population of the Chinese empire, the chief one is the intense- desire of the people for children. This arises, partly from the wish to provide for old age, partly from the home habits of the people, and from their views of the rela- tions and obligations of the living to the dead. if ?1« 44 MANY LANDS. ! that is, the worship of forefathers. The Chinese wish for children, that their tombs may be taken care of, and their spirits sacrificed to, after death. Hence, whenever a native becomes a Christian, his relatives say, '* Why should you have children ? You have no use for them, and do not deserve them." Their firm belief is, that, if they have no children to make offerings to their spirits, they become naked, wandering, starving ghosts, when dead. All classes believe, that in the next world they will be in constant need of the same kind of comforts that they enjoyed in this, and will be chiefly dependent for these comforts upon their descendants. Hence, their great longing for children, which is at the same time the cause of their allowing many wives and of early marriages. It accounts also, for the extraordinary absence of old maids and bachelors in China. The agricultural resources of the country are seemingly unlimited, the great plains especially being very fertile. On the Ningpo plain, the moiu, equal to two acres of land, will support comfortably a family of four persons, that is just half an acre to a soul. China has about 650,000,000 acres under cultivation, besides her colonies and tributary states. Thus, due allow- ance being made for the less productive regions, the Chinese empire is capable of supporting a population of 250,000,000 more than it does A WORD ABOUT CHINA. 45 i now, and this even at the rate of one acre to each person. Nevertheless, such numbers could not be maintained there, if people in China Hved in the same way as in Europe. Their main food, rice, from the ease with which it may be cultivated, and its nourishing qualities, greatly helps to increase the population. The fewness of domes- tic animals, by reason of which all the products of the land go to the direct support of human life, the simplicity of their home wants, must be taken into consideration likewise. '■ ' Instead of boards, mother earth usually serves the Chinese as a floor. A hole, or an open door, or a paper frame, acts as their window, instead of glass. Paper again, instead of cotton or silk, is used for umbrellas. Chopsticks of bamboo replace our knives and forks. A few earthenware bowls form the substitute for din- ner, tea, and breakfast, services. A rice |..l and a kettle suffice for the kitchen, and a brick range, with or without a chimney, for cooking. No extra buildings are necessary for granaries, pig-sties, or hen-houses, the one family-room meeting every requirement. Without fires, nurses, housemaids, or any kind of servants, every house keeps itself well, the children needing no washing, and the boiling of rice or an occasional piece of pork or fish demanding little attention. Thirty dollars is about the 'I !| 46 MANY LANDS. expense of setting up house. A couple of tables and cupboards, a few chairs, benches, boxes, and canisters, an oil-jar and a bedstead, represent the usual furniture of a house as occupied by the gi'eat mass of the Chinese people. The expense incurred for food must be extremely small, to judge from the fact that the wages given to clerks, school-teachers, inferior military officers, boat-masters, skilled artisans, or others such, averages only four dollars a month, with their board. Some further idea may bo formed of the present population of China, when it is said, that it outnumbers that of Great Britain and Ireland by twenty to one. > - Owing to this crowded state, the Chinese are very sociable in their habits. But hence, too, their wonderful love of talking, their skill in deceiving, their low regard for truth, and their extraordinary insight into human nature and motives. From similar causes are derived the politeness, which mark the Chinese, and their courteous hospitality; but, on the other hand also, the cheating, fraud, vagrancy, and begging, which disgrace every province. ,. , - - The causes, tending to reduce the popu- lation, are emigration, diseases, and opium smoking, the use of which undeniably weakens the powers of manhood. The rapid increase in the consumption of opium is shown by the A WOED ABOUT CHINA. 47 value of tlio quantity imported, namely, about ton millions sterling. Adding one-third to this for the retail price, and reckoning about sixpence per day as an average to every smoker, there are in China 1,460,000 confirmed opium smokers, or about one in 284 of the inhabitants. A certain result of its increased consumption, must be the gradual depopulation of the empire. Then, the frequent rebellions, the savage slaughter which follows on both sides, and the starvation and deadly sicknesses which they naturally give rise to, must quite as surely lead to extensive destruction of human life. During the last eighteen years, it has been calculated that the population has been decreased by war, pestilence, and famine, by at least 20,000,000. China, therefore, which was once a great and flourishing country, is now going to decay, like a very old man, who once was young, strong, and hearty. If, however, it should have the sense and courage to take lessons from the countries of the West, and put away its evil customs and superstitions, it may perhaps become young again, and stronger, and heartier, than ever. ,! 1 11 \ ■ y i :r:'^t ^ ■ '■■■ ■ .^ ' ." '' ' '* * w,. ^n eartftqiiafee m tl^e J^antiluirl) ]|sfIanUs, BAY WnEBE CAPTAIN COOK WAS KILLED. ON tlie 27th of March, 1868, violent shocks of earthquake began to occur in the Sandwich Islands^ situated in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean. ^ • • • Mauna Loa, a great volcanic mountain, above 13,000 feet high, had broke out afre.sh : and, in less than one month, the earth shook 2000 times. A single shock threw down churches and other buildings, and killed many people. AN EARTHQUAKE IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 49 ■^'\m In one district, the earth opened and swal- lowed thirty-five people. Near Waischina, a tidal wave, sixty feet high, swept in from the sea, submerging the coast for many miles, destroying several villages, and drowning one hundred per- sons and thousands of cattle. The volcano threw up fire, rocks, and ashes; and a stream of liquid lava fiow^ed across the country, at a rate of ten miles an hour, till it reached the sea, where it forme 1 an island. Every thing in its path was destroyed. A small island 400 feet high, and afterwards joined to the land by a bank of lava fully a mile wide, suddenly rose in the sea, three miles from shore, and threw up a column of snoke and steam, just as a steamer was passing tne spot. Mauna Loa, the old volcanic mountain, also discharged a great stream of red epHh, which ran down the sides of the mounta-'-- at fearful speed, and spread itself out over che couniiy. The entire side of one hill, 1500 feet in height, was thrown 1000 feet over the tops of trees, and landed in the valley below. Bottomless fissures opened in the mountain side. The base of the volcano is about thirty miles around, and was then entirely desolated, and at least half a million dollars' worth of property destroyed. !hesides this, the great mountain vomited a column of smoke, more than seven miles high, up into the air^ darkening every object for E s i 50 MANY LANDS. miltiS around, save wliere tlie bright spiral pillars of tlie fire flashed from the mouth of the vol- cano. The sight was one of the grandest but most appalling ever witnessed, and almost defies description. The whole appearance of the coun- try came to be so completely changed, that even those who have lived in the desolated districts all their lives cannot recognize it, or point out localities with which they were formerly familiar. Luckily, this part is but thinly populated, and the lands are not much cultivated. All the unfortunate persons who lost their lives were natives of the Islands, not one white person having been killed or in any way injured. asoarliiitijc a ^labt'^M^, ' THE following story will show, that, some- times it is not the slaves only, who are the victims of the hateful slave trade, but that, now and again, a just punishment falls upon the heads of those, who engage in the traffic in > human flesh and blood. We left Zanzibar, the chief se ort of the south-east coast of Africa, on Wednesday, Maj \ 17th, 1865, for Mahe, one of the Seyciielleii Islands. In fact, we had heard that a slave- ship was going to sail for Muscatt, a town in the Persian Gulf, a great place for slaves. On Friday, May 12th, about 7 p.m., a man came off from the shore, and told us that the slaver was going out. We therefore at once manned two boats, the pinnace and the cutter, the pinnace carrying a nine-pounder Arm- . strong gun. I was in the cutter, which, shoving off from the ship, pulled to wlure the slave-ship had anchored. But she had left about half an hour. Soon, however, we saw another slaver close under the shore. We had not followed her long, before, in the moonlight, we spied a canoe full of slaves : so, leaving the E 2 li :'i ml m i J: TO rOARDING A SLAVE-SHIP. 53 H O u -1 o M f» ■< H CO «! w H O K I > t-H -^ O slave-ship, we ran the canoe down to the shore, the slaves at once escaping. But, as we were pushing the canoe off, out came a third large slaver, upon which, of course, we immediately left every thing to chase her. As soon as we got within 300 yards, we fired a musket-shot across her bows, to make her lower sail. She would not. Consequently, we poured a volley into her; and our firing attracted the attention of the crew of the pinnace, who then knew that we were chasing a slave-ship; whereupon, on sighting the chase from round a headland, they sent a nine-pound shot from the Armstrong right into her hull. This told us in the cutter, that the pinnace was near: so, we ceased firing, and pulled to gain sea-way. > The slave-ship men tried to run the pinnace down, and, when we Avere within twenty yards astern, she struck the pinnace on the bows. We then, could hear the pinnace men shout to us, " Come on, cutters, or we shall be run down." We were soon alongside, when our officer, a a gallant man, who was dreadfully wounded, cried, ' Now, my men, three British cheers and aboard of her !' We did so, and jumped on her deck to save our shipmates' lives. We cut the Arabs down, or ran them through with our cut- lasses. Many of them jumped overboard. ' We only heard of four getting to the shore alive. So the rest of the crew must have 54 MANY LANDS. ' 1 '' peristed. The slave-sMp had 282 slaves and a crew of eighty Arabs, well armed with muskets, swords, and spears. We had thirteen men and two ofl&cers in the pinnace, with eleven men and two officers in the cutter. One shot was fired from the pinnace gun. It Wits well we did not fire twice, or we should have sunk the ship. We took fifteen Arabs prisoners, most of whom were shot and cut in several places. That was all left alive out of a crew of eighty, except the four who escaped to shore in a boat chat was towing astern. We had some narrow escapes. An Arab was in the act of cutting at one of my shipmates, who had already received a slight wound in the head, and had tumbled over. I saw the Arab, with his sword uplifted, going to give him a second cut : but, before his sword came down, my cutlass buried itself in the Arab's skull. My shipmate thanked me after all was quiet, and said I saved his life. We had one man k^'Ued, with six men and three officers wounded. The boarding having taken place about eight miles from our frigate, we sent the cutter back with the wounded, stopped in the slave-ship all night, and stood off from land till daylight next day, when our own ship came and towed us into harbour. The captain of the slaver had bragged of the many clear trips he had made, and that he was ip BOARDING A SLAVE-SHIP. 55 not going to be friglitened by any man-of-war boats attacking him. We knew we should have to fight hard for it : but she was a good prize, worth the taking, and English bravery vv^on it. There was another slaver loading that same night, but, on hearing of the first being taken, she unloaded her slaves, and would not come out till we had sailed for Seychelles, because her captain knew we should have to go there with slaves before many days. That is where our slaves are placed, after being released. The people on shore thought, we should never take the slave-ship v-* ' V our boats : but they were deceived. It is an old saying, and a true one, ** When once a British sailor plants his foot on the deck of an enemy, he will die or conquer before he leaves it." ■ ; ; . ' A SLAVE DHOW .-■•♦ 'W 1,(1 ill * .,> -•-, : -'/■ .•'' tP^ -> ly?"; "• 9ltiljentuits( m an ^ntiiait Canoe* ■•:/• i'rt *.e.v ^3.M:?U^^^ • .ill,! vt ,?: f •■-■ r ■ „ r . IN THE WHIBLPOOL. THE Queen Charlotte Indians are celebrated for their daring and skill, in venturing on the high seas in their frail canoes ; though, with all their courage, they seldom go out of sight of ADVENTUEES IN AN INDIAN CANOE. 67 ^ land, during the stormy months of March and April. At the beginning of 1866, however, I induced them to put to sea in those months, and the adventures we had together furnish rather an ' citing experience in an emigrant's life. Our canoe measured thirty-five feet long. It was cut out of the solid trunk of a cedar tree, and it carried a dead weight of about two tons, together with ten human beings. • For several days after we had determined upon our voyage, the wind blew in the wrong direction. At last, it became more favourable, and we ran the canoe over to the mainland of British Columbia, where we landed for shelter during the night. The next day, we attempted to cross Queen Charlotte's Sound. All went well with us, until towards sunset, when we sighted land. There is no twilight in British Columbia, and darkness set in before we could gain the shore ; yet, we did not apprehend danger on that account ; for, we imagined, we had only to paddle on and we should soon reach our destination. But, after a couple of hours of hard paddling, the sea chickens ceased to fly about us, the wind began to rise, and the rain to fall in torrents, till, from the pace and motion of the canoe, it struck me, that, instead of nearing the land, we were drifting, with a rapid current, out into the C/pen sea. I mentioned this to the i pi 58 MANY LANDS. Indians, and they at first only laughed «it my fears ; but, after some time, they also seemed to think that we were going off from the land instead of towards it. Klue, the chief, asked me if I really thought this was the case, and one and all besought me to see to the course of the canoe. Fortunately, I had with me one of Dene's pocket compasses, and, procuring a light with some difficulty, I ascertd-ined that we were being carried out to sea. We then headed the canoe from north to south, and paddled over the turbulent waves with the desperation of men striving for their lives. Our efforts were crowned with success, however: for, we touched the shore at last, and a flash of lightning showed us thatwe had beached our canoe on a point of land, which stretched across a snug little harbour. Here, we encamped for the night. Next morning, after repairing damages, we began our voyage down the coast towards Rupert's Land. On our way, we halted for a night on Calamity Island, which was literally alive with sea-fowl, and of these the Indians made great slaughter. They placed lighted torches, in front of the birds* holes in the rocks ; and the birds, attracted by the glare, came out of their nests, and flew round about the blazing brands, until they were knocked down with sticks. In this way, very many were killed in a few minutes ; and, had we required ADVENTURES IN AN INDIAN CANOE. 59 them, we might have obtained thousands. For six days, a heavy gale prevailed, and we tossed about the Sound without making much progress. On the afternoon of the sixth day, wearied with our exertions, and drenched by the rain and the sea, we ran ashore close by an old and unoc- cupied Indian hut, where the beach was covered with cockles, and of which, in a very short time, wo gathered bushels. The Indians are not always clean in their habits, and it does not do to inquire too closely into their manner of cooking food ; yet, notwithstanding this, they do manage to cook fish to perfection — that is, in such a way as to preserve all the flavour. We now found ourselves in the neighbourhood of the Bella Bella Indians, with whom the Queen Charlotte Indians were at variance ; and, when we recommenced our voyage, we had to bear away seaward, and to keep a sharp look-out all , round. My friends, though tlie most powerful and warlike Indians in the Pacific, told me that they had, on several occasions, when trying to get to "Victoria, been attacked by the Bella Bellas, and had suffered severely in men ; and, there- fore, they were not anxious to be seen, when passing the territory of their adversaries. I felt we were strong enough to resist and defeat any attack upon us, having plenty of guns, as well as powder and shot; but, as it seemed more pru- dent to avoid the possibility of a conflict, after 60 MANY LANDS. i I ) some consultation, we determined to hide during tlie day, and travel during the night. About two in the morning of our sixth night's voyage, a light ahead informed us that we had safely crossed the Sound, and were within rifle- shot of a body of Rupert Indians, who, from the number of fires they had made, were evidently bird slaughtering. Between them and my friends, a bitter hostility also existed; for Klue's brother, who was the highest chief on the coast, had been captured and murdered by them some time before. As we passed in the dark, I could hear Klue, in ^ suppressed voice, cursing these his enemies in the bitterest terms. Little did the Ruperts suspect, how near so great a prize had been to them. I found, it was Klue's inten- tion, as soon as he was formally recognized as Chief by the chiefs of his island, to form a strong party, and "kill all the Rupert Indians." It appeared, too, that, not until he had accom- plished that feat, would he be accounted worthy to take his brother's place as the supreme Chief of the coast. .?' ; >i ,- • On the evening of April 20th we found our- selves opposite to an encampment of the Ucolta Indians, a tribe that I feared more than any other, as they have been a great trouble to the white man for years past, having murdered many, who, in small numbers, were foolish enough to venture near their camps. Yet, our danger from ADVENTURES IN AN INDIAN CANOE. 61 these Indians was not so great, as that to which a short time afterwards we were exposed from another cause. » For several days, the weather had been very rough : but, on this afternoon, there was scarcely a breath of wind stirring, or a ripple on the water, and we were taking it easy. The Indians were dozing at their posts, whilst I was resting on my broad seven-foot paddle, enjoying the welcome quiet, and consoling myself with a pipe of tobacco. Our great canoe floated silently along the ebbing tide. We were in a comfort- able state of calm and indifference, quite un- conscious of any impending danger, when, sud- denly, every Indian sprang to his feet in wildest alarm. Had we been surrounded by a thousand canoes, filled with hostile Indians in war-paint, they could not have horrified us more than the object which met our gaze. Death, certain death, without the possibility of any one sur- viving to report our fate, was the terrible and instant conviction of my mind. With a loud yell, Klue called to us to sit down instantly, and work the canoe with all our might. Not a moment was to be lost : for a long white line of foam, which stretched from shore to shore, was rapidly coming upon us, while the down tide went swiftly on and buried itself beneath the advancing wave. Thrusting our paddles deep into the water with a mighty efibrt, and 11 I ti I i (I I fit ' ! !■ ( 'I ' it 62 MANY LANDS, with desperate strokes for life, we met the threatening tide, and Lfted the canoe clear out of the sea and over the fearful surge. It was a terrible moment. But our danger was not passed. It had only commenced. In two minutes, the current carried our canoe close down upon the shore, a distance of well nigh a mile, and we were about beirg dashed to pieces on the rocks, when, within a few feet of de- struction, the canoe was whirled back sgain, and as quickly carried back to the opposite shore. This Wci o repeated several times, and af each passage we made some head-way. But> on crossing for the last time, vc were so sud- denly stopped halfway, that I nearly fell over- board. We had been caught in a whirlpool : and, with fripiitful rapidity, our canoe described three complete circles. Up v-o this time, the IndiaDS had been resting motionless on their paddles^ though their straini-g eyes indicated a full consciousness of our danger. When the canoe began tu whirl round, they counted each rotation— " Odg !— " Two ! ! — Three ! ! !" At the word "three," their voices were raised to a yell tha.-; seemed to pierce the sky, and vibrated from shore to shore in a double echo, and far s^-wriv into the wild recesses of the mountains. They then dipped their paddles, up to the handles, into the whirling flood, all on one side strenuously " backing water," while those ADVENTURES IN AN INDIAN CANOE. 68 on tiie other side pulled as hard as they could. By this means, after a truly desperate struggle, tbe canoe shot out of the whirlpool, just as it seemed we were about to be swallowed up in it. Klue shouted, "Paddle now, and all together.'* Half-an-hour's steady and strong paddling Hfted us harmless over several other whirlpools, and then we felt fairly beyond all danger from the meeting of the tides. Those were my adventures in an Indian canoe. It only remains to say, that, after a voyage of twenty-one days and nights, we arrived safely at the place we had been making for. r ii:* it ALO>'G THE NOETH-WEST AHEBICAN COAST. i i (^■l-k €i)t Cf;iufse i« Qustralia^ :■' IN tliis age, it is not Great Britain and Ireland only, nor even Europe, that send out tens of thousands ev^ery year to foreign lands. Even China anc^ Tartary have now their emigrants, in large nu nbe.s, to Australia and "Western America. There are more than 30,000 Chinese in Aus- tralia alone. Most of them reside near the gold fields; although some live in the cities, and a few are scattered over the wide sheep-farms inland. They came to Australia with the other eiai- grants, like them attracted by the discovery of gold, and, with one sole ambition, to find gold, and then to return to their native country. They live quite separate from the other emi- grants, and trade but little with the European storekeepers, employing their own merchants, and providing their own supplies. Considering that they are ignorant of the laws of the colony and of our language, that they have been treated with severity by the Government, and with cruelty by the people in tmmn .--:,^*"iaa ^i F 06 MANY LANDS. ! the gold fields, they have given but little trouble to the police magistrates or to the Government. They avoid strong drinks ; but, they indulge in the opium pipe, and also gamble recklessly firaongst themselves. They have brought with them into our gold fields all their home institutions, such as the bazaar, the opium-hall, the gaming-table, the theatre, and the barber's shop, which perhaps is the most curious object to a stranger's eye, from the variety of work carried on in it, and the confusion of voices. There are about 160,000,000 ui men in China, who require to be shaved every day, and, in that far-off land of Australia, there are thousands of Chinamen, who could not live in comfort without their barber. They are very particular about their head-dress. Their coarse black hair is allowed to grow to a great length behind, and is care- fully plaited and wound into an ornamental band at the back of the head, as a crown of honour. One of the most painful penalties, in- flicted by the magistrates of the colony upon Chinese offenders, is, that they shall be com- mitted to the gaol for a short period, and have their heads shaven behind. This they consider a great disgrace. They have also brought from Cbina their "joss-house" or temple of idols, with its little wooden god full of sticks and matches, its tawdry ornaments of coloured cloth, THE CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA. Q1 and its painted ribbons on wliicli are printed certain moral sentiments. " The view these Chinese entertain of the Christianity and civilization, with which they come into contact in Australia, is certainly inte- resting. When they first arrive in Melbourne or in Sydney, every thing about them is new and strange; but, after a time, the inquiring and intelligent among them form their own opinions, and express them frankly. They admire our Courts of Law, and seem to have the highest opinion of our ideas of justice. If they go to law, and do not obtain a decision in their favour, they consider that to be either the fa'^H of the interpreter, who translates the Chinese language into English for them, or that it is their just due. The interpreters employed by the Govern- ment often make a heavy charge upon their own people, when their services are required, and are known at times to act unfairly. But, even in cases where justice has been thus misdi- rected, the Chinese seem thoroughly convinced that our judges and magistrates are pure and uncorrupted. They are equally ready to ex- press their admiration of the medical profession. The generosity, unwearied patience, and supe- rior skill, of our medical men, are a wonder to them. Medical practice in China is merely a system of quackery. Their pretended doctors consult the stars, cast spells, and trifle with F 2 ihift! :'' rtii; 68 MANY LANDS. sick people, till these sink and die from ex- haustion. In their own country, the sick are neglected, and the lepers cast out of house and home. When, therefore, they find the sick cared for with tenderness in the hospital or asylum, and the lepers outside the camp taken away and carefully hr-rised, while our medical men use their skill to soothe their sufferings and cure their diseases, they express in strong terms their approval and delight. They are not astonished, to find many forms of Christian profession and worship ; for their own religions in China are just as varied. They never entertain a bitter feeling in religious matters. Whatever they may be in their na- tive land, when they leave it they appear to have none of the persecuting spirit, which has so often disgraced both the Christian and Mohammedan faiths. "^Vhen strangers meet, if rehgion is the subject of discussion, they ask in their high-flown style, " To what sublime reli- gion do you belong?" and each Chinese then praises, not his own religious belief, but the belief of the other, concluding with the oft- repeated form, " Religions are many, Reason is one, we are brothers." The difficulties, in the way of winning them to Christianity, seem less than some have thought. A highly-educated Chinese might certainly think that Christianity would require a long inquiry. But the 30,000 THE CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA. 69 Cliinese in Australia are not from the learned class. They represent the common people of the country, and are more easily impressed. On the whole, therefore, these emigrants from China to our Australian colonies are a hopeful set of people. They have ways of going about their business, very different from our ways, and which appear odd to us : but they are hard- workmg, thrifty, lovers of peace, and generally obedient to the law. This is important to us English : because, there can be no doubt, that, by and by, the Chinese will come amongst us, in still larger numbers than they do now. CHINESE FISHEBMEN. 11! i m t '■■ ':;■'■ t V 1 I: ^■!l|!| 111^7/ hx ti)t ffnv mit^. u o o W to pq CO O THE chief mining districts of British Colum- bia are far away from its chief town, Victoria. But, wherever the miners travel, roadside houses are to be found every ten or fifteen miles. ' • ■ • ' ' It is curious to see the sturdy, self-reliant fellows, on their arrival at the inn after a long day's march, each having carried from fifty to eighty pounds for seldom less than twenty-five miles. They pay well for their food, but by no means too much ; for they do justice to what is laid before them. As soon as the packs have been safely put aside, and a good wash has been secured, supper is announced. Some, having previously taken their places, are anxiously awaiting the signal to begin. Others, who come later, make a rush for seats at the long table, upon which is neatly arranged a plentiful variety of provisions. Little is said, but much is done. Bacon, beans, bread, game, beefsteaks, preserved apples, butter, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, and sundry other good things, disappear as it were by magic. The company is a strange mixture of classes, II Is :| I 72 MANY LANDS. }ti i wm: officers of the army and navy, lawyers, auc- tioneers, confectioners, doctors, bakers, clerks from public offices, carpenters, cooks, coaclimen, farm-labourers, with a sprinkling of young gen- tlemen, who have never done any thing but S5pend money. Soon, they are all wonderfully restored, by what is there expressively termed a " square meal." Now come the pipe and the chat, both short but vigorous. One fellow tells his tale of a great fight down country, whereupon he is boisterously contradicted by another fellow, who in consequence gets turned out. A youngster late from England holds confidential talk with an old miner, into whose mining-claim he has bought. While in the corner may be seen a sharp-eyed Httle barrister from Canada, considering over a case with his client, which has shortly to be decided before the Chief Justice. The pipe and chat done, blankets are spread on the floor. And, ere long, with packs for pillows, forty or fifty men are lying rolled up side by side, and seeking, by means of sound sleep, strength for the toil of the coming day. Not seldom, in the midst of the strange gathering, is found the quiet but cheery mis- sionary ; and the respect he receives, from even those who have long forgotten the God they once served in quieter days, is certainly striking. But missionaries in gold countries have to be IN THE FAB WEST. 73 very cautious, and to exercise no small amount of common sense. Any thing like intruding would be at once resisted by the miner, who will allow no one to interfere with his liberty. The following scene affords an example of that kind of caution and common sense. On a hot day of the summer of 1864, 1 entered the roadside lious*^ at Pemberton, on wliat is called the "Douglas Fonte." A few English miners were dotted about the room. But by the door sat four Americans, playing at cards, drinking, laughing, and swearing desperately. The noisiest of the party was one " Dutch Bill." At a short distance from the gamblers, stood a thoughtful-looking person, some fifty years of age, making notes, and every now and then looking inquiringly towards the noisy table. The clergyman, for such I found him to be, grew fidgetty as the swearing continued, and at last he said to the card-players, "Will you kindly favour me ?" A tall, sharp-featured man replied, " And pray, sir, what can we do for you?" " I want you," continued the mis- sionary, " to let me join your game at cards." " Certainly," was at once the answer. "But I want you," added their new acquaintance, " to make a rule before I join you, and that is, that none of us shall swear." An appeal was made to Dutch Bill. He gave his consent, and then followed the invitation, " Come along, stranger. ii !! 74 MANY LANDS. I'f Wo agree to your terms." The missionary now gave them a good-natured smile, and said, " Thank you, gentlemen. Wo will play the game this way, if you please. You go on as you are, and I will stand quietly here, and play an outsider." The game did go on, but the swearing almost entirely ceased ; and, when now and then Dutch Bill, in spite of all his care, uttered an oath, it was amusing to hear his companions reprove him, and appeal to the clergyman to see that their rule was properly carried out. I know, some will think the course pursued by the missionary looked like joining in card- playing and swearing. It may be said, that he ought to have taken higher ground. I do not see it, however. Had that clergyman acted otherwise than he did, the Americans would simply have pointed to the house-door, with some such words as these, " A walk out there, sir, will give you an airing, and leave us quiet and comfortable." *-' • As things went, no direct approval was given to card-playing, but, by a little caution mixed with firmness, the swearing was stopped for the time being at least. ■; r •i'.' .'.'■■' V ••••<■ ■,/.> 1 !3t tbc JDic^dings;^ T was in the month of October, 1867, that the tunnel-works belonging to a large mine near a place called Ross, in the Middle Island of New Zea- land gave way, crushing one man and wounding another. 7G MANY LANDS. II •A ! : A message was immediately sent to my house at Hokitika, begging either my fellow- clergyman or myself to come and bury the poor miner. Unforiunately, the letter had been mislaid while coming up the coast, and only reached me two hours before the time appointed for the funeral. However, I made a push for it. Ross is about eighteen miles away, south of Hokitika. There are several rivers to cross, one of which takes half-an-hour in a boat. You get a horse at the other side, and then your road lies along the sea-beach, over several streams that can be forded. At last, in and out some fifteen times of another riv^er called the Totarc, you arrive at the township, which lies four jixiles back from the sea. This river-road iu very beaut *iul, as the river runs down through the forest, and trees shut ycu in on each side. When I got over the Totara for the last time, I had just an hour and a half, to do about thirteen miles of broken riding; but, by the help of my own spurs, a hired horse, and no delays, I did it just in the time. I had not been at Eoss for some while, as Mr. Beaumont takes charge of it. The town is situated on a large cleared space in the heart of the forest, not all flat, but rising in terraces, and enclosed en every side by the mountains, which are completely cov ;red with timbei I found preparations for the funeral going on. AT THE DIGGINGS. 11 \A TLe greater part of the township, which is full of all manner of diggings, machineries for pump- ing, and steam-engines, was moi<_; or less hushed and quiet. The church stands right at the end of the main street, broadside to it, on the highest terrace, with the porcn-door looking down street. I went up there, a,nd, standing at the door in my surplice, waited for the procession. The sight struck me exceedingly. At least 300 men, all diggers, many of them Danes and Swedes, with light blue eyes and yellow hair, dressed with neatness in darkish clothes, came in line up the street. The foremost carried the coffin, which they had made themselves. It was neatly studded with brass nails, and upon it lay three wreaths of beautiful fern leaves and of the full-blossomed white creeper, which is seen in the forest here in spring. I had also two white satin ribbons arranged cross-wise, and was carried by means of white bands, as is usual with a child's coffin. The procession came slowly up to the church, and I went out to meet it. We entered the church together, which soon filled, while crowds stood outside at the open windows. You could not find a more attentive congregation in all England. After this part of the service, we proceeded to the grave-yard on the terrace, which may be seen over the church-roof from the door, and then we buried him. As we stood w M 78 MANY LANDS. i-i :;' II 1.(1 iii I !l Li m round the grave on the steep liillside, the scene was wonderfully impressive. Some five hundred people were tLere, all silent ; below us, the dig- gings and the town, a few flags half-mast high, and work at a standstill ; all around, hills and terraces covered with the boundless forest ; and, over the tree-tops, the sea stretching out into the far distance. A beautiful sunshine lit up every thing with a bright glow. I hardly ex- pected such a scene in thesv^ wild places, where gold-diggers are supposed to be semi-heathen, and utterly careless of the future. ; . The man we buried was a Dane, a sober, hard- working man. After the funeral, his mates came to offer 101. to the church. I was much struck, with the evident fruits of Mr. Beaumont's work amongst those diggers. He had not then personally spoken to one-half of them; yet he was known and recognized as the pastor, to whom they should have recourse in time of trouble. It was pleasant to hear their spokes- man say, "We were afraid, sir, that the letter had miscarried ; buc we waited as long as pos- sible ; for we knew that one or other of you would come." ■ The funeral was hardly over, when the news spread of a second fatal accident having hap- pened. Another man had just been killed, this time through carelessness. He was working in a deep shaft with his mate, and had sent up 1 AT THE DIGGINGS. 79 some logs of wood in a bucket, to those who were at the windlass overhead. Diggers are very careless about their buckets and hooks, and, by some accident, when the bucket and heavy logs were nearly at the top of the shaft, down they came again, killing one man, and knocking the other senseless. The man who fell dead was from Cornwall. • - The next dav, we held his funeral. There must have been more present, even than the day before. And this funeral had its own pecu- liar features. The long procession of men came up the street, singing in genuine Cornish style, and in good harmony, one of Wesley's hymns. They continued to sing, until I met them and led the way into the church. J -ike the Danes and Swedes, they carried their coflBn by hand. After service round the grave, they began another hymn. The words of it were again by Wesley; and the people sung them with expres- sion, at times rising loud and full, and then dying awaj with really exquisite softness. I stood above the great crowc', on the upper side of the hill, and, as the day before, looked down on them. Many of them were standing with tears in their eyto, their faces fixed on the distant sea, as if their thoughts were far away from gold and gold-fields, and wandering back to old scenes and holier associations. I suppose, the crowd remained in that position for nearly a 80 MANY LANDS. quarter of an hour. Some one suggested to me, that I should speak to them. I did so ; but no spoken words could have done more to penetrate the hard crust of a digger's indiffer- ence to religon, than the simple hymn-song and the solemn sight. I spent two days at Eoss. There is, as else- where in New Zealand, a mixture in it of Ger- mans, Danes, Swedes, English, and Irish. But it is a mistake to think they are so reckless. Few, despite their neglect, but have known what it is to attend church or scliool. In short, a digger's idea of what religion ought to be, is much the same as that, which any ordinary Englishman would entertain on the subject. AT THE NEW ZEALANJ5 DIGGINGS. Cfie ilLasit ^billing* TDAEE SAY, most of us have made use of the expression " the last shilHng," without attaching any particular meaning to it. But did you ever think what you would do with your last shilling, supposing you came to it, or how you would get on when it was rpent? Now, I have several times been reduced to my last shilling, in a strange land too, when there were no friends to give or to lend me another; and, I can assure you, it is not at all pleasant to find yourself in such a position. For instance, not many years ago, I was in a small town of Queensland, with only three shillings and threepence in my pocket. I had been waiting there, in the hope of getting employment of some kind ; but, finding it was useless to wait any longer, I made up my mind to go and look for work in the " bush," as the uncultivated parts arc called. Having purchased a little tea, sugar, and tobaccos, to carry with me, I had just a shilling left in m\ pocket. The first day, I went twenty miles, carrying my blankets rolled up across my shoulders. I reached a station in the evening, a II. I i i EOAD-MIKINJ IX AUdrKALTA. >>] THE LAST SHILLING. 83 ■where they gave me a night's lodging. The next morning, I started again, and went thirty miles farther. • ' The country here began to get very wild. The road went up and down through mountain ranges, and it was not easy travelling, it maj, perhaps, have been at the fourth station which I reached, that I entered into an engagement with a " squatter" or settler, to shepherd H; flock of sheep for thirty shilliir • ^^eek, and my rations. Not being used i^ /drt of the country, I asked my new employ oi j ' ore were any blacks, that is, natives, on the farm. " Oh no," he replied, " there has never been one seen here." So I went into the kitchen, to have my supper with the other men. I saw the men winking at one another, when they heard I was engaged, and at last one of them said to me, " i say, mate, do you know why a shepherd is wanted here ?" I f^aid, I did not. " Well," he went on, " the man, who had the flock you are to have, was killed by the blacks three days ago, and no one has been to' look for his body yet." The men went next day, and found that the blacks had tied him to a tree, and burnt him, but whether he had been burnt alive or not, no one could dis- cover. This was not agreeable news. Luckily, I had So I refused to stay signed no agreement. ? J G 2 • r' / 84 MANY LANDS. in that place, tliough I had come to my last shilling. There was no main road beyond this station, only a marked-tree-line leading farther into the country. " ■ . ,• A marked-tree-line is made, by one or more persons marking trees here and there when they ride along, to show the line to be followed from one station to another. In course of time, these lines become roads, from which other marked- tree-lines branch off, as new stations are formed. Once the traffic sets in, a road in Queensland requires no more marking : and, as to trees, if any come in the way, nobody takes the trouble to cut them down. The road winds round them instead, many travellers making trails of their own. However great the disappointment, it was now useless for me to turn back, because I. knew there was nothing to be done on the road behind me. Having carefully collected all the news I could about the stations ahead, 1 JUlaheLl forward, therefore. It is by no means ail easy thing to travel liy one of those marked-tree-lines, and tlio Imrd- ship seems ten times worse when you are alone, and no one to depeiul on but yourself J\Iy first day's stage Avas a long one, about thirty- five miles, to a place called Rononga Creek Station, from whence it was forty miles again I THE LAST SHILLING. 85 to Kangaroo Gully, and tlien twenty-fivo more to the township of Fort Dennis. I had not gone five miles from Rononga Creek, before I lost the track, a serious and often a fatal mishap in the bush. I made my way well enough, till it came to the edge of a great plain, across which I could trace one solitary dray-track for a con- siderable distance. The dray had passed more than a fortnight ago, as I had been told, and the marks it left were not very clear. I went after the track, however, right out into the middle of the plain, hardly lifting my eyes for fear of losing it, when I became aware of a tall dark form, stalking along about a quarter of a mile off. "Black fellow!" thought I. I looked steadily at it for a moment, when I perceived it was only an emu or wild deer, after all. But, in looking, I lost the track. I searched for fully an hour, but could find nothing of it, and, what was far worse, I could not discover the place where I entered the plain. I determined, then, to sit down and have a pipe, before my senses became confused. When T had smoked a while, I thought out a plnTi, wliich I at once put in practice. I had ti()ti(M)d II fifjiall dj*y gully or watercourse, on the edge of tlio plain. 1 followed the course of this downwards, and it at length came to a larger one By following this one down also, I at last reached a good-sized creek with water in it. I knew I 66 ^[ANY LANDS. WH !J should find a human habitation, somewliere on the creek : for water is not plentiful in Queens- land. But which way should I turn, up or down ? Thus undecided, I tossed up my last shilling, " heads " to go up stream, " tails " to go down. Heads it was. .' ., - < i • Up I went, then. By and by, I came to some sheep tracks, and then I felt I was all right. Presently, I saw a flock of sheep quietly feeding, and, soon after that, I heard some one up in a tree repeating Latin poetry to himself. This man I knew must be the shepherd. I do not mean to say, that all the shepherds in Queens- land know Latin or hke poetry; but this one did, and so do a great many more. •• He was very glad to see me, and I stopped with him that night, and in the morning he put me on the road. He directed me to go by the marked-tree-line for about twelve miles, when I should come to another track branching off near a " red gully," which would bring me in about half a mile to an outlying sheep-station, where I could stop for the night. I walked as I thought about four or five miles, when I came to a red gully, that is, a watercourse with red clay banks. This could not be the one, I considered. So I passed it. In about half an hour, I came to another red gully, then to another and another, till I was puzzled. I did not like to leave the main track, 'Mi 4 !> THE LAST SniLLINO. 87 Ir t for fear of being lost again. To add to my in- convenience, the solo of one of my boots got loose, and, doubling frequently under my foot, caused me to stumble several times. At last, I secured it with a strip of leather off my belt. Then I went on again ; and I made up my mind to walk as far as I could that day, sleep out, and get on to some station the next morning. All the country round me was frightfully lonely and desolate. Huge scrubs or forests stretched on all sides, and I came upon plenty of fresh tracks of black fellows. I was unarmed ; but, as they could not know that, I plucked up courage. Once, I frightened the crows and eagle-hawks from a dead bullock, which tho blacks had evidently just killed. They had taken away part of the fat, as is their custom, and left the carcase. I could not help fearing a similar fate, if I fell into their hands. I trudged on, however, keeping my eyes about me. Not that any such precaution would have been of use, had it suitou them to attack me. Indeed, I have no Jryalo, that I had been many times observed by black fellows' eyes, although I could not see them. The natives do not generally show themselves to white men, unless they mean mischief: but, the blacks hereabouts had never been troublesome. Once I passed a black fellow's spear stuck upright in the ground. I could not make out the meaning of that. ,."^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) i 1.0 I.I Ui u 1^ 1^ lii |Z2 III 2.0 1.8 1^ 6" 1.25 IIIIII.4 IIIIII.6 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. M580 (716) 872-4503 V '^ ■^ I j t i QUEEN CHABLOTTE IKDIAN8 FISHING BY TOKCHLIGHT. ''■'I' liiiif'H'", mm *' ■; ';^i .-•^ .■\ ». ,'■•,. -■ -imr.^. > -<> :,...» if- I ■.'.-t jTrom Canatra to ^n'tis(6 Columljia* M n o M lAl M H M M m W M P w o H -«( » i-i o» BEFORE very many years are over, a rougli kind of railroad will be laid, so as to form direct communication by land, from the Dominion of Canada to the British possessions in the North Pacific Ocean. At present, there is a railroad across the North American Conti- nent : but, being all within the territory of the United States, it still makes but a roundabout way from Canada to British Columbia. Until recently, however, the only mode of getting from one to tho other was to go down the Atlantic as far as the Isthmus of Panama, and, after crossing that isthmus, to go up the Pacific along the coast of the United States, till British Columbia was reached. And many prefer that road now. , Not very long since, it was my business to make the journey. So, having bid good-bye to friends in Canada, I hastened overland to New York, there to catch the first steamer for Aspinwall, or Colon as the natives call it, a port of Central America. , r: H 98 MANY LANDS. With considerable difficulty, owing to the great rush of gold hunters for Cariboo, I secured a berth, by paying highly for it. The steamer was an old one, of about 1500 tons burden, and carried 2000 passengers. Under British laws, 1 may mention, such a steamer would not have been allowed to carry more than 800. The crowd on board caused us to obtain but slight comfort or accommodation. Huddled together for eight days and twenty hours, however, we at last reached Aspinwall, 2338 miles distant. Glad indeed we were to get on shore for a few hours. At Aspinwall, we had to pass over to the Pacific, by crossing the Isthmus of Panama on a railway forty-seven miles long. When this railway was being constructed some years ago, ague and other fevers raged terribly. Every yard of rail was said to have been laid at the cost of a human life. Even now, the bones of the victims may be seen jutting out from under the railway sleepers, and bleaching in the sun. Fortunately for those who now travel, those ma- lignant fevers have wholly ceased. And well it is so ; for, crossing the Isthmus of Panama is the most delightful and interesting part of the entire voyage. The chief object of note tc a i:.i;i'anger, on landing there, is the deep green fo*.:age of the cocoa-nut tree and palms. Pineapples sell at twopence each, and beauties they are. All the I FROM CANADA TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. 99 tavern or store-keopers keep monkeys at their doors. Turkey-buzzards seem as common as crows in Englanl. A plentiful supply of delicious fruit is ah v ays to be had from the natives, in that ] tnd of vegetables. At every stoppage of the train, the women and chil- dren crowd into the carriages crying, " Ba- nanas, my dear," " Oranges or pine-apples, my dear." Wonderful is the contrast, which the Isthmus presents to the eye of a stranger from northern countries. Every point of the compass dis- closes magnificent sights of leaf, blossom, and luxuriant forest life. No trace of the soil is to be seen. Lowland and highland are the same. Mountain rises upon mountain in graceful majesty, covered to their very tops with every variety of flowers, fruit, and tree. The loveliness of nature, as seen there, is indescribable. She seems decked out in her richest garb, to welcome the adventurous traveller from the north. The thickets of green sugar-canes, the clusters of tall white lilies, wntli the immense trunks of mango-trees and sycamore, clothed with the densest leafage, and basking in an everlasting sunshine, make the Panama country look like a part of paradise. r ' Having arrived at Panama itself, we were immediately conveyed on board the California steamer, anchored about two miles from the H 2 w 100 MANY LANDS. shore in the Bay of Panama. She was a superb four-decker, American built, and much less crowded than our first vessel, though we had 200 other passengers, who had come out direct from England by the West India Mail Steamer. During this part of the voyage, we kept close in towards the Mexican shore, stopping only once at Acapulco, before we entered the so-called Golden Gate, which protects the harbour of San Francisco. The passage from Panama to San Francisco is nearly always very pleasant. There was a great difierence, however, in the habits and character of the passengers. Many, like my- self, seemed to be travelling in pursuit of health, or for the acquisition of knowledge; but, most of them braved the dangers of the deep, and endured the privations of the pas- sage, for the sole purpose of amassing riches in the gold fields of California or British Columbia. Full 300 of our fellow-passengers were Canadians : and most interesting was it to observe, how differently they behaved them- selves from the Americans on board. The- American passengers, seemingly,had no religious feeling or any devout impressions. Day after day, they would get up some quarrel or other about a mere trifle, whilst the Canadians proved themselves agreeable, cheerful, and gay, yet respectful in their language and demeanour, like i. I FEOM CANADA TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. 101 men wlio could be both brotherly to their race and mindful of their God. Thirteen days and eighteen hours ended the second voyage, when the passengers going on to British Columbia landed for shipment in another steamer, and the remainder to settle in California. We had four days to wait in San Francisco, with its bustling population, gathered from all countries, and running wild after gold. The day we arrived was the anniversary of the fire- brigades. The firemen and engines turned out magnificently in Portsmouth-square. The bril- liant silver and brass mountings of the engines, with their profusion of flags and wreaths of natural flowers, looked dazzling and imposing to a stranger. Frisco, as the San Franciscans love to call their city for shortness, is a flourish- ing city, and well worth the delay of a few •days before proceeding by steamer to British Columbia. Nothing special occurred, for the rest of the voyage up the Pacific. Suffice to say, that another five days landed us in a conve- nient harbour called Esquimalt, in Vancouver Island, and three miles distant from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. We were thus somewhat under a month on the journey. The afternoon was calm and clear, as, next day, I walked up to the crest of the hill, forming the 102 MANY LANDS. centre of the racecourse, to gaze on the pic- turesque scenes of Vancouver. Southward, washing the base of the hill, are the Straits of St. Juan-de-Fuca, with its pebbly shores, bounded on the north by Vancouver, and on the south by the high and snowy mountain chains of the Oregon Territory. It was a sight, which, once seen, can never be forgotten. I felt amply repaid, for the hardships attending the long voyage to this glorious spot. The climate of the whole of British Columbia, but particularly of Vancouver Island, is very delightful. It resembles the South of Scotland, but with a much purer atmosphere. Any body can foresee, that, at no distant date, the Island will become a perfect garden of Eden. The soil abounds in forests of fine timber, rich plains, extensive fisheries, and large deposits of coal, copper, and other minerals. Vancouver is about 250 miles long, and fi:*om 50 to 70 broad. The chief timbers are the pine, spruce, red and white oak, cedar, poplar, maple, willow, and yew. I measured many of the pine-trees, and found the average to be five feet in diameter by 300 feet in height, all perfectly straight, and without joints. There are lofty hills and mountain peaks in differeRu parts of the island, some of them splendidly wooded to their very summits, but others craggy, barren, precipitous, and full of dark caverns and frightful ravines, which add FilOM CANADA TO BRITISE COLUMBIA. 103 to the wondrous beauty and grandeur of the scenery of Britisli Columbia. It is a profitable/as well as a beautiful, dwell- ing-place. More than 100,000 laen could find immediate homes in it, and live by the gun and fishing-net, and by cultivating its productive soil. In fact, it wants one thing alone, namely, convenient and safe harbours for large saihng- vessels. There are, so far, only two such harbours : but, with an enterprising population and assistance from the mother-country, this difficulty could be easily overcome. Here, then, is a happy home for the emigrant, who has courage to leave the shores of Old England, and face the dangers of a journey to the Far West. NOBTH-WEST AMEEICAN INDIANS LTNE-FISHINO. -::irmJ'vn~0i! •Titu; vf.'/t> J>out6 American Snlrians; at WBovk* THERE is a simple contrivance in common use, both in-doors and out-of-doors, among the Indians of Demerara, on the north-east ■coast of South America. They call it by the name of barbracut. It consists of a frame or platform of sticks and spars of different shapes -and dimensions, according to the purpose in- tended. In the house, it serves as a table, dresser, plate-rack, and meat-safe, and it is sometimes suspended from the roof instead of being supported on legs. The Indians always have one over their hearth, and on it they keep their cooked vic- tuals, and anything that ants, flies, cockroaches, or other destructive insects would be likely to touch. 'By means of it and the smoke from live embers, they manage to keep off the vermin, which swarm in Demerara. As shelves for holding household articles in ordinary use, the barbracut is better protection than solid boards, both on account of the damp- ness of the climate, and the convenience that a board furnishes to snakes, or other crawling animals, to crouch and hide themselves. The Indians have no salt : but they preserve their game by the help of barbracuts. Having 106 MANY LANDS. cut up their meat, they lay the joints upon the barbracut, and then put fire underneath, and so dry and smoke the pieces slowly. This process is called barbracutting, and it enables them to keep the meat for a considerable time. But the most striking use of the barbracut is out-of-doors. The Indians employ it for three most important operations of their life — fishing, hunting, and felling timber. In certain seasons, they shoot fish with bows and arrows from a barbracut. At such times, travelling on the rivers in Demerara, you may see in every little bay or pond where the water is shallow and still, a number of straight wands tied together, about two feet above the water, and not unlike a gipsy's cooking-pot. Perched upon this at night, and armed with his bow and arrows, and his lantern or torch, the Indian quietly shoots the fish, as they come up to see what the light means. The arrows are six feet long, made of a reed very strong and light, with a small iron point. The archer is waited on by a boy, who darts forward to seize their prey with each clang of the bcw, as if he too had been shot out of the same string. For hunting, the Indians use a rougher and more substantial kind of structure, and enlist, besides, the services of a large tree. When an Indian observes in any spot fresh marks of any kind of night-walking game, he raises a barbra- SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS AT WORK. 107 cut against the stem of whatever tree best com- mands the pasture-ground or track of the game. This barbracut is formed of three or four stout spars lashed to each other and to the tree, one or two being planted in the ground, and the rest set upright for the perch or stand. Altogether, it is fifteen or even twenty feet high ; and, if the weather be showery, the hunts- man takes the precaution of tying a couple of broad palm leaves against the tree, so as to form a covering over his perch, and shelter him from the rain, less, however, for comfort than to protect his ammunition. Having made all his arrangements, the huntsman comes in the moonlight, or an hour before dawn if there be no moon, with his gun and boy, mounts his perch, leaving the boy hidden at the foot of the tree, and is thus sure of his game. In felling timber, the cleverness of these people, and the great strength of the South American trees well appear. The trees, that fetch the best price, are exceedingly hard at the root; hence^ an axe will hardly touch them, many of them having huge spurfi several feet up the trunk. The woodman, therefore, has to begin his work at a height of twelve, fifteen, or even twenty feet, from the ground. With four strong spars and a few yards of good bush-rope, all of which he finds handy, he soon rears his barbracut. The two longer spars are lashed 108 MANY LANDS. together near their top, and set up, so as to face the tree at a proper distance from it. The two shorter ones are lashed to the tree itself, one on each side, and carried out so as to rest where the other two cross them. They are all then tied strongly together. On the top of all, the woodman stands some eighteen or twenty feet from the ground, as firm as a rock, and with his huge axe cuts away with all his force at the tree. He first works on the side towards which the tree hangs, and, after cutting to a certain depth, shifts his barbracut round to the other side. As the tree begins to fall, it slopes away from him, whereupon he slips down from his perch, and reaches the ground before the tree. The tree does not fall alone : for, being tied to all its neighbours by endless bush-ropes or vines of all sizes, it often drags down several trees with it. So, the crash is both loud and long, and he falls with the dignity becoming a king. Perhaps ; this kind of work will be thought dangerous. But the Indians never meet with an accident. The Negroes, however, who are much heavier, and far less careful about their work, do occasionally get hurt, and are sometimes killed by a fall from their barbracut. The danger lies, in their tumbling on the stump below. From these uses of the barbracut, it will be seen how clever the Indians are, in contriving means to live in their rough savage ways. /■mt^ '(W/. ,.?f e * ,V 'i « ■; i-\ ■' r <*, perils: m tf)t WRmtvm^^. DBMERARA being a very hot and damp country, fruit-trees and forest-trees grow there with the most extraordinary quickness, and so thickly as to rei.der traveUing or even walking about no easy matter. For the same reason, it is the home of large, vicious snakes, of ferocious wild beasts, and of horrible reptiles of various sorts. One day, during my late residence there, I wanted some animal to breakfast on, when I caught sight of some birds in the trees overhead. Wliile peering through the trees to get a shot, I happened to tread on something uncomfort- able, that caused me to look down. And there, a foot before me, was a snake of very poisonous nature, gliding slowly across my path. He did not see me, and, if I had not chanced to see him, my next step might have brought my foot right upon him. My first impression was, to blow him to pieces with my gun : but, then, my game would have been lost. So I let him go, and my birds got away too. - • . Another time, I was following a bird through the bush, and came within a few yards of a no MANY LANDS. n monstrous busli -master, wliicli is the most deadly of all tlie snakes, and whose bite tliey say- always kills. He was right in my track, coiled up asleep under the trunk of a huge tree that CV: IN A DEAIEJiAKA FOIiEST. had fallen long ago. I did let lly at him without hesitation, and blew him almost in half. But he managed to wriggle himself quite under the tree, and so disappointed me. He must have PERILS IN THE WILDERNESS. Ill been about five feet long. These horrible monsters infest certain places more than others. The natives are desperately afraid of them, and declare that these snakes will attack any one, without being provoked, and give chase, and even fly I know not how far to inflict their bite. This seems too much, however. Certainly, as far as my experience goes, any snake will avoid you, if he is aware of your approach. The danger is, in treading upon him, when he is asleep. But then, if you are smart, you will be clear of him before he has time to rub his eyes, that is, if you are barefoot. If you were booted, you would not feel him till he bit your leg. Of course, he will wake up m^' \ sharper, under the sole of a boot, than under the sole of a foot. So, it is safest to walk the bush barefoot. Hun- dreds do so every day, and never get bit, though snakes abound. The people, who suffer most, are the poor Buckines, or Indian women, when they go out to weed their fields or provision - grounds. The bites are sometimes fatal. The patient alwiys suffers extremely, and for a long time. Possiblv. the remedies used are worse than the poison. I knew a poor lad, about fourteen years old, who was bitten by a snake in the calf of his leg. He lay in a very sickly state, for more than a twelvemonth. The sore was angry and painful, and became very large, and his leg wasted away wofully. He recovered, 112 MANY LANDS. if! however, sufficiently to get about. But, his leg is bad still, after three years, and will probably never be quite well. I once had a laugh at the expense of a man, who was turned out of his canoe by a snake. I was pulling home leisurely with my boys in our own canoe, when we saw a man in another canoe on the opposite side of the river, under the trees, levelling his gim at something overhead. We rested on our oars, to see if he brought down his game. He fired, and instead of a bird, down came a great snake right into his canoe. He leapt overboard, gun and all, leaving the snake in possession. We watched him land safely, and then pulled on, la,ughing at his attempts to coax the snake out of the canoe. But, shortly after, a similar thing happened to myself. I was on the same river again, in a canoe with two of my boys, one paddling at the bow, the other at the stern, myself in the mid- dle. We saw a snake, swimming across the river ahead of us ; and we determined to cut him off, for the fun of the thing. So, putting on a spurt, we soon brought the head of the canoe across his nose. One of my lads stood up, and made a blo^ at him with his paddle ; but he was a clumsy fellow., and only made the little canoe lurch, till she shipped water, and took the snake aboard. Down he came upon us, with his head as high as if he had been the PERILS IN THE WILDERNESS. 113 admiral. This made mo jump up, but I had not time to hit him before he passed over my bare foot. The boy at the stern was nimble, however, and, standing on his seat, killed the brute with his paddle as ho came along in the bottom of the canoe. He was a poisonous snake, but not a deadlv one. Next time we saw a snake in the water, we thought it better to let him have his swim unmolested. The Demerara river has alligators too : but they are generally small, though big enough to swallow a large drake or oven a baby. In the Essequibo river, they are larger and almost as bad as crocodiles. I once saw one in the Demerara, which the Indians had killed and cut up ; for they eat them occasionally. The leg was as big as a large leg of mutton ; so that the owner of it must have been very large-sized. A -sad thing happened, not long after I removed from the river district. A woodcutter went out in his canoe with a dog and gun, c ^rrying his two little boys with hira. One was fi^ 3, and the other three years old. The father shot some game on the bank, and it ran into a hole in the root of a tree. So he pushed his ■canoe ashore, and took his axe to cut the bird -out of its hole. The two little boys were left in the canoe. After a bit, the younger one went ashore to play on the bank. When presently I 114 MANY LANDS. the father came back, the younger boy could nowhere be found. His brother could give no account of him, having never left the canoe. Having searched in vain, the father went home, and mustered all the people and Indians about the place, and took them to scour the bush, feeling sure that a tiger had taken his little one. But they sought him all that day and the next, to no purpose. Not a trace of the poor little fellow could they find, nor a sign, either, of any thing like a tiger. There was an Indian settlement, hard by ; and no tiger, the Indians declared, had been about of late. They were right, no doubt. Had a tiger been the culprit, he would certainly have paid the penalty with his life. Wliat, then, had become of the poor little boy ? Some said, that a bushmaster snake had taken him, others that a great eagle must have pounced upon him, and eaten him in the trees. And it was possible; for the Demerara eagles are immensely large and powerful. I myself have found bones of considerable size on stumps of trees, that have been cut ten or twelve feet above the ground. Possibly, a boc. constrictor might have hugged him ; for some of those monsters are twenty feet long. • My strong opinion ^.s, however, that an alli- gator seized the poor child, and had him under water, before he could cry out. ,, Thus, when the climate of any country ia PERIi.3 IN THE WILDERNESS. 115 mucli hotter than England, it may have more beautiful scenes and objects to look at, but it usually contains also such a host of beasts and reptiles, as to create great discomfort and anxiety, and make it an unpleasant place to live in. ON THE ESSrQUmO KIVEB. I 2 .m'rf.U''iy:'tU . 1. •:J -'''^^'i'^r %\it on \X)t ilaura^or Coasst f> LABRADOR is the country whicli lies along the north-east coast of British North Ame- rica, being separated from the Dominion of Canada by a desert of snow, ice, and unknown forest-land, and from the Island of Newfound- land by the Straits of Belle Isle. When I first approached the coast of Labrador from the sea, the entire absence of any thing green in nature struck me very forcibly. Though it was summer-time, I saw no green trees, no green fields, not a shrub even, nothing but barren rocks. The very sea itself is frozen over from December to April or May, and huge icebergs may be floating about in the summer season of the year. One would scarcely expect, to meet with any residents in such a place. Yet, hamlets are to bo found in almost every bay, and on many of the larger islands, containing on the whole a considerable population. .,_ A few Indians still survive on the Labrador coast, of a once hardy race: but the race has almost died out. The white inhabitants of that desolate land may be divided into two classes, those who are born and bred there, and 118 MANY LANDS. those who come from Newfoundland in the summer, and hve partly in small schooners and partly in the rude mud or wooden huts, which they erect for shelter in the brief fishing season. During the long winter, the inhabitants do not exceed 900 ; although, during the fishing months of June, July, August, and September, they frequently number as much as 10,000. The fishermen, who either flit from bay to bay, or take up their quarters on the most projecting points of the shore, lead a life of ceaseless labour and continual hardship. In winter, at daylight on Monday morning, they embark in their frail boats with nets, and remain away from home till the following Saturday-night, thankful, if braving cold and rain, they have been able to snatch a few hours' sleep each night, on the rocks which happen to lie most convenient to their fishing ground. Their homes are rude huts, half open to wind and weather, and appa- rently provided with but few comforts, often dirty and untidy, never neat and clean. In the way of food, they only take enough to supply the bare necessities of nature. The summer fisherman seems to have still less comfort, and certainly less rest. He counts the hardships of the fishing season an nothing, so long as he makes a good voyage. And, if you suggest any change in his dwelling or habits, he will tell you it is only for the summer. --*- LIFE ON THE LABEADOK COAST. 119 A visit to Battle Harbour, the chief landing- place on the coast, is no pleasure even in the height of summer. Great cruel reefs stretch around it, the white water breaks over them all day long, and the icebergs sail by through the whole year, chilling the wind, so that it is seldom warm near the water. Fogs are frequent, and the roughness of the ocean is terrible to unaccustomed eyes. Towards the end of October, the look of the place changes to worse and ' rorse ; for the southern vessels are returning, and wni soon leave the harbour quite empty. The last whale- ship has sailed for Engl^^nd, the fishing is over, and even the native fisherman quits the coast with his family, and retires up the deep bays, which every where mark the shore. The dwellers in Battle Harbour and its neighbourhood seek the forests ot St. Lewis Inlet. Though Labrador has no trees on its barren shore, there are splendid forests farther up country. This inlet of the sea presents a grand example of northern island scenery. The line of the landward, as the fisherman calls the sea-coast, winds about up and down, until two mighty rivers pour themselves into the Arctic Ocean. Inland, the whole surrounding scene is one dense mass of forest, quite still in winter, save the perpetual murmur of the forest, or the rush of a flying squirrel, or, in the evening, the dull cry of the 120 MANY LANDS. white owl. The fishermen settle in groups of three or four, in what are there called tilts, that is, houses full of crannies and clefts, and warmed by an immense stove. They choose the thickest woods, and during winter cut fuel for summer use or for sale, build boats, sledges, and make rackets or oars. If they go travelling, to visit, or to buy provisions, it is either on a comitique, or on snow-shoes o^ rackets. The comitique is a low sledge, raised from the ground on runners, shod with ivory or whalebone, and barred by boards looped across the runners. It is often fourteen feet long, a,nd nine inches from the ground. Dogs are used to draw it, fourteen being considered a full team. I remember going a journey of twelve miles, to bring home a frost-burnt man. An Indian driver and a servant accompanied me. The dogs were in good condition, great lusty fellows, baying like a pack of hounds, and moving so fast, that the dry powdery snow flew round us like dust on a turnpike road. A beautiful and intelligent-looking animal, the swiftest of the team, was harnessed as leader, and led the way like a spirited leading horse in a four-in-hand coach. She kept constantly turning her head back, and watching the slightest motion of the driver. At the word " tk" she would start off to the right, and " arrar'* would send her off to the left. The greatest danger is that of being LIFE ON THE LABEADOR COAST. 121 frost-burnt, especially if there is any wind. My nose and cheek were frequently discovered by the attentive Indians to be turning white, and had to be recovered, by rubbing snow on them. Sometimes, however, the dogs are very savage and unruly. An old servant, who went out one night, not fearing the dog-team of which he had charge, although like all Labrador dogs they were loosed at night, was devoured by his own team, the animals not knowing him in his night- cap. The driver, even with his ten-feet whip, has little or no command over his dogs, when they are well advanced on a journey and are hungry. There is a woman in Battle Harbour, who relates how she barely escaped with her life from such a team. When her husband was sick in the winter, some twenty-five miles away, she sent for medicine, and was daily expecting it by the public dog-sledge or comitique. At length, she walked out into the bay, to see if there were any signs of its arrival. She heard the sound of dogs, and, presently, round a project- ing wood the team swept into view. She, being from Newfoundland, and unused to the dogs, imprudently ran to meet them. " Arrar, arrar," cried the driver, and off they went to the right. The poor woman saw this, and thought the driver had forgotten to call. She attempted to stop them, when the dogs caught sight of her. O t— I hi LIFE ON THE LABRADOR COAST. 123 O o 'A 1—1 'A With a loud bark, they redoubled tlieir speed, despite the threats and coaxing of the driver, and, springing upon her, they knocked her down. The Indian driver then took his heavy-handed whip, flung himself over the body of the woman, and beat them off, but not before she had re- ceived thirty bites on different parts of her body. The terrible snow-drift, if it comes down in a sudden storm upon travellers, often causes the people of Labrador to lose their dogs, and not unfrequently their own lives. Two men, journey- ing from Chateau to Battle Harbour, were over- taken by a storm and fierce wind. They were an Indian and an Englishman, and, when within seven miles from home, the Indian fell off the cart. He was lifted on again, by his companion : but, soon, he could only be kept in his seat, by being lp?hed to it with sealskin thongs. He was frozen dead, on reaching Battle Har- bour. There are numberless stories of this kind. On such occasions, the lives of a travel- ling party seem to be saved entirely by the dogs, who run at full speed through the pitch darkness and sweeping drift, as if they too felt the terrible danger of their situation, most frequently bringing their master in safety to his home again. ., ,,,,.,; , A fisherman told me, however, that once his dogs were at fault in a fearful snow-storm. After resigning himself to their care lor four or 124 MANY LANDS. t ^ve hours, he began to judge, from the heaving and groaning of the ice over which ho was passing, that they had carried him out to sea. He stopped the team, therefore, and wrapped himself up to sleep on the ice. And so it turned out. On the following morning, which rose bright and clear and calm after the storm, he saw Battle Island in the blue distance far behind him, and made all haste to return there. If he had not been sharp enough to stop in time, he and his dogs would soon have plunged headlong into the ocean, and probably would never have been heard of again. The storms are often still more dreaded by foot-travellers. Yet the snow-shoes enable a man to walk through the deepest drifts, and men are always moving from place to place in this manner. This short account will give my readers an idea of life on the Labrador coast. Strange as it may seem, these dangers and hardships, ter- rible as they are in reality, do not appear half so terrible or trying to those who actually endure them, as they do to those who only hear of them through a story. Still, the Englishman may well be thankful, "that his lot is not cast in a land so utterly waste and dreary. OJLOERT AKQ RIVINGTON, FRIMTSBS, ST. JOUK'b SQUARE) LONBOV. ^