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H3 LONDON: ' Printed b.v Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. ^^''/CZ CONTENTS ov THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. Nova Scotia-Description of the Country-Fertaity of the SoU-Vegetation-The Overland Route-Windsor -Splendid Scenery-Cape Blomidon-The Village of Grand.pr6 - Longfellow's " Evangeline " -Deficient means of Communication— Immense Tracts of Forest— The Hemlock Spruce-The White Pine-Old Men's Beards-The Maple-The Moose Bush-Fires in the Woods -Cariboo Barrens --The Indian Cup -The Hackmatack-Blueberry Barrens-Wild Gooseberries —The Food of the Nova Scotian Bear— The Mayflower —The Sweet Fern— The Indian Summer. . 1—26 VUl CONTENTS. CHAPTER 11. The Aborigines of Nova Scotia— The Micmacs — Averse- ues3 to Civilization — Occupation of the Indians — Dress — Genera] Appearance — The Indian Hunter — Difficulty of Progression in the Woods — Creeping the Moose- Working the Yard — The Milecete Indians — Differences of Language — The Annual Conference — Traditions. 26—41 CHAPTER III. Animals of the British Provinces — The ^Moose — The Carriboo — ^Habits, &c. — ^The Black Bear — Their Love of Plunder — How to Spend the Winter — Bear-traps — The Grey Wolf— The Fox— The " Lucifer"— Beavers — Wanton Destruction — The Otter — Minks and Musk- rats— Uses of the Skin — The Canadian Porcupine — The Quills employed by the Indians — Nova Scotian Game— The American Woodcock — Snipe — The Birch Partridge— The American Robin — Cockney Sportsmen — Abundance of Sport in Nova Scotia. . . 42 — 69 CHAPTER IV. Arrival at Bathurst— Canoe Voyage to Fredericton — Arrival at Dalhousie-^Chaleurs Bay — Scotch Farms — The Faiiy River — Tracadigash — ^A fine Salmon River —A Coachman a Sheriff's Officer— Campbell Town — The Restigouche — The Mission— The Indian Camp-^ McLeod's Hotel— Passing the shoals— Poling the CONTENTS. IX 'se- ■es3 ilty ices ms. -41 rhe ove 9 — 'ers sk- 3 — ian rch len 69 er Qe Canoe — Hard Work — Harry's Squaw — Mr. Frazer's Farm — Cordial Welcome— A Magniiicent View — The Matapediac — A Morning's Fishing — "Dry Outs"— Good Sport — ^Playing a Salmon— The Pesobsicol— Abundance of Grain 70-91 CHAPTER V. Departure from Mr. Frazer's— Kindness of the Family— A Dinner in the Woods — Fine Prospect— Dead Timber — TheNigger'sRaftingGround — Miles' Shanty— Salmon Spearing by Night — Camping by Night — Fish Ducks— A Lucky Escape — Skill of the Indians — Clearuig the Rapids — Grindstone Nook — Fried Ducks and Fat Pork — Wild Onions — Heavy Rain — The Ground Hemlock —The Cross Points— Slow Progress— Wild Pigeons— A Yankee Settler-** White Eye"— Trout Fishing- Smoked Salmon— The " Ranger"— The Devil's Half- acre— The " Ground Plum"— The Belted Kmg-Fisher— The Canoe Swamped — Repairing — The Last House on the Rcstigouche. 92 — 131 CHAPTER VI. New Brunswick Lumberers — The Kedgewicke River — A Carriboo seen — Lovely Scenery on the Rcstigouche — White Fish — A Poor Breakfast — Choke Cherries — Trou- blesome FKes — The Little Forks — The Canoe tracked —The Beaver Rat— A "Jam" in the River— The Lumberers again — The Waagan — A Substitute for VOL. I. b X CONTENTS. Coffee — A covey of Partridges — More Jaras-^Tlie Portage Road — Numbers of Rabbits — Mr. McLeocl — Chances of Starvation — Tlie St. John — French Acatliaus —Bitter Prospects 114—139 CHAPTER VII. The Grand Falls — The Portage Road— Shattered Logs— The Cascades — A Natural Tunnel — Circular Basins — Action of the Water— The Town of St. John— A Sad iccident — Bitter Beer — The Rapide des Femines — Ducks and Wild Pigeons — The Arestook — Intoxicated Indians — Night's rest disturbed — The Arestook Falls — Wild Scenery— The Boundary Line — Yankee Timber — The Tobique — Copper and Lead — Indian Settlement — Tobique — The Electric Telegraph — Tow Boats — Provisions for the Lumberers — Gold Found — Wood- stock — The Meductic Rapids — A Dangerous Passage — Fredericton — Departure of the Indians. 140 — 159 CHAPTER VIII. Modes of Killing Moose — Hunting in the Fall— Calling the Moose— Anecdote of a Haligoniau Cockney — Dangerous Sport — A Tussle with a Moose — Creeping Moose — The Moose-Yard — Joe Cope — A Day's Sport- ing — Boy Jeem — A Kettle of Soup — Indian Account of the Origin of the Moose — Joe and the Whitemen — Indian extravagance — Depth of Snow — ^Running Moose CONTENTS. XI down — Snaring Moose — Moose Traps — Inefficaey of Legal Measures — The Halifax Protection Society — Gradual Extinction of the Moose. . . IGO — 192 CIUPTER TX. The Monarch of the Forest — Origin of the word " Moose" — Habits — General Food of the Moose — Mouffle Soup —The •' Bell"— Shedding the Horns— BuU Moose in the Calling Season — Mode of Fighting — The Moose in Winter — Domesticated Moose — Experiments made by the Author — Unsuccessful Result — Tameness of a Moose Calf — A Moose suckled by a Cow — Moose Trained to Draw a Sledge — Moose exclusively found in Eastern America — The Reindeer of America. 193 — 211 CHAPTER X. The Indian Hunter — Preparations for Starting — The Start — Pleasures of Sleighing — Lodgings for the Night — Description of Halifax "Weather — The Red Bridge — An Indian Camp — Carriboo Tracks — Crossing a Lake — Uses of a Blanket — Ship Harbour Lake — Fixing the Camp — A Night Alarm — ^Violent Storm — ^Falluig Trees — The Gaspereau — Paul's Camp — The Big Lake — Abundance of Fish — A Disappointment. . 212 — 235 CHAPTER XL Change in the Weather — Smelt catching — A Curious Bait — Marcli through the Woods — A Natural Bridge — Creeping a Moose — Voices of the Night — Kindling a xu CONTENTS. Fire — The Fish Lake — Carriboo Tracks — Imliaii Sagacity— The Nova Scotiau Wooda— The Blucjays— A Shot at an Otter — Screaming ^loose-Birds — The First Moose killed 230—259 ii! CHAPTER XII. A Cure for Indigestion — Plenty of Game — A Woniulcd Moose— Follo^ving the Trail— Death of the ^loose — Cutting np — Slacking tiie Carcase — A Haul of Fish — Hares caught in a Snare — A Snug Lodging — The Pipe of Kcpose — A Snooze in the Woods — Unexpected Visitor — An Exciting Situation — Two Moose killed— The Hand Sled— The Indian Coutcau de Cliasse— Col- lecting the !Meat — Fish Eagles — Substitute for a Pipe — Last night in Camp — Return to Halifax. 2G0 — 290 CHAPTER XIII. Nova Scotian Lakes — Commencement of Fly-Fishiug — A Professional Angler — Margaret's Bay Road — Spruce Beer — A Rock a-head — A Tussle with a Trout — Pitch- ing the Camp — Islands in the Lake — A Merry ]\[cal. 291- 30i. SPORTING ADVENTURES III THE NEW WORLD. CHAPTER I. Nova Scotia — Description of the Country — Fertility of the Soil — Vegetation — The Overland Route — Windsor — Splendid Scenery — Cape Bloraidon — The Village of Grand-pre — Longfellow's " Evangeline " — Deficient means of Communication — Immense Tracts of Forest— The Hemlock Spruce— The White Pine— Old Men's Beards — The Maple — The Moose Bush — Fires in the Woods — Cariboo Barrens — The Indian Cup — The Hackmatack — Blueberry Barrens — Wild Gooseberries — The Food of the Nova Scotian Bear — The Mayflower — The Sweet Fern — The Indian Summer. Nova Scotia is a peninsula situated at the south-eastern extremity of the British pos- sessions in North America. Including Cape VOL. I. ! I 2 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Breton, from which island it is only sepa- rated by a narrow strait — the Gut of Canso, — the province is somewhat over three hun- dred miles in length, and of an average breadth of seventy miles. It is joined to New Brunswick by an isthmus only ten miles broad. Though the nearest and most accessible to Europe of the British provinces, Nova Scotia is but partially cleared and settled, and is still open to the appellation of a young country. This is the result, partly, of unfounded pre- judice, and, partly, of its very contiguity to the mother country : the restless tide of emi- gration flowing much farther, to the broader and less peopled wilds of the Canadas. Certainly, the traveller or casual passenger through Halifax, one who has landed there on his way from Europe to Canada, or the United States, and perhaps been a few miles into the country out of curiosity, might leave DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 3 the capital of Nova Scotia with a very poor and erroneous opinion of the fertility, ro- mantic beauty, and internal resources, de- veloped or undeveloped, of the province; though gratified by the manners, air of con- tentment, and hospitality evinced by its inha- bitants. He would take it for granted, fiom the sterility and primitive appearance of the coun- try in the neighbourhood of its capital, that the soil of Nova Scotia was barren and irre- claimable, and that the sombre branches of stunted evergreens waved everywhere over huge irremoveable granite boulders. And his conclusions, though wrong, would have been justly deduced from appearances around Halifax. He finds few evidences of trade with the interior, though he sees great bustle going on at the numerous wharfs which jut out into the harbour; and he probably puts down in his notes : — B 2 il'J i!:ii ^iiii' 4 SPORTING ADVENTURES. " Nova Scotia — a miserable country — in- capable of cultivation. Its inhabitants, how- ever, are very courteous and open-hearted, and seem to make fortunes by exporting salt fish to the West Indies." but let our traveller change his mind, and, instead of continuing his sea voyage to Boston, take the overland route through Nova Scotia to Annapolis, with the intention of crossing the Bay of Fundy, en route for Canada, or the States. For nearly forty miles from Halifax, he will maintain his former opinions, and fancy that his notes have been accurate. But on nearing the town of Windsor, what a glorious panorama is unfolded to his view ! What a breadth of cultivated landscape appears ])efore him ! The gloomy pine and stunted spruce are now no longer seen, except in small copses, ornamentally shading the broad meadows. Herds of cattle wander through 4 I 4 I ! WINDSOR. the grass) j lains; the fields of grain being protected from their incursions by substantial snake-fences. Windsor is a neat town, composed like Halifax of wooden houses, neatly built, and painted white. Many families of wealthy Nova Scotians reside in this town, which is prettily situated at the junction of the river Avon, with an arm of the Bay of Fundy, called the basin of Minas. The tide here rises and falls more than forty feet, and at low tide the ships loading or unloading at the wharfs may be seen reposing on soft red mud. From Windsor to Annapolis, the western road runs through a broad alluvial valley, « watered by several picturesque rivers, and hemmed in on either side by two mountain chains, which run parallel to each other for nearly one hundred miles — called the north and south mountains. I ' I! '\ FIRE IN THE WOODS. 19 a desert waste covered with charred and bleached stems and calcined rocks. Nothing can be conceived productive of a more dreary feeling than a walk through these burnt woods. Not a spot of verdure can be detected, and the gaunt stems stand- ing firmly in their places, denuded of bark^ and their ashy hue, here and there, variegated with a patch of black, give rise to the idea that one is walking on the face of a destroyed world, the use of which has been for ever forbidden to man. Immense numbers of wild raspberries spring up in these burnt woods, with numerous other briars, growing from the tangled masses, on which may be seen the bright pink flowers of the fire-weed. Even the woodpecker seldom visits the scathed trees, whose wood is hard as ada- mant. The other description of barren is of a much more pleasing appearance. Situated 20 SPORTING ADVENTURES. in the heart of the forest, and surrounded by the woods as by a wall, lie these little plains, covered with a soft and often swampy car- peting of mosses and lichens, which from their being the favourite feeding grounds of the American rein-deer, have obtained the name of Carriboo Barrens, or Bogs. In the moister parts of these barrens, may be seen the vase-shaped leaves of that curious and beautiful plant the Indian Cup {Sarra- cenia purpurea). The leaves remind one of tall slender urns or vases — relics of the classic ages. In the spring, they are of bright green, intersected with delicate crimson veins. Autumn, however, deals with them as with the rest of leafy nature, and tinges them with deep scarlet. The leaves, or rather cups of this plant, are always to be found filled to the brim with water, which the Indians drink medicinally. Bristles, pointing downwards, line the interior of the M LICHENS AND MOSSES. 21 ■4. cup, and cause the death of many insects which enter the cup to drink. The flower, which appears in May or June, is beautiful ; but its beauties are not at first apparent, as it droops downwards. It grows upon a tall stem, similar to that of a tulip, and its petals are of alternate deep red and greenish yellow. The lichens and mosses found on these barrens, are of the most varied and beautiful formations. A bushy lichen, of a greenish white colour, and growing in foliating sprays, like some of the corals, is most numerous, and often gives a hoary appearance to the whole barren. Sometimes these barrens are more uneven. Scattered boulders of granite or limestone lie in confusion on more ele- vated portions ; and here and there may be seen a stunted spruce, or a group of the American larch {Larex Americana) y 22 SPORTING ADVENTURES. locally known by the Indian name of " Hack- matack." On these barrens, and by the margin of lakes, may be gathered, in the latter end of the summer and fall, many varieties of de- licious berries. Amongst these are huckle- berries, common and bush cranberries, blue- berries, raspberries, blackberries, and goose- berries. Great quantities of cranberries and blueberries are annually picked for preserving by the settlers; the first. around the margins of lakes, the latter on plains, which, from being sometimes literally covered with this delicious fruit, receive the name of Blueberry Barrens. About fifteen miles from Halifax, at Ham- mond's Plains, dwell many families of negroes, who have quite a small trade of their own with the Haligonians, whom they supply with hundreds of bushels of blueberries, for pre- serving purposes. The cranberry does not i WILD GOOSEBERRIES. 23 ripen till winter sets in ; and they are best when gathered in the spring, having been matured under, and protected by, the ice and snow of the previous winter. The wild gooseberry is very small, and, except for its being covered with hair, might be mistaken, both in size, colour, and flavour, for a currant. On these berries, the Nova Scotian bear revels, and grows prodigiously fat, in the fall; and he is sometimes seen lying at full length in the middle of a barren, far from settlements, lazily picking the blue- berries, one by one, with his muscular lips, from tiie adjacent shrubs. Many beautiful wild flowers inhabit the Nova Scotian forest. First among these, earliest in blooming, most endearing in ap- pearance, and sweetest in smell, may be placed the Mayflower (Epig^sa repens). This pretty little flower grows" on sunny banks, everywhere in the woods, in clusters. The 24 SPORTING ADVENTURES. \l flower is waxen-looking, white, sometimes shaded with delicate pink, and though larger than, is of the same shape as a flowret of the lilac. The plant trails in a modest manner on the ground, between overbearing heaths and shnibs, and entails a close search. The budding of the Mayflower is greeted with much pleasure by the fair daughters of Nova Scotia, who make long walks into the woods in search of a bunch of this emblem of modesty, wherewith to adorn the hair, or scent the room. In travelling through the woods, the sports- man or naturalist will often be suddenly aware of a delicious fragrance pervading the atmo- sphere, resembling the odour of verbena. He will find that it proceeds from the leaves of the sweet fern (Comptonia aspenifolia), which often covers acres of soil. Again, I repeat, *a sojourn in the wild old woods, or by the river side, of Nova Scotia, (( INDIAN SUMMER. It 25 or New Brunswick, is captivating in the ex- treme, and more pleasurable each time it is repeated. The lover of nature in the Old World cannot realize the delightful, soothing, and exhilirating feelings, caused by a residence in them during the freshness of spring, the warmth and fragrance of summer, or the gorgeous colouring of autumn ; particularly, during that season called the "Indian summer," when stern winter, which lately has been drawing on apace, seems to relent, and all nature appears lost in a dreamy reverie. At this season, which lasts but for a few days, and generally takes place in the latter end oi October, the air, during the day, re- sumes the mildness of June. Not a breath of wind stirs the dying foliage, and the land- scape is rendered indistinct by a smoky, blue haze — such as would be occasioned by the woods being on fire in calm weather. Its transitory glories over, the scarlet leaves VOL. I. c !! ■■ 3i 51 26 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ^f! of the maples, and the bright yellow and orange foliage of the birch, are swept off by the northern blasts, and buried deeply under the first snows of an American winter. MICMACS AND MILECETES. 27 CHAPTER II. The Aborigines of Nova Scotia — The Micmacs — Averse- ncss to Civilizatiou — Occupation of tlie Indians — Dress — General Appearance — Tlic Indian Ilnnter — DifTiculty of Progression in the Woods — Creeping tlie Moose — Working tlic Yard — The ^Milecctc Indians — Dilferences of Language —The Annual Conference — Traditions. The aborigines of the soil, the Micmac and Milecete Indians, still inhabit the pro- vinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, though in greatly reduced numbers. These tribes are branches of the great nation which extended over the north-eastern portions of c 2 28 SPORTING ADVLNTUllES, America — the AJgonkins. The Indians of Nova Scotia arc all Micmacs. Though thoy have lived for more than a century in constant and peaceable communication with white men, they arc still us averse to the tenets and pro- gress of civilization, as ever ; preferring a secluded and melancholy existence in the wigwam, to a settled life in any sphere. Around Halifax, and other towns, situated on a grassy bank, surrounded hy the forest, and, probably, by the side of a trickling brook, may be seen the Indian's cump. Out- side, generally appear the squalid, half-clothed figures of young Indians, running about among piles of fire-wood and shavings, and chasing starving curs from a few tin pots and pans, which form the ccoking-utensils and dinner-service of the familv. On entering the camp, a group uf two or three squaws and Indian maidens are generally to be seen, with baskets full of dyed porcu- pmes APPEARANCE OF THE INDIANS. 29 pine's quills lying beside them, working beautiful mosaic designs on birch bark, in the shap<' of chair-seats, fans, boxes, or portfolios. The male portion of the family are either in the town, drinking to the gradual ruin of themselves and their tribe, the poisonous rum of the country; or are back in the woods, looking for porcupines, or cutting a supply of fire-wood for the night. One must not expect to find the noble bearing, the finely-chiselled limbs and fea- tures, or the grace and dignity of conversa- tion, belonging to the tribes of the Far West, in the Micmai though all these attributes may have formerly belonged to him. The Indian of N ova Scotia is generally ragged and dirty in appearance; and, when not engaged in hunting, indolent in the extreme, and addicted to spend all the earnings of his squaw in the purchase of intoxicating liquors. 30 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Still, however, especially in the remoter dis- tricts of the province, there are exceptions to this character. I have seen Indians walking about the streets of Halifax, where they had arrived on a visit from the westward, in all the native dignity of their forefathers. Un- like those of their tribe residing round Halifax, and clothed in the cast-off rags of white men, they appear in the showy costume of the tribe, in a dar!v blue or scarlet flannel coat, ornamented with beads, porcu- pine's quills, and moose-hair, and their moccasins adorned with similar devices. Their squaws, generally walking behind the men, have the head covered with a tall conical cap of cloth, bordered with beads, their long cloaks fastened by some glittering ornament, and a neat scarlet or blue hand- kerchief fastened round the neck. Outcasts, as it were, in their own country, and sensible of their position, they bear themselves with THE MICMAC. 31 becoming haughtiness towards the mob of staring Europeans in the crowded street ; and, hastily purchasing their few necessaries, they retreat, as they came, to their hunting grounds in the interior. The Micmac is generally well formed, active, and capable of enduring great absti- nence and amount of cold. His complexion is of the colour of brick-dust, though of a more dingy hue. His hair, long, coarse, and maintaining its jet black hue till an advanced age, falls irregularly over the neck and shoulders. The eye is of the darkest hazel, and the white is more dingy than that of the European. The hands and feet of the Indian are small, and often exquisitely formed. This, in the case of the foot, is rather strange, considering the freedom which is given to it by the yielding moccasin ; and the features, though coarse, are extremely expressive. When engaged in following up the tracks 32 SPORTING ADVENTURES. of moose or carriboo, the face of the Indian is all animation ; his eye sparkling from ex- citement, and the few words which he utters on such occasions, coming in suppressed whispers, hissing through his teeth. In walking, he does not point his toes outwards, as the European, but rather turns them in- wards, placing one foot in front of, and in the same line with, the other. This may be one reason why he can traverse the bush in an undeviating line. It is truly wonderful to witness the sagacity, and unerring precision, with which the Indian hunter can trace his route from one spot to another, no matter how great the distance may be, through the most dense forests, and over the most rough p.nd broken country. It does not signify whether he has travelled through the same country before, or not : he knows the direction, and that is sufficient. In his native forests, he is never at a loss ; DIFFICULTY OF PROGRESSION. 33 walks evenly and softly at all times, as if he were on the trail ; seldom speaks, or makes a false step, or unintentionally breaks a branch. He quietly brushes through the dense copses, scarcely displacing the boughs ; while his restless eye glances incessantly around, in- stantly detecting the slightest displacement of the moss or snow, a broken or bitten branch, or a moving object. Long practice is requisite to enable the white man to walk straight, even for half a mile, through the bush. At first, he in- variably deviates, thinking he is taking a straight course, and describes a circle, ending at the very spot whence he started. When there has been no sun, I have gone completely round, in a square half-mile. Many are the rules which I have heard laid down by white settlers, for finding one's way through the woods. Some say, that they observe the bark on the trees, and are c 3 (^.,^^- 34 SPORTING ADVENTURES. guided by the mosses and lichens, which always grow thickest on the noi'th side. Another rule, and one thiit will generally be found correct, is to observe the direction in which the top foliage of pines and hackmatack grow. They will invariably be found pointing to the north-east. The foliage and branches of hard wood trees, are more ample on the south side of the tree, and the bark is generally smoother on the side exposed to the northern and north-eastern gales. A good rule for any one travelling without a guide through a forest country which he does not know, supposing him, at first start- ing, to have made up his mind to follow a certain course, is to select a prominent object at any distance off in the right direction, and to walk straight up to it ; then, selecting another in the same line, to proceed to it, and so on. A pocket compass should, however, always DIFFICULTY OF PROGRESSION. 35 accompany the young hand \ and let the end of the needle which indicates the north be marked, as is not always the case, or he will be at as great a loss, and more confused than before. I have heard all these methods described as being resorted to by the Indians in finding their w^ay, but I am confident that they do not use them. When I have mentioned them to an Indian, he lias invariably laughed heartily, saying, " Ingine no want look at bark or tree-top, 'cept when he hunt porcupine." In walking through a forest district for the first time, an Indian will carefully ob- serve, and remember ever afterwards, every hill and valley, every grove of hardwood or evergreens, and the general " lie " of the country, with regard to irregularity of sur- face, the nature of timber growing on it, and the direction of the brooks running through it. 36 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Frequently when hunting with an Indian, in a country which he had only traversed once, and that years previously, he has shewn his thorough knowledge of the ground by telling me what sort of country we were ap- proaching. " Big birch woods on other side of hill ; plenty good brouse for moose ; I tink he gone there." Very often, after a long stretch from camp in search of game, the sportsman tries, by recollecting the various directions and turnings in which he had been travelling during the day, to deduce, by a long geometrical problem, the direction in which the camp would lie. It becomes more and more puzzling, as he thinks over the intricate course he has been pursuing, and, at last, out of curiosity, he asks the Indian. The Indian, at once, point- ing derisively, says, " Camp lie there." In creeping on moose, too, the Indian CREEPING THE MOOSE. 37 displays a thorough knowledge of the method of working the " yard," which is incompre- hensible to the white man. The hunter finds a fresh moose track. It appears to lead straight from him. Instead of following it up, as the white man would go, after examin- ing the track and the surrounding bushes, and looking up to ascertain the direction and amount of wind, he probably strikes off through the bush in another direction. The sportsman thinks he has abandoned the chase, but does not ask. In a fe\v minutes, the Indian brings him again upon the track of the same moose, evidently fresher by several hours, or perhaps a whole day, than the tracks which they had at first hit off. The powers of woodcraft in all its branches appear, in the Indian, to amount to an instinct not belonging to, and never capable of being attained by, the white man. 38 SPORTING ADVENTURES. The Mileccte Indians inhabit the province of New Brunswick only, living in small villages along the banks of the St. John. The coasts of north-eastern New Brunswick are inhabited by Micnnacs, who generally prefer the neighbourhood of tlie ocean, and go by the distinguishing appelution of " salt- water Indians." Their canoes differ from those used by the Milecetes, in being longer, broader, higlier out of the water, and more adapted for performing sea voyages around the coasts. The canoe of the Mileccte is sharp fore and aft, lies low in the water, and is easily upset, being, in fact, only adapted for a smooth river, as the St. John. Their paddles too differ ; that used by the Micmac being round and broad in the blade, whereas the Milecete paddle is long, narrow, and sharply pointed. The languages spoken by these tribes differ DIFFERENCES OF LANGUAGE. 39 I entirely. The Micmac language is beautiful. Its tones are soft and musical, and it is uttered, especially b- the women, with the most exquisite pathos. The Milecete language is harsh and grating, and seems to bear the same relation to the Micmac that the hissing Portuguese does to the sonorous grandeur of the Spanish. A few Micmac Indians are found in Newfoundland, in which country its ancient inhabitants, the Red Indians, have been long extinct. The Micmacs of Nova Scotia are about a thousand in number, the greater part living in the woods at easy distances from settle- ments. Whether they have, or have not, a chief, is a matter of doubt. They themselves are extremely taciturn and guarded in their conversation concerning their own laws, and the cherished customs of their tril;e. Large meetings are annually held by them on the banks of the Shubenacadie, w^iere 40 SPORTING ADVENTURES. some land has been granted to the Indians. Old and young flock to these meetings from all parts of the province, and do not allow of the presence of a white man. Presents of a blanket and a gun are annu- ally made by government to a certain num- ber of Indians. In Canada, the commissioners travel a long distance up the lake in canoes to the territories of the chiefs, and the presentation of gifts is conducted in a most formal manner. Few traditions exist amongst the Nova Scotian Indians concerning the habits and wars of their forefathers. They all agree, howe) er, in saying that constant feuds existed between their tribe and the Mohawks. I have seen stone arrow-heads, which have been picked up in the forest ; and a favourite pas- time amongst the young Indians of the pre- sent day is shootinf; at a mark with a bow and arrow, made of ash, or the hard elastic wood of the rock maple. TRADITIONS. 41 Soon after the first settlement of the pro- vince by the English, when the site of the present town of Halifax was covered by the forest, the Indians came u ) the Shubenacadie and the Dartmouth Lakes in great force in canoes, and made an attack upon the town of Dartmouth, then composed of a few houses ; massacreing and scalping nearly all its inhabitants. The Indian of the present day is, however, a harmless and peaceable being, and for ages has lot dyed his hands in the blood, either of the white man, or of his own race. His final extinction, not far distant, and which cannot be prevented, except by evacuation of the broad lands which have been wrested from him for the starving thousands of crowded Europe, can only be looked forward to with feelings of melancholy and regret. 4'2 SPOllTIN(i ADVENTURES. I I I CHAPTER III. Aiiiinuls of tlic Britioh Pi-oviiiccs — The Moose — The Caniboo — iiubits, &c. — Tlic Black Dear — Their iiove of Phiiiclcr — How to Spend the AVintcr — JJear-traps — The Grey Wolf— The Fox— The " Lucifer"— Beavers — Wantou Destruction — The Otter — Miuks and Musk- rats— Uses of the Skin — The Canadiau Porcapine — The Quills employed jy the Indians — Nova Scotian Game — The American "Woodcock — Snipe — The Birch Partridge — The American J{(jbin — Cockney Sportsnien — Abundance of Sport in Nova Scotia. The animals of the British provinces, un- protected hy laws from wholesale and wanton destruction, are, like the Micmac Indians, fast THE MOOSE. 43 receding before the civilizing efforts of the white man. The forest tracts of Nova Scotia, remote from roads or settlements, still harbour large herds of the moose {Cervits alces). It is even strange that this animal, so averse to the most distant sound of an axe, or other sounds foreign to the natural forest music, and which cause him to fly precipitately for long distances, should still be found in such numbers as he is in Nova Scotia. The pro- bable number of these noble animals in this province is difficult to be ascertained, ev(3n approximately. It must consist of several thousand head. Mention is made of the natural history of the moose in a separate chapter. The carriboo {Cervus tarandus) is so sel- dom met with now in Nova Scotia, that it may be considered as on the verge of ex- tinction in that province. This may be the 44 SPORTING ADVENTURES. cause of the extreme wariness and timidity of the animal. He is still more liable to be scared than the moose, and, when once started, will travel for days, seldom revisiting the country where he was first alarmed. The carriboo, or rein-deer of North Ame- rica, is identical with the rein-deer of northern Europe. I'he animal generally stands from three to four feet in height at the shoulder. The horns are long, branching, and partly palmated. The brow antlers stretch forward over the forehead, almost in contact with each other, and resembling human hands placed vertically side by side, with the fingers extended. The colour of the antlers, which decorate the head of the female as well as that of the male, is deep reddish brown. The coat of the carriboo is close and shining. In the summer, it is of a dirty fawn colour, changing, in winter, to tawny white. The hoof of this animal is broad THE CARRIBOO. 45 and spreading, and enables him, by its ex- pansive elasticity, to travel over deep snow, and on ice, with great facility. When lifted from the ground, the divisions of the hoof contract, coming in contact with each other with a sharp clicking sound, which some naturalists have attributed to the crackling of the knee joint. The carriboo browses exclusively on suc- culent lichens — either those found on barrens, or on the trunks of hard-wood trees. The flesh is like venison, and more esteemed than that of the moose. The carriboo is a gre- garious animal. Though the Indians assert, that vast herds, containing nearly a hundred of these animals, once roamed over Nova Scotia, more than four c five together are now seldom met with. They are generally hunted in open country, thickly interspersed with barrens, and the sport partakes of the nature of deer-stalking ; the huntnr crawling I ^i 46 SPORTING ADVENTURES. along, taking advantage of sheltering masses of rock, tall patches of ground laurels, or rooss-grown mounds, to within range of the herd. Great attention must be paid to the direction of the wind, as the carriboo is possessed of the most delicate sense of smell ; and, when once it has got wind of a human being, farewell to all hopes of getting a shot on the part of the sportsman. The desolate and unsettled wastes of Newfoundland and Labrador are still trodden by countless herds of these animals. In the summer of 1853, a party of sportsmen pene- trated some distance into the more un- frequented districts of Newfoundland. They returned after a few weeks, most of which was occupied in travelling, having shot forty carriboo. The lowing of the carriboo is a short, hoarse bellow, more like the bark of a large dog, than the voice of one of the deer tribe. THE BLACK BEAR. 47 In the western parts of Nova Scotia, and in the neighbourhood of the Cobeqaid Mountains, near its junction with New Brunswick, carriboo are still tolerably plenti- ful. No attempt has ev^r been made to use these animals in America, as is done in Northern Europe, for the purposes of draught, The docility of the Laplander's rein-deer is the result of ages of domestication ; and it was first attempted by him, as his only rr^ourcc. li e black bear of America {Ursus Ameri- canus) is found everywhere in Nova Scotia. Unlike the former animals, he appears to prefer the neighbourhood, not of large towns certainly, but of small farms and settlements. He grows to the length of five feet, standirig, sometimes, more than three feet in height. The coat of this animal is thick, glossy, when in good condition, and jet black. On each side of the muzzle, appears a patch of tawny 48 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ;i I, .11 ; colour. The head is sharper and longer than that of the European bear. The eye is set low down in the head, black and twink- ling, and strongly indicative of his ferocious disposition. In the neighbourhood of Halifax, bears often appear, and cause great uneasiness to the small farrners and settlers living by the side of bush roads, between Halifax and St. Margaret's Bay, by predatory excursions on the sheep folds. When stopping at one of these log houses in the neighbourhood of some small lakes, on which I had been trout-fishing, 1 have seen the cattle come rushing from the bush, panting, and evidently in great terror, up to the door of the house. They had evidently been pursued Ijy a bear. These animals seldom molest a man, unless assaulted by him first ; and then, be it ever from so slight a blow or wound, they will immediately turn on him, and the conflict, THE BLACK BEAR. 49 if he has not a bullet wherewith to drop the animal at once, becomes exceedingly doubt- ful. The bear will parry the strongest blow of an axe, with the greatest dexterity and ease; with iiir? powerful arms ; and, when once he has embraced the individual in his vice-like grasp, the knife becomes the man's last chance. I have seen Indians exhibiting frightful scars received during a combat with a bear. On the approach of winter, the bear, who is now prodigiously fat after revelling on the numerous berries which ripen in the fall, crawls to his den, generally under the roots of some dead giant of the forest, or between over- hanging masses of rock. Here he quickly falls asleep, and passes the long winter in one uninterrupted snooze. Sometimes, when the first snows of winter have fallen, the Indian visits the various dens in a large forest district, and discovers VOL. L D 60 SPORTING ADVENTURES. i:^ whether Bruin has gone to roost or not, by the tracks on the snow outside. A few pokes on the ribs, with a long stick ; or, if very obstinate and sleepy, the rousing effects of the thick smoke of a birch bark torch, will bring out the bear, who is at once shot in the head. The skin of the black bear forms a handsome ornament, either for the decoration of a sleigh, or as a rug. It may generally be purchased for from five to eight dollars. Young bears, to which the female gives birth two at a time, in the month of April, are frequently brought into Halifax, by the Indians, for sale. They may be easily tamed, though, when they grow up, their friendship can never be relied on. Bears are often trapped, in the summer, in the dead-falls. A small semi-circular ■enclosure is made, by driving stakes firmly into the ground, between two trees, the THE GREY WOLF. 51 trunks of which are a few feet apart. Over the entrance to ihe enclosure, and slightly attached to the trunks of the trees, is sus- pended a cross-beam, heavily loaded at either end by immense logs of timber. A bait of flesh, or dead game, is placed inside the enclosure, and the surrounding trees are smeared with honey, of which the animal is inordinately fond. A bar is placed across the entrance to the enclosure, and so connected with the cross-beam, that, upon Bruin's attempting to force his way to the bait, the beam and its weight of superincumbent timber, come down by the run on the back of the unlucky glutton, and make him a hopeless prisoner. The grey wolf {Canis lupus) has but lately made his appearance in Nova Scotia, not as in other provinces, however, in company with his prey, the Canadian deer {Cervus virginU anus). The grey wolf is a large, fierce, and D 2 'ij ur 52 SPORTING ADV]£NTURES. H powerful animal. In Maine and New Brunswick several instances have been known of his attacking singly and destroying a human being. This animal sometimes grows to the length of six feet. The hair is long, fine, and of a silver grey. A broad band of black, here and there, showing shining silvery hairs, extend from the head down the back. The tail is long and bushy, as the brush of a fox. A wolf skin forms a frequent decoration for the back of a sleigh. They are seldom seen, as they are very vigilant, and constantly travelling. In their present numbers, they can earn but a pre- carious livehhood in this province, as they are too few to venture an attack on the moose, or even the carriboo. A sinde blow , from the powerful fore-leg of a moose would astonish a bear, and would tell much more on th '"; Ti ribs of a starving wolf. lill THE BLACK FOX. 53 The American fox {Canis fulvus) is a larger and more darkly-coloured animal than his European relative. This animal is com- mon in the woods of Nova Scotia, and his short, sharp bark may often be heard echo- ing through the trees on a clear, calm night. He subsists on rabbits and small game. The black fox {Canis argentatus)^ gene- rally supposed to be an accidental variety of the common fox, is rarely met with in this province. Its skin is a small fortune to the lucky Indian who shoots one of these ani- mals, as it is worth from twenty to thirty pounds sterling. The loup cervier (Felis Canadensis) , com- monly called the " lucifee " by the settlers, is abundant in the woods of Nova Scotia. Its fur is long and glossy, of a brownish grey on the back, becoming nearly white below. A few irregular dusky spots and markings cover the skin. Tufts of stiff black hair 54 SPORTING ADVENTURES. grow on the tips of the ears. The tail is very short, seldom exceeding three inches in length. The length of the animal is about three feet. It is a timid creature, flying from the presence of man, and subsisting on rab- bits and partridges. The wild cat is more abundant than the former animal, is nearly of the same size, but of a lighter and more tawny colour. It is a powerful animal, its fore-arms being very thick and muscular, and is a match tor a very large dog. Its tail is longer than that of the lucifee, and is tipped with black. The beaver {Castor Biber Americanus) once was found on every lake, brook, and river in Nova Scotia. Pursued for the sake of his beautiful coat, more relentlessly than any living creature except the buffalo, the beaver is nearly exterminated in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A few, however, are still to be met with on the THE BEAVERS DAM. 55 banks of the shady brooks which join that beautiful chain of lakes and rivers running across the province of Nova Scotia, between Liverpool and Annapolis. Here, in conse- quence of the decreasing demand for their skins in the European market, they are said to be on the increase. The discovery and destruction of this interesting quadruped has been greatly facilitated by the conspicuity of his aquatic tenement, and its accompanying defensive structure — the " dam." The dam is con- structed of brush-wood, or even logs of small timbers, several inches in diameter, gnawed through by the powerful incisor teeth of this animal, and conveyed to the destination on its back. Wherever the brook or river is too shallow to admit of the building of its semi-submerged mud-house, the water is deepened by the beaver throwing up a sub- stantial dam, sometimes entirely across the i ■ 56 SPORTING ADVENTURES. channel. The house itself is of mud, conical in shape, and its chamber, to which there is a slanting entrance from above the surface, is situated below the level of the water. The beaver is easily domesticated, and will evince the affection of a dog for its master. In the spring of 1853, an Indian brought me a tame beaver, which he had captured when quite young, in the neighbourhood of Lake Rossignol, in the western end of Nova Scotia ; when he wished to leave it, the little animal shuffled after him, whining piteously, and having reached him, scrambled up his clothes to his neck. The Indian afterwards sold it to a zealous naturalist residing about two miles from Halifax, at the head of the North- West Arm. Nothing would satisfy it for days afterwards, but nest- ling in the Indian's blanket, which he was obliged to leave for that purpose. Its owner fed it on bread and milk, with a few cabbage THE OTTER. 57 loaves and other esculent vegetables. The anim il was perfectly tame, appeared pleased at being noticed, and answered to the name of " Cobeetch," the Indian for beaver. I have frequently seen in brooks, pieces of timber which showed marks of the beaver's teeth; and not long since were to be seen the remains of a beaver-dam. in a small brook, which trickles into the North- West Arm of the sea, near Halifax. The otter {Lutra Canadensis) is larger than the European variety, and is of a uniform dark brown colour. It is numerous in the lakes of Nova Scotia, where it revels on the plentiful trout. Their paths often appear among the sedges and grasses, on the low swamps, in the neighbourhood of lakes. In these they are often caught by p.tc^:] traps attached to a large log. The American otter is sometimes three feet in length and its fur is valuable, a good skin often fetching five D 3 58 SPORTING ADVENTURES. 1, 1 1 dollars. Otters leave curious trails on the snow which covers the lakes in winter. The track is broad, and conveys the idea of having been formed by a large cart-wheel. The mink {Mustela Canadensis), and the musk-rat {Fiber zibethicus) abound in the Nova Scotian lakes. The fur of the former is valuable, and of a dark reddish-brown colour. Considerably smaller than the otter, the mink, like him, subsists on fish, and is often captured in miniature dead-falls for the sake of the skin. The musk-rat, called " muskquash" by the Indians, is a beaver in miniature. Its hind feet are webbed like those of that animal, and it lives in mud houses, partially submerged in sedgy swamps. The Indians can call musk-rats by squeak- ing into their closed hands; the animal, coming out from the reeds, is immediately shot for its skin, which is worth fourpence or sixpence in the market. Many of these THE PORCUPINE. 69 skins were formerly used for the purpose of mixing the fur with that of the beaver in the manufacture of hats. When dead, the musquash smells strongly of musk. They are easily tamed, but must be kept in a tin cage, on account of their propensities for gnawing wood. The Canadian porcupine {Hystrix dorsata) is abundant in the forests of the provinces. The Indian name is "Madwiss." This animal is about two feet in length, and closely covered with long, coarse brown hair, intermixed with sharp spines three inches long. These spines grow most numerously on the lower part of the back. They are extremely sharp, and on very close examina- tion, their points will be found to be armed with minute barbs, pointing downwards, thus render- ing the quill, when once it has entered the flesh of a man or animal, difficult of extraction. The quills are of a dusky white colour, 60 SPORTING ADVENTURES. tipped with black. They are extensively used by the squaws in ornamenting sheets of birch bark with curious and gaudy designs. The squaws stain them of the brightest and most durable colours. Some of the dyes are pro- cured at chemists ; while others, are extracted from flowers or bark. They preserve the secrets of obtaining these dyes with great caution. The porcupine proves good eating in the fall, when in good condition, from feeding on blueberries and beech-nuts. In the winter, they may constantly be seen on the branches, inaccessible to climbers, of the hemlock ; on the bark and foliage of which they ^eed at this season. They are dull creatures, slow of motion, and, when surprised in a tree, will take no pains to escape, until knocked over by a shot or stone. Thev live in dens under collected i asses of rock, or roots of trees. In summer time they peel tlie bark of young THE WOODCOCK. 61 spruces, betraying, by the conspicuous de- nuded stem, their whereabouts to the prowling Indian. Among the game birds found in Nova Scotia, the American woodcock {Scolopax minor,) is entitled to the first place, and notice. It is smaller than the European woodcock. The upper parts of the plumage are dark reddish brown, barred with black, the breast being very light, almost tawny. Its flavour is equally good with that of the European bi»"d. The woodcock arrives in Nova Scotia in April, sometimes earlier, if the spring be forward, breeds in this country, and does not leave it till the sharp frosts set in at the beginning of November. Excellent sport may be had with these birds in clumps of thick alder bushes stand- ing in meadows by the roadside, in the months of September and October. Well- timed and necessary laws lately have imposed it! 62 SPORTING ADVENTURES. a fine upon shooting this bird in the sum- mer, as was formerly the case, the young birds being destroyed wholesale, before they were full grown and able to fly. It requires a quick eye to kill three out of four wood- cocks, put up i:. 'he dense and tall alder copses in which they are found. The sportsmen sometimes, however, when they have a number of good dogs or beaters, surround the covers. The woodcock seems to travel late in the evening, and, at night, for, unless disturbed, they are never seen on the wing during the day. Large bags are annually made by sports- men from Halifax, in the covers, which are tolerably numerous within a circuit of twenty miles from that city. Many can boast of having shot two hundred couple of these birds in a season, going out for a day at a time, twice or three times a week, per- haps. THE WOODCOCK. 63 By far the best grounds for cock in Nova Scotia, and perhaps in North America, are in the neighbourhood of the picturesque vil- lage of Kentville, situated on the Annapolis road, at a distance of about sixty miles from Halifax. The country is here composed of low copses of alder and hazel, for some dis- tance on either side of the road, and the ground interspersed with ferns, heaths, and moist mosses. The flights of woodcock, which arrive in these covers annually, are surprising. The sport can only be surpassed by that to be enjoyed in Albania. The woodcock does not appear to have been found in Nova Scotia at its first settle- ment. He is never seen far from clearings in the forest, though here and there likely- iooking covers may be met with. A drive on a fresh autumnal morning through the gorgeous scenery of the fall, and then a day in cover, watching the motions 64 SPORTING ADVENTURES. \\{ ■vi\ and working of the lively little "cockers," returning in the evening with a bag contain- ing eight or ten couple of plump cock, and the good dogs reposing in the waggon be- tween your knees, conduce to render a (hy's sport, with these delicious birds, a delightful change to the monotony of town life. The snipe {Scolopax galUnago) arrives in Nova Scotia, and leaves the country, later than tb^' woodcock. They are very plentiful in the murslies around Kentville. Perhaps, the best .'Tiipe ground in the world is the Great Tantemara marsh, in the south-ev;stern part of New Brunswick. The American snipe is nearly identical with the European. Two kinds of partridges, or rather grouse, are found in the woor-s of Nova Scotia. The best, most lively, and handsomest bird of the two, is the ruffed grouse [Tetrao umbellus). This bird is called, in Nova Scotia, the "birch partridge," from its being generally found in THE BIRCH PARTRIDGE. 65 hills covered by groves of birch, on the young buds of which they feed. This bird is wilder, and not so stupid as the spruce partridge, which is described elsewhere. The birch partridge is a very handsome bird, its general plumage being reddish brown, mottled everywhere with shades of light fawn and dusky colour. When irate, it struts about in the fashion of the male turkey, drooping its wings, expanding its broad tail, and elevating its ruff, which extends from the back of the head down the sides of the neck. These birds are very good eating in the autumn and winter, though not to be com- pared with the English partridge in this respect. Amongst the earliest migratory birds which arrive in this province in the spring, is the American robin {Turdus migratonus). This bird is one of the thrushes, rather 66 SPORTING ADVENTURES. larger than the common English thrush, and much more gaudily coloured. The bill is yellow ; the l^ead, wings, and tail, black. The back is ot -^ bluish slate colour, and the breast bright red, the colour of brick dust. By all, the arrival of the robin is hailed with pleasure. They arrive in great numbers, frequenting the barrens in search of berries, and pasture-meadows for worms. Groups of these birds may be seen hopping about in the green meadows in the neigh- bourhood of settlements, while, perched on the top rail of a snake fence, or on a branch of a solitary tree, may be noticed the watch- ful male, ready to announce to the feeding birds the approach of danger. The song of the robin is melodious, and very similar, in some df its strains, to that of the English thrush. Their being good eating, numerous, and easily shot, extin- THE PLOVER. 67 guishes, however, all the romantic feelings of regard, with which the arrival of this early, pretty, and sociable songster, should be attend- ed, on the part of many of the lower class of Nova Scotian sportsmen, who go out on the barrens between the North- West Arm and the Three-mile House, or along hedge-rows in green meadows, in quest of robins. After the expenditure of a great amount of powder and shot, a couple, perhaps, of robins are brought to town in triumph, held by the tail. For several days towards the end of summer, Halifax common, and the open fields towards the North- West Arm, are the scene of great excitement from the arrival of large flights of plover, which birds stop here to rest before proceeding farther southward. Every man or boy, who can muster up a " shooting iron," goes out to blaze away at the plover as they pass. 68 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Some of the sportsmen kneel down, with powder and shot lying loosely beside them, ready for quick and indiscriminate loading. " Here's another lot comin'," is the cry, and bang go dozens of guns, pointed at the dense flight of plover. Then there is a general scramble for the slain. Some of the more knowing ones only load with a little loose powder, and claim as many of the dead birds as they ought to have put shot into their barrel. Of all the Britisli provinces of North America, Nova Scotia offers the greatest facilities and opportunities to the orthodox sportsman, whether resident or visitor, civil or military, who may wish to pass a week or so in the wild old woods, t by the side of her numerous and picturesque rivers and lakes. The wild scenery of the forest, the magic beauty of the lake, the health which accom- panies the sportsman in spite of exposure or SPORTmO LIFE. 69 frequent saturations, the knowledge that the moose is reposing unconscious of lyour pre- sence and murderous intentions at no great distance, and that the glassy lake or wild, rocky river teems with the finny tribe — all contribute to render a camp life in Nova Scotia as agreeable and exciting as the lover of wild life and wild scenerv can desire. 70 SPORTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER IV. Arrival at Bathurst — Canoe Voyage to Frcdcricton — Arrival at Dalliousic — Clialcurs Bay — Scotch Farms — The Fairy Kiver — Tracadigash — A fine Salmon River — A Coachman a Sheriff's Olliccr — Campbell Town — The Rcstigouchc — The Mission — the Indian Cam)) — McLcod's Hotel — Passing the shoals — I'oling the Canoe — Hard Work — Harry's Squaw — Mr. Frazcr's Farm — Cordial "Welcome — A Maguilicent View — The Matapediac — A Morning's Fishing — "Dry Outs" — Good Sport — Playing a Salmon — The Pesobsicol — Abundance of Grain. Bathurstf Chaleurs Bay^ August l9fA, 1853. — To-day my companion and myself arrived at this pretty little town, situated at the mouth of Nipisiquit, from the Grand A CANOE VOYAGE. 71 Falls on that river where we had been enjoy- ing the sport of salmon fishing for some weeks. Our intention was to proceed with- out delay to Dulhousie at the mouth of the Rcstigouche, where, having hired Indians and a canoe, we were to commence a canoe voyage of several hundred miles; our destination being Fredericton, the seat of government in New Brunswick, situated on the river Saint John. We were induced to return by this route, partly for the sake of the fine scenery which, from all accounts, we were likely to see on the Rcstigouche ; and partly for the purpose of discovering some new waters which might afford good salmon fishing, when the old Nipisiquit should become — as it soon must — too hackneyed a stream for free and unin- terrupted sport. August 20th. — Leaving Bathurst at one o'clock, A.M., this morning, we arrived at M 72 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Dalhousie, distant fifty-eight miles from the former town, after a cold ride of nine hours. By the bright moonlight, during the first few hours of our journey, followed by day-break, we were enabled to appreciate the interesting scenery passed through. The road wound along the steep shores of Chaleurs Bay. On our left was the forest, here and there cleared away to make room for the neat farms of Scotch settlers, who are very numerous in northern New Bruns- wick, and appear to be a more thrifty and industrious class than any other, far more so than the Irish. We crossed several small rivers flowing into the Bay, the principal being the Tootoo-goose, the Jacquete, and the Benjamin. All these streams were for- merly frequented by salmon, but from whole- sale netting in the fresh water, a single fish is now rarely obtained from them. The Tootoo-goose, in the Indian language, THE GASP^ MOUNTAINS. 73 means the River of the Fairies, so called, most probably, from the exquisite scenery to be met with near its head waters. From the summit of a steep hill, about two miles from Dalhousie, wo had a fine view of the Bay of Chaleurs, which narrows gradually towards the mouth of the Restigouche, here three miles in breadth. The lofty mountains of Gaspe, in Lower Canada, appear on the northern shore of the bay. The most conspicuous object i.i this mountain range, is the steep and flat-topped Tracadiegash, the highest mountain in the bay. It rises about twenty miles below the town of Dalhousie, to the height of two thousand feet, nlmost perpendicularly from the water, and nnn be seen by mariners from the entroiice of the bay. A Fhort distance below the Tracadiegash, appears a cleft in the mountains, through which flow the waters of the Cascapediac, VOL. I. E i 74 SPORTING ADVENTURES. pronounced Cascapejar. This is a noble salmon river, on which, as I learned from in- formation I received at Dalhousie, very heavy fish may be caught with a fly, during the months of June and August ; but no sports- man has visited it for many years. After a hurried breakfast at Dalhousie, the stage took us on eighteen miles along the right bank of the Restigouche to Campbell- town, w^here we w^ere to hire Indians and ^anoe, and commence our voyage. Our driver, who was one of the old style, talked about the good old days of coaching, and practised vigorously on a battered horn of home manufacture. He surprised us, when about half way to Campbelltown, by sud- denly giving me the reins, and jumping down from the coach. Vaulting over the snake-fence by the roadside, he gave chace to a figure which we now perceived to be vanish- ing over the top of the next hill into the A SHERIFF S OFFICER. 75 woods beyond. Our wonder only abated when we learned from a fellow-passenger that he exercised the calling of sheriff, as well as that of stage- driver, of which circumstance the retreating individual was evidently aware. In half an hour he overtook us, in com- pany with his victim, who turned out to be a deserting sailor. Shoving his culprit under the box, and giving the horses, which he had borrowed from a settler for the purpose of overtaking us, a whack apieoe to start them homewards, he jumped up, and resumed his office as coachee. Cainpbtlltown is a clean little place, composed of low wooden houses, most of them of pure white. It is the last settle- ment on the Restigouche, and is chiefly inhabited by Scotch settlers. At the back of the town rises, suddenly, out of a plain, to the height of seven hundred feet, a curious conical mountain, called, from its shape, the E 2 ■;; I 76 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Sugar Loaf. This town owes its prosperity to the lumbering trade, and to its salmon and shad fisheries, which are of considerable, though declining importance. Between Dalhousie and CampVieiltown, I saw salmon nets, stretching out from the shore into the stream, at frequent intervals. Their produce nightly, is, I believe, enormous. The Restigouche is one of the noblest rivers in this part of America. At its junction with the Bay of Chaleurs, it is three miles in breath. At Athol House, about a mile above Campbelltown, and distant twenty miles from Dalhousie, it is a mile in breadth. Tlu'oughout the whole of this distance, it may be considered as one magnificent- haven, fitted for ships of the largest class. At the head of ine tide, a siiort distance above Athol House, the river narrows to half a mile. From this point, for a distance in( an( nui tril THE RESTIGOUCHE. 77 of eighty miles up stream, the Restigouche is enclosed, on either bank, by lofty and densely-wooded mountains. Here and there, between the foot of the mountains and the river, are meadows of alluvial land, termed intervale, covered with rich pasture, and shaded by groups of the elm [Ulmus Ameri- canus) , \wh\ch graceful tree loves moist valleys by the river side. The Restigouche is two hundred and twenty LiiV,s in length, and, together with four l;irge tributaries, and frequently-occurring brooks, is supposed to drain upwards of six thousand square miles of country. It is, moreover, the dividing line between Canada and Nt3W Brunswick. Salmon ascend the Restigouche in immense numbers, for the purpose of spawning in its tributaries ; the main river, from its general rapidity, furnishing, with a few exceptions, no resting-place for these fish. ■ ! I i 78 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Opposite Campbelltown, is a large Indian settlement, called the Mission. Here, in a fine piece of intervale ground, between the river and the Gaspe mountains, reside two hundred families of Indians. Some live in substantial log-houses, with little patches of potatoes, or Indian corn, attached ; others, in their ancestral mansions, the wigwams ; while a neat little Catholic church stands in the midst of the village. Assisted by the obliging inhabitants of the town, who manifested the greatest anxiety in forwarding our wishes, we were not long about engaging two stalwart Indians. They liad a bran-new canoe, in which they stipu- lated to take us through, at the charge of two dollars a-piece per diem. I accompanied one of them, who became known to us under the name oi '' Lurry," to his camp. He had a long and vehement argument with his squaw, who, as he told me afterwards, was Larry's request. 97 very unwilling that he should go, and doubted his ever returning. Salmon and trout spears leaned against the camps ; and I saw many fine salmon, and unusually large sea-trout, which had been speared during the preceding night, reposing in the grass. The Indians said that the last-mentioned fish frequently attain the weight of six or eight pounds, and may be taken with a fly anywhere in the river below Campbelltown. Telling our men to be ready for a start at daybreak next morning, we returned to the town ; and spent the remainder of the day in sketching and laying in a stock of provisions for our voyage, not forgetting, at Larry's urgent request, a small jar of rum, without which, he said, " the canoe could never get over the rapids." We slept at the only inn, a small, though clean, one-storied building, called " McLeod's Hotel." 80 SPORTING ADVENTURES. August 2 1 . — We were aroused this morn- ing at daybreak by the Indians. They said wo must start immediately, in order to pass the shoals above the town before the tide, which was now falling, was out. Sitting down in the bottom of the canoe back to back, the baggage being between us, we com- menced the journey ; the Indians pulling vigorously against a strong tide and current, which with united force were sweeping down the river at the rate of some four or five miles per hour. The pole is used in propelling a canoe when the water is too shallow, or rapid, to allow of the use of the paadle. It is a straight smooth stick of light wood, generally fir, about eight feet in length, and sliod with an iron spike at one end. In polcing a canoe up stream, the men stand up, one in the bow, and the other in tlie stern, and planting their poles perpendicularly on POLEING A CANOE. 81 the bottom of the river, bear their whole weight on them, making the canoe shoot forward some fifteen or twenty yards, accord- ing to the strength of the water. In ascending rough and difficult rapids, poleing becomes very hard work. The men exerting all their power can scarcely force the canoe over some of the worst parts. The poles, withdrawn from the water for the purpose of making a fresh stroke, must be planted again Immediately, for were they off the bottom for moic than two seconds, the canoe would be swept b.ick beyond the ])o\ver of stoppage, and most probably turn- ing broadside on to the falling waters, be quickly swamped, or dashed to pieces against projecting rocks. Two miles above Campbelltown, the broad expanse of mingled salt and fresh water ended, and we entered the Restigouche itself, here meandering in several channels between E 3 ,1 1 82 SPORTING ADVENTURES. clusters of lovely islands — the whole bounded on oither side by mountains of a ijousand feet in height. The glimpses, obtained between these islands, of the broad river below, and of the white houses of Camp- belltown at the foot of the Sugar Loaf, were charnning. After an hour's wading and dragging the canoe through the shallow waters of a perfect labyrinth of channels, we were clear of the islands, and the river l)eing here about two hundred yards broad, and of the average depth of four feet, the Indians poled away with cjinparative ease. Shortly afterwards we perceived, to our surprise, the figure of Larry's squaw trudging away on the bank, and keeping pace with the canoe. The very copper-colour deserted Larry's face from rage, though he said, quite calmly : " Let him go. I teach him better manners when 1 come back." MR. ALEXANDER FRASER. 83 Our first resting-place was at the junction of the Restigouche with the first of its tribu- taries, the Matapediac, which joins it from the Canada side. Here were two extensive farms. The owner of one of them, a Mr. Alexander Fraser, to whom we were indebted for unlooked for civility ar^* ' C ^°^'^' 1.0 I.I £ KS ills. 1.25 U III 1.6 < 6" ► Photograiiiic Sciences Corporation m '4^ >> ^^ <«^''** 33 WKT MAIN STRUT WIBSTiR.N.Y. MSM (71«)«7a.4S03 o^ $ 84 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ■ 1 !'^ Here Larry found his squaw, and, with our united assistance, succeeded in pacifying her into a promise of returning to her camp next day. After a substantial tea, during which we partook of all the luxuries which a well- stocked farm can produce, with fresh salmon and trout from the river, we scrambled up, through a tangled mass of wild raspberries and briars, to the top of the mountains behind the farm to enjoy the view which our host said was one of the finest on the river. It certainly was a magnificent panorama, and well repaid us for our tumbles and scratches. Looking down stream, we could now see the whole extent and formation of the islands between which we had passed in the morning. With their rich foliage glow- ing in the rays of the setting sun, and sur- rounded by channels of glistening water, they appeared as gems set in silver. THE MATAPEJAR. 85 Far away down, peeping over a confused mass of sunlit foliage, into which the groups of islands were gradually resolved, appeared, in faint, but clear colouring, the sugar-loaf mountain at Carapbelltown. On turning round, was presented to our view a succession of waving hills covered with the forest, occasional dark shadows pointing out the gorges through which flowed the Restigouche. Matapejar, nearly equal, in size, to the main stream, rolled its clear rapid waters into the Restigouche at our feet. The broad pasture meadows of the little farm, skirted by the two rivers, were dotted with cattle; and fields of waving grain, hedged in securely by snake-fences, extended for some distance along the left bank of the Restigouche. After a stroll down to the Indian camp, where we smoked a calumet over the blazing log fires, we returned to the house. >\ I Kill 86 SPORTING ADVENTURES. U' i August 22. — Up at daybreak. After breakfast, Mr. D. Fraser, who is a bit of a sportsman in the trout line, took us down to the river, to fill a basket with trout, and, perhaps, rise a salmon, though, he said, he had never yet seen one taken with a fly. His curiosity, and, as he confessed, envy, were greatly excited by the appearance of our rods and flies. My companion was poled over to the opposite side of the river in the canoe. I was taken to the junction of the Matapejar with the Restigouche, in a wooden canoe. These craft, called " dug-outs," are much used on the large rivers of New Brunswick by the white settlers. They are hollowed out with the axe from the trunk of a larg pine, and are still more difiicult to manage than the Indian bark canoes. A prettier, and more likely-looking spot for a salmon to lurk in, I never saw, than the It' . SALMON FISHING. 87 pool I now commenced to cast over. The waters of the Matapejar, flowing into the main stream at right angles, and being here the most rapid of the two, forced their way nearly to the opposite shore, before they were carried away by, and mingled with, those of the Restigouche. It was no easy matter to throw from the crank old dug-out. It trembled perceptibly from the velocity of the current, and required all the Indian's strength to keep it steady with his firmly planted pole. I nearly went overboard in hooking my first fish — a sea- trout. In a few minutes, the bottom of the dug- out was covered with fine trout, of from one to four pounds weight. They took my fly with a greediness which I never saw equalled. In changing my well-mouthed fly, I saw a salmon break water in the eddying rapids, below the canoe, and within an easy cast. 88 SPORTING ADVENTURES. i I 1:1 I ■■■ Standing up, I threw a gaudy salmon-fly within a tempting range of his position. At the second cast he took it eagerly, as a sharp tug, followed by a rush of the line, informed me. Down he went without a pause, and, my line having nearly become exhausted, I motioned to the Indian to withdraw his pole from the water. We shot down the hoiling rapid in safety ; and, on arriving at smooth water below, I was delighted to find that my salmon was still at the end of the line. After five successive jumps, he was brought to the surface, close to the canoe, where I gaffed him myself The Indian pronounced him to be an Upsalquitch fish, on his way up to the spawning-grounds in that river, which is the second tributary of the Restigouchc. The Restigouche Indians will, at once, tell, from the appearance of a fish, to what river it belongs. The salmon of the Upsalquitch SALMON FISHING. 89 are small, bright fish, rather slim, with a sharp nose. The Restigouche fish are darker and heavier ; whilst those which ascend the Matapejar, are perfect monsters in size. Mr. Frazer assured me that he had pur- chased salmon from the Indians weighing nearly sixty pounds, while the older in- habitants declare that salmon were formerly taken in the Restigouche of from sixty to seventy pounds weight. Seeing a spot in the river, a little lower down, which looked as perfect a pool as a sportsman could wish to throw over, I landed and walked down to it. At my second or third throw I hooked a salmon, who dashed at the fly, his head and shoulders appearing above the surface as he took it. For nearly an hour he showed as deter- mined a fight as ever a salmon of his weight did before him. Our host, who had been looking on at the sport with evident delight, 90 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ■il gaffed him skilfully. Returning to the house, we weighed the salmon. The first weighed ten, the last, which was a small Matapejar fish, fourteen pounds. My companion, who had lost a large salmon after a short struggle, soon made his appearance, followed by the Indians with a perfect load of sea-trout. During supper, we gained a good deal of valuable information concerning the fishing in the tributaries of the Restigouche. We were told that, if during the months of June and July, we should ascend the Matapejar for about thirty miles from his farm, we would find a stream named the Pesobsicol, which, from its being very rough and rapid, and consequently undisturbed by nets or spears, in the months above-mentioned, teems with large salmon. " We should be almost certain," added our host, " to obtain shots at bears, which were FINE SALMON RIVER. 91 constantly to be seen pacing its rocky banks." Cariboo and beaver he represented as being very numerous in its vicinity. The Upsalquitch he described as being a fine salmon river. He informed us that we should not be likely to kill more salmon on our voyage up the Restigouche, though we might always fill our baskets with trout at the mouths of the cool brooks, which flow through shady forests into the river at frequent intervals throughout the course. ;;IT 92 SPORTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER V. Departure from Mr. Frazcr's — Kiuducss of tlic Family — A Diimcr in the Woods — Fine Prospect — Dead Timber — Tlic Nigger's llaftiug Ground — ]\Iiles' Shanty — Salmon Spearing by Night — Camping by Night — Fish Ducks — A Luclcy Escape — Skill of the Indiai.;; — Clearing the llapids — Grindstone Nook — Fried Ducks and Fat Pork — "Wild Onions — Heavy llain — The Ground Hemlock — The Cross Points — Slow Progress — Wild Pigeons — ■ A Yankee Settler— " White Eye"— Trout Fishing- Smoked Salmon— The " Ranger"— The Devil's Half- acre— The " Ground Plum"— The Belted King-Fisher— The Canoe Swamped — Repairing — The Last House on the Rcstigouche. After breakfast, on the morning of the 23rd of August, we parted with our kind entertainers, who stowed away in our heavily- THE UPSALQUITCII. 93 laden canoe several little luxuries, such as fresh hutter, eggs, and literally as many potatoes as there was room for. They told us, however, that from the present unpre- cedented low state of the water, occasioned by the long drought, we could not leave the Restigouchc for ten days, at least ; particu- larly as we were greatly overloaded. This rather disconcerted us, as we had only ten day's provisions, and we knew that many days of portageing, wading, and other tough work must ensue between our de- parture from the Restigouche and arrival at the waters of the St. John. However, we determined to proceed. About six miles from the mouth of the Matapejar, we passed on our left a fine river — the Upsalquitch. It joins the Restigouche from the New Brunswick side, and rises, at a distance of about sixty miles from its mouth, in the same mountainous district ii 94 SPORTING ADVENTURES. as the Nipisiquit and north-west Miramichi rivers. Our dinner on the beach was a different affair to the sumptuous repasts at the farm- house. However, salt pork, potatoes, and biscuit, washed down with fragrant tea, are never despised by the hungry and healthy sportsman in North America. Besides, we were accustomed to what is generally called, though, I think, wrongly, " roughing it " in the woods. The Restigouche was here about one hun- dred and fifty yards broad, very rapid and shallow ; and our Indians could do little more than one mile in the hour. Often, too, all hands were obliged to get out and wade, when a harsh grate against the shingly bottom showed that there was not water enough to float the deeply laden canoe. Towards sundown, we entered upon some exceedingly beautiful vistas in the river. NIGGER S RAFTING GROUND. 95 Lofty mountains, covered with rolling forests of nnuples, sloped down to the water's edge, leaving a narrow beach of white sand. Here and there, I observed vast piles of dead timber on the beach. Clusters of trees had slipped, carrying everything with them, down the steep sides of the mountains, a broad trail of bare soil marking their course. Turning round a bend in the river, we arrived at a spot called the " Nigger's Rafting Ground," so called, according to Larry, from a black man having been the first to fell trees in the neighbouj'hood. It was a circular enlargement of the river, surrounded by an amphitheatre of steep and gloomy mountains. Here, warned by the rapidly decreasing light, we beached the canoe, and proceeded, at once, to make camp. I caught some fine trout at the mouth of a transparent brook which trickled down the hill-side. On the opposite side of this river was a •I 96 SPORTING ADVENTURES. primitive and dilapidated shanty. Its occu- pant, an Irishman named John Miles, visited our camp in the evening, and begged a piece of tobacco, saying that he had not tasted it for months. We gave him some, and the pitiable looking creature, who was dreadfully bitten by black flies, departed. After dusk, his two sons launched an old dug-out from the opposite beach, and, lighting a birch-bark torch, poled about the river in quest of salmon. They looked perfect little demons as they glided through the dark water in their well- managed canoe ; their faces and persons lighted up by the flaring torch. The moun- tains re-echoed their veils, as a dash was made, with the poised spear, at some unlucky fish discovered within reach. Their orgies ceased in about an hour's time, and we com- posed ourselves to sleep on the fragrant fir boughs. A small piece of waterproof canvass DUCK SHOOTING. 97 was stretched over our heads, to keep off the dew, and a well-supplied fire enabled us to enjoy uninterrupted repose. August 24. — A hepvy mist veiled the summits of the mountains this morning when we arose ; and the water proved colder on our morning plunge, than we had yet felt it. Soon after sunrise, we were again seated in the bottom of the canoe, and stemming the ever-rapid current of the Restigouche. " Ducks, Sir — ducks comin !'* shouted our second Indian, Francis, causing us hastily to uncover our ready-loaded guns. Down they came — five of them — half galloping, and half flying, over the surface of the water, and quacking loudly. Two only fell to our four barrels ; for, shooting from a canoe, in a sitting posture, requires practice. One of them, only slightly wounded, gave us some trouble, by making long and repeated dives down stream. VOL. I. F 98 SPORTING ADVENTURES. They proved to be fish-ducks. These birds are very numerous on all the large, un- frequented rivers of New Brunswick ; where they spend the summer months, returning southward on the approach of winter. The settlers call them fish-ducks, or shel-drakes. Their proper name is the merganser {Mergus merganser). The bill, which is serrated on both mandibles, and terminates in a hook, is admirably adapted for seizing their finny prey. Though they taste very fishy, and are seldom eaten, we found them an additioa to our salt pork, when fresh trout was not to be hri. About six miles from the Nigger's Rafting Ground, in the middle of one of the strongest and fiercest rapids of the Restigouche, where the water rushed downwards in undulating waves, and with immense velocity — Larry's pole snapped in the middle. If he had not immediately knelt down, and, with the remaining fragment, which he CLEARING THE RAPIDS. 99 fortunately retained, l <)t the last purchase, we should have been swept back, and capsized. By beautiful management, on the part of the Indians, we returned down the rapid, in safety, to smoother water below, and made for the shore, as it was necessary to cut a new pole before again attempting the passage. The casualty was soon made good, and the Indians re- embarked, leaving us to walk past the rapid on the beach. We watched, with great interest, the Indians working the lightened canoe up the rapid. The falling water rose up under her bow in a jet ; and, though the Indians* poles bent under their efforts most alarmingly, she moved upwards literally by inches at a time. However, at length, it was surmounted ; and we waded out into the shallow water above the rapid, and stepped into the canoe. A cunning duck, which had dived some distance ahead, thinking that we should pass n 1 F 2 100 SPORTING ADVENTURES. in the meanwhile, came to the surface, close to the canoe, and was immediately knocked over. We camped, at dusk, by the side of a little stream, flowing into the main river, called " Grindstone Brook." The flies annoyed us so this evening, that we were forced to hold our heads in the smoke of our camp-fire, as the only means of keeping them off our faces. The ducks, which were fried in portions, with lumps of fat pork, were not un{)alateable, and a bunch of wild onions, which we gathered on the beach, appeared to us a dehcious relish. In flavour and size they were like the young spring onions of the vegetable garden. As the Indians prognosticated, from the "* appearance of the sky, and the unwonted ferocity of the mosquitoes and black flies, heavy rain fell during the night, and obliged us to stretch one of the blankets over the THE GROUND HEMLOCK. 101 camp-poles, as additional shelter. A .veil stretched blanket affords as complete shelter from rain as could be desired. The Indians lay outside, their clothes steaming before the fire ; and, though wet to the skin, appeared to sleep as comfortably as ourselves. August 25. — Going back a little way into the gloomy forest, I found, growing from the soft moss, in great profusion, a little ever- green shrub with bright transparent crimson berries. The Indians called it the ground hemlock. The berries were sweet and de- licious. We started in heavy rain, protecting our- selves, the guns, and provisions, with the waterproof canvass. We could scarcely judge of the scenery, from the heavy mists and drizzling rain which almost concealed the still mountainous banks. We passed a curious bend in the river called the " Cross Points," where, after poleing for a distance of I , 102 SPORTING ADVENTURES. four miles, it appeared that we had only ad- vanced a quarter of a mile as the crow flies. A short distance below the clearing of a Yankee settler, named Merrill, we saw a flock of wild pigeons feeding in a pine grove by the river-side. My companion landed, and cautiously creeping through the bushes, suc- ceeded in shooting one of these beautiful and delicious birds. The passenger pigeon of America, {Columha migratoria) arrives in this province in immense flights in June, and remains till the fall. The bird is very shy, flies swiftly as an arrow, and is very difficult to be shot. Its plumage on the back is of a pale slate colour. The breast is delicate fawn. The two middle feathers of its long wedge-shaped tail project considerably beyond the rest. Merrill's is the first habitation on the river above the Matapejar. It is thirty miles distant from the mouth of that river. <( WHITE EYE. a 103 thus proving that, as we reached it on the evening of the third day, our average rate of poleing was ten miles per diem. Mr. Merrill was employed in company with two men in building a chimney to his little log- hut when we arrived. He immediately desisted on seeing us, and, asking us into the house, produced a black bottle with a wooden cork, from which he poured into three broken tea-cups, some of that execrable spirit, a poisonous description of rum, called by the settlers " white eye." He " guessed we were strangers, come up to fix the railroad from Halifax to Quebec, and hoped we shouldn't run it through his clearing." He appeared greatly relieved when he was informed of our vocation and designs, and apologizing for not being able to offer us shelter, showed us where to camp on a bank about a hundred yards below his house. 104 SPORTING ADVENTURES. While the Indians were building the camp, we caught some fine trout, in con- sequence of which, the coarse fishy ducks were dispensed with. In the evening, one of Merrill's companions visited our camp, and squatted over the fire. He was very com- municative, and told us that Merrill obtained his livelihood by netting salmon in summer, and by furring ^in winter. He had now nine barrels of salmon, the produce of the pool opposite the house, which would fetch eight dollars a barrel in Campbelltown. During the previous winter, he had trapped over two hundred sables and black-cats, the skin of a sable being worth two dollars, and that of a black-cat, or fisher, three dollars, in the market. " Beaver," said our informant, " were very numerous in the small brooks at some distance back from their mouths." He told us of a species of bear, known to the settlers, and THE R/.N6ER. 105 lumberers, by the name of the " Ranger," and often seen by them in the woods around the head waters of the Restigouche. He described it as a long legged animal, larger thai! the common black bear, and having a white spot on the forehead. I have heard accounts of this animal from several settlers in this part of New Brunswick. Though I have never seen a skin or specimen, and notwithstanding the opinion of naturalists, that only one species inhabits Canada, and the other British provinces, I am inclined to believe in the existence of another variety of bear, in the unfrequented recesses of the vast forests of New Brunswick. Our friend told us, that an immense flock of ducks, probably flying from the approach of our canoe, had passed up the river during the day. August 26. — Before starting, Merrill, in return for a present of some salmon and F 3 106 SPORTING ADVENTURES. trout flies, gave us a quantity of potatoes. He expressed his fear that, though the current was not so strong higher up, we should seldom find sufficient depth of water to take us along without wading. About two miles from his home, we passed the mouth of the Patapejar, a stream rather smaller than the Upsalquitch, joining the Restigouche from the Canada side. At the junction of the two rivers, the water was overhung by picturesque clusters of maples and elms ; and the tall rank grass, and tangled bushes were of the freshest green. We could see for nearly half-a-mile up the Patapejar, which, higher up, appeared com- pletely screened by the dense foliage. Here and there, its dancing waters sparkled, as they glanced past the sunbeams, which struggled through the overhanging boughs. The mountains, which had accompanied us thus far, now dwindled down to steep hills. 'J ■)) THE DEVIL S HALF-ACRE. 107 and, instead of the rolling masses of maples, they were clothed with the sombre foliage of the fir tribe. The warning sound of a rub against the shingly bottom obliged us to get out and wade frequently ; and shortened the day's work with respect to the distance gone over. We camped at a spot nine miles distant from Merrill's, called the " Devil's Half- Acre." This odd name appears to have arisen from a patch of ground on the hill side, quite bare of soil or vegetation, and covered with loose boulders of limestone. Here, our men told us, was the best spot in the main river for salmon ; and putting our rods together, we caught eight handsome grilse, whilst the camp was being built. The largest weighed six pounds, according to our pocket steelyards. Trout, too, were numerous; one I caught, weighing about two pounds, was the hand- somest river-trout I have ever taken. The 108 SPORTING ADVENTURES. deep olive green on his back was fantastically marked with broad stripes of yellow, and the blue and crimson spots on his sides, were of the brightest hue. Perfect, too, in shape, I gazed on his evanescent tints for some minutes, before delivering him into the hands of the Indian cook. On the sandy beach grew, in great pro- fusion, a creeping shrub, heavily laden from its roots to the extremity of each trailing branch, with round purple fruit, very similar to the black cherry in size and flavour. The Indians called it the " ground plum." Our dinner to-day was quite a feast. A salmon was expanded on forked sticks, and roasted whole ; and we concluded with biscuit and molasses by way of sweets. August 27. — A fine, clear morning; the heavy dew on the bushes sparkling in the rays of the rising sun. The woods, in these their secluded recesses, are not enlivened as THE BELTED KING-FISHER. 109 on th' '" borders, or near settlements, by the melody of thrushes and other warblers. The only living creatures we had seen for the last few days, besides the duck, and an occasional fish-eagle or raven, were blue jays and king- fishers ; the discordant warning screaming of the former, and the sharp shrill rattle of the latter, being anything but melodious. The belted king-fisher {Alcedo alcyon), the only one of its genus found in North Ame- rica, is a much larger bird than its brilliant European relative. Its plumage is of a slaty- blue colour, beautifully marked with black and white bars and spots. A broad belt of dark slate colour passes round the breast. The bill is nearly three inches in length. We met with this bird in great abundance throughout our journey, coming upon them when seated on dead overhanging branches at every bend in the river. Elevating their long black crests, they would fly past us 110 SPORTING ADVENTURES. quite closely, uttering their loud and startling rattle as they went by. Sometimes I saw them hovering, with a quick motion of the wing, over the stream, from which position they would dart down upon their finny prey with great rapidity. We caught three more salmon whilst the Indians were loading the canoe ; and, in con- sequence of the additional weight of the fish, some alteration was made in the stowage of the load. The scenery we passed through this morning was very picturesque, and pleas- ingly different to the grand, though mono- tonous, mountain gorges through which the river had flowed hitherto. The banks were lower, and shaded by a pleasing mixture of evergreen and deciduous foliage. Occasional islands, densely wooded with maples, birches, and elms, and fringed with tangled thickets of dogwood, moose- bushes, and berry-yielding shrubs of every OUR CANOE SWAMPED. Ill variety, expanded, though lessened the depth of the river, and entailed a general disem- barkation, and a splashing walk by the side of the canoe. A shower of rain came on towards noon, and ruffling the surface of the water, pre- vented the Indian in the bow from steering clear of submerged rocks. A long grating rub, which quickly stopped the canoe, fol- lowed by an immediate perception that our seat was none of the driest, informed us that we had grounded, and that a hole was cut through the bark which separated us from the buoyant element. Out we jumped, and towed the wreck ashore, where the provision sacks and blankets being taken out, the canoe was turned over. A hideous gash, nearly a foot long, showed the extent of the injury. " This will never do, Larry," we exclaimed. " We have got nearly thirty miles of this !,. \l 112 SPORTING ADVENTURES. river to get through yet, and in all pro- bability it will become much shallower higher up. "Yes, Sir, I Yraid we have bad times of it. However, he's bound to go through, and we soon patch up this scratch. By and bye we put wooden bottom on him." A neighbouring birch afforded a good sheet of bark which was sewn over the rent with spruce roots. The seams were plastered over with melted tar and resin, which were always carried in the canoe in a little tin pot, and in half an hour we were again on our way. About five o'clock, p.m., we reached a settler's farm, tenanted by a hospitable Scotchman, named Chain. Here, through the kind invitation of the owner, we stopped for the night, sitting down soon after our arrival, to a perfect feast, ably cooked by an antiquated dame, who, according to her THE LAST HOUSE. 113 own account, had not left the clearing for seven years. Chain's is twenty miles from Merrill's, and is the last house on the Restigouche. It is a resting place and a store, at which, some- times provisions, &c., may be procured for the lumberers, and for the few persons who now and then pass by this tedious route from the settlements on the St. John river, to those at Chaleurs Bay, or vice versa. 114 SPORTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER VI. New Brunswick Lumberers — The Kedgewicke River — A Carriboo seen — Lovely Scenery on the Restigouche — White Fish — A Poor Breakfast — Choke Cherries — Trou- blesome Flies — The Little Forks — The Canoe tracked —The Beaver Rat— A "Jam" in the River— The Lumberers again — The Waagan— A substitute for Coffee — A covey of Partridges — More Jams — The Portage Road — Numbers of Rabbits — Mr. McLeod — Chances of Starvation — The St. John — French Acadians — Bitter Prospects. August 28. — This morning, two log ca- noes, poled by four of those jolly boys, the New Brunswick lumberers, arrived at Chain's. They were on the way back to their head- NEW BRUNSWICK LUMBERERS. 115 quarters on the St. John, from a business visit to Dalhousie. With the honest frank- ness inherent in these fine looking children of the forest, they at once accosted us. Learning our destination, they hoped that we should keep company with them; and offered to help and pioneer us through the difficulties and hardships which must be undergone before we could arrive at the waters of the broad St. John. Of their assistance we should have been glad, for, as we now discovered, neither Larry nor Francis, though born at Campbelltovvn, had ever been further up the river than Chain's. It was evident that both the strength of the canoe, and of our own muscles, would be put to the test. The lumberers told us that first we should have to follow the course of the Restigouche for thirty miles further. Not a great distance above Chain's, they said, it branched off into 116 SPORTING ADVENTURES. separate streams, which were mere rocky brooks. Next would come the worst bit of the whole route — a little muddy brook called " the Waagan." Having worked the canoe up this for seven miles, we should have to portage everything through the woods for three miles to the water, or rather mud of another stream, called " the little Waagan." The little Waagan leads into " Grand River," down which last stream, having travelled for twenty miles, we should at length float on the deep water of the St. John. Even Larry looked blue when we heard of the work before us. However, as he said, " we were bound to go through ;" and, having thanked Chain for his hospitality, in return for which he would accept of nothing but a few of our flies, we started after the dug-outs. It was soon found to be impossible to keep up with their long, sharp, wooden canoes, which were lightly laden, and, regardless of QUOTA TAM KEDGEWICKE. 117 bumps on rocks, cleft the water with long strides. Two miles above Chain's we passed, on the right, the mouth of the " Quota Tam Kedgewicke," called the Tom Kiggivick by the lumberers. Up this stream, which is considerably larger than that which we were ascending, all the salmon run ; not one ever having been seen on the Restigouche above the junction. Both Chain and our Indians asserted that good fly-fishing might be expected on the Kedgewicke, which is a rocky and rapid stream, and not molested by spears or nets. Here was a small patch of meadow land belonging to Chain. One of his men, who was making hay, hailed us, and said, he " wished we had been here a spell sooner, as a carriboo had just walked across the river, and we might have gunned him beautiful." 118 SPORTING ADVENTURES. The scenery, on the now narrow little Restigouche, was lovely. The firs and spruces locked their branches over head, and amo'^igst the bright foliage of the shrubs on the banks, appeared clusters of the scarlet and crimson berries of the dogwood and choke-berry. Masses of dark rock stood out from the water in bold confusion. King- fishers kept up a chorus of rattling, as we passed their favourite pools, and a large fi.sh-eagle remained perseveringly in front of us all the afternoon, shifting a few hundred yards forwards to another lofty pine, as the canoe approached too close. Sometimes, after wading for a long distance in water too shallow for the canoe to float in with our weight, we would suddenly find ourselves standing on the edge of a precipice, where a great cavity in the bed of the river, perhaps twenty feet in depth, was filled with water clear as crystal. I could see the shoals WHITE FISH. 119 of trout, suckers, and white fish, at the bottom of these deep holes as plainly, as if the medium of the water had not existed. We camped on a little island, about two miles above the mouth of the Kedgewicke. August 29. — Although we tried every fly in our books, not one trout could we induce to rise. White fish, as we could plainly see, were numerous, but would not take a flv. These fish are common in the head waters of the Restigouche, and St. John, and are found in great abundance, and of a large size in Lake Temiscoanta, and the Madawaska river, which flows from it. Those we saw appeared to be of from one to three pounds weight, and looked most tantalizingly eatable. Our Indians said that they had never seen them caught either with the fly or bait. The breakfast this morning was very mea- gre, consisting of biscuit, and a little of our 120 SPORTING ADVENTURES, nearly exhausted pork, washed down by tea, which last item was also on its last legs. Chain, unfortunately, had not been able to supply us with provisions of any description. We were obliged to wade nearly all day in the rocky stream, as there was no beach to walk upon ; tlie shrubs and briars over- hanging the water on either bank. I often stopped to pick a bunch of bush-cranberries, or choke- cherries, which grew, with many other varieties of eatable berries, in the greatest profusion. The choke-cherry derives its name from the strong astringent taste which immediately follows on its being eaten. The sensation in the mouth is similar to that which ensues on eating an English sloe, though its general flavour is delicious. We passed the smould- ering embers of a fire lighted by the lum- berers, showing that they could not be far ahead of us. A solitary duck was shot, as k THE LITTLE FORKS. 121 he endeavoured to pass the canoe, and was devoured eagerly at dinner. Having advanced twelve miles during the day, as nearly as we could judge, we camped for the night. The flies were very annoying this evening. They bit us even whilst washing in the river, causing a precipitate re- treat to the protecting smoke of the camp fire. August 30. — The last piece of pork was consumed at breakfast this morning. Before starting, I made a bag for my head out of a handkerchief, with holes for the eyes and nose ; as the river was now so narrow, that the flies scented us as we passed with the canoe. Hitherto, we had not sufl^ered from their attacks whilst travelling during the day. About a mile from camp, passed a spot called the " Little Forks," where the river divides into two branches. The channel which we ascended, and which still rejoices VOL. I. G III 122 SPORTING ADVENTURES. in the name of the main river, was the smallest. About four miles from the " Little Forks," the Indians suddenly beached the canoe, and taking out the load, turned her over. " Guess it*s no use. We fix wooden bottom on him right off," said Larry. This operation taking some time, we made up our minds to camp in the locality. Neither fish nor fowl were to be obtained ; though one of us flogged away at the clear, bright water most perseveringly ; and the other, with a gun, waded cautiously along the banks, in search of sandpipers. Our resting-place was at a charming bend in the river. On one side, the steep red-clay bank was crowned with a thick forest, in which that beautiful tree, the white cedar, occurred at frequent intervals. On the other, was a broad beach of soft white sand, skirted by an impenetrable thicket of flowering MOOSE AND CARRIDOO. 123 shrubs, dog- wood, alder, moose-bush, and every variety of berry. On the sand, I saw numerous tracks of moose and carribc^o, to which the fresh foliage of these thickets and copses by the river side, affords excellent brousing. Moose appear to inhabit the broad track of forests between the head waters of the Rcstigouche and Lake Timiscouata in great abundance, according to accounts which I have heard from lumberers. They arc seldom or never hunted by Indians ; and the country contains a plentiful supply of their favourite " brouse" — moose- wood. The moose duti not appear to frequent the wild, mountainous country lower down the Restigouche, towards Camp- belltown ; though this district is the resort of herds of carriboo. The Indians, who had been making the woods resound with the strokes of their axes, G 2 124 SPORTING ADVENTURES. now returned with six long thin planks, which they had dexterously split from the stem of a cedar. The strips of cedar were about six inches broad, half an inch in thickness, and of the same length as the canoe. They were placed side by side along the bottom of the canoe, to which, from their extreme elasticity, they were made to fit closely. Ropes passed round them, and, fastened to the frame- work of the gunwale, kept them firmly in their places. To-day we had no- thing but biscuit and a httlc molasses for dinner. August 31. — It was raining heavily when we awoke this morning. A few days sooner, and we should have hailed the rain witli delight, and hoped for its continuance long enough to raise the feebly-trickling stream ; but now it would not help us, as a river generally takes two or three days to BEAVER-RAT. 125 feel the effects of rain, and by that time we hoped to be in deep water. Embarkation was now out of the question, and, this morning, we took to the water at once, Larry fearlessly dragging the strength- ened canoe over the rocks, and Francis propelling from behind. A little animal, perfectly black, and appearing to be about the size of a musk-rat, swam across the stream at some distance ahead. Larry called it a beaver-rat, and described it as being exactly similar to the beaver in habits and conformation, only smaller, and a very rare animal. I have never seen this little animal before or since, and do not believe it has ever been noticed by naturalists. In the forenoon, our progress was obstructed by a "jam" — a massive pile of drifted tim- ber and brushwood, of nearly ten feet in height, which completely blocked up the channel. 126 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Unloading the canoe, we lifted her over, a work of some labour, as she was now very heavy from the additional weight of the wooden bottom. The baggage was taken out piecemeal. Shortly afterwards we shot a couple of sand-pipers. Though they were not larger than larks, we looked forward to dining on them with pleasure. At dusk we were still splashing along through the water, and looking out for a spot on the banks for a camp, when we saw, at the further end of a long avenue of evergreens which skirted the stream, a co- lumn of smoke. Presently, a red- shir ted figure, emerging from the bushes, informed us that we had overtaken the party of lumberers. They greeted us cordially. The long sought for Waagan, they said, was about two miles further on. We declined their invi- tation to share their meal with them, seeing THE WAAGAN. 127 that they had not now enough pork to carry them through, and, wishing to camp that night in the neighbourhood of the Waagan, we pushed on. Though the Waagan itself was not, at first, discovered, signs of its being in the im- mediate neighbourhood were numerous and plain. Remains of old camps might be seen all around, and the woods were quite thinned, from the quantity of timber which had been felled for firewood. Names and dates, rudely carved on the bark of the pine, shewed con- spicuously in every direction ; and, nailed on a prominent tree, was a board, with the word " Waagan" indented on it by burning. Here we^ camped ; looking forward with great pleasure to the easy paddling and good living, which we might expect, when once on the broad St. John. The sand-pipers proved delicious at our evening meal — equal to any snipe in flavour. e¥^ 128 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Our tea having been all exhausted, the Indians made a decoction of burnt biscuit boiled in water, which thev called " coffee." September 1. — Whilst making a hurried sketch of the contracted, though lovely and fairy-like view fronj this, our last camp on the Restigouche, the lumberers' canoes poled up. Having exchanged salutations with us, they plunged, with loud yells, through a canopy of dense bushes and briars, which almost concealed the entrance to the Waagan. A few potatoes, which had hitherto escaped notice in the bottom of one of the sacks, were discovered with delight, and immediately roasted. After breakfast, bidding adieu to the Restigouche — at thiy point, distant one hundred miles from Campbelltown — and protecting our faces with our arms, we entered the muddy little brook, seven miles of which DIFFICULT NAVIGATION. 129 must be traversed, before we might again fearlessly hold up our heads. It surpassed our worst expectations. Dense thickets overhung the channel, generally at the heighth of three feet only from the surface of the water, and sometimes almost excluding the day-light. The stream itself, so narrow, in places, as scarcely to allow of the passage of the canoe, sometimes deepened suddenly into six or eight feet of water ; obliging us to re-embark in a dripping state, though only for a few yards. However, we found a dinner to-day most unexpectedly ; for, as I was scrambling along in front, I heard the " cluck " of a partridge close at hand. Looking round, I discovered a group of partridges on the bank, strutting about on the moss under a clump of cedars, and expanding their broad, fan-like tails in a most impudent and fearless manner. Hastily beckoning to the Indians to stop, G 3 130 SPORTING ADVENTURES. I cautiously returned, and informed my com- panion of the good news. In five shots from the same position, we dropped the five birds, which appeared to be perfectly stupi- fied. There was no disregarding the fact, that we were very hungry ; and, leaving the canoe, we at once made our way up the bank to an open spot, where a fire could be lighted : and, in a quarter of an hour, four of the partridges were roasted and devoured. " Partridge-shooting seems to begin on the first of September in this country as well as in England," remarked my companion to me as he picked the bones. The sunbeams, struggling through the leafy canopy which everywhere enveloped us, disclosed, in the dark water, a few dingy- looking trout, flying to their muddy retreats on our approach. Seven large jams were surmounted with great labour, during our THE PORTAGE ROAD. 131 passage up the execrable Waagan ; and, for the last three miles of the journey, the canoe was dragged, by our jnited efforts, through a liquid mass of mud and sand. At length, by the side of a steep grassy bank, we found ourselves, to our great relief, once more standing erect, and in broad day- light. Joyfully scrambling up the bank, we stood in a small meadow, surrounded by lofty burnt woods. Here was the commencement of the Portage road. Lying on the grass were the provision sacks, and various other portions of the baggage belonging to the lumberers, who had evidently gone on, carrying their canoes across the Portage road. We camped in the meadov;, the prostrate stems of burnt trees affording us a good supply of fire-wood. In the evening, the lumberers returned, and camped at a short distance from us. 1 !• ; 132 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Rabbits came out, after sundown, from the surrounding bushes ; but, though we hurled various missiles at them, we did not succeed in killing one. September 2. — The master of the gang of * iberers, named McLeod, came to our camp at daybreak this morning, and smoked his pipe over our fire. He wished us good- bye, as his canoes were at the other end of the Portage road, ready for launching in the httle Waagan. He said that we should find Grand River almost as bad, in places, as the Upper Resti- gouche. After breakfast, the Indians in- formed us that the biscuit would hold out for only four more meals. Hastily packing up, for the flies clustered on us like bees, we started with our loads ; the Indians carrying the canoe, and we the whole of the baggage on our backs. The path lay through a dreary looking THE BLUEBERRY. 133 burnt forest ; the ground between the black- ened stems being covered with a rank growth of yellow grass, wild raspberries, and blue- berries. Everywhere appeared the bright pink clustering flower of the fire-weed, a plant which springs up with magic rapidity whert. ■ jr a fire has occurred in the forest. Whenever the weight of our loads compelled as to rest, we feasted on the blueberries and raspberries. The blueberries were larger and better flavoured than any I had yet seen. The taste of these berries, which grow in great profusion in burnt woods, banks of rivers or roads, and barrens, is not unlike that of a fleshy grape. A delicate bloom, such as is seen on the black grape, covers the berry, which is about the size of a pea, and grows in clusters, from a small-leaved trailing shrub. After a weary trudge of three miles, we 134 SPORTING ADVENTURES. arrived at the banks of the little Waagan. Here I discovered and shot a spruce partridge, which was immediately roasted, and divided between us. The Little Waagan was only two miles in length, and much more free from obstructions to the passage of our canoe than the Big Waagan. An hour's poking brought us out on Grand River. " May be grand enough after freshit," said Larry, " but he most shocking dry just now. However, it was a great improvement on the latter part part of our voyage, and wading was only necessary here and there ; besides, the stream was with us. The tim- ber was of a much loftier description than that on the banks of the upper Restigouche, and some portions of the scenery passed through this afternoon w^re really beautiful. Islands, whose broad beaches of white sand GRAND RIVER. 135 were trampled down by countless tracks of moose and carriboo, frequently divided the channel ; the verdure of their dense copses of ash and maple was bright as in spring. Trunks of huge white pines had fallen here and there, across the river, causing us to crouch in the canoe as we glided under them. During the afternoon, two sand-pipers and a young rabbit were shot, the latter a most acceptable addition to our reduced larder. We camped in an old shanty, on a steep bank. The biscuit was finished this evening. All, however, looking forward to reaching the St. John next morning. September 3. — Soon after sunrise, we were again on our way down this picturesque river, which deserves the name of Grand if only for its enchanting scenery. At a short distance from camp, a general dis- 136 SPORTING ADVENTURES. embarkation was necessary, for, as far as could be seen, boulders of rock rose up from the channel, dividing the stream into innumerable little runlets. It was the hardest half mile of river travelling we had yet dealt with, and the passage occupied the best part of an hour. Soon, however, we were greeted by the welcome sight of a roof peeping over the busbes on the banks. The forest now appeared to break on either side, and the banks to lower, and a herd of cattle were seen standing in the water below. Presently the banks, falling to the level of the water, disclosed to our delighted gaze a broad and cheerful landscape, and rapidly passing through some green meadows dotted with settlers' houses and cattle, we smoothly glided into the stately St. John. " Guess he's pretty big river," said Larry, as he now looked for the first time on the THE ST. JOHN. 137 mighty Walloostook. The St. John is here, although distant two hundred and ten miles from the sea, more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, of immense depth, and its current rolls smoothly on at the speed of some two or three miles per hour. Broad alluvial meadows extend far back from cither bank. Lofty mountains, covered with forests of maple, gently rise from the edge of the plains, and enclose the river and its fertile valleys. Our first thought was of breakfast. A neat white house stood on the opposite bank, and to it we paddled swiftly. We were rather disconcerted though, when on asking for something to eat, and that quickly, an answer was returned in the almost unintelligible French of the Acadian settlers. However, the women — there were seven of them, and all talking at once — were at last made to comprehend, rather by signs li 138 SPORTING ADVENTURES. than by language, the nature of our wants, and produced a large bowl of fresh milk and some delicious bread made of flour and Indian meal. Of them we bought some potatoes, bread, and a large cake of maple sugar, which is extensively manufactured in the districts of the upper St. John, inhabited by French settlers ; and going out to the beach, lighted a large fire, and set the Indians to work to " fix" some breakfast. The wooden bottom was now taken off, and the canoe turned over to have her seams well gummed, preparatory to the voyage down the St. John. The French girls in- formed us that the Grand Falls of the St. John were distant eighteen miles lower down. It was past noon when we started. The Indians now changed their poles for the paddle, and, seating themselves on the cross pieces of their ash, in the bow and stern. V. ; REST AFTER TOIL. 139 made the canoe shoot along under their vigo- rous strokes. The banks were so thickly settled, and what trees there were still standing, looked so designedly ornamental, that we had some trouble in finding out ground to camp on. However, a portly old French farmer pointed out a patch of trees about a mile further down, and we made for it, reaching it just in time to put the camp together before dark. There was a magnificent display of Nor- thern lights this evening. The Indians appeared quite happy and jovial at this re- lease from their long fasting and rough work. I must say these men behaved very well. For the last two or three days they ' ad barely had suflicient food to keep them from famish- ing, and had gone through most severe work without a murmur. 140 SPORTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER VII. The Grand Falls — The Portage Road— Shattered Logs— The Cascades — A Natural Tunnel — Circular Basins — Action of the Water — The Town of St. John — A Sad Accident — Bitter Beer — The Rapidc des Temmes — Ducks and Wild Pigeons — The Arestook — Intoxicated Indians — Night's rest disturbed — The Arestook Palls — Wild Scenery — The Boundary Line — Yankee Timber — The Tobique — Copper and Lead — Lidian Settlement — Tobique — The Electric Telegraph — Tow Boats — Provisions for the Lumberers — Gold Pound — Wood- stock — The Meduetic Rapids — A Dangerous Passage — Prcdericton — Departure of the Indians. September 4th was a delicious morning. We enjoyed a plunge into the deep river be- fore breakfast exceedingly. From the summit THE GRAND FALLS. 141 of the bank on which our camp was pitched, the view was magnificent. We could see p'^tches of the river over the v^aving hills at d great distance. The mountains on either side of it were covered by the bright foHage of maples and beeches, here and there displaying a patch of crimson, painted by the slight frosts of the few previous nights. As far as the eye could see down the river, was a succession of un- dulating: ' ill^- covered with gloomy pine forests, and far I i^ down, rose up indistinctly a lofty mountain, coloured in the faintest and most delicate tints by the rising sun. Starting early, we reached in the forenoon the settlement at the Grand Falls. The St. John, at this point, after a course for the last tweiuy miles running due north and south, takes a bend to the eastward, and most sud- denly tumbles over a tremendous precipice. For a mile past the grand pitch, the river 142 SPORTING ADVENTURES. tosses and roars through a channel contracted between cliffs, rising boldly to the height of nearly three hundred feet. Below the settlement, which is situated on the summit of the precipice, and on the right bani of the river, the St. John directs its course to the southward. A portage-road runs through the whole of the settlement, from a short distance above the falls to the basin, whence the river is again navigable downwards. Horses are always in readiness to convey across the portage, on trucks, canoes, or tow-boats, which are used by the lumberers for the purpose of transporting their provisions from the towns lower down, to the forests on the head-waters of the St. John, where their gigantic operations are carried on in winter. We transported our bark and baggage in this manner to the basin, and made camp at the foot of a densely-wooded precipice, on the top of which stands the settlement. THE GRAND FALLS. 143 We all visited the Falls in the afternoon, guided by a very obliging and well-informed resident, named Leslie, who said he hp,d formerly belonged to the Royal Artillery, and had been sent here by the Commissariat, when it was a military post. The Falls, as we saw them from the ruins of a once ex- tensive saw-mill, formerly owned by an enterprising man. Sir John Caldwell, were magnificent. The first pitch is over seventy feet m heighth ; and the whole of this mighty river is squeezed between cliffs scarcely fifty yards distant. About half way down the descent, the cascade is bioken by a huge projecting mass of rock, which, as our guide told us, was the cause of destruction to many a fine log, when the lumber comes down the river in the spring. Just below, and a little on one side, is a basin, in which is a whirlpool of black, turbulent water. 144 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Still revolving in this, I saw several fine logs, their ends v/orn round by continued friction against one another and the rocks. Our guide told us, that now was the time to see the Falls, as the water was low, and the pitch, consequently, higher; for, he said, when the river was full, the water could not escape fast enough through the narrow and precipitous chasm beIov»% which it filled up, to the heighth of some twenty or thirty feet above its present level. He said, it was wonderful to see the Falls, when the water was high, and the lumber coming down the river. The huge logs of timber, twenty or thirty feet in length, and three or even four feet square, would be whirled about in the descent, as if they were straws. Sometimes they would shoot out clear of the cataract into the air, and fall into the whirlpool ; and their sharp crash, as they were snapped in two, cither against the ^0 THE GRAND FALLS. 145 projecting mass of rock, or each other, might be heard above i] e deafening roar of the Falls. From the Falls, we walked through the woods on the edge of the cliffs, to see the minor falls and cascades, which occurred everywhere throughout the mile of tunnel between the Falls and the Basin. Some of these were very fine, and the surrounding scene was of the wildest description. We scrambled down a winding path, cut in the cliffs, to the water's edge. Round the corner, a few hundred yards up the; river, rolled clouds of mist from the Grand Falls, whose sullen roar might be distinctly heard above the sharp rattling of the smaller cascades and rapids, above and below where we stood. The towering cliffs which conceal eu the sun, though it was still many hours high, were composed of contorted masses of blue VOL. I. H \;V 146 SPORTING ADVENTURES and red slate and limestone, their strata lying in a most fantastic and irregular manner. Here and there little brooks fell from the top of the precipice, rolling out suddenly from the overhanging bushes, and, long before tiiey reached the river, ending in sheets of spray. Near the water's edge, our guide pointed out to us a number of deep circular basins, or wells, evidently worn away in the rock by the action of the eddying torrents of former times. He told us that the falls, which are second only to Niagara, in British North America, were receding at the rate of about one foot every year. There is no doubt but that they have, in the course of ages, worn their way back through the lime- stone cliffs, from the basin to their present position. The town is a rising place; it boasts of more than a hundred houses, with a church. BITTER ALE. 147 court-house, and two inns. In the church- yard 1 saw the grave of a man who had attempted to cross the river ahove, and too near the falls, and had been carried over in his canoe and dashed to pieces. Here we laid in a good stock of provisions, and at the principal inn we obtained a bottle of that adventurous coniposition. Bass's bitter ale. In the evening a thunder-storm came on, and a torrent of rain deluged us, as our camp was situated at the foot of a precipice, down which the water poured in rivulets. September 5th. — All hands lay asleep on the boughs this morning till long after the usual hour, as our night's rest had been bro- ken up by the wet weather. It was a beau- tiful day when we arose. Soon after a good breakfast we started, intending to reach the mouth of the Arestook, eighteen miles below the Grand Falls by sunset. H 2 148 SPORTING ADVENTURES. The current aided our progress greatly. A few miles from the falls, we passed the Rapide des Femmes and the White Rapid. They were each of them nearly a quarter of n mile long, and we glided downwards over the long undulating waves with fearful velo- city. Luckily, there was everywhere plenty of water to float the canoe. Contact with a sunken rock w^ould have been immediate destruction. The shores are composed of gently rising hills, covered with forests of an enormous growth. A flock of duck got up a little in advance, and passed the canoe. However, they were far out of range of our guns, as we were in the middle of the stream, and they hugged the shore. Immense flights of wild pigeons were continually passing from bank to bank. We saw a flock of nearly a hundred seated in a maple overhanging the river. They took to I [ THE ARESTOOK. 149 i 1 flight at our approach, and as many more rose from the ground, where they had been probably feeding on pigeon-berries. Passing the salmon river on our left, the junction of which with the St. John was shaded by groves of magnificent elms, we arrived at the entrance of the Arestook into the main river about dusk. The Arestook joins the St. John on its right bank, and is a large river. We camped on the opposite bank, under a gigantic black spruce, afford- ing us complete shelter from the rain, which fell heavily all night. Our sleep was dis- turbed by a party of drunken Indians, who were returning to their camps from the public- house at the mouth of the Arestook, and had seen our camp fire through the bushes. Larry pronounced them to be Milecetes, from their language. September 6. — After breakfast, we crossed the river to the mouth of the Arestook, with 150 SPORTING ADVENTURES. the intention of visiting the fulls on that river, four miles from its mouth. A walk along a road through a lofty forest of pines and hemlocks, brought us within hearing of the falls, and we descended the cliffs to the water's edge. The falls of the Arestook are not very lofty, though the scenery is of the wildest description. For nearly a mile, as wo could see, the river tumbled, all foaming and tur- bulent, between sloping banks of slate, black as ink. The dark rocks were here and there relieved by a patch of light red, and gloomy tangled forests crowned the cliffs. A few miles higher up, as we were told at the inn, the river crosses the boundary line between New Brunswick and Maine. The forest along the line is levelled to the breadth of sixty feet. An iron pillar is erected at every mile, and one of wood at every half mile. f THE TOBIQUE. 151 Salmon ascend the Arestook as far only as the falls. They may be caught with a fly in the basin below the last pitch. A great deal of Yankee timber descends the Arestook every spring from the forests of Maine. The Yankees are allowed to use the St. John for the passage of their lumber. We passed a second night under the spruce tree, having brought back a basket of luxi - ries for dinner, which we had purchased from a settler on the Arestook. September 7. — This morning, wc passed on the left the mouth of the largest tributary to the St. John — the Tobique. This river runs a course of nearly two hundred miles through Northern New Brunswick, rising in some large lakes, near the source o^ ^he Nepisiquit. A short distance up the Tobique rose the lofty mountain which we had seen from our camp two days previously. This river is celebrated for its minerals : ' 1. 152 SPORTING ADVENTURES. copper, lead, and I was told silver, have been found on its rugged banks. At its junction with the St. John is a large settlement of Milecete Indians. Their wigwams appeared on the top of the bank, and innumerable canoes were drawn up on the beach. On the summit of the right bank of the St. John, facing the Indian village, is the Tobique settlement, an assemblage of several neat white houses, with a church, and tele- graph office. For the electric telegraph runs from the town of St. John to Quebec, skirt- ing the river St. John for some distance above the Grand Falls. To-day, we performed nearly thirty miles, camping about half a mile above the mouth of the Bcggaguimick. We had, during the dav, fired innumerable shots at ducks, but had only succeeded in bagging one, owing to the breadth of the stream, which enabled these cunning birds to get by us out of range. ^ TOW-BOATS. 153 / / Several tow-boats had been passed by us, going up the river, laden with stores for the use of the lumberers in the woods in the following winter. These boats, which are great flat barges, sometimes forty feet in length, are drnvvn by two or three horses on the shore. They have hard work in sur- mounting the heavier rapids of the river, below which two or three will sometimes collect, and, uniting the strength of their teams, perform the passage one by one. It was a pleasing sight, and often relieved the dull monotony of the forest-bound river, to meet several of these tow-boats cominir up the river. They would generally be crowded by the red-shii'tcd lumberers, singing their own songs about the woods, or the pleasures of a spree in tbe settlements. They were always ready with some good-humoured jest, to fling at us as we passed in our canoe ; but always willingly gave us correct informa- H 3 li M 154 SPORTING ADVENTURES. tion as to distance, whenever we hailed them for that purpose. In the stern of the tow-boat, is a wooden house, into which they may retreat in wet weather, and at night. The steersman stands on the roof of this house, holding the long handle of the rudder. The difficulty of supplying the extensive gangs of lumberers in the interior of the vast forests of Upper St. John, with necessary food, is very great. The provisions are taken in these tow-boats, a journey of between three and four hundred miles up the St. John. Teams of oxen transport them thence to the camps, often at great distances back in the woods. The cost of conveyance is generally equal to the original price of the articles. September 8. — A bright morning : a fresh breeze blowing down the river. We went on shore at the mouth of the Bcggaguimick. Here, as we learnt from a settler, great DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 155 excitement prevailed. A waggon dashed along the road as we landed, the occupants cheering wildly and firing off guns. The settler told us that gold had been found twenty-five miles up the channel of the Beggaguimick, where there were between two and three hundred people encamped, and digging away energetically in search of the precious metal. He showed us some pieces of what was found and supposed to be gold. I told him it was mica, as it was, which he appeared to disbelieve. As we afterwards learned, we were taken by the settlers, located at the mouth of the river, for government officers sent up from Fredericton to seize upon the " diggins" in her Majesty's name. As we had not time or curiosity enough to go up to the diggins, we started again in half an hour, to the evident relief of the settlers. In the afternoon we arrived at the i 156 SPORTING ADVENTURES. picturesque town of Woodstock, a distance of sixty miles from our destination, Fredericton. Woodstock is a large town, some of its shops, called stores in this country, are very good, and a steamer runs from it to Fre- dericton, when the St. JoL i is high. It derives its prosperity from the lumhering business, exporting great quantities of provisions to the woods around the upper St. John. We camped about a mile below the town. September 9. — There was a perceptible frost this morning, and the maples were clothed in brilliant draperies of every shade of crimson and scarlet. About ten miles below camp, we passed the Meductic rapids, where a gang of about forty men, taking advantage of the lowness of tlie water, were blasting the rocks which projected above the surface. They looked aghast at us, as we, unconscious of the right channel, shot over 1 FLIGHT OF DUCKS. 157 into the most turbulent and awful rapid that I have ever descended. T'le undulations of the water were forty or fifty feet in length. We thought several times that we must have been swamped, for the velocity of the river was so fearful, and the projecting rocks so numerous- A little below these rapids, we fired at a flight of black ducks, but they escaped, one and all. The scenery on the St. John, which we passed through to-day, was very beautiful. The shores were gene- rally steep and rocky, and numerous brooks fell in lovely cascades from gorges in the cliffs. High up in these gorges, shaded by groups of k^aning pines and tangled brush- wood, might be seen primitive saw-mills, rudely constructed out of massive logs. The autumnal colours, painted by the late frosts, now appeared more or less on every deciduous tree or shrub. This evening we camped only fifteen miles above our destination. 'i I 158 SPORTING ADVENTURES. September 10. — ^This mojiiing, we got into broader water soon after leaving camp. The St. John here expanded to the breadth of half a mile, and the current helped us but little from its sluggishness. Three hours paddling brought us to Fredericton, the scat of government in New Brunswick. Larry and Fraitcis appeared quite bewildered at the size of the towr., and the dress of the military quartered there. We entered the town with almost the ; inie feelings as our Indians did, thougti we knew it, and many of its inhabitants well. Through our lonr absence from the abodes of civili- zatiorij we felt strange in walking the crowded streets, and in speaking to our old friends. We were known at first by few, for our clothes were in such a dilapidated state, and our beards so wild-looking, that any one would have been justified in taking us for DEPARTURE OP THE INDIANS. 159 lumberers in woods, on the very verge of civilization. Much wonder, too, was caused by the appearance of our Micmac canoe, all the Indians residing on the St. John being Milecetes, and building canoes of a much lighter description. This evening, we paid our Indians, who were to return to the Bay of Chaleurs by coach from Fredericton. Soon after sunset we were once more respectably dressed, shaven and washed; and after a good dinner, told our numerous friends who dined with us, all about the haps and mishaps of a Canoe Voyage on the rivers Restipjouche and St. John. 160 SPORTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER VIII. Modes of Killing Moose — Hunting in the Fall — CaUing the Moose— Anecdote of a Haligoniun Cockney — Dangerous Sport — A Tussle with a Moose — Creeping Moose — The Moose-Yard — Joe Cope — A Day's Sport- ing — Boy Jeem — A Kettle of Soup — -Indian Account of the Origin of the Moose — Joe and the Whitemen — Indian extravagance — Depth of Snow — Running ^loosc down — Snaring Moose — ^loose Traps — Inefiicacy of Legal Measures — The Halifax Protection Society — Gradual Extinction of the Moose. There are five methods by which moose may be hunted or killed in Nova Scotia, viz., creeping on them in the fall and winter, calling the bull-moose in the fall, running them down on snow-shoes in February and MOOSE HUNTING. 161 March, bringing to bay with dogs, and snaring. The first three are orthodox ; the last two practices arrant poaching. The fall is the most enjoyable time for hunting the moose. The bull is, at this season, in his full vigour, and is truly a noble animal to behold. Adorned with massive antlers, and evincing a roaming, wild, and sometimes fierce disposition, there is more excitement attendant on shooting a bull- moose in the fall, than at any other time of the year. The delicious days and mild nights, par- ticularly during the Indian summer, are much preferable to the cold variable weather of the winter ; while the science and wood- craft displayed by the Indian hunter in discovering and following a moose track, in places where, even by the closest scrutiny, the eye of the white man cannot distinguish the foot print ; and the delightful ease of walk- 162 SPORTING ADVENTURES. :i ; ing in moccasins over the elastic carpeting of moss in the fir forests, and on the soft, moist, newly-fallen leaves in the liard woods, give to this season undeniable precedence. In the fall, too, additional sport may be obtained at night, and sometimes even during the day, \)y calling the bull moose. Most of the Indians, who make it their business to accompany the sportsman into the woods, are good hands at calling. The moose " call" is a trumpet, made by rolling a sheet of birch-bark into a cone. No material has been found to equal birch-bark for this pur- pose. Metal will not answer, producing a sound too shrill and ringing. The Indian commences to call at sundown, f'casing when it becomes dark, till moon-rise ; a a moose coming up, when there was not sufficient light to see along the barrels, would almost certainly escape. The very best time to call is towards morn- i Jj'l CALLING THE MOOSE. 163 ing — for an hour before dawn, r \ for a short time after daybreak. At this time, moose appear to be less cautious, and more eager to answer the call than they are in the early part of the night. In calling, the Indian and sportsman conceal themselves behind a rock, or a clump of dwarf evergreens, on the edge of a barren, the Indian standing on the top of a rock, or sometimes climbing a tree, so as to give the sound of his call every advantage for diffusing itself through the surrounding forest. When an answer is obtained, and the moose appears to be bent on coming up, the Indian either recedes, or sends the sportsman some hundred yards or so in advance; or, should the animal hesitate on arriving in the neighbourhood of the caller, the Indian has a better chance of allaying the animal's suspicions, by the apparent distance of the cow. The moose, hearing the call at a 164 SPORTING ADVENTURES. greater distance than he had expected, again advances, and, at a few paces, probably receives the fire of the sportsman. Nothing can be more productive of feelings of excitement than sitting, wrapped in blan- kets, on the edge of a forest-girt plain, the moon peering through mists of gently-falling dew, and faintly illuminating the wild scene, now flashing on the white surface of a granite boulder, and then sparkling in the water of the swamp, and on the bedewed mounds of moss, and clumps of ground-laurels ; nothing can be more exciting, when the wild notes of the Indian's call, rending the calm air, have dispersed over the echoing forest, than the succeeding moments of listening for an answer. You scarcely believed your ears to have been capable of such exertion, if so it may be termed. And then, when, far away from over the CALLING THE MOOSE. 165 hills, and through the dense fir-forests, comes the booming answer of a bull moose ; when you hear the distant crashing of branches, and the rattling the massive antlers against the trees ; and when, at length the monarch of the American forest emerges from the woods, and stands snorting and bellowing on the open barren, his proportions looming gigantic through the hazy atmosphere — then docs the blood course through your veins as it never did before ; and, scarcely knowing what is about to happen, you grasp the ready rifle, and crouch in the protecting bushes. It is hard to take precise aim by moonlight. Unless the bead on the barrel ])c of polished silver, it is advisable to chalk the end of the gun. Some hunters draw a line with a piece of chalk from the bead to the eve. However, in calling, one has seldom occasion for a long shot, indeed, I have hoard of the hair of a 166 SPORTING ADVENTURES. moose's coat having been singed by the flash, so close has he advanced to the ambush. Calling is seldom attempted, either at night or by day, if there is anything like a breeze stirring through the woods. Moose are more cautious in windy weather, are longer in coming up, and generally endeavour to get round to leeward of the caller. The Indians will seldom call when it is windv ; they say it only makes confusion amongst the moose, and spoils the country ; and they are very averse to starting a moose without getting a shot at him. I have never heard two Indians call exactly alike, and the settlers assert that they can call as well as an Indian on this account. They say that any loud noise at night will make a moose come up to the spot. This idea is erroneous. The difference of note does not signify, for the cow moose I COCKNEY ANECDOTE. 167 differ widely in their call, but it is in giving vent to the sound, making it appear to come from the lungs of a moose, and not from those of a man, that the Indian excels. Apropos of notes : I once went out to call moose in the neighbourhood of Halifax with a white settler for one night. He had a cockney reputation of being a good hand at calling moose. He represented his calling as " fust chop. He had a' most grand note, larncd from the best Ingin hunter in Novy Scoshv." At his first call, I scarcely knew whether to laugh, or to be angry with him for dis- turbing the country. I asked him whether he had ever heard the bray of an English jackass. He " guessed not." " Well then," said I, " the noise you have just made is it to a T, and if you can get an answer from any other living creature, I'm a Dutchman !" :1 i II I ' 168 SPORTING ADVENTURES. In the fall of 1853, a white settler, who thought he would try his hand at calling, as moose were numerous in the woods at the back of his clearing, got, as he expressed it, " A'most a horrid scarin' " from a bull moose. To his surprise he obtained an answer to his first call, and the moose came, in broad daylight, right up to the man, who was so taken " aback," that he did not fire till the animal was nearly upon him. He then dis- charged ! 1^ gun without taking aim, and of course missed the moose, who attacked him at once, knocking him over. He said that for some minutes he did not know whether he was on his head or his heels, and that when he came to his senses again, he found, no doubt to his great relief, his persecutor gone. He was badly bruised, but by good luck escaped having his skull fiactured by a blow from the foreleg of the powerful animal. 'I CREEPING MOOSE. 169 The calling season lasts from the beginning of September to the end of October; the best time to make an expedition for this purpose being for a week before and a week after the full moon, in October. It is a a curious fact, that a bull moose, if he be five miles distant when he first hears the call, will, even should it not be repeated, come in a perfectly straight course, through dense forests, and over rocky barrens and brooks, to within a few yards of the very spot where the call had been made. Creeping moose, when the snow is on the ground, is a sport not appreciated by all. Healthful, manly, and exciting, though it l)e, it is attended with so much " roughing it" and by so many disappointments, owing to the state of the weather, that it is not every one who will care to repeat the experiment, particularly if a shot has not been obtained in the first attempt. Still, for a person who VOL. I. I I 170 SPORTING ADVENTURES. .; ?'; can stand, and derive benefit from a hard day's work, and who likes a life in the woods at all seasons, it is enticing enough. Moose, as has been before observed, herd together in winter, forming what is termed a "yard;" their movements b'^ing more or less restricted, according to the inclemency of the weather, the depth of the snow, and their wildness occasioned by proximity to settlements. In the winter of 1852 — 53, I was hunt- ing in the neighbourhood of Petite, Nova Scotia, in company with an Indian, named Joe Cope, the best hun-Lcr in the province al- though his sight and hearing are beginning to fail him. During the whole fortnight I was out, the weather was clear, calm, and frosty, and there was only a "^ it of sncw in the woods. From these reasons, and from frequently being started by parties who were taking advantage of the good sledding on CUNNING OF THE MOOSE. 171 the bush paths, for the purpose of hauling timber, the moose did not yard at all. They were always on the move, feeding as they went. They never lay down, without making a detouTy and coming back to leeward of their tracks ; and then they were constantly on the qui vive, lying with their heads down the wind, so as to have a clear view of the country to leeward, whilst their keen sense of smell would detect the scent of any crea- ture passing to the windward of th^ir posi- tion. Moose, however, were in great abundance, and we looked forward to a favourable change of weather, as bringing certain sport. One afternoon, returning to camp, after aa un- successful trudge on thr barrens, in hopes of seeing carriboo, or moose, enjoying the sua by the edge of the woods, we saw the Shubenacadie mountains, distant about fifteen I 2 'V'l i J ii 172 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ir miles, become gradually enveloped in what appeared to be a thick mist. " Yes — no — yes. My sake ! I very glad — he snow fast on mountains — plenty snow to-night — moose-steak for dinner to-morrow," said old Joe in great glee. In half an hour, the flakes which drifted up with a gradually increasing breeze, fell thickly, and the iron crust which had formed uik the surface of the old snow, during the late continuance of frost, relaxed. As there was an hour's daylight still to be calculated upon, we went to look after tracks in a swampy valley, covered with thick evergreens, distant about half a mile from camp. Here we at once hit oif the tracks of two moose. They were quite fresh. " Gone by, only two, tree minute," said Joe. Just as our excitement was at its pitch, expecting to see the moose every instant, it suddenly MOOSE HUNTING. 173 fell quite calm again. However, we con- tinued to creep with great caution ; and presently, old Joe, after bobbing his head about, as he tried to make out some object in the distant forest, beckoned me to come cautiously behind him." "Moose — there — fire," whispered he, his rugged features enlivened by a savage grin of exultation. For some seconds, I could not discover the moose. At length, seeing a dark patch looming through some thick bushes, at the distance of at least one hundred yards, I let drive with both barrels. On rushing up, we found that both moose had gone off; a few drops of blood on the snow, however, showed that one was wounded. '' I very sorry, but I sure if I try take you more handy, moose start before you get shot," said the Indian. " Oh, I know it was not your fault Joe," 174 SPORTING ADVENTURES. I : l\:\ answered I, " but I think we shall get him yet." " Sartain," said Joe. " Moose-steak for dinner to-morrow, too dark to got him to- night, he stiff in mornin." We followed the track of the wounded moose for a short distance, and returned to camp with the expectation of killing him in an hour after breakfast next morning. But our hopes were doomed to disappointment, when on waking next morning, we found that the snow, before so long wanted, had fallen most inopportunely, completely cover- ing up the tracks of our moose. Tracking him by the blood marks on the trees, against which he had brushed in his course, for a sho^t distance, we found to our chagrin, that he had taken to the open barrens, and wc were obliged to leave the poor brute to perish, most probably, from his wound. Wind is indispensable in winter-hunting. STARTLED MOOSE. 175 On a calm day, however soft the snow might be, the tread of the hunter will in nine cases out of ion, start these wary animals, particu- larly should they be lying down. Unless there is a good breeze stirring the branches of the forest, it is only by chance that a shot may be obtained at moose, however numerous they may be. When a moose is started, he quickly gains his legs, and plunges forward for about fifty yards. Then he invariably stops for a second or two to ascertain the cause of alarm, and make up his mind in what direction to shape his flight. This momentary pause often leads to his destruction, for the hunter, on hearing him start, will often be able to obtain a glimpse of, if not a shot at the moose, by rushing on in tlie du'ection of the sound. A started moose will alarm all the moose which may be yarded in the country through which he flies. Consequently, it is useless to I 176 SPORTING ADVENTURES. ii ,' attempt hunting in the direction ho has gone. The sna|)ping of the boughs where moose are feeding, often make the Indian hunter aAvare of their proximity. Although every Indian can creep on and shoot moose when by himself, few can officiate as good hunters to accompany the white sportsman. Much additional caution is necessary from the comparatively clumsy manner in which the whice man will travel through the 'voods, and the whole affiiir is connected with so much more labour, and contracted resources on the part of the Indian, that it requires an old and experienced hunter — one who has made it his business to accompany parties of sportsmen into the bush — to ensure them a chance of success. The Indian, Joe Cope, is one of the best of this class. He is, though getting old, still a very good hunter, and understands mill "boy jeem." 177 perfectly all the necessaries for a camp, and ways of making it comfortable. He is a merry old fellow withal, having at his com- mand an unlimited number of sporting anecdotes, wherewith to enliven the camp in the long evenings. f lis son " Jem," commonly called In his father, " the boy Jeem," usually acr ^r>ies old Joe in the capacity of camp-ke( id a capital one he makes too. He will guess the exact moment of your return to camp, after the day's hunting, and will have pre- pared a kettle of delicious soup — a sort of " omnium gatherum " of partridges, hares, peas, onions, &c. He takes care that the camp larder shall never be short of game ; for he is a good shot at partridge, and is " great " at snaring hares. The " boy Jeem " promises to turn out as good a hunter as his father. I have often been out with them tr»jether, when old Joe I 3 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) z 1.0 I.I I- |2£ 12 5 |50 *^~ B^B 1^ Uii 1 2.2 w y^ las m '•25ll'-^l'-^ < 6" ► I t V] /J Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STHIT WnSTIR.N.Y. I45S0 (716)S72-4S03 4r L •^ f ^ 11 . i ; . i .. t . i' m 0: 11- If;, i-i' 178 SPORTING ADVENTURES. has appealed to his son for his judgment as to the age of a track, or of a bitten bough, or concerning the manoeuvres of a yard of moose. "I b'lieve Jeem right," he would say, looking at me with a grin of satisfaction. One of Joe's recommending points is, that though he has shot nearly as many moose as he has hairs on his head, he hunts with the excitement and enthusiasm of a young hand. Joe, as well as several other Indians, entertains a firm belief that moose originally came from the sea; and that, in a case of extreme emergency, they wiU again betake themselves to that element. " 'Bout thirty year ago," says Joe, " there warn't not a single moose in whole province. They bin so hunted and destroyed for 'bout ten year, they all go to sea. Ingin go all over woods, everywhere, and never see single sign or track of moose anywhere — only car- 1:1 ! JOE COPE. 179 riboo — plenty carriboo then. Well, Capting, my father, he find first moose-track, when they begin to come back agen. I was leetle boy, then, and I never seen moose. We live in wigwam, away on Beaver-bank road ; and, one day, my father come back to camp, and say, * Joe, I seen fresh moose-track. Come along with me.* Well, we went ; and father crept, and shot big cow moose. I never seen moose, and I 'most 'fraid to go near the poor brute. " Well, we hauled it out whole to camp ; and all the Ingin, from all parts of province, come to see carciss ; and the old Ingin, they all clap their hands, and say, * Good time come agen — the moose come back.* "Well, Capting, after that, moose was seen almost everywhere; and one man see two moose swim ashore on Basin of Minas ; and, since then, plenty moose all over pro- vince. 1 'most 'fraid, though, these rascals •ill i ii :l I pi % i.!i,ii m iiil! liii il!, !! pi: iHpeared as an was in »ur. The torpid : )eing the consumed inion had t had, un- 260 SPORTING ADVENTURES. / i- CHAPTER XII. A Cure for Indigestion — Plenty of Game — A Wounded Moose— Following the Trail — Death of the Moose — Cutting up — Slacking the Carcase — A Haul of Fish — Hares caught in a Snare — A Snug Lodging — The Pipe of Repose — A Snooze in the Woods — Unexpected Visitor — An Exciting Situation — Two Moose killed — The Hand Sled — The Indian Coutcau de Chasse — Col- lecting the Meat — Pish Eagles — Substitute for a Pipe — Last night in Camp — Hcturn to Halifax. The 4th of March was a fine, calm morning. The hole in the ice through which water for the use of the camp was procured, had heen completely frozen up during the night, and had to be cut afresh. The lake was emitting a succession of boom- CURE FOR INDIGESTION. 261 ing sounds, which appeared to commence at one end, and to run with electric rapidity, under the ice, to the other. These sounds, which are very grand on a large lake, show that the ice is gaining in thickness and strength. The woods, too, were giving evidence of the intensity of the frost, by the loud crack- ing of their stems, resembling the undecided fire of a party of skirmishers ; while the snow crunched under our moccasins with a noise ungrateful to the ear of a moose- hunter. Paul had a slight attack of indigestion this morning, and set off into the woods in search of some Indian remedy. He put no faith in the cures which brandy is said to effect, in the old song, and refused, as In- dians invarijibly will when in the bush, my proffered remedy, a cup of bucketeweech — Anglice, brandy. His medicine proved to I /< . .Lit h l-'li 262 SPORTING ADVENTURES. be the little purple berries of the ground juniper, which have a strong taste of tur- pentine, and which he bruised and swallowed in a cup of hot tea. My companion's ankle was so stiff this morning, that he was obliged to remain in camp ; so Paul and Williams both accom- panied me, when we started after breakfast. A fine breeze had now sprung up from the north-west, assisting us in our course down the lake, while the damp soles of our moccasins sticking to the surface of the glib ice, enabled us to run without danger of slipping. We turned into the woods, at nearly the same spot that Williams and myself had done the day before, and soon found the fresh track of an immense herd of moose. According to the Indian's computation, there could not have been less than sixteen or seventeen moose in the yard. At length. MOOSE CREEPING. 263 ground of tur- vallowed stiff this emain in L accom- )reakfast. from the rse down of our ; of the danger of learly the ysclf had bund the of moose, tion, there iixteen or U length, 1 thought I, I shall get a shot at a moose. After a short consultation, in Micmac, be- tween the Indians, in which the word teeam (moose), accompanied by gesticulations and pointings, occurred frequently, the creeping commenced. Williams, carrying my rifle, took the lead ; old Paul directing me to step in Williams's tracks, followed with his rusty musket. The wind now blew steadily, and made melancholy music among the branches of the lofty hemlocks through which the chase led us, drowning the crackling of the frozen snow under our moccasins. Still, our utmost caution was necessary, for the fine ear of the moose will, even in a gale of wind, detect the snapping of the smallest twig, or any noise foreign to the natural sounds of the forest, at a great distance. Now is the time to see the Indian in his element and on his mettle. See how his 264 SPORTING ADVENTURES. eyes glisten, as he bends down and scru- tinizes the tall, slender stem of a young maple, the red, juicy top of which has been bitten off at the height of some nine or ten feet from the ground. Now he stoops and fingers the track, crumbling the lumps of snow dislodged by the huge foot, to tell the very minutes that have elapsed since the animal stood there. On we go, every foot stepping in the track of the leading Indian, our arms ein ployed in carefully drawing aside the branches which impede our progress, and preven ng the barrels of our guns from noisy contact with the stems, or boughs of the trees. The dense shiubbery of stunted evergreens, ^hi'ough which we had been worming our vvtiy for the last twenty minutes, appeared to be getting thinner, and we were about to emerge into an open space, with clumps of young hardwood interspersed through a lofty MOOSE HUNTING. 2G5 i scru- young las been e or ten )ops and imps of I tell the ince the in the irms em- branches ireve.i ng y contact 3es. The vcrgreens, ning our appeared about to dumps of igh iofty grove of pines and hemlocks, when Williams suddenly withdrew his foot from a step which would have exposed him, and stepped behind a young spruce, his excited face beaming with delight as he beckoned me to advance. There stood, or reposed, the stupendous animals in every variety of posture. Some were feeding, others standing lazily chewing the cud, and flapping their broad ears, now and then stooping to snatch a mouthful of the pure Suow. About fifty yards distant, in a clump of tall dead ferns and briars, stood a huge bull, with a splendid coat. Levelling at him, I discharged both barrels of my smooth bore, one at and the other behind the shoulder. He dropped, and the rest of the yard, discovering their foes, plunged off through the bushes, knocking over the dead trees in their way as if they had been nine-pins. I VOL. I. N 266 SPORTING ADVENTURES. Williams, thrusting my rifle into my hands, pointed to a fine cow, which was the hindmost of the retreating yard. I fired both barrels at her, as she showed herself in an open space between the trees; at about eighty yards distance. A slight stumble, and an increased acceleration in her speed, told us that she was hit. " I think we shall get the cow, Paul," said I loading away. No sooner were the words out of my mouth, than the bull, which we thought to have been hors-de-combat, scrambling up, dashed off gloriously after the retreating yard on three legs. " Come along with me. Sir," shouted Paul. " Williams, you take gentleman's rifle, and go kill cow." W"e dashed on at full speed after the bull, who was nearly out of sight, and was shaping his course as a wounded moose alway does, through the thickest covers of the bush. MOOSE HUNTING. 267 I However, the poor brute left traces of his direction, which gave him little chance of eluding our pursuit, for the blood on the snow lay in a line nearly a foot in breadth. A few minutes brought us to where he had been standing to rest and listen, as a circular pool of blood on the snow indicated,* and we presently caught a glimpse of him going gallantly up a steep hill, about a hundred yards in advance. Several times I dropped on one knee and levelled, but the stems of the hemlocks were so broad and frequent, and my hand so unsteady, that before I could bring the barrels to bear on him, he was again out of sight. On arriving at the top of the hill, I was completely used up, as we had followed him at great speed for nearly half a mile. I had lost my cap, and powder flask, bullets, and biscuits jolted out of my pockets, in the frequent rolls- over which I had received, were lying in the N 2 I >i3l 268 SPORTING ADVENTURES. snow at intervals between us and the spot where the chase commenced. However, we must persevere, for the blood had nearly ceased, and if he escaped in his present wounded condition, he would die. As luck would have it, on entering a little barren, we saw the moose standing at the other end, evincing no signs of wishing to make a fresh start. Shaking the snow out of the barrels and putting on fresh caps, I dropped him with one ball, and immediately advancing, I tired the second barrel at his head, aiming behind the ear. Down went his head into the snow, and with a convulsive quiver he stretched out dead. "Well done, skipper," said old Paul, slapping me on the back. " You done well to-day. A most splendid bull," continued he, lifting up the huge head of the moose off the snow. I own that I felt completely triumphant. DEATH OF A MOOSE. 269 he spot he blood i in his die. g a little T at the shing to now out 1 caps, I mediately •el at his )wn went convulsive old Paul, done well itinued he, ose off the riumphant. Perhaps the hard chase we had gone through before killing him, and my many previous disappointments in getting shots at moose had made mc callous, but not the least remorse did I feel at having extinguished life in so huge an animal. Besides, it was my first moose. He measured nearly seven feet aoin the hoof to the shoulder, and we calculated that he must have weighed eleven or twelve hundred pounds. And the spot, too, was so wildly picturesque. It was a small circular area in the forest, and the bright scarlet leaves of the ground laurels peeped through the snow. He had fallen under a black spruce, which appeared to spread its massive snow-laden branches over him as the funereal cypress. Seated on a log opposite, and lighting my pipe, 1 watched with great satisfaction the butchering process which Paul performed with the evident ease and skill of an old I' I I ' I! * 270 SPORTING ADVENTURES. hand. The moose birds soon made their appearance, and hopped round boldly, almost within reach. Ravens and crows wheeled in circles overhead, croaking horribly, waiting for our departure, to commence their feast on the offal. Paul finished, by shovelling snow into the interior of the carcass, which was, by our united efforts placed on its belly and thatched over wi'^h spruce boughs and a thick coating of snow. In this state, the carcass of a moose 'vvill keep, provided the wolves and ynxes do not get wind of it, till the breaking up of the winter. In the meantime, we had heard two sharp cracks from my rifle, with which Williams had gone after the wounded cow moose ; so Paul, binding on to his belt a goodly bunch of steaks and other delicate morsels for home consumption, started in search of him. Near the spot whence we imagined we had TROUT FISHING. 271 c their almost vheeled waiting east on into the by our ;hatchGd coating ss of a ves and breaking KO sharp Williams oose ; so ly bunch rsels for 1 of him. d we had heard the sound of the rifle to have proceeded, the old Indian uttered the dismal cry of thr horned owl. An answti- was at once returned from a spot not far distant, and on going up, we found Williams, with bared arms, busily engaged over the carcass of the cow moose. V Iiad shot her after a race similar to ours. Great v\cre the rejoicings in camp that evening, after our late arrival. My companion had been down to the river, and with a long stick as a rod, two or three yards of twine, and a hook, baited first with salt pork, and afterwards with pieces of their own flesh, had caught several dozen fine trout, averaging a pound in weight a-piece, and which proved to be remarkably fine and well-flavoured, con- sidering the time of year. March 5. — After lying awake for some time this morning listening to the owls and foxes, I got up, and squatting over the fire, lighted if 1 i m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. <bed with feather of laving an ad the tail palmer, or i in this ished from perpendicu- , where the ;e spots we ig from the rticularly in ngs trickled 1 sport— the the busi- [vening, with Id with fine, being rather soon blazed up before the camp, and the frying-pan, full of trout and pieces of fat pork, placed over a jet of flame. The tea-kettle, with the tea in it, was suspended over the fire, hanging from a notched stick, which was stuck at a convenient angle into the ground. Some of the trout were roasted on sticks, in front of the blaze, which, I think, is the best method of cooking them. Clean, broad sheets of birch bark did service as plates. Mter a hearty meal, eaten in the usual re- cumbent posture, we passed over the remains of the feast to Frederics, who made an omnium gatherum in the frying-pan, which served as dish and plate to him. Having swallowed a good proportion of the strong boiled tea, we followed Frederics' example of taking what he termed " a draw at the old pipe ;" and threatening him with a ducking 304 SPORTING ADVENTURES. in the lake next morning, if he should let the fire out during the night, we composed our- selves to sleep. END OF VOL I. LONDON: Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. ,d let the )sed our- M 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH ST., LONDON. NEW AND INTERESTING WORKS PUBLISHED BY MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT, SUCCESSORS TO ME. COLBURN. set. HURST Ay:: blackett s new publications. MEMOIKS OF LIEUT. BELLOT ; WITH HIS JOUR- NAL of a VOYAGE in the POLAR SEAS, in SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 2 vols, post 8vo. with Portrait, 2l8. bound. "This is a book welcome to tlie hearts of Englishmen, for dear to the English is the memory of Joseph TXenc Bellot. The noble young Frenchman, who won so much love and confidence on every side, gains a fresh hold on the atTections of this country by the pos- thumous publication of this memoir, and of the frank unassuming Journal it pre- faces." — Examiner. " Of all the naval heroes of recent days, there is none who has gained a rep'U.ition at once so brilliant and so spotless as Bellot. These volunu-i. constitute an appropriate monument to his honoured memory, and must be regarded as a very interesting addition to the chronicles of Arctic enterprise." — Chronicle. LORD GEORGE BENTINCK: A POLITICAL BIO- GRAPHY. Bythe RIGHT HON. B.DISRAELI, M.P. Filth and cheaper Edition, Revised. Post Svo. 10s. Gd. i j i i i i , \ : I, , " This biography cannot fail to attract the deep attention of the public. We are bound to say, that as a political biograpliy we have rurely, if over, met with ubook more dexterously bandied, or more replete willi intiTL'st. Tlie history of the lanuni» session of 1840, as written by Disraeli in that brilliant und pointed stylo of which he is su consummate a muster, is deeply interesting. He has traced this memorable struggle with a vivacity and power unequalled as yet in any narrative of I'urliunientary proceedings." — litavkwuud'a Mag, " Mr. Disraeli's tribute to the memory of his dep.irted friend is as graceful and as touching as it is accurate and impartial. No one of Lord Ueurge lientinck's colleagues could have been selected, who, from his iiigli literary attaiunietits, his personal intiuiucy, and party associations, would have done such complete justice to the memory of a friend and Parliamentary associate. Mr. Disraeli has here presented us with the very type and embodi- ment of what history should be. His sketch of the condition of parties is seasoned with ■ome of those piquant personal episodes of party munrcuvres and private intrigues, in the author's happiest and most captivating vein, which convert the dry details of politics into a sparkling and agreeable narrative." — Morning Herald. LORD PALMERSTON'S OPINIONS AND POLICY; AS Minister, Diplomatist, and Statesman, during more tlian Forty Years of Public Life. 1 vol. Svo with Portrait, 12s. " This work ought to have a place in every political library. It gives a complete view of the sentiments and opinions by which the policy of Lord Paluierston bus been dictated as a diplomatist and statesman." — Chronicle. " This is a remarkable und seusonaiile publication ; but it is sornething more— it is a valuable addition to the historical treasures of our country during mure tlian forty of the most memor'ibie years of our anuals. We earnestly recommend the volume to general neragal." — S.undurd JATIONS. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. a I HIS JOUR- CH OF SIR JOHN nd. ir to the English la the I won so much love and his ctiuiitry hy the pos- iming Journal It pre- s gained a repi'tatiou at istitiite an appropriate r interesting addition to [TICAL BIO- •. Filth and cheaper I public. We ore bound II book more dexterously oils session of 184n, as L) coiisuininute a muster, th a viviic'ity and power ilackwoud's Mag, is us graceful and as e ISentiiiL'k's colleagues i persuiiul intiuiucy, and lemory of a friend and e very type and embodi- liirties is seasoned with liviite intrigues, in the oluils of politics into a POLICY; AS )rc than Forty Years gives a complete view on bus been dictated us )mething more— It is a norc than forty of the the volume to general MEMOIRS OF THE COURT AND CABINETS OF GEORGE THE THIRD, From Original Family Documents. By the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, K.'" &c. The Third and Fourth Volumes, comprising the period from ^jOO to 1810, and completing this important work. 8vo., with Portraits. 30s. bound. From thk Times.— "These volumes consist in the main, of letters written by the two brothers, Lord Grenville, and Mr. T. Grenville, to their elder brother, the Marquis of Buckingham, for his Information as to the political circumstances of the time. In the two former volumes a great amount of curious gossip, and of valuable Information, was contained relative to the formation of the Coalition Ministry, the King's Illness In 1788, and the early period of the war with revolutionary France. Volumes 3 and 4 take up the tale where volumes 1 and 2 had left It ; and herein we liiid a connected narrative of the many stirring historical event.s which occurred between 1800, when Lord Grenville and Talleyrand were in correspondence respecting Bonaparte's proposals for peace, until the return of the King's maludy in 1810 and the debates In Parliament relative to the regency. Thepresent collection is more valuable than the lost, Inasmuch as Lord Grenville, having attained higher dignity and experience, is a more dixpussionate observer of passing eventi. Whoever would desire to read the running comments of so eminent and well Informed a man as Lord Grenville upon a decade so interesting as that of 1800—10, would do well to consult these volumes. Lord Grenville was certainly among the most far-sighted men of his time j and to him, from the first, belongs the credit of appreciating truly Napoleon Bonaparte's position und designs. He did so even to a higher degree than Pitt ; and It is most remarkable how far his predictions have been verified by the event, even when submitted to the sharp test of the judgment of posterity. The principal points on which light is thrown by the present coriespondence are, the negociations before and after the Treaty of Amiens until the time of its rupture — the true character of Addington's Adminis- tration, and the relations between 'The Doctor' and Pitt— the formation of the Pitt and Sidmouth Cabinet, when the King's prejudices against Charles Fox were found to be insur- mountable — the Grenville and Fox short Administration— the Duke of Portland's Cabinet — the expedition to Portugiil, with its climax at Ciiitra— the Duke of York's scandal with Mrs. Clarke— Sir John Moore's ret.. HURST AND BLACKETT*S NEW PUBLICATIONS. MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDANCE OF MAJOR GENERAL SIR W. NOTT, G.C.B., Commander of thk Army of Can- DAIIAR AND EnVOY AT THE COUBT OF LuCKNOW. EDITED BY J. II. STOCQUELER, Esa., at the request of the Daughters of t' - ate General, from Private Papers and Official Documents in their possession. 2 vols. 8vo., with Portrait. 28s. hound. t i ■• " One of the inoit valuable and interestir.g books that can ever claim a permanent place Jn a Mrlli8h \\hrary."—Slandiirtl. "These highly Inteiestln^f volumep give a valuable contribution to the history of India and an lulmiruble portrait of a most ''.ixtinguished officer."— .foAn Bull. " These Memoirs with the Corresjjontlence included In them will do thiit Justice to the part played by Sir W. Nott in the Affghun wor, which It is undeniable preceding works have failed to i\o."—Athena:iim. " These memoirs of General Nott, whom the editor very justly describes as a ' model officer,' havL been given to the world at the Instlgntloii of the hero's surviving (laughters. A more graceful tribute of dutiful affection to the memory of a departed parent it wo\dd be difficult to name. It is at once a graphic picture of the soldier's career, and a noble monu- ment of his fame. The work l.ssues friim the press at a very fortunate moment. The life of an officer who followed in the footsteps of Wellington, making the Despatches of that illustrious warrior his continual study, will be welcomed by many an asjjirant for military renown at this exciting crisis. The volumes form a valuable contribution !<> the biographical stores of the age. To the young soldier, in particular, they will form a ni'i^t valuable guide, worthy to be placed by the side of the Despatches of the great Duke of \\'el!iiij..t j i." — Messenger. " When the late General Nott died, the ' Quarterly Review' expresseil a hope that some means would be taken for giving publicity to his private letters aiul official correspondence, l)ecause they so completely illustrated his high and chivalrous character, while a memoir of his life would hold out so admirable a lesson to Ilritish statesmen, and so good an example to young officers. We are happy, therefore, to find that, under the able editorship of Wr. Stocqneler, the whole of the most valuable portion of the general's correspondence has just been published in two handsome volumes, which comprise also a most interesting memoir of the gallant hero of Candahar, giving a complete account of tlie stirring cunipiiign in Affglian- istan, and throwing much light u])(in many important poirits hitherto left in obscurity. The work will be eagerly welcomed by all— more particularly ly mi'itary readers and those in- terested in our Indian dominions," — Globe. "A biography of a lirst-rate soldier, and a highly honourable man. The book will often be appealed to as a standard authority. A valuable anci most authentic addition is here furnished to the true history of transactions which will ever hold a prominent place i the annals of our Indian rule." — Diifilin Universitti Mag. " We know not a book atter the Wellington Despatches, more deserving of tlie study of a young officer. It might be made one of the standard manuals of milittiry education."— Literari/ Gnzelle. This book is one of the most interesting records of military life that we possess, and a genuine memorial of one who has achieved a right to be reckoned among England's greatest men." — Daili/ News, NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE AT NEPAUL. BY CAPTAIN THOMAS SMITH, late Assistant Political-Resident at Nepaul. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. "No man could be better qualified to describe Nepaul than Captain Smith; and his concise, but clear and graphic account of its history, its natural productions, its laws and customs, and the character of its warlike inhabitants, is very agreeable and instructive reading. A separaie chapter, not the least entertaining in the book, is devoted to anecdotes of the Nepaulese mission, of whom, and of their visit to Europe, many remarkable stories «»• told."— Pos^ ;ations. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHIY. OF MAJOR HK Army of Can- Edited BY J. 11. of t' ' ate General, lossessiou. 2 vols. aim a permanent place to the history of India I do that Justice to the |,receding works have describes as a ' model urviviiig daughters. A led parent it would be er, uiid u noble monu- I moment. The life of le Despatches of that 1 aspirant for military tion to the biographical I a ni'jjt valuable guide, ellii^tj t."— Messenger. essed u hope that some utti(.',;il correspondence, ter, while a memoir of MO good an exam])Ieto able editorship of Mr. )rrespoiidente has just nteresting memoir of cuinpiiiKii in Att'glmn- L'lt in obscurity. The 'udcrs and those in- The book will often be fntic addition )s here uniineut place i the serving of the study of military education."— that we possess, and ong England's greatest EPATJL. BY ical-Resident at aptain Smith; and his Iduttions, its laws and ^eable and instructive devoted to anecdotes Lny remarkable stories MY EXILE. BY ALEXANDER HERZiJN. post Svo. 2 Is. bound. 2 . olfl. " From the^e admirable memoirs the reader may derive a clear idea of Russian political society, nir. Herzen's narrative, ably and unaffectedly written, and undoubtedly authentic, io !ndeed superior in interest to nine-tenths of the existing works on llnssiit."— /l//(ii7^ News. " A work of high literary and Idstnrical merit. Itarcly have the strange vicissitudes of romance been more intimately blended with the facts of real liistory than in the life of IMurle de Medlcis; nor has the dItHciilt problem of combining with tlie tiilelity of biography the graphic power of dramatic delineation been often more succossfully solved than by the talented author of the volumes before us. As a personal narrative. Miss Fardoe'o admirable biography possesses the most absorbing and constantly sustained interest ; as a historical record of the events of which it treats, its merit is of no ordinary description."— John Bull, MEMOIRS OF THE BARONESS D'OBERKIRCH, Illustrative op thk Si;cri:t History ok tuk Courts op Franck, Russia, and Germany. Wkittkn hy HERSELF, and Edited bv Her Grandson, tlie COUNT DE MONTURISON. 3 vols, post 8vo. SIs.fid. The Baroness d'OberkircIi i)cina; the intimate friend of the Empress of Russia, wife of Paul I., and tlie confidential companion of the Duchess of Bourbon, her facilities for obtaining information respecting the most private affairs of the principal Courts of Europe, render her Memoirs unrivalled as a book of interest- ing anecdotes of the royal, noble and other celebrated individuals who flourished on the continent during the latter part of the last century. Among tlic royal per- sonages introduced to the reader in this work, are fiOuis XVF., Marie Antoinette, Philip Egalite, and all the Princes of France then living — Peter the Great, the Empress Catherine, the Emperor Paul, and his sons Constantino and Alexander, of Russia — Frederick the Great and Prince Henry of Prussia — the Emperor Joseph II. of Austria — Gustavus III,of Swc'len — Princess Christina of Saxony — Sobieski, and Czartoriski of Poland — and the Princes of Brunswick and Wurtemhurg. Among the most remarka!)le persons are the I'rinces and Princesses de Lamballe, de Ligne and Galit/in — the Dukes and Duchesses de Choisenl, de Mazarin, de UoufHers.de la Vallit-re, de Guiche, de Pentbievre, and de Polignac — Cardinal de Rohan, Marshals Hi-'m and d'Harconrt, Count de Staremberg, Baroness de Krudener, Madame G ioiiVin, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, and Necker — with Count Cagliostrc, Mesmer, Vestris, and Madame Mar^j ; and the work also includes such literary celebrities as Voltairr, Condoreet, de la Harpe, de Beaumarchais, Rousseau, Lavater, Bernoiiilli, Raynal, de I'Epee, Iluber, Gothe, Wieland, Malesherbes, Marmontel, de Stael and de Genlis ; with some singular disclosures respecting those celebrated Englishwomen, Elizabeth Chud- leigh. Duchess of Kingston, and Lady Craven, Margravine of Anspaeh. "A keen observer, and by position thrown in the high places of the world, the Haroness d'Oberkirch was the very woman to write Memoirs that would Interest future generations. We con.aiend these volumes most heartily to every reader. They are a perfect magazine of pleasant anecdotes and interesting characteristic things. We lay down these charming volumes with regret. They will entertain the most fastidious readers, and instruct the most informed."— Examiner, HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. THE LIFE OF JEANNE FALBRET, QUEEN OF NAVAUllE, from numerous original sources, includini? MS. Documents in the fHljIiothL'que Impi'rialc and the Arcliives Espngnolcs de Simancas. By MISS FREEH, Autlior of " The F.ife of Marguerite D'AngoulCiue." 2 vols, with Portrait, 21s. bound. OPINIONS or THE PRESS. " Miaa Freer has done wisely to follow up her ' I,ifi» of lMnrp;nerlto D'Angoul^me ' with a life of Miirguerlte's cek'l)riite(l iliiuijhter Jeiinne, Qmeti of Nuvarre. The latter wim, In truth, a remarkable woniun in nn aRe distlngiilshod tor reniarkiiljle women, and towers above all her contemporaries, Kllzabeth of England not excepted. Horn in U>'2H, Jeanne became Queen of Navarre on the deaili of her father, in \'M, and relpiied with great distinction nnd honour till her death, in l'h'2. .leanin'a position and charat ter are well portrayed by Miss Freer. The (jnalltii's for which she was remiirnable arc noted without exapKeralion — her fearless truthfulness, her rectituile, ber pas:^ioiuUe love of justice, her sagacity and solidity of understaiulinf^. Throughout the wiu-l:, .Tcanne, of course, occupies the centre; but various celebrated characters groupi'd nrouiul her are nu)re or less fully slH. ADVENTURES OF THE CONNAUGHT RANGERS. Second Series. By WILLIAM GRATTAN, Esa., late Lieutenani CONNAUGHT RaNGERS. 2 Vols. 21s. " In this second series of the adventures of this famous regiment, the author extenrU his narrative from the lirst formation of the gallant Sf>th up to the occupation ^)f I'aris. Ai the battles, sieges, and skirmishes, in which the regiment took part, are described. Th. volumes are interwoven with original anecdotes that give a fieshness and spirit to the whole The stories, and the sketches of society and manners, with the anecdotes of the celebrities c the time, are told ii\ an agreeable and unatlected manner. The work bears all the character- istica of a soldier's straightforward and entertaining narrative."— S«nrf«// Tinws. ■^ ■A ii 10 HURST AND BLaCKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. PAINTING AND CELEBRATED PAINTERS, AN- CIENT and MODERN ; including Historical and Critical Notices of the Schools of Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Edited by LADYJERVIS. 2 vols, post 8vo. 218. " This book is designed to give to the general public a popular knowledge of the History of Painting and the characters of Painters, with especial reference to the most prominent among those of their works which are to be seen in English galleries. It is pleasantly written with the intention of serving a useful purpose. It succeeds in its design, and will be of real use to the multitude of picture seers. Aa a piece of agreeable reading also, it is unex- ceptionable." — Examiner. " This useful and well-arranged compendium will be found of value to the amateur, and pleasing as well as instructive to the general reader ; and, to give it still further praise, the collector will find abundance of most useful information, and many an artist will rise from the perusal of the work with a much clearer idea of his art than he had before. We sum up its merits by recommending it as an acceptable handbook to the principal galleries, and a trustworthy guide to a knowledge of the celebrated paintings in England, and that this information is valuable and much required by many thousands is a well-proven fact." — Sunday Times. 1 i ii'^^ ( t • I CLASSIC AND HISTORIC PORTRAITS. BY JAMES BRUCE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. This VFork comprises Biographies of the following Classic and Historic Per- sonages : — Sappho, .Esop, Pythagoras, Aspasia, Milto, Agesilaus, Socrates, Plato, Alcibiades, Helen of Troy, Alexander the Great, Demetrius PoUorcetes, Scipio Africanus, Sylla, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Germanicus, Caligula, LoUia Paulina, Caesonia, Boadicea, Agrippina, Poppsea, Otho, Commodus, Caracalla, Heliogabalus, Zenobia, Julian the Apostate, Eudocia, Theodora, Charlemagne, Abelard and Heloise, Elizabeth of Hungary, Dante, Robert Bruce, Ignez de Castro, Agnes Sorrel, Jane Shore, Lucrezia Borgia, Anne BuUen, Diana of Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis, Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, Cervantes, Sir Kenelm Digby, John Sobieski, Anne of Austria, Ninon del'Enclos, Mile, de Montpensicr, the Duchess of Orleans, Madame dc Maintenon, Catherine of Russia, and Madame de Slael. " A book which has many merits, most of all, that of a fresh and unhacknied subject. The volumes are the result of a good deal of reading, and have besides an original spirit and tiavour about them, which have pleased us much. Mr. Bruce is often eloquent, ollen humorous, and has a proper appreciation of the wit and sarcasm belonging in abundance to his theme. The variety and amount of inf. rmation scattered through his volumes entitle them to be generally read, and to be received on all liands with merited favour." — Examiner. " We find in these piquant volumes tlie liberal outpourings of a ripe scholarship the results of wide and various reading, given in a style and manner at once pleasant and pictu- resque." — Athenatum, SCOTTISH HEROES IN THE DAYS OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. By the Rev. A. LOW, A.M. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. NATIONS. ^TERS, AN- ical Notices of the irlands. Edited by )wledge of the History to the most prominent It is pleasantly written ign, and will be of real ading also, it is unex- ue to the amateur, and still further praise, the an artist will rise from id before. We sum up rincipal galleries, and a iliigland, and that this a well-proven fact." — BY JAMES and Historic Per- aus, Socrates, Plato, Poliorcetes, Scipio jerius, Germanicus, a, Otho, Commodus, Eudocia, Theodora, ante, Robert Bruce, Anne Bullen, Diana y Queen of Scots, , Ninon del'Enclos, aintenon, Catherine pd unhacknied subject. an original spirit and loften eloquent, olten liiging in abundance to |gh his volumes entitle favour." — Examiner. ripe scholarship the Ice pleasant and pictu- WALLACE )st 8vo. 21s. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 11 MILITARY LIFE IN ALGERIA. BY THE COUNT P. DE CASTELLANE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " We ;commend this book as really worth perusal. The volumes make us familiarly acquainted with the nature of Algerian experience. St. Arnaud, Canrobert, Changarnier, Cavalgnac, Lamorici&re, are brought prominently before the reader."— £j'«mmei*. " These volumes will be read with extraordinary interest. The vivid manner in which the author narrates his adventures, and the number of personal anecdotes that he tells, engage^ the reader's attention in an extraordinary manner."— Swnrfa^ Times. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ENGLISH SOLDIER IN THE UNITED STATES' ARMY. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " The novelty characterising these interesting volumes is likely to secure them many readers. In the first place, an account of the internal organization, the manners and customs of the United States' Federal Army, is in itself a novelty, and a still greater novelty is to have this account rendered by a man who had served in the English before joining the American army, and who can give his report after having every opportunity of comparison. The author went through the Mexican campaign with General Scott, and his volumes contain much descriptive matter concerning battles, sieges, and marches on Mexican territory, besides their sketches of the normal chronic condition of the United States' soldier In time of peace." — Duily News. CANADA AS IT WAS, IS, AND MAY BE. BY THE late LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SIR R. BONNYCASTLE. With an Account of Recent Transactions, by SIR J. E. ALEXANDER, K.L.S., &c. 2 vols., post 8vo. with maps, &c., 21s. "These volumes offer to the British public a clear and trustworthy statement of the affairs of Canada, and the effects of the immense public works in progress and completed; rt'ith sketches of locality and scenery, amusing anecdotes of personal observation, and gene- rally every information which may be of use to the traveller or settler, and the military and political reader.— Mesaenger. ATLANTIC AND TRANSATLANTIC SKETCHES. BY CAPTAIN MACKINNON, R.N. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. "Captain Mackinnon's slcetclies of America are of a striking character and permanent value. His volumes convey a just impression of the United States, a fair and candid view cf their society and institutions, so well written and so entertaining that the effect of their perusal on the public here must be considerable. They are light, animated, and lively, full of racy sketches, pictures of life, aiiecdotes of society, visits to remarkable men and famous places, sporting episodes, &c., very original and interesting."— &M«da^ Times. BY G. A. HOSKINS, ESQ. SPAIN AS IT IS. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " To the tourist this work will prove invaluable. It is the most complete and interesting portraiture of Spain that has ever come under our notice." — Ju/iiiBull. HISTORY OF CORFU; AND OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS. By LIEUT. H. J. \V. JERVIS, Royal Artillery. 1 vol. post 8vo, 10s. 6(1. " Written with great care and research, and including probably all the particulars cA any moment in the history of Corlw."— A thenaum. ;1 I I! f 12 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE MOSLEM AND THE CHRISTIAN; OR, ADVEN- TURES IN THE EAST. Bv SADYK PASHA. Revised with original Notes, by COLONEL lACH SZYRMA, Editor of "Revelations op Siberia." 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. Cd. " Sadyk Pasha, the author of this work, is a Pole of noble birth. He is now commander of the Turkisli Cossucks, a corps organised by himself. The volumes on the Moslem and the Christian, partly fact and partly fiction, written by him, and translated by Colonel Seyrma, display very well the literary spirit of the soldier. They are full of the adventures and emotions that belong to love and war; they treat of the present time, tliey introduce many existing people, and have the Danubian principalities for scene of action. Here are sources of popularity which the book fairly claims. As a translation, it is excellent.-- Examiner. - ; n 11 \ i I I ■ i ', HOME LIFE IN RUSSIA. REVISED BY COL. LACH SZYRMA, Editor of " Revelations OF Siberia." 2 vols. postSvo. 21s. " This work gives a very interesting and graphic account of the manners and customs of the Russian people. The most interesting and amusing parts of the work will be found to be rhose interior scenes in the houses of the wealthy and niid.ile classes of Russia upon which we have but scanty information, although they are some of the most striking and truthful indications of the progress and civilization of a country. As such we recommend them to the study of our readers." — Observer, "A curious, extraordinary, pnd very entertaining memoir is contained in these volumes, and at the present crisis cannot but command an eager perusal. The special recommenda- tion of the work to us is the novel view and clear insiglit it affords Englislimen of the real characte; of tlie Russians. Their sayings and doings, and the machinery of their society, are all laid unsparingly hur^."— Sunday Times. "So little is known in this country of the internal condition of Russia, or the state of society in that enormous empire, that the contents of tlusc voluines will naturally be perused with great curiosity. The volumes abound in lively dialogue, and are enlivened by satirical and humorous touches, and the manners and cuFtoms of the individmils composing what is called the middle rark in Russia arp graphically described."— ii/orninfe' Herald. REVELATIONS OF SIBERIA. B\ A BANISHED LADY. Edited by COLONEL LACH SZYR.\L\. Third and cheaper Edition. 2 vols, post 8vo. 16s. " A thoroughly good book. It cannot be read by too many people."— /^tcArejis's House' hold Words. " The authoress of these volumes was a lady of quality, wlio, having inctirred the displeasure or the Russian Government for a political otlence, was exiled to Siberia. The place of her exile was Berezov, the most northern i)art of this northern penal settlement ; and in it she spent about two years, not unprofitably, as the reader will find by her interesting work, containing a lively and graphic picture of the country, the people, their manners and customs, &c. The book gives a most important .Mid valuable insight into the economy ( what has been hitherto the terra incognita of Russi m despotism."— i>ai7^ X us. " Since tbe publication of the famous romance the ' Exiles of Siberia,' we have had !■ j account of these desolate lands more attractive than the present work."—Glolte. H noNs. R, ADVEN- ;(1 with original EVELATIONS Ol' ' is now commander 11 the Moslem and nsliited by Colonel 1 of the adventures me, they introduce f action. Here are , it is excellent. — COL. LACH postSvo. 21s. ners and customs of ; will be found to be llussiii upon which trikiiig and truthful mniend them to the id in these volumes, »ecial recommenda- lishmen of the real of their society, are ssiu, or the state of laturuUy be perused nlivened by safirical composing what is lerald. BANISHED lird and cheaper '—Dicke7is's House' laving incurred the led to Siberia. The Biial settlement ; and id by her interesting e, their manners and into the economy i ij Xi ws. eriii,' we have had ork."— Globe, VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 13 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE NEW WORLD ; OR, DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOOSE HUNTING IN THE PINE FORESTS OF ACADIA. By CAMPBELL HARDY, Royal ARTiLtERY. 2 vols, post 8vo. with illustrations, 21s. "Full of spirit-stirring adventure and useful information."— Z)««7j/ iVefts. " This book is replete with interest. The adventures, which are striking and romantic, are most graphically described." — Bell's Life, "To sportsmen, naturalists, and lovers of nature in her more romantic moods, these volumes will prove unusually attractive, positively fascinating, indeed — so varied, novel, and exciting are the adventures and scenes they describe." — Sun, "A spirited record of sporting adventures, very entertaining and well worthy the atten- tion of all sportsmen who desire some fresher field than Europe can afford them. The forests of Nova Scotia abound in moose, cariboo, bears, wolves, partridge, snipe and wild duck, while the rivers are teeming with salmon and other fish, so that Lieutenant Hardy'a sport was of the best kind, and in the details which he has given us there is much to interest and amuse. He is a thorough sportsman, patient, skilful, and active, and relates his adventures with the gusto of a man who enjoys the life." — The Press. A SKETCHER'S TOUR ROUND THE WORLD. BY ROBERT ELWES, Esa. Second Edition, 1 vol. roya' 8vo., with 21 Coloured lUiistratious from Original Designs by the Author. 21s. elegantly bound, gilt edges. NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD, Comnrising A Winter Passage across the Andes to Chili, with a Visit to the Gold Rkgions of California and Australia, the South Sea Islands, Java, &c. By F. GERSTAECKER. 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. 6d. " Starting from Bremen for California, the author of this Narrative proceeded to Rio, and thence to Buenos Ayresj where he exchanged the wild seas for the yet wilder Pampas, and made his way on horseback to Valparaiso across the Cordilleras — a winter passage full of difficulty and danger. From Valparaiso he sailed to California, and visited San Francisco, Sacramento, and the mining districts generally. Thence he steered his course to the South Sea Islands, resting at Honolulu, Tahiti, and other gems of the sea in that quarter, and from thence to Sydney, marching through the Murray Valley, and inspecting the Adel; le district. From Australia he dashed onward to Java, riding through the interior, and taking a general survey of Batavia, with a glance at Japan and the Japanese. An active, intelligent, observant man, the notes he made of his adventures are full of variety and interest, His descriptions of places and persons are lively, and his remarks on natural productions and the phenomena of earth, sea, and sky are always sensible, and made with a view to practical results. Thosit portions of the Narrative which refer to California and Australia are replete with vivid sketches ; and indeed the whole work abounds with living and picturesque descriptions of men, manners, and localities."— (if/o6e. I I i I if i : i; I 14 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE WABASH: OH, ADVENTURES OF AN ENG- LISH GENTLEMAN'S FAMILY IN THE INTERIOR OF AMERICA. By J. R. BESTE, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " Mr. Beste's book is Interesting. In literary merit it is above the majority of books of travel. It deserves consultation from all who may wish to receive a candid, sensible, and fair account of the au'hor's experience." — Athena-um. " Mr. Besta is one of the most instructive and interesting of American travellers. In his sensible and entertaining narrative, which we hope will become as popular as it deserves to be, we find a picture of the country and the people more familiar and more graphic than any which we have met with elsewhere." — Post. AUSTRALIA AS IT IS : ITS SETTLEMENTS, FARMS, AND GOLD FIELDS. By F. LANCELOT, Esa., Mineralogical Sur- VEYOR IN THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. Sccond Edition, revised. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " This is an unadorned account of the actual condition in which thef .' colonies are found, by a professional surveyor and mineralogist, who goes over the ground \ ith a careful glance and a remarkable aptitude for seizing on the practical portions of the subject. On the climate, the vegetation, and the agricultural resources of the country, he is copious in the extreme, and to the intending emigrant an invaluable instructor. As miiy be expected from a scientific hand, the subject of gold digging undergoes a thorough manipulation. Mr. Lancelot dwells with minuteness on the several indications, stratifications, varieties of soil, aud methods of working, experience has pointed out, and offers a perfect manual of the new craft to the adventurous settler. Nor has he neglected to provide him with information as to the sea voyage, and all its accessories, the commodities most in request at the antipodes, and a general view of social wants, family management, Sec, such as a shrewd and observant counsellor, aided by old resident authorities, can afford. As a guide to the auriferous regions, as well as the pastoral solitudes of Australia, the work is unsurpassed."— G/udc. A LADY'S VISIT TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS OF AUSTRALIA. By MRS. CLACY. 1 vol. 10s. Gd. " The most pithy and entertaining of all the books that have been written on the gold diggings."— Li/enir^ Gazette. "Mrs. Clucy's book will be read witli considerable Interest, and not without profit. Her statements and advice will be most useful among her own sex." — Athenaiim. " Mrs. Clacy tells her story well. Her book is the most graphic account of the diggings and the gold country in general that is to be had." — VailyNews. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF AUSTRALIAN LIFE. By MRS. CLACY. Author of " A Lady's \':sit to the Gold Diggings." 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " In these volumes Mrs. Clucy has presented life in Anstra ia in all its varied aspects. An intimate acciuaiiitiince with the country, and with the circumscances in which settlers and emigrants find themselves, has enabled the writer to impart to her narrative a character of truthfulness and life-like animation, which renders them no less instructive thau charming. The book is throughcat exceedingly attractive." — John Bull. "While affording amusement to the general reader, these 'Lights and Shadows of Australian Life,' are full of useful hints to intending emigrants, and will convey to friends at home acceptable information as to the country where so many now have friends or relatives." — Literury Gazette, lTIONS. AN ENG- OF AMERICA. najority of books of indid, sensible, and rican travellers. In )pular as it deserves more graphic than rs, FARMS, RALOGICAL SUR- revised. 2 vols. .' colonies are found, ith a careful glance lie subject. On the he is copious in the ly be expected from manipulation. Mr. ans, varieties of soil, t manual of the new h information as to t the antipodes, and ewd and observant e auriferous regions, ■Glubc. GINGS OF written on the gold not without profit. enceiim. uot of the diggings IAN LIFE. Gold Diggings." 1 its varied aspects. which settlers and itive a character of ive than charming. s and Shadows of :onvey to friends at lends or relatives." VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 16 MY TRAVELS; OR, AN UNSENTIMENTAL JOUR- NEY THROUGH FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AND ITALY. By CAPTAIN CIIAMIER. 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. Gd. *• This work will be sure to obtain general perusal — us a" intelligent, an interesting, and above all, an honest pr( ductiou, by a deservedly popular writer." — Observer, TRAVELS IN EUROPEAN TURKEY: THROUGH Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Roumelia, Albania, and Epirus ; WITH A Visit TO Greece and the Ionian Isles, and a Home- ward Tour through Hungary and the Sclavonian Provinces of Austria on the Lower Danube. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa. Author of " Travels in Circassia," etc. Second and Cheaper Edition, in 2 vols. 8vo,, with Illustrations, and a valuable Map of European Turkey from the most recent Charts in the possession of the Austrian and Turkish Governments, revised by the Author, 18s. "These important volumes describe some of those countries to which public attention is now more particularly directed: Turkey, Greece, Hungary, and Austria. The author has given us a most interesting picture of the Turkish Empire, its weaknesses, and the embar- rassments from which it is now suflering, its tinandal dilHcultics, the discontent of its Christian, and the turbulence of a great portion of its Mohammedan subjects. We cordially recommend Mr. Spencer's valuable and interesting volumes to the att; ition of the reader." — U. S. Magazine. A TOUR OF INQUIRY THROUGH FRANCE AND ITALY, Illustrating their Present Social, Political, and Religious Condition. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa., Author of "Travels iu European Turkey," •' Circassia," &c. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " Mr. Sper.cer has travelled through Fr.ince and Italy, with the eyes and feelings of a Protestant philosopher. His volumes contain much valuable mutter, many judicious remarks, and a great deal of uspful information." — Mnrning Chronicle. ARCTIC MISCELLANIES, A SOUVENIR OF THE LATE POLAR SEARCH. By the OFFICERS and SEAMEN op the EXPEDITION. Dedicated by permission to the Lords of thb Admiralty. Second Edition. 1 vol., with numerous Illustrations. 10*. Q>d. " This volume is not the lenat interesting or instructive among the records of the late expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, commanded by Captain Austin. The most valuable portions of the boiik are those wliich relate to the scientific and practical obser^'ations made in the course of the expedition, and the descriptions of scenery and incidents of arctic travel. From the variety of the materials, and the novelty of the scenes and incidents to which they refer, no less than the interest which attaches to all that relates to the probable safety of Sir John Franklin and his companions, the Arctic Miscellanies forms a very readable book, and one that redounds to the honour of the national character."— TAe Timer,, FOREST LIFE IN CEYLON. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A., formerly SucuETARY TO THE Ckylon Branch Royal Asiatic Society. Second Edition, 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " A very clever and amusing book, by one who has lived as n planter and Journalist many years in Ceylon. The work la tilled with interesting accounts of the sports, resources, pro- ductions, scenery, and traditions ". tlie island. The sporting adventures are narrated In a very spirited manner." — Standard. " We have net met with a more delightful book for along time past." — Lit. Gaz, "We have no recollection of a more interesting or instructive work on Ceylon and the Cingalese than that which Mr. Knighton has just given to the world. It displays a great deal of acuteness and sagacity in its observation of men and manners, and contains a vast deal of useful int'ormutiun on topics, historical, political, and commercial, and has the charm of u fluent and graphic style." — Morning Post, ^ I it TROPICAL SKETCHES; OR, REMINISCENCES OF AN INDIAN JOURNALIST. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A., Author o! *• Forest Life in Ceylon." 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " When Mr. Knighton's pleasant volumes on Ceylon were published, we free)y gave his publication the praise which it appears to have well deserved, since another edition has been , calledfor. Amongst the writersof theday,weknowof none who are moretVlicitousin hitting ott' with an amusing accuracy, the characters he has met with, and hisdescrii)live powers are tirst- rate. Take his Sketches up and open where you will, he touches upon topics of varied nature — now political, anon historical or commercial, interspersed with traits of society and manners, every page teeming with information, combined with lively detail. His style, indeed, is eminently attractive. There is no wuariness comes over the reader with Mr. Knighton's work before him — all is vivacity. The Tropical Sketches contains the result of the author's experience in the East in various capacities, but he is chiefly at home when he enters upon the narrative of his mission as a journalist. His revelations of his labours in an educational capacity, are highly amusing, and there is an added charm to the volumes that the impress of fidelity is stamped on every page. In short, Trojiieul Sketches may be set down as the work of a man of education and refinement, gifted with a keen observation for all that is passing around him ; such a publication cannot fall in being both amusing and instructive."— Suwrfwy Times, 'lil FIVE YEARS IN THE WEST INDIES. BY CHARLES W. DAY, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " It would be unjust to deny the vigour, brilliancy and varied interest of this work, th«; abundantstoresof anecdote and incident, and the copious detail of local habits and peculiarities in each island visited in succession." — Globe, TRAVELS IN INDIA AND KASHMIR. BY BARON SCHONBERG. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. " This account of a Journey through India and Kashmir will be read with considerable interest. Whatever came in his way worthy of record the author committed to writing, and the result is an entertaining and instructive miscellany of information on the country, \i» climate, its natural production, its history and antiquities, and the character, the religion and the social condition of its inhabitants."— JoAn 7Jehumoured manner. A great deal of information is to be found in his pages." — Athenaium. KHARTOUM AND THE NILES. BY GEORGE MELLY, Esa. Second Edition, 2 vols, with Maps and Illustrations, 21s. " Mr. Melly is of the same school of travel as the author of ' EOthen.' His book altogether Is very agreeable, comprising, many intelligent illustrations of the relations now subsisting between the Governments of the Sultan and the Pacha, and exceedingly graphic sketches of Khartoum, Cairo, the Pyramids, the PlainofThebe?,theCataracts,&c."—£,j'ajnine»'. TRAVELS IN BOLIVIA; WITH A TOUR ACROSS THE PAMPAS TO BUENOS AYllES. BY L, HUGH DE BONNELI, of Her Britannic Majesty's Legation. 2 vols, post 8vo, 21«. " Mr. Bonelli's official position gave him great opportunities of observation, and he has furnished us with a very interesting and amusing book of travels respecting a country whose political and commercial importance is becoming every day more obvious." — Observer. THE ANSYREEH AND ISMAELEEH : A VISIT TO THE SECRET SECTS OF NORTHERN SYRIA. BY THE REV. S. LYDE, M.A,, Late Chaplain at Beyrout. 1 vol. 10s. 6d. ill! SAM SLICK'S NEW WORK, NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 248. " Since Sam Slick's flrst work he has written nothing so fVesh, racy, and genuinely humorous as this. Every line of it tells some way or other { instructively, satirically. Jocosely, or wittily. Admiration at Sam's mature talents, and laughter at his droll yarns, constantly alternate, as with unhalting avidity we peruse tiiese last volumes of his. They consist of 25 Chapters, each containing a tale, a sketch, or an adventure. In every one of them, the Clockmaker proves himself the fastest time killer a-going." — Observer, SAM SLICK'S WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES ; or, What he Said, Did, or Invented. Second Edition. 2 vr's. post 8vo. 21s. " We do not fear to predict that these delightful volumes will be the most popular, as beyond doubt, they are the best, of all Judge Haliburton's admirable works. The ' Wise Saws and Modern Instances* evince powers of Imagintitinn and expression far beyond what even his former publications could lead any one to ascribe to the author. We have. It is true long been familiar with his quaint humour and racy narrative, but the volumes before us take a loftier range, and are so rich in fun and good sense, that to offer an extract as a sample would be an injustice to author and render. It Is one of the pleusantest books we ever read, and we earnestly recommend It." — Standard. "The book before us will be read and laughed over. Its quaint and racy dialect will please some readers — Us abundance of yarns will amuse others. There is something in the volumes to suit readers of every humour." — Athenaum, " The humour of Sam Slick is inexhaustible. He is ever and everywhere a welcome visitor ; smiles greet his approach, and wit and wisdom hang upon his tongue. The present is altoj-ether a most edifying production, remarkable alike for its racy humour, its sound philosohy, the felicity of its illustrations, and the delicacy of its satire. We promise our readers a great treat from the perusal of these 'Wise Saws and Modern Instances,' which contain a world of practical wisdom, and a treasury of the richest fun." — Morning Post. m THE AMERICANS AT HOME; OR, BYEWAYS BACKWOODS, AND PRAIRIES. Edited by the Author of "SAM SLICK." 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. 6d. " In the picturesque delineation of character, and the felicitous portraiture of national features, no writer of the present day equals Judge Haliburton, ' The Americans at Home ' will not be less popular than any of his previous works."— Pos^ ? illi TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR. EDITED BY the Author of " SAM SLICK." 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. 6d. : r .. . " No man has done more than the facetious Judge Haliburton, through the mouth of the inimitable • Sam,' to make the old parent country recognize and appreciate her queer transatlantic progeny. His present collection of comic stories and laughable traits is a budget of fun full of rich specimens of American humour."— G/o6e. POEMS. BY SOPHIA MILLIGAN. i vol. post 8vo. ^TIONS. ND HUMAN , racy, and genuinely ructively, satirically, if at his droll yarns, >hime8 of his. They ire. In every one of Observer. MODERN Second Edition. the moat popular, as works. The ' Wise sion far beyond what '. We have, It is true he volumes before ns offer an extract as a pleusantest books we and racy dialect will re Is something in the (verywhere a welcome tongue. The present cy humour. Its sound he. We promise our ern Instances,' which ," — Morning Post. BYEWAYS Author of "SAM lortraiture of national e Americans at Home ' EDITED BY . 6d. through the mouth of appreciate her queer laughable traits is a post 8vo. HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 19 THE DRAMATIC WORKS OF MARY RUSSELL MITFORD. Author of " Our Village," " Athevton," &c. with Portrait of the Author and other Illustrations. 2I3. 2 vols, post 8vo. '• We recommend Miss Mltford»s dramas heartily to all by whom they are unknown. A more graceful addition could not be made to any collection of dramatic works."— /}/acA'it'ood. " Miss Mitford has collected into one chaplet the laurels gathered in her prime of author- ship, and she has given it to the world vlth a gracefiU and loving letter of reminiscence and benediction. Laid by the side of th volume of dramatic works of Joanna Balllie, these volumes suiTer no disparagement. This is high praise, and it is well deserved." — Athenceum, " Miss Mitford's plays and dramatic scenes form very delightful reading." — Examiner. "The high reputation which Miss Mitfnrd has acquired as a dramatist will Insure a hearty welcome to this collected edition of her dramatic works."— Jo/m Bull. THE MONARCHS OF THE MAIN; OR, ADVEN- TURES OF THE BUCCANEERS. By GEORGE W. THORNBURY, Esa. 3 vols, post 8vo. " An unwritten page of the world's history is not to bs met with every day. The author of these volumes has discovered one, and has supplied the deficiency. The deeds of alter- nate violence and heroism of the wild adventurers, who soon after the discovery of America, started forth in search of plunder, and sometimes of territorial conquest— now sweeping the main with their piratical vessels— now surprising and sacking some rich and flourishing town — now fortifying themselves in some strong island-hold, where they could bid defiance to a world in arms against them — form the subject of a narrative rich in variety of incident, and replete with striking exhibitions of life and character. To the lover of maritime ad- venture, these uages offer a fund of infinite amusement, doubly attractive from the novelty of ti! 1 theme. —John Bull. DARIEN; OR, THE MERCHANT PRINCE. BY ELIOT WARBURTON. Second Edition. 3 vols, post 8vo. "The scheme for the colonization of Darien by Scotchmen, and the opening of a com- munication between the East and West across the Isthmus of I'anama, furnishes the founda- tion of this story, which is in all respects worthy of the high reputation which the author of the • Crescent and the Cross' had already made for himself. The early history of the • Merchant Prince' introduces the reader to the condition of Spain under the Inquisition ; the portraitures of Scottish life which occupy a prcminent jjiace in the narrative, are full of spirit ; the scenes In America exhibit the state of the natives of the New World at that period; the daring deeds of the Buccaneers supply a most romantic element in the story ; and an adnitional interest is infused into it by the introduction of the various celebrated characters of the period, such as Law, the French financier, and Paterson, the fount'er of the Bank of England. All these varied ingredients are treated with that brilliancy of style and powerful descriptive talent, by which the pen of Eliot Warburton was so eminently distinguished."— Jo/m Bull. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MISSIONARY. BY THE REV. J. P. FLETCHER. 2 vols, post Svo. 21s. " We conscientiously recommend this book, as well for its amusing character as for the spirit it (Jlsplays of earnest p\ety."— Standard. SCENES FROM SCRIPTURE. BY THE REV. G. CROLY, LL.D. 10s. 6d. "Eminent in every mode of literature. Dr. Croly stands, in our judgment, first among the living poets of Great Britain— the only man of our day entitled by his power to venture within the sacred circle of religious poets." — Standard. "An admirable addition to the library of religious families,"— Jo/m Bull. 20 HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. '! i: FAMILY ROMANCE; OR, DOMESTIC ANNALS OF THE AIUSTOCIIACY. BY Sill BERNARD BURKE, Ulstkii King of Armh. 2 vuU. post Hvo. 2 Is. Among the many other interesting legends and romantic family liistories com- prised iu thecen handed down for truth by long tradition — and Mie romance of reality fur exceeds the romance of tiction. Each story is told in the clear, unaffected style with which the author's former works have made the public familiar, while they afford evidence of the value, even to u work of amusement, of that historical and genealogical learning that may justly be expected of the author of ' The Peerage.' " — Standard. " The very reading for sea-side or fire-side in our hours of idleness." — Alhenaiim. ■-' i i*- ' !■ ' i \ - -'■ 1 1 ' *,M 1 r m \}' 1 1 ' 1 ' lliiii 1 THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUM; OR, NARRA- TIVES, SCENES, AND ANECDOTES FROM COURTS OF JUSTICE, SECOND SERIES. BY PETER BURKE, Esq., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS :— Lord Crichton's Revenge— The Great Douglas Cause — Lord ami Lady Kinnaird — Marie Delorme and Her Ilushand — The Spectral Treasure — Murders in Inns of Court — Matthieson llu: Forger — Trials that estahlished the Illegality of Slavery — The Lover Highwayman — The Accusing Spirit — The Attorney-General of the Reign of Terror — Eccentric Occurrences in the Law — Adventuresses of Pretended Rank — The Courier of Lyons — General Sarrazin's Bigamy — The Elstree Murder — Count Bocarmc and his wife — Professor Webster, &c. " We have no hesitation in recommending this, as one of the most interesting works that have been lately given to the public." — Morning Chronicle. " The favour with which the first series of this publication was received, has induced Mr. Burke to extend his researches, which he Ims done with great judgment. The incidents forming the subject of the second series are as extraordinary in every respect, as those which obtained so high a meed of celebrity for the first. Some of the tales could scarcely be believed to be founded in fact, or to be records of events that have startled the world, were there not the incontestable evidence which Mr. Uurke has established to prove that they have actually happened." — Messenger. TIONS. WORKS OF FICTION. 21 NNALS OF Jlsthu King of lily histories com- mdurfiil narrative ij evidence to he Louis Philippe — ' Stnitlimorc, and >n, from Gramont rime Minister at range "Vieissitiules The story of the uss), and the re- • Lamhtons — The ! Uarls of Mar- is correctly told — these two most in- tn or its nut less ex- drawing-room table, ir interest preserved It is not the least uf IS Ijcen handed down B romance of tiction. ;hor'9 fornier works even to u worlt of ' be expected of tlie ' — Athenaum, R, NARRA- OV JUSTICE. le Inner Temple, ic Great Douglas r Husband — The ii; Vorger — Trials igliwaynwm — The Terror — Eccentric — The Courier of unt Bocarmc and ost interesting worlfs ceived, has Induced nent. The incidents pect, as those which I scarcely be l)elieved ^orld, were there not ove that they have BY MRS. TROLLOn:. GERTRUDE; Or, family PUIDE. 3vo1i. " A wonderfully Interesting and original novel."— //ern/rf. " Hrllllant and full of incident."— Daxliil)iled in the pages of this novel."— OAsiTi'er. BY MRS. GORE. MAMMON; OR, THE HARD- SHIPS OF AN HEIRESS. '^ vols. "The most lively nnd entertaining novel Mrs. Gore has yet written." — Literary Oiizelle. " Mrs. Gore has not produced a more clever, sparkling and amusing novel than ' Mammon.' " — Critic, " In the novel of ' Mammon,' the style of Mrs. Gore is as buoyant, rapid, and pointed as usual." — Spectator. THE DEAN'S DAUGHTER- 3 vols. "One of the best of Mrs. Gore's stories. The volumes are strewed with smart and sparkling epigram."— CAronide. PROGRESS & PREJUDICE. 3 vols. " This entertaining and clever novel is not to be anoiysed, but to be praised, and that emphutically.".— £a:aminer. BY THE AUTHOR OF MARGARET MAITLAND. LILLIESLEAF. Bring thk Covcluuino Skriks uf "Passaobs in thk Likk of Mrs, Mar- garet Maitlanu." "The concluding series of passages in the ' Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland' is, to our thinking, superior to the begin- ning I and this we take to be about the most satisfactory compliment we can pay the authoress. There is a vein of simple good sense and pious feeling running throughout, for which no reader can fail to be tlie better." — Athenteum. MAGDALEN HEPBURN; A RTORYOFTIIK SCOTTISH RKFORMATION. 3 vols. " ' Magdalen Hepburn will sustain the reputation which the author of ' Margaret Maitland' has acquired. It is a well prepared and carefully executed picture of the society and state of manners in Scotland at the dawn of the Reforma- tion. John Knox is successfully drawn." — Atheticeum. HARRY MUIR. Second Edition. 3 vols. " We prefer ' Harry Mulr ' to most of the Scottish novels that have appeared since Gait's domestic stories. This new tale, by the author of 'Margaret Malt- land,' is a real picture of the weakness of man's nature and the depths of woman's kindness. The narrative, to repeat our praise, is not one to be entered on or parted from without our regard for its writer being increased." — Athenceum, " In this work the brilliant pro- mise afforded by ' Margaret Maitland ' has been fully realised, and now there can be no question that, for graphic pk* tures of Scottish life, the author is en. titled to be ranked second to none among modern writers of Action."— Cat. Mer. ADAM GRAEME, OF MOSSGRAY. 3 vols. "A story awakeidng genuine emottons of interest and delight by its admiiable pictures of Scottish life and scenery."— Post. f I 11 It i fl |:S RACHEL GRAY. By Julia Kavanaoh, Author of "Nathalib," &c. 1vol. " Rachel Gray is a charming and touch- ing story, narrated with grace and sicill. No one can read the story and not feel a good influence from it. The characters are vigorously slcetched, and have a life- lilce reality about them. We heartily re- commend this story, and shall rejoice when Miss Kavaiiugh will give us an- other equally good." — AthencBum. LADY WILLOUGHBY; Or, THE DOUBLE MARRIAGE. By Mrs. La Touche. 8 vols. " \n exceedingly brilliant novel. Full of interest." — Chronicle. THE HOUSE OF ELMORE; a FAMIL7 BISTORT. 8 VOlS. "A splendid production. The story, conceived with gveat skill, is worked out in a succession of powerful portraitures, aud of soul-stirring scenes." — John Bull. MILLICENT; Or, THE TRIALS OF LIFE. By the Author of "The Curate op OvBRTO^f." 3 vols. "This novel is one of the most beauti- fully-written and powerfully-conceived worlfs that has ever come under our no- tice."— Hera W. PERCY BLAKE; Oe, THE YOUNG RIFLEMAN. By Catt. Rafter. 3 vols. "A highly entertaining story, which presents a graphic picture of military life in all its varied aspects."— J«A« Bull. " A capital novel, of the ' Charles O'Malley ' school, full of dashing adven- ture, with scenes of real history cleverly introduced in the narrative."— Li<. Gaz. THE WIFE'S TRIALS. •"The Wife's Trials' deserves to be a successful novel, for it is one of the most spirited and unuising we have read for a long time. The interest is sustained with- out flagging to the very last page."— AthetKeum. PHILIP COURTENAY. By Lord Willia.m Lennox. 3vol8. "A lively and entertaining novel." — Literary Gazette. THE SECRET MARRIAGE. Or, CONTRASTS IN LIFE. By Miss Fannv Williams. S vols, "A deeply interesting and charming novel." — Chronicle. THE LADY OF FASHION. By the Author of "The History of a Flirt," &c. 3 vols, "A striking picture of social exlsteuce. The story has the merit of originality, and talent has stamped it with an undeniable impress. The held chosen is not a new one, but the vigorous descriptions, the brilliant touches, and the life-like por- traits impart lustre to its pages." — Sun. OUR OWN STORY. By Selina Bunburt. Author of " Life in Swkdkn." 3 vols. OLIVE HASTINGS. By Mrs. Parky. 3 vols. EUSTACE CONYERS. By James Hannav, Esq. 3 vols. " Mr. Hannny's ablest, wisest, and maturest work." — Atheiueum. " A capital naval story, with stirring adventures and well-drawn characters." — Lit. Gaz. WOMAN'S DEVOTION. "A remarkable novel, both for the con- struction of the story, and the depth and accuracy of its delineation of character. — Daily News, THE HEIRESS OF HAUGHTON. By the Author of " Emilia Wyndham." "There is enough in Mrs. Marsh's new novel to justify the fum'* she has gained as one of the must original and pathetic writers of fiction in modern diiys. In eloquence and sentiment the work may vie with her best tales."— TAei'/Y's.9. DISPLAY. By the Hon. Mas. Maberly. 3 vols. " This tale is a most attractive one, with the great merit of highly-finished social portraiture." — The Press. THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOURS. By Mrs. Gascoigne. Authorof "Temp- tation, &c. 3 vols. " The author has successfully por- trayed the manners of the day in one of the best novels that have lately appeared." —Herald. THE JEALOUS WIPE. By Miss Pariioe. 3 vols. " A tale of great power. As an author of fiction, ItlisH I'ardue has never done anything better than this work." — Globe. THE PRIEST'S NIECE. By Author of " Lionel Deeruurst." 3 r. F FASHION. uthor of Flirt," &c. 3 vols, e of social existeuce. -it of originality, and with an undeniable ;ho3en is not a new 18 descriptions, the d the life-like por- ) its pages." — Sun. I STORY. BUNBURT. V SWKDKN." 3 vols. &.STINGS. RKY. 3 vols. CONYERS. |\v, Esq. 3 vols. ablest, wisest, and theiKeutn. story, with stirring drawn characters." — DEVOTION. ■el, both for the con- y, ami the depth and ialion of character. — [RESS OF HTON. B^MII.IA Wtndham." ill Mrs. Marsh's new im<' she has gained as uIuikI pbtheticwriters i\)a. Ill eloquence and may vie with her best 'LAY. Madgrlv. 3 vols, most attractive one, it of liii^hly-finished —The Press. XT DOOR [BOURS. ■:. AiUhorof "Tkmp- t:c. '6 vols. IIS successfully por- of tlie (lay in one of liave lately appeared." lOUS WIFE. nnoE. 3 vols. jower. As an author inlue has never done I this work."— O/oAe. ST'S NIECE. (£L DKEiiaURST." 3 T. WORKS OF PICTIONo 23 CONSTANCE HERBERT. By Geraldinb Jgwsbury. Author of " Marian Withers," &c. 3 v. "A powerful, highly Interesting narra- tive."— Time*. "•Constance Herbert" is a poem in its beauty and its lofty purpose; a romance in its variety and fascination. The tale, as a tale, is deeply interesting, full of quiet pathos, and a calm and beautiful morality. It will be read with rare plea- sure and remembered with healthful inte- rest." — AtheruBum. OAHLEIGH MASCOTT. By L. Howe. Dedicated to Professor Aytoun. 2 vols. "A very clever romance. The style throughout is fluent and forcible." — Post. HERBERT LAKE. By the Author of" Anne Dysart." 3 v. "A cleverly written tale from the pen of the talented author of ' Anne Uysart.' While administering largely to the enter* tainment of the reader, the Author has added to a well-earned reputation." — John Bull. THE YOUNG HUSBAND. By Mrs. Grev, Author of "The Gam- bler's Wife," &c. 3 vols. "In this fascinating novel Mrs. Grey has surpassed her tormer productions, talented and powerful as they were." — John Bull. THE CURATE OF OVERTON. 3 vols. "A powerfully written story, the cha- racters a"d incidents of wliicli are por. trayed with great skill." — John Bull, VIVIA. By Mrs. J. E. Dalrymple. Dedicated to (Sir E. Bulwer Lytton. '2 vols. "An excellent novel. Mrs, Dalrymple paints society in its true colours. We congratulate lier upon a production which (iisplaya such high purpose, wrought out wiih so much ability." — Post. MATHEW PAXTON. Edited by the Author of "John Dray- ton," " Aii.iKKOKD," &c. 3 vols. "'Mathew I'axton ' bears a strong generic resemblance to tho ic clever stories '.Tohn Drayton' niid 'Ailieford,' and awakens in the perusal a kindred grutili- catiou. "—Pos^ REGINALD LYLK By Miss Pardoe. 3 v. "An excellent novel, containing a great variety of well drawn characters, and ketping up the interest of the reader to the last page."— Atlas. FLORENCE, THE BEAUTIFUL. By A. Baillie Cochrane, Esq. 2 v. THE ROSES. By the Author of " The Flirt." 3 v. " • The Roses ' displays, with the polish always attendine; a later work, all the talent which appeared in 'The Flirt,' and •The Manceuvring Mother.' "—S^iwdard. MARY SEAHAM. By Mrs. Grey. 3 vols. " Equal to any former novel by its author."— Athencemn. AUBREY. By the Author of "Emilia Wyndham." "This novel is worthy of the author's reputation."— Z,i7e>-ar^ Gazette. AILIEFORD. By the Author of •' John Drayton." 3 v. "'Ailieford' is the biography of the clever writer of 'John Drayton.' It is a deeply interesting tale."— Britannia. CONFESSIONS OF AN ETONIAN. By the Hon. C. Rowcroft. 3 vols. CREWE RISE. By John C. Jkaffreson. 3 vols. EDWARD WILLOUGHBY. By the Author of "The Discipline of Life." 3 vols. THE SECRET HISTORY OF A HOUSEHOLD. By the Author of "Alice Wkntwoiith." 3 vols. ALICE WENTWORTH. 3 vols. "This novel reminds us of the tales by Lady Scott, which had power and pathos enough to get a hearing and keep a place, even though Lister, Ward, and Bulwer were all in the held, with their manly experiences of modern life and society." — Athenauin. ili^i I ill ,M4 THE ARMY AND THE NAVY. COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE, AND NAVAL AND MILITARY JOURNAL. Published on the first of every month, price 3s. 6;\ v This popular periodical, which has now been established a quarter of a century, embraces subjects of such extensive variety and powerful interest as must render it scarcely less acceptable to readers in general than to the members of those pro- fessions for whose use it is more particularly intei.ded. Independently of a suc- cession of Originp.i Fapers on innumerable interesting subjects, Personal Nar- ratives, Historical Incidents, Correspondence, etc., each nu(itber comprises Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Officers of all branches of service. Reviews of New Publications, either immediately relating to the Army or Navy, or involving subjects of utility or interest to the members of either, full Reports of Triala by Courts Martial, Distribution of the Ai-my and Navy, General Orders, Circulars, Promotions, Appointments, Births, Marriages, Obituary, etc., with all the Naval and Military Intelligence of the month. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " This is confessedly one of the ablest and most attractive periodicals of which the British press can boast, presenting a wide field of entertainment to the general as well as professional reader. The suggestions for the benefit of the two services are distinguished by vigour of sense, acute and practical observation, an ardent love of discipline, tempered by a high sen^e of justice, honour, and a tender regard for the welfare and comfort of our soldiers and seamen."— G/oAe. " At the head of those periodicals which furnish useful and valuable information to their peculiar classes of readers, as well as amusement to the general body of the public, must be placed the ' United Service Magazine, and Naval and Military Journal,' It numbers among its contributors almost all those gallant spirits who have done no less honour to their country by their swords than by their pens, and abounds with the most interesting discussions on naval and military affairs, and stirring narratives of deeds of arms in all parts of the world. Every information of value and interest to both the Services I) culled with the greatest diligence from every available source, and the correspondence o< various distinguished officers which enrich its pages is a feature of great attraction. In short, the * United Service Magazine' can be recommended to every reader who possesses that attach, ment to his country which should make him look with the deepest interest on its naval and military resources." — Sun, " This truly national periodical is always full of the most valuable matter for professional men."— Morning' Herald. " To military and naval men, and to that class of readers who hover on the skirts of the Service, and take a world of pains to inform themselves of all the goings on, the modes and fashions, the movements and adventures connected with ships and barracks, this periodical is Indispensable. It is a repertory of facts and criticisms — narratives of past exp-..-rience, and fictions that are as good as if they were true— tables and returns-^new inventions and new books bearing upon the army and navy — correspondence crowded with intelligence — and sundry unclaimed matters that lie in close neighbourhood with the professions, and contribute more or less to the ntock of general useful information." — Atlas, HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. ZINE, AND the first of every larter of a century, est as must render ibers of those pro- ndently of a suc- ;ts, Personal Nar- nutiiber comprises lervice, Reviews of Navy, or involving Reports of Triala [ Orders, Circulars, vith all the Naval iodicals of which the he general as well as ces are distinguished Iscipline, tempered by lomfort of our soldiers uable information to 1 body of the public, ournal.' It numbers one no less honour the most interesting deeds of arms in all the Services i:? culled ispondence On' various Etction. In short, the possesses that attach. !rest on its naval and matter for professional er on the skirts of the igs on, the modes and irracks, this periodical f past exp-.'rience, and V inventions and new with intelligence — and essions, and contribute JSHERS, JRN,