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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 -: 
 
 \
 
 SHANTY, FOREST AND RIVER LIFE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 BACKWOODS OF CANADA. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Author of " Three Months Among the Moose." 
 
 MONTREAL: 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL & SON. 
 1883.
 
 Entered according to act of the Parliament of Canada, in 
 the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, 
 by JOSHUA FRA.SER, in the office of the Minister of 
 Agriculture.
 
 DEDICATED, 
 
 BY PEBMI8SION, 
 
 TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE 
 
 SIE JOHN A. MACDONALD, K.C.B., 
 
 With profound respect, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1 IF?
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTERS. 
 
 I. Reminiscences, Reflections 7 
 
 II. Manahan's Shanty and Surroundings 16 
 
 III. Shanty Government 26 
 
 IV. "I'll roast the Devil out of you" 35 
 
 V. A Merry Old Cook 43 
 
 VI. "My Home ! my Home 1 my Home I " 57 
 
 VII. Old Saint-Saint, the Hermit 64 
 
 VIII. ForestFires 75 
 
 IX. A Sunday Service in the Shanty 96 
 
 X. Gentlemen Settlers 102 
 
 XL AGameof Bluff 112 
 
 XII. Keeping House for my Companions 124 
 
 XIII. About Deer Shooting 135 
 
 XIV. A Ride on a Deer's Back in the Lake 150 
 
 XV. " I'll teach them how to shoot Deer" 164 
 
 XVI. 'A Providential Dream 171 
 
 XVII. " Did you ever know what it is to be blind? 
 
 Ihave" 183 
 
 XVIII. A Night on the Lake in a Snowstorm 191 
 
 XIX. About Mines, &c 195 
 
 XX. Lost in the Woods .. .210
 
 6 Contents. 
 
 XXI. Among the Wolves 222 
 
 XXII. " A Pretty Tall Snake Story" 240 
 
 XXIII. AboutBruin 249 
 
 XXIV. More about Bruin 258 
 
 XXV. TheBreaking-upofthelce 271 
 
 A Backwoods Schoolmaster of the Olden 
 
 Time 283 
 
 XXVI. Jams 301 
 
 XXVII. SandyC 316 
 
 XXVIII. A Carnival in a River-side Shebeen 329 
 
 XXIX. Shooting the Rapids and Slides of the Grand 
 
 River 339 
 
 XXX. Settling up in Quebec 347
 
 SHANTY, FOKEST AND EIVEE LIFE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Reminiscences. Reflections. 
 
 | EEMEMBEK well the first gun I ever pos- 
 sessed, and that was many, many years ago. 
 I was a youngster of about twelve, and the 
 piece was proportionate in size to my years. It was 
 a little old-fashioned thing, no more than three feet 
 long, stock, barrel and all. I found it in the garret 
 of one of my father's parishioners, to whom I was 
 paying a visit at the time in company with my 
 mother. 
 
 Long Peter for so our host was called, to distin- 
 guish him from several others of the same name and 
 clan in the settlement was as long-headed as he 
 was long-bodied, and as big in heart as he was in 
 frame. I had always been a great favorite with 
 him, and in my boyish conceit had the idea that 
 I could wheedle almost anything out of him that 
 was at all in reason. So as soon as my eyes lit on 
 the gun I set my heart on it, and that gun I was 
 bound to have. My importunities finally prevailed
 
 8 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 over Peter's reluctance to entrust me with it, and 
 after making me promise not to tell iny mother, and 
 solemnly cautioning me to be careful in using it, he 
 promised me the loan of it for an indefinite period. 
 
 As it was impossible to take the gun with me 
 that day in the buggy with my mother, I tramped 
 out the three miles to Peter's place early the next 
 morning ; and as I marched home with it on my 
 shoulder I shall never forget the feelings of intense 
 gratification and pride which filled my heart, and 
 how I revelled in the anticipations of coming sport 
 and slaughter among the squirrels and pigeons. 
 
 I have often wondered how I escaped blowing my 
 brains out with that gun. It had seen so much 
 duty in its day, and experienced such rough usage j 
 that it was almost burned through at the breech. 
 Every time I fired a little puff of smoke would come 
 out through a small hole just below the nipple, and 
 why it didn't burst in my hands has been a puzzle 
 to me ever since. However, there was a grain of 
 caution in me, even at that early age, and when I 
 noticed this peculiarity about the breech, I resolved 
 to test the piece before I would have anything more 
 to do with it. So I put in a charge of powder four 
 times as large as the ordinary measure, and fastened 
 the gun firmly to a post in the barn-yard; then
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 9 
 
 tying a string about fifty feet long to the trigger, 
 and holding the other end, I ensconced myself in the 
 roothouse, feeling assured that if it stood that charge 
 it would be quite safe for ordinary practice. The 
 report which followed my pull of the string was 
 something tremendous, but I was delighted beyond 
 measure, when I emerged from my covert, to find 
 that the little gun had stood the test nobly, and was 
 quite uninjured, though a larger column of smoke 
 than usual came pouring out of that ominous hole. 
 
 After this I took great satisfaction out of "Birdie," 
 as I fondly christened my tiny firearm ; and after 
 school-hours, in the long summer evenings, I had 
 many a joyous ramble over the hills, and through 
 the woods; and many a squirrel and pigeon and 
 partridge became a trophy of its prowess. 
 
 From the possession of that piece I date iny love 
 of the woods, and of Nature in all her free, wild, and 
 grand simplicity. And as the years have rolled on, 
 and I have come to man's estate, and entered upon 
 the stern duties of life, this love has never waned 
 . but seems rather upon occasion at least to grow with 
 my years and I fervently hope that it never will 
 while life lasts. But in justice to myself I must 
 say that I have never allowed it to interfere with 
 or hinder real work and duty ; but when legitimate 
 
 B
 
 10 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 holiday comes, as come it should at least once a 
 year to every professional man, then, instead of 
 dawdling it away by the seaside, or at fashionable 
 watering-places, with their senseless fripperies, and 
 inane round of unmeaning and sensational amuse- 
 ments a rehash, in fact, of city and artificial life 
 
 I love 
 
 " To fold ray tent, like the Araba, 
 And silently steal away " 
 
 to the quiet solitudes of nature, where, from 
 lake and river, mountain and forest I draw that 
 pure, healthy, and bracing excitement, both of 
 body and mind, which constitutes the true rest of 
 life, and the only genuine relaxation from over- 
 strained mental and physical work, and at the same 
 time the best invigorator for a fresh entry into the 
 routine activities of life's duties. " A sound mind 
 in a sound body" is one of the wisest maxims ever 
 uttered by either Christian or Pagan philosopher. I 
 care not how great a man's mental capacity may be, 
 he never will fulfil the full complement of his work, 
 if his body is weak and ailing. No doubt, by a tre- 
 mendous exertion of will-power, his mind may rise 
 superior to bodily infirmity, and work on passively 
 and doggedly, and even produce magnificent results, 
 as is grandly illustrated in the history of Dr. John-
 
 In the Backivoods of Canada. 11 
 
 ston, Carlyle, Kepler and some others whose names 
 are illustrious in the honor-roll of life's work. But 
 these exceptional cases only falsely beg the ques- 
 tion. For there is not a doubt that, if these same 
 men had enjoyed vigorous health, free, full, and 
 normal circulation of the blood, easy and natural res- 
 piration, and buoyant, elastic, physical spirits in a 
 word, a sound body, they would have accomplished 
 double the work they did. 
 
 It is fearful to think how the intellectual energies 
 of many of our best educated men in any direction 
 you choose to look at, in science, theology, literature, 
 politics, or business, are crippled, actually shorn of 
 half their practical ability by neglecting or despising 
 the claims of the body. This is very often the 
 result of a foolish, false pride, or of abject moral 
 cowardice. 
 
 There are many professional men who deem it 
 11 infra dignitatem " to take that physical exercise 
 which will insure them vigorous, exuberant health, 
 no matter how innocent or enjoyable these exercises 
 may be. They fancy that it lowers their profes- 
 sional status to take an oar in hand, a rifle on their 
 arm, or a pack on their shoulders, and tramp off to 
 the wild woods, or other free domains of grand old 
 Dame Nature, there to reap the purest, balmiest,
 
 12 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 most healthful of all life's enjoyments. If they do 
 extend any favor to " that sort of thing" it is with a 
 dilettante kind of air, a species of simpering patron- 
 age, which is as silly as it is uncalled for. I pity 
 these, men from the bottom of my heart. They 
 know not how they are robbing themselves of what 
 mainly constitutes true life in its actuality, lon- 
 gevity, and enjoyment. 
 
 But there is another class of professional men 
 whom I despise with all my heart, and that is those 
 who, through fear of public opinion, or slavish 
 cringing to popular prejudice, are afraid to indulge in 
 those harmless and healthy recreations which nature 
 demands for the proper and adequate performance 
 of life's work and duty. They perversely choose 
 to live on, in a bilious, dyspeptic, abnormal condition 
 of body and mind ; misperforming solemn duty in a 
 slipshod, treadmill, perfunctory sort of manner in a 
 word, are practical failures in respect to the potential 
 abilities, the educational attainments., and all the other 
 favorable surroundings with which a kind Providence 
 has blessed them. And all because they have not 
 the courage of their convictions, and are afraid to 
 act up to l;he honest, sound, natural promptings of 
 their own judgment and conscience. 
 
 En passant, it is pitiable to see how many of those
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 13 
 
 who ought to lead public opinionto mould, regulate 
 and elevate it are led by it ; instead of governing, 
 which is their " divine right," in virtue of their posi- 
 tion and attainments, they are the governed they 
 are slaves where they ought to be masters. This 
 cringing and fawning after popular favor, this 
 abnegation of what is truly noble and dignified in 
 man's moral, intellectual and physical status, is one 
 of the most odious and contemptible phases in all 
 the multiform evolutions of human nature. 
 
 In nothing is this more strikingly shewn than in' 
 this question of physical recreation and exercise- 
 though within these last few years there are many 
 professional men of all grades who are adopting a 
 more common- sense view of the matter. Instead of 
 spending their two months' holidays in crowded, 
 fashionable haunts, they are pitching their tents on 
 some of the glorious islands of the St. Lawrence, 
 in the more retired solitudes of our inland lakes, or in 
 the depths of our sublime and pathless forests. 
 Here, especially during the hot summer months, 
 they and their families can spend a most delightful 
 time. In fishing, canoeing, swimming, roughing it 
 generally in the open, breezy, bracing air, with the 
 pleasant accompaniments of light reading and family 
 sociability, they quickly recuperate their over-
 
 14 Chanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 strained energies, and brace themselves for another 
 campaign on the dusty treadmill of town or city life. 
 
 I hold that such a life, for a season, above all others, 
 gives genuine tone and power to the whole system, 
 both mental and physical. Instead of demoralizing 
 and unfitting for even the most serious and respon- 
 sible duties, it rather nerves and braces for discharging 
 them with redoubled zeal, energy and success. We 
 would then have truer men, better preachers, sounder 
 Christians, and a happier class generally of profes- 
 sional men, because a healthier, more clear-sighted 
 and pure-hearted one. 
 
 Let me not be misunderstood in these reflections. I 
 do not mean them as an apology or defence for my 
 own likings and doings in this direction. By no 
 means. On the contrary, I feel that the church and 
 society in general are greatly obligated to me for' 
 bringing this question fairly and squarely before 
 them ; and I know that it meets with a hearty response 
 in the minds of all right-discerning and good-sense 
 people, if they only had the courage and honesty to 
 admit it. 
 
 In one of the vicissitudes of my professional life I 
 found myself, in the Fall of 188 , thrown upon my 
 oars, and for some months to come practically my own 
 master, as far as active duty was concerned.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. ] 5 
 
 At this juncture my friend C , who always 
 
 turns up at my right elbow in most opportune style, 
 wrote me most urgently to pay a visit to his shanties 
 on the Madawasca, and head waters of the Clyde, tell- 
 ing me to " make myself at home there, and stay as 
 long as I pleased, months, years, a century if I 
 chose." He gave me, at the same time, a letter to his 
 general manager, the gist of which was that he was to 
 see that " Mr. F. was treated in every way the same 
 as if it were himself." 
 
 Without hesitation I accepted his kind invitation, 
 and made my arrangements accordingly. 
 
 My friend Costeri, in his usual, efficient manner, 
 fitted me out with all needful hunting and camping 
 accoutrements ; and with an abundant supply of 
 books, clothes and all necessary comforts, I found 
 myself, after a few days, en route, in great glee of 
 heart, for the backwoods.
 
 16 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Manahan's Shanty and Surroundings. 
 
 tHAD no occasion, on this trip to the backwoods, 
 to drive four days through the piny wilderness, 
 tff before reaching my destination. 
 
 My journey this time was a very simple and 
 prosaic affair. Tfhe K. and P. R. would carry me 
 within seven miles of C.'s nearest shanty. 
 
 So, on the evening of the second day after leaving 
 home, I found myself " rubbing " along on the last 
 stage of the road between Mississippi station and 
 the terminus, which rejoices under the appropriate 
 name of Iron City. It is in the immediate vicinity 
 of most valuable iron mines, and in fact lies at the 
 base of a mighty hill, which is commonly supposed, 
 especially by the credulous in these matters, to be 
 one solid mass of magnetic ore. 
 
 In due time next day, I arrived at my destination 
 Manahan's shanty, and received a cordial and hearty 
 welcome from my old friend and school-fellow, the 
 foreman.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 17 
 
 I felt myself at once thoroughly at home, and 
 surrounded by many old friends. Some of these 
 were sons of my father's old parishioners, whom I 
 had known when a boy. Others, and not a few, 
 had been with me as canoemen and hunters in 
 former expeditions to the backwoods. Though it 
 was some years since I had been in this country, 
 yet they all remembered me, and from one and all I 
 received an iron grip of the hand, which said better 
 than words how glad they were to see me. Each 
 one had some stirring incident, or old pleasant remin- 
 iscence to recall. " Do you remember the time 
 Mr. F., etc., etc./' was the usual introduction to a 
 long and friendly talk. How pleasant it is in again 
 meeting with former associates to feel that there are 
 no old heart-burnings existing still between you. 
 Many a " tiff " and hot row I had had with some of 
 these fellows over some trifling matter concerning 
 camp or hunt, but all seemed now forgotten, and 
 they were as ready as ever to help and befriend me. 
 
 As for myself, as I sat that night before the great 
 fire, I felt a thrill of delight at being once more 
 among these sturdy, manly, warm-hearted sons of 
 the forest. Take them all in all I love the shanty- 
 men. There is more of true manliness, of genuine
 
 18 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 unsophisticated, right-heartedness among them than 
 in any class of men I ever associated with. 
 
 Manahan's shanty is situated in a wild, rough 
 country of rocky hills, tangled swamp and boggy 
 marshes. In common with the larger portion of the 
 Ottawa Valley, the district is totally unfit for culti- 
 vation. The few settlers who farm the land depend 
 entirely upon the lumber business for their bare 
 subsistence. Not only does it afford a ready and 
 high market for the scanty produce of their farms 
 consisting almost solely of oats and hay (for not one 
 in ten ever has a bushel of wheat to sell in a year), 
 but both men and horses obtain steady employment 
 during the winter in the shanties. With all the 
 available resources which they can possibly com- 
 mand, the great majority of them are a poor, hard- 
 working, hand-to-mouth class of people. 
 
 I often wonder what induced sensible people, 
 with their eyes open, to settle in this part of the 
 country with the view of making a living by 
 farming. 
 
 When the lumber business dies out, which it 
 must of necessity do before manj years, this section 
 must in a large measure become depopulated, for 
 the land cannot and never will be able to support 
 any but the scantiest population. However we
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 1 9 
 
 have great faith in the development of the mineral 
 resources of the country ; and if capital and enter- 
 prise are only fairly evoked in this direction, there 
 will always be a fair market for the surplus products 
 of the land, and also for the labor of men and 
 horses. 
 
 In so speaking I do not ignore the fact that there 
 are some farmers who, through superior intelligence, 
 indefatigable industry and rigid economy, have done 
 fairly well in fact, may be called well-to-do farmers, 
 but,- emphatically, they are " few and very far 
 between." The great proportion, no doubt three- 
 fourths of those who profess to till the soil, do not 
 and cannot live by it. If, then, the mining interest 
 will not take the place of lumber business, these 
 people must either starve or leave. 
 
 What adds to the wild and sterile appearance of 
 this district are the terrible ravages of the fire- 
 fiend, vast tracts of the most valuable timber sec- 
 tions have again and again been devastated by this 
 scourge. (Of this, however, and also of the 
 mineral resources of the country, I shall treat more 
 fully in subsequent chapters.) Consequently, for 
 miles in every direction, the country is diversified, 
 though certainly not beautified, by dead, burnt
 
 20 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 pineries. The tall black trunks of these mighty 
 giants of the forest, denuded of their branches, 
 tower upwards to a great height, and present a 
 weird, desolate landscape to the view. In back- 
 woods parlance they are called "rampikes," and 
 make you think of the crowbars which the Titans 
 may have used to pry up the rocks, with which they 
 tried to pelt Jupiter out of Heaven. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ravages of the fire, however, 
 one is astonished at the vast amount of virgin forest 
 which still remains, and the immense number of 
 fine logs and square timber that is being taken out. 
 
 C has five shanties in active operation within 
 
 a radius of four miles. These shanties are distin- 
 guished by the names of their respective foremen, 
 viz., Monahan's, where my headquarters are, 
 Larocque's, Eice's, Craig's, and Stoughton's. In each 
 of these a full complement of men, between thirty 
 and forty, are busy at work, felling, scoring, hewing, 
 sawing and drawing unto the ice. 
 
 C expects to take out this season 60,000 logs, 
 
 and a large raft of square timber. He has also on 
 these limits an immense quantity of most valuable 
 oak, birch, basswood, cedar, ash, rock-elm, and, per- 
 haps best of all, bird's eye and curly maple. He is
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 21 
 
 building a large steam saw mill in the veiy heart 
 of those invaluable woods, by which he intends to 
 utilize them to the very last tree. 
 
 It is a singular spectacle to see this great work 
 going on in the depths of the wilderness, for so it 
 yet practically is, and awakens unbounded astonish- 
 ment in the eyes of the surrounding habitans. 
 But that great, civilizer, the railway, has come, and 
 is breaking down and casting up the highways of 
 backwoods thought and life. In another year or 
 two there will be no backwoods here, and its lovers 
 will have to go further back for a camp or a home. 
 
 By next July the road is expected to be built 
 within half a mile of the mill, with which it will 
 be connected by a switch. It was of course with 
 
 this probability in view that C decided to build 
 
 the mill, otherwise he might as well have thrown his 
 money into the fire, because there was no possibility 
 of getting his lumber out when sawn except by a 
 railway. The building of the mill itself is a great 
 undertaking, and is regarded by many wise and other 
 heads as chimerical in the extreme. At the very 
 outset the blasting of the rock in order to secure 
 a solid foundation on which to rest the gangways 
 is a herculean task, and involves an immense expen- 
 diture of money, dynamite and labor.
 
 22 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 The noise and dust that these fellows kick up 
 in their work is something terrific. When half a 
 dozen blasts go off at once, as frequently happens, 
 you would fancy two or three volcanoes and earth- 
 quakes had burst out simultaneously. But Browne, 
 the foreman, is an expert and pushing fellow, and 
 expects, as he says, to have the whole rock cleared 
 out of that " in less than no time." 
 
 C 's idea in building this mill is an exceed- 
 ingly far-seeing and long-headed one, and, as far as 
 human prescience and calculation can determine, an 
 exceedingly profitable one. He purposes running the 
 mill all the year round. In the summer he will cut 
 nothing but pine, of which, notwithstanding the 
 fires, he has still sufficient to last for several years. 
 During the winter season he will saw nothing but 
 the hard woods, for the simple reason that these 
 woods cannot be taken out during the summer, as 
 they will not float in the streams, but, as they are in 
 the vicinity of the mill, they can be drawn direct to 
 it on the snow-roads, just when they are cut, and 
 the boards by the railroad shipped direct to market. 
 The enterprise is a thoroughly sound one. Between 
 soft and hard woods he has an abundant supply for 
 ten years to come, and by that time the mill will have
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 23 
 
 paid itself many times over, and he can afford to let 
 it go to decay and ruin if it likes, for all he cares.* 
 
 Monahan's shanty, built under his own super- 
 vision, is a capital specimen, of its kind, of backwoods 
 architecture. It is warm, roomy, lightsome, and 
 " doesn't smoke." Smoke is the pest of the shanty- 
 man's domicile. It requires very considerable 
 mechanical ingenuity, and practical experience, so to 
 construct the camboose and the opening in the roof 
 immediately above it, with its log chimney of few 
 or many feet in height, that the smoke may escape 
 
 * Since the above was writton C's plans and expectations 
 
 have been fully realized. The railroad has been built to the 
 mill, and is in regular running to a point three miles beyond 
 it. The mill is finished, though at an enormous expense, 
 and after many vexatious accidents and delays, and is now 
 turning out its G0,000 feet a day. What a year ago was a 
 thickety, marshy swamp is now a scene of lively, bustling 
 activity. A village of over thirty houses has sprung up which 
 rejoices in the apt name of Clyde Forks. The whole enter- 
 prise ha.s proved a grand success, and is one of the most strik- 
 ing illustrations we have of what determination, combined 
 
 with long-headedness and capital, can accomplish. C has 
 
 struck the key-note in this direction, his uncle, Mr. B. C., one 
 of the wealthiest lumber merchants of the Ottawa, is building 
 a large steam mill on his limits, about ten miles further south 
 on the line of railway, and others, I^hear, are about to follow 
 in the wake.
 
 24 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 freely and fully. Even with the best and most 
 experimental precautions there are few shanties but 
 will srnoke sometimes. It depends greatly upon 
 the weather : when the atmosphere is damp, foggy 
 and depressed it is often impossible to prevent it. 
 Our shanty is one of the best in this respect I 
 have ever been in ; and in it, until I moved to the 
 mill quarters, I spent a most comfortable and happy 
 time. 
 
 Monahan's " gang " of forty men is a fair sample 
 of the shanty genus homo ; English, Scotch, Irish 
 and French are its constituent elements, and among 
 them are some splendid specimens of physical 
 humanity. 
 
 Jim himself is a capital type of the shanty fore- 
 man. He is a tall, well proportioned, powerful 
 man ; with great push and energy of character. And, 
 though he has all the " brusqueness " of manner 
 which perhaps too much belongs to men of his posi- 
 tion, yet he is greatly liked and respected by his 
 men. He is always ready to grant a reasonable 
 favor, and do a kind and generous action, and at 
 the same time, both by example and rule, he endea- 
 vors to inculcate sobriety and good behavior 
 among the men. He is an intelligent, well-educa- 
 ted man, and a most insatiable reader. He is
 
 l\M
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 25 
 
 always cribbing my books, if they are lying loose 
 about, concerning which we have many a friendly tiff. 
 
 Shanty life would be monotonous in the extreme, 
 were it not for the vigorous exercise in the open, 
 bracing air, and the redundant health, with its 
 natural accompaniment of high animal spirits, which 
 is almost continually enjoyed. 
 
 Still the men have their amusements : at night 
 when supper is over, it is a cheery sight to see them 
 round the roaring fire, in the full enjoyment of that 
 sweetest of all rest which follows after hard, lengthy, 
 and healthy labor in a bright, keen atmosphere, 
 surcharged with ozone and oxygen, and impreg- 
 nated with the balrny odors of the pine, balsam, 
 spruce and tamarae. 
 
 Cards, chequers, reading if they have books and 
 they always have where I am an occasional dance, 
 song and story, all accompanied by the merry 
 strains of the fiddle, and, better than all, a camaraderie 
 which pervades the whole make the long winter 
 evenings pass quickly and pleasantly, until it is 
 time to turn in under the warm blankets, to sleep 
 that sweet, sound and refreshing slumber, which 
 only strong men in the redundance of health and 
 animal life, without care or thought of the morrow, 
 can obtain and realize.
 
 26 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Shanty Government. 
 
 "$? 
 
 |p! N a community of men, so isolated and far re- 
 
 ^S moved from the ordinary restraints of social and 
 
 <$[&> 
 
 V judicial influence, it may be supposed that abso- 
 lute lawlessness, and reckless independence will 
 reign supreme, that each man of these hardy, rough- 
 and-ready sons of the forest will think and act as if 
 he were a law to himself. But such is very far 
 from being the case. There is government and dis- 
 cipline in shanty life, just as pronounced and strictly 
 carried out as in the most exemplary and well-regu- 
 lated village, town, or city corporation of the 
 Dominion. 
 
 "If you think you can do as you like in this 
 shanty," I once heard a foreman say to a blustering 
 
 green-hand, " you make a d 1 of a mistake." 
 
 The remark struck me at the time, as I have 
 no doubt it does you, Reader, as very expressive, 
 but it is, in fact, the clue to the whole question. It 
 is just on this point that the judicious and successful 
 lumber merchant shews very conspicuously his
 
 In the Backwoods oj Canada. 27 
 
 sagacity and knowledge of his business. He knows 
 that one of the prime essentials for carrying on a 
 successful season's work is securing the right 'stamp 
 of men for foremen. Hence he exercises all his 
 caution and experience in the selection of these 
 men. 
 
 And they, on the other hand, are given very 
 plainly to understand the obligations and responsi- 
 bilities they assume when they undertake the 
 position. It is not merely that they must be men 
 of experience in the woods men who know where, 
 and how, to build a shanty on a spot in the midst of 
 the best and largest quantity of timber in the limit, 
 with the shortest " draw " to the nearest river ; and 
 who kuow experimentally every detail of the busi- 
 ness from " cook's-mate " up to hewer ; but, above all 
 this and chiefly, they must know how to govern men, 
 To hold their own with the most refractory and self- 
 opinionated to insist upon every man doing as he is 
 told, and fulfilling his full and fair quota of work, 
 and conducting himself in a quiet and orderly way 
 in the shanty ; and at the same time to exercise 
 great caution not to be too arbitrary with, or abuse 
 them. 
 
 These conditions and mutual obligations are gen- 
 erally very clearly understood between foreman and
 
 28 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 men, and, as a rule, there is very little disturbance 
 of the peace, or absence of harmony in the general 
 working of both inside and out-door shanty life. 
 
 I know, however, of some notable exceptions, 
 which I cannot do better than narrate, as thoroughly 
 illustrative of some very interesting and charac- 
 teristic phases of the question. 
 
 They occurred in the shanties of the lumbering 
 
 concern of my friend C , on the upper waters of 
 
 the Black Eiver. In this far remote and isolated 
 region of the Upper Ottawa, the discipline of the 
 shanty must be -exercised with peculiar tact and 
 judgment by the foreman. If men are discharged, 
 or leave of their own accord, it may be some weeks 
 before they can be replaced, and, consequently, the 
 business of the concern may be seriously damaged. 
 So, in order to get the full amount of work out of the 
 men, and at the same time keep them at it, the fore- 
 man must have all his wits about him in managing 
 them. 
 
 Now it happened that in one of my friend's shanties 
 there were some refractory fellows who would not 
 pull in the traces, especially two, who were the chief 
 agents in these seditious movements, and whose evil 
 influence was rapidly inoculating the whole shanty 
 with their pernicious sentiments. Without setting
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 29 
 
 the foreman openly at defiance, they would shirk 
 work, or only half do it, and also in many a tricky 
 way hinder the other well-disposed and industrious 
 men from doing their work. The foreman was com- 
 pletely at his wit's ends how to manage them. He 
 did not want to discharge them, and he was afraid 
 to take the law in his own hands, for they were 
 lusty, powerful fellows, and might turn Turk on 
 him. 
 
 In these straits my friend, who is a famous 
 strategist in such affairs, bethought him of a plan by 
 which he might remedy the evil. 
 
 He had in his employment at the time another 
 foreman who was a man of a very different stamp from 
 the one I have just referred to. Larry, for that was 
 his name, was a notorious character. He was a man 
 of wonderful strength and agility, and a perfect fiend 
 in fighting when roused or in liquor, though ordin- 
 arily he was of a quiet, inoffensive disposition, and 
 a most faithful, expert workman. In many ways 
 
 C = looked upon him as one of the best foremen 
 
 he ever had in his employment. 
 
 " Larry," said he, " you must take in hand these 
 two rascals." 
 
 " Just send them to me," replied Larry, " and I'll 
 take care of them."
 
 30 khanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 So the very next day the two confederates who 
 were causing all the trouble in the other shanty, 
 were ordered, greatly to their surprise, to go to work 
 in Larry's shanty, and their place was supplied by 
 two of his best and most peaceful men. 
 
 Everything went off well for a day or two, until 
 Larry thought he saw symptoms of the two fellows 
 beginning at their old tricks, and, as he had fully 
 arranged in his own mind, heat once resolved to put 
 in operation his plan for checking it, and, perhaps, 
 this plan was as unique and interpenetrative of 
 human nature as has been adopted from the days of 
 Solomon down. 
 
 While the men were smoking their usual post- 
 prandial pipe, in the interval always allowed before 
 proceeding to work, Larry suddenly called out, 
 " Come, boys, let's have a little fun, let us have a 
 fight before we go to work." And naming the two 
 conspirators in all the shanty difficulties, he told 
 them to go out in front of the shanty, and set to 
 with each other "just for the sake of fun," said 
 the knowing dog, " to see which is the best man." 
 
 The two fellows at first demurred, but Larry 
 insisted, and with such a look in his eye, and tone 
 of voice, that they thought it better to obey, and, 
 stripping off, and, in the midst of the whole turned-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canadti. 31 
 
 out shanty, at it they went, apparently in great good- 
 humor. But Larry knew well enough what would 
 follow. From fun they got into earnest, from being 
 in earnest they became infuriated, and gave each 
 other such a fearful mauling that they were disabled 
 for work for the rest of the day. 
 
 But the evil was cured, and the two men and all 
 other evil-disposed fellows in both shanties did 
 their work, and kept fully up to the mark for the 
 rest of the season. 
 
 Never was there an expedient for gaining an end 
 more replete with human craft and practical ac- 
 quaintance with the weaknesses of a vanity-stricken 
 heart, in conjunction with the surroundings, than 
 this. If Larry had been educated and gone into 
 politics, and had a consciousness of his own abilities, 
 and assurance in proportion, he might have been 
 prime minister of the nation. 
 
 But I have another incident to tell about Larry 
 which is illustrative of another phase of shanty 
 discipline, and, though quite in keeping with his 
 well-known character as a " fighter," for we can- 
 not call him a pugilist is yet happily almost now 
 an unknown occurrence. 
 
 Two men, for some cause, whether justifiable or 
 Dot nobody knows better than themselves deserted.
 
 32 Sl'aniy, Forest and River Life 
 
 from Larry's shanty, and started for the settlements. 
 Larry, however, had his own opinion on the subject, 
 and, being in one of his aroused humors, deter- 
 mined to make an example of the fellows. Har- 
 nessing his horse and cutter (there happened to be 
 one belonging to the concern in the stable at the 
 time), he drove rapidly in the direction the men 
 had taken, and overtook them as they were taking 
 their dinner, in a shanty about twenty miles 
 away. 
 
 Larry was decidedly in a baddish sort of humor 
 that day. After eating his own dinner, and talking 
 quietly all the time to the two men, he told them 
 to go back to their work. Upon their flatly refus- 
 ing to do so, he fell upon them, and gave them a 
 most unmerciful beating, and then, kicking them 
 out into the road, he ordered them to go ahead, 
 and actually drove them like cattle in front of his 
 horse, all the way back to the shanty. Needless to 
 say there was no further attempt at desertion that 
 winter, either on their part, or on that of any of the 
 rest of the men. 
 
 There is rather a new phase of shanty government 
 being developed within the last few years, and that 
 is the appointment of general managers over the 
 business. Those lumber-merchants who carry on
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 33 
 
 an extensive business, say of three or more shan- 
 ties, and perhaps have other large interests to attend 
 to, are now in the habit of appointing a " manager " 
 who has full oversight and charge of all the fore- 
 men and men, and is directly responsible to the 
 proprietors for the general " running " of the con- 
 cern. Those gentlemen, however, are very chary how 
 they interfere between the foreman and his men ; 
 though if any difficulty does arise they are the 
 referees who arbitrate upon it. 
 
 The " manager " of C 's business in this place is 
 a gentleman who is widely known throughout Canada 
 and the North-west, in connection with lumber mat- 
 ters. He is best known in Central Canada by the 
 name of "Big Duncan." and if ever a man merited 
 the epithet it is certainly he. 
 
 He is a modern Goliath, a veritable Anak. In 
 his stocking feet he towers aloft to the altitude of 
 six feet two, and carries with ease his weight of 
 seventeen stone. Duncan is considerable of a wag 
 in his way, and as inveterate a practical joker as 
 any schoolboy that ever lived. In common with all 
 managers he has his difficulties in the government 
 of the large force of men which are under his 
 command ; but he never fails to have his joke, even 
 when exercising the most severe discipline. One
 
 34 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 morning he came in to where I was sitting writino, 
 
 u O O* 
 
 and in his deep-measured tones, and with a counten- 
 ance as grave and solemn as that of a county judge, 
 he said, " Mr. F I have just effected a dissolution 
 of partnership in this concern. There are three 
 fellows in Joe's shanty who have been so long in this 
 family that they fancy they are members of the firm, 
 and can come and go, and do as they please ; so this- 
 morning I told them they could go home if they 
 liked, and stay there if they liked, but never show 
 their faces here again." 
 
 Of course, the fact that they can discharge men 
 when they please, without detriment to the business 
 being so near the settlements that they can quick- 
 ly replace them gives the manager and foreman 
 the whip-hand over the men in maintaining the order 
 and general efficiency of the shanty. 
 
 Be this as it may, however, I never 'wish to live in 
 a more orderly, peaceful and harmonious commun- 
 ity than that which I have seen in shanty life. The 
 general tone of it is not only kind and friendly, but 
 brotherly in the highest degree. It is more like a 
 united and well-dispositioned family than an 
 " omnium gatherum '' of strong, rough men, of all 
 ages, nationalities and religions,
 
 35 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 " Til roast the Devil out of you." 
 
 i||p! GREAT mistake is entertained by many 
 * people regarding the general character of 
 
 tb shantymen : they are commonly looked upon 
 as a wild harum-scarum class of men who have no 
 right sense of the decencies and proprieties of ordin- 
 ary respectable life, who when they go to the woods 
 leave behind them their good manners and morals, 
 along with their Sunday clothes. That the shanty 
 itself is a city of refuge for the abandoned and profli- 
 gate of the earth, and resounds continually with oaths 
 and profanities of the vilest nature is a common 
 error. 
 
 Hence it is that many a pious mother and father 
 regard with trembling apprehension the idea of their 
 young son, who perhaps is the main breadwinner of 
 the family, going to spend the long winter mouths with 
 some lumbering concern in the depths of the forest. 
 And yet he must go. It would never do to remain 
 all winter at home in comparative idleness. The 
 greater part of the farm work is done for the year, 
 and the team and young able-bodied man must not
 
 36 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 live upon the scanty returns of perhaps a poor har- 
 vest, while good wages and sumptuous living for 
 man and beast are at his command. The old father, 
 and perhaps a younger brother or sister, are quite 
 sufficient to tend the cattle, chop the firewood, and 
 do all the other little "chores" about the place until 
 springtime comes again. So with many a misgiv- 
 ing they allow him to go, with team and " bob- 
 sleigh " all in " tiptop " order, probably not to return 
 until the season's work is over. 
 
 Now there is no doubt that this low estimate of 
 character is tolerably correct as applied to the aver- 
 age shantyman of many years ago. But it does not 
 hold true now in any sense whatsoever. A great 
 change for the better has been wrought in the char- 
 acter and conduct of these men. I don't believe 
 that, take them as a whole, there is a more sober, 
 orderly, and well-behaved class of laboring men in 
 the world than our backwoods and river lumbering 
 men. To compare them with the worjdng men of 
 our towns and cities, such as ship laborers, canal or 
 railroad navvies, or laborers generally on our large 
 public works, would be, I consider, an atrocious libel 
 upon them a comparison not to be entertained for 
 a moment. This is the unanimous testimony of all 
 the competent authorities I have consulted on the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 37 
 
 matter, and, as far as my own experience of twenty 
 years goes, I know it to be the case. 
 
 Swearing is at a discount among them. Lewd 
 conversation and songs are not tolerated. Liquor 
 is not allowed in, or near the shanty. And, as we 
 shall see further on, they welcome and listen with 
 great attention and respect to the preaching of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 I account for this great change in the morals and 
 habits of this class on two grounds : 
 
 First, there is a different class seeking work and 
 being engaged by the employers from what used to be. 
 A few years ago the great bulk of the men were hired 
 at Ottawa and Quebec, and were principally French 
 Canadians, of the lowest class. Now, since the sav.'n 
 lumber business has assumed such large proportions, 
 the drive on the river is comparatively short, 
 generally over by the first of June, consequently a 
 much larger number of the farmers' sons in the vici- 
 nity of the works are seeking employment, as they 
 generally can get home in time for sowing the crop ; 
 and as they are a much more steady and reliable 
 class, and just as able-bodied and skilful workmen, 
 they are more readily engaged than any others. The 
 number of men who engage in the fall to go through 
 to Quebec is but a fraction of what it used to be, and
 
 38 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the number of French Canadians who work in the 
 woods is now reduced to a minimum. 
 
 Hence the personnel of the shanty is greatly 
 changed, and that vastly for the better, within the 
 last few years. 
 
 Another reason, and one that is a mighty factor 
 in this improved state of things, is that the foremen, 
 as a rule, are exerting themselves more strongly in 
 favor of sobriety and morality. The foremen them- 
 selves are a better class of men. The old bullying 
 brute-force principle of governing is now almost 
 entirely done away with. The merchants now 
 endeavor to engage foremen who are men of intel- 
 ligence, fair education, and of tried and proved 
 ability. They find it pays best in every way more 
 and better work is done. The wheels of the machine 
 and there is none more complicated and requiring 
 more business engineering than it run more smooth- 
 ly, and both employers and employes find it to be 
 for their mutual comfort and advantage. 
 
 A foreman now-a-days never thinks of taking a 
 handspike and knocking a man down if he neglects 
 his duty, or is in any way refractory. If the man 
 will not listen to remonstrance or reproof, he orders 
 the clerk to " give him his time," and then quietly 
 tells him to leave. The dread of this has a far more
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 39 
 
 powerful effect upon the men in keeping them up to 
 the mark than handspikes or fisticuffs. 
 
 To be sure, there is not much of what we call 
 demonstrative piety among them, either as foremen 
 or employe's. As a class they are reticent and 
 reserved as to emotional display in any direction, and 
 no doubt specially so in religious matters. In this 
 respect, they greatly resemble soldiers of the regu- 
 lar forces. But, where it is displayed, it is of a 
 very pronounced and decided kind, and no cant or 
 humbug about it. 
 
 I have in my mind's-eye at this moment a gentle- 
 man widely known in the lumbering country, Mr. 
 E , commonly called Bob K . Bob was highly 
 respected by all who know him for his kindly 
 disposition, sterling integrity, and sound, practical 
 sense. He was a deacon, and an active and liberal 
 supporter of his church. He had had many vicis- 
 situdes of fortune in the lumbering business, but at 
 the time of his death, some three years since, was 
 comparatively wealthy. Bob was a very strict 
 disciplinarian among his men in religious matters. 
 He would allow no swearing nor card-playing in 
 his shanties, at least while he was present to 
 prevent it, though in this la-tter particular I 
 think he was strict over much. I see no harm
 
 40 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 in the men, especially those who can't read, 
 \vhiling away the long winter's evening in a game 
 of euchre or forty-five, which are the favorite, in fact 
 the only games, with shanty-men ; and particularly 
 so when there is no gambling or drinking connected 
 with it. Be this as it may, Bob would tolerate 
 neither the one nor the other, as the following inci- 
 dent very emphatically shows. 
 
 On a certain occasion, when he was visiting one 
 of his shanties, one of the men, a big Frenchman, 
 resolved to assert his independence and defiance of 
 Bob on these points. He was one of those bullying 
 blustering Tellows that you often meet with among 
 these men, who mistake their bluster for courage and 
 high spirit, but are simj >ly a pest and a nuisance in 
 the shanty. This man, in spate of Bob's frowns 
 and rebukes, would persist in his profane and rebel- 
 lious course, until Bob's righteous soul was stirred 
 within him. 
 
 The men looked curiously on. A scene was evi- 
 dently impending. Now, our friend was a very 
 large and heavily built man, and though rather 
 awkward in his movements, was possessed of grt?at 
 physical vigor, and when thoroughly roused which 
 was very seldom, the case, as he was a man of great 
 and long-suffering good-nature was an ugly and
 
 In the Backivoods of Canada. 41 
 
 formidable customer to deal with. Bob began to 
 see that the man was continuing his profanities just 
 for the purpose of annoying and riling him. When 
 this impression dawned upon, and became a con- 
 viction within him, then a terrible storm of righteous 
 indignation burst upon his soul, and suddenly rising 
 he laid violent hands upon the bully. For a time 
 he seemed endued with the strength of ten men, and 
 soon laid the man hors de combat But his holy 
 wrath was not appeased with this victory : seizing 
 the man with one hand by the back of the neck and 
 with the other by the seat of his unmentionables he 
 held him bodily over the fire of the camboose, 
 thundering at the same time in his ears " I'll roast 
 the devil out of you." The fellow roared and 
 begged for mercy, and managing to escape out of his 
 clutches, he bolted out of the door, and would not 
 return to the shanty while Bob remained. 
 
 Now decisive action of this kind produces a most 
 salutary effect in the direction we indicated upon 
 men of this stamp. It is worth a dozen sermons. 
 In fact, it is the only effectual way of dealing with 
 that class of which this Frenchman was a type. 
 And the general effect is not only good, but is 
 highly applauded by the great bulk of tue men. 
 They like the pluck of the thing, and the honesty
 
 42 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 of the " boss " to his creed. It shows them that his 
 religion is not a mere profession, but a conviction, a 
 rule of practice as well as of faith. An incident of 
 this kind, apart altogether from the moral side of it, 
 meets with a great deal of sympathy and commenda- 
 tion from those rough and ready, open-hearted fellows. 
 It is certain to become widely known, and as it is 
 discussed in all its bearings round the camboose, you 
 will find that the almost unanimous verdict is in 
 favor, not only of the action itself, but also of the 
 principle which underlies it. 
 
 We believe that the good moral influence of that 
 roasting is felt among shantymen to this day through- 
 out that whole section of the Ottawa Valley.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 A Merry Old Cook. 
 
 JNE of the most important personages about the 
 shanty is the cook. If you wish to enjoy 
 yourself, and have some fair measure of com- 
 fort, you must keep on good terms With him. 
 It will never do to fall out with the cook ; you 
 may as well take up your blankets and walk. In 
 many ways he is a more consequential individual 
 than the foreman himself. In fact he looks after 
 and has a voice in every department of the internal 
 economy of the shanty. He tells you where you 
 must sleep, in what corner you must stow your bag, 
 and on what peg you are to hang your socks, mocca- 
 sins and clothes. 
 
 He is the oraele of the establishment, and his 
 opinion is consulted by every one connected with it. 
 Not only by the magic power of good cooking, but 
 by his general disposition and temper, he exerts an 
 influence in the shanty which greatly affects its 
 general peace and comfort. Hence the employer 
 selects the cook with great care, and gives him the
 
 44 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 highest wages, often double what an ordinary working 
 man can command. 
 
 And you would be amazed at the general excel- 
 lence of the cooking that is done by these fellows. 
 Where will you find such bread as is made in their 
 immense pots, buried in and covered over by the hot 
 ashes at the end of the camboose ? Not a particle 
 of the strength and fine flavor of the flour is lost by 
 evaporation, as in the case of a stove or open oven : 
 it is all condensed in the bread. Then it is strong 
 and firm, and yet and this is the mystery to me 
 it is light and porous as that of any first-class house- 
 wife's. 
 
 And what shall we say about the beans ? They 
 are simply par excellence. They are baked in the 
 same kind of pot as the bread, the lid being hermeti- 
 cally sealed to the rim by dough, and then buried in 
 the hot ashes. The beans are first thoroughly sifted, 
 washed and boiled ; and then large slices of fat pork 
 mixed with them. The pot is then placed in its 
 deep bed of hot ashes, and, as in the case of the 
 bread, not a breath of steam or of the essence of the 
 bean allowed to escape. The fat pork becoming dis- 
 solved by the heat, and of course neither fried nor 
 boiled as in other processes, becomes amalgamated 
 with the beans, and when the whole is considered
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada, 45 
 
 sufficiently cooked, a mess is ready, which, for succu- 
 lency of flavor and savory richness of nutrition, will 
 completely throw into the shade the famous pottage 
 for which Esau bartered his birthright. 
 
 It is strong food, of course, the very strongest, I 
 believe, in the world, A person who is accustomed 
 to the ordinary dishes of domestic cooking must be 
 cautious how he attacks it at first. If he takes too 
 heavy an allowance, as he is strongly tempted to do 
 on account of its savoriness, he will be very likely 
 to throw his stomach into convulsions. But it is 
 the grandest food in the world for shantymen, whose 
 vigorous open-air exercise in the keen oxygenated 
 atmosphere enables them to digest food which would 
 upset and demoralize the stomach of a town or city 
 man. 
 
 Beans have entirely superseded peas, and are now 
 one of the staple articles of shanty diet. There is a 
 staying power in them which I believe is possessed 
 by no other food, that is, when prepared in the way 
 I describe. I have often taken a large tin plate-full 
 in the morning, and then tramped the whole day 
 through the woods, till after dark, and yet felt no 
 pressing sensation of hunger or fatigue. 
 
 To my mind it is the best kind of food that could 
 be used in our Arctic expeditions. In proportion to
 
 46 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 its nutritive power its bulk weight is the most 
 portable in the world. Five quarts of beans will 
 make a good meal for forty men, of course along 
 with tea and bread or hard-tack. No doubt it would 
 be impracticable to prepare beans in the proper way 
 on the sleighing parties ; but the same purpose would 
 be served by cooking a large quantity on the ship, 
 and allowing the conglomerated mess to freeze into 
 a solid mass, and then chop off and warm up as 
 occasion required. I believe it would be a better 
 food than pemmican, and, while most palatable to the 
 men, there would not be a taint of scurvy in a barrel 
 of it ; in fact, it would be rather a preventive to the 
 dire scourge of the north. 
 
 I think the British and American governments 
 should give me a vote of thanks for the suggestions 
 I have thrown out on this bean question, and utilize 
 them in their proposed international expedition to 
 the polar regions. 
 
 There is a great improvement now-a-days, not 
 only in the cuisine^ but also in the materiel the 
 food itself provided for the shanty men. Years ago 
 pork, tea and bread were the sole food of the men, 
 and sometimes not too much of that, nor of the best 
 quality either. In nothing in shanty life is there a 
 greater change noticeable than in this matter. Now,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 47 
 
 not only is the food superabundant, but also of the 
 most varied and best quality. Compared to the 
 other laboring classes, our shantymen fare sumptu- 
 ously every day. What do you think of such a bill 
 of fare as this, which constitutes the daily routine of 
 my friend C 's menu : Mess pork, fresh beef, bread, 
 tea, dried apples stewed, syrup, beans, potatoes, 
 sugar, often butter, fish ? What laboring men in the 
 world have such living as this, and what more, or, 
 better could the heart of a strong healthy working 
 man possibly desire ? 
 
 At first sight it might appear that this great 
 change for the better in shanty diet would involve a 
 largely increased expenditure. But when we look 
 into the matter closely, we shall find that this is not 
 the case. Pork, tea, bread, which constituted the 
 staple articles of diet under the old regime, are the 
 most expensive of all foods, and of course, having 
 nothing else, much larger quantities were consumed 
 by the men than at present, when these are supple- 
 mented by potatoes, fish, &c., which in comparison 
 are greatly cheaper. In fact, this varied and 
 superior diet is, cent per cent, cheaper actually than 
 the old unvaried shanty fare. But, not only so, but 
 it is infinitely healthier for the men, and more and 
 better work can be done on it than formerly.
 
 48 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 But let us get back, as the title of this chapter 
 intimates, to the cook himself, his personnel, &c. As 
 can easily be understood, this gentleman, from his 
 functions and surroundings, is often a character, one 
 indeed well worthy of study and curious interest. 
 I have in my mind's-eye many such with whom I 
 have been well acquainted, and whom I count 
 among my best friends, and of whom I have many 
 pleasant and grateful remembrances no doubt in- 
 fluenced thereto by a leaning to my own personal 
 comfort and enjoyment, for I honestly confess to a 
 weakness in the cookery direction. 
 
 Prominent among these stand out old Ned C . 
 
 I can never think of him without having recalled to 
 my mind our school-boy rhyme of " King Cole/' a 
 travesty upon which will shape itself in my mind, 
 
 " Old cook Ned, was a merry old cook, 
 
 And a merry old cook was he ; 
 He rattled his pans, and swore by the book, 
 And danced right merrily." 
 
 Ned was a little wizen-faced, crooked-mouthed, 
 fiery-eyed old Frenchman. His countenance at times 
 would assume a queer, comical, rat-like kind of 
 seriousness, out of which his keen little eyes would 
 leer at you with a droll, malicious devilment. 
 
 He was the best dancer I ever saw in the back-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 51 
 
 woods, and that is saying a good deal of a class 
 noted for their agility and activity. When the 
 day's work was over, the pans and dresser all 
 scoured as bright as a shilling, and the lively strains 
 of the fiddle were cheering up every heart, old Ned 
 would sometimes be seized with a dancing humor, 
 and then his antics round the camboose were simply 
 prodigious. He had the floor all to himself, for no 
 one presumed to rival or keep step with him in his 
 complicated toeings and heelings, and agile bowings 
 and scrapings. And there was a perfect contagion 
 in the spirit of his dancing : it stimulated you for 
 the time being into a feeling of emulation. You 
 could not keep your legs and feet still. You felt as 
 if you could leap over the camboose, and back again 
 without any difficulty, though you might as well 
 attempt to leap over the moon. 
 
 And yet there was no nonsense about old Ned. 
 He was a perfect despot among his pots and pans. 
 The puny little fellow would order about those great 
 hulks of fellows as if they were children. " Go and 
 wash your hands," you would hear him yell to some 
 forgetful wight who had presumed to approach the 
 steaming savory pot of pork and beans without 
 having first performed this usual ablution. 
 
 These fellows, as a rule, are very cleanly in their
 
 52 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 habits. Every man washes at the small hand- 
 trough at the door as soon as he gets up, and every 
 time he comes in for his meals. And if he neglects 
 to do this, he is very quickly reminded of it by some 
 authoritative individual like the cook. 
 
 Ned was very fond of me, and he showed his pre- 
 dilection in a highly satisfactory manner. When the 
 men came in for their meals and if you want to 
 see good lusty, practical common-sense eating, now 
 is the time for it Ned would give me a queer 
 knowing side-look, which said as plainly as words, 
 "just wait a little, I've got something good for you." 
 So, while the men were wondering at my patience 
 and apparent indifference, I would be whetting my 
 appetite with a little expectation of the coming 
 "'something good," and I was never disappointed. 
 Many a royal " snack " the old fellow would thus 
 prepare for me, which immensely comforted me in 
 my shanty life. Merry, genial, kind-hearted old 
 Ned I'll never forget him while appetite and 
 digestion remain, and I hope he will be long spared 
 to give me many a toothsome " snack " yet. 
 
 In marked contrast to old Ned stood out young 
 Alf, the " boy cook." Though only eighteen he is 
 already a Goliath in stature, and will be, if he takes 
 care of himself, a veritable Samson in strength. I
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 53 
 
 have seen him stand on the shanty floor and without 
 changing his position kick the roof with his foot a 
 test of physical power and suppleness of great 
 authority with shantymen. 
 
 He is as pretty a youth as ever entered a shanty 
 door. Notwithstanding the smoke and ashes and 
 cinders of the camboose, in which he constantly 
 moves, the bloom on his cheek is as fresh and peach- 
 like as that of a girl of sixteen. His face is. a con- 
 tinual sparkle of rosy, juvenile freshness, and does 
 your soul good to look at it. If it were that of a 
 girl you would be in love wdth it before your heart 
 could throb twice. Young as he is, Alf has already 
 attained high eminence in his profession, and is 
 accounted by the men, with whom he is a general 
 favorite, a " boss " cook. 
 
 There is many a hot dispute as to his proficiency 
 in this line, compared to that of his brother George, 
 who is the cook in our shanty. Of course I swear 
 Toy George, though in truth there is little to choose 
 between them, though George is several years older, 
 .and .has the advantage of many years' experience ; 
 but both have an excellent repute, and command 
 high wages. 
 
 George is a manly, good-looking, rather under- 
 sized fellow, aad though a famous fiddler, and a
 
 54 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 merry joker upon occasion, is yet in general of a 
 staid, sedate, and self-repressed demeanor. He is 
 even cross-grained and snappishly inclined at times, 
 particularly when his liver gets out of gear, for 
 cooking does not agree with his health, and he dis- 
 likes it, and nothing but the high wages keeps him 
 at it, as he is a saving and money-loving dog. But 
 he is married, and that I suppose accounts for all 
 these latter peculiarities. 
 
 He is always dosing himself with patent nos- 
 trums, and is a fair sample of the gullibility of 
 credulous humanity in this direction. I was greatly 
 amused one night at a scene which took place in 
 the shanty, which was about as striking an illus- 
 tration of imitative credulity in human nature as I 
 ever witnessed. George was greatly troubled with 
 a sore throat, and was, in consequence, in one of his 
 perverse humors. I felt sorry for him, for he was 
 really suffering great distress, and offered him a dose 
 of Thomas' Eclectric Oil, which is a capital specific 
 for an acute attack of inflammation of the tonsils 
 or bronchial tubes. 
 
 George most eagerly seized the teaspoon, and with 
 great gravity prepared himself to take the medicine 
 in prescribed form. The directions are to open the 
 mouth as wide as possible, and, throwing the head
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 55 
 
 well back, to retain the oil as long as you can in 
 the throat, so that it may get well absorbed in the 
 membranes before swallowing. 
 
 With great deliberation George seated himself on 
 the camboose, and opening his mouth to its widest 
 capacity, and throwing his head back almost to a 
 right angle with his spine, he slowly imbibed the 
 full quantity of the oil, intently and admiringly 
 gazed at meanwhile by the whole shanty. 
 
 In my eager interest in watching the operation I 
 found myself unconsciously imitating my patient's 
 attitudes ; checking myself with an inward chuckle 
 at my goosiness, I looked round at the other fellows 
 to see if they had noticed me, and to my astonished 
 amusement there was every man-jack of them 
 exhibiting the same phenomenon. Forty mouths 
 were wide agape, forty heads were thrown back- 
 wards as far as they could go, and forty pairs of 
 eyes were staring down the upturned noses, breath- 
 lessly and absorbingly fixed upon George. The 
 thing struck me with such a sense of the ridiculous 
 that my gravity was completely upset, and with a 
 burst of outrageous laughter I broke the charm, and 
 nearly choked poor George with the sudden gulp 
 which he was compelled to take of the nauseous 
 compound.
 
 56 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 If my friend Notraan could only have taken a 
 photographic view of that circle of upturned, open- 
 mouthed countenances, it would be one of the most 
 striking and characteristic pictures in his gallery. 
 
 George, like many of his young compatriots, is 
 smitten with the Manitoban fever, and is off to the 
 land of the setting sun ; where I have not the least 
 doubt that his honesty, and general practical ability 
 will quickly gain for him a comfortable and pros- 
 perous career.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 My Home ! My Home ! My Home ! " 
 
 E night as I was tramping weariedly shanty- 
 wards I found to my surprise, and no little un- 
 W^ easiness, that it was considerably later than I 
 had thought. In fact, night had overtaken me, and 
 its dark shadows were coming down upon me before I 
 realized it. I had had a long and heavy tramp that 
 day over an exceedingly rough country, and felt 
 almost fagged out, and for the last mile or so had 
 been going quite leisurely, under the impression that 
 I could easily reach the shanty before night. We 
 read about the thief in the night, but on this occa- 
 sion it was the night that was the culprit, and had 
 stolen upon me most suddenly indeed. 
 
 Though I was not more than a mile from my 
 destination still my course lay over burnt piny hills 
 and dark thickety gullies, which were intersected in 
 every direction by timber roads utterly indistin- 
 guishable in the dark from the true direction, except 
 to one thoroughly familiar with them. This I cer- 
 tainly was not, as it was only the second time I 
 had been over this route.
 
 58 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 These timber roads are often exceedingly bewil- 
 dering even to old experienced bush-rangers : they 
 cross and recross each other at every conceivable 
 angle and direction. They are a mazy labyrinth of 
 road network, each one of which is a blind alley whose 
 terminus is some " roll way " where a collection of logs 
 or square timber has been made, ready to be drawn 
 away by the teamsters. When the footsore traveller 
 discovers his mistake he has nothing for it but sim- 
 ply to retrace his steps, and try another road, with 
 perhaps the same disheartening result. And thus he 
 may wander the whole night, and all the while keep 
 within an area of a mile or less. The notorious 
 " Will o' the Wisp " is not more tantalising and posi- 
 tively dangerous that is on a cold night than these 
 timber roads ; all this I knew from bitter experience. 
 
 However, relief was just at hand : as the darkness 
 fairly closed upon me I came to a cabin, which I 
 know was just a mile from the shanty. I entered it, 
 with the fervent prayer that the occupants would so 
 press me to stay with them that I would be com- 
 pelled to accept, as it would never do to confess that 
 I could not find my way alone to the shanty, when 
 I was so near to it. To my inexpressible relief, 
 however, who should I find comfortably chatting and 
 smoking with the master of the house but mv good
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 59 
 
 old friend, John Me , one of the teamsters in the 
 
 very shanty to which I was going. I knew I was all 
 right now. John, after an experience of thirty years 
 shantying in this country, could go blindfold through 
 its most intricate windings. My anxieties and fears 
 vanished at once. What contemptible hypocrites 
 we can become upon occasion. With an air of 
 complete assurance and self-confidence, I saluted 
 them, and said " I had just come in for a smoke and 
 chat before going home." 
 
 As John and I tramped along through the deep 
 gloaming, the hour and surroundings made us feel 
 reflective and serious, and our conversation soon 
 assumed the same character. It is astonishing too, 
 how confidential and communicative you grow with 
 a person when sitting or walking with him in the 
 darkness. 
 
 John is a religious man in the true sense of the 
 term. He is an honest, God-fearing, and simple- 
 minded believer, and withal, a most tender and 
 wann-hearted man. He is the worthy son of a most 
 worthy sire, and of a mother whose name is a house- 
 hold word in all this community. There is no woman 
 who has ever lived in Dalhousie who was more widely 
 known, and highly esteemed and loved, and who is 
 more missed, than kind, genial, motherly old Mrs.
 
 60 SItanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Me . She was a favorite with every one, and 
 
 every one seemed to be a favorite with her. She was 
 as impartial as she was lavish in her kindly minis- 
 trations to every one who visited her place. Ka 
 teamster need ever leave her house without a 
 change of dry socks for his feet, and the loan of a 
 warm muffler for his throat if the night was cold 
 and damp. And yet she was so judicious in 
 her attentions that each one thought he was the 
 special object of her kindness. I labored under this 
 delusion for many a year, until, when boasting about 
 it to some of my friends, I found that each one of 
 them entertained the same opinion about himself. 
 And yet when we came to compare notes on the 
 subject we found that the old lady had a good word 
 for every one of us to the others. So we very logi- 
 cally came to the conclusion that there was no 
 " blarney " about her, but her unvarying kindness 
 to us was the outcome, pure and simple, of a warm, 
 loving, and affectionate heart, and such I honestly 
 believe hers was. 
 
 As we tramped along John commenced to talk 
 about his mother, a subject of which I, in common 
 with many others, never tired of hearing. He gave 
 nie an account of her deathbed. 
 
 After a long and trying sickness, which she bore
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 61 
 
 with great patience and Christian cheerfulness, her 
 end was visibly come* As John sat by her bedside 
 holding her hand he asked her : 
 
 " Mother, do you know me ? " 
 
 " Ah, John," she replied, " I ken you weel, I ken 
 you all. But it is all darkness about me, and I am 
 entering on that long, dark journey from which I can 
 never come to you again." 
 
 " These were her last words," said John. 
 
 And, as he spoke, I knew by his voice that the 
 tears were rolling dovvn his bronzed cheeks, 
 
 Never was a mother held in more reverent and 
 affectionate remembrance by her children, than she. 
 
 After a pause John resumed the conversation by 
 somewhat abruptly saying: "The happiest and 
 calmest deathbed I ever saw was that of my brother 
 in-law, Jas. W ." 
 
 W was a man who was held in great esteem 
 
 by his neighbors for his honest, straightforward, 
 and consistent demeanor. He was a faithful hus- 
 band and father, a kindly neighbor, and a warm, 
 zealous member of the church, For two years he 
 had been battling with the fell scourge, consumption, 
 but the disease had become too deeply seated in his 
 system, and though only a little over the prime of
 
 62 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 life, it was too evident that his days, nay, his hours,, 
 were numbered. 
 
 On the morning of the day of his death, John, 
 who had been unremitting in his attendance upon 
 him, paid him his customary daily visit. He found 
 him much worse, in truth ,in great suffering,, and 
 evidently near his end. 
 
 In answer to John's question whether he had 
 settled all his affairs, he replied he had not, and 
 requested that they might at once be attended to. 
 After this business was fully and satisfactorily at- 
 tended to in the presence of all his family, who stood 
 weeping round his bed, he said, " John, I must now 
 compose my mind for death and eternity." 
 
 " Are you suffering much pain, James ? " John 
 asked him. 
 
 tl Yes," was the reply, " but nothing to what my 
 Saviour suffered for me.'' 
 
 Then, turning his face to the wall, he lay for a 
 long time, apparently in deep meditation. All at 
 once, in a clear, sweet tone he exclaimed : 
 
 " Do you see yon bright star, John ? " 
 
 " No, James, I cannot see it." 
 
 " Ah John, that's my home, my home, my home ;" 
 and with the words he breathed his last.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 63 
 
 When John gently turned him over, his spirit 
 indeed had flown to its bright starry home above. 
 
 " Those were his last words," said John, " and 
 they have been sounding in my ears ever since." 
 
 And so they have in mine, too, as uttered in the 
 darkling night, in the deep, homely, reverent tone 
 of John's Scottish accent. 
 
 Reader, when you and I come to die may we, 
 with as much simple faith and assurance, and with 
 our eye fixed on some bright star above, be enabled 
 to say, " that's my home, my home, my home."
 
 64 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Old Saint- Saint, the Hermit. 
 
 iNEof the peculiarities of a shanty establish- 
 ment is the old supernumerary that is often 
 attached to it. 
 Almost every long-established concern has some 
 old faithful servant, incapacitated from active work 
 and grown grey in the service, who still remains 
 connected with it as a kind of pensioner upon its 
 bounty. He has been so long in the harness, his 
 habits have so moulded and ironed him, that he 
 must die where he has lived. At the solicitation of 
 friends or relatives he goes to the settlements, and 
 thinks he will end his days amid its comfortable 
 environments, but he finds it an impossibility. Its 
 restraints and proprieties are irksome to him ; he 
 " doesn't understand," and " doesn't like the ways 
 of the town's-folk. 5 ' His heart is in the woods. 
 His speech, manners, thoughts, associations, habits > 
 and enjoyments are all there. He would rather 
 have cold pork and beans, than roast beef and turkey. 
 His hard bunk in shanty or hut is sweeter to him,
 
 ' In the Backwoods of Cunada, 65 
 
 than the down and feathers of the sweetest and 
 cosiest bedroom. He seems to be dead to all ties 
 of family and kinship, but keenly alive to those of 
 nature and the wild woods. 
 
 And here a noticeable feature of the shantyman's 
 character is observable : no matter how gruff and 
 unsociable, and even morose, the old man may be 
 and he is sometimes extremely so he is always 
 treated, with kindness and consideration and, some- 
 times, as in the case of my old friend Date, with 
 great respect, and his opinion often requested, and 
 deferred to. ' 
 
 It must not be supposed, however, that these old 
 gentlemen are useless appendages to the establish- 
 ment. By no means ; in some instances the old super- 
 numerary is the most useful man about the place. He 
 generally makes his habitat about the farm or depot 
 of the concern ; and though he receives no pay, nor 
 Indeed wants any, yet he repays his board and 
 clothing many times over by looking after the cattle 
 and poultry, and attending to the thousand odds and 
 ends of little work, which necessarily belong to such 
 an establishment, and this, too, with a judgment and 
 economy which a younger and less experienced man 
 could not practise. In these departments, also, he is 
 often very despotic and touchy as to his authority.
 
 66 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 I remember well how old Date would brook no 
 interference, or meddling in the farm-yard at the 
 Black River depot. The calves and poultry were 
 the special objects of his care, and if Jim and I 
 wanted some variety in our menu we had always 
 to ask Date's permission before we could lay 
 murderous hands upon calf or chicken. It was most 
 amusing to hear him abusing and swearing at John, 
 the foreman of the farm, and ordering him off about 
 his business if he happened to come about when he 
 was busy with his charges, which, to John's credit be 
 it said, he always took with good-humor and playful 
 repartee. 
 
 One of the best specimens of this class is old Saint- 
 Saint the Hermit. Saint-Saint, however, is a retired 
 old gentleman of independent home and position. 
 Though he has been engaged during the active part 
 of his life in shanty business, yet he preferred, when 
 the infirmities of old age came upon him, to retire 
 altogether from its active scenes, and live apart and 
 alone,, in a hut of his own construction, in an isolated 
 and retired locality. 
 
 His hut, about ten feet square, and snug and 
 comfortable enough, stands in rather a romantic 
 position two miles below Joe's lake, about the middle 
 of what ia called the Long Stretch^ which is an
 
 GEOLBBHOP & CO. PHOTO. LITH. MONTREAL . 
 
 Old Saint Saint, the Hermit.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada,. 69 
 
 expansion of the Glide between two rapids some 
 three miles apart. 
 
 The accompanying picture, taken from life, gives 
 an admirable likeness of the Hermit's face, and 
 when you add to this a lithe, active, medium-sized 
 frame, without any apparent symptoms of imbecility 
 either of mind or body, you have old Saint-Saint. 
 And yet he is over eighty years of age, and for 
 twenty years has led the life of a recluse in this 
 locality. 
 
 His history is one of the most singularly unro- 
 mantic you ever heard in your life. He has a wife 
 and large family living on a comfortable farm near 
 Montreal. The former he has not seen for twenty- 
 five years, and the reason he left her was not because 
 she was unfaithful, or extravagant, or unkind, or any 
 other of the common-place frailties of womankind, 
 but because she was too saving of his hard-earned 
 wages. When he would give her money on his 
 return from the shanty, or send it to her. she was in 
 the habit of putting it out at interest, on good 
 security, without telling him anything about it. 
 Whatever was her motive in this, it was, as far as I 
 could learn, the only ground of disturbance between 
 them, otherwise she was, even according to Saint- 
 Saint's account, an exemplary wife and mother in
 
 70 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 all respects. He is, however, very reticent about this, 
 and .all other personal matters. 
 
 Be the cause what it may, the old fellow left 
 wife, and children, and home, and, burying him- 
 self in this isolated retreat, refused to have any 
 further intercourse with them. His wife has made 
 repeated overtures for reconciliation, but in vain ; and 
 though one of his sons came to see him a few years 
 ago, and brought clothes and money, yet he told him 
 never to come back, and not to " bother " him any 
 more. He lays no claim to his property, but allows 
 his wife and children to do as they please with it. 
 Altogether his mode of existence is a strange 
 freak of human nature, and quite unaccountable on 
 any of the grounds from which people generally 
 take enjoyment and satisfaction out of life ; but 
 that is his business, and, if he likes it better than 
 any other, let him by all means enjoy it. 
 
 There is nothing morose, or melancholy, or even 
 unsocial about the old fellow, and whatever feel- 
 ing of pity you may have for him in the abstract 
 is quickly dispelled when you visit him. He is a 
 lively, merry, crickety old fellow, full of hospitality, 
 chatty and glad to see you. He is, withal, a vanity- 
 stricken old man, as was plainly shewn by the 
 readiness with which he acceded to the artist's
 
 In Backwoods of Canada. 71 
 
 proposal to draw his portrait, and the patience and 
 grave complacency with which he sat for hours 
 while the picture was being executed. The artist 
 very kindly promised to send him a copy afterwards, 
 and this gave him unbounded satisfaction. 
 
 He supports himself by hunting, trapping and 
 fishing, but mainly the latter, as his eyesigh'; and 
 nerve are failing him, so that he has great difficulty 
 in handling the rifle or gun. I always take him 
 some tea and pork when I go to see him, which 
 he most gratefully receives, as also the contribu- 
 tions which his kindly French neighbours give him. 
 
 On the occasion of my last visit to him, I was, and 
 had been for weeks, suffering from a severe cold and 
 cough. With the respect which we instinctively 
 pay to an octogenarian, and a hermit, I asked him 
 for a remedy, which he at once gave, with a sim- 
 plicity and gravity which commanded esteem and 
 confidence. It was this : " Take five drinks of cold 
 water every morning before breakfast for nine 
 consecutive days." I did so at least I drank as 
 much cold water as I could comfortably contain 
 and as sure as anything under the sun I got entirely 
 rid of my cold before the nine days were up, and I 
 havn't had a bark, or a symptom of it, since. I 
 intend to get some more remedies from the old
 
 72 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Hermit before I leave, and if they only prove as 
 efficacious as this one, I may safely take Asclepiades, 
 wager against Fortune, that " I will never be ill as 
 long as I live." 
 
 With all the bodily comfort they can possibly 
 secure, and all the contentment and ease of life 
 which they can reasonably expect, still the condition 
 of these old recluses of the forest is one of peculiarly 
 melancholy and lonesome interest. I have stood by 
 their graves the graves of some whom I have 
 known long and loved well and among the saddest 
 thoughts I ever had I felt, as I stood there. In the 
 still solemn depths of the forest, far removed from 
 human ken and life, in sight of the crumbling ruins 
 of the old hut in which they lived and died by the 
 lonely side of some rock-bound lake over which 
 they had fished and shot on some jutting head- 
 lands of the Madawaska and Matawan, from which 
 you can look for leagues over a mighty landscape of 
 forest, water and mountain, and detect no sign of 
 man's presence or work, those graves are found 
 uncared-for, unknown, forgotten, fitting memorials 
 of the lonesome, forsaken life the old man lived and 
 loved. 
 
 It's all very well as long as these old men enjoy 
 a fair measure of health and substantial vigor then
 
 In the Backwoods oj Canada. 73 
 
 we can understand how, to a person of a certain 
 constitution, there would be some satisfaction, and 
 even positive enjoyment, in the life ; but when 
 sickness comes, as come it does upon occasion, even 
 to the most healthy and robust, when failing senses 
 and abatement of strength set in, then they must 
 have many wearisome seasons of despondency and 
 apprehensive reflection, and an intense longing for 
 the company, sympathy, and help of their kindred 
 and fellow-creatures. Their daily life, too, is one 
 of continual danger to life or limb : the fall of a 
 tree or branch, a sudden squall on the lake, the burst- 
 ing of a gun, a tumble off a high log, and a dozen 
 other casualties incident to backwoods life, may 
 kill in a moment or so maim them that they may 
 be laid up for weeks or months, and during this 
 time not a living soul may come near them or 
 know anything about their condition, in such 
 straights as these they must feel lonely and wretched 
 to the last degree. 
 
 Take it all in all, their life is more to be pitied 
 than envied, and more to be Reprehended than 
 respected. But who knows the deep workings, 
 the self-impelling motives, the sensitive shrinkings, 
 and, maybe, the unhealed scars of the human 
 heart ! These old recluses have a reason for their
 
 74 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 lives that is, at all events, satisfactory to themselves, 
 and, if we can't understand or commend it, let us 
 at least keep one's own counsel, and extend to them 
 all tender sympathy, all kindly cheer, and all the prac- 
 tical help that their age and loneliness demand ; and 
 the good Lord who knows all secrets, and tenderly 
 loves all His creatures, will not overlook nor forget.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 75 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Forest Fires. 
 
 C would be a very easy matter to go into rhapsodies 
 over the sublime spectacle of a fire in the forest. 
 This, however, has been done so often and in so 
 
 much better style than I can possibly emulate, and 
 
 > 
 
 withal it can be so readily taken in by an ordinary 
 imagination that comprehends the terrible nature 
 and effects of fire when it has illimitable inflammable 
 material to feed upon, that it is needless for me to 
 attempt to depict it. Anyway, I am so greatly 
 impressed with the terribly stern, practical nature of 
 this question, and of its urgent claims upon the 
 attention of all thinking Canadians, that I feel I 
 have no time in dealing with it for mere figures of 
 speech and pretty descriptions. I have seen a mighty 
 forest bathed in a sea of angry fire, and, with all its 
 grand, unutterable sublimity, I never wish to see it 
 again. 
 
 Forest fires have been, and are still, a crying 
 disgrace to the government and people of Canada. 
 It is almost incredible to think that p eople's eyes and 
 minds have never been fairly opened to the extent
 
 76 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and magnitude of this terrible evil, which has devas- 
 tated such a vast extent of our most valuable terri- 
 tory, and robbed us of untold millions of hard cash. 
 
 In order to present this subject in its clearest 
 light we shall look at in a three-fold point of view, 
 viz. : first, the origin of forest fires ; second, the 
 destructive extent of them; and, third, the approx- 
 imate preventive of them. 
 
 First, as to the origin of forest fires, many, and 
 some very plausible, theories are expressed, such as 
 ignition of the trees during a thunder-storm by the 
 lightning, camp and mid-day fires by hunters, bush- 
 rangers and Indians, and neglected fires of any kind 
 by stray tramps or others through the forest. Now 
 there is no doubt that any one of these causes may, 
 upon occasion, have been sufficient of itself to have 
 started a fire, and a most destructive one too, but, 
 take them one and all, I regard those primal agents 
 of the evil as mere casualties, as accidental things, 
 which are beyond the scope of legislation and human 
 prevention, and which have occurred, and, do what 
 we may, always will occur while the forest stands ; 
 but I am very far from attaching the importance 
 to them which some do, as being the main factors in 
 causing these fearful conflagrations which have 
 ravaged our most valuable pineries and other woods.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 77 
 
 I believe that not only are they of rare occurrence, 
 but that the destructive extent of the fires caused by 
 these agents can be narrowed down to a compara- 
 tively small, perhaps insignificant, area. 
 
 The real origin of our appalling forest fires is 
 traceable, directly or indirectly, to the settlers of the 
 country, either in their spring or summer fallows in 
 clearing the land, or, occasionally, in making potash. 
 One presumptive proof of the correctness of this 
 theory is the undeniable fact that in those sections of 
 Canada where the settler has not yet penetrated and 
 located, there have been no great general conflagra- 
 tions. The forest, in these sections, at least as com- 
 pared with those in the settled districts, are in their 
 virgin condition of greenness, and in this condition 
 they remain until we hear of settlers moving in, and 
 then we too often hear, at no very distant date sub- 
 sequently, the wretched tale of fire and devastation. 
 
 And when we look at this matter of the settler 
 from another point of view, viz., their rank, inex- 
 cusable, criminal carelessness in starting and attend- 
 ing to their fires, the wonder is that the destruction 
 caused by them is not infinitely greater than what 
 it actually is. I have been amazed beyond measure 
 at the wanton, thoughtless, perverse folly you may 
 call it stupid madness, no term is too strong for it
 
 78 Shanty , Forest and River Life 
 
 of some of our backwoods settlers in handling and 
 " putting out " fire in the woods around them. There 
 is a terrible selfishness in it, too, which makes it 
 thoroughly criminal. The only precaution that these 
 people adopt is to see that their own buildings and 
 belongings are safe ; as long as the fire keeps away 
 from them they don't seem to care where it goes, how 
 far it spreads, who it damages, or what destruction it 
 causes. 
 
 A settler cuts down and makes ready for burning 
 a block, we will say, of ten acres or more of his land ; 
 at the first favorable opportunity or wind, that is, for 
 his own convenience and safety, he " puts out," as 
 they say, though it is a frightful misnomer, the fire, 
 quite regardless of its close proximity to, sometimes 
 touching in fact, the most extensive, inflammable and 
 valuable forests. They will even assist at times the 
 natural tendency of the fire to go in this direction ; 
 for, instead of cutting the trees so as to fall within 
 the circle of their clearing, they will often allow them 
 to fall with their top branches into the woods beyond, 
 and even throw out upon them the loose, dry, dead 
 limbs that may be in their way. I have seen a deep, 
 high, brush wall of the most ignitable material all 
 round the borders of such a clearance, and only want- 
 ing the smallest spark to set it ablaze, and spread
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 79 
 
 far and wide a terrible conflagration. A very little 
 attention and additional labor on the part of the 
 settler would at times prevent a destruction of timber 
 property which may be reckoned by tens of thousands 
 of dollars, yes, and sometimes infinitely more. 
 
 This leads us to my second point of observation 
 on this question, viz. : the destructive extent of our 
 forest fires. 
 
 It is simply appalling to take a bird's-eye view of 
 a tract of country that has been devastated by the 
 fire fiend. From an aesthetic standpoint it is dreary, 
 desolate, uninviting, even repelling in the highest 
 degree ; but to look at it in a matter of fact, econom- 
 ical, and sound business manner, it is disheart- 
 ening, nay, maddening in the extreme. 
 
 You take your stand on the peak of some lofty 
 hill from which you can take in the country in every 
 direction for miles around : nothing is to be seen but 
 dead, burnt, black pineries and other precious woods. 
 Some are still standing, altogether or partially de- 
 nuded of their limbs "rampikes " we call them and 
 the country before us is a " brule ; " others, and vast 
 quantities, are lying on the ground, where we see in 
 pitiful advantage their huge, gigantic proportions. 
 The ground is so thickly covered that we can walk 
 along them in a zig-zag direction for a mile at a
 
 80 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 stretch without touching the earth. Between the 
 standing and lying timber we see at one glance a 
 sum in loss and loss which our utmost calculating 
 ability cannot solve. 
 
 Let me try to give some approximate estimate 
 of the loss that has been incurred. Eemember, we 
 are taking a fair average pine country, and one, also, 
 from which so little timber has been utilized that the 
 amount is only a fraction compared to what has been 
 burnt. 
 
 It is generally estimated that each acre of such a 
 country will yield six sound trees of white or red 
 pine, that is, 600 trees for a lot of 100 acres. Now, 
 when one lumber merchant sues another for tres- 
 pass on his limits which is quite a common 
 transaction and obtains judgment against him, he 
 is allowed by law $4 a stump for the damage done. 
 At this figure a pine lot of 100 acres would be worth 
 $2,400, and a square mile, that is 640 acres, $15,360. 
 Now how many square miles do you take in from 
 your point of view on the eminence we spoke of 
 say it is only ten, here then you take at one glance 
 a destruction caused by fire of upwards of $150,000. 
 
 Extending our range of mental observation and 
 calculation, 'how many square miles of burnt pine 
 lands are there in the Ottawa Valley? Put it at
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 8 1 
 
 the moderate figure of 4000, and we find that the 
 bulk total of the damage done by this foul scourge 
 swells up to the enormous sum of over $60,000,000, 
 This, however, is not a fair way of getting at the true 
 estimate of the money loss to the country through 
 fire. Take sixty-five feet as the average per stick of 
 all the timber that has been taken out of the Ottawa 
 Valley for the last twenty -five years, and 15 cts. per 
 foot as the average price got in Quebec, and calculating 
 sawn lumber at very much the same aggregate value, 
 this gives $10 as the value of a sound pine tree, 
 instead of $4. This calculation at once swells the 
 aggregate loss by fire to over $150,000,000, or six 
 times as much as the Government's cash grant to 
 build the Canada Pacific Eailway. 
 
 And yet these gigantic figures, representing a 
 national and commercial value which the mind can- 
 not grasp, especially in a young and struggling 
 country like Canada, are referable only to the 
 Ottawa Valley, and take no cognizance of the losses 
 by fire in many parts of Quebec, and the north- 
 western part of Ontario, 
 
 I do not wish to stun and weary the reader with 
 ponderous numerical magnitudes, and enough has 
 been said to show the incalculable and heartsickening 
 loss and destruction caused by our forest fires. Let
 
 82 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 us come then to the third, and most important, point, 
 viz. : the approximate preventive of these fires. I 
 use the word approximate advisedly, for no matter 
 what precautions we adopt we never will be able to 
 prevent the periodical recurrence of fires in the woods 
 of a greater or less magnitude. 
 
 As I ascribe the main cause of these fires to the 
 settler, so it is with him that we mainly have to deal 
 in any precautionary and preventive measures that 
 should be adopted. If the settler could only be in- 
 duced to give some care and labor to the preparing 
 of his clearance for fires, after the trees are cut 
 down and piled up, the risk of fire spreading from 
 it would be very largely, if not altogether, diminished. 
 I have already hinted at this, but it cannot be too 
 repeatedly and strongly urged upon him. 
 
 To have his fallow complete, and safe for burning, 
 he should have every tree on its margin so cut as to 
 fall inwards and not outwards, and all the under- 
 brush and loose branches thrown well into the heap. 
 This being done, he should dig and turn up the moist 
 earth in a complete circle round the clearing, this 
 operation, which would not cost more than two days" 
 work for two men,, would keep the fire within 
 certain bounds, and almost ensure, in favorable/ 
 weather, against the risk of spreading.
 
 In the Backiuoods of Canada. *3 
 
 But as selfishness and cupidity are the strongest 
 incentives to action where the interests of the whole 
 are concerned and nowhere does this principle 
 operate more strongly than among our backwoods 
 settlers we would advocate the giving of all the 
 dues collected by the Government on the timber cut 
 on the settler's land to the settler himself, or placed 
 to his credit for the payment of his land. This 
 naturally would have the effect of causing the 
 settler to entertain a good feeling towards both the 
 Government and the lumber merchant, and making 
 him exceedingly careful in protecting the timber on 
 his land, and, consequently, that on every side of him. 
 Again when we look at this proposition in a kindly, 
 economic point of view, what a mighty boon would 
 this grant (say if only forty dollars a year) be to the 
 poor struggling settler? Why it would keep his 
 family in flour and tea for the whole year, or buy 
 him a yoke of steers to do his " logging " for him ; 
 and, on the other hand, taking the aggregate of all 
 the dues collected from all the settlers in the Ottawa 
 Valley by the Government for one year, what a 
 comparatively insignificant sum would it be out of 
 the Treasury chest. In 1881 the sum thus collected 
 amounted to less than $10,000, what a paltry amount 
 is this, in view of even the probable prevention of fires
 
 84 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 in the forest, any one of which might cause the 
 lumber merchant, and through him the country at 
 large, the loss of double that amount ; and what a 
 relief and practical assistance to the settlers would 
 this sum be when parceled out to each in the 
 probable proportion we mentioned. We are aware 
 that some persons argue that giving these dues to 
 the settlers would have the very opposite effect from 
 that which we are predicating. That it would induce 
 many of them purposely to " put out " fire in order 
 to burn the pine, so that the lumber merchants would 
 be compelled, in their own interests, to send in a 
 large force of men the first season after, in order to 
 cut it down and secure it before it would be 
 destroyed by the worm, which it generally is, if left 
 standing for two seasons after the fire has taken 
 place, and thus the settler would at once pocket 
 (if the dues went to him) a handsome sum. 
 But though isolated cases of this kind may 
 have occurred, still we have a better opinion of 
 the average settler than to believe this dastardly, 
 unprincipled thing of him. And anyway he has 
 sense enough to see what a short-sighted, penny-wise- 
 pound-foolish policy this would be. In all proba- 
 bility he would lose some valuable portion of his 
 pine and other woods, even with the utmost
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 85 
 
 exertions of the merchant to utilise them; and, 
 besides, he could calculate with no certainty upon 
 the merchant cutting a single tree of his burnt 
 woods the latter's arrangements for the season, 
 and a hundred other causes, might prevent him 
 doing this ; in this case the damage, both directly 
 and indirectly, would fall back upon himself. 
 
 But, after all that can be said and done, I hold 
 that the surest preventive of forest fires of any great 
 extent is, the judicious and adequate appointment 
 of fire inspectors. In this matter the Government 
 have been exceedingly blameworthy, or have acted 
 with a terribly ignorant, blind-fold sort of policy. The 
 laws they have enacted on the question are a farce and 
 a failure, for the simple reason that they never have, 
 nor never can, be enforced under the present system. 
 No settler will ever inform on his neighbor, no matter 
 what reward is offered, and even the lumber merchant, 
 whose limits have been ravaged from end to end, 
 will take no active measures to bring the culprit to 
 justice, even though he knows who he is. And those 
 who understand the nature of the question, and all 
 its bearings and surroundings in the backwoods, can- 
 not blame these parties either for their inaction in 
 the matter. I believe that not a single fire has 
 ever been prevented, or a single dollar 's worth of
 
 86 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 timber saved to the country by all the laws the Gov- 
 ernment have ever passed, or by all the inspection 
 they have ever appointed. 
 
 If the Government are really in earnest in this 
 matter, what they ought to do is to appoint a con- 
 siderable number of inspectors, and allocate to each 
 one a special section of country over which he is to 
 exercise supervision and jurisdiction. These sec- 
 tions should not be of too extended an area, but of 
 such an extent as, in the judgment of competent 
 persons, could easily be supervised by one inspector. 
 Take, for instance, the country lying between the 
 Mississippi and the Madawaska, which has been, and 
 is to a large extent still, the most valuable timber 
 region of all Canada, and which also has been and is 
 still, almost yearly, the arena of fearful conflagra- 
 tions : how many inspectors would it require to keep 
 a watchful eye over this section during the dangerous 
 fire seasons of the year, viz., about six weeks in early 
 spring, and two months in mid-summer; for these 
 two periods cover the ground during which almost 
 every fire breaks out. I would say that ten men 
 who thoroughly understood their business would be 
 amply sufficient. Suppose you pay these men $200 
 each for his three or four months' service, that is 
 $2,000 yearly ; what a mere bagatelle is this com-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 87 
 
 pared with the security and incalculable money profit 
 that would accrue to the country. Adopting the 
 same principle of action for the whole Ottawa valley 
 suppose this general inspection would cost $20,000 
 (which we think would cover the amount), how easily 
 this could be balanced in the treasury accounts by 
 the smallest additional fraction upon the timber dues. 
 
 The Government spare no expense in sending out 
 cullers and other officials in order to secure their 
 revenue from the lumber merchants, and yet, with 
 regard to the great essential point, yea the very 
 vitality of the revenue, they exhibit the most negli- 
 gent and inexcusable remissness. We talk about 
 the penny- wise-and-pound-foolish conduct of the 
 settlers, why, it is reduced to the minimum, com- 
 pared to the maximum of folly, which the Govern- 
 ment are guilty of in this question. 
 
 As to the personnel of these inspectors, the Gov- 
 ernment should exercise the utmost discretion and 
 impartial discrimination. It won't do to send out 
 men from Toronto, or, in fact, from any towns or 
 cities, or mere lackies or Government hangers-on. 
 We don't want men who will come out with gun, 
 fishing-tackle, tent and servant, merely to have a 
 good time in the woods. No, these inspectors should 
 be appointed from the backwoods, men who are
 
 88 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 experienced bush-rangers of practical knowledge and 
 judgment, who understand all about the " putting 
 out " of fire, as well as the checking and extinguish- 
 ing of it, whether large or small. Men who, with 
 their axe on their shoulder and pack on their back, 
 will range continually through their allotted section, 
 and sleep out, if need be, every night of the fire 
 season. There are plenty of such men to be found 
 in the lumbering country, especially at these seasons, 
 when the winter's work is over. I would have no 
 difficulty in laying my hands upon twenty such men at 
 a week's notice, who would gladly undertake the work 
 and responsibility for the remuneration I spoke of. 
 
 As I intimated, the duties of these men should 
 include jurisdiction, that is, they should have the 
 authority of arresting and prosecuting any settler or 
 others whom they should find infringing the fire 
 laws. They should be held responsible for any fire 
 that breaks out, as far as discovering the originator 
 is concerned, and, if there is any culpability in the 
 matter, of bringing him to justice. One or two 
 stringent examples, say of penitentiary for two years, 
 would have a mighty influence in bringing careless 
 and criminal parties to their proper senses as to the 
 way in which they should handle fire in the woods, 
 And if it were thoroughly understood that these in-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 89 
 
 specters had this power, and were obligated by oath 
 of office to exercise it, then no offence could be taken, 
 no odium incurred, but, on the contrary, they would 
 gain the esteem and approval of all right-thinking 
 persons in the community. The moment an inspec- 
 tor discovers a fire in his section which he can easily 
 do in this country of hills and mountains, by the 
 smoke he should hasten to the spot, and, if it is an 
 ordinary settler's fire for clearing, see that all lawful 
 precautions are being adopted, and if it is likely to 
 extend, and he finds it is impossible for him to manage 
 it single-handed, then he should have the authority 
 of engaging men at a fixed rate to assist him. Half- 
 a-dozen men, rightly directed, can check almost any 
 fire if taken in reasonable time. 
 
 Another duty of these inspectors should be to 
 prevent settlers from securing patents for lots which 
 are pure and simple timber lands. I hold strong 
 views on this point of the question. If, twenty-five 
 years ago, the Government had enacted that the 
 greater portion of the Ottawa Valley should be held 
 as a timber reserve, and nothing else in other words, 
 allowed no settlers in it, it would have been one of 
 the wisest, most far-seeing, and beneficent enactments 
 ever passed by any Government the wisest and 
 the best for the settlers themselves, the Government,
 
 90 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and the country generally. The Ottawa Valley was 
 never intended to be, and all the industry and capital 
 in the world never will make it be, an agricultural 
 country ; but if it had been reserved for the 
 utilizing of its natural capabilities and resources, viz., 
 lumber of every description, what an incalculable 
 mine of wealth would it have been to-day for the 
 Dominion. This is at once obvious, even to the 
 most superficial reflector and calculator. But it is 
 not too late to enact some such proviso still. There 
 are hundreds of Government lots yet in the market 
 that are utterly worthless, except for the lumber 
 that is on them, but are immensely valuable in this 
 respect. Now no settlement in the way of clearing 
 land for agricultural purposes should be allowed on 
 these lots. Such a proviso would not only minimise 
 the risk from fire, but it would also prevent the 
 settlers from selfishly and criminally speculating on 
 the timber, merely for the sake of the Government 
 dues, which on such lots would amount to a very 
 large sum. I could point out on the map certain 
 lots of a hundred acres where the lumber merchant 
 has taken off timber which has yielded dues to the 
 amount of over $2,000, and these are not rare or 
 exceptional cases. Now the Government would 
 have a perfect right to protect itself, and the country,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 91 
 
 from unprincipled speculations on the part of the 
 settlers in this point of view, and it could easily 
 do this by ordering the inspectors to prevent settle- 
 ment on these lots. This would be no injustice to 
 any intending settler ; if he wishes a homestead for 
 a farm, then the Government will give him every 
 facility for gratifying his desire in the most rich and 
 eligible location. And if he is an honest man, and 
 wishes to make money out of the lumber business 
 proper, then let him go to the merchant on whose 
 limits such a lot as we speak of may be, and make 
 an open bargain with him, either for a job, or to buy 
 a " cut," or purchase out and out the whole lot for a 
 stated sum; but don't let him attempt to cheat 
 both the Government and the merchant by pre- 
 tending to take out the lot for farming purposes, 
 while all the time he is looking after only the dues 
 on the timber, and thus, in every probability, in- 
 flicting an immense loss upon both parties, merely 
 for the sake of pocketing himself a few hundred 
 dollars. Now, it would be an easy matter, as we 
 have said, for the fire inspector to have his eye on 
 these lots, and see that no settlement takes place on 
 them, either by squatter or Government patentee, 
 but that they are reserved and utilized according to 
 their natural and legitimate purpose.
 
 92 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 I conclude my views on this subject by em- 
 phasizing in the strongest possible manner the great 
 necessity that exists at this present time for the 
 enactment of the most stringent and imperative laws 
 and precautions with respect to forest fires. Never 
 since the lumbering business commenced in the 
 Ottawa Valley, has the country, particularly to the 
 south of the river, been more ripe and ready for 
 terrible conflagrations than at the present moment. 
 Fearful as these have been in the past, they are 
 nothing compared to what may break out at any 
 hour, and at innumerable places, in the immediate 
 future. These great fires have piled up on the land 
 immense masses of the most inflammable material, 
 which need only a spark to set them into a blaze. 
 The fire has only half done its work ; it has singed, 
 but not cindered, vast pineries and swamps ; it has 
 charred, but not reduced to ashes, vast tracts of 
 forest ; it has left in its wake a region that is so 
 dry, and dead, and inflammable that I have often 
 wondered why, in the hot scorching weeks of mid- 
 summer, it did not burst into flames by spontaneous 
 ignition. Under certain conditions of accident, of 
 weather, of settlement, of carelessness, we may yet 
 witness, and that before long, the most appalling 
 and wide-spread conflagration that has ever yet de-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 93 
 
 vastated the Ottawa Valley. All these contingencies 
 are intensified by the fact of the Kingston and Pem- 
 broke Eailway now running through the very heart 
 of this highly inflammable region. Hence I 
 maintain that, if ever the Government were called 
 upon to adopt and enforce the most stringent 
 precautionary measures with respect to fires in the 
 woods, it is at this present time. 
 
 Again, how much is this obligation heightened 
 by the consideration not generally understood or 
 known of the immense quantities of most valuable 
 timber that still remains in this country ? From the 
 account I have given of the destructive extent of 
 forest fires, the reader may be disposed to think that 
 there cannot be much timber left in the country to 
 be burnt ; but, notwithstanding all the fearful con- 
 flagrations that have swept over the land, and the 
 incalculable damage done, still it is amazing the 
 vast quantities of pine and other woods that yet 
 remain. Every one who is acquainted with the 
 lumbering country knows well how often the cry is 
 raised, "the timber supply of this country is 
 exhausted, we must go further and far back to get 
 enough of pine to make the business pay." I have 
 heard this old story repeated regularly, season after 
 season, for the last twenty years ; and yet the fact
 
 9 4 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 is that many limits which have been " culled " over 
 and over again, and abandoned as worthless, or sold 
 at small figures, are being to-day most profitably 
 worked, and yielding every year large rafts of square 
 timber and hundreds of thousands of logs. No 
 doubt the average of size and finenesss of quality 
 are greatly deteriorated, but neither the producer nor 
 the buyer are so particular now as they used to be. 
 If they cannot get exactly what they would like, 
 they just have to like what they can get; and the 
 truth is that, after all the burning, and culling, and 
 supposed exhaustion, what they do get is not such a 
 bad article after all, and, as I have said, is in good 
 paying quantities, too. 
 
 There is, besides, another element of supply which 
 now, and only very lately, is entering largely into 
 the calciilations of the lumber merchant, and that is 
 the utilizing of the lying timber, for saw-logs 
 especially. It is now ascertained that vast quan- 
 tities of fallen pine, which had been abandoned 
 years ago as utterly worthless, contain some of the 
 best and soundest lumber. I have seen, during this 
 season, on the Caldwell limits, immense trunks of 
 trees that were cut or blown down forty years ago, 
 being sawn into logs, and found to be among the 
 b st 'hat can be cut. This is particularly the case
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 95 
 
 with trees that are lying in low moist ground. An 
 inch or two on the surface are indeed rotten, but the 
 sap seems to have collected and hardened there, and 
 formed a kind of cement, which has preserved the 
 heart and great bulk of the tree sound, and free 
 from worms. From this point of view, there is no 
 calculation where and when the lumber supply may 
 eease, for the quantity of fallen trees, good, bad, and 
 s nferior, is absolutely incalculable. 
 
 Now, if such a conflagration as we speak of and 
 tread should break out, this fallen timber would 
 ,ave to bear its full share of destruction; and, 
 .etween standing and lying timber, the absolute 
 ,ioney loss to the country would be fearful beyond 
 il calculation.
 
 96 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 A Sunday Service in the Shanty. 
 
 may be very readily understood, it is a very 
 difficult thing, and, in certain seasons of the 
 year, quite impossible, to maintain regular 
 stated services in these backwoods. And, as 
 for the shanties, services are never held, except on 
 casual occasions by individuals, and only at great 
 intervals, or by the instrumentality of the Lumber- 
 man's Mission, which is an attempt by the Presby- 
 terian Church to overtake this wide and scattered field. 
 Whenever, and wherever, I found it expedient and 
 agreeable to the men, I have held services, esteeming 
 it both a privilege and a duty to do so. 
 
 You require to exercise a good deal of judgment, 
 both as to the time and manner of conducting these 
 services. They must be short, interesting and to the 
 point, and at such an hour as will not interfere with 
 the men's ordinary Sunday avocations, at least such 
 as are necessary and, under the circumstances, inno- 
 cent, such as washing their clothes, going to the post 
 office, writing their letters and visiting friends and 
 relations in the surrounding shanties, or among the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 97 
 
 settlers in the neighborhood. I found that ten o'clock 
 in the morning was always the best hour to suit all 
 parties. It allowed the men time for a prolonged 
 and comfortable sleep, and left the afternoon free for 
 their accustomed avocations, and socialities. 
 
 Some of the most enjoyable services I ever held 
 have been on these occasions. One in particular I 
 shall never forget. It was on the first Sunday after 
 my arrival at Manahan's shanty. Full notice had 
 been given, and over one hundred men assembled 
 from the different shanties, and railroad works in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 A more respectful, attentive, and apparently devout 
 audience I never preached to. There was not the 
 least levity, nor anything approaching the unbecom- 
 ing from beginning to end. Tom, the blacksmith 
 from the mill works, acted as precentor, and with a 
 voice and a style that would have done credit to any 
 city professional. As the strong, bass voices joined 
 in with his deep mellow tones in Old Hundred, the 
 grand old melody rolled forth into the surrounding 
 forest with sublime and touching effect. 
 
 My subject was the longevity of the antediluvian 
 forefathers, and the contrast between it and our 
 present comparatively short-lived existence. The 
 subject is naturally full of many interesting phases
 
 98 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 of human life, and replete with wholesome lessons 
 on its shortness and uncertainty, and thus, in many 
 points, was specially applicable to the dangerous and 
 adventurous lives of most of my hearers. If close 
 and earnest attention is any gratification to a preacher 
 and what preacher living is not gratified with it 
 I certainly had it ; and also the comments, which I 
 casually overheard after service, and which were as 
 genuine as they were characteristic, were not uu- 
 gratifying if they "were peculiar : " faith he's a roarer 
 at the preachin'," " didn't he pave it down lively ? " 
 " he knows how to put the fright on a fellow," &c., &c. 
 
 As I have said, the direct, conversational and 
 familiar style of preaching is the best adapted to 
 secure the attention and interest of these men. In 
 this they greatly resemble the soldiers, and I found 
 that my nine years' experience of preaching to the 
 latter was greatly to my advantage in addressing 
 them. There is such a thing, however, as carrying 
 this style of preaching to an extreme that is neither 
 edifying nor in good taste, as I one day had the 
 opportunity of hearing. 
 
 Some years ago, when I was on one of my fall 
 backwoods' excursions, I happened to be camped 
 over Sunday on Caliboggie Lake. Hearing that there 
 was to be "preachin"' at a school-house about a
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 99 
 
 mile away I started off to attend it. I found about 
 a dozen people assembled, and after a few minutes 
 the minister arrived. 
 
 He was quite a young man, just fresh from college, 
 if indeed he had ever been in such an institution, 
 and was a capital type of that pioneer class of 
 preachers that you sometimes meet with in the far 
 backwoods, and there only. He was lean, fiery-eyed, 
 and full of zeal. He had preached already that day, 
 had ridden over twenty miles, and had an appoint- 
 ment again for the evening. His whole appearance 
 impressed you with the idea that he was a man whose 
 whole soul was in his work, -that he was untiring in 
 the performance of it, and that he would even love 
 to be a martyr in its hardships. I shall never forget 
 his sermon. It was a strange compound of il logical, 
 disconnected, incongruous odds and ends ; and yet it 
 was brimful of a kind of rough eloquence, of fanciful 
 conceits, of impassioned fervor, and direct personal- 
 ities. In illustrating the love of God he said, looking 
 at the same time directly at a rather well-proportioned, 
 good-looking young man, who was evidently wrapped 
 up in the sermon, " God, instead of making you what? 
 you are, tall, stately and handsome, might have done 
 the very reverse, he might have formed you crippled 
 and hideous, in fact as ugly as Old Nick"
 
 100 Shanty, Forest and River Lije 
 
 Suddenly turning from this subject, he launched 
 off into another, which had no possible connection 
 with it, viz. : the illuminating power of the Holy 
 Spirit. From the look in his eye, and general tone, 
 I suspected he was about to favor us with another 
 personality, and so he did with a vim and a direct- 
 ness that struck home with a vengeance. 
 
 About the middle of the building, which was not 
 more than fourteen feet by twelve, a tall shantyman 
 was seated on one of the benches, with his back 
 against the writing-desk, and his long legs stretched 
 out halfway across the floor. The man was paying 
 little attention to the sermon, but was most indus- 
 triously chewing tobacco, and squirting the juice 
 with great force and precision at some imaginary 
 object between his outspread toes. I saw that the 
 minister's wrath was kindling against him, and that 
 he was revolving in his mind how he could fire a 
 shot at him. At this juncture the sermon took the 
 turn I have indicated, and our zealous exhorter 
 delivered his fire in certainly a most striking and prac- 
 tical manner. " There was a certain godly minister," 
 he said, "who was so illuminated by the Holy Spirit 
 that he knew for certain that a particular individual 
 in the congregation was chewing tobacco and spitting 
 the vile stuff all over the floor," looking as he spoke
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 101 
 
 directly in the face of the offending party. The effect 
 upon the latter was electrical. With a muttered 
 oath he drew up his long legs with a sudden jerk, 
 and reddened with confusion and anger. And the 
 minister, apparently re-invigorated by the startling 
 effect of his rebuke, proceeded on in his erratic* 
 impassioned course. 
 
 It jarred, however, upon my ears, and, I have no 
 doubt, upon those of the rest of the audience, and 
 spoiled the effect of what, in some respects, was 
 otherwise a useful and practical sermon. 
 
 It would ill become me, however, to speak in the 
 slightest disparaging terms of the general labors and 
 effests of these backwoods preachers. They do a 
 work amid discouragement, and toil, and absolute 
 privation, which many of their brethren have neither 
 the courage to attempt, nor the hardihood and patience 
 to endure. 
 
 They are the " fags " of the Church, ill-paid, often 
 ill-received, poorly-lodged, weather-beaten and travel 
 worn ; yet they toil on unremittingly and uncom- 
 plainingly, and do really a glorious work. They 
 keep alive the knowledge of the Gospel and the light 
 of salvation, in the dreary wastes of those outskirts 
 of the land, and cheer and instruct many a lonely 
 and darkened soul.
 
 102 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Gentlemen Settlers. 
 
 ! NE of the peculiar features of the backwoods 
 country in the Ottawa Valley, is the number 
 of old deserted clearings that you stumble 
 upon in your wanderings through the bush. You 
 light upon them often in the most unexpected and 
 chance manner. Travelling leisurely and aimlessly 
 through the deep, dense forest you emerge suddenly 
 upon an open cleared space, far removed from any 
 house or public highway. You wonder where you 
 have come to now ; you look about for signs of life 
 and human presence, but all is still and silent as 
 a churchyard. A strange eerie feeling of loneliness 
 comes over you. What does it all mean ? 
 
 The clearing may be a very large one, embracing 
 perhaps a hundred acres, or it may contain only 
 twenty or thirty, but, large or small, you soon dis- 
 cern unmistakable evidences of past human settle- 
 ment and activity. 
 
 The gigantic pine and hemlock have all been cut 
 down and cleared away. The margin of the native
 
 In ihe Backwoods of Canada. 103 
 
 forest is as sharply and clearly defined as if it had 
 been mown down by the scythe of some mighty 
 Titan. A dense scrubby undergrowth of pine, bal- 
 sam, spruce, in fact of every tree of the surrounding 
 bush, has grown up over the place. But here and 
 there some grassy spots, the last relics of human 
 culture, are still stoutly holding their own against 
 this encroaching invasion of the sturdy saplings. 
 About the centre of the clearing stand the old 
 crumbling ruins of a former human habitation. 
 Nothing may be left but the chimney, which had 
 been built of stronger and more firmly cemented 
 material, and a heap of moss-covered stones and old 
 rotten timbers. It wanted but this to complete the 
 utter loneliness of the spot. It was indeed a scene 
 of dreary, lifeless, forsaken desolation, over which 
 the silence of the grave reigned. 
 
 This, gentle reader, was once the home, I dare 
 not say happy home, of a gentleman settler. This 
 spot, along with many others I could picture, all tell 
 the same old sad story of blighted hopes, of laborious 
 but ill-directed exertions, of crushing and starving 
 poverty. 
 
 A number of years ago, the then Minister of 
 Agriculture, actuated no doubt by the best motives, 
 and by what he thought was accurate information
 
 104 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 on the subject, resolved to colonize the neglected 
 wastes of the Ottawa valley, and, if possible, by a 
 superior class of emigrants from the Old Country. 
 Accordingly, he published pamphlets and statistics 
 on the country of the most glowing nature. Statis- 
 tics can be so cooked as to mean anything, and, with 
 ordinarily credulous people, can be so twisted as 
 powerfully to promote any hobby which a prominent 
 and influential man may adopt and determine to 
 prosecute. 
 
 The Ottawa valley was depicted as the new Land 
 of Promise ; and the cry was sent across the waters, 
 " come over and take possession, and you will gain 
 all that the heart of man can desire in the way of 
 comfort, prosperity and affluence." 
 
 No expense was spared. Agents were sent to 
 every part of the United Kingdom, charged with the 
 most promising inducements to every- class, but 
 especially the middle and richer, to embark their 
 fortunes in this terra optissima. 
 
 In consequence, great numbers came over, and, 
 without even going to the expense and trouble of 
 investigating the country beforehand, took out patents 
 for the locations they selected from government maps 
 and plans, and at once moved in with their families 
 and possessions.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 105 
 
 The lots on which they located were, for the most 
 part, densely wooded with pine and hemlock, often 
 most difficult of access, and frequently at quite a 
 distance from even the most primitive human settle- 
 ments. The cutting down and " logging " the 
 general clearing off of these mighty patriarchs of 
 the forest was, in itself, a herculean task ; but the 
 expense that it involved to this special class of 
 settlers was, perhaps, quadruple what it would have 
 been to any other. Their inexperience, their former 
 style of living, their repugnance to put up with the 
 inconveniences and privations necessarily incident 
 to such a position, and, absurd though it may sound, 
 their desire to keep up appearances and show that 
 they had money, and were superior to the miserably 
 poor class that surrounded them, all led them, at the 
 outset particularly, into lavish outlays and perfectly 
 unnecessary expenses, which made serious inroads 
 upon their capital. Personally, with many of them, 
 it was all spend and no work, injudicious and worth- 
 less overseeing, and careless, half-performed service. 
 
 No doubt they were often most unfairly and 
 dishonestly treated by their neighbors, and those 
 with whom they had to deal. They were accounted 
 fair game to pluck by many of these people, and, in
 
 106 Chanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 fact, a kind of God-send, in a money point of view, to 
 a hard-working, poor and struggling community. 
 
 All this, however, they bore with true British 
 pluck and even cheerfulness, buoyed up with the hope 
 that, when the land was finally cleared, they would 
 be in possession of a " fine estate " of two or three 
 hundred acres, on which they would live in comfort 
 and affluence, and hand down as a noble heritage to 
 their children. But, as year after year rolled away, 
 the conviction gradually dawned upon them that 
 those hopes were never to be realized. The land 
 was, doubtless, cleared, but it was land, not soil, only 
 a crust with no substratum of richness and fertility. 
 
 There are some of the saddest histories in connec- 
 tion with experiences of this kind that have ever 
 been written. Histories of long years of patient 
 waiting, of hard toiling, of menial drudging, of priva- 
 tion, sickness and. absolute want; and, after all was 
 done and endured, to find that they might as well 
 have thrown their money and labor into the Ottawa, 
 as far as any substantial fruit or return was realized. 
 
 I have no hesitation in saying, because I am borne 
 out by personal acquaintance, and by the authority 
 of those who know this country intimately for the 
 last forty years, that not one-fourth of even the 
 cleared l< ,-d of the Ottawa valley is Jit for cultiva-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 107 
 
 tion, and many put it at a much lower proportion. 
 No doubt, for two or three years after it is cleared 
 it may yield fairly good crops, but it is of too light 
 a nature, and too shallow in depth, to guarantee con- 
 tinuance and permanency of production. 
 
 Some townships there are, doubtless, of very rich 
 soil, and where the farmers are well off and are 
 among the most intelligent and influential agricul- 
 tural communities of the Dominion, as Bathurst, 
 most of Kamsay, part of Beckwith and Horton, 
 Westmeath, &c., but these are oases in the vast 
 sterile wilderness both north and south of the Ottawa. 
 
 It is pitiful to think of the incalculable amount 
 of capital of every kind, intelligence, labor and 
 money, both public and private, that have been 
 absolutely wasted in this region. No greater mistake 
 was ever made in political economy than the attempt 
 to open up and colonize this country with the view 
 of developing its agricultural resources; and, not 
 only so, but these attempts, practically abortive as 
 they have proved, have been the direct cause of 
 entailing the loss of millions of treasure to the 
 country, as we shall presently see. 
 
 The Ottawa Valley is essentially a lumbering 
 region, the most valuable, both as to extent and 
 quality, which is in the world that is, it was so,
 
 108 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 but, alas, it is so no longer. The fire fiend has 
 devastated it from end to end, from centre to circum- 
 ference. There has been more timber destroyed by 
 this terrible scourge than has ever been cut by the 
 axe. of the lumberer. Now, if these colonization 
 efforts for the purpose of developing the agricultural 
 resources had been directed to the proper localities 
 of our country, such as western Ontario, and many 
 sections of Quebec, where the true land for settle- 
 ment at that time, and even yet in many parts is to 
 be found, it would have been infinitely better for the 
 settlers themselves and the country at large. Not 
 only were vast quantities of the most valuable 
 timber wantonly destroyed in the direct process of 
 clearing the land, but, both directly and indirectly, 
 as we have already shown in a previous chapter, the 
 settlers have been the means of starting those terrible 
 conflagrations which have swept over vast tracts, and 
 made bare and worthless thousands of square miles. 
 It is absolutely impossible to estimate the actual 
 money loss to the country which has been incurred 
 through these fires, and which, I believe, would, in a 
 large measure, have been averted had not the Govern- 
 ment so persistently, and expensively even, attempted 
 to make it a farming country something that it was 
 never adapted by nature to be, and which all the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 109 
 
 enterprise and capital of the world will never make 
 it to be. 
 
 But let us return to the special class referred to 
 in this chapter, viz., gentlemen settlers, who are 
 not to be confounded in the peculiarities of their 
 character, hardships, and, too often, failures, with 
 the great mass of other settlers in this country, many 
 of whom, as I have intimated, have, by unremitting 
 personal toil, frugality and practical intelligence, 
 succeeded fairly well, though they are far from con- 
 stituting the majority even of their own class what 
 has been the too common result of all their labors, 
 hopes and ambitions ? From what I have said, 
 it can be readily understood. In innumerable cases 
 it has simply been carving out a home to starve in. 
 After waiting and toiling and spending for years, 
 they have been compelled, by absolute necessity, to 
 desert their clearings and seek other modes of live- 
 lihood. Happy were they if they resolved to do so 
 before their last dollar was spent. In some cases 
 they have clung to the place to the very last, until, 
 actually, they had not the means to carry them away, 
 and, had it not been for that kind Providence which 
 often conies to man's assistance, when all human help 
 has failed, they would have perished from absolute
 
 110 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 starvation in their homes. A most striking instance 
 of this nature came under my own observation : 
 
 One day I entered a dwelling for the purpose of 
 getting something to eat ; I had been walking for 
 several hours, and was yet many miles from my 
 destination, and felt quite ready for a good dinner. 
 On stating who I was and preferring my request, I 
 saw at once that the lady of the house was consider- 
 ably embarrassed, and saw at the same time that 1 
 had met with one of the very class whom I am 
 describing. Everything about betokened extreme 
 poverty ; but unmistakable evidence of former pros- 
 perity and gentility were still there. An old 
 mahogany arm-chair of the most costly workman- 
 ship was standing in the corner, and a few more 
 relics of past affluence could be seen. The tone of 
 voice, and manner too, of her I was addressing were 
 those of a perfect lady, and were strikingly reflected 
 in the general deportment of the ragged, hungry- 
 looking children about her; the husband was absent 
 on some business. I felt sorry I had intruded, but I 
 had to make the best of it now. As I was begging 
 of her not to put herself about and give me anything 
 that was convenient, I observed her going to an old 
 clock, which had once been a handsome and costly 
 ornament, and taking from some receptacle a gold
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. Ill 
 
 coin, and calling her son, a boy of about twelve, she 
 slipped it into his hand and gave him a message, in 
 which I could distinguish something about going to 
 the neighbors. I divined at once what it was : she 
 had nothing decent to offer me to eat, and was send- 
 ing him to the nearest neighbor to buy something to 
 put before me. When the boy had left the house 
 she could no longer restrain her feelings, and bursting 
 
 into tears she exclaimed : " Oh, Mr. F , that is the 
 
 last guinea of two thousand with which we came to 
 this wretched country, and when it is gone there is 
 nothing that I can see before us but starvation." 
 With the ice thus broken, she told me their whole 
 history. It is needless to recount it here ; it was an 
 illustration of what I have been trying to depict, and, 
 alas ! not an uncommon nor unfrequent one either. 
 
 Some years afterward, being in that locality, I 
 inquired after them, but all I could learn was that 
 the family had been broken up, and deserted the 
 place, but where they had gone or what had become 
 of them only the good Father, who does all things 
 well, knows and cares.
 
 112 Shanty, Forest and River lAje 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 A Game of Bluff. 
 
 tHEEE is no honester class of men living than 
 ogggo shantymen, and the dwellers in the back- 
 ^p^ 1 woods generally. Trunks and boxes lie about 
 for the most part unlocked, and socks, 
 moccasins, boots, and underclothing are scattered 
 about, or hanging from nails and pegs in every nook 
 and corner of the shanty ; and yet every man can 
 always find his own, and seldom or never appropriates 
 the property of another. There is one article, how- 
 ever, which is a notable exception to this honest 
 rule of conduct, and that is liquor of any kind. 
 The shantyman has no conscience in the matter of 
 whiskey. It is considered fair plunder, wherever he 
 can lay his hands on it. If, therefore,. you go to the 
 backwoods with a supply of liquor for your private 
 use, you must keep it constantly under lock and 
 key, otherwise it is certain to be pilfered from you 
 before you are a day in the shanty. In the matter 
 of scenting out and appropriating whiskey, the thirsty 
 shantyman is as keen as a weasel, as cunning as a 
 fox, and as unscrupulous as a wolf.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 113 
 
 With this exception, however, the general character 
 of the shantymen is one of the strictest probity. A 
 thief is the unknown quantity among them. When, 
 therefore, a robbery does take place in the backwoods, 
 it causes a great flare, and keeps the country in a fer- 
 ment of excitement for months afterwards. An occur- 
 rence of this kind, of the most daring and flagrant 
 
 character, took place in one of C 's shanties on the 
 
 Black Eiver, while I was in that country. This 
 
 shanty was situated on what was called C 's 
 
 upper limit, and during the past and present season 
 
 has been closed, C not deeming it advisable, in 
 
 the existing state of the lumber market, to carry on 
 active operations there. There was, however, a 
 large quantity of provisions and general shanty 
 goods stored at the place, to be ready for the next 
 winter's work. These were in charge of one man, 
 whose orders were " never to leave the place, except 
 in case of absolute necessity, especially over-night ; " 
 and if he required to go to the farm, twenty-five 
 miles distant, on any business, to be sure and obtain 
 a substitute during his absence. And a lonely, 
 weary time he had of it as we shall presently see ; 
 I had had an experience, on a small scale, of this 
 kind of thing myself, and if I found three days of it 
 almost unendurable, what must he have felt it when
 
 114 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 he had a year and a half of it up to that time, and 
 was bound by contract to remain for another year. 
 
 No doubt his only labor was to do his own 
 cooking, and look after the provisions; that is, he 
 had to turn the sacks of flour over from one side to 
 another every now and then, in order to prevent 
 souring, and, during the hot weather, change the 
 brine in the barrels of pork to keep it from rusting ; 
 and he could trap and shoot in the vicinity of the 
 shanty as much as he pleased. But, after all he 
 could possibly do, he led a lonely, inactive, dreary 
 life ; and as he could not read, and had no internal 
 resources of any kind, and little to occupy his 
 hands, he gradually sank into a kind of mental 
 comatose state. I was told that for days at a time, 
 when he was not sleeping, he would sit gazing at 
 the fire, without sense, or thought, or motion, even 
 the little that he had to do being irksome to him. 
 
 When J saw him he looked more like a wild 
 beast than a human being. He had a startled, 
 scared expression on his countenance. When he 
 spoke, which he never did except when addressed, 
 it was in a hurried, abrupt, suspicious tone. My 
 opinion was that by the time he had fulfilled his 
 engagement, he would be quite ready for the lunatic 
 asylum. And no wonder : we talk about the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 1 J 5 
 
 horrors of solitary confinement here was one of 
 the most trying phases of it that can be conceived 
 of. There would be months at a time when he 
 would never see a human being ; his daily and 
 continual life was confined within a comparatively 
 short radius of the shanty. If he could have gone 
 as he pleased, and stayed as he pleased in the woods, 
 it would have been different, but he was practically 
 a prisoner in the deep dungeon of the forest. He 
 was, withal, as the event I am about to relate shows, 
 a man of rare pluck and most active physical energy. 
 
 Some imperative business rendered it necessary 
 for him to go to the farm, requiring his absence from 
 the shanty for two days and a night. \Yhen he 
 returned, on the evening of the second day, he found 
 the place broken into, and the " van " burst open 
 and plundered. 
 
 This " van " is a very peculiar institution of 
 shanty life. It is an immense chest, made of the 
 strongest wood, ribbed with iron bands, and secured 
 by a mighty padlock, of which the foreman and clerk 
 only possess each a key. The van holds all the 
 merchantable goods required for the use of a shanty's 
 gang for a winter's work, viz., pants, socks, flannels, 
 tobacco, medicines, &c., &c. These are given to the 
 men when they want them, and charged to their
 
 116 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 account. Bouchier, to his terrible consternation, 
 found the "van" in his charge rifled of most of its 
 contents, including some valuable fur of his own 
 trapping ; altogether about three hundred dollars' 
 worth had been taken. 
 
 The poor fellow was, for a little, terribly cast down, 
 and well he might, after all his long, faithful watch- 
 ing, to be duped at last, and not only so, but, accord- 
 ing to his contract, to have the amount lost deducted 
 from his hard-earned wages ; two and a half years' 
 servitude would hardly cover the amount. 
 
 But, as was now shown, he was not a man to giv3 
 up in despair ; the latent energy of his character was 
 roused, and quickly finding out the course the robber 
 had taken he determined to follow him and recover 
 the goods. 
 
 Though it was after dark and he felt greatly fagged 
 with his twenty-five miles tramp from the farm, still 
 he resolved to lose no time, but start on the pursuit 
 at once. Hastily eating a substantial supper, and 
 putting a junk of cold pork in his pocket, he prepared 
 to set out. But at the very outset he was met by a 
 serious damper. On examining his gun, which he 
 had not fired for several weeks, he found that it 
 would not go off, and, after trying every expedient 
 he could think of, he was totally unable to extract
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 117 
 
 the damp, rusty charge. Though greatly annoyed 
 he was not deterred from his perilous undertaking, 
 and saying to himself that, " as long as the thief 
 didn't know it wouldn't go off it would serve the 
 purpose just as well," he set out on the track, broad 
 and easily discernible in the loose, soft snow. He 
 had a pretty good idea of the identity of the man 
 whom he was after, having received information at 
 the farm which gave him a clue ; and, if he was right 
 in his conjecture, the fact was not at all reassuring. 
 
 It was a man of the name of Gandron a most 
 notoriously bad character. He was a kind of half- 
 trader, half-trapper and whole savage. He was 
 commonly called the bear in that country. He was 
 known to sleep at the foot of a tree during the coldest 
 nights with a single blanket round him, and could 
 subsist on food which the poorest Indian refused to 
 eat. He was a far larger and stronger man than 
 Bouchier, and a desperado of the purest type. How- 
 ever, Bouchier took up and followed on the track 
 with the fearlessness and pertinacity of a sleuth- 
 hound. I believe that any little latent madness which 
 may have been engendered by his long solitude was 
 now thoroughly awakened in him, and made him 
 completely reckless. 
 
 During the whole night he kept steadily on, never
 
 118 Slianty, Forest and River Life 
 
 halting for rest or food. Just as day broke he came 
 to an old, deserted shanty, from the chimney of which 
 a thin column of smoke rose, up through the air. 
 Without hesitation he threw open the half-decayed 
 door and stood on the threshold, and, sure enough, 
 there was his man bending over a scanty fire, cooking 
 some f od. As he turned round, at the noise of the 
 opening door, Bou shier thundered in his ear : " give 
 me my goods, or I'll blow your brains out," aiming, 
 as he spoke, his cocked gun direct at his head. 
 
 Gandron turned ghastly pale, but as he faced him 
 he suddenly drew a revolver from his belt and half 
 raised it. At the action Bouchier again roared 
 out, "If your raise your hand an inch higher I'll 
 shoot." 
 
 It must have been a strange, wild spectacle, 
 those two fierce, desperate men, facing each other 
 like savage, untamed beasts, in that small shanty, 
 in the lonely solitude of the forest ; and none the 
 less so from the absolutely burlesque character of 
 it, for, as it presently turned out, Gandron's revol- 
 ver was unloaded, nor had he a single cartridge in his 
 pouch. Of course, Bouchier was as ignorant of this 
 fact as Gandron was that the gun was perfectly 
 harmless. It was indeed as pretty a game of bluff 
 as was ever played in human life. But blood will
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 121 
 
 tell. Pluck was to decide the mock duel, and in 
 this Bouchier shewed himself the better man. 
 
 Again he thundered out, " If you don't tell me i n 
 one second where the goods are, I'll blow your 
 brains out." His resolute tone and fierce, glaring 
 eye gleaming along the cocked gun-barrel struck 
 terror into his antagonist. Gandron thought his last 
 hour was come, and, dropping his hand, he whined 
 out, " I did take the goods, put down your gun, and 
 I'll tell you all about it." 
 
 " No, no," said Bouchier", " you don't fool me ; 
 throw down your revolver, and come and show me 
 where the goods are." 
 
 " Oh, you needn't be frightened," replied the 
 ruffian, " the revolver is not loaded," shewing, as he 
 spoke, the empty chambers. 
 
 As Bouchier told me, a great load was at once 
 taken off his heart, and he felt tha 1 : ! e could now 
 do as he liked with the fellow. Cautiously step- 
 ping aside, and keeping the gun always bearing on 
 his body, he told the man to corne out of the shanty 
 and go ahead of him. As Bouchier fully expected, 
 they had not proceeded far on their singular march 
 until the man stopped, and, pointing to a large log a 
 few feet from the track, said sullenly : " Your goods 
 are there, go and get them, and be d d to yoa.''
 
 122 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 But the cunning villain had calculated too much 
 on Bouchier's simplicity. " No, no," said the latter, 
 "bring them out yourself, and be quick about it, 
 or I'll put a ball into you." 
 
 With a muttered oath, but knowing he couldn't 
 help himself, the fellow c mplied, and, going to the 
 spot, brought out parcel after parcel of the stolen 
 goods. 
 
 But Bouchier was not done with him yet. Having 
 satisfied himself that nearly all the missing articles 
 were there, he ordered him to make them up into a 
 pack, and, shouldering it, to march on before him to 
 the shanty. With many an imprecation the ruffian 
 was forced to obey, and about mid-day they arrived 
 at the shanty where Bouchier told him to throw 
 down the pack and " be off," pointing out at the 
 same time the course he was to pursue. 
 
 The shanty was situated on the edge of a large 
 lake, and on every side of it the trees had all been 
 cut down. Bouchier ordered him to go direct across 
 the lake, and not to stop till he got to the other side, 
 or he would send a ball after him. The man begged 
 hard for some food, saying he was starving, but 
 Bouchier sternly refused, and again threatened him 
 with instant death unless he started that moment. 
 As there was no help for it, the man had to go, and
 
 In ilie Backwoods oj Canada. 123 
 
 when Bouchier saw him fairly out of sight over the 
 lake he carried the goods inside the shanty, and 
 effectually barring the door, he sank down on the 
 floor in a state of complete and utter exhaustion. 
 
 Luckily, in the course of the evening, a trapper 
 widi whom he was well acquainted came along, and 
 Bouchier prevailed on him to stay at the shanty 
 while he went the next morning and reported the 
 occurrence at the Farm. It caused, of com, 36, a great 
 noise in the country, but, beyond sending a mes.-'pn- 
 ger to the nearest settlements, in order to intercept 
 and arrest the man, if he should make his way in that 
 direction, nothing further was done in the matter. 
 
 Some weeks after, however, Gandron was seen at 
 a lumbering depot some distance off, and the party 
 who saw him said that, " with a fearful oath, he 
 declared that if he had only known that Bouchier's 
 gun wouldn't have gone off, he would soon have 
 made mince-meat of him." 
 
 Bouehier, as he deserved, received great praise for 
 his plucky and determined conduct, and was for the 
 nonce the hero of the country. He went back to 
 his post, and resumed his lonely vigil, as if nothing 
 very unusual had occurred.
 
 124 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Keeping House for My Companions. 
 
 [S I hinted in my last chapter, I once had the 
 opportunity of enjoying the pleasures of 
 complete solitude in the depths of the forest, and 
 though only for the limited period of three days still 
 it quite satisfied any romantic hankering I might 
 have entertained in that direction, in fact so much 
 so, that I certainly never wish to enjoy it again. I 
 iijerely lug in the reminiscence here, achronistic as 
 it is, for the benefit of any of my young readers who 
 may be afflicted with a mania of this kind ; and, if 
 the reading of it will only do them one-tenth part of 
 the good that the actual experience of it did me in 
 the way of cure, I am sure they will never wish 
 to try it for themselves. 
 
 It happened in this wise : On one of my excur- 
 sions to the Black Eiver country north of the Ottawa 
 I had been staying for some time with two French 
 Canadians, Steve and Xavier, hunting moose and 
 trapping the otter and beaver. Noble fellows they
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 125 
 
 were, too, particularly Steve, who had been my 
 faithful friend and companion in many a glorious 
 tramp, and trapping excursion through the untrod- 
 den forests of those vast northern wilds. 
 
 Some weeks before that, Steve had shot a very 
 large moose at a considerable distance from the 
 
 O 
 
 camp, and, as they were getting short of provisions, 
 I could see that they were desirous of going and 
 bringing in the meat, so I offered to stay and keep 
 house for them while they were absent. The 
 alacrity with which they accepted of my offer 
 showed how much they appreciated and valued it. 
 This may sound somewhat singular after what I 
 have said about the generally honest character of 
 backwoods people, and particularly when their hut 
 stood in such a thoroughly isolated, secluded posi- 
 tion. But so it was, nevertheless. Roguery is not a 
 product of civilization, nor confined to the towns and 
 settlements. It is indigenous to the soil of human 
 nature, and crops out everywhere and in every grade 
 of human life. In fact, man by nature is a thief, how- 
 ever much he may disguise his thievish propensities 
 under the specious metaphysical name of acquisitive- 
 ness, and though its actual outcome may not be so 
 marked and common among the backwoodsmen as 
 elsewhere, still it has to be watched and guarded
 
 126 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 against even here, and perhaps among no class of these 
 more specially so than the trappers. We have said that 
 shautymen have no conscience ahout stealing whis- 
 key or liquor in any shape when it is in their reach, 
 so trappers seem to have very little conscience about 
 f ur they intrude on each other's grounds and rob 
 the traps and re-set them again most carefully, in 
 most deliberate and wanton style, and when oppor- 
 tunity offers will even pilfer the dressed hides, 
 apparently without a scruple. And so the trapper 
 has always to be on his guard as to his fur property, 
 both about his camp and in the traps hen^e the 
 " chum " business. They always trap in couples 
 not only for the sake of companionship and mutual 
 assistance, but with the view of having one always 
 at home taking care of things there, while the other 
 is away, perhaps for days at a time, looking after 
 the traps. 
 
 My offer, then, to my friends was most opportune 
 and acceptable. It was one of those occasions in 
 which it was necessary they should both go, as it 
 takes two men to skin and dress a moose properly, 
 especially when it is in a frozen state ; and, on ac- 
 count of the distance they had to go, they would 
 require to be absent three days and when we 
 remember that they had about four hundred d6llars
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 127 
 
 worth of furs in and about the place, their whole 
 worldly wealth, in fact, we can easily understand 
 how gladly they embraced my offer of mounting 
 guard and holding the fort during their absence. 
 
 So next morning they started, each man drag- 
 ging behind him a large toboggan on which the meat 
 was to be loaded. 
 
 I would have much preferred going in the place 
 of one of them, but this was a work which would 
 tax to the uttermost their endurance and strength, 
 and carrying a pack or drawing a load is not my 
 forte in the backwoods it may be very good for 
 developing muscle, but there is not much sport in 
 it so I was left alone to put in the time the best 
 way I could, until their return. 
 
 Though the hut was warm and cosy in itself, 
 yet its surroundings were dreary in the extreme. 
 It was in the heart of the densest forest I had 
 yet seen, over which the silence of the tomb 
 reigned, and in which not a living thing could be 
 seen or heard. There was no game, large or small, 
 in its immediate vicinity, and I did not care, nor 
 indeed was it safe, to go any great distance off in 
 pursuit of it. 
 
 It was too dark to read in the hut with any 
 degree of comfort, except by the light of the fire,
 
 128 SJianty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and this at the best is unsatisfactory work, espe- 
 cially with very small print, as was the case with 
 my two inseparable companions, my Bible and 
 Shakespeare. However, the first day passed off 
 easily enough. I had been having some very heavy 
 exertion the few days previous, and felt considerably 
 fagged, and so managed to do an immense amount of 
 sleeping, and lazy dozing. The cooking was what 
 bothered me the most. This part of my education 
 has been sadly neglected in my youth. I make a 
 good enough dish of tea, but a fearful mess of every 
 other department of the fine art. 
 
 But when the darkness of night closed around me 
 it was awfully lonely. Though you know there is not 
 the slightest danger from man or beast, or any other 
 bsing, still a strange, lonesome, undefiuable kind of 
 dread will creep into your heart, and chill the blood. 
 The spirit of loneliness seems to embody itself into 
 shape and sit beside you. Memory, which is not 
 always a pleasant companion, will conjure up black 
 and ugly reminiscences. All that is eerie and awe- 
 some in silence and darkness seems floating around 
 you. You sit spell-bound and motionless, almost 
 afraid to breathe or stir, least you should arouse and 
 anger some invisible, unearthly and unknown evil. 
 Unconsciously you find yourself looking fearfully
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 1 29 
 
 around into the dark corners, and at the unbarred 
 door behind you. The thought that some hideous 
 monster will silently open it, and noiselessly walk 
 in, will possess you, and though you will not yield to 
 place a log against it, still you think there is no 
 harm in taking your double-barrel down from the 
 pegs above it, and placing it in a more convenient 
 position, and, unwittingly also, you cast a side glance 
 at the big axe to see if it is handy. And then you 
 suddenly laugh aloud at your fears and precaution, 
 and even get up and dance about, and shout hila- 
 riously as if it were all a capital joke, and too comi- 
 cal for anything. But it's no go ! This counterfeit 
 merriment and steamed-up courage soon evaporate, 
 and the dark shades will again insidiously creep 
 into, and overshadow the soul. I don't profess to 
 be either a braver or more timid man than the 
 ordinary run of mortals, but there is a something 
 peculiar in these surroundings which weighs down 
 and oppresses the spirits, and makes a coward of you 
 after all. One thing I do know, that I would rather 
 a thousand times, when I am alone in the depths of 
 the forest, spend the night in the open air, where I 
 can see the stars and the trees on every side, than 
 in the snuggest and strongest hut that was ever 
 built.
 
 130 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 However, the night passed slowly away, and with 
 the bright, glad morning came that lightness of 
 heart, and boldness of spirit which are always en- 
 gendered by lobust, vigorous health, and high- 
 strung, overflowing animal life. 
 
 After breakfast, also, I had work to do. I must 
 chop fire-wood. So, shouldering the big axe, I 
 sallied forth in quest of a proper tree to fell. 
 
 The uninitiated in these matters will, no doubt, 
 wonder why there should be any searching at all for 
 fuel when the dense forest is at the very door, 
 and all around you. But the fact is that it is often 
 a very difficult matter to come across just the right 
 kind of wood for burning. The forest is composed 
 not only of green, but also, for the most part, of soft 
 wood, which, in winter especially, is quite unfit for 
 fuel. The great object is to get a dead, dry tama- 
 rac, this, combined with green birch, makes a capital 
 fire for every purpose. 
 
 1 soon came across the tree I wanted, and went 
 at it most lustily. I am no great hand at the axe, 
 but I am better at it than the saucepan anyway. 
 So the tree soon began to totter, and its lofty top 
 to bend over ; almost mechanically, I stepped a little 
 to the side. If 1 had not taken that step, this book 
 would never have been written. In falling, the top
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 131 
 
 of the tree struck against a smaller one, causing the 
 severed trunk to fly back from the stump ; it 
 whizzed past me, within an inch of my side, with 
 the velocity of a cannon ball, and buried itself deep 
 in the snow beyond. It was a narrow escape. If 
 it had struck me it would have crushed in my chest 
 like an egg-shell. For a little while I stood per- 
 fectly paralyzed. I think in all my life I was 
 never so near death as at that moment. My first 
 thought, when I could think, was deep, profound 
 gratitude to the Almighty for His interposing hand ; 
 the most fervent Thank God ! fell from my lips that 
 I had ever uttered ; and good cause had I for it. 
 If I had not been killed outright I would have been 
 so maimed that I could not have stirred from the 
 spot, and would have lain there until my compan- 
 ions found me, if I could have survived the cold 
 and exposure so long. 
 
 There are perhaps more men killed in the woods 
 in this way than in any other. The butt of the 
 tree is almost certain to fly from the stump, and 
 the course it may take is often uncertain, though 
 it can generally be known by watching the top. 
 
 It was some time before I could muster suffi- 
 cient resolution to proceed with my work, and when 
 I did, it was with such fear and trepidation that I
 
 132 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 was heartily glad when it was over, and I found 
 myself safely back within the walls of the hut. 
 Such was the shock my nerves received at the time 
 that it was many months before I fully recovered 
 from it. Often I would awaken in the middle of 
 the night, in a cold perspiration, and with a great 
 shudder as the remembrance of my narrow escape 
 flashed upon me in my sleep. I have never attempt- 
 ed to fell a tree since. 
 
 The rest of the day, and that night, passed away 
 drearily enough. I never was so heartily sick of a 
 business as I was of that housekeeping. 
 
 The next morning, while casting about in my 
 mind for something to divert myself with, it oc- 
 curred to me to try my hand at cooking a beaver 
 tail for my dinner. I had heard it said that " a man 
 never knows what he can accomplish until he is cast 
 upon his own resources," so I thought this was a 
 famous opportunity to test the virtue of the old 
 maxim. 
 
 There were three tails stuck into a chink in the 
 wall opposite to me ; selecting one of these I pon- 
 dered how I was to proceed. The tail was hard and 
 dry as a shingle, so I thought the best thing to do 
 was to parboil it first in hot water, and then fry it 
 in the gridiron in pork grease, which is the univer-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 133 
 
 sal substitute for butter in the backwoods. So this I 
 did, taking my leisure, and " doing it up brown " as 
 I thought. Then, with all the concomitants of pota- 
 toes, " scones " and tea, I sat down in great expecta- 
 tion of a right royal dinner. 
 
 But the first mouthful I took of that beaver tail 
 was something never to be forgotten. It was simply 
 horrible. Of all the nauseating, abominable, dis- 
 gusting morsels I ever tasted that was the worst. I 
 can compare it with nothing uneatable under the 
 sun. Putrid carrion fried in rancid lard ceuldn't 
 be worse. Though I instantly spat it out in disgust, 
 yet the sickening flavor of it seemed to penetrate 
 my whole system like prussic acid, and I haven't 
 got the taste of it out of my mouth to this day. 
 
 In a rage I kicked the dish into the fire, and 
 bolted for the open air. I had had enough of dinner 
 for that day, and resolved I would cook no more till 
 my companions came back, though I should fast for 
 a week. 
 
 Towards evening they returned, dragging enor- 
 mous loads of meat after them. They could not 
 have had less than four hundred pounds weight, 
 besides the hide, which would weigh fully fifty 
 more.
 
 134 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 They were greatly concerned when they heard of 
 my narrow escape with the tree, the peril of which 
 they fully understood and appreciated. 
 
 However, all's well that ends well, and we spent 
 our last night together in the most enjoyable and 
 hilarious manner, and often awoke the sleeping 
 echoes, and made the solemn old forest about us 
 ring again with our shouts and songs of uproarious 
 merriment.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 About Deer Shooting. 
 
 is no more enjoyable excursion in the 
 world than for a party of kindred spirits to 
 start off on a deer-shooting expedition to our 
 far backwoods. The very preparation for it 
 is in itself a delight. You love to ponder over and 
 calculate every detail and arrangement. You rack 
 your invention to find out new and approved articles 
 and expedients for promoting your pleasure, comfort 
 and success in the hunt. If you are flush of money 
 your extravagance in purchasing supplies of all 
 necessary and unnecessary articles will be beyond 
 all bounds. Your grocer and gunsmith are quite 
 ready to gratify every whim, and are prolific of 
 suggestions of the most useless, cumbersome, and 
 absurd comforts and contrivances. 
 
 Perhaps a word here from me as to my experience, 
 and what I think makes up the best outfit for such 
 an excursion, may not be out of place. 
 
 Some of the most pleasant reminiscences of my 
 life are connected with deer shooting, and its accom-
 
 136 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 panying sports, far back amid the glorious scenery 
 of our backwoods lakes. Without doubt I have had 
 most delightful excursions, and for an amateur have 
 generally been fairly successful in my sport. And 
 
 I ascribe my pleasure and success in a very large 
 degree to the personnel of the party who accompanied 
 me on these excursions. And this I would lay 
 down as the very first element to be considered in 
 arranging for a deer-shooting expedition. If your 
 companions are not congenial, or not of the right 
 stamp in every sense, far better not to go at all, or 
 at least with no companion but your dog, and your 
 servant. 
 
 Now, there are three classes of fellows that I 
 utterly detegt to be with in the woods ; first those 
 who go on a trip of this kind merely for the sake of 
 having a " grand spree." They must have a cart- 
 load of wine and beer and liquors with them, and 
 from morning until night, and from the time they 
 leave till they get back, it is just one everlasting 
 
 II swipe." These men are not only a nuisance and an 
 encumbrance, but also a source of continual danger 
 to themselves and all around them. There is a 
 certain amount of peril attendant upon all these 
 trips. In crossing some of our broad lakes in a 
 small bark canoe, particularly if the wind is at
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 137 
 
 all high, you require to be cool, collected, and steady 
 as a rock. And if you are following deer you re- 
 quire especially to have all your wits about you. 
 If a man is in liquor he runs a great risk of 
 upsetting and losing his rifle, perhaps his life too, or 
 of shooting his companion, or at least of missing 
 the deer to a certainty, and spoiling the morning's 
 hunt. In every way, both in the camp and on the 
 hunt, these fellows are not only useless, but positive 
 spoilers of sport for all about them. 
 
 Another class that I can't abide are those dilettante, 
 pernickety sort of fellows who must have all their 
 little comforts and luxuries, and toilet apparatus, 
 and other nicknacks about them. They must carry 
 their combs and brushes, their sponges and night- 
 shirts, and all the thousand and one appurtenances 
 of their home life with them. They are awfully 
 nice about the cooking and washing of the dishes, 
 arranging of the beds, &c., and in fact in many 
 ways are simply a pest about the camp. They 
 make everybody thoroughly uncomfortable and 
 nervous, and impress you with a sense of inferiority 
 in the scale of social life and respectability. They 
 are a kind of living rebuke to your own negligence 
 in these matters, and say to you, as plainly as if they 
 put it in so many words, " you are one of the great
 
 138 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 unwashed." Oh, how I abominate these fellows ! I 
 feel as if kicking was too good for them. I would 
 rather have a dirty Hottentot with me than one of 
 these nice gentlemen. It is one everlasting grum- 
 ble with them about trivial inconveniences and 
 discomforts. Equally with the last class, they are 
 perfect kill-joys about the camp, and to be avoided 
 as you would the plague. I have had my experience 
 of these chaps, and I hope a kind Providence will 
 save me from ever having it again. 
 
 There is a third class of men to whom I also 
 object as companions in the hunt, though they are 
 not nearly so objectionable as the two former, viz., 
 those who make a toil and a burden out of the excur- 
 sion, instead of a pleasure and relaxation. They are 
 the men who go in for hard work and take a pride in 
 the mere " roughing it." They are just the very 
 antithesis of the last class, and, though you have a 
 kind of respect for them, still in many ways they are 
 a nuisance and a detriment to your comfort and 
 enjoyment. They will have you off to bed at dark 
 and up in the morning long before day-light, and 
 keep you shivering round the fire hours before it is 
 necessary. They are great at chopping, cooking, 
 and carrying, and are everlastingly busy at something. 
 As you lie at your ease, placidly smoking your cutty
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 139 
 
 before the fire, your ears are dinned with the most 
 opprobrious epithets lazy-bones, sleepy-heads, slug- 
 gards, &c. until you almost feel ashamed of your 
 very existence. Now I don't believe in this sort of 
 thing at all. When I go on a trip of this kind, I 
 want to enjoy myself, and have as little toil and 
 drudgery as I can possibly help. If you can't afford 
 to have servants with you, then of course you have 
 to work, do all the work in fact, and toilsome and 
 dirty work it often is. But I don't believe in work- 
 ing merely for work's sake, and as a kind of bravado 
 and show-off of your knowledge and experience in 
 these matters. Let each man attend to his own 
 business in the camp, let the servants do the work for 
 which they are engaged and paid, and let us eat, drink, 
 smoke, hunt and be merry. No fear but we shall 
 get plenty of muscular exercise to keep us in " good 
 twist," without doing any works of supererogation. 
 
 But with the personnel of the camp made up of 
 right good fellows, who thoroughly understand one 
 another, and who are determined, come what may, 
 not to grumble or complain, or quarrel with one 
 another in a word, to act on the M. T. principle of 
 being jolly in all circumstances you have, at the 
 very outset, the prime essential of solid comfort and 
 enjoyment throughout your whole trip.
 
 140 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Now, as to the material outfit, a great deal could 
 be said and written, and I might content myself 
 and the reader by simply saying, take with you 
 nothing but what is absolutely necessary; but still a 
 few hints in this direction may not be amiss. With 
 regard to clothes, one suit of heavy rough tweed, with 
 one change of under-clothes and three or four pairs 
 of socks, is quite sufficient. A soft felt hat is the 
 best of all headgear, far better than any kind of cap 
 a Scotch cap particularly, which so many affect, is 
 a piece of jaunty discomfort and inconvenience. 
 Top boots of light leather reaching to the knee are 
 the best for every season of the year, and, take them 
 all in all, are the most suitable foot garb for the 
 bush, also a pair of strong leather slippers for the 
 camp ; the latter answer capitally, too, for wearing in 
 the canoe when you are after deer, and, in case 
 of upsetting, are less encumbrance in swimming. 
 Many a man has been drowned in attempting to 
 draw off his heavy top-boots in the water, for it is 
 impossible to swim any length of time with them 
 on. 
 
 A long roomy oilskin coat reaching below the 
 top of the boots, is indispensable, it will keep you 
 dry and comfortable in the heaviest rain, and is 
 besides a famous thing at night to spread over you
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 141 
 
 if the weather is either damp or cold. Special 
 attention should be paid to the coat, one of the 
 right kind adds greatly to the hunter's com- 
 fort and convenience. I had one which I wore for 
 many years, and I can't tell you the satisfaction I 
 got out of that coat. It was of a greyish-green 
 color, of coarse, strong tweed, and had no less than 
 sixteen pockets in it. I could easily carry a dozen 
 partridges in it without being the least impeded 
 in walking through the bush, thus obviating the 
 need of a game-bag, that pest and encumbrance to 
 the hunter in thick woods and swamps. The best 
 model of a hunting coat that I have yet seen is 
 made by J. D. Anderson, St. James street, Mont- 
 treal. It is a most becoming thing, and, at the same 
 time, contains within it every carrying convenience 
 for game, ammunition, and " snack," which a hunter 
 requires for a day's tramp through the bush. 
 
 As to the provisions that should be taken, every 
 one must consult his own taste and means. If you 
 are going to camp permanently on one spot during 
 the whole time of your holidays, then take every- 
 thing and anything your stomach may desire, from 
 potted goose's liver up to Westphalian sugar- 
 cured hams. But my experience in this prog and 
 grog business is that, after a few days in the keen,
 
 142 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 bracing, oxygenated atmosphere of the backwoods, I 
 get to have a perfect distaste for these delicacies and 
 luxuries which a petted, pampered appetite rejoices 
 in amid the artificialties and refinements of so- 
 called cultured and high-toned life. My stomach 
 comes to care for nothing but strong meat; anything 
 less seems to be an imposition and an insult to it, and 
 is repudiated with contempt. Fat pork, bacon, fresh 
 beef, venison, game of all kinds, strong tea, bread, 
 potatoes and onions served up on tin-plates, and in 
 bountiful abundance, are what the appetite craves for 
 and revels in. As for liquors, I consider Jamaica rum 
 the best for the woods ; it is sufficiently exhilarating 
 for all convivial purposes, and has besides a staying 
 power in it that no other spirit possesses. If you wish 
 to know my opinion on this liquor question just skip 
 over to the end of this chapter, and you will find 
 there in full what I have already written in " Three 
 Months among the Moose " on this point. 
 
 If, however, in your excursion you expect to have 
 a great deal of moving about from place to place, and, 
 consequently, very considerable portaging and carry- 
 ing, then, I beseech you, for mercy's sake, to remem- 
 ber the poor canoesmen and cook, and cut down your 
 impedimenta to the narrowest compass and the 
 lightest weight. Nothing these men detest more
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 1 43 
 
 than to carry loads of useless superfluous baggage. 
 If you have much of this sort of work to do, you 
 will find that what is just necessary for your com- 
 fort and pleasure is amply sufficient for them and 
 you to transport. 
 
 Of course one of the most important items in the 
 outfit is the gun business. I am often asked what 
 is the best shooting-piece to take to the backwoods. 
 Of rifles the Ballard is my favorite. After an 
 experience of nearly twenty years, and during that 
 time having handled almost every new and approved 
 patent that has come out, I still retain my prefer- 
 ence for this piece. It is of simple, yet strong 
 mechanism, and of long range ; and if you can adapt 
 the sights, either by filing or altering, to suit your 
 own eye, then you have the most accurate precision of 
 aim of any piece I know. I am speaking now of 
 the genuine first-class Ballard, not of those pot- 
 metal things which go by that name, and which you 
 can buy from $5 up to $17. However, there are so 
 many new and excellent styles of rifles coming out 
 continually, that it is difficult to dogmatise on this 
 point. Every one has his favorite, and what suits 
 one eye may not another. 
 
 A double-barrelled breach-loader, a revolver, a 
 
 hunting-knife and a drinking-cup, and your sporting 
 
 K
 
 144 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 accoutrement is complete. I go to Costen's, Montreal, 
 when I want anything in this line. Both brothers are 
 practical, experienced sportsmen, both with fish and 
 game, as well as thorough gunsmiths. Their estab- 
 lishment is one of the most varied and extensive in 
 Canada. 
 
 Our outfit is now complete ; we are thoroughly 
 equipped cap-b-pie, and so, hurrah, with a merry 
 heart, for the far backwoods ! 
 
 Our destination is some one of the innumerable 
 lakes which lie far inland in Central Ontario, between 
 the Madawaska and Mississippi. It is comparative- 
 ly an easy matter to reach these places now, compared 
 with what it used to be. The Canadian Pacific on the 
 one side, and the Kingston and Pembroke Bail way, 
 on the other, will take you to a point from which, 
 with a waggon, you can go to any place where you 
 have decided to make your camp and head-quarters. 
 The Kingston and Pembroke for a long distance 
 traverses a country that is yet so wild and unbroken 
 that, in many localities, within a mile of it, you can 
 pitch your tent on the shore of some small lake in 
 perfect solitude and isolation, and, if the place be judi- 
 ciously selected, have as good deer-hunting and shoot- 
 ing of small game, as the heart of man can desire. 
 
 Without further delay or explanation, we will
 
 In the Backwoods oj Canada. 145 
 
 transport ourselves at once to the lonely, retired and 
 delightful banks of Middle Branch Lake, and there 
 we will pitch our tent, and make ourselves happy 
 for a month to come. 
 
 This lake gets its name from being the fountain 
 head of the middle branch of the Clyde Eiver, the 
 North and South branch being on either side. It is a 
 beautiful lake, with grand picturesque surroundings. 
 Tiny islets stud its surface, and deep bays fissure 
 its shores ; these often extend a mile or more inward, 
 and terminate in the most lovely vistas. On one 
 side of the lake stand beautiful groves of yellow 
 poplar, white birch, and umbrageous balsam, where 
 the partridge loves to feed arid play ; another side is 
 all reedy marsh, and dense boggy swamp, where 
 duck and rabbit abound ; and the third stretches away 
 in unbroken solitude in a vast forest of gigantic 
 pine and hemlock, with here and there almost impe- 
 netrable jungles of cedar and spruce the home of 
 the deer, the bear and the wolf. 
 
 Into the depths of this forest our huntsmen will 
 lead the dogs, and the first fresh track of a deer they 
 scent they will instantly give chase upon, and with 
 loud and fierce " tongue " will waken up the sleep- 
 ing echoes of the forest, and make it ring again with 
 their uproarious clamor. The panic-stricken deer
 
 146 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 will bound in every direction, and circle round and 
 round in the bush, in the vain attempt to tire out 
 and escape from his merciless pursuers, until finally, 
 in despair, hearing the loud baying coming nearer 
 and nearer, and the hounds rapidly closing upon him, 
 he will head straight for the lake, and, after pausing 
 for a moment on its brink to assure himself that the 
 enemy is still on his track, will plunge headlong into 
 its cool waters. But, alas; poor brute, his instinct 
 has failed to warn him that he has only escaped from 
 one enemy to fall into the power of more deadly 
 and unsparing ones, who, if their skill and coolness 
 are only equal to their opportunity, will soon put an 
 end to his gallant career. 
 
 Our chapter has lengthened itself out to an 
 unreasonable extent, and, as we shall see some of the 
 details and exciting pleasures of this sport in those 
 which immediately follow, we will bring it to a close, 
 with this remark, that, notwithstanding all that has 
 been said and written about the cruelty and butchery 
 of this sport, and a great deal more nonsense to the 
 same effect, we hold that it is the most enjoyable 
 and exciting, as it it also the fairest and most sports- 
 manlike, mode of hunting deer of any that is adopt- 
 ed in the backwoods. In this respect it stands far 
 ahead of still-hunting, that is, tracking the deer in
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 147 
 
 the snow till you overtake and shoot him ; or, lying 
 in wait for him on the runaway as he is chased by 
 the dogs for the deer has special paths in the woods 
 in which they always run when pursued, and which 
 are well known to the hunter when he sometimes 
 comes so close to you as you crouch behind tree or 
 rock, that you can touch him with the muzzle of 
 your gun ; or, lastly, of shooting him by the jack-light 
 after night by the marshy side of river or lake 
 where he comes to drink, or escape from the torments 
 of flies and mosquitoes. In these three last modes, 
 there is hardly any escape for the deer, if only ordi- 
 nary coolness and patience are exercised. But in 
 watering the deer with hounds there are far more 
 " let out " of the lake, and escape with their lives 
 than are shot and killed in it ; and it is a sport that 
 is attended with much more danger to the hunter 
 than any of the others, and is not this the very 
 essence and soul of true sport all the world over ? 
 
 " I have often been asked the question whether, 
 in such circumstances (camping out in winter), it 
 is a good thing to use freely, or even moderately, 
 alcoholic spirits. My answer is, emphatically, no. 
 I believe that a draught of good whiskey, that is 
 high wines diluted with water (for high wines is
 
 143 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the only liquor you can carry in that country, 
 where every pound's weight is to be considered) 
 is an excellent thing when you are thoroughly 
 ly chilled, wet and fagged out. I think it assists 
 nature to recuperate, and is generally beneficial in 
 such cases, provided the quantity taken is moderate. 
 But to take it when you are going to sleep, with the 
 idea that it will keep up the heat of the body, or 
 under ordinary circumstances in winter backwoods 
 travelling, is a foolish and dangerous mistake. The 
 true theory of the question as given to me by one of 
 our most eminent physicians is this : " alcohol 
 except in moderate quantity, although from its irri- 
 tating effect on the nerves of the stomach, and its 
 stimulating influence upon the circulation, it pro- 
 duces the subjective feeling of warmth, really lowers 
 the temperature of the blood. This effect is thought 
 to depend upon a depressive influence exerted by 
 the alcohol upon the cells of the body, and upon a 
 temporary paralysis of the blood vessels. This 
 paralysis is followed by a larger circulation of blood 
 in the superficial blood-vessels, and consequently 
 greater radiation of heat from the surface, while the 
 depressing action of the spirit in the cells diminishes 
 the combustion of the body and, pro tanto, the pro- 
 duction of heat."
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 149 
 
 On the other hand, strong tea and fat pork, besides 
 having a stimulating and heating effect at the time, 
 possess a staying power behind, which has a most 
 beneficial effect in warding off and neutralizing the 
 effects of extreme cold. Take it all in all, I think 
 that a man with an ordinarily strong and healthy 
 physique is just as well without alcohol, in any form, 
 in the backwoods, even in the depths of winter, than 
 with it. But this is a matter very much of expe- 
 rience and constitution. Mere conscientious scruples 
 have nothing to do with it in such circumstances.
 
 150 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 A Ride on a Deer's Back in the 
 
 NE morning Jim and I started off in our 
 "fathom and a half" bark canoe to watch a 
 part of the lake in which we fully expected 
 the deer would be watered by the dogs. 
 
 It was a glorious morning in October, which, to 
 my mind, is the most delightful month in the year 
 for backwoods sport. The weather then is gener- 
 ally sufficiently bracing to make vigorous exercise 
 an agreeable recreation, and not too cold to make it 
 unpleasant to lie in ease and comfort in the open air. 
 The woods, too, are clothed in their most beautiful 
 dress. The autumn tints and colors are in their 
 full ripeness of mellow golden glory. Every pos- 
 sible hue and shade of prismatic radiance is dis- 
 played in grand effulgence. Every reed and shrub> 
 and plant and tree has its own distinctive and 
 peculiar coloring, and each seems to rival the other 
 in its showy finery. All Nature seems to be out for 
 a gala-day in holiday attire.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 151 
 
 As we glided swiftly over the bright waters of the 
 lake, just lit up with the golden glory of the rising 
 sun, our hearts beat in unison with the bright and 
 gorgeous surroundings. The lake itself was beauti- 
 fully embosomed in a magnificent framework of 
 yellow and purple and gold, studded every here 
 and there with bold jutting cliffs of whitey-gray 
 limestone. From our point of observation we could 
 take in the whole lake, which was about a mile and 
 a half long and a mile wide. In the clear, bracing 
 translucent atmosphere every object stood out in 
 bright sunny relief, and presented one of those 
 scenes of loveliness which are photographed for 
 ever upon the memory. 
 
 Suddenly, the deep baying of the hounds broke 
 upon bur ears, faintly echoing through the interven- 
 ing forest, and after continuing for a while, gradually 
 died away as the chase took another direction. 
 
 There is a strange wild charm in this sweetest of 
 all music, at least to the hunter's ears. Now it 
 swells out in clear triumphant tone, as if the hounds 
 felt quite sure of their prey, and were just upon 
 him. Then a quick angry yelp will tell as plainly 
 as human speech that they are at fault in the scent 
 and the deer is escaping them. But again it will 
 ring out clearer and fuller, and unmistakably nearer
 
 152 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and nearer. There is no doubt of it the deer has 
 given up his winding and circling in the bush and 
 is " heading" straight for the lake, with the hounds 
 ' full tongue" after him. Hastily taking our places 
 in the canoe, for up to this time we had been sitting 
 at our ease on the bank, we shoved off a few yards 
 and watched intently the shore line of the lake in 
 the direction of the approaching chase. Jim, who 
 is a first-class canoeman, seated himself in the stern, 
 and I took the bow, with a rifle and the double- 
 barreled gun charged with heavy buckshot. 
 
 It is always the rule in this sport that the man 
 in the bow does the shooting, and the one in the 
 stern the steering and main part of the paddling. 
 This is an excellent rule, and should always be ad- 
 hered to, and this for two reasons: first, in following 
 the deer the steersman cannot shoot without great 
 danger to the bowman, with whom he is generally in 
 a line with the deer ; and, secondly, he has quite 
 enough to do in directing the course of the canoe, 
 and keeping it steady at the moment the other 
 fires. 
 
 The deer in taking the water is often very capri- 
 cious in the spot he chooses for his plunge. So it 
 proved in this case. Instead of entering where the 
 loud baying led us to expect, he seems to have run
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 153 
 
 along the shore for a distance, and plunged in far up 
 the lake, more than a mile away. 
 
 Though we couldn't hear the plunge yet Jim's 
 hawk eye detected the splashing of the water in the 
 dazzling glittering of the sun's rays, and, hastily 
 exclaiming, "there he is," headed the canoe in that 
 direction, and away we dashed down the lake. Now 
 is the time for coolness and lake craft. It would 
 never do to paddle too close to the animal, else he 
 will see us too soon, and, re-entering the woods, give 
 the dogs another chase to some other lake, and our 
 sport would be spoiled for the day. We must give 
 him time to swim fairly out into the lake, and then 
 dash upon him and head him off from the shore. 
 
 The deer as soon as he plunges into the water 
 will lie perfectly motionless for a little, and with 
 ears lying back on his neck will listen for the 
 approaching dogs. If he judges that they are still 
 on his track and pressing him closely he will start 
 out for the opposite shore, so it turned out in this 
 case. But Jim and I, like some righteous people we 
 read of, had been cautious overmuch. Miscalculat- 
 ing the distance the deer had to swim to the further 
 shore, we had waited too long, and allowed him to 
 get too good a start of us, and, though we " laid into " 
 our paddles with all our might, and made our light
 
 154 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 canoe fairly bound over the water, still we were 
 more than a hundred yards behind him when he 
 reached the shore. Quickly dropping my paddle I 
 seized the rifle and fired just as he rose from the 
 water. But my violent paddling and the dancing of 
 the canoe made my aim unsteady, and after following 
 his track some distance through the woods, and 
 seeing no marks of blood we came to the humili- 
 ating conclusion that we had ignominiously missed 
 and lost him. Vastly annoyed, and mightily out of 
 conceit with ourselves and thinking the game was 
 all up for that day, we returned to the canoe ; but just 
 as we were stepping into it Jim's keen eye sighted 
 another chap just leaving the shore opposite the 
 point from which we had come, more than a mile 
 away. 
 
 Without waiting to reload the rifle, as my trusty 
 double-barrel was ready at my hand, again we 
 dashed away at high-pressure speed up the lake. 
 That was a paddle, indeed, with a vengeance. If it 
 had been for sweet life we couldn't have paddled 
 harder. With every muscle strained to its utmost 
 tension we went at it, resolved not to be too late 
 this time. And the deer gave us all we could do. 
 The moment he saw us he redoubled his efforts, 
 and made for the shore at a tremendous speed. And
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 155 
 
 these fellows can swim when they are put to it. Under 
 the first impulse of their fright they almost leap 
 out of the water ; they raise swells behind them like a 
 steamboat, and dash ahead at an amazing rate. But 
 they cannot keep it up, they soon tire ; it is impossi- 
 ble for them to maintain this pace, and after the first 
 dash the light canoe, under the quick powerful 
 sweeps of the paddle, rapidly gains upon them. 
 When we came within a dozen yards of him I raised 
 the gun, and, while Jim steadied the canoe, I fired 
 straight for the back of his head, but a miss is as 
 good as a mile, and, though I riddled his ear witht he 
 shot, yet, instead of crippling, it only maddened him 
 into more strenuous exertions for escape. But I felt 
 we had him safe enough yet. I had another barrel 
 left, and he was yet a considerable distance from the 
 shore; so, dropping the gun, I again seized the 
 paddle, and again we bore rapidly down upon him. 
 I knew there must be no miss this time, so reserv- 
 ing my fire until we were full broadside of him, and 
 not twenty feet off, I raised the gun and fired right 
 into his heaving flank. Fired, forsooth ! Perdition 
 seize all muzzle-loaders, and this one in particular ' 
 The cap only snapped, and, as far as the charge was 
 concerned, the deer might laugh in our beards. 
 Another yard orlwo and he would reach a long dead
 
 156 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 pine that had fallen out into the lake, and once 
 over it he was safe, and, like his brother at the other 
 end of the lake, would soon show us a clean pair of 
 heels into the woods, for, of course, the log was an 
 effectual barrier to our canoe. I took all this in in 
 a moment, and also the humiliation and disgrace of 
 the thing : within the space of a quarter of an hour to 
 miss and let two deer out of the lake. What a tale 
 to go back to camp with ! Presto ! It shall not be. 
 I suddenly seemed to be possessed with the rage 
 and fury of ten devils, and, without a thought of the 
 consequences, I sprang from the canoe, with the 
 agility of a gorilla, right on to the back of the deer, 
 and clasped him round the shoulders with my arms. 
 It was the act of a madman, as I quickly discov- 
 ered. The deer, for a moment or two, continued on 
 in his plunging career, confounded by the strange 
 rider on his back, but only for a moment. The 
 savage instinct of the animal asserted itself. It 
 was a spike-horn buck, the most dangerous of all 
 the deer family, when cornered up and at bay. He 
 evidently felt himself in this position now, and 
 suddenly giving his shoulders a violent heave, he 
 threw me backwards into the water, and, before I 
 could recover myself, he wheeled round, quick as 
 lightning, and struck me with his fbrehoof with all
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 157 
 
 his terrible strength, fair on the breast, and sent me 
 down like a piece of lead to the bottom of the lake. 
 The moment my head reappeared at the surface, he 
 went into me with his horns. I saw at once that 
 he had no intention of escaping, but was bound to 
 make mince-meat of me on the spot. And, some- 
 how or other, the demon of battle got possession of 
 me, too, so at it we went, full tilt ; it was a do-or-die 
 understanding that was instantaneously arrived at 
 between us. Just as his sharp un-antlered horn 
 .was about to immolate me, my right hand, with that 
 quickness and precision which come in such straits, 
 we know not how, grasped it with the clutch of des- 
 peration, and my left, at the same time, uncon- 
 sciously I believe, seized his right leg, just at the 
 fetlock. If I had studied the manoeuvre for an hour 
 I couldn't have got a more advantageous hold of 
 him. I felt this instinctively, and held on and 
 grappled with him with the fury, and the strength of 
 despair. 
 
 From early experience and long training I always 
 feel perfectly at home in the water, and it served 
 me well now. With a sudden exertion of strength, 
 and, I suppose, what wrestlers would call a " contrip 
 sleight," I threw his buckship fairly on his back, at 
 the same time falling myself between his legs.
 
 158 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Then it was that the brute in turn shewed his skill, 
 and gave me what the pugilists style a tremendous 
 " left-hander." Suddenly drawing up his hind 
 legs, he dug his sharp hoofs into my chest, and 
 ripped and tore down with mad fury. I felt my 
 watch-guard, pants, drawers, everything give way 
 before them. The pain was excruciating. I 
 thought my last hour was come, and yelled most 
 lustily for Jim to help me, though I never thought 
 for a moment of giving up or letting go my hold. 
 Jim, by this time, had got out of the canoe and run 
 up the log, and leaning out as far as he could 
 towards the scene of combat, made a lunge with his 
 long hunting knife at the deer's throat; the glittering 
 blade whizzed past within a hair's-breadth of my 
 own jugular, as we plunged about on every side, 
 and, telling him to let me alone, at it we went, 
 pell-mell again. Sometimes I would be under him, 
 and again I would get him below me, and then his 
 ripping and tearing would be repeated. I suppose 
 we had been at it for ten minutes or more, when, 
 with a violent twist, I threw myself across his neck, 
 and held his head under the water with his open 
 gasping mouth upwards ; the water poured down 
 his throat in torrents, and, after a terrible gurgling 
 and spasm, he lay perfectly still, dead, drowned,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 1 59 
 
 beneath me. It was over at last, and I was the 
 conqueror of the spike-horn. 
 
 But, all joking aside, it was a narrow escape 
 for me. It was a touch-and-go sort of business 
 all through. If I hadn't drowned him he would 
 have drowned or killed me to a certainty, for he 
 was fairly crazed with the fury of despair, and when 
 maddened there is not a more dangerous and deter- 
 mined brute than the spike-horn buck. He is called 
 spike-horned because he has no antlers. His horns 
 are like those of a bull, straight and sharp-pointed. 
 When we dragged him up on the log, the outer rind 
 of his horn where I had seized him, came off like 
 a husk of corn, showing how firm was the grip I had 
 of him. 
 
 But our adventure for the day was not over yet. 
 On coming alongside the deer, when my gun 
 snapped, we had been going at such a speed that 
 after I leaped from the canoe Jim was unable to 
 stop it, and the impetus drove it upon the log with 
 such a force as to stove a hole through the bottom, 
 In the excitement of the time we never noticed this 
 until we were out in the lake on our way to the 
 camp. Then the water began to pour in, and 
 though we paddled with all our might to the shore, 
 it filled so rapidly that we were a considerable dis-
 
 160 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 tance from it when the canoe suddenly sank under 
 us, and we found ourselves struggling in the water. 
 There was nothing for it but to swim for the shore, 
 which was quite a pull in our heavy clothes. I had 
 had enough of adventure for the day, so Jim took 
 his share, and divesting himself of his clothes, he 
 swam out and brought canoe, guns and deer all safe 
 to the land. The canoe had not upset, for as soon 
 as relieved of our weight it had risen to the surface. 
 We soon caulked up the hole, and arrived without 
 further mishap at the camp, where we were feasted 
 and lionized by our companions for the rest of the day. 
 
 The obstinate bull-dog ferocity of the deer, when 
 thoroughly at bay, is a well-known characteristic of 
 the animal all the world over, but nowhere I believe 
 is it more strongly brought out than in these back- 
 woods of ours. In other circumstances, the invariably 
 timorous nature of the deer is apt to deceive the 
 unwary hunter, and lead him into too close quarters 
 with him, when he ought rather to have kept a 
 respectful distance. To approach, and especially lay 
 hold on a deer when he is in a tight place, is a most 
 foolish and dangerous experiment. It can be done 
 only with great risk to life or limb. 
 
 I could illustrate this by a dozen stirring 
 encounters with the animal, which I have heard and
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 161 
 
 known to be authentic, but one will suffice for the 
 present. In this case, however, the gentleman did 
 not escape so well as I did, but, in consequence of 
 the injuries he received, has become a helpless 
 cripple, and partially paralyzed for life. 
 
 He was a gentleman settler belonging to one of 
 the most respectable families in Canada, and had 
 obtained a patent for a block of land on one of the 
 Trout Lakes, which, at that time, more than twenty 
 years ago, was in the heart of the dense virgin 
 forest. He was a keen sportsman, of a powerful 
 athletic frame, and at the time we refer to was not 
 more than twenty-one years of age. 
 
 One night, late in the Fall, he was returning home 
 to his lonely location from the market town of 
 Perth, where he had been with a load of grain. As 
 he was driving merrily along, through the dense 
 pinery, he heard his dog barking furiously at some 
 animal at a distance ahead of him on the road. 
 Arming himself with a big stick, he hurried to the 
 spot, and found the dog fiercely engaged with a large 
 buck which had turned at bay, and was fighting 
 bravely with his assailant. Without hesitation he 
 joined in the mdUe, and assaulted the enraged 
 animal with his club. But he soon found out, to his 
 sorrow, that he had miscalculated the issues of the
 
 162 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 contest. The deer, doubly enraged at the attack of 
 this fresh enemy, became perfectly frantic, and dis- 
 regarding the dog sprang at him, and with one blow 
 of his powerful fore-foot struck him to the ground, 
 and would soon have gored him to death with his 
 sharp antlers had not the dog fastened his teeth 
 into his haunches and compelled him to desist, and, 
 after a short struggle, to take to flight into the bush. . 
 With great difficulty the gentleman was able to 
 crawl to his sleigh, and proceed homewards. When 
 he arrived at his house he contrived, in a semi- 
 conscious state, to stable the team, and then to creep 
 into his own bed. The farming season being over 
 all his hired men had gone to their several homes, 
 and he was entirely alone on the place. 
 
 Four days afterwards one of his men happened to 
 come to the place, and, struck with the strange 
 desolate quietness of everything around, went first 
 to the stables, where he found the horses and cattle 
 nearly perished for want of food and water, and, 
 continuing his search, he found the master of the 
 establishment in his bed, unconscious in the delirium 
 of a raging fever. He immediately went for assist- 
 ance, and the nearest doctor, more than fifteen 
 miles distant, was sent for. But it was too late. 
 The terrible injuries he had received from the deer,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 163 
 
 combined with the exposure to cold, and want of 
 attendance in his lonely, tireless house, at that incle- 
 ment season of the year, had brought on brain fever, 
 and paralysis. Everything that money, kind 
 nursing, and medical skill could give were bestowed 
 upon him, but in vain. For months he lay almost 
 unconscious, and when he partially recovered it was 
 only to find himself a helpless cripple, and his 
 powerful constitution utterly shattered. And 
 though for the past few years he has been able to 
 go about and superintend the affairs of his exten- 
 sive and valuable farm, still it is only as the wreck, 
 physically, of what he once was.
 
 164 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTEK XV. 
 
 Teach them how to Shoot Deer." 
 
 IV 
 
 HERE is a great difference between shooting 
 at a target at the rifle ranges, and shooting 
 
 ^-^ T ^-^ 
 
 at deer or any other game in the backwoods. 
 A man may be a crack shot at the former and not 
 worth " chucks " at the latter. Target practice is 
 mainly mechanical, and according to formula, and 
 though peculiarity of eye and steadiness of nerve 
 are conditions of proficiency in it, yet all these are 
 required, and much more too, before a man can be a 
 successful sportsman in the woods or on the water. 
 There is a kind of mental discipline in this sport 
 which tends to improve and sharpen a man's 
 intellectual capacities, quite apart from its muscle 
 and sinew developing effect. A man must have all 
 his wits about him when he goes a-hunting. In 
 fact a genuine live hunt is as good for man's brain 
 as a keenly-contested game of chess. A cool, patient, 
 calculating, well-balanced head, combined with quick- 
 ness and precision of aim, and supported by a strong, 
 hardy, enduring frame, are the component essentials 
 of the successful hunter.
 
 In tlie Backtvoods of Canada. 165 
 
 If a man gets into a "fluster" on the lake, 
 " runaway," or trail, he is done for ; he might as 
 well shoot at the deer with his eyes shut, as far as 
 any skill of his is concerned. And if he becomes 
 weak, tired, and out of patience, then it is no longer 
 sport for him, and he had far better return to camp 
 and smoke his pipe in ease and comfort before the 
 fire. And yet there are many people who are goosey 
 enough to suppose that because a man can hit the 
 bull's-eye every time at five hundred yards, he is 
 quite able to knock over a deer at almost any range 
 in the bush. And when you tell them that nine 
 out of every ten deer are shot within a range of 
 eighty or a hundred yards, they laugh to scorn the 
 idea of ever missing one at all. And none are more 
 prone to fall into this error than those target heroes 
 themselves. 
 
 We had a most amusing illustration of this 
 at our camp on Park's lake on one occasion. A 
 person, whom we shall call Taylor, had gained a 
 great reputation among the volunteers as a first- 
 class shot, and had carried off several valuable 
 prizes. Taylor was a capital fellow in many ways, 
 but egregiously vain and boastful about his shooting. 
 When he heard that we were going up for a 
 hunt to the woods, he was very anxious to come
 
 166 Sltanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 along with us. Now, we were always very particu- 
 lar as to the parties we invited to go with us on 
 those trips, for if the personnel of the party is not 
 to your liking the whole pleasure of the thing may 
 be marred. Yet, lest it might be supposed that we 
 were jealously afraid of Taylor's boasted skill as a 
 shot, we gave him permission to come along. I 
 had a dim suspicion, also, that we might take the 
 conceit out of the fellow before we were done with 
 him. And, in truth, I was very desirous that we 
 should, for it had been told me that he had said, " if 
 I go with them, I'll teach them how to shoot deer." 
 
 So after we had got fairly settled in our snug 
 camp, and everything in good working order, Taylor 
 made his appearance, and was received by us with 
 all the respect and deference that his target cele- 
 brity was entitled to. Determined that he should 
 make his debut on the lake with all possible dclat, 
 we placed him in our best canoe, and gave him, as 
 
 steersman, Joe M , as skilful and experienced a 
 
 canoesman as .aver paddled after deer. 
 
 Our camp was situated just on the edge of the 
 lake which they were to watch. I had given up 
 my place to Taylor, and remained at the camp for 
 this run, so that I could have a full view of the 
 anticipated sport
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 167 
 
 Sure enough, in about an hour a large buck with 
 magnificent antlers, came plunging into the lake, 
 and Joe, with his usual adroitness, headed it off from 
 the shore, and drove it fair for the middle of the 
 lake. A better chance to shoot a deer was never 
 given to mortal man, and never did mortal man 
 make a more ignominious failure. He kept cool, 
 and stuck to his paddle well enough until he came 
 within nice easy range, about twenty yards or so, 
 and then with his own rifle, that had scored so many 
 bull's-eyes, he fired, and missed. That shot, or its 
 miss, let us charitably suppose, seemed completely 
 to demoralize him. He was suddenly seized with 
 " buck fever " in its most malignant type. Instead 
 of dropping his rifle and plying his paddle in order 
 to regain the lost ground, he popped in another 
 cartridge and fired again, and kept on firing as fast 
 as he could reload. And such wild, wide-of-the- 
 mark firing, I never witnessed before or since ; if he 
 had been trying to avoid the animal, he cguld not 
 have done better. If the prizes had been for misses 
 instead of bull's-eyes, he could have loaded a cart 
 wdth them. The lake was scored with misses for 
 half a mile on every side of that amazed buck. 
 
 In the meantime the animal was rapidly increas- 
 ing the distance between himself and the boat, and
 
 168 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 diminishing it in the direction of the shore, for in 
 spite of Joe's most strenuous exertions, it was 
 impossible, unaided, to keep up with him. Every shot 
 that was fired retarded the canoe's speed and was in 
 favor of the deer, and he would certainly have soon 
 escaped, if he had continued straight ahead ; but, 
 through some unaccountable freak or other, which 
 these animals will sometimes take in the water, he 
 suddenly turned off at right angles to the course he 
 was pursuing and headed straight up the lake 
 towards the spot where I was standing with old 
 Tauton, the cook, watching with malicious interest 
 and delight the whole performance. " Now surely 
 he will take him," we both exclaimed, as the deer in 
 turning presented a full broad-side to our redoubt- 
 able champion of the target. But, mirabile clictu, 
 he again missed him, and widely as ever, and on the 
 heels of the report came booming over the waters 
 Joe's loud, angry, " sacre, sacre." 
 
 Taylqr, at this juncture, bethought him of the 
 double-barreled breech-loader, charged with buck- 
 shot cartridge, which we had given him on leaving 
 camp, enjoining him to be sure and use it if the rifle 
 missed. But he had pooh-poohed our suggestions, 
 saying that u he would rather depend on his old 
 rifle than all the buckshot loaders that were ever
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 169 
 
 made," and so he well might, for all the good that 
 either of them did him. 
 
 His first shot was as futile as any of the others, and 
 his second, which immediately followed, was very 
 near being fatal to us instead of the deer. Though 
 we were standing more than twenty feet above the 
 level of the deer, yet the heavy fchot came whizzing 
 past our ears where we stood on the bank, and pat- 
 tered down on the leaves and underbrush on every 
 side of us. " Mon Dieu," yelled Tauton, " what's 
 dat ? The crazy fellah will kill us," and turning on 
 his heel he bounded off through the woods as if a 
 legion of devils were after him. 
 
 My loud shouts and gestures now drew the atten- 
 tion of the deer, as he rapidly neared the shore, and 
 again turned him, as I intended, back into the lake, 
 though towards a jutting point not far ahead of him. 
 And now came the crowning act of silly conceit 
 and dense stupidity. Instead of laying down his 
 gun, as we heard Joe imploring him to do, and using 
 the paddle, in order to force the deer into the 
 middle of the lake, he must needs reload his gun 
 and try his shooting again, but his hand was so 
 shaky that he couldn't get the cartridge into place 
 until it was too late, and though he got another 
 shot, it was a miss like the rest, and the gallant
 
 170 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 buck, who had so nobly swam for his life, gained the 
 shore, and was out of sight in a twinkling in the 
 depths of the forest. 
 
 It was without doubt, the most blundering and 
 disgraceful " let out " that I ever knew. 
 
 When Taylor made his appearance at the camp, 
 old Tauton assailed him with the fiercest and most 
 cutting maledictions. " Be gar, what you come up 
 here for ? Teach us how to shoot de deer. Be gar, 
 me kill more deer with my old saucepan than you 
 with de big rifle." 
 
 The poor man looked so humiliated, woe-begone, 
 and utterly crest-fallen that I couldn't find it in my 
 heart to say a word to him. But Tau ton's wrath 
 and tongue would not be appeased until, finally, 
 Taylor seized his rifle, and swearing he would not 
 return till he shot the deer and brought it back with 
 him to the camp, started off into the woods. And 
 as we saw neither him nor the deer again, I suppose 
 he had been as unsuccessful on the land as lie had 
 been on the water. *
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 171 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 A Providential Dream. 
 
 me there has always appeared an inexplic- 
 able mystery enveloping the whole question 
 ^^ of dreams. I believe it is yet a terra incognita 
 to the psychologist and metaphysician, a vast, unex- 
 plored land like the Antartic world with its lofty 
 precipitous barriers of ice, which no man has yet 
 been able to scale baffling the most persevering 
 and ingenious mental investigators. The only insight 
 we have gained into this mysterious unknown 
 region has been as misty, undefined, and tanta- 
 lizing as that revealed by the smoke and fire 
 vomited forth from the distant peaks of volcanoes, 
 seen over the icy walls which encircle, and insur- 
 mountably hem in this Southern Polar world. To 
 my mind, dreamland borders very closely upon the 
 supernatural, and is one of the strongest collateral 
 evidences against positivism in any shape or form. 
 However, without going any further in this direction 
 at present, let me tell my story of a remarkable 
 dream that I once had, whereby I firmly believe
 
 172 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 my life was saved. I will narrate the dream with 
 all its postcedent occiirrences, in a plain, simple, 
 unexaggerated way, without qualifying or distorting 
 a single fact or detail ; and in the same connection I 
 will describe another dream, narrated to me, I 
 believe, in the same tone and spirit of matter-of-fact 
 circumstantiality, by the party himself, viz. : Duncan, 
 the manager. And then, reader, you can draw your 
 own conclusions and theories on the question, and if 
 you and I are of the same mind at the end of the 
 chapter, then I shall be glad if not, we must agree 
 to differ. 
 
 One morning I agreed to watch a certain headland 
 on Long Lake, where we were hunting deer at the 
 time. I had never been at the spot before, and was 
 directed to it by Joe Le , who was the " master of 
 our hounds " and general director of our sports on 
 that hunt. As I approached the point, I became 
 conscious of a strange kind of acquaintanceship with 
 the place. I knew positively that I had never 
 been in that locality in my life, and yet the nearer 
 I approached, and the closer I looked, a more posi- 
 tive remembrance of it arose, which I could not 
 define, or locate in my mind. 
 
 Having beached my canoe, I looked about for a 
 comfortable seat from which I could have a good
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. ] 73 
 
 out-look over the lake and adjoining shore. This I 
 soon found in a snug niche in a mossy rock, which 
 had been formed by the frost cracking out a trian- 
 gular piece of the stone, making a seat as easy 
 as an arm-chair. Even this peculiar feature of the 
 place seemed singularly familiar to me. However, I 
 was soon seated, and on the qui-vive for any sounds 
 of deer and dogs. As I reclined luxuriously in my 
 mossy nook I began to wonder why the place seemed 
 so familiar to me, and looked around to see if I 
 could find any further points of remembrance. My 
 eye at once lit upon a tall, scraggy pine growing a 
 short distance behind me, and lodged among its upper 
 limbs was a larger branch, or rather trunk, of the 
 top portion of another tree with its smaller dead 
 branches attached, which had been blown there by 
 some violent gust of wind, and not, as it seemed to 
 me, very securely lodged either. The moment my 
 eye fell on the tree a quick flash of vivid remem- 
 brance of having seen it before came into my mind, 
 though w T hen or how I could not tell. As I curious- 
 ly gazed at the tree the idea arose, and gradually 
 grew upon me, suppose that large branch were to 
 become dislodged, it would in all probability fall 
 right on the spot where I am sitting. Do as I liked 
 I couldn't get this idea out of my mind, and it so
 
 174 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 impressed and awed me that, almost involuntarily, 
 I arose and left the place. 
 
 Altogether I felt so uneasy, not exactly alarmed, 
 that I re-entered my canoe, and paddled some three 
 or four acres higher up the lake to another point of 
 observation. 
 
 After a lapse of two or three hours I heard the 
 signal from a distant part of the lake that the chase 
 was over. 
 
 As I repassed the spot where I first intended to 
 watch, I saw, to my utter amazement, and with no 
 small degree of awe and thanksgiving, that the 
 ominous-looking branch had fallen from the top of 
 the pine directly upon the seat which I had vacated 
 two hours before. Hastily landing, I closely examined 
 the place ; and the more I looked at it, the morel 
 was convinced that if I had remained there, I would 
 certainly have been crushed to death. The branch, 
 or trunk, was more than a foot in diameter, and had 
 attached to it a perfect network of dry, jagged limbs, 
 and had so fallen that even though I had been 
 watching it, I could hardly have had time to escape ; 
 and what made it still more remarkable was the fact 
 that scarcely a breath of wind was stirring at the 
 time.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 175 
 
 As I stood rooted to the spot, and reflecting with 
 profound gratitude and awe upon my narrow escape 
 from a terrible death, the whole mystery of my 
 strange acquaintance with the place suddenly clear- 
 ed up. I had dreamed it all the night before ! As 
 clear as sunshine, I remembered now how in the 
 unconscious mood of deep overpowering sleep, in the 
 earlier hours of the night, I had pre-enacted the 
 whole scenes and occurrences of the morning. Every 
 detail of the dream recurred to me now, mirrored in 
 the shore, the triangular seat, the tall pine with its 
 scraggy top appendage, and its falling upon the seat 
 I was occupying, though with the return of bright 
 sunny day-light, and in the overflowing careless 
 exuberance of health and high animal spirits, it 
 had passed entirely from my mind for the time. 
 
 It had proved to me, however, as providential a 
 dream as ever came to man in the balmy hours of 
 slumber. For I felt convinced at the time, and am 
 to this day, that, judging from the ordinary probabi- 
 lities of the position, and the usual feelings and habits 
 which regulate a person's actions in such circum- 
 stances, I should never have thought of leaving the 
 point of observation, or even changing my seat, un- 
 less I had been influenced and impelled by that 
 strange feeling of familiarity and remembrance, 
 
 M
 
 176 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 which kept working and fermenting within me, and, 
 unconsciously to myself, warned and admonished 
 me. 
 
 Wise, thoughtful, metaphysical, clear-thinking, 
 mystery-solving, dream-learned reader, what do 
 think of this, my dream ? 
 
 Let me now tell you Duncan's dream, or rather 
 the one in which he was the principal actor, which in 
 many points of view is still more inexplicable, at 
 least in the ordinarily accepted, and would-be 
 thought learned, interpretation of dreams. 
 
 In a subsequent chapter I will speak about 
 "jams," their existing perils, their hair-breadth 
 escapes, and all their adventurous and hazardous 
 interest. One of these of more than ordinary mag- 
 nitude and difficulty occurred in the rapids at Carlton 
 Place, on a " drive " in which Duncan was one of 
 the foremen. 
 
 The rapids at that time were very different from 
 what they are now. There were none of the side- 
 dams, and other improvements which now makes 
 their passage comparatively easy. At that time 
 they were in their natural state, and were exceed- 
 ingly difficult and dangerous to " drive." 
 
 On the occasion we speak of three or four con- 
 cerns had got all mixed up together on the river,
 
 in the Backwoods of Canadq. 177 
 
 forming one conjunct drive of about fourteen thou- 
 sand pieces of timber, and manned by over five 
 hundred hands. 
 
 It was of course a busy time with them all, and 
 many a tough and exciting piece of work they had 
 together, at the various points of difficulty on the 
 river. But this " jam " was a " terror " of a jam. 
 It occurred at the most dangerous spot in the rapids, 
 where the water was divided into two channels by 
 an island, and descended on both sides with race- 
 horse speed in a succession of small, tumbling, foam- 
 ing cataracts. 
 
 The timber here got jammed together for half a 
 mile up the river, and lay many tiers deep. 
 Thousands of sticks were inextricably mixed up 
 together, and much of it stood on end, out of the 
 foaming waters. It was an awful scene of piled- up 
 confusion. If you were to take an armful of straw 
 and throw it into a boiling cauldron it would, ten 
 minutes after, give you some idea of the spectacle 
 that jam presented. 
 
 For three days the combined crews had been 
 prying, and pinching, and tugging at the key sticks, 
 and other knotty joints of the mass, but in vain. 
 The " jam " defied their utmost efforts and ingenuity, 
 and remained as firmly locked as ever.
 
 178 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 On the evening of the third day a council of all 
 the foremen was called, and it was decided that the 
 next day one man should assume full control, and 
 direct the whole combined movement, and Duncan, 
 on account of his experience and ability, was unani- 
 mously chosen. 
 
 The next morning as he was proceeding to the 
 scene of operations, his companion, who was a par- 
 ticular friend of his, told him that he had had a 
 remarkable dream the night before, which so im- 
 pressed him that he felt he must tell it to him, even 
 at the risk of being laughed at, which Duncan said 
 he might have done if it had been any one else 
 than Fred R ; but Fred was a grave, steady-going, 
 no-nonsense sort of a man, and an old experienced 
 and fearless river driver the last man in the world, 
 in fact, who would be needlessly or sentimentally 
 affected by a dream or anything else. 
 
 The dream was this Duncan and he had worked 
 together, shoulder by shoulder, the whole day, and 
 towards evening, after every man had been sent 
 safely ashore, and they were about to give the last 
 pry to the " jam," it suddenly burst, and in a moment 
 the whole mass was in a whirl and jumble of 
 violent commotion, and their retreat to the shore was 
 cut off. At this crisis of life or death Fred saw a
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 179 
 
 large black charred log suddenly shoot out from the 
 boiling, seething mass, and float clear ahead into the 
 rapids below, and before he knew how, both he and 
 Duncan found themselves safely standing upon it, 
 and riding clear and securely in advance of the 
 whirling, tossing timbers through the foaming swells 
 into the calm waters below. 
 
 He narrated the dream with such circumstan- 
 tiality of detail, and in such a serious manner, that 
 Duncan was greatly impressed, and especially when 
 Fred told him that he had dreamed it twice over, 
 and each time with precisely the same particulars. 
 
 " Fred," said he, " if it comes to the worst, we will 
 look out for the old black stick." 
 
 Sure enough this most remarkable dream came 
 true in every and the minutest particulars. 
 
 When the critical moment came, and, as is cus- 
 tomary in such cases, every man was sent ashore, 
 and he and Fred were about to give the last heave, 
 the jam did burst before they were fully prepared, 
 and in a moment they were both in the very jaws of 
 death. Duncan, in his grave, solemn manner, told 
 me that he never in his life witnessed such a 
 scene of awful and wild confusion. The heaviest 
 timbers were broken and twisted like withes, some of 
 them were heaved bodily into the air, and as the pent-
 
 180 Sha/rvty, Forest and River Life 
 
 up mass, and dammed-up waters broke away they 
 tore up the banks on either side, uprooted the tallest 
 trees and the heaviest rocks, and carried them bodily 
 with them into the boiling, seething, thundering 
 current. He thought it was all over with them, when 
 suddenly the black charred log of Fred's dream shot 
 past them, and almost involuntarily, and unknow- 
 ingly, they leaped upon it and rode out from the rest 
 of the timber, and passed with the speed of light- 
 ning through the foaming rapids into the calm waters 
 below. 
 
 This is the dream, with all its accompaniments, 
 exactly as Duncan told it to me, and, so far from 
 having any reason to doubt its veracity, or even any 
 exaggeration or distortion in its account, I give it 
 my fullest and most implicit credence. Certainly, 
 equally with my own, it was a providential dream 
 for Duncan and Fred. 
 
 I am no hand at moralizing, nor of probing deeply 
 into the causes and secret springs of things. I 
 like to deal with facts, actions and effects there 
 are quite enough of these cropping up in the ordin- 
 ary walks of life to enable a man to shape his own 
 course, and to formulate opinion both as to himself 
 and others, and their common environments. Now 
 as to the foregoing dreams and all of a like charac-
 
 In ttie Backwoods of Canada. 181 
 
 ter and who is there that has not had them I hold 
 that they not only demonstrate the actuality of the 
 supernatural, but also teach plainly that it comes 
 nearer to us in this present life, yea, touches us 
 more closely than we at all realize. Who can tell 
 but that it is with us in every onward step of the 
 journey is interwoven with the variegated web of 
 our mortal life, enters into and permeates as a 
 subtle essence the great actions, events and move- 
 ments of our lives. God is nearer to us near in 
 the sense of a great actual, tangible, positive fact 
 than we suppose. And it is this grand, sublime 
 fact that men of shallow thought, of superficial 
 reflection, of negative faith, whose mental and moral 
 horizon is bounded by their earthly vision, and 
 whose desires, aspirations, and ambitions are all 
 centred in this present state of things, cannot re- 
 cognize, understand, or realize. 
 
 "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man 
 perceiveth it not. 
 
 " In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep 
 sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the 
 bed; 
 
 " Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth 
 their instruction,
 
 182 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 " That he may withdraw man from his purpose, 
 and hide pride from man. 
 
 " He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his 
 life from perishing by the sword." 
 
 Job xxxiii. 14-18.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 183 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " Did you ever know what it is to be blind ? I 
 have I " 
 
 2||L have a great dread of fire-arms, I mean of their 
 sSi careless handling in the woods, or, in fact, aiiy- 
 ^ where. No man can be too careful how he 
 handles his gun or revolver. Nine-tenths of the 
 casualties that occur are the result, not of mere 
 accident, or unforeseen, unaccountable, and, humanly 
 speaking, unpreventable causes, but of gross, rank, 
 inexcusable mismanagement. And, considering how 
 frequently people misbehave in this direction, the 
 wonder is that there are not a great many more 
 accidents than there are. If I were an autocrat I 
 would put in the pillory every man who was con- 
 victed of a careless, trifling handling of any fire-arm. 
 A summary and severe punishing of these offenders 
 would soon teach them common-sense and ordinary 
 propriety in this most flagrant and unpardonable 
 foolery. 
 
 But it is not mere carelessness that oftentimes 
 causes these appalling accidents to life and limb,
 
 184 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 of which we constantly read and hear, but de- 
 liberate fooling, and " larking " with fire-arms, such 
 as pointing the muzzle at a person, snapping the 
 cap, and silly jokes of this kind. Every person 
 who thus uses even an empty gun should be public- 
 ly whipped. I have been dreadfully provoked with 
 fools of this stamp, and have neither patience nor 
 leniency in speaking and dealing with them. Any 
 sorrow or remorse that they may feel in conse- 
 quence of accidents they may cause, I would regard 
 with as little consideration as I "would the maud- 
 liness of an old toper who waters his whiskey with 
 his tears. 
 
 I remember once on Paul's lake when, after sup- 
 per, we were all standing around the camp fire, a 
 silly, scatter-brain fellow who prided himself upon 
 playing practical jokes, in order to give us a start, 
 threw a rifle cartridge into the fire ; it caused of 
 course a great explosion and scattering of the fire and 
 ashes but was within a hair's-breadth of causing the 
 
 death of Mr. B. C , an influential and wealthy 
 
 lumber merchant, who was our guest at the time. 
 The ball whizzed past his ear, almost grazing 
 it, a half inch nearer and it would have killed him 
 
 on the spot. Mr. C was so annoyed and disgusted 
 
 that he left us the next morning. If we had served
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 185 
 
 that fellow right we should have ducked him in the 
 lake, and sent him home to his mother. 
 
 I have seen so many narrow escapes and some 
 few accidents that 1 made it a rule to myself never, 
 under any circumstances whatsoever, to have the 
 muzzle of my gun pointed at a person or even in his 
 direction. If I am walking in the woods behind a 
 companion I carry my gun on my shoulder, with 
 the muzzle pointing backwards ; if before him, in the 
 hollow of my arm, pointing ahead. This rule, from 
 strict observance, has become a habit with me, so 
 that, even unconsciously, I observe it. On one 
 occasion this habit was the means of saving my old 
 and faithful friend Tauton from a terrible, perhaps 
 fatal, accident. As we were tramping through the 
 bush we were threatened with a shower of rain, 
 and I thought it advisable to put my fowling-piece 
 into the heavy leathern case which Tauton wag 
 carrying ; so, seating himself on a log, he held the 
 lower end of the case while I inserted the gun into 
 the other end. While doing this I noticed that the 
 muzzle pointed towards his thigh, almost mechani- 
 cally I turned it a little aside. I had hardly done 
 so when, in some unaccountable way which I could 
 never understand, the gun went off, tearing the 
 case to slivers. " Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, I'm shot,
 
 186 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 I'm shot," yelled the old man, in most heart-rending 
 accents, clasping, as he spoke, his thigh, with both 
 hands. If ever there was a terror-stricken individual 
 in this world I was that person. From Tauton's 
 ghastly looks and agonizing howls I felt sure the 
 whole charge had gone into him. Such, however, 
 by this providential movement of mine, was not the 
 case ; but one of the slivers of the thick leather case, 
 by the force of the explosion, came down upon 
 his immense fat thigh with such a thwack as to 
 cause him as much pain for the time as if he had 
 been shot. Never did school-boy get a more stinging 
 " lick " from an irate dominie than did Tauton from 
 that thick jagged strap. No wonder he howled 
 with pain ; and felt " sure " he was done for, and 
 never were men more devoutly thankful than we 
 when we discovered the real extent of his inj nry. 
 But his thigh was black and blue for a week after- 
 wards, and he carried the mark of that " lick " for 
 many a month. It was, however, a close escape ; if 
 the gun had gone off a second or two sooner his thigh 
 would have been shattered, and in the position we 
 were at the time he would in all probability have 
 perished before I could have brought him assistance. 
 The introduction of breech-loaders has tended 
 greatly to lessen the number of gun accidents ; but
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 187 
 
 even yet they are frequent enough in their 
 occurrence, and this even with the safest and most 
 approved mechanical construction. I met with an 
 accident at one time with my Ballard rifle, one of 
 the safest, most convenient, and accurate shooting- 
 pieces that a man can take to the backwoods. It 
 was a serious enough affair at the time, and would 
 have been much more so if it had not been for the 
 
 prompt kindness of my companion, Aleck Y and 
 
 the skillful surgery of my old friend, Dr. F . 
 
 It is the occasion of the peculiar query and answer 
 which form the title of this chapter. 
 
 My month's leave of absence was just out ; I had 
 spent it mainly in Aleck's shanty, and spun it out, 
 as I always^did, to the uttermost limit. As Aleck 
 and I were on our way to the settlements we stop- 
 ped on a bridge over the Glide to shoot at an object 
 lying about a hundred yards up the river on the ice. 
 It was a capital target at which to test the merits of 
 our respective rifles, concerning which we were always 
 at variance. As I reloaded in a great hurry, I did 
 not thrust the cartridge sufficiently home into the 
 breech the barrel was somewhat dirty, and the cart- 
 ridge slightly rusty and difficult to shove in tight 
 and close ; not noticing this in my hurry, I drew 
 the block up with the usual jerk, raising the rifle at
 
 ] 88 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the same time to take aim. The consequence was 
 that the upper part of the block struck the lower 
 portion of the slightly protruding cartridge and 
 exploded it before the block had reached its proper 
 place behind the cartridge. The result was the whole 
 charge of powder, with the bottom fragments of the 
 cartridge, went right into my face at not more than 
 a foot's distance from it. I was thrown several feet 
 and knocked insensible. When I recovered my 
 senses, I found myself on my knees, rubbing the 
 snow with both hands into my burning eyes. The 
 pain was excruciating, and I believe it was the 
 instantaneous, unwitting application of the cold snow 
 which tended to neutralize the dangerous effect of 
 the fiery sheet of flame which flashed into my eyes, 
 and saved me from an immediate and permanent 
 blindness. In this opinion I am confirmed by 
 several physicians with whom I have conversed on 
 the matter since. However, for the time being, 
 everything was dark and horrible about me, and I 
 felt, rather than thought, that I was blind blinded 
 for life. Oh, the horror of that thought which grew 
 upon me as I became more and more conscious. In 
 the meantime Aleck had hoisted me on to his broad 
 shoulders, and was carrying me with what speed he 
 could to the nearest house, which was about a mile
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 189 
 
 distant. It was well for him and me that he was 
 one of the Goliaths of the forest, a man of hercu- 
 lean strength. As he told me afterwards, he hardly 
 knew what he was doing. He was almost as much 
 stunned as I was, for he thought at first I was killed 
 and when the blood streamed from my face, when I 
 became sensible, he felt sure I was badly injured. 
 It took him about an hour to get me to the house, and 
 such an hour of unutterable misery I never passed in 
 my life. The pain in my eyes and face was utterly 
 forgotten in the terrible, absorbing thought that I had 
 lost my eyesight. Everything was black as midnight 
 around me. My eyes seemed hermetically sealed, 
 and I felt paralysed with an awful sense of helpless- 
 ness and hopelessness. But my inner perceptions 
 were keenly and sensitively alive. Visions of men 
 who had had their eyes blown out by blasts, of dis- 
 torted, blue-stained, sightless faces, of groping, weary- 
 looking, staff-leaning men, and of long months and 
 years of coming darkness and loneliness came floating 
 through my mind, with a horribly realistic distinct- 
 ness. Reader, I hope you may never know what it 
 is to be blind, either in reality or imagination. 
 
 On our arrival at the house, the proprietor of 
 
 which, Adam C ,was a lifelong and staunch friend 
 
 of mine, I received every attention which unbound-
 
 190 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 ed kindness and hospitality could bestow. His wife 
 bathed my face and head copiously with cool, sooth- 
 ing lotions, and gradually I became able to open my 
 eyelids and bear the light, and after a while was 
 able to see dimly about me. Oh, the unexpressible 
 relief and delight at finding that I had still a certain 
 use of my eyes, and how quickly, in the revulsion 
 of feeling, I became sanguine and comparatively 
 cheerful. In a short time they had rigged up a kind 
 of jumper, and Aleck and I were once more en 
 route for the nearest doctor's place, which was at 
 Lanark, twelve miles distant. 
 
 That night Dr. F cut out more than a hundred 
 
 grains of powder that had been buried deep in my 
 face by the force of the explosion, and a piece of 
 cartridge a half-inch in length out of my right eye. 
 I was laid up for a week in a darkened room, and 
 then pronounced convalescent, and fit to travel. 
 
 I cannot too strongly caution every sportsman 
 who uses cartridges with a circular fire to be certain 
 that the cartridge is pushed closely home, and plumb 
 with the inner rim of the breech, before he pulls up 
 the block to its proper position. Otherwise he will 
 run the risk of having his eyes blown out as I did, or, 
 at least of having his face badly disfigured, which I 
 also happily escaped through the immediate and 
 skilful surgery of Dr. F . Verbum sapientis sat.
 
 In the Backwoods ofCanatla. 191 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 p 
 A Night on the Lake in a Snow-storm. 
 
 of the most perilous and terrible expe- 
 riences a man can pass through is to be caught 
 in a snow-storm on one of our broad back- 
 woods lakes. These storms then assume the form of 
 what are called in our North-west prairies " blizzards," 
 and can be braved with impunity by neither man 
 nor beast. 
 
 One can have no conception of their wild, furious 
 nature until he has witnessed them. It is a blind- 
 ing chaos of whirling snow. Owing to the peculiar 
 surroundings of some of these lakes generally high 
 precipitous banks fissured by wide, deep gullies the 
 wind conies sweeping down in howling, isolated 
 tornadoes. These meet and intersect each other 
 with terrific violence, and produce a most appalling 
 effect. The stoutest heart will soon quail, and the 
 sturdiest frame succumb before their power. In 
 such circumstances it is most dangerous to go more 
 than a few yards from the shore, for the moment 
 you lose sight of it your course is all hap-hazard, 
 and, becoming bewildered, you flounder about at the 
 mercy of the tempest.
 
 192 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 A most dreadful casualty occurred during the 
 prevalence of one of these storms, while I was in 
 the backwoods. Two men, on their way to one of 
 the shanties, attempted to cross a lake some miles 
 in width. It was an act of madness. Better far to 
 have gone round the lake and risked the dangers of 
 falling trees and flying limbs than attempted this. 
 The poor fellows soon became bewildered by the 
 whirling drift and piercing blasts, which seemed to 
 come from all points of the compass at once. Fin- 
 ally one of them, overcome by the cold and fatigue, 
 lay down in the snow, and, notwithstanding the 
 entreaties and exertions of his companion, refused 
 to make any further effort, and was left to perish 
 miserably and alone in the storm. The other man, 
 after some hours of incredible exertion, arrived at 
 the shanty, but in such an exhausted and frost- 
 bitten condition that he died in terrible agony a few 
 hours after his arrival. 
 
 Another incident, under somewhat similar circum- 
 stances, though happily with a different ending, 
 occurred some time previous to this, not half a 
 mile from the shanty where I was staying. A 
 well-known Presbyterian minister, while on a mis- 
 sionary tour through the district, got caught in one 
 of these storms. He was driving his own horse and
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 193 
 
 cutter, and had his son with him, a boy of about ten 
 years. 
 
 As he neared the shanty, some time after dark, . 
 he had occasion to cross a small lake, not more than 
 a quarter of a mile wide, where the road ran. He 
 had no sooner emerged from the forest, and was 
 fairly out on the kke than the full force of the 
 storm burst upon him, and such was its blind-ing 
 fury that he soon became completely bewildered. 
 His horse left the road, and floundered here and 
 there in vain attempts to recover it. He was 
 placed, indeed, in a terrible position. In the dark- 
 ness of the night and the howling swirl of the 
 cutting drift nothing can possibly be conceived 
 more appalling. If his perilous position had only 
 been known at the shanty how quickly would a 
 score of brave hearts and stalwarth frames been out 
 for his succor. 
 
 He was not a man, however, to give up in despair. 
 After many fruitless attempts to recover the road, 
 and not knowing where he might wander to, he 
 resolved to make the best of his position, and wait 
 where he was till daylight. 
 
 He had two buffalo robes in the cutter, and the 
 horse cover. His first care was for his little boy. 
 Wrapping him carefully up in both robes, he placed
 
 194 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 him at the bottom of the cutter ; then strapping the 
 cover tightly round his faithful horse, he bethought 
 of himself. His only safety was in active and con- 
 tinuous exertion. So drawing his sash more tightly 
 round his heavy fur coat, he walked round and 
 round his precious charge the whole night. 
 
 What a long, weary vigil it must have been ! 
 How the leaden-winged hours must slowly have 
 flown past, through the dreary darkness, and cold, 
 and storm. For twelve hours, which must have 
 seemed a life-time to him, he kept up his continu- 
 ous tramp, tramp, varied only by a hasty, sudden 
 run as he felt the piercing cold about to overcome 
 him. Many a wistful look he would cast about 
 him to catch the first token of the long coming day- 
 light, and many a time his stout heart must have felt 
 ready to succumb before that terrible ordeal of 
 fatigue, cold and drowsiness. 
 
 At length day broke, ths road was regained, and 
 the shanty reached just about sunrise. 
 
 Strange to say, neither he nor his little son were 
 any the worse of their fearful night's experience. 
 The foreman, who told me the story, and whom I 
 heard frequently refer to it since, could never do so 
 without great emotion.
 
 Iii the Backwoods of Canada. 195 
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 About Mines, etc. 
 
 -<?Yy 
 
 |ji T would be much more easy to write a readable 
 $* than a reliable chapter on this subject. For here, 
 as elsewhere throughout the world, mining ques- 
 tions are invested with all sorts of imaginary possibi- 
 lities, varying in e\ery degree of magnitude accord- 
 ing to the hopes and speculations of the intertested 
 parties. At present, and for some time back, there 
 is considerable excitement over the mineral question 
 in this section, consequently it is almost impossible 
 to obtain determinate data on which to base an 
 honest and sound opinion. However, this much 
 we can affirm, that it is the full belief of many most 
 intelligent and prominent individuals, both here and 
 elsewhere, that this country, poor and worthless in 
 an agricultural point of view, and being rapidly 
 denuded of its timber products, is a vast reservoir of 
 incalculable mineral wealth. 
 
 Indications of almost every economic mineral, 
 except coal, have been found, and scientific experts 
 have declared that many of those are of the purest 
 quality, and found also in geological surroundings
 
 196 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and connections that seem to justify the expectation 
 that, if developed, they would yield, in most cases 
 paying, in some inexhaustible, quantities. Not- 
 withstanding those favorable auguries, there is no 
 undue excitement, or anything approaching a min- 
 ing fever among the people. There is too much of 
 the Scotch element among them, with its character- 
 istic coolness and caution, for this. You can easily 
 see, however, that each settler is a prospector on his 
 own land, and if he discovers, or thinks he does, any 
 mineral indications on it, he is quite sufficiently 
 alive to its value and importance. It is a great 
 mistake to suppose that you can drive an easy one- 
 sided bargain with these unsophisticated back- 
 woodsmen. 
 
 I have been greatly amused at some fellows 
 "from town" sharp, long-headed, knowing chaps, 
 thoroughly " up on 'Change," and posted in all the 
 tricks of " bulling," " bearing " and " cornering " 
 who have come out to these regions, and, in the 
 plenitude of their superior knowledge and astuteness, 
 thought they could have it all their own way with 
 the simple-minded habitants. It is intensely edify- 
 ing to an onlooker who knows pretty well the char- 
 acter of both parties to watch the process of bargain- 
 ing between the two. The cunning side wink of the
 
 In the B<wkwoods of Canada. 197 
 
 town man, as much as to say, " I'll show you how 
 to manage this fellow," his indifferent handling of a 
 great roll of one-dollar bank-notes, his wise, knowing 
 talk about quartz, horn-blende, strata, veins, pockets, 
 the latest quotations of the mineral market, and all 
 the other jargon of the mining stock-broker, where- 
 with he supposes he is mystifying and circum- 
 venting the innocent rustic ; but he little knows all 
 the time how this supposed simpleton is " fulling 
 him to the top of his bent," and playing his own 
 little game with him. If the " sharp un " thinks he 
 can find out the exact locale of the mine in question, 
 or obtain from the settler a deed in full of all 
 mineral rights on his sterile, rocky, fireswept lot for 
 a mere nominal sum, he makes a woeful mistake. 
 You need to get up a little earlier in the morning 
 than you are accustomed to if you expect to get the 
 better of these quiet, slow-tongued, witless-looking 
 backwoodsmen. 
 
 A very common mode of attempted outwitting of 
 each other between these two parties is for the 
 speculator to engage the backwoodsman to go with 
 him on a prospecting through the country. By 
 offering him three dollars or more a day, and good 
 living -besides, he thinks to secure his services in 
 finding out the spots where the ore is, and then, if it
 
 198 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 be not already deeded property, he can easily secure 
 it, if he thinks it is worth his while. But the back- 
 woodsman has no such intention as this in his mind. 
 He is quite willing to take all the pay he can pos- 
 sibly get, and give him all the prospecting and 
 tramping he can desire, and for as long a time as 
 possible, but he takes very good care to keep clear 
 of the spot where he knows the mineral is. Oh, 
 no, he will not divulge that all-important secret, not 
 for all the blandishments and cajoleries that can be 
 lavished on him. He will lead his victim for weeks 
 through the woods and among the hills, but he will 
 not impart to him any really valuable discovery 
 unless for a plump, Tound sum in hard cash, or for 
 a profitable share in any after-working of the mine. 
 There is nothing in which town and city people 
 make a greater mistake than in their under- estima- 
 tion of the character and mental ability of the 
 dwellers in the backwoods. No doubt the latter are 
 not so quick in their perceptions and advanced in their 
 ideas as the former, and their thoughts and mental 
 activities are confined to a comparatively narrow area; 
 but within that area they are much more thoughtful, 
 have much shrewder conceptions and sounder judg- 
 ments than their countrymen of town or city life, in 
 their enlarged, almost world-wide, sphere.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 199 
 
 The great mass of those who live in the cities 
 have such a variety of subjects to engage their atten- 
 tion in fact a continuous panorama of new and 
 sensational objects is always passing before their 
 eyes not only in their immediate surroundings, but 
 from every part of the globe that a superficialty of 
 thought is engendered, their mental and reasoning 
 processes are mere skimming operations, and hence 
 their judgments and determinations are necessarily 
 often weak, shallow and worthless. There is too 
 much newspaper reading now-a-days, in fact, it is 
 the sole literature of great masses of our middle and 
 upper classes ; eight-sheeted daily papers at a cent 
 a copy, containing every possible variety of matter, 
 from the trimmings of my lady's satin dress at last 
 night's ball up to the overturnings of governments 
 and nations, are spread out night after night before the 
 artizan, merchant and professional man ; and this 
 variety and multiplicity of subjects so engross their 
 attention that they have no time for solid thought 
 or reflection, and such a process as mental digestion, 
 even of what they do read is utterly unknown to 
 them. The consequence must necessarily be what 
 we have said, flippancy, shallowness, hasty and unre- 
 liable judgments. 
 
 But the backwoodsman's habitude of life moulds
 
 200 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 his attitude of mind. He reads and speaks little, 
 but thinks a great deal. Within the narrow sphere 
 in which he moves he has great concentration of 
 thought, and sober and solid reflection. Consequently, 
 his determinations are generally sound and correct. 
 His local weekly gives him all the information he 
 wants about the outer world. After that he is like 
 the wise man we have heard of, who made iive hun- 
 dred pounds a year by simply minding his own busi- 
 ness. 
 
 However, to gat back to the point in question : 
 if a man who is tolerably well up in mineral 
 matters gues out to this country with some money 
 in his pocket, and is prepared to deal fairly and in a 
 straightforward manner with the people, he will find 
 abundant opportunities for most profitable invest- 
 ments, either in buying the mineral rights on deeded 
 lands, or obtaining patents for wild lands. 
 
 Fair specimens of gold have been found, also of 
 silver ; copper in some localities is in abundance, 
 specimens of the best quality of mic;i, as large as 
 twelve by fourteen inches, have been taken out just 
 at the surface ; molybdenum of the purest quality and 
 in great abundance has been discovered, graphite al 40, 
 and indications of phosphate, though not yet of a very 
 pronounced character, have been disclosed ; lead in
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 201 
 
 some places is in inexhaustible quantities. But the 
 mineral which, above all others, abounds and charac- 
 terises the country is iron. If there is " anything in 
 iron," here, emphatically, is the country for it. There 
 is no better in the world. Though it is yet only in 
 the embryo state of development still large invest- 
 ments have been made, and deep shafts have sunk, 
 and mining in the technical sense of the term is now 
 carried on by six wealthy and influential companies 
 and with most profitable results. These companies 
 are : the Eobertsville, sixty miles north of Kingston ; 
 the Bethlehem Company of Pennsylvania and the 
 Boyd Cald well just alongside (the Bethlehem is on 
 lease from Caldwell, the owner, at a very fair royal- 
 ty), nine miles further on ; the Caldwell (W. C.) & 
 Gildersleeve, thirteen miles further north ; the Sherrit 
 & Kadenhurst, half a mile distant ; and the Elliot, 
 Thompson & Johnston mine, on Calabogie lake, 
 twelve miles further north. All these mines are situ- 
 ated directly on the line of the Kingston and Pem- 
 broke Railway, or so close to it that the longest 
 switch is not more than half a mile. Thus the ore 
 is dumped directly from the pit into the car, obviat- 
 ing all need of cartage. 
 
 Comparisons are always difficult, and ugly things 
 to deal in, and it is quite sufficient for our purpose to
 
 202 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 say that each proprietor is quite satisfied with his own 
 mine both as to quantity of the yield, and quality of 
 the ore, and is fully confident that there is a fortune 
 in his holding. 
 
 The output of ore from these mines is entirely from 
 magnetic veins, with a percentage of about 60 of 
 metallic iron- Hematite is found in deposits, but 
 this is not so profitable for permanent working as 
 the former. Large veins, as well as deposits, of 
 the richest hematite are found in the adjoining 
 townships of Dalhousie and Lanark, but these are yet 
 undeveloped a ripe and rich harvest for capital and 
 enterprise. 
 
 The iron market, notwithstanding the heavy and 
 ponderous^ nature of the article itself, is the most 
 capricious and uncertain in the world. It is fickle 
 and variable as a woman's temper, it goes up and 
 down from the most trivial causes, and sometimes 
 apparently from no cause at all/ At this present 
 time it is depressed to a lower point than at any 
 period since 1879, but next month it may be up 
 again to par, and perhaps many degrees above it. 
 Consequently the output of ore, as well as the open- 
 ing up and developing of new mines by fresh 
 capitalists, is largely affected by this irregularity of 
 the market, and hence, as we remarked at the open-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 203 
 
 ing of this chapter, it is very difficult to give a reli- 
 able and determinate judgment on this question, 
 otherwise than in this general way, " the iron is there, 
 in inexhaustible quantity and the purest quality." 
 
 But, as we have seen, that great civilizer and 
 developer of natural products, the " iron-horse," has 
 come, and is rushing and shrieking through the land, 
 and every possible interest of every dweller in this 
 section, from the humblest laborer to the wealthiest 
 capitalist, and from hop-poles up to gold diggings, 
 has received thereby a mighty impulse and onward 
 impetus. The K. & P. R. is one of the boldest, and 
 most enterprising, and, as it is now proving to be, one 
 of the most successful undertakings, of the present 
 day in Canada. Five years ago not one in a thou- 
 sand who was acquainted with that country of 
 giant rocky hills, of vast jungles, of deep boggy 
 morasses, of lakes, rivers and forest, had any faith in 
 its practicability ; but the far-seeing, intelligent reso- 
 lution and capital of those enterprising Americans, 
 the Folger Bros., of Kingston, have made an accom- 
 plished fact of what was deemed an absolute impossi- 
 bility. This whole section of country owes a debt 
 of obligation to these men which it can never suffi- 
 ciently acknowledge or requite. The elder brother 
 who is familiarly, but never disrespectfully, called
 
 204 Shanty, Forest wild River Life 
 
 Ben, and whose portrait will at once be recognised, 
 is the very embodiment of push and energy, as well 
 as of liberal and generous action. I have been told 
 by gentlemen who have had frequent dealings with 
 him that "he can talk as much business in ten 
 minutes as most men can do in an hour," an in- 
 valuable quality in business affairs. The magnitude 
 of the work which they undertook, and have accom - 
 plished so far, over the most difficult section of the 
 route, will at once be understood when I state that 
 no less than eight firms of contractors have engaged 
 for the construction of the road, but one after 
 another has withdrawn or failed, owing to the 
 immense expense and difficulty of the undertaking. 
 The present contractors, however, viz. : Messrs. 
 Chisholm, McDonald & O'Brien, are men of the 
 right calibre, and have just undertaken a fresh 
 contract for the completion of the whole line to 
 Eenfi-evv. Mr. M. J. O'Brien, who superintends the 
 practical work of the road, though a comparatively 
 young man, not yet thirty, has already gained a 
 high reputation in the Dominion as an energetic?, 
 talented railroad man. He and his confreres possess 
 the full confidence of the Company in their ability 
 to carry on the work to a speedy arid successful 
 accomplishment.
 
 Enterprise and. Capital (New_Sehool),
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 207 
 
 A few facts here as to some of the difficulties 
 that have to be overcome in building this road may 
 not be uninteresting even to the general reader. At 
 Bluff Point, which is a rocky promontory at the 
 foot of Calabogie lake, there is a cutting through the 
 solid rock from which 24,000 cubic yards of rock 
 have to be taken, the largest rock cutting in Canada, 
 except the Morissy rock cutting in the Inter- 
 colonial. The approach to this promontory is through 
 the lake across the mouth of Grassy Bay, a distance 
 of 3,000 feet, and it will take 40,000 yards of 
 solid rock to " fill up " this water gap ; this one 
 mile of the line costing over $70,000. At another 
 spot, called Alud lake, though it is not larger than 
 an ordinary mill pond, being only 650 feet wide, it 
 has taken 23,000 cubic yards of rock, and innumer- 
 able tons of gravel and earth to " fill up " a line direct- 
 ly across, as, on account of the surroundings, it was 
 found impossible to go round it. This aggrava- 
 ting, tantalizing bit of water, where a large force 
 has been at work for over fifteen months, has been 
 aptly re-christened by the contractors Deception 
 Lake. It is to be hoped that the first heavy train 
 that goes over it may not sink through, and be 
 engulfed in the measureless depths of its muddy 
 bottom. At another rock cutting, near Folger Station,
 
 208 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 seventy-four miles north of Kingston, and which 
 took over six months to complete, there is a 
 curiosity in the line of blasting skill lying within a 
 few yards of the track it is an immense rectangu- 
 lar block of solid rock, which weighs over seventy 
 tons, and which was thrown several hundred feet, 
 obliquely up the side of a hill ; it is an object well 
 worthy the notice of the passing traveller. The 
 power of some of these blasts will be understood 
 when I say that sometimes as much as 500 pounds 
 of powder are used in one " shot," and at one blast in 
 particular 136 cubic yards of rock were thrown out. 
 
 The whole road when graded and completed to 
 Renfrew, on the Canada Pacific, a distance of 112 
 miles, is estimated to cost on an average $20,000 a 
 mile, and the thorough equipment of it will cost 
 $10,000 more. But, best of all, notwithstanding the 
 immense difficulties and expense of the work, the 
 road pays, and according to all human calculation 
 will continue to do so, and that much more largely 
 in the near future. The export freight of square 
 timber, sawn lumber and iron ore is even now 
 enormous, but nothing to what it will be as new 
 mills are built, and fresh mines opened. 
 
 But this is not all a glance at the map will at 
 once show that this road, connecting with the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 209 
 
 Canadian Pacific at Renfrew, will be the shortest and 
 most direct route, via Kingston, to Oswego, New 
 York and all points West. Then it will not only be 
 the great highway for all lumbering supplies, pork, 
 flour, etc., from Chicago and the West, for Central 
 Ontario and the Upper Ottawa, but also for travel 
 and traffic, during the open months of the year at 
 least, from Manitoba and the North-west to these 
 great emporiums of trade and commerce, both in the 
 east and west of the United States. 
 
 In conclusion, I feel assured in saying, and in this 
 I am confirmed by those who are thoroughly posted 
 in these matters, that the Kingston and Pembroke 
 Railway, when fully equipped and in running order, 
 will be one of the best-paying enterprises in the 
 Dominion of Canada. 
 
 This whole section of country, therefore, through 
 he building and working of the railway, will yet, 
 t nd very shortly, become one of the richest heritages 
 /ith which bountiful nature has blessed us, that 
 ?, provided proper precautions are taken as to forest 
 res and the preservation of our standing and fallen 
 : mber, the development of our mineral resources, 
 t.3cording to their natural capabilities, and the pre- 
 venting of settlers coming . into the country as. 
 agricultural workers.
 
 210 Shanty, Forest vnd River Life 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 Lost in the Woods. 
 
 sensation of being lost in the woods is one 
 of the most frightful that can afflict a 
 sentient human being. It is a species of mental 
 aberration, or rather of incipient madness, in which 
 you have the consciousness, in its fullest torture, of 
 being out of your head, and, if possible, of getting 
 worse and worse all the time. It is not, therefore, 
 simply getting astray in the bush, and knowing it, 
 and just wandering on, trusting to chance to hit on/,. 
 the right track, or get out somehow, this is a 
 common occurrence with backwoodsmen, and, apart 
 from its inconvenience, exposure and fatigue, occa- 
 sions them very little uneasiness. No, the lost in 
 the woods to which I refer is a very different thing 
 indeed. It is a mental affection, a perfect loss of 
 self-possession, and an utter abandonment to any 
 fancy, whim, or hallucination that may float into the 
 mind ; and the result of it is an aimless, frantic, 
 feverish wandering, and hurrying through the bush, 
 until finally, from absolute exhaustion, the poor
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 211 
 
 wretch will sink down and die from hunger and 
 exposure. In such a case there is no hope of the 
 " lost one," unless he is found by searching parties, 
 or stumbles, by the merest chance, on a clearing or 
 some bushranger. His own sense and reason will 
 never in the world extricate him. I cannot illustrate 
 this better than by an incident in point which was 
 related to me by Duncan, the manager. 
 
 The lost party in this case was Tom, the cook, 
 who one day took it in his head to go by a short 
 cut through the woods to visit a neighboring 
 shanty. This cut was about three miles in length, 
 but would save him a round of seven miles by the 
 regular road. 
 
 Duncan and some of his men had frequently 
 gone by the short road, but it was dangerous for any 
 one except an experienced bushman, for it was not 
 even, " blazed out," and led through thick swarnps, 
 and round small lakes. The cook, though he had never 
 been through by that route, and was, besides, rather 
 a green hand in the bush, resolved to attempt it, 
 and the result was he got lost, fairly lost, in the 
 sense I speak of. 
 
 Not returning to his own shanty by nightfall, as 
 was expected, Duncan crossed over by first daylight, 
 and found he had not arrived at the other shanty
 
 212 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the day before. So, knowing the nature of the bush 
 and the inexperience of the man, he set out to look 
 
 for him. In company with Ned K one of the 
 
 foremen, he ranged the woods the whole day in 
 every direction between the two shanties, but found 
 no trace of Tom, so the next day the whole combined 
 force of the two shanties, " all hands and the cook," 
 as they say, turned out to search the woods. Still 
 no trace of the poor fellow could be found. 
 
 The next day the search was continued ; and late in 
 
 the afternoon Duncan, in company with John C , 
 
 one of the most experienced and sagacious bushmen 
 that ever ranged these woods, when crossing Redhorse 
 lake in an old canoe which they found on the shore, 
 saw the man standing on the bank they were ap- 
 proaching; he stood on a high rock like a monument, 
 gazing abstractedly and sadly out on the lake in the 
 very direction they were approaching ; and though 
 they yelled and whooped, and hurrahed in their 
 delight at finding him, yet he never saw nor heard 
 them, and as they landed just a few yards below him, 
 he slowly and weariedly turned his back on them, 
 and walked into the bush. When they overtook him, 
 which they very quickly did, he showed neither 
 surprise nor joy, but seemed dazed and stupid. 
 
 The most remarkable thing in the whole affair
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 213 
 
 was that he had three partridges in his hand when 
 they found him, which he told them he had shot 
 for he had a gun and plenty of ammunition with 
 him just an hour after leaving the shanty. And 
 when they asked him why he didn't cook them, for 
 he had matches too, he said he never thought of 
 it, and he had carried them the whole four days in 
 his hand. 
 
 It was several days before the man recovered his 
 proper senses, and when he did he narrated most 
 distinctly the route he had traversed, and described 
 places, well-known to them, which he had passed. 
 He said that one evening as he sat at the foot of 
 a tree a large buck came and stood quite near him 
 rubbing its immense antlers against a tree, and yet 
 it never entered his head to shoot it, and yet, on other 
 occasions, the man was a keen sportsman. 
 
 From the haggard, worn-out appearance of the 
 man they were fully of the opinion that he would 
 very soon have lain down, and never got up again. 
 
 It was the last time that Tom ever attempted to 
 take that or any other short cut through an un- 
 kriown bush, without a companion. 
 
 I had a taste of this horrible experience myself at 
 one time, and I certainly never want another: I 
 was rambling through the woods one morning
 
 214 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 round Middle Branch Lake when I was led out of 
 my bearings by a rabbit. This animal is a most tan- 
 talizing brute to follow in the woods. It will bound 
 out of sight in a twinkling, and then stop to wait till 
 you sight it again when, before you can take aim, it 
 will be off like a flash, and perhaps repeat this oper- 
 ation half-a-dozen times before you can bag him. 
 
 This rabbit was a particularly provoking fellow, 
 and led me a long and winding chase before I finally 
 shot him. When I did, at last, I found that he had 
 led me completely out of my reckoning in the dark, 
 dense swamp. I had not the remotest idea where I 
 was, nor what course to take in order to extricate 
 myself; still I ( did my best, and wandered on for 
 some time till the conviction settled upon me that 
 I was lost. Then it was that this horrible feeling I 
 have spoken of took possession of me. It is, I 
 believe, the worst phase of panic that can seize a 
 man. It is bewilderment, terror, amazement, light- 
 headedness all combined. I felt sense, reason, 
 courage, all forsaking me. It was only by a strong 
 exertion of will-power that I was able to preserve 
 my self-possession. I remember perfectly sitting 
 down on a log and saying to myself : " now, old chap, 
 this kind of thing won't do, if you give way to this 
 feeling you are done for."
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 215 
 
 And I did conquer the feeling; and when I 
 recovered my self-possession, and was able calmly to 
 think over the matter, I laughed aloud at the absurd 
 length to which my excited and alarmed imagination 
 had carried me. 
 
 What had I, after all, really to fear ? Even 
 though I was lost for days, or even weeks, what of 
 it ? I had a double-barreled fowling-piece, plenty of 
 ammunition, matches, my pipe, and a full pouch 
 of tobacco. I couldn't starve ; for wild beasts I 
 didn't care a rush ; I could camp at night in a way 
 that would defy any weather ; and out of the woods 
 I certainly would get somehow and some time or 
 other. 
 
 Still I used my best endeavors to extricate my- 
 self as speedily as possible, and tried to fix my mind 
 on what I thought was the right direction, and stick 
 to it in a straight line. 
 
 After all I walked the whole day, and towards 
 night not in a very pleasant frame of mind, I 
 must confess I was looking about for a place to 
 camp and cook my rabbit, when suddenly the clear 
 stentorian voice of old Tauton singing, fell on my 
 delighted ears. 
 
 Never did music sound more sweetly to me in 
 my life, and, with all my affection for the old man, I
 
 216 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 felt that I never loved him so much as I did then. 
 I could have fallen on his neck and embraced him 
 in the exuberance of my feelings. 
 
 I immediately discharged both barrels of my gun 
 and bounded in the direction of the resounding " En 
 roulant," and there, not a hundred yards from the 
 spot where I was about to camp, was the lake, and 
 sitting in his canoe, a few yards from the shore, was 
 old Tauton. The old fellow had become alarmed at 
 my protracted absence, and had gone on a scouting 
 tour round the lake which was full of deep bays, and 
 was singing in his loudest key on purpose to let me 
 hear, if within reach, the very best method of being 
 heard at a distance, in the woods, that a person can 
 adopt. Shouting and hallooing can no more rival 
 it then a Jew's harp can a war trumpet. 
 
 At the spot where I came out on the lake we 
 were about two miles from the camp, to which the 
 old fellow paddled me in great glee, and where I 
 was received with loud demonstrations of welcome 
 by my companions, who had given me up, for the 
 night at least. 
 
 I suppose everybody has heard of the singular fact 
 that when a person gets lost in the bush he very 
 generally travels in a circle, or at all events in some 
 strangely circuitous route, which will bring him
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 217 
 
 back to the spot from which he started, or within a 
 very short distance of it ; and, what is still more 
 remarkable, the wanderer almost invariably takes 
 the left hand course from his starting-point. The 
 theory of this singular action of the will or the legs 
 I have never yet heard satisfactorily explained, 
 though many very plausible ones are advanced by 
 " the know every-things " in these matters ; but as 
 to the actuality of the phenomenon there can be 
 no question. I have upon more than one occasion, 
 when I have been led astray in the bush, undergone 
 this experience, and I could recount scores of 
 instances told me by bush-rangers of the same thing 
 happening to themselves. 
 
 It is most amusing to hear these old veterans of 
 the backwoods describing their sensations when 
 they have been thus " fooled," fairly bamboozled, in 
 their own native, and most-familiar, element. When, 
 after tramping many weary miles through the bush, 
 and all the time going on in the full assurance that 
 they were in the right direction, and in a perfectly 
 straight course, they would unexpectedly find them- 
 selves at the very point from which they had started 
 several hours before, their feelings can be better 
 imagined than described. It is astonishment, rage, 
 mortification, bewilderment, all combined, and, as I
 
 218 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 have already shewn, if they were to lose their self- 
 possession they would as quickly be " done for," and 
 as fairly " lost " as any green-hand that ever entered 
 a bush. But it is very difficult to get those old 
 stagers off their balance. They know better than 
 to lose their heads in such straits as these, and they 
 very speedily become as cool and self-collected in 
 these mazy depths of the forest, as if they stood by 
 their own camboose fire. I have often asked these 
 old experienced bushmen what plan they adopt 
 when they find themselves in such a position as I 
 have described, and the answer I have received has 
 almost invariably been the same from all of them. 
 
 I remember once interrogating old Pete C on 
 
 this matter, and receiving an answer which was as 
 characteristic of the man as it was apropos to the 
 subject. 
 
 Pete was one of the most original and eccentric 
 characters that ever graced backwoods life in the 
 Ottawa Valley. Though only of medium height he 
 was a perfect Falstaff in lateral dimensions. And 
 yet he was supple and strong as any man need be. 
 He could trot along under his burden of eighteen 
 stone as lightly as a girl of sixteen, and shoulder 
 his barrel of pork as readily as a hotel runner 
 could your carpet bag. Pete was "no slouch," I
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 219 
 
 can assure you. Though he used a most unsancti- 
 fied familiarity with certain unmentionable adjec- 
 tives which came hurtling from his mouth like 
 projectiles from a mortar, yet his general speech had 
 a savor of gravity, precision, and profound sapience 
 in it which was wondrously edifying. " When I 
 get into such a fix in the bush," he said, " I sit 
 down ou the nearest log, light my pipe, and calmly 
 smoke and think over the matter. I then cast the 
 eye of scrutiny over every quarter of the heavens 
 and the earth, and there I sit, and will sit, until I 
 know where I am, and in what direction I am to 
 go, or I'll be d d, frozen, or starved." 
 
 One of the best stories in this connection that I 
 ever heard was about a Frenchman of the name of 
 Paquette. One morning, about day-break, he started 
 to go to another shanty, about twelve miles distant, 
 situated on Upper Trout Lake. On leaving, the 
 cook advised him to take a " snack " with him, as he 
 probably would get hungry before he reached his 
 destination. But Paquette pooh-poohed the idea, say- 
 ing he could easily be there by dinner time. So 
 off he started on his long tramp through the pathless 
 forest, full of confidence, and never dreaming of 
 losing his way, or deviating in the least from the 
 straight course. Mile after mile was covered and
 
 220 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 hour after hour passed away, until both stomach 
 and legs began to send up vigorous protests, and 
 admonished Paquette that he was a mighty long 
 time in getting to that shanty. However, putting 
 on additional steam, he pressed on more vigorously 
 than ever, and, sure enough, about the middle of the 
 afternoon, when he was almost fagged out, and rave- 
 nous with hunger, he saw before him the welcome 
 sight of the shanty. Hurrying up, he flung open 
 the low door, and who should confront him as he 
 entered but the very cook who had given him the 
 sage advice in the morning. 
 
 " How in thunder did you get here ? " said the 
 astonished Paquette to the cook. " What the blazes 
 brought you home so soon ? " replied the still more 
 astonished cook to Paquette. It took the latter 
 some time to understand the matter, and to realize 
 that, instead of travelling in what he confidently 
 thought was a direct course to the place he intended 
 to go, he had actually taken such a round-about, 
 circuitous route as to arrive at the very spot he had 
 left in the morning. 
 
 I can fully vouch for the truth of this story, and 
 its improbability will be greatly lessened when we 
 remember that these lumbering shanties and their 
 surroundings are all very much alike in appearance,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 221 
 
 and that Paquette arrived at his from a direction 
 and through an immediate location in which he had 
 not been working, and consequently it appeared 
 strange to him when he came back to it again. 
 
 Pete's advice is the best, in truth the only one, I 
 know of : when you find yourself in any perplexity 
 or bewilderment as to your whereabouts in the 
 woods keep your head cool, sit down on the near- 
 est log, smoke your pipe, and don't stir until you 
 have a fixed idea in your mind as to where you are 
 and the course you ought to take. In nine cases 
 out of ten, the natural instinct within you, in some 
 mysterious unaccountable manner, will bring you in 
 safety, and sometimes most speedily, out of your 
 dilemma.
 
 222 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Among the Wolves. 
 
 'Tv 
 
 ^RECOLLECT many years ago how the very 
 
 sls$ 
 
 name wolf used to strike terror into my boyish 
 heart. In fact, my earliest reminiscences of our 
 backwoods are associated with terrible wolf stories. 
 
 In those days, and even with many people to this 
 day, the animal is invested with a fierce, ravenous 
 blood-thirsty character. He is the destroying demon 
 of the wild woods. The Ishmael of the forest, 
 neither giving nor receiving quarter from any hand. 
 I do not believe that there is a single particle of 
 pity, sympathy, or respect in any human breast, or 
 for that matter in any other breast, for the wolf. 
 And not only so but with those who are familiar 
 with the backwoods, and know the nature and 
 habits of the animal, is there any fear, or dread 
 of him. He is despised as much as he is hated- 
 The old stories of early backwoods life, and which 
 some people are still fond of retailing if they 
 find a credulous awesome hearer, concerning the 
 ferocity and boldness of the wolf in pursuing and
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 223 
 
 attacking his prey, whether man or beast, are now 
 generally regarded as mythical in the extreme, and 
 with no real foundation in fact or truth. 
 
 I am sorry if I have to disabuse the mind of my 
 reader of any preconceived ideas he may have of the 
 more darkly romantic character of this animal 
 there is nothing of the hero about him in the terrible, 
 bloody, horror-loving sense. 
 
 This is a veracious and not a fanciful history, and 
 I am determined to speak nothing but the plain, 
 simple, unvarnished truth about his wolfship. 
 
 In my opinion, he is nothing but a mean, sneak- 
 ing, cowardly, yelping braggart, with no more cour- 
 age than an average cur of the lowest degree. He 
 will make as much noise about you, at a safe dis- 
 tance, as if he were devouring forty children, and at 
 the same time has no more pluck in him than a 
 rabbit. In corroboiration of this I would ask you 
 I mean you, personally, reader if you have ever 
 known, or heard from indisputable authority I am 
 speaking of course of these backwoods of a single 
 person, man, woman or child, who has been killed, 
 or even torn by a wolf? I have not. In all my 
 acquaintance with shantymen and backwoodsmen, 
 embracing many hundreds of men most experienced 
 and knowing in these matters, I have never met with
 
 224 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 a single case, or even heard of one, in which wolves, 
 singly or in numbers, have attacked and injured a 
 human being. 
 
 If all the fearful stories we have heard, about 
 wolves and their doings, were boiled down, we ques- 
 tion if you could distil a single drop of human blood 
 out of the whole process. If, then, you expect to be 
 entertained in this chapter with some hair-raising, 
 blood-chilling stories of wolfy horrors, you will be 
 disappointed. 
 
 My personal experience of wolves is limited to a 
 very small area. I may say at once that I have only 
 seen two wolves in the woods. Once when crossing 
 a lake on the ice I met a fellow, trotting leisurely 
 along, to whom I said " good morning " with a ball 
 from my Ballard ; whether I hit him or not I cannot 
 say, but, at all events, it sent him to the right-about 
 at double quick time, and he said " good-bye " to me 
 with a prolonged howl that has rang in my ears ever 
 since. 
 
 The other occasion upon which I had the honor 
 of meeting with Master Lupus, was in the middle of 
 the night, when I was camping on Middle Branch 
 Lake. I was awakened out of sleep by the whining 
 of my dog, a small spaniel, and a rustling and tear- 
 ing among the leaves and underbrush near the camp.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 225 
 
 Seizing my double-barrelled fowling-piece I peered 
 cautiously out of the tent door in the direction of 
 the noise. In the reflection of the glimmering fire, 
 in front of the tent, I saw distinctly the lurid glare 
 of two fiery eye-balls, not ten yards distant in the 
 scraggy undergrowth. I knew at once it must be 
 the wolf whose howling had kept me awake in the 
 earlier part of the night. " I'll put you out of that, 
 anyway," I said to myself, letting blaze at the 
 same time both barrels straight between the shining 
 balls of fire. The howl that followed was most 
 satisfactory, and was repeated at intervals with 
 devilish and excruciating emphasis, as he plunged 
 into the deep recesses of the forest. '' I haven't 
 killed you," I said to myself, for the gun was only 
 charged with small shot, " but at all events I have 
 cured you of coming prowling round my tent in the 
 middle of the night." 
 
 So much for the seeing of the brutes, but as for 
 hearing them I have had enough of that to serve 
 me for a life-time. The reason that you so seldom 
 see a wolf in the woods is that, the moment he sees 
 or hears you, he will skulk down behind a, log, or 
 into any handy covert, and remain perfectly motion- 
 less and still, until your back is turned and he 
 
 p
 
 226 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 thinks you are leaving him, and then he will quickly 
 make himself heard. 
 
 The racket, and howling and snarling the wolves 
 make in the woods, is simply terrific. If you were 
 to judge only by it, when you hear it on every side, 
 you would not give a penny whistle for the chance 
 of your life. You fancy that ten thousand devils 
 are holding high carnival in the lofty-columned halls, 
 and under the leafy arches of the forest. It sounds 
 as if all Pandemonium were let loose and rioting 
 about you. I can easily understand how the blood- 
 and-thunder stories which used to chill and curdle my 
 young blood, and which are still greedily listened to 
 by horror-loving ears, have their origin and plausi- 
 bility. But it is all noise and nothing more a 
 fiendish jargon of roar and rubbish which out -clamors 
 the tumult and hubbub of a mob of angry Chinamen 
 or of infuriated negroes. There is not an ounce of 
 valor in the whole mad chorus, which wakens up 
 the echoes and makes the forest ring again, in the 
 eerie hours of midnight. 
 
 And, yet, as you lie in your tent at night, or before 
 the open camp fire, it is a gruesome thing to hear 
 the wolves howling about you. At first you hear in 
 the far distance a single distinct yelp. After a 
 little, from another quarter, a loud prolonged howl
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 227 
 
 will come suddenly echoing to your ears through 
 the deep silence of the night, and again, and again, 
 and again the cry will be taken up from every direc- 
 tion. The first is the night-call, summoning the 
 wolves from their lairs to a rendevous from which 
 to start on their midnight prowl and revel, and the 
 others are the responses given in compliance with 
 the summons. And now the noise becomes loud and 
 furious, and as it approaches nearer and nearer you 
 could fancy the whole forest to be alive and swarm- 
 ing with them, though in reality there may not be 
 more than ten or a dozen. This is the moment when 
 the timorous hearted and inexperienced camper will 
 feel a strange chilly sensation about- the top of his 
 head, as if a cold air were blowing through the roots 
 of his hair, and a queer sinking kind of collapse 
 inside his pericardium, which causes him instinc- 
 tively to examine his firearms, and heap great quan- 
 tities of wood on the fire. But he soon finds that 
 his alarm is groundless. The wolves, through some 
 freak or other, suddenly scamper off in another 
 direction, and their infernal din gradually lessens 
 and dies out far away in the distance. With a sigh 
 of relief, and thanking his stars that he is rid of 
 them for the night, he turns in again and wraps 
 himself up in the warm blankets.
 
 228 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 But he is wofully deluded. 
 
 Just as he is cosily dropping off into sweet slum- 
 ber, he hears in the far-off depths of the forest a low 
 deep murmur. It gradually becomes louder and 
 louder, and more distinct, until it swells unmistak- 
 ably into the loud, discordant, unearthly clangor of 
 the wolves. There is no doubt of it, the mad troop 
 of howling fiends are coming direct to him again, 
 and surely this time they will be upon him. But, 
 like a crazy whirlwind, the pack will sweep past 
 him, or turn off to the right or left, and again he 
 will be left in peace. 
 
 The wolves seem to have a kind of method in 
 their mad ranging through the forest. They go in a 
 kind of circle or in some prescribed course in their 
 nightly wanderings, and in this way pass a given 
 point several times during the night. I have no 
 objections to their passing as often as they please, 
 and as close as they please to the camp, if they 
 would only hold their tongues. But this incessantly 
 recurring clamor completely knocks on the head all 
 possibility of sleep. 
 
 The only thing that will bring them in close prox- 
 imity to the camp, and keep them there too, snarling 
 and howling all night, is the smell of any newly 
 killed deer that you may have hanging near you.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada 229 
 
 The venison is quite safe, if it is hanging within 
 the radius of the fire, or for that matter, if it is 
 hanging anywhere, as the wolves never touch it 
 then, or if there is any sign of human handling 
 about it and also if your dogs are tied near it, as 
 they will instantly give the alarm if they approach 
 too close. 
 
 The wolves always keep at a respectful distance 
 from the fire, and if you don't mind their ceaseless 
 snarling, and howls of impotent fury, you may 
 sleep alongside of it in perfect comfort and safety. 
 
 The deer is the favorite prey of the wolf, and his 
 ravages on this comparatively defenceless animal 
 are frightful, particularly in the winter season, as 
 he can travel more quickly through the snow, than 
 the deer ; and, besides, the water, in which the deer 
 always takes refuge and through which the wolf will 
 not so readily swim, is then frozen over and covered 
 with snow. 
 
 In the pursuit of the deer the wolf shows great 
 hunting tact and ability. The pack when they 
 come upon a fresh track will spread themselves out 
 in a line on each side of it, and on a given signal 
 will start in pursuit if the deer would only con- 
 tinue his course in a straight direction ahead, he 
 would soon distance his howling pursuers ; but this
 
 230 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 he seldom does, but bounding here and there he soon 
 gets surrounded and is dragged down. 
 
 I have often wondered why we never find the 
 bodies of deer who have died a natural death, as of 
 old age or disease, or from any ordinary cause, apart 
 from being slain. I believe the main reason of it is 
 this : The wolves, in their cowardly way, will find 
 out the old, weak, or sickly ones of a herd, and 
 make them their prey to the exclusion of the 
 others, and of course there will not be much left of 
 the remains by the time they are done with them. 
 
 Sometimes the wolves themselves are despoiled 
 of their prey, after they have run it down and are 
 just beginning a jolly old feast. I have known 
 hunters who have watched a pack of wolves chas- 
 ing a deer, and so timed and intercepted them that 
 they came up just when the deer had been pulled 
 down, and boldly attacking the wolves, have actu- 
 ally snatched the carcase out of their very teeth. 
 The fury of the brutes when thus baulked is utterly 
 indescribable, but they are sure enough to keep 
 their own miserable carcasses at a safe distance. 
 
 The best story of this kind I ever heard was 
 about my old and faithful friend, Adam C. 
 
 Adam was about one of the best specimens of 
 backwoods humanity you could meet with in a year's
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 231 
 
 journey. He has lived, and hunted, and worked all 
 his life in the woods. All his experiences and 
 interests have been bound up and centered amid the 
 varied and adventurous scenes of forest and river 
 life ; and a more genial, kindly heart never beat in a 
 human breast. 
 
 One night, late in the Fall, Adam was on his way 
 through the woods to his shanty. He was quite 
 unarmed and alone, except a large dog that followed 
 at his heels. Suddenly the howling of wolves broke 
 on his ear, some distance ahead of him, and apparent- 
 ly of a large pack. The dog crouched to his side, 
 and, in great terror, whined piteously. Adam, how- 
 ever, was not to be deterred from his course by all 
 the wolves in the Ottawa Valley. Taking out his 
 knife he cut a stout iron-wood cudgel, about four 
 four feet long and two inches thick. Armed with 
 this weapon, which, indeed, in his powerful hands, 
 was about as formidable a one as could be con- 
 ceived, he boldly advanced in the direction of the 
 wolves, whose snarling and yelping increased in 
 fierceness and loudness every step that he took- 
 He had not gone far when he came upon the body 
 of a small deer newly killed, and still bleeding, lying 
 on the path. By the noise the wolves were making, 
 he knew that they could not be more than thirty
 
 232 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 yards to the right hand of the spot where he was 
 standing. 
 
 As he told me himself, such a racket and snapping 
 of teeth, and wolf-cursing and swearing, he never 
 heard in his life. 
 
 He guessed at once what was in the wind. The 
 wolves had killed another deer at that spot, and were 
 tearing at and fighting over it, before they came to 
 the other one lying before him. 
 
 Most men would have been too glad to get out of 
 such company as quickly and easily as possible. 
 But not so our bold Adam. The deer before him 
 was young, fat and tender, and that deer he was 
 bound to have. So, hoisting it unto his stalwart 
 shoulders, he started off on the full run for the 
 shanty, from which he was still more than a mile 
 distant. He had not gone more than half the dis- 
 tance, when he heard the whole infuriated pack, full 
 pell mell, howling and yelling after him. Nothing 
 daunted, however, he grasped his burden with a 
 firmer hold, and putting on more steam, tore ahead 
 at an increased speed. Now it was that his great 
 staying power, and wonderful agility and strength 
 of frame, stood him in good stead. The pace was 
 something tremendous, and, when we think of it, had 
 certainly its comical side in it ; in fact, it was a
 
 m 
 
 >> 
 
 I 
 
 &
 
 In the Backivoods of Canada. 235 
 
 kind of serio-comic affair altogether. It was carry- 
 ing the war into Africa with a vengeance. Without 
 doubt, it was as provoking a piece of daring im- 
 pudence, on the part of Adam, as the wolves h ;d 
 ever experienced in the course of their lives. Evi- 
 dently they thought so, as, with renewed clamor 
 and increased speed, they redoubled their exertions, 
 when they caught sight of the flying hunter and 
 their bleeding prey. 
 
 And thus the race continued until the welcome 
 lights of the shanty gleamed ahead, but, at the same 
 time, the wolves were just at his heels, and another 
 bound would bring them upon him. Adam felt 
 that if he meant to secure his plunder he must make 
 a grand coup de main. Suddenly dropping his 
 burden, with a yell and whoop that was heard over 
 the loudest din of his pursuers, he charged back upon 
 them, and with his mighty stick dealt terrible blows 
 right and left among them. The effect was astound- 
 ing. The wolves, seized with a sudden panic at 
 this extraordinary demonstration of their supposed 
 helpless and beaten victim, with a howl of baffled 
 rage, fled precipitately in every direction. Adam, 
 taking advantage of this diversion, again shouldered 
 the deer and bounded onwards towards the lights. 
 
 But the wolves, at the sight of their retreating
 
 236 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 enemy, true to their cowardly instinct, 'quickly 
 rallied, and within a few rods of the shanty again 
 overtook him. Adam knew that it was impossible 
 to repeat his sortie, as even his mighty reservoir of 
 wind was about exhausted. So, dropping the deer, 
 he bounded into the shanty and quickly rousing the 
 men from their cards and pipes, they all sallied out 
 with lights and axes. Charging the pack, they again 
 harried them of their prey, and brought it in 
 triumph to the shanty ; and the wolves, with howls 
 of baffled fury, scampered off in a panic into the 
 depths of the forest. 
 
 I could recount dozens of stories, and true stories, 
 too, as I can abundantly vouch for, of persons who 
 have been followed, and chased for life as they 
 thought, yes and treed too for hours, by these 
 ravenous, prowling scavengers of the woods. And yet 
 this is no evidence whatever of pluck and courage 
 on the part of the animals, but only of ignorance 
 and timorousness in the parties themselves. If 
 they had not run away, the wolves would not have 
 run after them. In fact it is characteristic of any 
 cowardly, bullying nature, whether beast or man, to 
 chase a flying object, and the faster the flight the 
 more valiant the pursuit. It is just another phase 
 of one of the meanest outcomes of human base-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 237 
 
 ness, " strike him : he has no friends." All the mean 
 yelping curs of humanity will join in the hue and 
 cry after a running man, if only " stop thief " is 
 shouted at him. 
 
 There is one undoubted proof of the absolutely 
 dastard nature of the wolf, which I will give, 
 which is almost unique in the characterization of 
 wild animals. We have seen that even the deer, 
 when fairly at bay, will die game, and sell his life 
 dearly. But with the wolf it is very different. It 
 is a well-known fact that when he is cornered up, he 
 will skulk and whine most piteously, and allow 
 himself to be cut and shot, and beaten to death, 
 without a protesting snarl, or even a defiant 
 shewing of his teeth. He dies as he has lived, an 
 abject coward. 
 
 One short story more, and I am done with this 
 too lengthy dissertation upon the nature and doings 
 of the wolf. 
 
 One winter, towards eve.ning, a shautyman was 
 tramping through the bush carrying a load of pork 
 on his back; suddenly the loud howling of a pack 
 of wolves broke on his ear, and, coming nearer and 
 louder every minute, told him that they must be in 
 full chase after him. 
 
 Not far ahead, he knew there was an old deserted
 
 238 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 shanty, and to it he directed his flight, as fast as his 
 legs could carry him. He calculated his distance 
 and saved his pork just in time. As he dashed into 
 the shanty the wolves were just at his heels. His 
 castle of refuge was thoroughly dismantled, nothing 
 remained but the walls, and some of the roof beams. 
 He saw at once that his only chance of safety was 
 in mounting one of these beams, which was no 
 sooner conceived of than acted upon. He had 
 barely secured himself in a safe position, when the 
 whole howling pack burst into the shanty. There 
 were fourteen of them in all, and a perfect bedlam 
 of mad wolves they were, snarling and snapping 
 and leaping beneath him. From his vantage 
 ground however, he could afford to laugh at them. 
 But after a little it occurred to him that he might 
 have something better than a laugh at their expense. 
 He might not only turn turk upon them, but also 
 make a pile of money out of the transaction. Dur- 
 ing the whole affair he had kept firm hold both of 
 his load of pork, and his heavy keen-edged axe, the 
 shantyman's inseparable companion. So lying at 
 his full length on the beam he leaned down, and 
 with a powerful swing of his axe by its long handle 
 he brained the wolf that was just beneath him. 
 This operation he repeated every opportunity he
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 239 
 
 got, until finally, by occasionally shifting his posi- 
 tion, and throwing down enticing slices of pork, he 
 succeeded in killing the whole fourteen. At that 
 time there was a bounty of five dollars on every 
 wolf's head, so that the little job netted him the 
 handsome sum of seventy dollars. 
 
 I give you this story, reader, just as it was told 
 to me. Whether you believe it or not I cannot 
 say. For my part I don't.
 
 240 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 "A Pretty Tall Snake Story." 
 
 HISTOEY or narrative call it what you 
 please such as this, would be altogether 
 incomplete unless I said something about 
 snakes. Snakes constitute a very important element 
 in the economy of backwoods and river life. For 
 many years, in common with most people, I enter- 
 tained a great dread and horror of the reptiles ; but 
 that I had a good, reasonable cause for this, apart 
 from the ordinary vulgar, superstitious repugnance to 
 them which seems to be engrained in some people's 
 minds, I think the following incident will abundant- 
 ly show : 
 
 One bright summer morning, after an early break- 
 fast, I, along with two young girls about my ow r n 
 age we could not have been more than ten at the 
 time went off to gather raspberries. Our destina- 
 tion was an old deserted clearing full of large stones, 
 dead logs, and thickly overgrown with raspberry 
 bushes. It was well-known as a favorite locality for 
 snakes, especially the common green one, which is so
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 241 
 
 abundant in our back country. All this I knew 
 right well from former acquaintance, though never 
 so closely and unpleasantly as I was now about to 
 experience. 
 
 While we were in the thick of our business, 
 chatting and laughing gayly, as only children can do, 
 especially when engaged in this pleasantest of all 
 occupations, I suddenly felt a long, cold, clammy 
 body creeping up the calf of my leg, and before I 
 I could say Jack Robinson, quickly run up and 
 round my body under my shirt. I knew at once 
 that it was a snake. Oh, the horror of that moment ! 
 My blood and whole body seemed at once to be 
 turned into ice. I stood transfixed to the spot. If 
 I had been turned into a pillar of salt, like Lot's wife, 
 I could not have been more rigidly immovable. 
 I had read somewhere that when you are in close 
 proximity to a snake, the best thing you can do 
 is to do nothing, not to stir limb or muscle, but 
 keep absolutely still. I remember well how the 
 remembrance of this caution flashed upon my terri- 
 fied consciousness, and, after one agonizing scream 
 to my companions, I became as fixed and quiet as 
 the rocks around me. The girls, startled by my 
 scream, rushed towards me, and at once saw by my 
 ghastly countenance and general appearance that
 
 242 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 there was something terribly wrong, and when I 
 faintly whispered " snake up my leg," then the hub- 
 bub commenced in right earnest. Woman-like, they 
 screamed and danced about me in most frantic style, 
 and kicked up an awful flare generally. Their up- 
 roar quickly reached the ears of a man who was 
 mowing hay in a field near by, and, with his great 
 scythe in his hand, he was speedily on the spot. 
 
 Dan was a man who worked a great deal about the 
 manse, and at the best of times had not the clearest 
 intellect in the world. In his imbecile way he was 
 very fond of me, and would run and fetch for me 
 like a dog. What few wits he had completely left 
 him when he understood the peril I was in. With 
 terrible oaths and imprecations to the saints, for he 
 was a devout Catholic, he demanded to know where 
 the snake was. Then, joining the girls in their 
 mad dance round me, and flourishing his immense 
 scythe in most dangerous proximity to my body, he 
 swore and howled alternately. 
 
 All this time the snake was having a pleasant 
 ramble all over my body. He would run up my back 
 between the shoulder blades until stopped by the 
 collar band $ then he would come in under my arms 
 and dart down my sides. And every now and then he 
 would stop and nibble at my skin ; I could feel most
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 243 
 
 feelingly his sharp fangs trying the cuticle, and I 
 would say to myself: " Now I'm done for, he's going 
 to sting me." At last I made a desperate resolve, 
 do or die it was : just as he was crossing my chest 
 for the twentieth time, I made a frantic clutch at 
 his head and neck. I could feel the bones crunch 
 in my grasp. " Now I have got him," I said, " let us 
 go home." With my hand firmly clutching jacket, 
 shirt, and snake, we started for the child's ever 
 sought refuge, home and mother. A more grotesque- 
 ly mournful procession never entered that village. I 
 led the van with clenched hand in my bosom, the 
 girls followed behind, screaming louder and louder 
 as we neared the house, and Dan brought up the 
 rear, making every now and then tremendous 
 sweeps at some imaginary foe with his awful 
 weapon. 
 
 When we arrived at the manse the family were 
 all engaged at morning prayers, but the uproar soon 
 brought them from their knees to the kitchen, where 
 we had entered. And then the hub-bub commenced 
 again. My father seized the poker, my mother got 
 the big carving knife, and one of my sisters lifted a 
 pot of boiling water, what she meant to do with it 
 neither she nor I know to this day. But finally a . 
 pair of large scissors were brought into use, and
 
 244 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 cutting through jacket and shirt in a large circle 
 round my hand the whole piece, snake and all, was 
 cut out, and thrown by me on the floor. And what 
 do you think after all, reader, it turned out to be ? 
 Nothing more nor less than a small field mouse, 
 with a long clammy tail, its body crushed into jelly 
 in my grasp. 
 
 But, however ludicrous it may sound now, it was 
 no joke at the time I can tell you ; and if you ever 
 want to enjoy the sensation of a snake round your 
 body, just induce a field-mouse with a long moist 
 tail to run up your leg ; and I'll warrant that the 
 sensation will tingle in your memory for many a year 
 afterwards. 
 
 This, then, was the reason, as I intimated, that for 
 many years, in fact until very lately, I felt an awful 
 abhorrence and dread of snakes. It left such an 
 effect on my -mind that I couldn't even think of 
 them without a shudder. But further experience 
 and acquaintance with their disposition and habits 
 have cured me of these feelings. As far as mere 
 fear is concerned, I regard the whole snake family 
 generally, I mean of course of this country, with no 
 more antipathy than I do a caterpillar, or any other 
 of the reptilia species. 
 
 I think it is a great pity and evil that so many
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 245 
 
 people are afflicted with such a nervous dread and 
 abhorrence of these comparatively harmless creatures. 
 It detracts greatly from their enjoyment of out- 
 door and country recreations, and, especially with 
 women whose hereditary dread of them has been 
 handed down from the beginning debars them from 
 many of those exercises which are as invaluable for 
 health as they are delightful in themselves. 
 
 But this is not the " tall story " that I refer to in 
 the heading of this chapter. It is one of a much 
 more realistic nature, though it also has its comic 
 side, and, perhaps, is as much illustrative of certain 
 phases of human, as of snake, nature. 
 
 The hero of this story was a young man about 
 nineteen, who was the sole support of his family, 
 consisting of his mother and sister and a young 
 woman about his own age, who was a distant rela- 
 tion. With the latter, Jack, our hero's name, was 
 desperately in love, and, as the sequel will shew, 
 she warmly reciprocated the feeling ; yet each was 
 ignorant of the other's feeling on the matter, and, as 
 the novelists tell us, in these straits, they conse- 
 quently fought shy of each other, until, finally, as 
 we shall see, the matter was most satisfactorily 
 adjusted by the unsentimental and unromantic 
 intervention of a black snake.
 
 246 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 One very hot day Jack took his scythe and went 
 off to cut wild hay in a beaver meadow, some 
 distance from the house. These meadows are 
 generally very retired and lonely places, and it is 
 quite customary, when men are engaged in heavy 
 work in them, to divest themselves of all their 
 heavy garments, especially when the weather is 
 uncomfortably hot, the fact is that they often work 
 on such occasions with nothing on but their shirt 
 and coarse straw hat. This is the naked truth, as 
 I can vouch -for from personal observation. Now 
 Jack, after working for a while, thought he might as 
 well adopt this light and breezy costume, and no 
 sooner was it thought of than, without hesitation, it 
 was acted upon. 
 
 As he was mo wing lustily away, and thinking, no 
 doubt, about his sweetheart, and how he could pro- 
 pitiate her obdurate heart, he happened to tread upon 
 a large black snake, an animal which is frequently 
 found in the damp swampy meadows. True to its 
 nature the snake instantly sprung, and attempted to 
 strike its fangs into Jack's body, but missing that 
 part which was most conspicuous, and naturally pre- 
 sented to him, he buried and clinched his teeth 
 tight together in the loose flowing folds of his 
 shirt tails, and in such a decided manner as to
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 247 
 
 make it impossible for him to open his mouth, and 
 free himself. Jack when he felt the cold clammy 
 body strike against his legs gave one horror-stricken 
 look backwards, and then, with a yell that made the 
 surrounding woods echo again, he dropped his 
 scythe, and bounded frantically from the spot, in the 
 hope of dropping off his horrible appendage. But 
 it was all in vain. Eound and round the meadow 
 he flew, in ever-increasing terror and speed, his 
 shirt tail with the snake firmly locked to it by its 
 jaws at a right angle with his back. I have often 
 wondered whether he or the snake were the more 
 confounded and terrified. It was certainly the most 
 extraordinary snake drama that was ever acted on 
 the grassy floor of that meadow. Finally Jack, in 
 desperation, made a sudden turn, and started in a 
 bee-line for home. As he neared the house his 
 womankind, startled by his fearful cries of " help 
 help, snake, snake," rushed to the door. Poor Jack 
 was in a terrible fix, hatless, breeksless, with shirt 
 and snake streaming behind, he didn't dare to stop. 
 The moment he slackened his pace the hideous 
 clammy reminder behind spurred him into fresh 
 frantic leaps. So, bounding past the door where the 
 horror-stricken women stood, he turned the corner, 
 and flew round and round the house, the whole
 
 248 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 household following, with wild screams of terror and 
 helplessness. Somebody says that " true love 
 sharpens the wits," so it proved in this case. The 
 young girl, when she saw Jack in peril, felt now 
 more than she ever did before how truly she loved 
 him, and throwing off all her coyness and reserve, 
 with true womanly spirit and heroism she seized a 
 large pair of sheep-shears, and stationing herself 
 at the corner of the house as Jack passed her in 
 his wild career, she suddenly and adroitly clipped off 
 the shirt-tail, and delivered him from his enemy. 
 
 Needless to say, Jack and she immediately came 
 to a right understanding, and were married before 
 the year was out. 
 
 Now, you may be inclined to laugh at this story 
 as being a little " too much," but it was told to me 
 by an old grey-headed man who assured me, upon 
 his veracity, that it was true. However, Mell, who 
 was one of the knot of auditors, and who is a long- 
 headed, caustic sort of fellow, and as hard of belief 
 as the iron that he is always working among, 
 seemed to be somewhat incredulous, " Wa'll I 
 dunno," said he, " but I reckon its a pretty tall 
 snake story, anyhow."
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 249 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 About Bruin. 
 
 E Bruin is a very different animal, indeed, 
 ^ fr m Master Lupus. He is a highly respect- 
 able and very formidable denizen of the for- 
 est. No one who is anyway acquainted with his 
 character and habits is at all disposed to treat him 
 with undue familiarity, nor approach at any but a 
 respectful distance from him. I have heard of one 
 man killing, single-handed, fourteen wolves, but I 
 have known it require fourteen men to kill one 
 bear, and even then the poor brute was shackled 
 with a trap, and a four-foot chain attached to a heavy 
 log. 
 
 You never hear a backwoodsman speak in dispar- 
 aging terms of the bear. He knows better. One 
 look at his knowing, peculiar physiognomy is suffi- 
 cient to impress you with a high sense of his intel- 
 lectual calibre. The breadth of his brain-pan, the 
 steady, searching gleam of his small deep-set eye, 
 his craggy, over-arching, devil-lurking eyebrow, the 
 small, cocked, wide-awake ear, and the general contour
 
 250 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 of his sturdy, massive, self-satisfied head, neck, and 
 shoulders, all indicate a high, and at the same time 
 sui generis, order of intelligence. As he ambles along 
 through the woods his you-had-better-let-me-alone, 
 mind-your-own-business kind of air is provokingly 
 fear-inspiring. You instinctivly say to yourself, 
 " my fine chap, if I can't kill you outright with my 
 first shot I'll not go near you." 
 
 His bearship once played a fine trick upon my 
 
 friend C and myself, at which we had many a 
 
 hearty laugh at ourselves since. 
 
 We were hunting deer one day, late in the Fall, 
 on Upper Trout Lake, when we came across the 
 fresh track of a bear, apparently not more than an 
 hour old. Without hesitation we abandoned the 
 trail of the deer we were following, and gave chase 
 upon that of the bear. Several inches of snow had 
 fallen the night before, and the footprints were 
 easily traceable in it. We followed the track for 
 several hours over the roughest country imaginable, 
 for the bear, when he finds himself pursued, always 
 takes the most difficult and rugged course he can 
 find. Many a fall and tumble, heels-over-head, 
 we got in jumping the fallen trees and up-turned 
 roots, and climbing up and down the steepest hills, 
 as we pressed excitedly on on the ever-freshening
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 251 
 
 trail. Suddenly it became so unmistakably fresh that 
 we felt sure we were just upon him, and that before 
 long we must tree him. Sure enough, at the foot 
 of an immense cedar, the track abruptly stopped, 
 and we simultaneously exclaimed, " we've got him at 
 last." Carefully examining the ground on every 
 side of the tree, we could discover no signs of the 
 track, so up the tree he must be, hidden among the 
 branches. With great glee we prepared ourselves 
 for the coming fray. But after examin n^ (?very 
 nook and recess among the branches, we could 
 discover no trace of his whereabouts. With utter 
 bewilderment we gazed at the tree, and at one 
 another. What could it possibly mean ? Where in 
 the name of all that was mysterious was he ? Up 
 the tree, or on the tree, or in the tree he certainly 
 was not. Even a squirrel could not have concealed 
 himself from our close scrutiny. 
 
 " By St. Hubert," said C " he has fooled us 
 
 somehow." 
 
 Suddenly the same thought struck us simulta- 
 neously. " The rascal has gone back on his tracks," we 
 exclaimed, almost in the same breath. A close 
 inspection of the trail soon showed us that our con- 
 jecture was correct. The cunning old rogue had 
 completely outwitted us. With a cool longheaded-
 
 252 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 ness, and a calculating judgment that would have 
 done credit to the most knowing and expert back- 
 woodsman, he had fairly doubled on his tracks, and 
 was now doubtless laughing in his own grim fashion 
 at our wild-goose chase after him. 
 
 About a mile back on the track we found where 
 he had, in a close, thick spot, leaped to the side, and 
 struck off at right angles to his former course. In 
 the eagerness of our pursuit we had never noticed 
 this divergence, nor yet the marks of his returning 
 footsteps, for we never dreamed of his playing us 
 such a scurvy trick. 
 
 As we had lost more than an hour in our blind 
 futile chase, and it was near night, we were com- 
 pelled to abandon the pursuit, and at our best speed, 
 and with many a malediction on old Bruin's head, 
 to make for camp, from which we were several miles 
 distant. 
 
 The bear in many points of view exhibits some 
 of the most extraordinary phenomena that are pre- 
 sented in the whole range of natural history : pro- 
 minent among these is his habit of hibernation a 
 habit that has puzzled many a mind, and concerning 
 which some very absurd ideas are entertained. 
 
 On the approach of cold weather the bear casts 
 about in his mind for a suitable place in which to
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 253 
 
 make his winter domicile. I have been told by 
 Indians and others that he will often ramble a 
 hundred miles before he selects a spot that will 
 please him. His favorite location is in the heart of 
 some dense thicket, in a cavernous hole formed at 
 the base of an immense uprooted tree. This he can 
 easily enlarge by throwing out the earth with his 
 powerful paws, and soon make a deep, warm, roomy 
 retreat, in which he makes a most comfortable bed 
 of dry leaves and moss. I have often observed 
 these dens in my wanderings through the bush, and 
 they have such a dry, inviting, cosy aspect that you 
 could almost wish you were a bear that you might 
 ensconce yourself in one of them, and sleep away 
 the long, dreary winter months, far removed from the 
 hurly-burly, and heart-sickening wear and tear of 
 human life. 
 
 Finally lodged in his den the bear remains in a 
 dormant, semi-conscious state until spring, though 
 occasionally he comes out for a day or two's ramble, 
 if a heavy thaw and sunny warm weather takes 
 place. What a jolly old sleep he must have during 
 all these long months, and how precious hungry he 
 must be when he emerges in the spring! Yet, 
 strange to say, he comes out as fat, some say fatter, 
 than when he entered. I suppose nobody has ever
 
 254 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 weighed him at the different periods so as to make 
 a correct estimate. But one thing is sure, when he 
 issues out in the spring he is not thin, as we would 
 naturally expect, but very fat in fact, in prime 
 condition, both as to fur and flesh. The common 
 idea that he lies sucking his paw, in order to 
 appease the cravings of hunger, is all a myth. 
 The truth is, as I have been told by hunters who 
 have watched him through an opening in the snow, 
 he lies on his belly, with his nose between his out- 
 stretched fore paws, just as you see a hound lying on 
 a rug before the fire. And though his den will 
 become completely covered over, perhaps several 
 feet thick with successive layers of snow, still the 
 heat generated by his warm breath and the close- 
 ness of the place, soon makes a small opening, 
 through which the hot steam will come issuing 
 forth, and often betrays the place to the wary 
 hunter. In this case the bear becomes an easy 
 prey in the hunter's hands, for in his sleepy condi- 
 tion he can offer but little resistance, and is either 
 shot as he lies in his den, or knocked on the head 
 with an axe as he is forced by smoke or dogs to 
 issue lazily forth. 
 
 The bear, very shortly after his emergence from 
 his winter-quarters, begins to lose his fat and fair
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 255 
 
 appearance, and in two or three weeks presents such 
 a thin, scraggy, scarecrow appearance that, to use 
 the hunter's expression, " he is good for nothing but 
 dog's meat." 
 
 During the period of hibernation the she-bear 
 brings forth her young, two or three in number, 
 though instances are known in which the birth did 
 not take place until considerably later, sometimes 
 well on into early summer. 
 
 The attachment of the she-bear to her young is 
 proverbial, and during the period that they remain 
 with her it is perilous in the extreme to annoy, or ? 
 in fact, go near her at all. 
 
 One of the most striking instances of this kind 
 was told me by old Thomas F , the pioneer back- 
 woodsman of this country. It is more than sixty 
 years since he carved out his home in this district, 
 and of course he is thoroughly familiar with every 
 phase of backwoods life. In his youth and middle 
 age he was a man of extraordinary vigor and 
 activity of body, and even yet his tall, muscular, 
 bony frame can endure an amount of fatigue and 
 toil which would outdo many a much younger man. 
 He is the oracle of this community, and is as much 
 respected for his single-minded, straight-forward 
 honesty as he is liked for his genial, intelligent com-
 
 256 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 panionship. Many a stirring tale of hardship and 
 adventure he related to me, of which the following 
 is illustrative of the characteristic I refer to : 
 
 One day he was cutting wood in a swamp some 
 distance from his home. He was quite unarmed, 
 except his axe, and was accompanied by his little 
 boy, a lad of about eight years of age, and his large 
 dog. Suddenly he heard the dog barking furiously 
 at a distance in the swamp. On going to the spot 
 he found the animal engaged in fierce and clamorous 
 combat with a large she-bear and her two cubs. 
 The moment the enraged animal saw Tom she at 
 once left both the dog and her cubs, and with open 
 mouth and loud angry growls rushed at him. There 
 was nothing for it but to beat a hasty retreat, which 
 he did with all speed, carrying his child in his arms. 
 The chase continued for nearly a mile, for the bear's 
 progress was continually retarded by the dog, who 
 at every opportunity fastened on to her flank, other- 
 wise she would quickly have overtaken him, when 
 certainly both Tom and the child would have fallen 
 victims to her fury. 
 
 Finally, however, he was compelled to take refuge 
 in a tree, into the lower branches of which he had 
 just time to throw his child and mount himself 
 when the bear reached the foot. Now it was that 
 the dog's faithfulness and strength served him to
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 257 
 
 good purpose. Every time the bear attempted to 
 mount the tree the dog seized her by the haunches 
 and dragged her down. Tom said that the fury of 
 the animal when thus pulled down, and baulked of 
 her prey, was fearful to witness. She would make 
 a furious charge at the dog, and drive him off for a 
 considerable distance, and then suddenly turn and 
 bolt for the tree, with the expectation of getting up 
 and out of reach before the dog could overtake her. 
 But the noble animal, apparently divining her pur- 
 pose, was always too quick for her, and would seize 
 and haul her down the moment she commenced the 
 ascent. Thus the battle continued for several 
 hours. At times the maternal instinct in the bear 
 would impel her to go off in the direction of her 
 cubs, but the demon of rage and revenge w r ould get 
 the better of this feeling, and she would stop, and turn 
 back, with greater fury than ever, to the assault, again 
 to be baffled by the watchful and faithful dog. It 
 was not till late in the afternoon and it was early in 
 the morning when Tom first saw the bear that she 
 finally retreated, and when he saw that she was 
 fairly off through the bush, and courageously 
 followed up with triumphant clamor by the gallant 
 dog, with throbbing and thankful heart he descended 
 from the tree, and proceeded in safety to his home.
 
 258 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 More about Bruin. 
 respectable character and peculiar habits 
 
 hands. 
 
 There are few hunters who attempt to track 
 the bear into the fastnesses of the forest, and hunt 
 him there, single-handed. The uncertainties of 
 overtaking or finding him so as to have a fair shot 
 are in the first place so great, and the dangerous 
 nature of the animal, if only wounded and not 
 immediately disabled, so dreaded, that only the most 
 expert and fearless hunters ever attempt it. 
 
 The common and favorite mode of hunting the 
 bear, if hunting it can be called, is by trapping, either 
 by the " deadfall " or the ordinary steel trap. The 
 " deadfall " is a very simple contrivance, though it 
 requires considerable dexterity so to locate and con- 
 struct it as to make it effectual. It consists of a 
 strong enclosure, built against a rock or broad trunk 
 of a tree, of about three feet at the entrance and 
 four feet high and deep. The trap proper consists
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 259 
 
 of two heavy logs, one lying on the ground at the 
 entrance, and the other rising from the end of it in a 
 sloping direction, and upheld in this position by an 
 ingenious contrivance of most insecure props. The 
 bear, in order to get at the bait a piece of pork or 
 strong-smelling fresh fish has to pass under this 
 sloping log, and in so doing, and in. pulling at the 
 bait, is compelled to knock away the props and thus 
 bring down upon him with great force the heavy 
 loaded log, which either breaks his back or pins him 
 tightly to the lower log, where he will be found by 
 the hunter, either dead or helpless. 
 
 The steel trap of common use is a most ferocious 
 looking instrument. It is of the same form and 
 principle as the ordinary rat-trap, only immensely 
 magnified in size and weight. When spread out on 
 the ground it will measure eighteen inches between 
 the jaws, and, along with the strong chain attached 
 to it, weighs about thirty pounds. The bait is placed 
 in a small inclosure made of branches or logs and 
 open at one side ; the trap is so placed, directly in 
 front of the opening, that the bear must pass over 
 it in order to get at the bait. The trap is completely 
 covered over with leaves and light moss, and in such 
 a natural manner that the spot where it lies with out 
 spread jaws is not distinguishable from the surround-
 
 260 Shanty ', Forest and River Life 
 
 ing surface of the ground. It is then securely 
 fastened by a strong chain, of four to six feet in length, 
 to a long heavy pole. The moment the bear, in 
 trying to get at the bait, steps upon or even touches 
 the broad pan in the centre of the trap, which holds 
 the spring, the terrible jaws, teethed with sharp 
 spikes an inch in length, snap together with the 
 quickness of lightning, and pinion his leg in an 
 inextricable embrace. 
 
 With a tremendous spring he attempts to free 
 himself, arid, if the chain had been fastened to a 
 tree or any solid fixture, so great is his strength at 
 such a moment that he would be almost certain to 
 break it; but the pole at once yields and goes 
 with him in the spring, and, with fearful growls of 
 rage and agony, he bounds off through the bush, 
 tearing away everything before him in his wild, 
 furious career. But the heavy pole, catching upon 
 the trees, roots, and other impediments, continually 
 retards, his progress, and at length wearies out even 
 his mighty strength, until, finally, in utter prostra- 
 tion, he is brought to a halt. He may travel for 
 miles, however, before he succumbs in despair, 
 and is then found by the hunter, it may be some 
 days afterwards, either dead, or helplessly entangled 
 by chain and pole in some dense thicket, or am on 
 fallen trees.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 261 
 
 There are some queer stories told about Bruin in 
 his attempts to free himself from the iron-grip of 
 the trap. It is said that he will gnaw through his 
 leg just above the jaws of the trap, and leave his 
 paw and part of the limb in it, and then scamper 
 off on the mutilated member. Whether this is true 
 or not I will not undertake to say, as I have no 
 indisputable evidence on the point. But one strange 
 trick of his I do know, and will stake my veracity 
 upon its frequent occurrence. When the bear finds 
 that he cannot stake off his incumbrances he will 
 deliberately climb a lofty tree, dragging chain and 
 pole after him, until he comes to some suitable 
 crotch or limb and throw himself over it headlong 
 towards the ground, in the hope that his great weight 
 will break either chain or pole, or release him in 
 some way. Sometimes his manoeuvre succeeds. 
 The tendons and flesh of the leg will be torn' out by 
 the jerk, and the sudden strain laid upon them, and 
 the bear will fall to the ground, stunned and 
 agonized by the pain, but freed from his deadly 
 fetters. Often, however, his weight is net sufficient 
 to effect this purpose, and he will be found hanging 
 in the air, with the pole firmly lodged in the crotch. 
 It sometimes happens that the hunter has so 
 naturally and ingeniously covered over the trap and
 
 262 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 chain that he has difficulty in finding its exact 
 locality, and unless he is exceedingly wary he is as 
 likely as not to set his foot upon and be caught in 
 his own trap. 
 
 There is a good story of this kind told about a 
 German settler, named Switzer, who had squatted 
 on a lot in these backwoods. Switzer had been 
 greatly annoyed by the depredations of a large bear 
 upon his scanty crops of corn and wheat, and 
 though he had often lain in wait, and had had 
 several shots at him, yet he had never hit him, or 
 succeeded in scaring him from his premises. So he 
 resolved to set a trap for Bruin ; and so he did, and 
 concealed it in such an ingenious manner that, going 
 early one morning to look at it, he unwarily set his 
 foot on the pan, and instantly the sharp-spiked jaws 
 snapped together, and locked him fast by the calf of 
 the leg in an iron embrace. All his efforts to release 
 himself were utterly unavailing, for with one leg in 
 the trap it is impossible for a man to press down the 
 springs on both sides of the jaws, and the pole to 
 which he had fastened the ring of the chain with 
 nails and wedges was too heavy to drag after him 
 on one leg. So there he was, as securely caught in 
 his own trap as any bear possibly could be. The 
 pain from the spikes buried in his calf was of course
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 263 
 
 excruciating, but all he could do was to while away 
 the weary hours with howls of agony and cries for 
 assistance. In this terrible fix who should make au 
 appearance upon the scene but the bear himself. 
 Slowly advancing to within a few feet of the spot, 
 he deliberately raised himself on his hind-quarters, 
 and with his mighty forearms folded on his shaggy 
 breast calmly surveyed the terrified prisoner. No 
 doubt he at once took in the whole situation, and 
 with grim satisfaction must have enjoyed it hugely. 
 Never was a hapless mortal placed in a purgatory 
 of greater torment than was poor Switzer. Thus, 
 nearly the whole day passed. Every now and then 
 the bear, with a sardonic grunt of delight, would 
 plunge off into the woods, no doubt for provender, 
 but would soon return and resume his squatting, 
 watchful position, till towards evening, when he left 
 him for good to seek his nightly lair. 
 
 In the meantime, Switzer's wife, alarmed at his pro- 
 tracted absence, set out in search of him, and striking 
 his trail soon came within hearing of his frantic howls 
 and yells. But Switzer's trials were not yet over. 
 When his wife reached the spot, she seemed to survey 
 the scene with as much satisfaction as her predeces- 
 sor, the bear. Her husband was a man who, upon 
 occasion, was very much given to liquor, and when
 
 264 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 in his cups was the plague and terror of her life, and 
 now she saw that her opportunity was come- Instead 
 of complying with Switzer's entreaties and cries for 
 release, which had redoubled when his wife made 
 her appearance, she calmly informed him that she 
 would not stir one finger for his deliverance until he 
 solemnly promised, and swore on oath before Heaven, 
 that he would not taste spirituous liquors of any 
 kind for the next five years. With many a grimace 
 and protest of unwillingness, Switzer was compelled 
 to obey and solemnly promise, and take the required 
 oath. Whether he kept it or not I can't say, but 
 the facts of the case, as I have told them, I can 
 vouch for with all earnestness. 
 
 I have already spoken of the wonderful attach- 
 ment which the she-bear has for her young, an 
 incident illustrating this, and, at the same time, the 
 well-known sagacity of the animal, occurred while I 
 was in this country, and was related to me by an 
 eye-witness. A bear with three cubs was discovered 
 by some axemen in the woods, and, taking flight, was 
 hotly pursued by them. She could soon have out- 
 distanced them, had it not been for the cubs, who 
 were of too tender an age to run with any speed ; 
 but the motherly instinct within her would not allow 
 the bear to desert her offspring ; so every time a cub
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 265 
 
 would become wearied and lag in the flight she 
 would thrust her nose under the little fellow and 
 give him a tremendous heave ahead of her, and then 
 follow up with redoubled speed. This she kept up 
 continuously with the three, one after another, and 
 thus contrived to keep herself and them at a safes 
 distance from her pursuers. " It was astonishing," 
 my informant told me, " how quickly the little fellowa 
 understood the stratagem of the old dame, and if one 
 happened to fall out of the line of flight would 
 immediately place himself in the right position for 
 another toss." I was delighted beyond measure to 
 be told, as I am sure you are too, reader, that the 
 brave, loving old mother succeeded in saving herself 
 and her cubs, in spite of the utmost exertions of her 
 pursuers. 
 
 I have been told, and I have no reason to doubt 
 the truth of the statement, that when a bear is badly 
 wounded, and seeks for safety in flight, that he will, 
 after running swiftly for a time, deliberately stop 
 and endeavor to staunch the bleeding of the wound 
 by leaves and damp moss. 
 
 If, reader, you ever find yourself in close quarters 
 with a bear, and have no gun or revolver with you, 
 pick up the first stone or stick that is handy, and
 
 266 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 strike him a blow with all your might fair on the 
 snout, and ten to one you will rout and vanquish him. 
 A good story in proof of this was told me by the head 
 
 clerk of my friend C 's concern. He was once 
 
 furiously charged by a bear, and so suddenly that he 
 had no time to pick up stone or stick. Kemember- 
 ing this sensitive spot of the animal's body, he made 
 a quick counter-charge, and planted such a lusty 
 kick with his heavy top-boot in his nose and mouth 
 that he knocked in all his front teeth, and so ap- 
 palled the brute that, with a howl of agony, he 
 instantly changed his furious charge into an igno- 
 minious and precipitate flight. 
 
 I conclude this subject of the bear by relating an 
 
 incident told me by Adam C , the hero of the 
 
 wolf story. At the risk of wearying the reader, I 
 give this incident on account of its peculiar, and, to 
 me, utterly inexplicable, exhibition of some feelings 
 and traits of bear nature and habits which I believe 
 have never yet been recorded and explained. One 
 evening Adam was travelling through the bush, when, 
 from a small eminence on which he stood, he saw, 
 about eighty yards before him, a large bear, busily 
 engaged in pawing among the dead leaves for nuts. 
 He fired at the animal, and apparently severely
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 267 
 
 wounded him, for he immediately fell, and, rolling 
 over, growled in convulsive agony. Without stirring 
 from his position, he proceeded as every expe- 
 rienced hunter does to reload his gun. While thus 
 engaged he saw, to his no small alarm, no less than 
 five bears plunging, one after another, out of the bush, 
 and joining their wounded brother. The furious 
 uproar and clamor that at once ensued was perfectly 
 appalling, and quickly decided Adam to take to his 
 heels as fast as he could, and he was so terrified that 
 he never halted in his flight until he arrived at the 
 shanty. The next morning, accompanied by several 
 of his men, well armed with guns and axes, he pro- 
 ceeded to the spot. And such a scene of wild havoc 
 and furious rage he never witnessed. The ground 
 was dug into and turned up as if it had been rough- 
 ly ploughed ; immense stones had been torn out, and 
 the bark and wood of the surrounding trees was 
 hanging in shreds from the trunks. No trace of the 
 bear he had shot could be seen until, on further 
 examination, they found the trail where the bears had 
 gone off in a body, and, strange to say, had dragged 
 with them the dead or disabled body of their com- 
 panion. They could distinguish this from the blood 
 on the ground, and the hairs which had been rubbed
 
 268 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 off on the logs and roots over which they had to 
 cross. They continued the pursuit for several hours, 
 when want of time compelled them to abandon it. I 
 leave this singular incident to the understanding 
 and explaining of those who are wiser and better 
 posted in bear nature and habits than I am. And 
 so, farewell to Sir Bruin and his eccentricities !
 
 Recreation.
 
 In ike Backwoods of Canada. 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 'The Breaking -up of the Ice. 
 
 HE breaking tip of the ice, which is always 
 
 accounted the true advent of Spring, is an 
 ran 
 A event long looked for and eagerly desired by 
 
 the shantymen. 
 
 For two or three weeks preceding it there is a 
 breathing-time of comparative idleness to the men. 
 The heavy work of the woods is finished. The cut- 
 ting, sawing and hauling are all over for another 
 season. The square timber and sawlogs are lying 
 many tiers deep on the ice, or piled up on the bank, 
 waiting for the rising water and bursting of the ice 
 to be swept down the river. 
 
 It is an anxious time for the foremen and man- 
 ager ; for upon a favorable and early start, with a 
 good "pitch of water," may depend the whole suc- 
 cess of the " drive." If the ice " hangs on " too long 
 the water may fall in fact, it is falling every day 
 after a certain pitch and unless it is taken at a 
 good flow the timber will get " stuck," or, if not, 
 will involve greatly increased labor and expense in
 
 272 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 driving the small streams and rivers before it is 
 fairly launched on the broad, deep bosoms of the 
 Ottawa and St. Lawrence. When once afloat in 
 these majestic rivers it is safe, and then, hurrah 
 for Quebec ! with all available speed of wind and 
 steam, for the sooner to market the less expense of 
 food and wages, and the better chance of speedy and 
 high "prices." 
 
 During this season of enforced inactivity the 
 foremen are often at their wits' end what to do 
 with the men. With their characteristic energy and 
 push they hate to see them loafing and smoking 
 round the shanty. Provisions are vanishing at 
 inverse progression to the work done, and high wages 
 are all the time running on. Of course those who 
 were engaged only for the winter have been paid off 
 and have gone to their homes and farms, but the 
 men who were hired " for Quebec," and the new 
 hands engaged for the " drive " are all on the spot, 
 lying on their oars, waiting for the breaking up of 
 the ice. 
 
 This is the time for the " green hands v to exer- 
 cise themselves on the loose timber and logs. The 
 boys who have never been down the river before go 
 into training now for the slippery, hazardous work 
 ahead of them. With pikepole and handspike, they
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 273 
 
 go leaping from log to log, and many a dip over the 
 head they get in the ice-cold water. 
 
 I was immensely amused one morning in watch- 
 ing the manoeuvres of a droll character called 
 Ferdinand. Ferd was a short, fat, jocund, good- 
 natured Frenchman. I always thought he was a 
 German, till informed otherwise. I believe in truth, 
 however, he must have got mixed up somehow in 
 the Franco- German war, for, though undoubtedly 
 French, he had all the characteristics and appear- 
 ance of a full-blooded Teuton. He was about as 
 good-humored a soul as I ever met with. It was 
 as natural for him to laugh as for water to ripple in 
 the breeze ; in fact, his face was a perpetual grin, 
 an everlasting wrinkle of jollity. You couldn't look 
 at the man without feeling happy. His presence 
 was a contagion of merriment which completely 
 annihilated all thoughts of the tomb Death's head 
 and he were sworn enemies. 
 
 Ferd, who had never been on loose timber before, 
 thought he would try his feet on it this morning 
 along with the other boys. In his easy-going way, 
 he hopped about from stick to stick, apparently in 
 great conceit with himself, and no doubt thinking it 
 no great matter after all " to go on timber." Now a 
 stick of square timber or a sawlog floating loose in
 
 274 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the water is the most deceitful institution under the 
 sun, and, though you may fancy yourself for a little 
 to be quite secure, still, if it gives the slightest 
 " cant," or roll to the side, you feel at once you are 
 in a most precarious position, and unless you are up 
 to the thing, ten to one you are certain to go over. 
 So it turned out with honest Ferd he finally landed 
 on a log, which, true to sawlog nature, began to 
 revolve rapidly in the water. Ferd evidently 
 thought he had got on the wrong log, for he at once 
 displayed marked signals of distress, and, not know- 
 ing that, in order to preserve his balance, he must 
 keep pace with his feet with the revolutions of the 
 log, he was plunged head-foremost into the icy 
 water, and nothing was to be seen of him but the 
 soles of his boots wabbling above the surface. As 
 he emerged and scrambled up like a broken-winged 
 duck on to a firm stick, his loud spluttering, " wah, 
 wah, boo, hoo," could be plainly heard above the 
 wild cheers of merriment and derision with which he 
 was greeted by his companions. 
 
 " Dat was a fine christening for your work, Joe," 
 the foreman consolingly shouted to him, when he 
 had regained his balance. Ferd tried to keep up a 
 good face, but it was no use ; his habitual good-humor 
 had received a decided quencher, and with a grin on
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 275 
 
 his countenance, about as merry as that of a skull, 
 he bolted for the shanty as fast as his wet clothes 
 and short legs would allow him. 
 
 During this season of inaction it is certainly more 
 amusing than instructive to listen to the wise men 
 of the backwoods, as they discourse sagely on the 
 signs of the coming spring. Each one has some 
 infallible sign in which he places implicit confi- 
 dence ; and this he will enunciate with a gravity and 
 assurance that lends a kind of preternatural sapience 
 to his prognostications. They out-vennor Vennor, 
 in the minuteness and particularity of their weather 
 wisdom. I have listened to more rank nonsense in 
 this connection than in any other matter to which I 
 ever gave my attention. In our variable, uncertain 
 and capricious climate, I often think that our best 
 wisdom is to keep a shut mouth about the weather ; 
 at any rate to be excedingly modest and diffident in 
 expressing our opinion, even as to the. "probabi- 
 lities " on the question. However, I will mention 
 some of those signs, just as I heard them, and, 
 reader, " thou shalt be judge." 
 
 Six weeks ago there was every appearance of a 
 complete breaking up of the winter. A heavy thaw 
 was succeeded by warm rains and a bright, hot sun. 
 The snow all disappeared the ice became rotten,
 
 276 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 and the frost was all out of the swamps. Humanly 
 judging, the Spring was just upon us. Now was the 
 time for signs. Never was there a more opportune 
 season for the soothsayers and interpreters. Joe had 
 seen a chipmonk playing about the shanty. " No 
 mistake this time," said he, " 1 never knew this sign 
 to fail for sure." The chipmonk burrows in the 
 ground, and dens up during the cold winter months. 
 Old Sarcon, whose grey hairs and experience 
 demanded respect and attention, had heard wild 
 geese flying North the night before ; and another 
 worthy had seen five of them beside a small pool on 
 the ground. A ground-hog had issued forth from his 
 winter-quarters and had been worried by a dog; 
 crows, robins, phcebes, whippowills birds innum- 
 erable all sure harbingers of Spring, had been seen 
 and heard. Sawwhets had been heard in the bush in 
 the dead of night. This strange, weird, mysterious 
 sound, whether of bird, or animal, or tree, or demon 
 no man knows, resembling somewhat the sharpening 
 of a saw, is one of the hyper-infallibles in the sign 
 business. And so on, and on, the same old story 
 ran. 
 
 It was the continual topic of discourse round the 
 camboose, and accompanied with such grave porten- 
 tous nods of the head, and solemn, emphatic assever-
 
 I LITM.KOKTWAL 
 
 Tom, the Philosopher,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 279 
 
 ations that you felt ashamed of yourself for feeling 
 any doubt or uncertainty on the question. 
 
 But, alas, for both human and brute intelligence, 
 and boasted understanding of the deep subject of 
 weather, all these learned disquisitions and opinions 
 began and ended in signs. Winter with all its rigor 
 came back upon us just as suddenly as it had left 
 us, and in much more severe mood. Hill and 
 valley, forest and lake were covered with a snowy 
 carpet nearly a foot deep. The rivers were again 
 bound in icy fetters, and the marshes and swamps 
 were tightly frozen up. Winter again reigned su- 
 preme, and all nature laughed aloud at the vain 
 attempt of the wise men to solve the mysteries of 
 her designs, and unlock the secrets of her workings. 
 
 " What do you think of all this ? " I demanded of 
 an old friend of mine, who walked about among us 
 with the lofty air of a Field Marshal of the Old 
 Eegime, and who was familiarly designated by us, 
 as " Tom the Philosopher." With Confucian senten- 
 tiousness, he gave an answer worthy of the Master, 
 " I believe in Spring when I see the grass growing, 
 and the swallow flying." 
 
 Now, in all seriousness, I believe there is a great 
 deal of nonsense written about the so-called infallible 
 
 instinct of animals in interpreting the phenomena of 
 
 s
 
 280 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 their surroundings, so as to know what kind of 
 weather and climate are ahead of them. I think 
 they are as often deceived in these matters as we are, 
 that their judgments are as shortsighted and super- 
 ficial, and the outcome of mere appearances and of 
 local and temporary sensations, as those of the ordi- 
 nary run of human intelligences. In other words, 
 they are no better weather prophets than we are. 
 
 However, I have no intention of philosophizing on 
 this or any other subject in this book, and I simply 
 remark that, be this as it may with regard to the 
 animals themselves, at all events, one thing is cer- 
 tain, we make egregious mistakes when we calculate 
 as to the probabilities of the weather on the actions, 
 movements, and supposed instinct of these animals, 
 as is clearly shown not only in the cases I have just 
 spoken of, but in almost every recurring season of 
 the year. The animals may be right absolutely, as 
 far as the conditions and necessities of the narrow 
 circle in which they move and were, designed for, 
 are concerned (and what more do they require ?) but 
 we are wrong in our interpreting and understanding 
 of them to suit our own purposes. 
 
 When the ice is fairly broken up, and the vast 
 flotilla of logs and timber is actually on the move, 
 then we have one of the most lively and interesting 
 scenes of river life.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 281 
 
 The vast accumulations of snow and ice which have 
 been formed during the winter are now rapidly melt- 
 ing and disgorging by a thousand foaming rivulets 
 into stream and river, and all combined are hasten- 
 ing to pay their annual tribute in ever-increasing 
 volume to the great mother ocean, which embosoms 
 the world. 
 
 The deep river beds are now not only filled to 
 their utmost capacity, but where the ground is low- 
 lying, in swamp or marsh, the country on both sides 
 is completely submerged, forming what are called 
 " lagoons " in the Southern States, and in our back- 
 woods "drowned lands." In such conditions, the 
 river often presents the appearance of a vast lake on 
 which, among the black ash and willows, the timber 
 and logs float at their " own sweet will." 
 
 The first business of the drive is to collect all 
 these scattered timbers, and " boom " them into the 
 main channel of the river, that is, confine them there 
 by long half-square logs called " boom timber," fast- 
 ened at the ends by " boom chains." These will 
 sometimes line the true banks of the river for miles 
 at a stretch and effectually prevent any waywardly 
 inclined timber from straggling into the adjoining 
 submerged regions. 
 
 Now the " drive " has fairly commenced, and all
 
 282 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 is life, and stir and activity on the river. It is hard 
 work from earliest dawn to late sunset, and cold 
 work too, often up to the waist in the icy waters for 
 hours at a time. But it is work that is brimful of 
 excitement and perilous interest, and exerts such a 
 strange fascination upon those who engage in it that, 
 with all its perils and hardships, they are always 
 willing to re-engage on the next recurring season.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 283 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 A Backwoods Schoolmaster of the Olden Time. 
 
 VEN" in the remotest sections of the back- 
 woods the school system is very different 
 
 "^SXtSy 
 
 now from what it used to be, and the 
 teacher is a different type from that of the olden time. 
 Of course, the system is vastly improved over- 
 improved, I think, in comparison with the capa- 
 city of the scholars, and the pockets of the parents. 
 
 The standard of education that is insisted upon 
 now, both for teacher and pupil, is, I think, far too 
 high for many of our school sections in the purely 
 rural districts, and decidedly so for our isolated back- 
 woods. I have no hesitation in speaking strongly 
 on this point, for I have seen the evils of it, and they 
 require to be seen in order to be understood in all 
 their significance. This high standard necessarily 
 implies high salaries, for young men and women 
 will not pass through the lengthy and arduous 
 studies needed for the required certificates without 
 expecting and demanding adequate remuneration.
 
 284 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Consequently, in many of our poor and thinly- 
 populated school sections, where it is absolutely 
 impossible to pay such teachers a fair and reason-i 
 able salary, one of two things follows : either the 
 schoolhouse is closed altogether, and the children are 
 deprived of all educational advantages, or two 
 sections adjoining one another unite in supporting 
 one teacher, thus giving the children only half-time 
 education. Of course half a loaf is better than no 
 bread, but the evils of such a system are great and 
 manifold, and at once understood by those who 
 know anything about educational matters. Let me 
 instance a case in point : In the immediate vicinity 
 of this district, in which I have pitched my tent for 
 several months, there are two schoolhouses, four 
 miles apart (though I think it is nearer five), between 
 which one teacher divides her time. She teaches in 
 the morning at oue place, then takes her dinner and 
 walks the four miles to the other school for her 
 afternoon's work. She stays there all night, teaches 
 in the morning, and then walks back to the former 
 place to teach and stay for the next twenty-four 
 hours. I have often pitied these young ladies, and 
 many a time I met them on their long weary walk 
 between the two schools; in every phase of the 
 execrable weather of our fall, winter and spring, in
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 285 
 
 hail, in sleet, in rain, in snow, up and down the 
 highest hills, it had to be done, else complaint and 
 reduction of pay followed ; and a great jmrt of the 
 time the schools are vacant, just from the absolute 
 impossibility of getting a teacher who has come up 
 to the required standard. 
 
 I think there ought to be a discriminating certi- 
 ficate of attainment for isolated and peculiarly 
 situated school sections, and I am confirmed in this 
 opinion by the well-known fact that a high standard 
 of attainment does not necessarily imply a high 
 standard of efficiency in teaching. Many of our 
 third-class certificate teachers were most successful 
 instructors, and greatly respected and beloved by 
 pupils and parents. However, I have gone much 
 further in this direction than I at all intended, and, 
 in speaking as I have done, have not the slightest 
 intention of thro wing any reflection upon our school 
 system generally ; for, taking it all in all, I hold that 
 it is one of the very best, and . most practically 
 efficient, in the world. 
 
 But, as the title of this chapter intimates, I wish to 
 speak about ye olden time teacher and their system. 
 What a mighty change has been wrought, what a 
 different class they are now from that of thirty, forty, 
 or fifty years ago ! How many of my readers at the
 
 286 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 thought will conjure up old memories of strange, 
 eccentric, oddly-fashioned, antiquated men, who then 
 filled the chairs of learning in the rural and back- 
 woods districts ? As a class they are now absolutely 
 extinct, but are there not some among them, reader, 
 whose memory you and I will not willingly let die ? 
 With all their uncouth eccentricities, their many 
 excellencies will always keep them fresh and green 
 in our recollection. Prominent among these, as the 
 most characteristic type that I ever knew or heard 
 of, stands out old Robert Mason, the first school- 
 master of the village of Lanark, between thirty and 
 sixty years ago. He was the first to whom I went 
 to school, and I was a mere child at the time, yet 
 my remembrance of him is as fresh and vivid as of 
 yesterday. 
 
 He was sent out by the Imperial Government 
 with the first band of immigrants (Paisley weavers) 
 who settled in this country in 1821, and for nearly 
 thirty years he taught and thrashed in the little 
 stone schoolhouse of the village. He was a tall, 
 gaunt, rawboned, beetle-browed Scotchman, an elder 
 in the Kirk, and a true-blue Presbyterian of the 
 hardest and sternest cast. He was a man of grave 
 and serious demeanor. He seldom smiled, and 
 when he did, it was as if under protest from his
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 287 
 
 grim and iron nature. He was, withal, an exceed- 
 ingly irascible old man ; and from his long tenure of 
 office, without hindrance or interference from any- 
 one for there was no board of trustees in those 
 days, nor did any one dare to counsel or censure he 
 had become despotic and severe to the last degree. 
 He was just as absolute, and upon occasions tyran- 
 nical, in his sway as any autocrat of the Middle 
 Ages. 
 
 His system of education was of the simplest and 
 most rudimental nature. Heading, spelling, writing 
 and " countin' " made up the sum total of his 
 instruction. Grammar, geography, history, com- 
 position were as tongues unknown. 
 
 I remember one peculiar theory he held with 
 regard to teaching arithmetic to girls ; he gravely 
 maintained that there was not the least use of their 
 going further in " countin' " than the four simple 
 and compound rules of addition, subtraction, multi- 
 plication and division. Their minds were not 
 capable of rightly grasping anything beyond these, 
 nor indeed would a further advance in this branch 
 of learning be of any practical advantage to them 
 in after life. Hence, when some ambitious, clever- 
 minded girl found herself just on the threshold of 
 simple proportion, and was longing to pass its
 
 288 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 mystic portals, she was peremptorily ordered back to 
 simple addition and the multiplication table. 
 
 The boys however were soundly drilled (for the old 
 man was thorough as far as he went) up to vulgar 
 fractions, but decimals, and the square and cube 
 roots were a terra incognita to the " Maister," and 
 of course to his pupils. 
 
 As I have intimated, he was severe in his code 
 of discipline severe ! did I say ? that is no word 
 for it. His castigations and punishments were 
 simply horrible, yea fiendish. I firmly believe that 
 the old man thought, and had as an honest, con- 
 scientious conviction in his soul, that the beginning 
 and end of all sound and effective imparting of 
 knowledge lay in the tips of the taws. Whatever 
 his theory was, this was his practice anyhow, I 
 don't believe that more terrible thrashings were ever 
 inflicted, either in ancient or modern times, than what 
 those unhappy youths had to undergo in that old 
 square stone schoolhouse in the village of Lanark, 
 at the merciless hands of old Robert Mason. His 
 taws were the most horrible instrument of torture 
 that could be imagined. Leather was dear in those 
 days, and as the taws were stolen at every possible 
 opportunity that occurred, the (l Maister " found it 
 too costly a business to go to the shoemaker every
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 289 
 
 time he required a new pair, so he would rummage 
 round the barnyards of the neighbors until he would 
 find an old horse trace which had been thrown 
 away, and had been drying and hardening in the sun 
 for months. Then his soul would be delighted, and 
 he would forthwith fashion it into the direst weapon 
 of castigation that the heart of man or demon 
 could devise. He would pare down one end of it so 
 that he could conveniently wield it with both hands, 
 and the other end he would slice into three or more 
 tails and then singe and harden them in the fire to 
 give them more weight and sting. With this awful 
 weapon, perhaps five feet in length, in his hand he 
 would go to work as deliberately as a man in 
 chopping down a tree. I have seen as many as a 
 dozen pupils ranged before him, each waiting in 
 gloomy silence his turn to undergo chastisement. If 
 it was in warm weather each one as he came forward 
 had to lay his hand down on the cold stove (which 
 was never removed summer or winter) and then 
 after a long deliberate wipe of his forehead, shaggy 
 eyebrows, nose, mouth and chin, with his left hand 
 he would bring down the taws upon the hand of the 
 luckless culprit with a mighty pegh ! just as you 
 hear a man give with every swing of the axe into 
 the tree before him. After each one had received
 
 290 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 his dozen or more allotted " licks " the old man would 
 be somewhat exhausted, but I believe it was a 
 pleasant kind of exhaustion to him, and kept him in 
 good humor for hours afterwards. 
 
 There were about seventy of us, of all ages, from 
 the child at his A B C up to the stalwart man of 
 twenty or more, packed together in that small build- 
 ing of twenty feet square ; but Mr. Mason was no 
 respector of ages in the distribution of his castigat- 
 ing favors. The tallest and stoutest youth had to 
 come forward and lay his hand on the stove, and 
 take his punishment with as much meekness and 
 submission as the smallest urchin. 
 
 However he didn't have it all his own way with 
 these big fellows ; with a kind of sullen desperation 
 as to consequences they would sometimes revolt, and 
 bid defiance to the old Dominie. Suddenly turn- 
 ing up their coat-sleeves, and spitting on their 
 hands, they would square up to him, and 
 call out, "Maister, I'll fecht you." Then would 
 ensue a scene of uproar and excitement in that 
 school that beggars all description. The " Maister," 
 nothing loath, for he was a very powerful man, and 
 as good with his fists as he was with the taws, and 
 quite assured in his mind as to the issue of the 
 combat, would calmly except the challenge, and,
 
 In itie Backwoods of Canada. 291 
 
 rolling up his sleeves, at it the two would go in down 
 right earnest. 
 
 There was one fellow in particular who stands out 
 distinctly in my memory as a prominent hero in 
 these battles. Charlie was a strong, tall, big -man 
 of over twenty, the bully not only of the school 
 but of the village also. He was an incorrigible 
 dunce, as dense a blockhead as ever entered 
 a school door. He neither would nor could 
 learn anything ; consequently, there was a continual 
 feud between him and the master, and many and 
 fearful were the thrashings he received. Occasion- 
 ally, however, his stolid spirit would assert itself, 
 and he would defy and turn on the master with the 
 fury of a wild boar, " Maister I'll fecht you," would 
 come sputtering from his mouth, and then the battle 
 would commence. This was always a grand occa- 
 sion for the rest of us, and, knowing that the mas- 
 ter's attention was fully taken up, there would come 
 from every corner of the school our rallying cries 
 to the combatants, " weel dune, Charlie, weel dune," 
 " bully for you, Maister," " tak' him under the leg 
 Charlie," etc., etc. But the issue of the combat was 
 always the same, as it generally is in such cases of dis- 
 pute between teacher and scholar, Charlie would have 
 to succumb and go to the floor, and the master kneel-
 
 292 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 ing on his back, and holding him down with his left 
 hand on the back of his neck, would call loudly for 
 his taws; at this juncture Charlie would invariably 
 cry out " fair play, Maister, fair play, dinna strike a 
 man when he is doun." And this appeal to the old 
 man's generosity and honor was always effectual. 
 With a grim smile of sardonic triumph he would 
 allow Charlie to get up and go to his seat, and with 
 a long self-satisfied wipe of his grave lantern-jawed 
 countenance he would stalk in solemn dignity to 
 his desk, and peace and quietness would again pre- 
 vail. Fancy for a moment such a scene taking 
 place in one of our schools now ! 
 
 A most characteristic incident of Charlie and the 
 master occurred about this time, which I must 
 record. The master had just given Charlie a tre- 
 mendous beating, which he underwent with such 
 stolid ox-like indifference that the old Dominie's ire 
 was quite unappeased, " eh, my mon," said he, " I'll 
 bring something the morrow that will mak' ye 
 smart." 
 
 The next morning, before school time, Charlie 
 happened to be in the woods near the school-house, 
 and came across the old man tugging away with all 
 his might at a strong maple sapling about an inch 
 thick and six feet long.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 293 
 
 " What are gaun to do wi' that, Maister," said 
 Charlie. 
 
 " Eh, my mon, ye'll find that out soon enough," 
 was the angry reply, as he tugged away more 
 fiercely than before at the sturdy sapling. 
 
 " Aw weel, 111 gie ye a haun at it anyway," said 
 Charlie, and so he did, and between them they soon 
 tore it up by the roots. 
 
 The Dominie was observed several times during 
 the day to eye Charlie very curiously, and with a 
 kind of mystified uncertain grin on his solemn coun- 
 tenance, but Charlie was not called up, and for 
 some days was allowed to get off Scot-free for his 
 delinquencies. 
 
 There was another youth in that school, Bill 
 
 M , who was quite as incorrigible as Charlie, 
 
 but he was no dunce, I can tell you. His was a case 
 of " would not " learn, without question. Though he 
 was only twelve, the floggings he received were 
 something terrible ; but lay on as long and as heavy 
 as he pleased, the master could never wring a groan 
 or a tear out of Bill. 
 
 One day, however, the master's rage passed 
 all bounds, and in a paroxysm of fury, he seized 
 Bill by the ear with an iron grip and dragged 
 him to the door, and passing out he went down
 
 294 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 through the street of the village, hatless and raging, 
 his long grey hair streaming in the wind, until he 
 reached his father's office, and still holding Bill by 
 the ear, he thrust him into his presence, " there," 
 said he, " there is your neer-do-weel of a son, never 
 let me see his face again in the Lanark schule." 
 Bill, however, was back again next day in his seat, 
 and things went on as if nothing unusual had 
 occurred. The old man never kept up his resent- 
 ment, but allowed it to die with his temporary 
 passion. 
 
 Charlie has long since been laid under the sod, 
 
 but Wm. M now occupies, and for many years 
 
 has occupied, one of the highest and most lucrative 
 positions in the Bank of Montreal, and is respected 
 and loved by all who truly know him. His four 
 brothers also, who for longer or shorter periods 
 passed through the same severe school of discipline, 
 have all become settled in life as successful and 
 promising men. One of them, a physician in 
 Winnipeg, has attained high eminence in his pro- 
 fession, and the other three, as merchants, are gradu- 
 ally winning their way to wealth and independence. 
 
 But of all the boys who at that time were afflicted 
 
 with the visitation of the rod, perhaps Chas. M 
 
 had to undergo the severest ordeal. Charlie's be-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 295 
 
 setting sin was truant playing ; he hated the school 
 with a perfect and undying hatred, and it was only 
 under the direst compulsion that he ever was there 
 at all ; and I can safely aver that all the mental 
 and scholastic attainments that he gained during 
 that period were absolutely nil. And yet a brighter 
 genius never attended a Canadian village school 
 
 than Chas. M , which has been abundantly 
 
 shewn by his career since. His life at that time 
 strikingly resembles the early days of Thomas Ed- 
 ward, the celebrated Scotch naturalist. Like him 
 Charlie would seize every opportunity to steal away 
 to the woods, the hills and the river side, where the 
 terrors of school and of home would be utterly for- 
 gotten. The moment his absence was discovered, a 
 special messenger would be dispatched to his father, 
 and if he was not at home two stalwart youths, 
 whose faithfulness or cowardly obsequiousness could 
 be relied on, would be sent to hunt him up and 
 bring him to the school, and if they were successful, 
 then dire and woeful would be Charlie's tribu- 
 lations. 
 
 Charlie's father was the village merchant, and a 
 man of the purest, thoroughbred Lowland Scotch 
 type. He had, in common with the dominie, an 
 utter abhorrence of the sin of truant-playing. He
 
 296 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 regarded it as one of the most deadly of all youthful 
 sins, and to be dealt with by the most severe and 
 merciless application of the taws. It was quite a 
 common thing to see him appear at the schoolho use 
 door, leading Charlie by the hand ; and, stalking up 
 to the desk with stern aldermanic dignity, he would 
 say : " There, Maister, tak him, and thresh the 
 deevil out of him." 
 
 Charlie has fought his way well in the world, 
 since he left old Lanark. As a poet and journalist 
 he has highly distinguished himself. " The Song of 
 the Pines," which appears in his volume of poems, 
 entitled " Dreamland," is, as a minor production, the 
 finest that has appeared in the whole range of 
 Canadian literature. But Charlie has found out 
 that Canadian literature is neither appreciated nor 
 remunerated by Canadians themselves. Any for- 
 eign rubbish that has the imprimatur of a name 
 upon it is eagerly bought up and read, while their 
 own countrymen, of many of whose works they 
 ought to feel proud and honored in the possession, 
 are coldly and contemptuously passed by. So Charlie, 
 like a wise man, cast literature to the dogs, and 
 threw himself into business, and after a twelve years' 
 successful career in the North-west has gained 
 wealth and independence. He purposes, however,
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 297 
 
 to resume his literary efforts, and I have 110 doubt, 
 now that he is independent and affluent, his works 
 will be greatly appreciated and honored by his 
 countrymen. 
 
 I have said that Mr. Mason was an elder in the 
 kirk, and whatever might be his failings as a teacher 
 and they were those of the times as much as of the 
 individual in this capacity he stands forth as a 
 shining and venerated model to the most zealous 
 and distinguished of his successors and brethren 
 even of the present day. His sterling, unflinching 
 integrity, his simple-minded, pure hearted piety, 
 his practical orthodoxy, his rigid, unbending, iron- 
 cast character, all stamped him as a man of mark 
 and most wholesome influence in church matters, 
 during his day and generation. 
 
 For three or four years between the resignation of 
 Mr. Macalister and the settlement of my father, 
 there was a vacancy in the church. During all that 
 time Mr. Mason summoned the people sabbath after 
 sabbath to church, and kept up a regular service. 
 He never presumed to enter the pulpit, nor give any 
 of his own prelections ; but from the precentor's desk, 
 after praise and prayer, would read a sermon from 
 some old Scotch worthy. 
 
 It was during this period that the disruption in
 
 298 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Scotland took place, and, as every one knows, the 
 dark and angry winds of confusion and strife were 
 blown across the waters to this country, and rent 
 
 
 
 and troubled the church in every corner of the land. 
 Lanark, of course, did not escape, and being vacant 
 was looked upon as a particularly inviting field for 
 the operations of the secessionists. So Dr. Burns, 
 who had been going up and down through the 
 country, inflaming all hearts, and overturning all 
 opponents by his fiery, stormy eloquence, came, and 
 in his imperious maner, demanded entrance into the 
 church for the following sabbath. But he had met 
 his match for once. " Na, na," said old Eobert to 
 him, " ye'll never pit your foot in yon pulpit while I 
 have the key of the kirk in my pocket." 
 
 The Sabbath morning came, and there was a great 
 stir and commotion among the people, I can tell you. 
 The grim, brave, old elder took his stand at the 
 church door, and on every side was a great con- 
 course of people. When the Doctor appeared he 
 defied him to enter, and bade him depart and trouble 
 Israel no longer. The Doctor saw at once, of course, 
 that there was no admission there for him except 
 over Mason's dead body, so he betook himself to 
 the old wooden courthouse, which stood on the hill 
 just in the centre of the village, and thither all the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 299 
 
 multitude flocked, and with them old Eobert, with 
 no very worshipful thoughts, I fancy. 
 
 The building was packed to its utmost capacity, 
 and surrounded on all sides by an excited throng. 
 The Doctor, fully expectant of a grand triumph over 
 the old elder and the kirk, had finished the prelim- 
 inary services, and was proceeding with his sermon. 
 With all the force of his fiery eloquence, and 
 burning wrath, he was declaiming against the 
 iniquities and corruptions of the Church of Scotland, 
 when suddenly, old Mason, who was sitting directly 
 in front of him, with his keen steel-grey eyes gleam- 
 ing like meteors through his shaggy, over-arching 
 brows, rose to his feet, " I canna staun that, I canna 
 stauu that ! " he burst out, and with a stamp of his 
 massive foot on the floor, which shook the building 
 to its foundation, he strode down the aisle to the 
 door. The terrible earnestness of the old man, his 
 unmistakably righteous . wrath, his stern, impres- 
 sive, commanding demeanor, utterly disconcerted 
 the Doctor in his impassioned flow of denunciation 
 and abuse, and completely spoiled any effect which 
 might have been made upon the people. And it is 
 a historical fact that, though all the churches in the 
 neighborhood were in a blaze, and many of them left 
 the old kirk at the time, yet there was not the
 
 300 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 slightest defection in the church at Lanark; and 
 though many vigorous attempts were made, both 
 then and subsequently, yet from that time there was 
 not the smallest foothold or encouragement for the 
 Free Church obtained. 
 
 The brave, honest, manly, old Dominie has long 
 since been gathered to his fathers, and his scholars 
 are scattered far and wide over the face of the earth ; 
 but I believe that the impress of his truthful, sturdy, 
 determined character has been imprinted upon many 
 of them, and has in no small degree moulded them 
 for good, and fitted them in a large measure for the 
 stern, hard battle of life.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Jams. 
 
 '> 
 { 
 ij EADER, have you ever seen a genuine, fair 
 
 and square, up-and-down, orthodox " jam" ? 
 If you have not, then you have yet to see 
 one of the grandest sights which our backwoods 
 river life can afford. It is a scene that cannot be 
 painted or described aright. It must be witnessed 
 in order to appreciate rightly and fully its perilous 
 excitement, its complicated movements, its hazard- 
 ous handling, its sudden bursting, and the wild 
 hurryscurry leaping and hurrahing of the men as 
 they make their escape to the shore over the heav- 
 ing, gliding, rolling timbers. It is a mimic battle 
 between men, logs, and .water, and occasionally lasts 
 for a week at a time before human strength and skill 
 carry the day. 
 
 Jams are of very frequent occurrence on the river, 
 though some spots ' are particularly notorious for 
 their difficulty and danger in this respect, and have 
 repeatedly been the scenes of terrible accidents to 
 life and limb. Consequently, when they are ap-
 
 302 Shanty*, Forest and River Life 
 
 preached, the most experienced, skilful, and active 
 hands are stationed to watch and guard against them. 
 These places are commonly called " chutes," and are 
 generally narrow, crooked, and precipitous descents 
 of the river, forming, consequently, foaming and tur- 
 bulent rapids, and frequently terminating in most 
 dangerous eddies and whirlpools. 
 
 A short distance above the place a strong " boom" 
 is laid across the river in order to keep back the 
 timber, and " knowing hands" are stationed here to 
 let it out gradually, a few sticks at a time ; so that 
 the timber may not crowd or float too thickly into 
 the rapids. Behind this " boom' 7 the whole ll drive " 
 is generally collected before they proceed to run the 
 " chute," and the whole force of men is concentrated 
 on the various points of difficulty, in order to force 
 the timber through. In spite of all precautions 
 however, jams, and tremendous ones too, will take, 
 place. Some refractory stick, generally some worth- 
 less " cull," or rotten, twisted piece that is hardly 
 worth taking to market, is the cause of the whole 
 mischief. Just as it is in human associations, it is 
 often the most useless, cranky member of society, 
 who will not run smoothly, and according to book, 
 that causes the greatest trouble and damage among 
 his followers. So there are " cranks " among the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 303 
 
 timber which can neither take care of themselves nor 
 yet keep out of other sticks' way. They will run 
 broadsides, or any way but the right way, in the 
 most ticklish part of the chute, and will be sure to 
 stick at the very place where they ought to run the 
 quickest. Before the man who is stationed at this 
 spot can dislodge such a stick, for it suddenly de- 
 velopes a leech-like attachment to the place, others 
 have crowded down, and, though all the available 
 force in the immediate vicinity is summoned to 
 bear upon it, yet a jam is formed which increases in 
 tightness and solidity with every fresh stick from 
 above. 
 
 The men are very loath in such circumstances to 
 pass the alarm to the hands on the boom perhaps 
 nearly a mile above not to pass through any more 
 timber, and will tug, and pry, and heave, with every 
 muscle and energy at the utmost strain, in order to 
 loosen the wedged-in, tightly-packed mass. In the 
 meantime the timber from above is " driving" rapid- 
 ly down, and every stick strikes against the jam with 
 the violence of a battering-ram, and wedges it in 
 more tightly still. Meanwhile the rushing, boiling 
 waters of the narrow gorge will be rapidly damming 
 up and pressing down on the confined bound timbers^ 
 with inconceivable force.
 
 304 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Without doubt, a jam a veritable old-fashioned, 
 no humbug jam has been formed, and it will take 
 " all hands and the cook" to loosen it. 
 
 A wild and exciting scene of bustle and activity 
 now takes place. Every man is on the alert, and 
 throwing his whole strength into the work. The 
 only man who is cool and collected is the foreman, 
 and he needs to be ; if ever experienced and calcu- 
 lating judgment, as well as nerve and ability, is 
 required, now is the time. As soon as he finds out 
 the salient points of the jam, and above all the 
 piece de resistance, he attacks it with all his force 
 and skill. With wild whoop and yell the men 
 respond to his summons, and go at it with a will. 
 
 As you stand on the shore and watch the scene 
 you are imbued with a strange, restless, feverish 
 excitement. You can't remain still, you must 
 move in unison wdth the men before you, and 
 involuntarily you find yourself joining in with their 
 wild shouts and hurrahs, as some temporary advan- 
 tage is gained. 
 
 It is astonishing how the men are animated and 
 assisted in their work by the peculiar cry of their 
 foreman. It is like the "tally-ho" with the hounds. 
 " Hee" Yo ; Hee ! " it is, with a clear, ringing, musical 
 measure which can be heard a mile away. -If given
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 307 
 
 with the right emphasis and intonation it will so 
 concentrate the energies of the men that fifty or a 
 hundred of them will pull and pry as one man. 
 
 But the climax of interest in this scene is when 
 the jam is giving way and bursting ; with the crash 
 and noise of thunder it sweeps away everything 
 before it, and in a furious, whirling, seething jumble 
 of logs, up-rooted trees, and foaming torrent, rushes 
 down the gorge with lightning speed. Every man 
 has now to look out for himself, and make for the 
 shore the best way he can. As they leap from stick 
 to stick, in the tumbling, whirling mass, it is almost 
 miraculous how they escape. And as they go 
 bounding along, every man is whooping at the pitch 
 of his voice, " There she goes, There she goes, 
 Hoorah ! Hoorah ! " and, with a wild scramble and 
 yell, they are all safely ashore, and the danger and 
 excitement are over for this time. 
 
 Some of the most narrow escapes from mutilation 
 and drowning are of everyday occurrence during the 
 driving season. One of the most remarkable of 
 these that I ever heard of was one in which Duncan 
 the manager, was the principal participant. 
 
 He was driving a raft of timber on the Mississippi, 
 when a formidable jam occurred a short distance 
 above the bridge, at Innisville. This is a very
 
 308 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 dangerous place, and was rendered particularly so 
 that year by the unusually swollen state of the river, 
 consequent upon the bursting of one of Gilmour's 
 dams at the foot of Crutch lake. The main portion 
 of the jammed timber had been all safely got off, 
 and down the stream, but the " tail " still remained 
 firmly lodged in the very centre of the rapids, and 
 in the most dangerous place. Duncan saw that 
 two men were all that were required to take it off, 
 and looked about for some one to select for his com- 
 panion. He must have a man upon whom he could 
 thoroughly rely in every respect, as the undertaking 
 was of the most difficult and dangerous character. 
 One man was anxious to go with him, but, though 
 competent in every respect, Duncan, at a glance, 
 saw that he had been " swiping " too freely. 
 
 In those days liquor was most plentifully used 
 on the drive. Whenever they came to those places 
 involving great fatigue, exposure and risk, one man 
 was commonly detailed for the express duty of 
 carrying whiskey from the nearest tavern, not in 
 bottles, but in the common " paten' pail," holding 
 ten or twelve quarts, and this man, who was always 
 a sober, steady-going fellow, was charged not to 
 " ladle '' the liquor out too freely. Sometimes, 
 however, in the hurry, a thirsty chap would
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 309 
 
 contrive to get more than he could rightly carry, 
 and this happened to be the case with the party 
 who volunteered to accompany Duncan on this 
 occasion. Duncan, however, very peremptorily, 
 and to the great chagrin of the man, ordered him to 
 stay" on shore and " sober up " as quickly as pos- 
 sible, and selected as his companion an old friend, 
 and well-proved associate in many a scene of peril, 
 of the name of Finlay. 
 
 Together they proceeded to give the final tug and 
 heave at the few sticks still jammed in the rapids. 
 
 What they dreaded now occurred. The jam 
 siiddenly broke before they could leap to the shore, 
 and they were rapidly swept down the river on the 
 struggling, whirling timber. They were safe for the 
 present on a stick which floated somewhat apart 
 from the others, but immediately before them, and a 
 few feet below the bridge, was a succession of such 
 broken and boiling eddies that no man could pass 
 through and live. As they neared the bridge they 
 saw to their relief that a single stick which had 
 floated in advance of them, had got lodged length- 
 ways across from one pier to another, and a chance, 
 though a slim one, was left them for their lives. 
 The point of difficulty was to spring from their own 
 stick on to this one, before they should strike it, for
 
 310 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 at the speed with which they were being swept 
 along the collision would certainly hurl them head- 
 long into the boiling torrent. Duncan, who was on 
 the end nearest to the transverse stick, made his leap 
 in time, and with success ; but not so his companion. 
 
 Before he could make the spring the stick struck 
 with. the force and velocity of a cannon-ball, and he 
 was violently thrown into the water. Just as he 
 was being swept under the stick on which Duncan 
 was now standing, the latter seized him with his 
 powerful hands by the shoulders, and partially drag- 
 ged him on to the stick, while his legs and lower part 
 of his body were kept under by the force of the 
 current. And now took place one of the most remark- 
 able " tugs of war " which certainly ever occurred, on 
 that river at least : Duncan pulled and strained with 
 all his might, and though he was one of the most 
 powerful men on the river he could not raise or 
 budge him one inch from the terrible embrace of the 
 current. 
 
 By this time the rest of the men had gathered on 
 the bridge, but, though he called loudly for assist- 
 ance, not a man would venture down to his side. It 
 was indeed a perilous undertaking : the smooth slip- 
 pery stick was oscillating up and down at a fearful 
 rate in the swollen angry torrent, and a slip and fall
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 311 
 
 wcmld precipitate a man into certain death. At 
 length Dan, Duncan's younger brother, made the 
 hazardous attempt, but even the united strength of 
 the two was utterly insufficient to drag Fiulay up 
 and out of the river's death-grasp. And the poor 
 fellow, who was now almost unconscious, begged them 
 to let him go, that they were crushing in his ribs 
 and breast. Duncan, who all this time had retained 
 his coolness and self-possession, and also his deter- 
 mination to save his friend at all hazards, seeing it 
 was impossible to drag him on to the stick, now call- 
 ed to the men on the bridge to throw him the end of 
 a long line, and making a slip-knot of this he man- 
 aged to pass it over Finlay's feet, and draw it tight 
 round his ankles. Then calling to the men to hold 
 firm, he relinquished his hold on his shoulders, and 
 as the current swept him violently under the stick, 
 the men, with a lusty echoing cheer, hauled Finlay, 
 feet foremost, safely on to the bridge. 
 
 But the poor fellow was in a sorry plight, his 
 clothes were all stripped to the skin, and his body, from 
 his heels to his head, was as black as a negro's, and 
 as battered and bruised as if he had passed through 
 a threshing mill. For a week he kept his bed, and 
 was very thankful then to be able to resume his 
 work.
 
 312 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Not infrequently, as we have said, these " chutes " 
 and rapids are the scenes of fearful mutilations and 
 loss of life. Hardly a season passes that the death- 
 roll has not to be called at one or more of these 
 dangerous passages by some " concern." These 
 disasters are often the result of carelessness or 
 wanton recklessness on the part of the victims 
 themselves. They often occur in the following 
 manner : after all the timber has beeen passed through 
 the rapids it is then necessary to transport the pro- 
 visions, tents, boats, etc,, to the foot ; this must be 
 done either by carrying and dragging them by the 
 land portage, or running them over the rapids. The 
 men have a great dislike to portaging the heavy 
 canoes or boats ; and where it is at all practicable 
 will invariably run them over. But even where it 
 is not practicable but hazardous in the extreme and 
 by accident only they escape with their lives' 
 they sometimes will persist in making the attempt. 
 This is particularly the case if there happen to be 
 any whiskey about ; some old drivers, whom a hun- 
 dred hair-breadth escapes have only hardened and 
 made reckless, will, under its crazing influence, 
 " stump " any one of the gang to run the rapids 
 with him, and often will succeed, by taunts and 
 ridicule, in persuading some other fool to attempt the 
 passage of death.
 
 In the Backivoods of Canada: 313 
 
 Some years ago an accident occurred in this way 
 which caused considerable stir at the time, and had, 
 I believe, the effect of checking to some extent these 
 foolhardy exhibitions of insane and reckless bravado. 
 The principal in this affair was a man of the name of 
 Colton, widely known throughout the Ottawa valley 
 for his extraordinary strength, agility, and reckless 
 hardihood. A common feat of his was to take a 
 flying leap on the level, over a team of horses ; and 
 in every kind of athletic exercise he was the cham- 
 pion of his day. 
 
 The drive to which Colton belonged had all passed 
 over the rapids, the provisions and raft-gear being 
 portaged by the land road, when he was taken with 
 one of his reckless humors, and proposed that they 
 should run the canoes over. The rapids were among 
 the most dangerous on the Ottawa river, just a little 
 above Des Joachims, and ended in a fearful eddy 
 and whirlpool over them no mortal man had ever 
 yet run and lived. At that time over thirty years 
 ago they were in their natural state, but now they 
 have been so improved by side dams and slides that 
 their passage is comparatively easy. 
 
 Colton's proposal was at first scouted and 
 laughed at, but such is the cowardice of men in 
 the face of ridicule and taunts, that his persistence
 
 314 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 finally prevailed on two men to accompany him in 
 the terrible undertaking. Their departure was 
 witnessed with breathless interest by the rest of the 
 gang, which increased to the wildest excitement as 
 the large, heavy canoe bounded like a feather over 
 the foaming, boiling surges of the " chute." Near 
 the foot was a large rock against which the angry 
 waters dashed, and were thrown back in furious 
 seething swells. Notwithstanding the utmost 
 exertions of the men, the canoe was thrown violently 
 against the rock, and was immediately upset by the 
 recoiling waters, and Colton and his companions 
 were precipitated into the whirling torrent, and in a 
 second were hurried into the eddy and whirlpool 
 below. One man managed to grasp the canoe as it 
 shot past him, and was carried safely through into 
 the calm water beyond, but the other two were seized 
 in the deadly embrace of the whirling waters, out 
 of which no human strength was able to escape. 
 Colton's companion, who had probably received some 
 injury when the canoe upset, was immediately 
 drawn under and was seen no more, and his body 
 was never recovered. Colton, however, struggled 
 long and powerfully. Never, perhaps, was there a 
 more fearful struggle for life on the broad, deep 
 waters of the Ottawa. Though the shores were
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 315 
 
 lined with strong stalwart, men, accustomed to 
 every peril and accident of river life, yet not an 
 effort could possibly be made for his rescue. All 
 they could do was passively to watch the course of 
 the unequal contest, and fearfully await its certain 
 and terrible issue. Eighteen times was Colton 
 carried round on the whirling circle, and every time 
 he was about to be drawn in by the deathly suction 
 he contrived, by a tremendous exertion of strength, 
 to dive under and out of its reach, only to be again 
 seized 'by it, when he rose to the surface, and irre- 
 sistibly drawn towards the gurgling vortex of 
 death. But, finally, his gigantic strength had to 
 succumb, and as he neared the fatal point for the 
 last time he threw up his arms in despair, and, with 
 a fearful cry, that was mockingly re-echoed by the 
 surrounding hills, he sank, and did not again 
 appear.
 
 316 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Sandy C . 
 
 'EPEESENTATIVE men of the lumber mer- 
 chant class have been rapidly changing their 
 character and habits within the last few years. 
 Formerly it was quite a common thing -to find 
 these gentlemen engaging personally, working 
 with their own hands, in the practical business of 
 the concern. They lived in the shanty with the 
 men during the greater part of the winter; they 
 went down the river with them on the drive, and 
 settled up and paid them off with their own hands 
 in Quebec. They knew the name of every Tom, 
 Jack and Bill in their employment, and were " hail- 
 fellow-well-met " with very many of them. 
 
 The orthodox doctrine in those days was that no 
 timber business could prosper unless the " boss " 
 was directly at the head of it, and personally super- 
 intending every detail of it. Hence he was often 
 the hardest working man in the concern. He was 
 the first in the woods in the morning and the last
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 317 
 
 to return to the shanty at night. If a difficult and 
 dangerous piece of work had to be done he was 
 always on hand with hia stentorian " hee-au, hee ! " 
 to head the gang who had to perform it. In a jam 
 on the river he always took the post of danger, and 
 was the last man to make his escape to the shore. 
 Physically, as much as in any other sense, he was 
 the head, heart and soul of the whole concern. 
 
 We can easily understand how powerful an 
 influence and stimulus in working, such a line of 
 conduct would exert among the men, and how 
 strongly it would tend to keep up the esprit de corp, 
 and general good feeling in the shanty, especially if 
 the " boss " were well liked which, we are glad to 
 say, he generally was. 
 
 But a mighty change has come over the manners 
 of those gentlemen in these later days of prominence 
 and prosperity in the lumber trade. You no longer 
 find them in their shirt-sleeves with handspike in 
 hand, heading and cheering on the men in every 
 perilous and difficult piece of work. All this, and 
 every other kind of manual and practical work, is 
 now delegated to the foreman. They never think 
 now of staying for weeks and months at a time in 
 the shanty, and bivouacking in the tent by the river 
 side in the spring, as in the good old days.
 
 318 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 Their acquaintance with the shanty and the work 
 is limited to an occasional flying visit for a day or 
 two during the winter, when they burst in upon 
 the astonished simple-minded backwoodsers with 
 jingling bells and gorgeous equipages, and all the 
 importance and dignity of a prince of the blood royal. 
 As for the men, they do not pretend to know the 
 names of a quarter of them ; and, except with a few 
 old, faithful and privileged fellows, they never 
 exchange a word of greeting or kind fellowship. 
 
 I have no intention whatever of drawing any 
 disparaging comparison between these totally differ- 
 ent representatives of the same order of men. In 
 new and altered circumstances new modes of pro- 
 cedure and fresh developments of character are 
 presented to view. In the case in point each class of 
 character is suited to its own times and surround- 
 ings. 
 
 Not only has the lumber trade now assumed such 
 proportions, in its greatly enlarged extent and im- 
 portance in the country, as to necessitate a much 
 closer attention to its outside and financing depart- 
 ments, both as to supplies and market, than formerly ; 
 but the fact is, and in this lies the main cause of 
 this change I speak of, the lumber merchants are 
 connected with and largely carrying on other busi-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 319 
 
 nesses besides the lumber business proper. The 
 great majority of them have now large saw mills, 
 grist mills, general stores, and, in some instances, 
 extensive machine shops and cloth factories to 
 engage their attention. These interests necessarily 
 so occupy their time and business energies that it 
 is impossible to take the active and personal over- 
 sight in the lumbering business which they formerly 
 did. The fact is that with some of them now this 
 business is only a subordinate and auxiliary affair 
 altogether to other and more absorbing ones. 
 
 I must confess, however, that my predilections 
 run, as a general thing, in favor of the old class 
 character of lumber merchants. Take them all in 
 all they were noble specimens of humanity its 
 truest ring found in them its clearest echo. They 
 were manly, upright, open-hearted, and hospitable 
 to a fault. Accustomed to large money transactions 
 they spent freely and lived high, perhaps a trifle too 
 much so. As a rule, they were devoid of that petty 
 trickery and sharp-practice, which in their more 
 genteel brethren of these later days have been en- 
 gendered by their more intimate association with 
 outside and city life, and more extensive and fluctu- 
 ating collateral businesses. There is no stronger 
 proof of this than the fact that it was no uncommon
 
 320 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 thing to find men who had grown gray and often 
 become supernumeraries in the service of the same 
 family ; also for men to leave their wages for years 
 in the hands of their masters, feeling it was quite 
 safe there, and they would receive it with interest 
 whenever they choose to ask for a " squaring up." 
 
 Prominent among this class of men stands out 
 
 Mr. Alexander C , the father of my friend C . 
 
 He was generally known under the familiar appella- 
 tion of Sandy C , though in his case the oft-times 
 
 mendacious proverb was proved doubly false, for 
 the more familiarly you knew him the more you 
 respected and admired him. He was no common 
 man in any sense you liked to take him. Though 
 he has beem dead for some years, yet he is firmly 
 held in most affectionate and grateful remembrance ; 
 and they do honor to themselves who thus remem- 
 ber him. He was a genuine man in the highest 
 sense of the term, and an honor to the class to which 
 he belonged. 
 
 He is often spoken of as the pioneer lumberer of 
 these backwoods, though in strict accuracy he was 
 not so, as the Yule brothers were before him and 
 also the Americans who drew timber out of Calabogie 
 Lake as early as 1812, and gave their name to the 
 bay on that lake ; but he was the first who reduced
 
 In the BacJcwoods of Canada. 321 
 
 the business to a thoroughly systematic, and profit- 
 able shape, and laid the foundation of ultimate suc- 
 cess and affluent independence for the family. Nearly 
 sixty years ago he commenced life in the woods at 
 the early age of twelve, and for forty years he labored 
 with an indomitable patience and courage, which 
 has certainly never been surpassed in the annals of 
 pioneer hardship and difficulty in Canadian back- 
 woods life. He was pre-eminently a toiler of the 
 forest. Until within a year or two of his death 
 three-fourths of his time was spent in the woods 
 and on the river, sharing the discomforts of the gang 
 in the heaviest and most dangerous work that had 
 to be done. He shirked nothing that any man 
 could do, and did many a thing that the boldest and 
 hardiest wouldn't dream of attempting. He loved 
 the work, and the work loved him ; it never soured 
 or aged his temper, but fostered in him all that was 
 kind and genial and manly. 
 
 To my mind the perfection of true manhood is 
 the retaining of boyhood and never suffering it to 
 die out while life lasts. A genuine man shews his 
 real manliness just as much in his relaxation from 
 work as in the toughest and stiffest strains of his 
 life. I love to hear the old boyish laugh ring out, 
 and the cheerful peals of a still youthful spirit echo-
 
 322 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 ing among the stern crags and buffets of life's reali- 
 ties. 
 
 Now such a man was Sandy C . No one could 
 
 ever accuse him of negligence in work or duty, nor 
 would he allow it in the smallest degree among his 
 men. In fact, he was generally exceedingly arbi- 
 trary and authoritative among them while the work 
 was going on, especially if it was of a difficult and 
 pressing nature. In truth he sometimes went a little 
 too far in this direction. For, while he prided him- 
 self on being able to do what any other man could 
 do, he also expected every man under him to do the 
 same. Not infrequently when he saw a fellow re- 
 miss, as he thought, he would unceremoniously dis- 
 lodge him, and seizing axe or handspike do the 
 work himself, and then threaten the man with all 
 sorts of terrible things, if it should ever happen again. 
 He worked his men harder than any " boss " on the 
 river, and yet he was better liked than any other on 
 it, for when the work was done and the press over 
 he was most kind and considerate, and would allow 
 his men every indulgence and join in with them in 
 any frolic or amusement that was going on. 
 
 His whole life from his earliest boyhood was so 
 full of stirring incident and adventurous hardship, 
 both in the forest and on the river, that it is difficult
 
 Enterprise and Hardihood. (Old School).
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 325 
 
 to seize upon any specially prominent points to 
 illustrate it. From his earliest days he was a keen 
 sportsman, and always prided himself upon having 
 the best rifle and fowling piece in the backwoods, 
 and was himself a first-class shot with both. 
 
 If he happened to be at home in the Fall, during 
 the time that we were having our annual deer hunt, 
 he enjoyed nothing more than spending a few days 
 with "the boys," as he called us, in our backwoods 
 camp ; and nothing pleased us more than to have 
 him with us. He was the life of the party, for 
 though be was a merciless despot at getting us up 
 in the morning and off to our posts, still when the 
 hunt and business of the day was over, he was the 
 youngest and keenest among us in any frolic or 
 athletic games that we indulged in. 
 
 He had a great dislike to profane language, espe- 
 cially of a blasphemous character. His reverence 
 for the name of the Creator was most profound, and 
 he had no hesitation in checking and rebuking a 
 man when he 'heard him uttering these profanities. 
 I remember well one time when he and I and 
 another party were about to cross a large lake in a 
 small bark canoe, this person had been indulging 
 rather freely from his flask, and as we were pre- 
 paring to embark gave utterance to many profane
 
 326 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 expressions, frequently invoking the name of our 
 Saviour, I saw Sandy's eye gleaming and his wrath 
 kindling till, with a look and a tone that none but 
 he could assume, he burst out, " stop that, sir, such 
 language is not fit for any Christian man to use, 
 and particularly at such a time as this, you ought 
 to be afraid to enter this canoe ; stop it ! " 
 
 The man was at once thoroughly cowed and 
 sobered, and during our passage up the lake sat on 
 the bottom of the canoe without stirring a limb, or 
 uttering a word. 
 
 Sandy was as fearless a man as ever breathed ; in 
 fact, I believe he did not know what fear was. He 
 lumbered for a number of years on the Trent river, 
 and on one of his visits to a small town on that 
 river he was robbed of a large sum of money. In 
 the course of his business that day he had occasion 
 to visit several of the hotels, and in his usual manner 
 spent freely and lavishly with all whom he met. 
 When he retired to his room at night he found that 
 a package of notes containing about $1,600, which 
 he had carried in his overcoat pocket, was gone. 
 He at once called his clerk who had accompanied 
 him, and on talking over the matter their suspicions 
 immediately fell on the same party. This was a 
 notorious bully and desperado of the town, an ex-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 327 
 
 convict of the penitentiary, a man of immense 
 stature and strength, and altogether a very ugly 
 customer to deal with. Both Sandy and the clerk 
 had noticed him during the day hanging about them, 
 and particularly if there were any " general drinks " 
 called on, and felt positive he was the culprit. With- 
 out hesitation or delay they started for the man's 
 house Sandy arming himself as he passed through 
 the dining-room with the large carving knife and 
 rousing him out of bed, Sandy, in a tone of thunder, 
 demanded his money, telling him " he would not 
 leave the house till he gave it up." The ruffian 
 rose and with many an oath denied the charge, and 
 went to seize his gun which was in a corner of the 
 room, but our friend divining his purpose sprang at 
 him, and threatened to put the knife into him unless 
 he at once gave up the money. At this juncture 
 ' his wife who was lying trembling in the bed spoke 
 up, and told her husband " he might as well own up 
 to the theft, and that the money was actually con- 
 cealed in the bed tick on which they were lying." 
 At the same moment the clerk made his appearance 
 through the door, and the man seeing himself thus be- 
 set on all sides sullenly confessed to the matter, and 
 going to the bed he raised the clothes and brought 
 out a package of bills, and said " a part of it was
 
 328 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 there and the rest was hidden in the woodshed." 
 While the clerk counted the money, Sandy went 
 with him to the place, determined not to lose sight 
 of him till the whole amount was recovered, and 
 sure enough in a secret recess of the outhouse was 
 the rest of the money ; the two sums covered the 
 exact amount he had lost. Sandy told me " he 
 felt so sorry for the poor devil that when he found 
 all was right he handed him a ten dollar bill, telling 
 him to give up his evil courses, and turn over a new 
 leaf." He was greatly offended, however, when I 
 remarked to him that " I had no doubt the scoundrel 
 followed up his advice by giving his wife a tre- 
 mendous beating as soon as his back was turned." 
 
 Take him all in all, Sandy C was as noble a 
 
 type of humanity as ever lived and toiled in the 
 Ottawa Valley, and no memory is held to-day in 
 greater esteem and affection among those who knew 
 him, both rich and poor, than his.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 A Carnival in a Riverside Shebeen. 
 
 HIS is to be not a very agreeable chapter to 
 read, and I would advise the delicate 
 minded reader to give it the go-by. But I 
 must write it, else my book would be lacking one 
 of the essential characteristic features of backwoods 
 river life. 
 
 Lest my readers should be carried away with too 
 exalted an opinion of the purely heroic in shanty- 
 man character and life by what I have depicted, I 
 must, at the expense of what is pleasant and com- 
 mendable, tell the truth in a somewhat darker shade 
 about them. 
 
 Notwithstanding what I have written about the 
 greatly improved 'morality, and general tone >of 
 character, and habit of shantymen now, compared 
 with what it used to be, still it can be readily under- 
 stood by those who know human life and nature 
 that there necessarily must be much that is rough, 
 coarse and even brutal among this class of men.
 
 330 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 I deny most emphatically that the general influ- 
 ence of shanty life in the woods during winter is 
 prejudicial in itself to a good, fair tone of character 
 and morals. If anything, apart from perverse 
 extraneous influences, it is the reverse. The plain, 
 strong, healthy food the pure, keen, bracing 
 atmosphere the heavy, unremitting physical exer- 
 tion, the regular routine life week in and week out 
 and the total abstinence from intoxicating liquors, 
 all combined, have a tendency, if not to elevate, at 
 least not to lower the ordinary standard of human 
 morality. 
 
 But I must confess that a certain change takes 
 place in these aspects of character when the drive 
 commences in the spring. The river life is more cal- 
 culated to unsettle good resolutions and habits, and 
 to develop the harum-scarum propensities of human 
 nature than that of the winter. It is a life of 
 irregular, unsettled and changeful interest, and is 
 beset with new and peculiar temptations to the 
 ex-hibernated shantyman. 
 
 If he is grogily inclined, he has now frequent 
 opportunities of gratifying his appetite. Every few 
 miles on the river side there are low taverns, or 
 shebeen shops, licensed and unlicensed, where rank
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 331 
 
 vitriolized poison, under the name of good- whiskey, 
 is sold by the glass or bottle to the thirsty drivers. 
 
 These places are hot-beds of abominations. They 
 awaken and revive in full force the long repressed 
 devil of strong drink which has been lying dormant, 
 perhaps almost extinguished, by the lengthy winter 
 sojourn amid the pure bracing influences of the 
 forest. Now it is that, upon occasion at least, the 
 river-man can, if he pleases, give full fling to all 
 that is sensuous, low, and debasing within him. On 
 Saturday nights especially, when the week's work is 
 finished, and he can sleep off the effects of a 
 debaunch on the Sunday, these river-side shabeens 
 are often the scenes of frightful orgies, and of most 
 inhuman and brutal " fights " between individuals 
 of the same drive, or free fights between rival gangs 
 of other " drives." 
 
 Those encounters in their ferocity, bloodshed, and 
 often serious and even fatal consequences, beggar 
 all description. When the devilish passions of 
 thode rough and powerful men are thoroughly roused 
 by the demon of whiskey, then they become more 
 like wild beasts, and infuriated madmen than human 
 beings. 
 
 I have never seen the terribly demoralizing 
 effect of strong drink in completely changing the
 
 332 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 character and disposition of a man more strongly 
 exemplified than among those men, and especially 
 on such occasions. You would not know them to 
 ibe the same men. You may perhaps have par- 
 ticularly remarked some fellow as being of a most 
 quiet, staid, well-behaved demeanor. He was always 
 .up to time in his work, and one of the most 
 peaceably inclined, inoffensive men in the shanty 
 community. He was the last man in the world 
 you would suppose who would strike a blow or give 
 a cross word. But behold him in liquor ! and what 
 a metamorphosis ? If a veritable saint were to be 
 changed into an incarnate devil you could not be 
 more surprised, and disgusted. 
 
 I have in my mind's eye at this moment just such 
 a person, one, alas, among not a few. When I first 
 became acquainted "with him, and my continued 
 acquaintance only strengthened the opinion. I 
 thought he was one of the most exemplary and 
 highly to-be-respected men I had ever met with. 
 He carried himself with a grave, self-contained 
 bearing that was impressive in the highest degree. 
 He delivered himself with a sententious gravity, and 
 full toned deliberative utterance that would have 
 done credit to a reverend principal of a Scotch 
 university. He moved about among us with the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada,. 333 
 
 air and demeanor of a Sir Oracle. There was even 
 an odour of sanctity about him that would have 
 adorned a Congregational minister of the highest 
 standing in the Union. And I really liked and 
 respected the man, and always enjoyed conversation 
 with him. I never heard an oath from his lips ; and 
 his opinions, given in his deep-toned, full-measured 
 accent, were always sound and sensible, and what 
 you would naturally expect from his appearance and 
 deportment. 
 
 And yet this man, when in liquor, was a perfect 
 fiend. He was quarrelsome, profane, and obscene 
 to the lowest degree. He was looked upon as one 
 of the most noted bullies in the Ottawa Valley, and 
 was the hero of perhaps more " fights " than any 
 man in it. In fact, he never could indulge freely in 
 whiskey without getting into a scrimmage of some 
 kind. He loved a fight for the fight's sake, and if 
 his foul tongue could not provoke a man into a 
 quarrel with him, he would often adopt the most 
 ingenious expedients in order to bring it about. On 
 such occasions he was a man who " had a grievance," 
 and could always rake up some old grudge, either 
 personal or relative, as a plausible pretext for an 
 attack. If he succeeded in his design, woe generally 
 betided his antagonist, for few indeed were able to
 
 334 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 stand against his tall, powerful, active frame, and 
 his quick ambi- dextrous movements. His fighting 
 was of the genuine wild-cat sort of bruising, nothing 
 fair and stand-up about it, but the meanest, trickiest, 
 most unmanly rough-and-tumbleism. He left no 
 foul means untried to maim and " use up " his oppon- 
 ent. He would kick, bite, trip, and tear like a 
 wild beast, and was just as savage and unsparing 
 in his punishment ; marks and injuries would 
 often be left on his victims for life. His favorite 
 mode of attack was, at the first opportunity, to plant 
 a terrible kick with the toe of his heavy boot under 
 the chin of his adversary, and if this fearful blow 
 did not at once disable, it would so stun him as to 
 render him quite helpless, and then he would maul 
 and kick him till he was completely insensible. 
 This " kick " of his, however, was so well known 
 that, except with a perfect stranger, he had seldom 
 the opportunity afforded him of inflicting it. 
 
 One of the most sanguinary and hard contested 
 of all his encounters took place at a low tavern, on 
 the mouth of one of the principal tributaries of the 
 Upper Ottawa. 
 
 It was in the spring, during the " rafting up " pro- 
 cess, that is, the binding together of the single pieces 
 of square timber into " cribs," each containing about
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 335 
 
 twenty-five sticks, which is always done on reach- 
 ing the Ottawa, for up to this point the timber has 
 been floating in the streams in loose single sticks. 
 
 Several concerns had met at this point, and were 
 simultaneously carrying on the business of rafting 
 up ; consequently, some hundreds of men were 
 collected at and about the mouth of the river, and a 
 vast amount of drinking, swearing and fighting were 
 continually going on among them at the tavern. 
 
 One Saturday night a fearful drunken spree was 
 indulged in by a large number of the " drivers " 
 from the various gangs. It was a beastly carnival 
 of noisy, drunken excess. Highwines diluted with 
 water, and then charged with the oil of vitriol to dis- 
 guise the water, was the only, and continuous drink. 
 As its maddening fumes rose to the brains of those 
 fearless and powerful men, every species of back- 
 woods coarseness and brutality was exhibited, and 
 even gloried in by the intoxicated river men. Pro- 
 fanity, obscene joking, ribald songs, rough feats of 
 strength, tricks of all sorts, and every now and then 
 a bloody fight, made up the programme of the night's 
 entertainment, and was extended far into the next 
 day. As an eye witness told me, " it was like a 
 little hell on earth." 
 
 Prominent as usual among the revelers was the
 
 336 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 man we speak off ; he was drinking heavily like the 
 rest, and was in " capital twist " for a fight every 
 other pastime on such occasions being mere child's 
 play for him. All his attempts, however, to pick a 
 quarrel with some <one were unavailing, for every 
 one knew what he was after and kept clear of him. 
 At length, though, he got his desire gratified, and one 
 of the 'most bloody and disgusting hand-to-hand 
 combats followed that was ever known in the 
 Ottawa Valley. 
 
 And who do you imagine was his antagonist ? 
 His own brother ! 
 
 And what can you possibly conceive was the 
 cause of dispute ? Nothing under the sun but simply 
 to prove which was the " best man," This had long 
 been an open question between them, and to-night 
 they mutually agreed to decide it. 
 
 The two men were pretty equally matched, though 
 his brother was, if anything, the heavier and more 
 powerful man, but not so quick and active. So in 
 perfectly cool blood -and good understanding they 
 we at at it, but very quickly they were more like two 
 raging devils, thirsting for each other's blood, than 
 brothers born and nursed by the same mother. For 
 more than three hours the unnatural conflict raged 
 with varying success on each side. Never was the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 337 
 
 holy stillness of a Sabbath dawn broken by a more 
 inhuman struggle, and one that was within a hair's 
 breadth of stamping the brand of Cain upon one of 
 them. They struck and tore at, and bit each other 
 like infuriated tigers, and locked in one another's 
 iron grasp they frequently rolled over and over on 
 the ground, none daring to interfere, or try to 
 separate them, for this is the rule in such encounters 
 among these men. The beastly, sickening scene 
 was finally terminated by our man getting worsted 
 and having to succumb. And what do you suppose 
 was the cause of his defeat ? His brother managed 
 to get the thumb of his right hand between his teeth 
 and clenched it there, and held on like a bull-dog 
 until he nearly bit it off, and the other was forced to 
 cry " quits " and give in. 
 
 The encounter, however, was very nearly proving 
 fatal to him ; it was followed by lockjaw, and for 
 six weeks he lay at death's door, from which he was 
 only saved by the almost superhuman strength of 
 his constitution. 
 
 Whatever may be the extenuating circumstances 
 in a man for gratifying his fighting propensities 
 while inflamed and brutalized by whiskey, I know 
 of none whatsoever, nor have I the slightest sympathy 
 or consideration for the recognized " professional "
 
 338 Shanty ', Forest and River Life 
 
 shanty bully the man who, in liquor or sober, in 
 the shanty or on the drive, is always ready for a 
 fight and trying to provoke one. It is a character 
 of which the possessor, no matter what victories he 
 may gain, has no reason to be proud, but, if he had 
 any sensible discernment, to be thoroughly ashamed 
 of. He is admired and feared only by the mean, 
 the ignorant and the cowardly, while all sensible, 
 right-thinking people utterly despise him and, if 
 they choose to take the trouble, can very quickly 
 dispose of, and put him down, for at the best he is 
 only a sheep in wolf's clothing, and a coward at 
 heart. He is the pest of shanty life, and a detri- 
 ment to its peace, comfort and right working, and 
 the sooner he is disposed of in any practicable way 
 the better for all parties concerned. 
 
 The " bully " is a man that has no real friends, 
 but many most substantial enemies ; and before 
 long he finds out that his career has been a mistake, 
 and has gained for him nothing but disappointment, 
 contempt and misfortune.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 339 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Shooting the Rapids and Slides of the Grand 
 River. 
 
 is quite a common thing when you are speak- 
 ing to these backwoods river-men about the 
 Ottawa, for them to ask " is it the Grand Eiver 
 you mean ? " for by this and no other name will they 
 recognize and designate it. The origin of this name 
 is traceable, as far as I can ascertain, to the earliest 
 days of Canadian history. When Jacques Cartier, 
 the gallant, noble and Christian navigator of im- 
 perishable memory, caught his first glimpse of this 
 magnificent river, in a burst of joyous pride he 
 exclaimed " La Grande Riviere." 
 
 Ottawa, however, is the old Indian, and of course 
 proper, name ; and if pronounced according to the 
 Indian dialect the accent should be placed upon the 
 second syllable, and would thus sound Ot-ta-wa. 
 The Ottawa is one of the grandest rivers on the 
 American continent, and in common with most of
 
 340 Shanty r , Forest and River Life 
 
 the rivers of this country is diversified with high 
 falls, boisterous rapids, and beautiful cascades. Over 
 these or alongside of them, in long "slides," the 
 timber has to pass on its way from the forest to the 
 market at Quebec. 
 
 As I have before said, the timber is floated in 
 single pieces down all the numerous tributaries of 
 the Ottawa, and then is " rafted-up " at " the mouth " 
 of each. The rafting- up process is an arduous and 
 stirring piece of work, generally occupying several 
 days, and requiring great skill and experience on the 
 part of the foremen. The timber " sticks " are bound 
 together, according to size and length, into cribs, 
 each one containing twenty-five pieces, and these 
 cribs are again bound together, though in a manner 
 easily to be unloosed, into " drams," or " bands," 
 sometimes called, each dram containing about twenty- 
 five cribs ; these drams again bound together make 
 up a " raft," which is then in a shape for towing in 
 sufficiently deep and broad waters. The timber is 
 made up into cribs for the sake of shooting the slides, 
 and into drams for the "running of the rapids. 
 
 Shooting the slides on cribs is capital sport ; in 
 its excitement and velocity it reminds you of tabog- 
 ganing. Two men manage the crib, one at the
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 341 
 
 stern, the other at the bow, who, with their immense 
 oars, steer it fair for the mouth of the slide, and, 
 catching the current, it glides down the steep incline 
 with immense rapidity ; so great indeed is its velocity 
 that it often completely submerges itself in the calm 
 water below. When you shoot the slides you 
 should have your top boots on, if you wish to keep 
 your feet and legs dry. 
 
 Shooting the Chaudiere slides at Ottawa is a 
 favorite amusement with adventurous visitors, but 
 it is not unattended with danger, especially to ner- 
 vous ladies. I would advise no one to undertake it 
 except in company with some lumbering friend, and 
 on a carefully-selected crib, and one strongly bound 
 together. If you can manage to get on the " cook- 
 ery crib," which carries all the provisions and cook- 
 ing utensils, then you may consider yourself quite 
 safe, as it is constructed with all the skill and care 
 that the most experienced raftsmen can bestow. 
 
 But for exciting amusement and soul-stirring 
 adventure, commend me to running the rapids on the 
 drams. This is the grandest sport on the river for 
 the tourist, and the hardest work for the " drivers." 
 The rowing that has then to be done by these men 
 is the toughest strain upon their muscles of any of
 
 342 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 their whole year's work. The oars, which are thirty 
 feet long, and about a hundred pounds in weight, are 
 placed at the stern and bow, and the whole force of 
 the crew and at some rapids of special danger many 
 extra hands are engaged is divided between these 
 two places. As the dram in its headlong descent 
 approaches some dangerous spot, as a rock or reef, 
 or shoal, the pilot, who stands about the centre, gives 
 a shout, or a motion of his hand when his voice can't 
 be heard, and then each man must bend to his oar, 
 and tug and strain as if his life hung on it. And, in 
 fact, it practically may, for if, through any weakness 
 in the rowing or any mistake of the pilot, the dram 
 should deviate from its proper course and strike 
 upon a shallow reef or projecting point, then almost 
 certain destruction would overtake the whole con- 
 cern. The furious rushing torrent would soon break 
 it up into single pieces, the bindings of withe, rope, 
 and chain would snap like thread, and the immense 
 sticks would be whirled about, and down the rapids 
 like straws. 
 
 If this should happen, then every man must 
 look oat for himself; and though loss of life some- 
 times occurs, yet, such is the agility and wonderful 
 skill of these men in sticking to the smooth, slippery
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 343 
 
 timber, that they generally escape to the shore, or to 
 the foot, through the boiling rapids. 
 
 But, barring these accidents, running the rapids is 
 the most stirring of all river sports ; it is exhilarating 
 in the highest degree, and gives, what is never to be 
 despised in life, a new sensation. As the heavy, 
 unwieldy mass dashes into and through the high 
 foaming swells, which often break over the bow, and 
 submerge half the dram, the loud cries and violent 
 gestures of the pilot, the wild hurrahing of the men, 
 the creaking and twisting of the timbers beneath you, 
 and the tumultuous swish of the boiling waters, all 
 combined with the race-horse speed at which you 
 plunge ahead, make up a scene of excitement and 
 delightful exhilaration that can never be forgotten, 
 and ever after awakens a thrill of pleasant remem- 
 brances. 
 
 There is one rapid in particular over which I have 
 had many a delightful run, and which is associated 
 in my mind with many pleasant reminiscences. It is 
 the Long Sault, between Grenville and Carillon. It 
 was until very lately the terror of the raftsmen, both 
 on account of its length (nearly twelve miles) and 
 several points of special danger. But these are now 
 greatly diminished by the Government dam, built
 
 344 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 across the river at Carillon, and the erection of slant- 
 ing piers at the dangerous spots, so that running the 
 rapids now is only child's play compared with what 
 it formerly was. 
 
 I remember once when running these rapids a 
 most ludicrous, though it might have been a most 
 fatal, incident occurred, which for the time " set the 
 raft in a roar." The hero of the affair was an 
 awkward, clumsily -built fellow, who was always busy 
 with things he had no business with, and continu- 
 ally in the very place where he ought not to be. He 
 was a regular Handy Andy sort of chap, and never 
 out of scrapes of some kind or other. On this occa- 
 sion he would persist in taking his stand on the out- 
 side stick of timber a place that is seldom occupied 
 in these dangerous rapids. As the raft approached 
 the Trois Eoches, one of the most dangerous 
 spots, and the pilot, as is usual in such cases, ordered 
 the men to pull in their oars and run back to avoid 
 the bursting swells, this man persisted in keeping 
 his position, and pulling away as lustily as ever. 
 And, as was to be expected, just as he was bending 
 for another stroke, a mighty swell struck the long 
 broad blade of his oar and dealt him such a lusty 
 blow with the handle that he was suddenly thrown
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 345 
 
 several feet into the air, and, turning a complete 
 somersault, he came violently down on the broad of 
 his back on the hard timber. While every one was 
 looking on in breathless consternation, expecting 
 that in another instant he would be swept from the 
 raft by the rushing swell, he suddenly regained his 
 feet, and, as if he had been made of India-rubber 
 instead of flesh and bones, bounded from the spot 
 and darted into his cabin, and as he aftewards said, 
 never knew where he was until he found himself 
 deeply ensconced under the blankets and heard out- 
 side the uproarious bursts of laughter and merri- 
 ment. It was as narrow an escape, however, as a 
 man could possibly have in such circumstances. If 
 he had been stunned by his heavy fall on the hard 
 timber, as any ordinary reasonable mortal should 
 have been, he would in another second have been 
 swept over the edge of the raft into the rapids, 
 where no human aid could have assisted him. But 
 fools and drunken men seem to be under the guard- 
 ian care of some special providence, whether of 
 Heaven or Satan I cannot say. 
 
 When the timber by crib and dram has passed 
 through the rapids and slides and broad waters of 
 the Ottawa, and been fairly launched into the
 
 346 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 majestic bosom of the St. Lawrence at Lower 
 Laprairie, behind Montreal, then it is made up for 
 the last time into one large compact raft and towed 
 without impediment or hindrance, except, perhaps, a 
 storm on Lake St. Peter, into the booms at Quebec ; 
 and the toils, adventures, and hardships of the rafts- 
 men are over for another year.
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 347 
 
 CHAPTER XXX, 
 
 Settling up in Quebec. 
 
 HE " settling up " in Quebec is an anxious 
 ^ " time for both the lumber merchant and the 
 shantyman. 
 
 The former has now to square his accounts for 
 the year, to take stock of his expenditures, and the 
 quantity and quality of his timber after the wear 
 and tear of the drive, and the probabilities of the 
 market, to find out how he stands in the world. 
 
 For the past year it has been a continual outlay of 
 money without the return of a single cent. A 
 hundred or more men have had to be fed during that 
 time, perhaps as many horses during the winter ; 
 timber licenses, Government dues, slidage,interest on 
 capital paid for limits, and a hundred other expenses 
 peculiarly incidental to the lumbering business, have 
 been draining his pockets for the last twelve months. 
 The year's expenditure from the time the first tree 
 has been cut in the fall, until the whole raft has been 
 passed over into the hands of the buyer at Quebec, 
 
 foots up a heavy sum, all gone in hard cash. 
 w
 
 348 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 There is no business that I know of in which there 
 are so many and such large demands upon the purse 
 as that of the lumber merchant. No wonder, then, 
 he is anxious about the state of the market, which 
 perhaps is the most uncertain and fluctuating of any 
 in the world. A European war, a depression in 
 stocks, a rise or fall in Turkish or Egyptian bonds, 
 a score or more of causes, may so operate as to 
 make or mar a fortune for the lumberman. And 
 such is the nature of the business that these gentle- 
 men are not satisfied, like ordinary mortals, with a 
 fair and reasonable profit ; no, they expect a bonanza 
 with every recurring season. A few thousands will 
 not do ; they look for tens and scores of thousands 
 to stand at the foot of the balance sheet to their 
 credit when the year's business is wound up. And 
 very often, if they cannot get the price they want, 
 they will let their timber lie over for another year, 
 and, if their means can hold out, for yet another, if 
 the market is not to their liking. I have known 
 cases in which the merchants have held on for five 
 years, in the hope that the market would rise to the 
 standard of their lofty expectations. When, finally, 
 they do sell it is often either an avalanche of ruin, 
 or a reflux of enormous profit. The lumbering 
 business is something like Indian life, either a feast
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 349 
 
 or a famine, or, like gold mining, a million or noth- 
 ing. 
 
 But what about the men with whom we have 
 more specially to deal in this work ? This, also, is a 
 time of anxiety for them, but only up to the 
 moment of being paid off. As soon as the raft is 
 " snubbed " within the booms at Quebec, and put in 
 its most presentable shape for the inspection of the 
 buyers, then the " boss " comes aboard with a bag 
 of money, and with his clerk pays to each man the 
 amount coming to him. Very many of these 
 fellows, especially the French, can neither read nor 
 write, and are in a state of uncertainty as to the 
 actual amount coming to them ; their account for 
 clothes, tobacco, advances to their families, dockings 
 for lost time, etc., have in most cases made a con- 
 siderable hole in their year's wages, in some 
 instances entirely eaten it up, with even a balance 
 against them. But in general there is a pretty fair 
 sum coming to them, varying in amount from a 
 hundred to three and even four hundred dollars. 
 Sometimes there may be a hot row between the 
 parties, when some man thinks he has been wrong- 
 fully charged with advances or lost time ; but almost 
 invariably the boss has the better of the dispute, for 
 while the poor fellow has nothing but his memory,
 
 350 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 or counting upon his fingers, to rely upon, the 
 mysterious entries in the clerk's book tell dead 
 against him, and the boss summarily closes the 
 matters by telling him " to take it or leave it, just as 
 he likes," and calling up another man. As a 
 general thing, however, there is very little difficulty 
 in settling, and the moment Bill, Pat, or Louis 
 receives his money his anxiety is over, and, like a 
 boy out of school, he is ready for any fun or frolic 
 that may turn up. 
 
 Like Jack Tar when he gets into port, the poo r 
 shantyman has now to run the gauntlet of the very 
 worst and vilest temptations that can assail a man. 
 For the past ten months or more he has toiled, take it 
 all in all, as no other class of working men have to do ; 
 during that time he has led, as a rule, a careful, abste- 
 mious, saving life, twenty-five dollars would probably 
 cover all his necessary personal expenses. Under the 
 wholesome influences of rigid discipline, arduous but 
 healthy work, abstinence from intoxicating stimu- 
 lants, and continual life in the open, bracing air, one 
 would naturally suppose that both mind and body 
 would be so tempered and strengthened as not only 
 to be able to withstand the strongest temptations to 
 vicious and sensual indulgence which the flesh and 
 the devil could present, but also to have a positive
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 351 
 
 distaste and repugnance to them. And so it would 
 be with well-balanced, high-toned and rightly-trained 
 dispositions ; but, alas, few of the shantymen possess 
 these offsets against temptations to aid them in 
 maintaining these wholesome influences of the past 
 year's life. In the revulsion of their position from 
 restraint and abstemiousness, there is also a revul- 
 sion of their feelings as to indulgence and licentious- 
 ness. In the first burst of his absolute freedom 
 and idleness the thoughtless shantyman is too apt 
 to go headlong into every indulgence that presents 
 itself, and you may be very sure the devil is at his 
 elbow to help him on. As he leaps with a light 
 heart and a heavy pocket from the raft on to the 
 shore he is at once beset with a host of hell-runners 
 in the shape of calash drivers, boarding-house agents, 
 brothel sirens, and crimps and sharpers of the 
 blackest stamp. " Come and have a drink, my jolly 
 buck," is generally the first salutation that greets 
 his ears, and in the joyous hilarity of his soul, the 
 poor fellow thinks it only " good manners," and 
 right fellowship to comply ; and though with many 
 an inward resolution to take care of himself, and 
 many a knowing wink to himself that he knows 
 what he is about, he soon becomes helplessly 
 entangled in the devilish wiles of those who, with-
 
 352 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 out pity or remorse, will strip Mm of his last shilling. 
 He supposes that he may take a few glasses with 
 perfect safety, and have a good time for a day or 
 two, and then draw off and go to his home or work, 
 none the worse in body or pocket. But Satan never 
 palmed off a blacker deception upon human credulity 
 than this which the shanty man imposes upon him- 
 self. The liquor with which he is plentifully plied 
 is poison of the blackest and rankest kind, and on 
 account of his long abstinence from all intoxicants 
 ^produces a more immediate and potent effect than 
 it otherwise would. As the fiery spirit mounts to 
 Mts brain, and his pulses, already exhilarated, become 
 doubly :vso under its influence, he soon loses all 
 icaution a-nd self-command. His love of ostentatious 
 spending and open-handed treating give themselves 
 full fling he treats right and left, and delights in 
 "being the "hero of a thirsty crowd of spongers and 
 thieving vagabonds, and flourishes his bank notes 
 and tosses them on the counter with the air and 
 tone of a millionaire. Of course the upshot of the 
 whole business can be readily surmised. Between 
 bad whiskey and worse men and women he is 
 plucked as clean as a Christmas goose, and in an 
 incredibly short time too. I have known several 
 instances of men who have received between two
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 353 
 
 and three hundred dollars, coming back to their 
 employer before twenty-four hours without a cent 
 in their pocket, and in the direst distress and shame 
 begging to be taken out of this " cursed hole," and 
 have their passage paid back to their homes or to 
 Ottawa. There are numberless cases of the most 
 deplorable weakness and folly in this connection 
 that have ever been recorded, and not infrequently 
 with men of most decent and well-behaved charac- 
 ter, very often men who had not the remotest 
 intention or desire to go on " a spree," as they call 
 it ; but in the circumstances we have mentioned, 
 which it would take almost a saint to withstand, 
 have been led and egged on by those wily fiends 
 until a whole year's savings are gone, and they are 
 stripped and beggared, in some cases actually 
 plundered and almost beaten to death. 
 
 These open-hearted, free-handed men, flush with 
 money and the self-confidence of redundant health 
 and spirits, are like children in the hands of these 
 cunning pitiless crimps that dog their steps from the 
 moment they set foot in Quebec until their last 
 cent is gone, when they are remorselessly kicked 
 into the street and sent about their business. 
 
 Now in this connection there is one of the most 
 clamant fields for the exercise of philanthropy and
 
 354 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 charity which at the present time exists in our 
 country. We have our homes and institutes for 
 sailors at almost every port ; there are reading rooms, 
 coffee houses and soup kitchens for all classes of 
 working and indigent men and women of the com- 
 munity, but nothing has ever been done in the way 
 of care and kindness for the shantymen a class of 
 our countrymen who, for peculiarity of character and 
 habits, susceptibility of kind and good influence, as 
 well as for numbers and business importance, have 
 the very highest claims upon our consideration and 
 sympathy. There is a scheme which has been in 
 my mind for years, and concerning which I have 
 conversed with many lumber merchants, and great 
 numbers of the men in almost every section of the 
 Ottawa Valley, and which, with all deference, I 
 would submit to the kindly and, I hope, favorable con- 
 sideration of the benevolent and charitably-minded 
 both of Quebec and Ottawa. 
 
 It is this : " the establishing a kind of savings bank 
 in Quebec into which the wages due to the men 
 would be paid by the employers on the arrival of 
 the raft at that city. The deposit of these moneys 
 to be made on the following conditions, viz. : that 
 they shall be sent to the men on their arrival at 
 their homes, or to their families, if they wish, or held
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 355 
 
 in security for them in any way that may be deemed 
 best at a fair rate of interest, until such time as they 
 should ask for it, but always on the understanding 
 that it cannot be drawn out in Quebec, either in per- 
 son or by proxy." The great point and benefit of such 
 an institution will be at once patent to the most 
 superficial reflector. It provides a safe-guard for this 
 most interesting and peculiar class of our country- 
 men at the hour of their most peculiar and power- 
 ful temptations. It tides over for the time, and 
 this the most perilous of their year's work, the ter- 
 rible dangers, both to pocket and morals, to which 
 they are exposed at the hands of the basest, most 
 degraded and unscrupulous class of our community. 
 There is not in all the land a more clamant call upon 
 the benevolent sympathies and practical assistance 
 and counsel of our kindly-disposed Chiistian men 
 and women than this, and that, with a little judi- 
 cious management, could be more easily responded 
 to. 
 
 In the carrying out of such a scheme a great deal 
 of nicety of detail and of business tact and know- 
 ledge would be requisite, but, if it could be done, the 
 incalculable benefit to the shantymen will at once 
 be seen. 
 
 Suppose a committee of the leading clergymen of
 
 356 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the city, both Catholic and Protestant, would be 
 formed and meet together; they could soon devise 
 the practical steps for the carrying out of the plan. 
 The greatest difficulty would be in securing the con- 
 sent and co-operation of the men to such an institu- 
 tion. Two objections will at once be taken by -them. 
 1st. Their natural independence and boldness of 
 character will at once prompt them to say : " we are 
 quite able to take care of ourselves and of our money 
 too in Quebec, and, besides, we want some relaxation 
 and indulgence when the work is over for the year." 
 2nd. Their fear that, through some mismanagement 
 of the institution, they might not get their money 
 when they needed it, or possibly might lose it 
 altogether. 
 
 As to the first objection, I have no hesitation in 
 saying that in time it would be entirely got over. I 
 have talked over the matter with great numbers of 
 these men both in the woods and on the river, and 
 I have almost invariably found that it meets with 
 their full concurrence, and would be regarded as a- 
 great kindness and benefit to them as a class. A 
 very common opinion expressed by them was this, 
 " only give it a start ; say only twenty men went 
 into it the first year, and they found it worked well, 
 the next year a great many more would follow their
 
 In the Bacliwoods of Canada. 
 
 example, and before long, when the scheme was 
 thoroughly understood and its benefits realized, it 
 would become very generally adopted. But let the 
 ' boss ' give the men some money \wheu they get 
 to Quebec, say a fourth or a sixth of what is coming 
 to them, enough to have some reasonable diversion 
 and to cany them to their homes, and lodge the 
 balance to their credit in the bank. There is hardly 
 a man but what in time would go into the scheme 
 most heartily on these terms, and be more and more 
 thankful at the end of every year that he had done 
 so." 
 
 As to the 2nd objection, viz., security to the men 
 for the money deposited, that would be a matter of 
 business detail and cautious judgment with the 
 committee. 
 
 No doubt an arrangement could be made with the 
 Post Office Savings Bank, or any safe institution, 
 for the deposit, profitable using, and safe transmission 
 of the money to the proper parties at the specified 
 time. We venture to affirm that if three or four 
 influential business gentlemen of Quebec, who had 
 a desire to do a good and kind turn to their 
 countrymen of this class, would undertake this 
 matter, and co-operate with the lumber-merchants, 
 who, I know, would give their hearty approval to
 
 358 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 the scheme if it was fully and fairly set before them, 
 they would soon put it in a practical, safe and 
 manageable position. The time and trouble involved 
 on their part would be very small indeed compared 
 with the incalculable benefit, both moral and pecu- 
 niary, to the shantymen. In all probability after two 
 or three years' trial the enterprise would stand, and be 
 worked on its own merits. The shantymen, realizing 
 the safety and benefit of the scheme, would do their 
 own business at the bank, and voluntarily engage 
 not to draw the money until they or their families 
 really needed it. If only a fair proportion of those 
 men would be induced to deposit their earnings in 
 this way the gross amount would be a most pro- 
 fitable addition to the working capital of any bank, 
 even though it should be for only a few weeks, and 
 enable it to pay a fair interest to the depositor. 
 
 But we must remember that a large number of 
 these men have no family or other claims upon 
 them for their wages ; outside of their own per- 
 sonal requirements they do not need to expend a 
 single cent of their whole year's earnings. Conse- 
 quently many of them would, in all probability, leave 
 their money in the bank until their return on the 
 following year, and 1 then add to it another year's 
 income. And such is the action of human nature
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 359 
 
 in affairs like this, that when they actually realized 
 that they had saved their year's wages, or the best 
 part of it, they would be stimulated to save more the 
 next year. There is no case in which the old adage 
 "money makes money " is better proved than just 
 in such a connection with this class of people. 
 When they found that a sum of money, say two 
 hundred dollars or more, which otherwise would have 
 been squandered on strumpets and grog shops, was 
 lying snug in the bank at a good rate of interest 
 they would at once perceive the wisdom of the 
 course they had pursued, and it would thus be the 
 best practical incentive to them to behave them- 
 selves, and save their money another year. 
 
 We would strongly advocate the extending of 
 this benevolent institution, though with somewhat 
 different modifications, to the City of Ottawa. 
 
 Ottawa is the great " hiring depot " of the lumber- 
 ing region. To this city the merchants or their 
 agents come to engage men for the next season's 
 work. 
 
 Work in the woods generally commences about 
 the middle of September up to this time, therefore, 
 after being discharged at Quebec a month or six 
 weeks previously, and having their " spree " over, if 
 they will have one, the men are either at their
 
 360 Shanty, Forest and River Life 
 
 homes in the country or, if they have none, boarding 
 in Ottawa until they are hired again. 
 
 This period is, of course, a harvest time for 
 boarding-houses and low grog shops in Lower Town, 
 and, consequently, with too many of the shanty men, 
 a time of rioting, and spending what money may be 
 left after their Quebec escapades. Even though a 
 man may not have a cent of money when he comes 
 to Ottawa, those boarding-house sharks will receive 
 him with open arms, and give him all he asks for, 
 knowing right well that when re-engaged all his 
 bills will be paid by the merchant, who, of course, 
 in turn deducts the amount out of the man's pay as 
 the season goes on. Many a man while idling 
 away his time at these places spends beforehand 
 his whole winter's wages. In fact, in numberless 
 cases, the Quebec experience, both on the part of the 
 shantyman and his despoilers, is here re-enacted. 
 
 Here, then, is a grand field for the exercise of 
 benevolent and philanthropic activities. If nothing 
 else, a shantyman's boarding-house should be estab- 
 lished, on the same principle as the sailor's institutes 
 in London and Liverpool, where these men can be 
 comfortably and cheaply lodged, and generally 
 looked after during the few weeks they require to stay 
 in Ottawa. Such an institution would be of incalcu-
 
 In the Backwoods of Canada. 361 
 
 lable benefit in every way, and, equally with the 
 Savings Bank in Quebec, would, after its benefits 
 have been proved and realized, be hailed by the 
 shantymen as an inestimable boon. The experi- 
 ment has been a wonderful success in London with 
 sailors, and, from what I know of the characters and 
 feelings of shautymen, would prove equally, if not 
 far more so, with them. 
 
 Reader, my book is finished. If I have told you 
 anything new about Shanty, Forest and Eiver Life 
 that has interested or, perhaps, instructed you ; if I 
 have awakened any warmer feeling in your heart for 
 the sublime scenery and unutterable pathos of our 
 lonely Canadian backwoods ; above all, if I have 
 called forth a single kindly thought, and any truer 
 appreciation of the simple-hearted, open-handed, 
 manly toilers of the forest, then I will consider my 
 study and labor in this work amply repaid, and that 
 I have not toiled in vain. 
 
 END.
 
 JAS. D. ANDERSON, 
 
 206 ST. JAMES STREET, 
 
 MONTREAL, 
 
 Keeps on hartd a Stock of Goods suitable 
 
 s 
 
 Iw.1 
 
 Also every class of Goods 
 
 MADJE ON SHORT NOTICE. 
 
 ivd fo
 
 T. COSTEN & CO., 
 
 302 Notre Dame Street, 
 
 n 
 
 IMPORTERS 
 
 W. W. Greener's Hammerless and Trap Q-uns, 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Winchester, Colts' & Kennedy's Magazine Rifles, 
 Colts' & Wesson's Double Action Eevolvers, 
 
 38, 44 and 45 Cal. 
 
 Ballard's, Wesson's and other Single Rifle, 
 
 Suitable for Deer and Moose Shooting, always in Stock. 
 
 Fishing Tackle, 
 
 In Great Variety. 
 
 Forrest & Son's Salmon and Trout Rods, Salmon 
 and Trout Flies, 
 
 Of the most Improved Patterns, such as : 
 
 Jock Scott, Silver Doctor, Fary and Rangers. 
 
 Split Bamboo, 8 oz. Fly Rods. 
 
 D. Scribner & Sons' Salmon and Trout Rods, 
 
 Made of the Best Greenheart. 
 
 New Castle Chilled Shot. 
 
 Curtes & Harvey's Grain Gunpowder. 
 
 Joseph Rogers & Son's Celebrated 
 
 Pocket Cutlery and Hunting Knives.
 
 W, DRYSDALE & CO.'S 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 OF 
 
 STANDARD AND MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 BOOKS, 
 
 COMPRISING A LARGE SELECTION OF THE BEST AND LATEST 
 
 BRITISH PUBLICATIONS, 
 
 WILL BE SENT TO ANY ONE, ON APPLICATION. 
 
 W. DKYSDALE & CO., BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS, 
 232 St. James Street.
 
 TEACHERS' & SCHOLARS' HELPS. 
 
 WEEKLY. 
 
 Sunday School Times $2.00 per annum. 
 
 Scholar's Weekly Lesson Paper $7.20 per 100 " 
 
 MONTHLY. 
 
 Notes on S.S. Lessons 45c. single copy, or 330.00 per 100 per annum. 
 
 S.S. Banner 65c. " " 60.00 " " 
 
 S.S. World COc. " " 50.00 " " 
 
 Westminster Teacher 60c. ' " 50.00 " " 
 
 Scholar's Lesson Paper 6.00 " " 
 
 Primary Paper 6.00 " 
 
 Westminster Lesson Leaf 6.00 " " 
 
 " Primary" .6.00 " " 
 
 Berean Leaf. 5.50 " " 
 
 QUARTERLY. 
 
 S.S. Union Quarterly $20.00 per 100 per annum. 
 
 Scholar's " 25.00 " ' 
 
 Peloubet's " 20.00 " " 
 
 Westminster " 1500 " " 
 
 Quarterly Review Service 9.00 " " 
 
 Canadian Scholar's Quarterly 8.00 " " 
 
 Berean Leaf Cluster $5.25 single copy per annum. 
 
 Half Hours with the Lessons, 1884, 81.50. 
 
 Vincent's Notes, 1884, $1.25- 
 
 Peloubet's Notes, 1884, $1.25. 
 
 Monday Club Sermons, 1884, 61.50. 
 
 Westminster Bible Dictionary, 1.50. 
 
 Schatf 's Bible Dictionary, $2.50. 
 
 Cassel's Bible Dictionary, $2.50. 
 
 Westminster Que-ition Book, 1884, 15e. ; by mail, ITc. 
 
 Kice's Scholar's Hand-Book, 188-1, 18c. ; by mail, free. 
 
 Vincent's Class Bucks, 1884, Senior, Intermediate, beginners, 18c. each ; post free. 
 
 Sunday School Seheim-s, 18R4, 60c. per 100. 
 
 Book Mark Lesson Lists, 1884, 50c. "
 
 MONTHLY ILLUSTRATED PAPERS. 
 
 Name of Publication 
 
 Price per 
 single copy. 
 
 Adviser 25e. 
 
 Apples of Gold 50c. 
 
 Baud of Hope 25c. 
 
 Boys' and Girls' Companion 45c. 
 
 British Evangelist 45c. 
 
 " Workman 45c. 
 
 " Workwoman 45c. 
 
 Canadian Band of Hope 25c. 
 
 Child's Companion 45c. 
 
 " Paper 30c. 
 
 " Bible Companion 45c. 
 
 " Own Magazine 25c. 
 
 Children's Friend 45c. 
 
 " Paper , 2}c. 
 
 " Messenger 25c. 
 
 " Record 25c. 
 
 China's Millions 45c. 
 
 Christian Friend 4cc. 
 
 Cottager 45 e. 
 
 Crystal Stories 45c. 
 
 Dawn of Day 25e. 
 
 Early Days 45c. 
 
 Family Friend 45c. 
 
 Faithful Words 45c. 
 
 Forward 40c. 
 
 Friendly Visitor ... 45c. 
 
 Herald of Mercy 25c. 
 
 infant's Magazine 45c. 
 
 Juvenile Missionary Magazine 25c. 
 
 Morning Star 30c. 
 
 Missionary Juvenile 45c. 
 
 My Little Friend 25c. 
 
 My Sunday Friend 25c. 
 
 My Paper 30e. 
 
 Prize 45c. 
 
 S .S. Presbyterian 25c. 
 
 S.S. Visitor 25c. 
 
 Sunbeam 50c. 
 
 Things Newand Old 45c. 
 
 Voice to the Faithful... 46c. 
 
 Price per 
 100 in City. 
 
 $12.50 
 40.00 
 12.80 
 25.00 
 30.00 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 15.00 
 25.00 
 12.00 
 30.00 
 12.50 
 25.00 
 12.50 
 12.50 
 12.50 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 12.50 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 12.50 
 25.00 
 12.50 
 G.OO 
 25.00 
 12.50 
 12.50 
 11.50 
 25.0.) 
 13.00 
 12.00- 
 25.00 
 25.00 
 30.00 
 
 Price per 100 
 by Mail. 
 
 $15.00 
 40.00 
 15.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 15.00 
 30.00 
 12.00 
 30.00 
 15.00 
 30.00 
 15.00 
 15.00 
 15.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 15.0f> 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 25.00 
 30.00 
 15.00 
 30.00 
 15.00 
 6.00 
 30.00 
 * 15.00 
 15.00 
 11.50 
 30.00 
 1300 
 12.00 
 25.00 
 30.00 
 30.00
 
 FRENCH SUNDAY SCHOOL PAPERS. 
 
 L'Arni de la Maison 60c. single copy, or $46.00 per 100 per annum. 
 
 Le Rayon de Soleil 60c. " " 45.00 " " 
 
 Any paper not found in above list furnished to order at 
 the shortest notice. 
 
 SUNDAY SCPJOOL SUPPLIES- 
 
 LIBRARY BOOKS (See next page.) 
 
 REWARD CARDS AND TICKETS in Packets, at 10c., 15c., 20c., 25c., 35c. and 
 
 upwards. A choice assortment for $1.00. 
 DRYSDALE'S PACKET of S.S. Tickets, containing 192 Choice Illuminated 
 
 Texts ; price 15c. 
 
 ILLUMINATED TEXTS for Wall of Schools, 
 CATECHISMS, a full line, including : 
 
 Shorter Catechism $2.00 per 100. 
 
 ABC " 1.25 
 
 Brown's ' 200 
 
 Mothers' " 2.00 
 
 Church " 1.00 
 
 Calvary " 6.00 
 
 Collects 1.50 
 
 Gall's Initiatory Catechism 2.00 
 
 " New Proof " 4.00 
 
 CHILD'S SCRIPTURE QUESTION BOOK, 16c. each. 
 
 ROLL BOOKS, LIBRARIANS' RECORDS AND CLASS REGISTERS. 
 
 THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CONDENSED RECORD, at 30c., 90c., 
 $1.25 and $1.50, according to size. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT'S VEST-POCKET RECORD, 30c. 
 
 IMPROVED LIBRARY RECORD, for 48 Classes, one year, $1.20. 
 
 DRYSDACE'S CLASS REGISTERS, 50c. per Dozen. 
 
 BIBLE WALL PICTURES, for Infant Classes, &c. 
 
 WALL MAPS for use with Lessons. 
 
 MISSIONARY BOXES. 
 
 CLASS BOXES for receiving weekly contributions. 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL MONEY ENVELOPES. 
 
 FOLDING BLACKBOARDS, and a complete assortment of SCHOOL FUR- 
 NISHINGS kept constantly on hand, or procured to order at the 
 shortest notice. 
 
 SAMPLES OF PERIODICALS SENT FREE.
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOL LIBEARIES- 
 
 We would call attention to our well- perfected arrangements 
 for supplying Sabbath Schools with Libraries. 
 
 Committees of Sabbath Schools gladly received and waited 
 upon. If this is not found convenient in all cases, parties desiring 
 fresh lots, have only to send a catalogue of books now in their 
 possession, and we will be happy to make a selection, which will be 
 sent on approval. All such orders will be filled from a carefully 
 selected stock of suitable books. 
 
 Any books deemed unsuitable will be exchanged for others of 
 equal value. Our aim is to give perfect satisfaction to all parties. 
 Any book not in stock promptly procured. 
 
 We keep for sale, or will furnish to order, the most reliable books 
 on the theory and practice of Sabbath School teaching. 
 
 Special Agents for the Sale of Publications of 
 Presbyterian Board, Philadelphia. 
 
 CATALOGUE SENT ON APPLICATION: 
 
 All information about Books or Periodicals willingly 
 supplied. 
 
 ORDERS PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 
 
 Old Books re-sewn in Covers or re-bound at lowest prices. 
 
 DBYSDALE & C,, 
 
 232 ST. JAMES STREET,
 
 A 000 887 328 3 
 
 F 
 
 1059 
 091F8