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Eden-The Home of The Wolverene & Beaver
Eden-The Home of The Wolverene & Beaver
Eden-The Home of The Wolverene & Beaver
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THE BEAVER S HOME.
Frontispiece. P^Ze 6-
1 k{ IJT} ^y
THE HOME
LONDON
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE;
SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES :
CHAPTER I.
edge of the lake, one of which the lads had used for
Gresham."
A blank fell upon the faces of the ten or dozen
young men seated round the well-furnished break-
fast table, at these ominous words for at that date;
CHAPTER II.
C 2
36 TJie Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
CHAPTER HI.
the fires that each party kept burning, not for the
heat that they threw out, but to secure some Httle
respite from the attacks of insects. During the
summer in Canada, the traveller, particularly if
E 2
G8 TJic Honie of the Wolverene and Beaver.
^e
^ t: J\,
BOUT
CHAPTER
a
arrival at
IV.
" //
y a, there is von Ojeeb chief, who have
cheat me of my traps il y a deux: ans, two year
past. // s'appelle Tete-de-bois, suppose he come
here, I shall beat his head of wood."
" Well, don't commence hostilities until we have
got all the skins," said Groves, laughing. " But
come along, we must get ready to receive them
with due honours."
At Osnaburg House there were only five men
besides the officer in charge, namely, three labourers,
an interpreter, and a postmaster. What on earth
can a postmaster do at a place where letters only
arrive twice or thrice a year .'*
will be the first
ably laid out, if not, the reverse will take place, and
a few yards of coloured ribbon, chintz, and beads
will be all the hunter has to show in return for
hour, for day after day, until a week had run its
completed the
a woollen cord from his neck and
equipment.
The steaming venison rashers soon disappeared
pairs of
beneath the action of three powerful
and long ere the bright morning star had
jaws,
paled and disappeared beneath the golden
shafts
them outside.
94
CHAPTER V.
worth following.
Mr. Kendall, of the Literary Society of Quebec,
speaks thus of the wonderful horns of the moose :
G
;
tree, and one lops off its branches while the ether
drags them to the clearing and strews the ground
thickly with the fragrant shoots. The trunk is
dangerenxy
Here a yell of agony from one of the dogs
announced that it had ventured too near the fatal
close at hand.
" What in the world are you going to do with
that thing?" asked Paul, as he watched the Canadian
washing and cleansing the snout.
"Ah, Monsieur Paul, you not know von good
ting, de monjie it is tres delicieiiser
" You don't mean to eat it, surely ?
H
r"
CHAPTER VI.
1858.
" Well," continued Pierre, "
when the news of the
formation of the 'Pacific Fur Company* reached
Montreal the excitement was enormous. The
North-West Company, then in the zenith of its
1 20 The Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
for many a long day; but when the ship was reached
the hour had been exceeded and the captain was in
a fury, threatening the man's Hfe, and maltreating
thosewho had found him.
"At the beginning of December the Tonquin
anchored at Egmont Bay, and both watered and
refitted. Here the passengers lived ashore in a
tent, and amused themselves by shooting the wild
fowl with which the place abounded. And now a
circumstance occurred, laughable in itself, but nearly
followed by serious consequences. The water-
casks were all filled up, but Captain Thorn had
announced that the vessel would not move for two
days, and accordingly the passengers continued in
was a mercy that she did not sink under them, more
particularly as the bucket they used for a baler was
dropped overboard by accident, and one of the oars
broken in endeavouring to recover it. The vessel
was now several miles off, and the abandoned men,
among whom was the chief partner, Mr. Astor's
representative, had lost all hope, when the ship
was seen to wear and stand towards them. After
narrowly escaping being dashed to pieces against
the Tonquvis side, they were all got safely on
board, after six hours of protracted misery in the
boat, and that Captain Thorn fully intended to
abandon them is evident, for he wrote from the
—
is given :
— " Had the wind," writes Thorn to Mr. Astor, " (unfor-
tunately) not hauled ahead soon after leaving the harbour's mouth, I
should positively have left them and, indeed, I cannot but think it an
;
unfortunate circumstance for you that it so happened, for the first loss
in this instance would, in my opinion, have proved the best, as they
I
130 TJie Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
sleep.
134
CHAPTER VII.
forest.
was right ; that the wolves had been very bad that
season ;
had destroyed nearly all his sheep, and
had killed one of his colts. '
But,' added he, '
I
am now paying them off in full, and if I have any
140 TJic Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
farmer slipped the rope from its neck and left it to the
mercy of the dogs, who set upon it with great fury,
and worried it to death. The second was dealt
with in the same manner ; but the third, which was
probably oldest, showed some spirit the moment
the dogs were set upon it, and scuffled along on its
the other rests the fall. We have set our trap, and
now, as a final process, we walk backwards from it
for some distance, and carefully brush away every
trace of our foot-prints with a pine branch; and here
K
146 The Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
L
1 62 TJic Home of the Wolverene and Beaver.
Natural History."
"A gentleman was walking along a road near
Cricklade, when he saw two stoats sitting in the
path. He idly picked up a stone, and flung it at the
CHAPTER VIII.
—
was progressing who described themselves as
coming from the Rocky Mountains, and spoke the
Algonquin language but in the middle of July
;
M 2
I So
CHAPTER IX.
of the second.
Notwithstanding that the natives were apparently
unarmed, the interpreter noticed that they all wore
short fur mantles, under which it w^as quite possible
the sails ;
whilst the remainder manned the windlass
and commenced heaving in the cable.
N 2
196
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XL
'ELL, Pierre, isn't it time Mr. Groves
T should turn up?" asked Paul, as he
noticed his companion heaping fresh
logs on the fire, and making sundry-
arrangements that manifested his in-
volume.
"Well, Pierre," said Paul, "what is to be done
"
now ; shall we set the traps afresh }
The Home of the Wolverene and Beaver. 24 r
" C'est inutile, Monsieur Paul, we must try to
catch two or three beaver, and then we shall move
away. I only hope the rascal carcajou he no follow
us ;" and with a sigh at so much labour misspent, the
Canadian led the way towards a small frozen
stream, where he knew the beavers had a settle-
ment.
;
242
CHAPTER XII.
Q 2
"
" Suivez-le,
Monsieur Paul" said Lefranc, eagerly.
"But how can I leave you, my poor fellow.-'"
replied the young man.
" jfe suis seulane?it blesse, it is nothing; follow and
see the direction he take, you can come back
soon."
The whole of the above scene occupied only a
few seconds, and without a moment's hesitation
or reflection Paul slipped on his snow-shoes, and
rifle in hand darted ofi" in pursuit of the flying
figure, now barely visible amongst the forest trees.
The fugitive was following a course that would lead
liim near the skeleton of the moose, but great was
Paul's mortification to find that at every pace he
lost ground ; even in the uncertain moonlight he
-could not but perceive that his enemy was
increasing the distance between them at every step.
Still he struggled on manfully, indignant at the
base attempt on the Canadian's life, and hoping
that some unforeseen accident would enable him to
overtake the assassin but like a sombre ghost
;
for us to-morrow."
" Then let us bring in the Indian that I knocked
down, or he will perish from exposure."
The young men hastened to the scene of the
struggle, but Tete-de-bois had disappeared.
" Here are his tracks," cried Paul, pointing to
the trodden snow, "the rascal has come to his
senses and crept away."
" And by far the best thing that could happen,"
said Groves. " We should only,have been bothered
to know how to deal with him. Let us hasten back
to the fire, for these night rambles are not pleasant,
with the thermometer below zero."
There was much conversation over the camp
The Home of the JVohrrene and Beaver. 253
FORM 310
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LfSRARY