THE CANADA GROUSE. 1^3 



would permit us. When we got there we found every- 

 thing in confusion, for the fire was extinguished, the 

 tent rent in several places, torn from its fastenings, 

 and flapping violently in the breeze; our flour and crack- 

 ers were soaked through with rain; and our bedding 

 was floating in a miniature lake. This condition of af- 

 fairs was most unexpected, but as dwellers in and lovers 

 of the wilderness are imbued with hope and self-reliance 

 above all things, our calamities did not worry us much. 

 Seeing that it would be useless to camp out in such a 

 storm, we hitched up the horses, packed our sadly torn 

 tent and the cooking utensils, and drove away, in hopes 

 of being able to find shelter in some farm-house for the 

 night. 



After driving for a couple of hours through the track- 

 less forest, we struck a cow path, and followed this up 

 until we came to the spot where the Indian camp had 

 stood, but we found that place deserted by all living 

 things except an owl that hooted at us from the top of 

 a moaning fir. Knowing where we were, we drove rap- 

 idly onward and soon reached the hotel at Blanktown, 

 where we were furnished with lodgings, and a comforta- 

 ble supper, the main ingredients of which we supplied 

 ourselves. Our clothes were dried by the fire while we 

 were in bed, and when we arose the next morning they 

 were fit to wear. 



We learned a piece of news the next morning from a 

 farmer who had just come in with a load of hay, that 

 startled us. The first item was, that the landlord, in 

 order to lure people to the hotel, had spread abroad that 

 Ave were officials looking about for the best route for a pro- 

 posed railway; and the second, that the Indians had 

 gone to the graveyard we had visited, in order to protect 

 it from further desecration, even at the cost of their lives 

 if necessary. He even intimated that they would have at- 

 tacked us had we gone there, and that we were fortunate 



