282 THE STORY OF THE TRAPPER 



arm firing at a large bird. ... He double-loaded his gun in 

 his fright, so the por man lost one of his armes, ... he was 

 so smart with his gun that he could bring down a bird flying 

 past him, or a deer running past he would be the first to bring 

 it down.&quot; 



&quot;They was holden me hand and telling me that I must be 

 his mother now as his own mother is dead and she was a great 

 friend of mine although we could not understand each other s 

 language sometimes, still we could make it out with sins and 

 wonders.&quot; 



&quot;April 7, 1894. Since I last wrote on this book, I have 

 been what people call cruising about here. I have been visiting 

 some of my friends, though scattered far apart, with my snow- 

 shoes and axe on my shoulders. The nearest house to this place 

 is about five miles up a beautiful river, and then through woods, 

 what the french calls a portage it is what I call pretty. Many is 

 the time that I have been going with dogs and komatick 40 or 

 50 years ago with my husband and family to N. W. River, to 

 the Hon. Donald A. Smith and family to keep N. Year or 

 Easter.&quot; 



&quot;My dear old sister Hannah Mishlin who is now going on 

 for 80 years old and she is smart yet, she hunts fresh meat and 

 chops holes in the 3 foot ice this very winter and catches trout 

 with her hook, enough for her household, her husband not able 

 to work, he has a bad complaint.&quot; 



&quot;You must please excuse my writing and spelling for I have 

 never been to school, neither had I a spelling book in my young 

 day me a native of this country, Labrador, Hamilton s Inlet, 

 Esquimaux Bay if you wish to know who I am, I am old 

 Lydia Campbell, formerly Lydia Brooks, then Blake, after 

 Blake, now Campbell. So you see ups and downs has been my 

 life all through, and now I am what I am prais the Lord.&quot; 



&quot;I have been hunting most every day since Easter, and to 



