210 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



about the end of this moon." " Well, good-bye," 

 said we, " but where are you going to ? not trap- 

 ping, evidently, because you have got no traps." 

 " Yes, I'm a going a trapping, that's so. Not far — 

 mebbe two or three days back in the woods — 

 beaver pretty plenty there ; left my traps there last 

 fall — no, let me see, fall before last, I guess." 

 " But what are you going to live on all the time ? " 

 " Oh, I got plenty grub, no fear ; not much tea, 

 though " (showing a little parcel of the fragrant 

 herb knotted up in a corner of his dirty blanket), 

 " and no sweetening : mebbe you could spare a 

 little tea and sugar, eh ? No ! ah well, all the 

 same, never mind, suppose my tea give out, per- 

 haps make some spruce tea. You see young John 

 Joe, he got a cache yonder, away off just across that 

 blue ridge, about one day or one day and a half, or 

 mebbe two days' journey, plenty flour there ; and 

 young Peter John Joe and old John Peter Joe, they 

 cached their cooking-pots on the little stream there, 

 near the north end of big blueberry pond. See you 

 again soon. Adieu ! " and after a few words in 

 Micmac to our Indians, this particular Joe would 

 walk off, to be seen no more till he reappeared after 

 some time with half a canoe load of beaver skins, or 

 perhaps to turn up quite unexpectedly in the course 



