128 AMERICAN AXE-MEN. 



the skilful axe-man, who knows how to use his tools, 

 can do nearly anything and everything, " and armed 

 with his axe, a three inch auger, a couple of gimlets, 

 and a knife, can build a log cabin, split shingles to 

 roof it, make a fire place, door, latch, hinges and 

 window " * without the use of a bit of ironwork ; and 

 of course, can also quickly construct carts, rafts, bridges, 

 canoes, and many other things needed for progress 

 through a wild country. Want of time and space how- 

 ever obliges us to cut short our observations upon these 

 and similar details respecting life in the backwoods; 

 we shall therefore now proceed to give a sketch of the 

 general appearance of the great forests of the Temper- 

 ate Zone, as we have seen them which we trust may 

 prove of interest to Europeans and others who have 

 never had the privilege of visiting these grand scenes 

 of natural beauty and vegetative power. 



There can be no doubt that this can be better seen 

 in North America than in any other part of the world ; 

 but we must begin by saying that, as a rule, most of 

 the forest now to be seen to the eastward of the Rocky 

 Mountains does not by any means generally fulfil 

 popular expectations of the magnificence of the primeval 

 forest. To see this in all its grandeur one must go to 

 the Pacific coast, and visit the forests of California, 

 Oregon, British Columbia, etc. 



Of course, in saying so we do not mean to convey 

 that there are not considerable stretches of exceedingly 

 fine forest still to be found in Canada, New Brunswick, 

 Maine, and elsewhere we merely speak of the general 

 aspect of the American woods now ordinarily met with 



* At Home in the Wilderness, by John Keast Lord, 1876, p. 122. 



