OR, THE LAKE LANDS OF CANADA. 45 



as "a doctor," but I had only thought of him in connection 

 with this title as an ignorant quack. I now found myself in 

 the presence of a well-educated gentleman, who was also 

 evidently familiar with the rules governing polite society. 

 He conversed with me in the English language, but I soon 

 learned that he could also speak both German and French. 

 You can, therefore, well imagine my surprise : here was 

 a gentleman possessed of an excellent education a pro- 

 fessional man living in a cold, rocky, sterile country, with 

 no congenial associates, while the few other settlers on this 

 lake could only be classed with ignorant adventurers, some 

 of whom freely admitted that they left the front in order 

 to avoid confinement in prisons. The doctor seemed to 

 be about fifty years of age, was thinly clad, stooped con-, 

 siderably, while his shoulders drooped, and there were 

 likewise observed other evidences of continued hardships 

 and scanty nourishment. He was tall and gaunt, stood, 

 probably, about six feet in his boots, sunken gray eyes, 

 heavy eyebrows, light complexion, iron-gray hair, and 

 heavy moustache. The mystery of the man's life is still 

 unknown to me. He was certainly an enthusiastic hunter, 

 and may he not have parted with the pleasures of civiliza- 

 tion for the purpose of enjoying the wild pleasures of the 

 forest ? I cannot answer this question. We found him 

 there on the " Free Grant Lands," working hard to support 

 a large family, scarcely able to put bread in their mouths, 

 staggering under the heavy burden imposed on him, and 

 with very little hope for a better condition on earth. 



The first meeting with Dr. Pokorney was a great sur- 

 prise to me. It is true, I had expected to meet this well- 



