BEARS AND BEAVERS. 



SOME yer.rs ago I lived in what was then the 

 " Ultima Thule " of civilization in Upper Canada. 

 The scene of what I am about to describe lies about 

 140 miles, by water route, north of Toronto, and for 

 glories of vegetation, lovely lakes, and enchanting 

 rivers would be hard to surpass by what can be 

 viewed in any other part of the world. 



On the south-west shore of Lake Couchachin at 

 the bottom of Lake Simcoe, is situated the picturesque 

 and prosperous village of Orillia, attractive to all 

 beholders' eyes, from its numerous pretty, tasteful 

 white cottages surrounded by gardens and orchards, 

 bearing flowers and fruits that never failed to bring 

 to the distant sojourner memories of the land of his 

 birth. 



Lake Couchachin, when unencumbered with ice, is 

 as blue as the azure waters that lave the shores of the 

 Bay of Naples, while the ridges that back the village 

 are covered with a dense growth of the handsomest 

 varieties of forest trees. 



The society of Orillia in the days I write of, although 

 sparse, was select, for many of the officers who had 

 served under the Iron Duke in the Peninsula and at 

 Waterloo, or under Sir Robert Sale in Afghanistan, 

 had chosen it as a suitable locality in which to spend 

 with ease and comfort the remainder of the days 

 allotted to them on earth. 



Lake Couchachin bears upon its bosom numerous 

 islands, picturesque in outline, and without a single 



