S/wrt in an Untouched A merican II 'ilderness 



For, though the New Brunswick capi- 

 tal has for many years been a centre of 

 education and refinement, you could to- 

 day fire a long-range rifle-bullet from the 

 dome of the parliament building into the 

 edge of the forest which stretches away to 

 the north, broken only by the St. Law- 

 rence. The deer wander within an hour's 

 walk of the ancient city ; and on the 

 smooth road that makes off to the upper 

 St. John River settlements you may see 

 the partridges run into the brush, within 

 a mile of town. The birds are more in- 

 nocent than those we know. Ten miles 

 from Fredericton, if you meet a Canada 

 grouse, it will fly unconcernedly up to the 

 nearest branch, from which perch of fan- 

 cied security it will gaze curiously down 

 upon you, while you cut a slender sapling, 

 attach a looped string to the small end, 

 slowly move it right up to the bird's beak, 

 drop the noose over its neck, and with a 

 slight jerk pull the trusting creature down, 

 fluttering but unhurt. A barnyard hen 

 would be far more sophisticated. 



There is a little railroad which runs 

 from Fredericton to Chatham, along the 

 valley of the Southwest Miramichi River. 

 It possesses two locomotives, each making 

 a daily run of one hundred and ten miles 



133 



