EXPEDITION TO THE LAURENTIAN HILLS. 183 



branches droop, and, when the waters are high, touch the 

 waves. Back of the cedars are the hemlocks and pines, and 

 beyond these, on the uplands, the hard-wood timber. In au- 

 tumn, when the tints are changing, this arrangement forms 

 beautiful pictures. The dark-green of the pines and hem- 

 locks mingles far up the hills, in all picturesque ways, with the 

 splendors of birches, beeches, and maples. The waters of the 

 lake and the cedar fringe form a base to the scene. Over all 

 comes the play of sunshine and shadow. 



To this region, in the autumn of 1865, several members of 

 the Oneida Community went on a trapping excursion, under 

 the lead of the old trapper and hunter, Mr. John Hutchins, 

 whose character and adventures have been sketched on pre- 

 vious pages. Their departure from home was announced by 

 the editor of the " Circular " in the following terms : 



" On Monday next, September 25th, an expedition will set out 

 from the Oneida Community for the backwoods of Upper Canada. 

 The object is trapping, and the company go prepared for a six 

 months' campaign in the woods. The expedition consists of 



"John H. Noyes, Perfectionist and Inventor; 



" John Hutchins, old Maine trapper and hunter ; 



" John P. Hutchins, son of the latter, and member of the Oneida 

 Community ; 



" Theodore L. Pitt, ex-Editor of the < Circular ' ; 



" George Campbell, ex-Financier of the Oneida Community." 



The objects of our expedition, more fully stated, were as 

 follows : 1. A practical acquaintance with life in the woods, 

 and its healthful influences ; 2. Trapping and acquaintance 

 with trappers ; 3. Fur-buying and study of the fur-trade. 

 The programme included within its possibilities a winter cam- 

 paign in the woods, and an outfit was prepared accordingly. 

 As this outfit was made under the supervision of Messrs. 

 Hutchins and Newhouse, and was the result of their combined 

 wisdom, it is perhaps worth copying, for the benefit of others 

 planning similar expeditions. It was as follows : 



OUTFIT. 



Guns ; ammunition ; fishing tackle ; two good salmon 



