»9 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



further, we opened suddenly on Lake Paoonook, and one 

 of the most magnificent scenes I ever beheld burst upon 

 us: the weather had cleared up bright and calm, the lake's 

 surface was like a mirror, surrounded with mountains; a 

 few clouds were skimming past, but leaving their summits 

 clear above, the shore was lined with huge rocks of all 

 shapes, and heavy timber, having all the varied hues of 

 autumn, and beautifully contrasted, intermixed with the 

 different kinds of evergreens, peculiar to northern re- 

 gions. Not a sound was heard, except the cackling of 

 log cock, or pileated woodpeckers, and now and then the 

 scream of a loon. Indians and all ceased paddling to enjoy 

 and admire. ' 



Crossed the lake in nearly a north east direction; it is 

 about nine miles in circumference, and very deep, abound- 

 ing with fine fish, particularly pickerel, some of which we 

 tried to catch, but were unsuccessful. Entered the mouth 

 of a small stream, with low bushy banks, where we were 

 led to believe we should see moose and carabou: H. and 

 myself sat with our guns cocked for fear of making the 

 least noise, whilst Mitchell and Joe, with the stillness of 

 death, paddled up the serpentine course of the stream for 

 several miles, until we came to the mouth of another 

 stream, which we were told was to be the scene of our 

 nightly hunts for moose; accordingly we retraced our way 

 for some distance, so as not to alarm the game with our 

 axes. Encamping about noon, we set ali our musquash 

 W-aps, and slept the remainder of the day. A partridge 

 {Phcasaiit) came within six feet of our fire, and seemed 

 quite uncertain whether we were friends or enemies, but 

 as all our venison was gone, I felt sorry to prove myself 

 amongst the latter; but so it was, and the poor bird formed 

 part of a fricassee with musquash. Several moose birds 

 [Corvus canadensis oiyVWson) then appeared; they would 

 sit on my coat as it hung on a bush, peck at the par- 

 tridge which was already picked and hanging up, and eat 

 fat pork off the kettle, which was placed a short distance 

 from the fire; a few sleepless moments were employed in 

 the amusement of trying to catch them with fishing lines, 

 but they were too cunning to swallow the bait without first 

 picking it from the hook. At sundown, made our prepa- 

 rations and started to hunt moose by star light. H. and 

 Mitchell Louis went in one direction towards lake Paoo- 

 nook, whilst Joe and myself went up stream from the lake: 

 had to make one or two portages over rocky rapids in deep 

 hemlock shade, which deprived us of the little light we 

 had received from the stars. Where the stream was wider, 

 and more open, on getting again into smooth water, Joe 

 gave me my directions, as it was my first essay in this 

 kind of hunting, and required me to be as silent as possi- 

 ble, while he sent the canoe over the dead water, like the 



silent flight of an owl in search of its prey. The moose 

 repair at night along the banks of the stream, to feed on 

 the small branches of ash, maple, and red willow, and con- 

 stantly cross from one bank to the other, so that they are 

 as frequently found in the water as along the shores; the 

 Indians told me to watch sharply for their dark forms in 

 the bushes, as well as in the water, as their dark colour is 

 particularly adapted to conceal them in the night; we 

 were frequently startled by the repeated splashes of mus- 

 quash and aquatic birds. Joe often imitated the long braying 

 call of the female, as it is now rutting season, but without 

 success, for we hunted until midniglit without seeing or 

 hearing a single moose. When we returned, found the other 

 canoe back before us with no better success. Took the 

 canoes on shore, turned them bottom upwards, and with our 

 heads beneath them by way of tents, we spent the rest of 

 a clear frosty night. 



Next day set some sable traps, which are dead falls 

 made with small logs, and then moved our quarters a mile 

 or two up the western branch; we undertook to hunt on 

 the hills, and I soon discovered the reason why all the 

 hunting is done by the Indians in canoes, for the whites 

 never hunt except in snow shoes; — it is this — the country 

 is crossed in every direction by lakes and streams, so that 

 fires cannot spread here as they do in almost every other 

 part of our country, and consequently the dead timber 

 remains to rot, and is further protected from fire by vast 

 beds of moss; therefore, the woods are full of dead and 

 rotten timber, lying in confused masses among the rocks, 

 all of which being covered with moss, a traveller in such 

 places can never tell whether he is on terra firma, or 

 mounted a considerable distance above it, on a net work of 

 rotten logs, which every now and then let him down some 

 fifteen or twenty feet, without his being able to tell what 

 kind of wild beast may occupy the den beneath him. 

 Added to these dilBculties, in other places the heavy snows 

 in winter bend the long slender evergreens in the form 

 of bows, in which position they remain with their tops 

 near the ground; and as this goes on successively each 

 winter, the evil is increased, until a hunter must be as agile 

 as a sable or panther, to get through such spots; in fact, 

 deer and the larger game, except bear, are not found in 

 such places. 



At noon, Joe and myself again started in one of the 

 canoes up the stream, until dark, to hunt moose on our way 

 back in the night, whilst H. and Mitchell Louis remained 

 to set musquash traps, and prepare the camp against our 

 return, which was about ten o'clock; saw plenty of moose 

 and carabou signs going up, but none appeared fresh; some 

 of the moose tracks were quite as large as those of oxen. 

 We landed on an extensive cranberry bed, and in a short 



