JrxE 16, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



385 



sailed by die " Queen of the Lakes" ggijjn, and S3 finish 

 entirely our camp lite. The proprietor of the Central Lake 

 House was our oarsman. T must not forget the kitidtiess of 

 Mra Smith at the iiotel npr how cordially her ho?ptla.1ity was 

 extended to us. 



Of this journey down the lakes in our boat how can I wrilr 

 graphically enough. 1 The morning was a perrectonej coal, 

 blight and aliW with the aoiig of hirda. I sat in the stern 

 where a little nest had been madeof fragrant hay while John 

 and I be guide occupied the how. My no-t grew by decrees 

 iuto a bower; tall, nodding bulrushes waved round ii," and 

 we gathered, besides a mass of lovely ferns aud flowers as We 

 drifted along, scarlet, cardinal (lowers, queenly poiul lilies 

 and sturdy blue flags. 



There was at one turn the daintiest picture— a water color 

 - a veritable tableau riaint at one point In a Epot where 

 the rapids were shallower and the stream narrow and shaded 

 with fine old trees we met a parly of four boys from seven to 

 fourteen taking their boat up stream. Tin- three larger were 

 in the water pushing, a shirt their only garment, while their 

 rounded limbs gleamed white and wet. ' They seemed quite 

 shame-faced at. meeting us in such guise, but, they looked so 

 handsome and bright, and the sturdy little fellows hi the boat, 

 so well aud happy that, one might pray "God keep them 

 young and innocent I" 



That night we camped at Cedar Creek where the water is 

 the deepest, most intense blue, and where pretty little 

 speckled trout float and leap and play, now jumping clear 

 out of the water for the bait, then nibbling it oft the booh 01 

 dancing round it. They are the most coquettish creatures I 

 ever saw in the animal kingdom. One never knows how to 

 handle them or catch them. In some other life they must 

 have been inveterate flirts, and have but changed their dress, 

 for their beauty aud nature still remain. I slept on a couch 

 of cedar branches, a most delightful spring mattress, believe 

 me, and our guide swung l he hammock' under the trees. 

 The next morning the two men went off a second time to 

 get some "speckled beauties" leaving me behind as the 

 tramp was too hard. The first fishing had been rewarded by 

 fifteen 1 think it was, and right dainty food they were, too, 

 broiled at our crackling camp fire, but this morning they 

 could not get one, so capricious were they. I cjimbed down 

 the bluff to the water's edge, and found some deJkrate mosses, 

 tiny ferns and graceful water weeds while they were away. 



On our next day's sail (or row, rather J, we saw flocks uf 

 wild ducks, snipe and pigeons, but had not time to do much 

 havoc among them as we needs must catch the " Queen" on 

 her down trip. 



And now we were in civilization again; well-kept farms 

 and orchards, fields with busy laborers and mills going up 

 on the banks of the flowing water, while neat and trim homes 

 waited here and there for tired men, and little children 

 played round the door-step looking f, it father. And we, too, 

 were going home ; going with brightened eyes ami reddened 

 cheek's, w'UlJ renewed health ami strength, with bright hopes 

 and aims for the morrow. 



Of the more practical part of our camping, the exact dis- 

 tances we traveled, the number, size and weight of our fish, 

 the hooks, linesand poles we used, all tl*t> minute detail that 

 men delight in 1 have left John to tell ; he says I have left 

 it all out. 



This year John goes camping without me. He says Baby 

 Nell, with her eyes of Cedar Creek blue, would be good for 

 nothing up there, but for a good-sized pickerel—the very 

 idea ! A. L. PH. A. 



POOR LITTLE FEMN. 



BV ANNE G. J1AIK. 



it 



I? 



YNNP niLVNGEU has made the children a present 

 I Skye terrior — one that Paul imported — the 

 ugliest, huntlso/r</*t, sauciest, i-uiniuit/tU little imp you can 

 imagine ; aud Bed and Posie are crazy over him.'' 



So wrote Pedagogns one day last March, and every letter 

 since has contained allusions to "the ugly, lovely darling," 

 who had become the household pet. Gready to my annoy- 

 auce has been this praise of ' ; the nasty li t tie bundle of rags", " 

 as somebody styles a Skye terrier, for my best affections for 

 a longtime have been set on Trump — Ttiimp, the dignified, 

 sedate pointer, who made his most, polite bow to the Forest 

 and Stkeam last summer, in a card of thanks to the editor 

 for the relief afforded his lame paw by a lotion prescribed by 

 said editor. 



This dingy, shabby^ scrap of canine sagacity, bounding so 

 suddenly, bo impudently into favor provoked my jealously 

 most, severely. I never saw the interloper, but having heard 

 a great deal about his familiarities with Trump and Philip 

 Sheridan— the portly and gentlemanly house-cat — who both 

 received his advances with the most, contemptuous silence 

 for several weeks, I have been ready to say with rough Lob 

 Jakin : "I wouldn't own such a dog, I wouldn't," andhave 

 let my thoughts rest with pride on sober old Trump. 



Not that I can eall Trump handsome, or remarkably at- 

 tractive in any way. He is not demonstrative, either — seldom 

 shows much feeling in voice or mien. Nor yet is he eager 

 to assert his claims to praise, or even to attention. He 

 knows his place and has the good sense to keep it; knows 

 how and when to speak, and when to hold his tongue also. 

 In fact, he behaves himself like a worthy, though a very 

 common-place citizen, and deserves, and doubtless receives, 

 in ways best comprehended by his dogship, the thanks of the 

 entire community therefor. lie certainly has proved him- 

 self an industrious, faithful and affectionate servant in his 

 journeyings to and from Florida, the land of his nativity, 

 with his young master. Besides this, has attended him un- 

 weariedly in many perplexing, yet most enjoyable, expedi- 

 tions across the everglades of the South, along the sands or 

 over the marshes of our eastern coast, and through the in- 

 tricacies of our northern woods, in the pursuit of game. 



Still, though loyal to Trump, I must confess I have had 

 some curiosity to see the frolicsome and fidgetty little 

 Skye. I pitied him somewhat, truth to tell, because of his 

 cumbrous name, Pennsylvania, which had to be docked to 

 Penn to suit the manikin's curtailed proportions: and, pic- 

 turing him to myself as bouncing about under the burden of 

 that weighty appellation, led me to think more leniently of 

 his imperfections. 



Tet, imperfections he had none, in the eyes of Bud and 

 Poaie, who hugged and kissed and petted him within an inch 

 of his life, after his most misehie'vous pranks, even; and 

 pampered him with all the dainties they could coax or cajole 

 from Maggie, the cook, or surreptitiously obtain from the 

 table or the pantry, or spare from their own tit-bits. 



And I did come near to seeing him once, when, tying a 

 blue ribbon about his neck, "making him look like a 



beauty," Posic thought, he was promised a journey in the 

 cars with them to visit me. But he behaved so naughtily at 

 the very start, that, like all laid boys, he was punished by be- 

 ing left at home. And now I shall never see him, never 

 know what I have lost by not seeing him, Posie thinks. 



Last Monday came a letter from Pedagogus: " Vou will 

 be : 1 1 , to hear that ourdear little Penn is dead. He had a 

 k><1 liai.ii of flying out at horses passing by, barking furi- 

 ously, and getting" in front of their feet. He was killed in- 

 stantly, run over by a carriage yesterday morning — probably 

 stunned first by the horses' hoofs and 'then crushed by the 

 wheels. He made b.ut one yelp, and it was all over, lie 

 couldn't have known what killed him. I am glad his death 

 was instantaneous; it would have been much "worse to have 

 had him bruised and mangled aud dying a lingering death. 

 The children are heart-broken. It is their first grief, and 

 they can't get over it. Poor Bud mourns him continually. 

 We buried him by the hedge, between two apple-trees, and 

 the children have decorated his grave with flowers and a lit- 

 tle flag." 



The litlle grave between the apple-trees will always keep 

 a lender spot lor " ugly, handsome" Penn in the memories of 

 Posie and Bud; aud from that will spring into fragrant blos- 

 soming kindness and gentleness toward all living creatures ; 

 out of this first grief will grow sweet, sympatiiics, pitying 

 words and loving deeds for' the suffering, the unfortunate', 

 the despised. And when I recall to mind their affection for 

 miserable little Peun. their ridiculo's petting of the unde- 

 sirable little beast, I hang my head with shame, and sharpen 

 to the utmost all compunctions of conscience as a penance 

 for the scorn with which I have regarded that " sauciest, 

 cunningest little imp. 1 ' 



Yes, "1 ought to do penance in some way, because of my 

 inconsistency, for previous to hearing about Penn I had ac- 

 cepted Dinah Morris' views, aud often quoted her words 

 (from Adam Bede): "I've a strange feeling about, the poor 

 Unmb i hings; as if they wauted to speak and it was a trouble 

 to them because they couldn't. 1 can't, help feeling sorry for 

 the dogs always, though perhaps there's no need. But they 

 may well have more iu them than they know how to make 

 us understand, for we can't say half what we feel with all 

 our words." 



I have just read for the fifth time an almost forgotten letter 

 of poor Bud, who mourns so deeply now his wretched pet. 

 The tiny Sheet, covered with big, sprawling, childish charac- 

 ters which he had taken such pains to form neatly, telling 

 me of his birthday presents and thanking me for a few 

 simple gifts, and then — with anxiety that set his words awry 

 and hurried bis sentences — saying; "Did you know that Penn- 

 ty, poor, dear Penuty, had the mange? If you do not know 

 what that is I will tell you. It is when dogs scratch them- 

 selves and are sore. So one afternoon papa went down to 

 Mr. Marsh's store and bought two boxes of ointment to rub 

 on him, and now he is alulost well." 



I should like to be the owner of those empty boxes, now 

 that poor little Penn is gone, and to be able to remember 

 that he was almost well, because of what they once con- 

 tained, when the sharp hoofs and cruel wheels put a stop to 

 his frolicsome life, and hushed forever the merry clamor of 

 his shrill voice. 



DEER HUNTING IS CANADA. 



ounds I heard as I dis- 

 iaxing arras of sleep. 

 .1 our camping ground 

 t.rict, and, after having 







is to Poison 





■undo, 



table, we had 



that 



the n 



lorrow would 



ml h 



cky ir 



us results. 



in, V 





vhose French 



ted t 



"TTP, Freezy, up '." were the first 



I ) entangled myself from the 

 AVe had, the previous evening) read 

 iu the fastnesses of the Madawaska c 

 raised our cotton habitation, cs 

 Lake, housed the dogs and made 

 retired to an early couch, wish! 

 prove auspicious as to the weatb 



We were, in number four. Oui 

 name had on our tongues assumed the sound of Freezy, was 

 the object of the- ejaculation which opens ibis article. Ger- 

 ald, the spokesman, was the life, soul, and in a great measure 

 (especially at meal times) the body of the camp". A surveyor 

 by profession, endowed with fine" features, great agility and 

 strength, and withal a most pleasing temperament, he had 

 spent," the greater part of his life in the wild woods of our 

 Province, aud had acquired while using his theodolite a thor- 

 ough knowledge of the bush and its inhabitants. His brother 

 John, was No. 3. Though somewhat younger in years, he 

 had all the go?d qualities which are admired iu a camp-fel- 

 low- genial, good-humored, with a strong appreciation of the 

 sense of the ridiculous, and a ready inclination to make him- 

 self useful and to share the burthen of his neighbor's pack. 

 No. 4 was voir humble servant, a limb of the" law who be- 

 lieved in hurrying away annually toward the end of October, 

 from office and courts, to enjoy the free breezes and the in- 

 vigorafimr exercise of the chase. 



FYeezy's response was a growl indicative of an inclination 

 to question the. authority of Mtm^iewJhr (for Freezy retalia- 

 liad pronunciation with a will}, but the persuasive 

 erf a well-directed gun-cover added greatly to the 

 alacrily of his obedience. After wrestling for a while with 

 an obstinate pair of frozen boots, be set, himself to the task 

 of starting the fire with the aid of green balsam, disdaining 

 to use the dry splinters we had so zealously collected the 

 previous evening for that purpose. His ill success made us 

 all nimble, and we were up iu a trice favoring Freezy with 

 emphatic comments upon his stupidity as we went lo work, 

 and after enjoying a dip In the ice-fringed creek hard by 

 were ready for the morning meal which "the joint efforts of 

 the whole community prepared. 



The day was scarcely yet at hand, but the lowering clouds 

 on the hill-tops that surrounded our cozy tenting ground gave 

 promise of snow which was soon coming down quietly upon 

 the dried leaves and wide-spreading branches. 



The dogs had been lightly fed, aud Jack started off with 

 them to a hill-side some four miles from camp to look for 

 tracks aud get a start. 



Gerald hied to the shore of the lake to take his chances in 

 an Abenaki canoe which no one could be tempted to sit in 

 but himself. The cook remained in camp while I sauntered 

 off to a point which the experience of other years had taught 

 me to be a well-frequented runway. Ere long the dogs give 

 forth the joyful tongue— the first 'notes have an inquisitive 

 pitch. Now, Paddy, the stand-by of eight seasons, is heard 

 loud and deep, while Wallace and Hector answer back in 

 eager, fitful strains. 



The sounds seem to come from every point of the compass 

 as the freshening breeze winds through the sinuosities of the 

 gullies, growing louder and weaker, and then bursting sud- 

 denly on the almost startled ear within three hundred yards. 

 A rush is heard, aud the white flag, wuich the eye has looked 

 for all along, appears among the trees, How beautifully the 



agile doc takes each leap, with ears thrown back, listening to 

 the dreadful tongue of the hounds, but hurrying not as one 

 might expect. Suddenly a puff ot smoke Issues from among 

 the branches) and a tremendous report, wakens the echoes of 

 the hills and is prolonged through the valleys, and the awo- 

 slricken deer, galvanized by the shock, halts, crouches down, 

 aud with useless eye, inquires into the cause of the commo- 

 tion. 



A false move betrays metre I can insert a second carl ridge, 

 Up rises the white flag, and Off darts the target through ihe 

 thickest of the brush, and before the rifle can be raised the 

 favoring branches cause further hope to die within me. I 

 should not have missed, but I did. 



In nine cases out of ten, if you sec the deer coming toward 

 you in the woods, you will obtain a s'anding shot by v bill- 

 ing or shouting A«//. The animal will stand in its tracks 

 until it finds out the source of this ne.v danger. 



A large amount of calculation mid coolness is required iu 

 shooting at a Hying deer. I have almost invariably discovered 

 that shots delivered otherwise than when the animal is oil the 

 point of making its spring arc useless, they either .drop be- 

 hind or under the object. 



I felt somewhat crestfallen, for somehow 1 have Ihe repu- 

 tation of being a good marksman, but my chances lor the 

 morning were gone as the three dogs hud, by some" Strange 

 fatality, taken up the same trail. However, I remained at 

 my post lest fortune should tempt the doe back on her tracks, 

 and made up my mind that the second shot of the season 

 would prove more telling than the first. 



A rifle report from the lake tells me Gerald is in luck, and 

 my experience of his accuracy of aim leaves me no doubt of 

 the result. 



Much has been written against hound hunting, and more 

 ink will be wasted on the subject before the close of the 

 chapter is reached. Some maintain that the music of the 

 dogs frightens the deer from the neighborhood, but my ex- 

 perience and that of many to whom I have spoken on the 

 subject lead me to think otherwise. The deer seem lo 

 know when the. dogs are on their own particular trail, and do 

 not. apparently heed the tongue of a whole pack which may 

 be rushing upon another of their own kind, and most deer, 

 esjircia'ly old BtBgerB, take a delight in circling round, Stop- 

 ping to listen to the music of the hounds, and then scamper- 

 ing off toward their point of departure, again lo repeal, the 

 same unties after a dash of a few hundred yards. 



There was joy in the camp when Gerald returned wilh 

 news of his Bueces8, I came in for some quiet hints as to 

 the propriety of my turning cook and giving my gun to 

 Freezy, whose visage is adorned wilh two" swivel eyes, and 

 who looks fixedly at you if you chance to be beside him, 

 while ho swings the axe over his head preparatory to sinking 

 it into the tree he is chopping. 



The snow fell quietly and dreamily at. intervals tint big the 

 day, so that when on the second morning we had got through 

 the pantomime of breakfast, it was proposed to devote the 

 day to still- hunting. 



Still-hunting is not a favorite sport of mine; it smells of 

 the barm yard; it looks too much like killing in cold blood. 

 which, according to every authority legal, is murder. And 

 yet I have indulged in it, and. thanks to the power of lcarn- 

 ina by imitation;" which the Darwinian theory teaches nc 1 

 came by honestly from a remote ancestor, I "have acquired 

 some knowledge of the ways and means of this branch of 

 sport. 



And first let me assure the novice he had better avoi.l 

 leather in his apparel ; leggings should be. eschewed. The 

 noise they make is too much for the equanimity of any deer 

 of ordinary circumspection. The soft, deer-skin or the short- 

 legged beef-skin Canadian moccasin is the easiest and best 

 covering for the feet, and if the trowsers are fastened round 

 the ankles, the flapping of their lower extremities will he 

 avoided. 



The still-hunter must be a man of patient mould. His 

 mind must be satisfied that no crouching or reclining form 

 has escaped his eye as it sweeps the wood after every stop. 

 His attention must be, above all, bestowed on the upturned 

 roots of fallen trees, lest beneath or behind them should rest, 

 the object of his researches ; and while watching to the 

 right and left he should not neglect the country ahead. I 

 think fewer deer are passed by than are almost walked over 

 before they are seen. 



If you wish to follow up a trail do not choose one that fol- 

 lows the direction of the wind. Remember that a deer's 

 nose is his very best friend, his ear3 the next, and his eyes 

 the least trustworthy. Take notice whether the. animal 

 browsed on the beech-tops on its way, and whether the hoofs 

 were lazily dragged along the ground. Iu the rutting sea- 

 son, the buck seems too lascivious to raise his feet after him. 

 You can generally count upon starting your quarry soou if 

 you notice these signs ; but as you hope for success do not 

 walk upon the frail, Sweep rouud it, iu curves having an 

 arc of 200 or 300 yards, according to the thickness of the 

 wood, alternating to the right and to the left in a very zig- 

 zag line. Should you proceed in a straight lino upon the 

 trail you will certainly be seen before your eye meets its 

 point of attraction.. The advantage of making the curves is 

 that it enables you to fix the position of the deer before he 

 can be made aware of your presence. If when your ball- 

 circle is completed you find the trail, you know the prey is 

 still ahead ; if you find it not, you then are sure the animal 

 lies somewhere between you and where you left his track 

 200 or 300 yards behind. And now you must strain your 

 eye and ear, and watch your footsteps, lest one false move 

 should spoil your morning's work and allow the king to 

 escape the intended male. Let no bush, no lump of earth, 

 no upturned root, no lying log, no heap of brush large 

 enough to conceal a few feet of succulent venison go unscru- 

 tinized. 



You will generally find that when the deer is about to lie 

 down it will sweep around in a half-circle on his track im- 

 mediately before doing so. If the trail does not swerve to 

 right or left, you may in almost every case make up vour 

 mind that you arc still 300 yards behind the object of your 

 inquiry. 



A startled doer always takes time to dung after springing 

 to its feet, aud this gives you the best opportunity vou may 

 expect of placing your shot in position. " In the thick woods 

 of the Madawaska a second siiot is not to be expected. 

 Sending rifle-balls through intervening branches after a fleet- 

 ing object is not as paying a transaction as an investment 

 iu Lf. S. bonds which have twenty years to mature. 



If your eye takes iu any spot likely to hold your game, 

 approach it stealthily, but do not be neglectful of other 

 points in the compass, use your neck as does the heron in 

 the long grass, and if there are two or more of your party 

 hunting in the same locality fix the direction of' your com- 

 panions in your mind's eye before the time comes for belch- 



