Terms, Five Dollars a Year. | 

 Teu Cents a Copy. j 



NEW YORK. 



THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1873. 



) Volume I, Number 3. 

 I 103 Fulton Street. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 THE PEACE COMMISSION—A PIUTE 



PASTORAL. 



IT was a peace Commissioner, 

 And his garb was sober drab ; 

 His bair was long and white, and he 



Economized his gab. 

 In short, he was a reticent • 



And inoffensive slab. 



His style was philanthropic, 



And he bore a carpet-bag, 

 In which he stored his tracts and soap, 



And other peaceful swag, 

 Which Indians patronize when war 



And cattle -stealing lag. 



Long they sat in solemn council, 

 The agent and the Red, 



Mildly talking flabby virtue ; 

 Till the sachem shook his head, 



As with doubt and dim suspicion- 

 Then he grunted low, and said, 



Not with eloquence of nature, 



Not in metaphoric style, 

 But in simple frontier lingo, 



Mingled slang and grammar vile--' 

 "Na-ree-trow-zis want some whiskey ; 



Injun empty ; drink a pile." 



Then that meek and lowly Quaker 



Remonstrated with a tear ; 

 Spoke of fire-water and ruin 



With eloquence severe — 

 Said, quite feelingly, that whiskey 



Was a foe most insincere. 



Spake once more the child of Nature, 



Keeping down his growing bile, 

 "Has my brother brought tobacco ? 



Is there powder in his pile ?" 

 But the honest agent answered 



With an unsuspecting smile ; 



■•Had my variegated brother 



Ever studied Mr. Trask, 

 He would never, I am certain, 



Such a foolish question ask. 

 Read these pamphlets, they will teach you 



In the light of truth to bask. 



Powder I have none— nor whiskey, 



Nor the brain-destroying leaf ; 

 But of moral tracts and stories 



I have many for the chief." 

 Then the Indian, weeping sadly, 



Said it caused him bitter grief. 



That his moral sense compelled him 



To extract his brother's hair ; 

 Which he did, with nice precision 



And a sadness-stricken air ; 

 Aud that hopeful Peace Commission 



Terminated then and there. J. J. R. 



v 



How the Indians Kill Trout. —The Grass Valley Union 

 tells how the Lo family of digger persuasion destroy 

 the brook trout. They wait until the season of the year when 

 Hie streams run but little water, and when the fish collect in 

 the deepest and widest holes in the stream. Then they 

 cut off the water above such holes, and use soap root rub- 

 bed into a lather in the holes. The sopa root soon causes 

 all the fish in the hole to float on the surface of the water 

 in a stupefied condition. Not one escapes. No wonder 

 Thar while the rest of the world is endeavoring to increase 

 the. stock of fish in the streams, Nevada county is losing 

 her fish." 



<♦««» 



— In Hawaii, if you carry a gun, you are likely to have a 

 shot at wild turkeys on your way up or down. It is remarka- 

 ble that many domestic animals easily become wild on the 

 islands. There are wild goats, wild cats, wild chickens 

 and turkeys; the cattle run wild; and on Hawaii one man 

 at least has been killed and torn to pieces by wild dogs, 

 which run in packs in some parts of the island. 



AOTICOSTI. 



THE JOURNAL OF A NAVAL OFFICER. 



[Continued from our Last Issue.] 



\ — . — 



THE next morning we landed early about two miles 

 inside of Pointe aux Pins, and sent the canoe back 

 to bring on the baggage and follow us to Pointe au Grain, 

 where we purposed breakfasting. The w r oocls on this side 

 of the bay were larger, rising gradually from the water's 

 edge to some height, where they terminated in a large bar- 

 ren. Between Pointe aux Pins and Pointe au Grain, the 

 next headland, a distance of three miles, we passed the ribs 

 of two vessels high and dry on the shore. Near one was a 

 good rope ladder, a couple of oars, and a ship's bucket. 

 On reaching Pointe au Grain we found a direction board 

 nailed to a tree near the beach. The inscription — "Five 

 miles west to Provision Post" — was suggestive of ship- 

 wreck and suffering, the coast around Ellis Bay being for- 

 merly noted for the number of vessels lost there, of the 

 truth of which we had seen but too recent proof. At the 

 back of the Point is a large pond, almost enclosed by trees, 

 and bordered with high rushes and water lilies, a favo- 

 rite resort of duck at high tide and a most tempting look- 

 ing spot. I shot two black ducks, and Flanigan declared 

 he wounded one, which he said dived and hid itself in a 

 little island covered with reeds. I think it much more 

 probable that he missed altogether, as when shooting he 

 gets immensely excited, and, like the Frenchman and the 

 woodcock, provided he can obtain a good many shots kill- 

 ing his bird seems no object, and he cries " Vive le sport." 



For some distance to the east of Pointe au Grain exten- 

 sive banks of limestone shingle, with occasional layers of 

 thin slate, stretch inland ; lying in long wave-like ridges, 

 resembling one vast sea of stone, these banks remain a lasting 

 memorial of the waters which once covered the face of the 

 country. At eleven o'clock, there being no signs of the 

 canoe, we lit a fire, and roasting the ducks prepared to 

 make our first meal ; a couple of flat stones served as plates, 

 and two pointed pieces of stick as forks. Wc each carried 

 a sheath knife, and, sitting down, in an incredible short 

 space of time naught remained but feathers and a few well- 

 picked bones. We now held a council of war as to our 

 next steps, wishing to push on to Becscie river, fifteen miles 

 distant, where there was good fishing, and leave the canoe 

 to follow us as best it could. After many arguments on 

 both sides, we determined to proceed, and left the Point at 

 half past twelve o'clock. For the first six miles we got on 

 very well, as by walking along the reefs, which lay in large 

 flat slabs of limestone, now nearly dry, we managed to cut 

 off the numerous indentations of the coast and keep from 

 cape to cape. With the rise of the tide, however, we had 

 to follow the beach, and soon began to find the difference. 

 On we struggled over shingle, which, slipping at every foot- 

 step, made walking most laborious, and occasionally 

 through long grass up to our waists, with fallen timber and 

 other little stumbling blocks to ruffle our tempers. Flani- 

 gan complained bitterly at having started without a good 

 meal, and, in a true soldier-like spirit, saying that "had he 

 been on the line of march the ortherly officer would have 

 had a report long ago." Five o'clock came, and still on 

 we toiled, heartily sorry at having left the canoe, as partly 

 from hunger and partly from the heat of the day we began 

 to feel rather done up. Now we were wading through 

 streams up to our knees to cut off a corner, now plunging 

 through weeds and brushwood, more than once feeling in- 

 clined to give up, but still holding on, knowing that our 

 only chance lay in reaching the river before nightfall. 



From the hurry we were in many points of interest no 

 doubt escaped our observation, but we could not help no- 

 ticing some of the more prominent features of the land- 

 scape. Low wooded spits of land and grassy points enclose 

 innumerable ponds and lagoons, into most of which the 

 tide flows, while picturesque creeks receive frequent small 



but rapid streams, some of great beauty. One especially 

 we could not help admiring, as, rushing down between 

 banks of densely packed spruce, the stream formed a suc- 

 cession of tiny falls, over which the waters leaped and 

 danced in glistening cascades. Here and there rich glades, 

 covered with luxuriant grass, form park-like openings in 

 the woods and relieve the eye, which is apt to grow tired of 

 the perpetual vistas of spruce and pine. These rivulets, 

 though too small to admit of trout, make up by the retreats 

 they afford to wild fowl for any deficiency of the "finny 

 tribe. " With the rise of the tide flight after flight of black, 

 blue-wing, and green-wing duck, shelldrake, et id (jcmis 

 <>n hue, came in from the reefs and settled down upon the 

 streams and ponds which border the coast. Often as we 

 rounded some point and lit suddenly on a concealed lagoon 

 we might have killed seven or eight birds in one shot, so 

 closely together were they swimming in its waters, while 

 by availing ourselves of the cover of the adjoining wood 

 we might have enjoyed the prettiest flight-shooting possi- 

 ble. It was tantalizing to have to turn our backs upon 

 what would have been magnificent sport, but as time 

 was an object, and every additional weight told, we only 

 killed two birds, so that in case it came to the worst, and 

 we had to sleep on the road, we might have something to 

 eat. 



About six o'clock a direction board, with the inscription 

 "Fifteen miles west to Provision Post," gladdened our eyes. 

 If our information was correct we had now but five miles 

 further to go, and we proceeded with fresh vigor. The 

 evening soon closed in, and \ was just thinking of hailing 

 De Courcy, who was ahead, to debate a halt, cook a duck, 

 and then push on, when a distant "halloo" from Flanigan 

 attracted my attention. I waited until he came up, when 

 he began a pitiful tale of his sufferings, and the following 

 conversation ensued :— "Well. Flanigan, what's the mat- 

 ter ?" "Shure, sir, I can't go another shtep." "Nonsense, 

 come along, man." "Faix, ye can go along, but I'd rather 

 lie down in the road and die." "Tut, man, we'v# only 

 three or four miles further." "Begorra, I won't budge ; 

 why in the name of fortin did Ave lave the commissary this 

 mornin', and we widout a blessed dhrop of tea or anything 

 ilse V" — (this last viciously at me, as he had, with De Cour- 

 cy, been opposed to leaving the canoe.) "Well, it was a 

 mistake, I'll admit, Flanigan ; but cheer up and let's get 

 on." "It was a sorry day I left Quebec; faix, if I reach 

 there alive agin it won't be in these thom-foolin' expeditions 

 ye'll ketch me." 



Having delivered himself of this very uncomplimentary 

 allusion to our trip, and evidently appeased at having ad- 

 ministered a rebuke to me for abandoning the "commis- 

 sary," Flanigan condescended to get up from the beach 

 where he had been sitting during the above dialogue, and 

 we jogged along for another half hour, when a shout from 

 De Courcy broke on our ears. In the gloom of the even- 

 ing we could indistinctly follow the outlines of the coast, 

 which appeared to bend inland, and I was in hope that De 

 Courcy had reached the river, when the loud baying of a 

 dog rang through the air. Never had dog's bark sounded 

 so sweetly before. We now knew we were safe, and press- 

 ing on soon found ourselves confronted by De Courcy and 

 a man, who led the way up a small bank to his house. We 

 learned that where we had set out this morning the distance 

 was twenty-one miles, but as we had been following up 

 duck during the forenoon, and going inland, we could not 

 have walked less than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. It 

 was the hardest day's work I ever had, as the roads were 

 atrocious, and made the distance quite equal to thirty-five 

 or forty miles, while of course travelling on empty sto- 

 machs added to our difficulties. 



On looking round after supper we failed to perceive more 

 than one room (that we were in), which opened into a small 

 store-house, just large enough to admit of a cooking stove 

 a barrel of drinking water, and a few shelves containing 

 crockery. As the apartment in question was about twelve 

 feet square by eight feet high, we watched with wonder 

 and no little dismay the preparations being made for our 

 sleeping. Our hostess, a portly dame of sixteen stone _ 



