Oct. 12, 1882.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



203 



ivir ye kin go to the first live acres above an' as won e 

 get in the rushes wid yer cajioc, wid yer left ear yc'U hear 

 the dog coming round the mountain, an' mind do ye louk 

 Straight EkCroas the lake, an' about three acres above tin; pint, 

 ill . e the deer coniin' in the wather. Now niind what 1 

 tell ve, if ye don't bring home that deer, it'll not he the 

 dog?8 fault, and if it's a buck, and ye wound him. don't ye 

 coiuo to close quarters wid hint, or "he'll put his fut through 

 yer birch canoe and ve'r a goner." 



Andthusweweretlicn welcomed, introduced and regulars. 

 installed as nie.inb»rs of the Ilauiahun family, and started 

 on our first hnnl in less time than il takes to rive the above 

 verbatim report. And from this you can imagine 30me- 

 what the naiure of our reception in the old log cabin on ihi.-. 

 Wednesday afternoon after a year's Separation, PfttSy was 



enthusiastic and hilarious in the extrc , mil Lhc next fifteen 



niiuul.es' flow of language wonld (ill a volume. 



All this time wink Patsy was ••delivering himself" Mrs. 

 IT. was quietly preparing the "cup o' bilin' tay" for us. 

 Some of our party have jaw --breaking but magnificent 

 names, so I have given them the more familiar ones of 

 Brady. DOrsey, Miner and Rerdell, and the dog— why cer- 

 tainly we have- a dog; brought him all the way from Con- 

 necticut, hut I have forgot ton to mention him— we call him 

 Rock. He is one of the finest looking members of thepartv. 

 After doing justice to the "bilin- - tay" and the necessary 

 accompaniments we found that we had some two hours 

 time before sunset. Time, we thought, for a little prelimi- 

 nary skirmish with deer. Our host provided bano b, and 

 we crossed the lake. Scott, Mima* and Rerdell to the south- 

 ern end, Brady and Dorsey lo the northern. B. G. A. 



['CO BE CONTlN I El!. I 



BELOW QUEBEC. 



FOURTH TAt'Elt. 



IT is only a short run from the mouth of the St. John:; 

 Biver to the Parroquet, as the distance does not exceed 

 eight miles. This island lies at the westernmost extremity 

 of a long chain, which once unquestionably formed, in con- 

 nection with near-by Anticosti, the southern shores of the 

 main coast line, as shown by the. separate fragments forming 

 the group of the Mingan Islands, which resemble a long 

 strip of coast as they arc only separated from each other by 

 narrow gaps of the sea. 



of the old settle] 



Even witliin the memory i 

 north shore they once teemed with a 

 which has now'ueeu almost external 

 incessant raids made upon it by hot 

 tagnais Indians, which tribe has mat 

 land for years past their annual sur 

 thej organize their hunting excurt 

 lards of various kinds which once 

 upon the islands. Notwithstanding 

 edi 



quart 



the near-by 

 ty of game 

 sequence of 

 d flie Mo 



ad the ma 

 t.s. lien 

 ds and a 

 nbc 



great 



r. these ravages 

 nation of game, and thus 

 deprived in a measure those fairy gems of one of their chief 

 charms, they are still in man;, respects well worth visiting. 

 In a brief excursion of ten davs we managed to call on this 

 present occasion on Pa r roquet. Mingan and Birch islands, 

 which are separated by narrow straits and resemble each 

 other in their general formation though they differ in many 

 minor details. 



Parroquet Island is still the chosen annual breeding groti nd 

 of thousands of puffins, a small colony of gannets (Siiki 

 bo&sccna) the herring guli and the spotted s-tadpiper (Aa6iMs 

 iiuir.tthtrivz) the voting of which Ii 

 flv at the time of my 



number of seals sporting ab 

 fort-like vertically rising clil 

 tinguished from ah the re 

 noticed a very large species 

 head seal. It differs both 

 harbor, hooded and flays' s 

 well or better known to I 

 smallest species of the three, 

 coves along the shores of ma 

 or two young. The Hays' and he 

 qua to these parts, but arrive in M 

 upon the drift ice, which is carri 

 gulf by the northern currents run 

 Belle Isle. 



The heavy detonations from tl 

 express rifle", which is Mr. Bland'* 

 soon after our landing at Parroqui 

 regards without delay to seine <Jf tl 

 of which I wished much to ohtl 

 skins and skeletons. But the ain 

 heads of the seals are only visible 

 and down in the uneasy swell of t 

 good mark for an accurate Shot 

 by Sharps hammerless, old reliabl 

 and the skipping ball.- 

 beyond the glistening r. 

 any damage. To make up 

 called into requisition, and 

 sufficient number of puffins, 

 few good specimens for pi 

 beginning of August whei: 

 moult, they are still 

 and we notice even 

 Heavy shot is necrj 

 they will often manage to get 

 No" pellets in theii bodies. 



We pass the larger portio 

 but as there is no anchorage 1 

 is getting low, we return ab< 

 square away for Mingan Islai 

 miles to the eastward. As th 

 locked harbor on its west end 

 boat, and as carrying faciliti 

 prepare to remain there a f&* 

 Island a total absence of all m 

 an abundance of good water t 

 although not a single tree or 

 and exposed surface. To the 

 lief, forming a distinctly mar 

 ridge of cliffs overtopping it, 



id reliable rifli 



plow up the y 

 nd heads of the 



ime 1 

 aid 



and 



these bin 

 as good plun 

 pin loath 



were barely abli 



There were also" quite a 

 he rocks at the base of the 

 i which Parroquet is dis- 

 kmoug these animals we 

 1 by the settlers the horse- 

 ■ize and aspect from the. 

 all of which are equally 

 The harbor seal is the 

 breeds in the well sheltered 

 avers, where it raises one 

 loded seals are not indigen- 

 larcii in countless numbers 

 ed into the basin of the 

 tning through the straits of 



age Westley Richards 

 orite arm, "advise me 

 hat he was paying his 



e sake of their 

 ain, the round 

 Is. they bob up 

 rarely afford a 

 forts, seconded 

 re alike futile, 

 in front and 

 3 without doing 

 SiOtglin is now 

 soon obtain a 

 gannets to select a 

 Although it is the 

 Is ought to be in full 



iuhc 



folds 'of I he mosses, 



hides eve 

 rd foliagt 

 are 



lichens anil mosses, which are closely interlaced by a net- 

 work of trailing branches of dwarf birches, willows, shep- 

 herdias and like shrubby plants. Wherever these are not 

 monopolizing all light and heal and encroach upon the less 

 favored species, a thick, soft carpel of dewberries, cran- 

 ba rics rid worthleberries, dotted with innumerable brigbt- 

 vincli of the cold, bare rock. ~ 

 of the tender nurselings of this 

 deeply imbedded into the warm 

 . id their blue, yellow and purple blos- 

 soms are glowing like so many bright stars upon the sombre 

 background of the dark green sward. 



The noon of Ibis lloral honeymoon is, however, fast wan- 

 ing, although wc notice still a fan* number of blooming 

 species, consisting, in the beginning of August, eh idly of 

 blue lulls, ."bite yellow-eyed drvas, slouecrops, andromedas, 

 calmias, wild roses, and bright, yellow, shrubby potentillas, 

 They a II bloom here and there, almost side by side, as the 

 dry soil is varied frequently by many little boggy patches 

 which are never dry. 



Wherever the rocks themselves are exposed to view, as is 

 the case near the seashore, they reveal an abundance of fine 

 fossils, belonging, evidently, to the Lower Silurian, and if 



2 prop 



ire to 

 powder 



beaut i- 

 Mingan 



lien off 



sires to make collections of thei 

 •rly provided with heavy hammer! 

 anu ruse, lie could gather quick! 

 t'ul fossil remains. On the nr 

 Island which is covered chiefly 

 by frosl from the near-by cliffs, 

 latious of aiuioal perfectly preserved large orthoeoratites of 

 elegaul patterns, piled up here and there in confused array 

 like ss many small, loose sticks of square-cut firewood. 

 Botde of these were several feet in length, all hollow and 

 literally studded on their inside with rosettes of transparent 

 ealeite crystals. Large detached fragments of ealoite, with 

 perfectly formed crystals of larger size than those from 

 Derbyshire, lie here and there fully exposed upon the sur- 

 wherc they have been apparently tossed and broken 



fa< 



up by 



nt of 



and action of fro'st. Notwithstanding 

 mch needed tools, we yet gathered here in 

 ltlicient number of fine specimens to fills largi 

 faction of what could have been done with a 



called bv the 



id of all'arbo 



uai.ii 



i Bald Island, 

 nt vegetation, lie 



pr 



icfrate their thick coats, and 

 tvay with quite a number of 



of the day upon Parroquet, 

 r the Gashcr, and a, the sun 

 rd after our hasty call and 



full lei 



It w 



lid be difficult to explain this lo. 



temperature is both day and 

 lian that of any of the near by 

 ingle mosquito is ever heard to 

 sic-Stag w:_ lake stretched out at 



rf. 



all 



mated ow 



backed sa 



-tation when the nature of 

 he surrounding water shows 

 opera! ure. There are also, on account of its 

 ■ - barely any iand birds lo be seen. A few 

 marrows were the only species 1 noticed in the 

 ig the shores, At low tide iu particular, which 

 ay mud flats, the tableau is. however, more ani- 

 ag to the presence of large flocks of the red- 



id backed 



dpipei' (Tringu alpiivi) and a few marbled god- 

 wits and curlews, which just now commence to migrate and 

 inaio- (heir appearance on this coast. The cider duck is also 

 occasionally seen. Thev breed here. Their young are now 

 full grown, and a handful or so of the soft down indicates 

 here ami there the site of their old nests. The 

 sandpipers have just now arrived from the No 

 still very tame. A lew charges of coarse shot fir 

 midst of the densely packed flocks soon supplied 

 which had been previouslv added to bv a great ..... 

 fine lobsters captured by "Fred Beatty at low tide under- 

 neath the boulders which line the beach. Of the manyspots 

 where, during the sweltering heat of mid-summer, a cool re- 

 ,nd would certainly take 



ed i 



larde: 



the palm, 

 all the res: 

 of this ci 

 although 

 blanket cc 

 iug July a 

 ature of i 



■' [hie 



Cha 



tf temp 



•passe: 



hole length 

 e Isle, and 

 er a double 

 ■ature dur- 



former beach lii 

 dasiied agaiusi. it. 

 rocjss hear additibj 

 its remote past an 

 acted upon and tin 

 The surface soil 

 limestone, lightly 



i.soljin 



it rises in bold 

 • with au auc 

 s the outl 



id i 







is of its 

 d out 



manner in which they 



ed by the action of surf and frost. 



•ran island consists of decomposed 



_ id with rotten vegetable mould. 



Upon this flo rishesto a thickness of a foot or more, a soft. 



yielding vegetable growth, composed of gray and green 



id August are never experienced, and the teinper- 

 iy and night varies only a few degrees. It is a 

 sanitary paradise tor all afflicted with dyspepsia, and our 

 appetites increased greatly under, the stimulus of the cool 

 oxygenated air, which seems to infuse fresh energies into 

 every flbre Of the body. 



With the help of botanizing, hunting, fishing, and collect- 

 ing, our time passes rapidly among these islands, where we 

 have all the luxuries of tent life, unmarred by the many in- 

 conveniences which so oiten attend the same when prepara- 

 tions are insufficient to insure the lull enjoyment of bodily 

 comforts. 



There are, no doubt, many campers who prefer what is 

 termed ' 'roughing" in the harshest sense of the word, who eon 

 tent themselves with a blanket and a teakettle for an outfit, 

 and find their recreation in the personal attendance to the 

 laborious details of camp life. We differ from these views, 

 and prefer to increase our appetite and health by help of 

 more legitimate ruBans. Theie is no need to leave our back 



pienu-v:,. I prefer, if needed, to get up an appetite by a 

 long tramp along the shores, through fields, woods, and 

 BwampS, and to sit down after mv return to a plain but 

 well-cooked supper, in preference lo the crude messes which 

 form so often the bill of fare in tents. We have rot always 

 been bedded on roses, and remember well the time when a 

 iple of old tin cans made up our entire outfit of rooking 

 nsils on a journey of several hundred miles, in a small 

 •n boat, along the eastern shores of Florida. But this is 

 reason why we should have enjoyed these privations and 

 look in regretful mood upon our present improvements. ThG 

 sweets Oi life are ever few compared with its drawbacks. 

 and I, for my part, subscribe to the epicurean platform, and 



the one where the reverse obtains. This u a.-Tl'he o-isc'lirre in 

 its fullest sense, and the days seemed thus lo shorten into 

 hours which flew past only loo quickly, perhaps* paverto 

 return. 



We speuf a couple of weeks on this excursion among the 

 islands, oid taking advantage of a fine breeze from" the 

 northeast ran back" safely into the SI. Johns lii ver to pre- 

 pare for our return to Gaspe in the Kate, which had been 

 ordered to call for the party. There were, fortunately, a 

 few days to Spare,, and these were devoted to trout fishing, 

 which had been temporarily suspended, and is here still iu 

 its prime. The mouth of the river fairly swarms with 



~i3E~ 



them. They run out and in from the sea iu its ebb and 

 flood tide, and prefer over and above all just; now the fly 

 to the most tempting bait. The sea trout attains odcaslo i 

 ally to a weight of seven pounds. The average is about 

 from two to three pounds, and fish of such a size afford good 

 enough sport for a few days, at least. Any large salmon th- 

 is preferabh; to the smalt regulation patterns of trout flies, 

 and rigged out with such, backed by double salmon leaders, 

 there is no danger it going back "with empty creel. The 

 very perfection Of sport is attained wheu tish ascend the 

 river en »b». and when we get in the very center of a great 

 shoal with a good man iu a light, canoe. Hundreds of beau- 

 tiful large-sized trout may then be seen splashing all around 

 the boat, all eager to rise to the trailing fly. which often 

 scarcely touches the water before a five-pounder is hooked. 

 In the latter end of three consecutive flood tides, or about 

 seven hours all told, three rods took four hundred and fifty 

 pounds of sea trout, All of them were as gain- , and if auy- 

 thing more vigorous tha a the. most lively brook trout. To 

 the. novice this was indeed a great achievement, which, now 



in recollection of their forty -pound 



hild's play. 

 agreeably occupied for the ar- 



varying our sport with an experi- 

 . which netted a ton and a half of 



ever, the 



salmons, viewed as me 

 While waiting still II 

 rival of the Kate, and 

 mental codfishing trip, 



flesh gross weight, an easterly wind favored among other ar- 

 rivals, that of a fine sloop-rigged yacht direct from Natash- 

 quan. This vessel was purchased a couple of months ago 

 try Messrs. Hope Yen- and Morrice, both of whom were 



June and made inquiries about a steamer which they might, 

 aSl-agi to their leased stream. But no less 

 est price of $800 was asked of them by the 

 coasting steamer Otter, which makes regular 

 trips along the north shore from Quebec and 

 leduje her journeys within about 100 miles of 

 in River, fn plain words, an extortion price 

 -ked to carry a small party of four men to and 

 ice of only 150 miles in a vessel, whose run- 

 . judging from her looks and size, ought 

 3d lilty dollars per day. To avoid this i"m- 

 l ranger sportsmen purchased and manned a 

 fitted out sloop in which they took a sail 

 w Quebec to get the value of their invest- 

 report a catch of 365 fiah, averaging about Vi 



ueceedeil in making in less than six weeks the 



ay thus far ascertained. 



k tor a day or two at the St. 

 isure of meeting them. Their 

 litiation into a projected tour 

 I, including a tiger hunt in Bengal, upon 

 rally look as the culmination of their pros- 

 es. Though still novices in such wild sport 

 virtue of their athletic frames admirably 

 11 no doubt, acquit themselves handsomely 

 m any face to face, encounter with their ferocious prey. 



There was of course a little stag party given in houor of 

 their unexpected visit, and the bill of fare on this occasion 

 might well be calculated to create some surprise in the mind 

 of any one who labors under the illusion that seal oil and 



than the nun 

 ownei j of ' i ' 

 semi-monthlv 

 extends bv s'c 

 the MatashtjU! 

 oi $800 was ;i 

 fro atadista 

 ning expenses 

 never to exee 

 position the t 

 new and wet 



600 rajles lick 

 ment. They 



pounds, and s 

 best score of i 

 By calling r. 

 Johns River, 

 past excursioi 

 round the wc 

 which they nt 

 pective adven 

 they are yet i 

 equipped and 



had the pie: 



staple 

 We reme 



codfish i 

 Lawrence, 

 spread fresh roast mutt 

 plus eggs, canned fruits 

 large dish of delicious fr 

 season, backed for a. desi 

 cauliflowers. The latter 

 Mr. Conway, the ag. 



rticle of daily diet on the lower St. 

 sr among the various items of our 

 >n, codfish tongues, a rice pudding 

 nil jams, and last though not least a 

 sh wild strawberries, the first of the 

 fert by some fine cucumbers and 

 dishes came from the hotbed of 

 t St. Johns, who succeeds to raise 

 under glass as fine garden vegetables as are sold in the New 

 l~ork markets. All these luxuries, some of which had been 

 imported from long distances, were properly diluted with a 

 few bottles of dry Verzenay, the onlv survivors of a once 

 numerous tribe. Coffee with Havanas suitably finished this 

 memorable repast, to which I have only adverted ou account 

 of its novelty and completeness in such an out of the way 

 place. We met our friends once mine on the Kiver St, 



y v. ' iv in fie 1 - iiiipleasuul i in iro.nevii. 

 i strong gale dead ahead and no harbor 

 the opportune kindness of Oapt. Wake- 

 r of the government steamer La Cana- 

 lowever, promptly relieved from their 

 n and towed into the beautiful anil 

 id by the land-locked bay of the seven 



Lawrence, 



of a thick fog, with 

 under their lee. B\ 

 ham, the command 

 diennc, they wire, 

 embarrassing posili 

 rbor lorn 

 islands. 



I have made, occasional mention of this vessel, which, in 

 mnecfion with two more (the Druid and ^Napoleon), is em- 

 ployed in the interest of the fisheries along the coast of the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as the Straits of Belle Isle, the 

 terminus of the jurisdiction of the Dominion. But not only 

 it the mission of the Canadiemie to report upon the vari- 

 ous matters connected with Statistics of fisheries, hut she is 

 also a sort of an armed floating commissioned police force, 

 to maintain order and the authority of the government ill 

 these remote parts. To accomplish all of these tasks elll- 



itlv the 



jut fev 



acted 



idle da 

 ) la- 



only 

 and 



disti 



3 for her duri 

 ifrei 



5d 



ig the sum- 

 plyof coal. 



cal 



170,000 people scat 

 here 1 am assured t 

 over ijO.j.OOOisall i 

 welfare along a coa 

 counting the varioi 

 one single man. S 

 tune to exchange tl 

 the Kate for the 

 dienne. I ■ 



lam. is the only efficient professional 

 dininister the sa'me. 

 Sull'.ilo, X Y., annually a trifle of over 

 aw and order in a community of about 

 L'd over about five square miles; but 

 an annual appropriation of a little 

 iii red to patrol and .guard the social 

 line of over one thousand miles, not 

 enumerated duties devolving all upon 

 in. eiiice I had, for a few davs, the good for- 

 mge the prospective narrow berth on board of 

 : the commodious, tidy cabin of the La C.ina- 

 3 thus able lo gain a fair insight into the mau- 

 lliciently* and 

 was this, that 

 y of the. various stations at 

 iv made any slops exceed- 

 Well qualified to spin I. »U 

 and features f the Mag- 

 shall told we hardly 



My i 



economically accomplished 

 there was 80 very little dela 

 which we called", and that ■ 

 iug two hours. 1 am lb 

 thorititativclv upon tin' reSi 

 pie, Sheldrake and Moisid- 



remained hall a day. At the latter I saw very comprehen- 

 sive but now abandoned works for the reduction otiron ore. 

 I am assured that their erection involved an expenditure of 



