Oct 36, m%] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



243 



ate stampede djj his part, and an uprising of the "back hair" 

 Ou the pari "f Brady, was the only resuTl Of the eneountej 

 Our leisure hours w ere spent principally in fishing, shooting 

 black duck. partridge, etc., and in little' voyagea of explora 

 ttmi up nnd down tin- rivev. And a great ■ ileal of pleasure 

 was experienced each evening as we gathered around our 

 cheerful camp fire, and compared notes 01 related to each 

 other tlio encounters, discoveries, and Successful feats of the 

 day. What mirth and enjoyment, jokes anecdotes and 

 comparisons; what solid comfort and perfect relaxation 

 from business cares and perplexities! a rdusarfgoamp fire 

 will bring forth. And then, while in this happy state, as 

 thoughts of dm i ia al homo creep in, how tenderly kind 



acts and word- are oh.orished, and how lightly I Ik- hilt, i 



ones are pas cd over. A man cannot spend many evenings 

 in the. wilderness in company with n party of moral social 

 friends about a glowing Damp tire, ana still hate bis "mother- 

 in-law." And "then as conversation wanes and the fire. 

 flick, is. each retires to hi.- bunk with naught but pleasant 

 recollections, and the. waves on the beach sing bisluliaby, 

 How the re operative powers of sound refreshing sleep seem 

 to build up an I strengthen a man until he can almost feel 

 the hardening and growth of additional tlcsh and muscle. 

 And lie u, in the morning, what keen appetites await the 

 breakfast signal, and how the plainc-t of food disappears, is 

 relished, and perfectly digested, ft perfect peace of mind 

 and coin,..],; in,..,,! could hi- put up and sold by the do-e, 1 

 believe i 1 woul I soon run out the sale of pepainc-. 



1 wil not dwell upon the breaking up oi camp or the long 

 Ufareh to Hie settlement, but will immediately transfer the 

 8i!bhetoit,b.e village of Mattawa, a mushroom village, evidently 

 built somewhat after the Style oj the irishman's axe handles, 

 which be had split out by lightning iu a thunder shower. It- 

 is situated al the junction of the Mattawa and Ottawa 

 rivers, about -iOil miles above Montreal. A Hading post or 

 fort, as it is called, oi the Hudson Bay Fur Company, IS 

 located here for the purpose of trading and exchanging 

 goods with the Indians for furs and skin-. Mere, on Tins. 

 day, October 4, the advance guard of our party, consisting 

 o!''K'-!\!c!l and Dorsey, might have been seen' negotiating 

 With u big Indian (Jawbone by name) to guide and assjsi in 

 twaddling us up the river about seventy-five miles to Lake 

 Temichteinutlg. Brady and Miner were to join the party on 

 AVedne-lay, when arrangements wen- tola: completed for 

 an Darly start Tburday morning, but at this time Ibcy were 

 down 'the river abOUl thiilv-l'ivc miles at llis-cils'i r.-. '<■.. 

 Speaking of Bissetts Creek, reminds me that a settler on the 

 northern shore of the river killed two huge moose while we 

 were there, and we had a chance to tost the quality of some- 

 broiling pieces. B. (}, A. 



Ottawa River District, Ontario, Oct. 8. 



BELOW QUEBEC. 



SIXTH PAPfiit. 



IT is sixtj miles from Gamache Bay, or Ellis Bay, as it is 

 oftener'callcd, to the Southwest Point lighthouse, which 

 has for many long years not onlv served as a guiding beacon 

 to many a ship, ivbcu dark togs shroud land and W itf r hul 

 also as a haven of rest and Christian charity to scores ot unfor- 

 tunate nearly starved and frozen sailors, whom the merciless 

 waves have more than once wrecked within sight of it. Mr. 

 Pope, the keeper of the lighthouse, is perhaps better and 

 more generally known than any other person along the whole 

 coast line, as lie has resided here for near a general ion and has 

 raised a large and promising family, which, in poiul of in- 

 telligence and culture, is in truth phenomenal. But nut Only 

 is the distressed mariner bum of a kindly welcome, but the 

 straggling naturalist, jportsm.au and tourist arealike cared for. 

 Who government geologist, Mr. Richardson, expresses in his 

 report big obligations to Mr. Pope for^nuch valuable in- 

 formation, which, at least on this island, could not have 

 been well obtained from any other source, as Mr. Pope him- 

 self is by no means a novice in geological science and is 

 familiar with the position and content- of the rocks on his 

 islaud. There are many features about his model Jiome which 

 admirably illusrale what a home education may accomplish 

 if backer! by the proper solicitude on the pari of the parents 

 about the improvement of their children. 



Three of his daughters are full grown, and have, beyond 

 an occasional visit to their nearest neighbors, or asphyxiated 

 Gaspe. never been a mile from the barren rock upon which 

 their round house is perched. Vet rhev are in all respects 

 as refined and cultivated as anv voung ladies who have had 

 all the advantages our best educational systems can bestow. 

 Their onlv instruction has been by means of a governess, 

 who for a" short term of tour years taught to them only the 

 elements of writing, reading and arillinietie. And yet there 

 stands a piano, which is not allowed to crumble away un- 



' heard: a bookcase, containing a small but carefully selected 

 library, and indicating bv the titles of the Works the tastes 



"ind bent of their minds.' The table is fairly littered with 

 the better sort of current literature, while a telegraphic in 

 strument clicks upon another, all disposed iu the" little con- 

 cave room, which serves for the threefold purpose of study, 

 siltimr-ronm and post-office. The oldest daughter i- not 

 onlv a valued contributor to several of our magazines* 

 through some of h-r graphic skcfclies concerning the na- 

 tural resources, vevuiion and mode of life on the islands; 

 but ueraervici - are also highly valued bv theceutral weather 

 oiliccii Tpionto, lowhi.-h she telegraphs dailythc details 

 Connected with the ohauges of the weather upon this ex- 

 posed cape. Bv her careful attention and complete mastery 

 of the principles aa well as the manipulation oi the tele- 

 graph, she has been advanced to the post of chief ollicial of 

 tiie Aniicosti telegraphic section, as no one else here is com- 

 petent io correct any disturbances which may interrupt com- 

 munication. How' to evolve all of these various practical 

 accomplishments out of the wilderness behind and the. waste 

 of waters beyond is a conundrum the solution of which 

 concerns! those psychologists who base their views of mental 

 superiority upon the theory of i rausmitted intelligence. The 

 precept and guidance of a refined and intelligent mother 

 may perhaps have been of e substantial asrvici to her 



daughters, growing up in this desci't like female Caspar 

 Jl.-uis ]-. than the most, rigid and systematic school training 



could have wrought. 



There are almost as many Instructive novelties about the 

 premises of the lighthouse as inside of it to interest the casual 

 Visitor. Two la- ge and beautiful jel black Newfoundland 

 dogs are the guardians and team of the family, while a tame, 

 though still very mischievous, young raven keeps tie fe4th. 

 cred occupants of the neighboring poultry yard in perpetual 

 alarm. This bird seems to be possessed of almost unman 

 cunning, knows every inmate of the house, never loses an 

 opportunity to pilfer anything which suits its fancy, when- 



c\ 1 1 any Of the windows of the room are open fora moment, 

 and i- acarcful hoarder nf his ill-gotten plunder, whether 

 eatable or ornamental. The boat landing place is a long 

 rifleshot from Ihe tower, but tin- moment I landed, this bird 

 of ill omen was promptly on hand, inspecting like a- vinilant 

 custom bouse officer every Item of my variously assorted 

 baggage and appropriating expeditiously lor its personal use, 

 ninone: the rest, mv fresh egirs, which had been thcobjectsof 

 my special solicitude. 



if nothing else liad claimed the. time at my disposal, I 

 could have contented myself for weeks, instead of days, at 

 the lighthouse. The roar of the -nrf breaking into milky 

 sheets of foaming water against its rocky base sounds like 

 sweet music in the cozy room of it- aptterstory, from which 

 we ciiu survey c imnl.iectiily the wild play of The great roll 

 ine white-crested breakers, aa they vainly hurl themselves 

 in their maddened fury against the frowning, stubborn cliffs. 

 But there are ouly a lew more days to spare, and the time 

 i,- rapidly drawing near when the vessel I expect from 

 Gaspe will on it to take me off. and beyond nil of these, inter- 

 esting sights. 



A visit to the Jupiter had formed above all a most im- 

 portant part of my original programme, and to carry it out, 

 a man ai.d boat were engaged at I lie lijrblliou.se to row me 

 Up to the mouth of thin liver, which is about eight miles to 

 the westward of the Southwest Point. But my preparations 

 were inadequate, as two men with a good canoe are needed 

 to ascend it. and 1 stood therefore on the i&orcs of the Jupi 

 ter, making cast after east without even renin- a single 

 rise. It almost seems incredible to come from such a long 

 distance to HlC best trout stream on this coast, and to leave 

 it again .without hooking n solitary fish. They had migrated 

 upstream to its pools, whe.re they assemble in dense packs 

 to spawn. Here 1 could have, caught, hundreds of them 

 With the shreds of ray shirt, as a substitute for Hie-, as has 

 been done by the natives on more than one occasion. The 

 mouth of the. river is, however, an excellent collecting field 

 for fossils, which abound in the loose debris at the foot of 

 the cliffs on the east side There was also a great number 

 of black guillemots breeding among the rocks, and the red- 

 throated diver- were exceedim-h abundant. The white- 

 bellied swallow is just now, Aug. 20, preparing to migrate, and 

 colled each morning in great Hocks mar my earn;,, which 

 fronts the river shore. These species, along with an occasional 

 wild goose, constitute just, now the greater number of the birds 

 to be' seen. A little later the aspect will change:, when the 

 migratory swarms will arrive to rest here a few days before 

 they veutnre to resume their southern journey. 



It requires fortunately but Hide time to choose a site for u 

 camp and leave it again when game and fish becomes scarce, 

 nnd as neither were abuudant we made a quick shift for our 

 next projected point, a small river about twenty miles east 

 of the Jupiter, where we had been assured of fair prospects 

 in the line of fishing. 



Tin -ea is a- smooth as glass and wc arrive in a few hours 

 at the mouth of Riviere dlfBerg, as this creek, which is not 

 laid down on the map. is called by the natives. The spot 

 looks promising and wild enough to suit anv one's fancy, 

 though, perhaps, not that of (he luckless Captain Whose Ship 

 lies stranded on thereef within a few miles from my tent. 

 Tie wreck is a large black steamer which ran ashore here 

 last November, anr) though exposed all this lornr time to the 

 fury of the wmtrygales, has defied all assault* M the hungry 

 sea, which has been unable Io dislodge this adventitious 

 rock of iron. She lies here still as upright as when she 

 stranded on that unfortunate November night, and. whatever 

 damage her bottom has suffered, no effects of it are visible 

 above the water-line. There is at present a wrecking crew 

 from Halifax on board of her under the superintendence of 

 Mr. Howell, an experienced and competent engineer, and 

 busy men are. swarming about her sides and decks like a lot 

 of wasps when some damage is inflicted upon their nest 

 which calls out the whole force to repair it ; only thai the 

 nest is magnified into the great iron leviathan which had to 

 come such a long wav from across the sea to rest in this 

 rough bed from the. fatigues of her journey. Her name is 

 the Lartiugton, of London, and the contractors who have 

 undertaken to get her off, are sanguiim of success, although 

 a stiff south wester may blast their hopes in a single night 

 and upset their eatciil'atioiis. I am indirectly in a round- 

 about way indented to her for .several days of splendid fish- 

 ing, as J 'probably would have never thought of anv such 

 thing a, Riviere du Becg if this steamer liad not stranded 

 near it- in"iith to become pro tern an objective point for 

 vessels coming ami going, anione. the rest tiie schooner upon 

 which 1 depend to gel oil the island, and which in virtue of 

 her contract must call here with supplies at least twice a 

 month. ■ 



This creek for once fairly swarmed with trout when I ar- 

 rived, but they unfortunately disappeared again iu a few 

 days for parts'unknown to my great regret, no less than that 

 of "the wrecking crew, who found our large messes of fat sea 

 trout sent to them, an agreeable change from their rough 

 bill of fare. To retrieve my bad luck 1 determined to fol- 

 low up the fish to the nearest pool, which I learned was 

 about eight miles up -the river, as in this way J could al-o 

 Obtain 1 a glimpseof the interior, which is utterly inaccessible, 

 unless the explorer avail- himself of Ihe water courses, 

 whieh are the natural highways cUt out by the force of their 

 swiftly running waters. The scenery of Aniicosti along the 

 sea shore is monotonous in theoxtrcrue, as the island appears 

 like a long, gently rounded-off mass of land, covered with a 

 uniform growth 6f low spruce tree.-, but only a few miles iu- 

 land matters change surprisingly quick. In place of an 

 impenetrable growth of stuuled scrub which I had expected 

 to bar our progress, I found my surroundings of an entirely 

 different nature, after 1 had advanced a mile or more inland 

 by following the bed of (he river. 



'In the place Of anticipated low matted pine scrub (here 

 aresieru roel;\ walls i i-iiei in, vertically to nearly double 

 the height of Iho.-eformiugthe famous gorge of the Niagara, 

 ami ereattysUrpa«8mg them bv their wild, romantic aspect. 

 At every turn Of the river, of which there are many, high 

 dounded off buttresses- vary with the uniform walls, remind- 

 ing us bv iheira-;.ci of the pictures which portray the 

 castellated towen of the far West. And at the lowest depth 

 ot ile gorge runs the ice cold swift stream, bordered here 

 and there" l>\ white gravel beaches, which are just uow 

 glowing with a variegated carpet of delicately fringed 

 asters, blue and while lobelias, golden rods, pitcher plants, 

 • and lady slippers, all raising their tender blos- 

 som- to light, and gallantly maintaining the struggle for the 

 existence against 'he crushing agencies of a cold, unchari- 

 table climate, in which the glimpses of sunshine are. few and 

 far between. 



I had started upon this present excursion on a frugal 

 breakfast of a salt mackerel and a few hard biscuits, as the 



moriici 



1 of rest, ; 



there \ 



■as a run to 



Never 





as on t 



,is present 



height 



bi thespor 



roundi 





Pane] 



dark -rav v 



rocky 



amphilheai 



arena, 



was occupi 



seemed to be frozen. 



larder was running low, but the senses were too occupied 

 with the pleasing novelty of the continually shifting pano- 

 rama to heed the silent protest of the stomacl., which has 

 no susceptibility for any other poetry save that of nutrition. 

 As long, however, as trie trout pool was still in the distance, 

 the cravings were unsatisfied, as, its prospective charms, 

 graphically described to mo by an adventurous engineer of 

 the Larliugton, were after all my final goal. But it was 

 long past noon before the sight of a bald eagle, soaring high 

 over the wooded cliffs, indicated the proximity of this 

 crowded tish pond. In ihe course of many years it has 

 been my good fortune to visit no I w streams, where I have 

 Bllcd my cred io little while, and satisfied all pardonable 

 cravings for a big -trine, but then 1 had to work hard for it 

 under even the best circumstances, while here dense packs 

 of great hungry sea (rout were so closely massed together in 

 a small hasin, that the time needed to unhook them was in 

 excess of that it took to catch them. The very first cast 

 with three Hies tied to the leader promptly yielded three 

 large trout, the management, of which was relegated to my 

 attendant, who, though he had lived ou the island several 

 years, hail never yet thought it worth while to explore the 

 pool of this stream. In order to ease his work, two of the 

 fifes wen- promptly cut off. and yet the remaining one, a 

 •lock Scot tied to a double leader, never allowed bim a 

 f rest, as it no sooner touched the water than 

 by a dozen or more of hungry fish. 

 •1 one single hour of fishing as'mueh 

 ision, as we left the spot in the verv 

 The pool itself, along with the sur- 

 H picturcof surprising natural beauty, 

 (al cliffs, surrounding it like a lofty 

 the confer of which, instead of the 

 ry deep emerald water, so still that it 

 The bottom of the pool was one solid 

 dark mass of great sea trout, which probably had never 

 been disturbed. 



Here also occurred what all along I both wished and 

 dreaded, to wit, the hooking of a salmon, which caused no 

 small (rouble to secure it, as my rod hardly weighed six 

 ounces, and irulT and landing net were wanting, 1 had 

 noticed six or eight fair-sized salmon while making a general 

 inspection of the thick, black mass of sea trout on the bot- 

 tom of the pool, but although one or another of them now 

 and again made a dash to compete with the swarms of the 

 trout loi ihe fatal feathery prize, they failed iu their efforts, 

 and quietly sank down again into the depths of their crystal 

 home. 



At last there was a great splash, followed quickly by large, 

 Widening circles, and the next moment the singing of my 

 little reel admonished me to pay close attention and cunning 

 if I had any hope to see my big prize safely landed. Three 

 times it made most desperate efforts to free itself from its 

 feathery moustache by Hinging itself bodily out of the 

 water to a height of over six feet, but for once nothing 

 yielded, and the little braided line could not have stood 

 better the strain if it had been made of steel wire. I have 

 heard of many instances where the salmon angler spent 

 hours before the fish was sufficiently exhausted to he netted; 

 but in this present case hardly a quarter of au hour pissed 

 when 1 succeeded in coaxing this salmon into shallow water. 

 Xo sooner was this accomplished than my Frenchman, who 

 had already watched with intense interest, the progress of 

 the game,' pounced upon it like a hawk upon the turtle 

 dove, and, clutching il with a vise-like grip, threw it high 

 on the beach beyond all reach of possible escape. 



He solved for me at least, thereby, the conundrum so often 

 proposed, and yet so difficult to answer, what constitutes 

 happiness. My own feelings came, for the time being, as 

 near its realization as is possible' iu this troublesome world, 

 and nothing was lacking to it when the silvery prize flour, 

 dered upon the dry gravel. It was the first, salmon in my 

 hich ever rose to a fly not designed for 

 small one after all, of only about sixteen 

 t compensated for this defect by gallantly 



own experience 

 him, He 

 pounds' weight, m 

 to tt 



nta 



last 1 

 ppin 



ak 



filled my cup of I: 



sack, which had 1. 



lute for a fi-h basket, and 



hecatomb of stiffened trout 



ordinary beauty, of de 



brightest 

 side of il 

 ventral fii 

 some sea 

 equaled, 

 Xehh 



i du 



speck; 



is. Th 

 rout I saw any v 

 n point of fir ma 

 tnd of it 



fight against misfortune. He 

 tnd also to overflowing the coarse 

 along as the next handy substi- 

 to this he was squeezed" amid a 

 The latter were heie of extra- 

 ■'oldeu brown color with the 

 Their belly was red and on each 

 ,nd extended from the gills to the 

 without exception, the most hand- 

 here, and their rose-colored flesh 

 ;ss and flavor, that of the salmon, 

 isted, as the crew of the Lur 



tington utilized every eatable scrap. But the labor of carry- 

 ing on our backs such a great load of them along the rougn, 

 ruck-strewn bed of the stream was no child's play, and taxed 

 to the utmost the. endurance of my powerfully-built man. 

 Before the sun disappeared behind the cliff's flanking l*e, 

 deep gorge, which was already darkening before the ad- 

 vancing shadows of the night, 1 capped my good luck by bag- 

 ging I.W0 One ptarmigans, which arc rare at Afltlcosti, and 

 were the first and last 1 saw there. 



The arrival of the long expected Bchooner raised at last, 

 the very next morning after my salmon adventure, the in 

 voluntary blockade which had so long detained me, some- 

 what against my will, on this island, and relieved me of all 

 auxietj I had entertained on account of her long absence, as 

 she woe overdue. 



I have endeavored in these hasty sketches upon the aspects 

 of nature along the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 

 dwell chiefly upon those only which are the most striking to 

 the visitor.' and are pgauliar to these part-. I have also pur- 

 po-e|y avoided ciileriiig into the discussion of any details 

 connected with the fisheries, the only industry along this 

 coyst. as time and space were lacking to do it full justice. 

 '1'h. condition pf the popple engaged in it. demands a more 

 c.ireful attention on part of the Dominion goveinmcntth.au 

 ii has i bus far seen lit to bestow, unless it prefers to continue 

 to respond gratuitously to their calls for aid and relief, which 

 could be permanently and more efficiently afforded by equi- 

 table adjustment of the relations between them and their 

 employers, who have monopolized their services and hold 

 (hem in a state ol bondage not belter than that of the Rus- 

 sian serf. 



Much more remains to be. said concerning the details of 

 outfit which is needed to make a trip to the lower Gulf as 

 pleasant as circumstances admit, but the individual views of 

 sport-men differ so widely on the questions that all tsugges'ions 

 are gratuitous, Since the majority will follow their own bent, 

 dictated to by the experiences of more comprehensive nature 

 than ray own have been. 1 can only mention what has been 

 of best service in my own case and let the reader take the 

 benefit. As far as arms arc concerned I found a light breech 



