Terms, Four Dollar* a Year. 

 Ten Cents a Copy. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1877. 



J Volume 9.— No. 16. 

 |No. Ill Fallen St., N. Y. 



For Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. 

 THE TWO NAMELESS SONG-BIRDS OF 

 LABRADOR.* 



BY thine uiif reguented shpre, 

 Silent, ravage Labrador, • 

 Welcome to the stranger's ear, 

 Come these bird-notes, soft and clear ! 

 When the dawning skies are red, 

 When the evening's shades are spread. 

 Singing ever, sweet and strong, 

 Swells the silver tide of song. 



Haply ne'er in Southern skies 

 Rise your tuneful melodies; 

 Nameless minstrels, thanks we pay 

 For each merry roundelay. 

 Sure no other note of bird 

 In tniB wilderness Is heard ; 

 Forest, mountain-side and plain 

 Echo to no sweeter strain. 



Whentlie Winter reigns supreme 

 Over Arctic waste and stream, 

 When the rippled river's breast 

 Chills in adamantine rest, 

 Whrn the slanting snows ami fleet 

 On these forest regions beat, 

 Wither, little minstrel friend, 

 Doth your far migration tend? 



Doth some sunnier nook of earth 

 Claim you as its place of birth ? 

 Did some spicy grove of pa'm 

 Shield your cradled nest from harm ? 

 If so, haste on frightened wing 

 To those rea'ras of endless Spring, 

 For white Winter, weird and drear, 

 Soon, tempestuous, will be here. 



Isaac McLellan. 



For Far est and Stream a?id Sod and Gun, 



hi h\ tiu <ffotw 



hottnn 



A FORTNIGHT seems but a brief space, yet much may- 

 be done and seen in that time. Some time ago, on my 

 first arrival from England, I had the good fortune to join an 

 expedition sent to report upon the state of the timber on the 

 Admiralty Reserves in the western part of the province, and 

 I was introduced for the first time to the pleasures of a forest 

 life in a snug little camp, pitched in a charming nook beside the 

 limpid waters of the ever- winding Roseway, a short distance 

 to the northward of the secluded village of Shelburne, on our 

 rock-bound Atlantic coast. It would be useless for me to di- 

 late upon the feelings of one, who fresh from the cultivated 

 vales of Old England, finds himself suddenly placed in the 

 midst of the " forest primeval," with no sound of civilization 

 to mar the sweet stillness which reigns amid these Western 

 wilds ; and especially upon those of a naturalist , who loves to 

 look upon nature in her pristine garb ; to see the land untouch- 

 ed, and the trees and shrubs in every stage of life and decay, 

 just as they have lived and died through successive ages ; to 

 listen to the unknown sounds and cries proceeding from ani- 

 mals and birds, and participate in the many other events hourly 

 taking place as he journeys on through those trackless soli- 

 tudes; for it maybe truly said that his cup of pleasure is filled 

 to overflowing, and every moment of his time occupied in mark- 

 ing and studying the changing scenes which at every step 

 burst fresh and enchantingly upon his wondering view. 



It was on atone summer's day, toward the close of the month 

 of August, a date which will ever remain stamped on memory's 

 pleasant page, that, accompanied by two worthy representa- 

 tives of Her Majesty's forces, naval and military, I was ushec- 

 ed into the camp of which I have spoken. I stood upon the 

 bank of a rippling stream, and the first object that caught the 

 eye was the stalwart form of the camp steward, wielding an 

 axe With such power and effect as to make the huge log he 

 was splitting for the night's fire shiver under the strokes, and 

 cause the surrounding forest to ring with their echoes ; while 

 near a fire, burning briskly between two granite rocks, stood 



* Some salmon- tishing friends of the miter, as recorded by Genio C. 

 Scott in his book on Ashing, were constantly serenaded by two little, un- 

 known, bright plumaged birds that haunted the woods around their 

 camp, 



the form of a veritable Indian, reclining at indolent ease over 

 the burning brands, above which hung the stock-pot from 

 which the steam was puffing, sending around a goodly smell, 

 which made the appetite sharpen as we thought of the eatables 

 within. And then the camp itself— a rough affair it looked. 

 Two slender poles, some ten feet or so apart, placed upright, 

 a cross pole lashed to them a few feet above the ground, then 

 with their butts resting on this cross pole and sloping back to 

 the ground, were, laid other poles and branches of trees, ferns, 

 etc., strewed all over the whole, forming a roof, which, 

 although not waterproof, helped to keep off the falling dew at 

 night. The sides were filled in with twigs and brushwood, 

 wliile the floor of this primitive domicile was covered with a 

 thick layer of spruce branches, the smaller sprays on top, to 

 render the couch more comfortable, and then the occupant had 

 to spread his blanket, and make himself as much at ease as 

 circumstances would permit. So we commenced our forest 

 life. 



From Roseway River camp we journeyed to the northward, 

 and camped again on a small point of land which jutted out 

 into a large lake called "Long Island Lake," and a prettier 

 spot could scarce be conceived. Before U3 lay the lake, whose 

 mirror-like surface, scarce ruffled by the breeze, was d otted 

 over with small islands, clothed with spruce and pine ; while 

 the evening sun, hot and powerful, reflected their shadows 

 far down into the depths below; and as the shades of evening 

 drew around, and the orb of day sank in majestic splendor 

 behind the dark mass of forest to the westward, the camp fire 

 began to cast a ruddy gleam of light upon the surr ounding ob- 

 jects. The fog, now rising from the lake, caused a chilly 

 feeling to creep over us, and more wood heaped upon the 

 burning brands caused the sparks to fly up like minature rock- 

 ets in space, while many flames poured out from our pile of 

 bulky logs, until bursting up in one grand sheet of blazing 

 light, it dazzled_with lurid glare the neighboring forest and our 

 company all seated around the seething mass busily com- 

 mencing ths evening meal. 



From this camp we one day made an excursion to the east- 

 ward, in the neighborhood of Jordan River, and found the 

 whole district to be densely wooded with hemlock, spruce and 

 pine. Indeed, of these species of conifers the forest in the 

 vicinity of Shelburne appears to be almost wholly composed, 

 and it is not until you arrive some fifteen miles up the country, 

 that groves of maple and oak are seen. The country around 

 Shelburne bears evidence of the ravages of fire several years 

 ago, the present growth of timber being but small. 



An island of an acre or two in extent stands about the centre 

 of 'Long Island Lake, and is known as "Indian Island," from 

 the fact that in years gone by, the Indians, who had a station- 

 ary camp above this lake, buried their dead here. And surely 

 no fitter resting place could have been found for those children 

 of Nature, than here beneath the sombre shade of pine and 

 spruce to take their last long sleep in the full hope of awaking in 

 the happy, yet visionary, hunting grounds they suppose to be 

 in a brighter and better world beyond the sky. It would ap- 

 pear that the Indians have almost entirely left this part of 

 the province, for only two or three live in the district, one of 

 whom, Peter Paul, accompanied our party the whole journey, 

 and proved himself as generous, noble hearted a fellow as ever 

 smoked the calumet of peace. To the absence of Indians may 

 no doubt be attributed, In a great measure, the large number 

 of bears, and the presence of beaver in the vicinity of the 

 granite hills midway across the country, called by some " The 

 Blue Mountains;" but more of these presently. From this 

 camping ground we journeyed along to the district of Sugar 

 Loaf Hill, a fine grove of hard woods, birch, beech, oak and 

 maple. It was on the further side of this hill that we bade 

 adieu for a while to civilization. Embarking in a rather frail 

 boat upon a lake, we pulled, not without sundry misgivings 

 as to the probable termination of the voyage, for some low 

 marshy grouud on its northern shore, and happily succeeded 

 in reaching the mouth of a small river, up which we had to 

 go ; but we had not gone very far before we found that our 

 bark must be lightened, and all 'jumped out and pushed her 

 up the shallows until we came to a large open savannah of 

 considerable size, on which grew luxuriant grass. Few trees 

 were to be seen about here, and those of a very stunted growth, 

 the most common being the alder. Leaving our boats about 

 midway through the plains we shouldered our [acta, which 

 were far too heavy, and made for the northwest end of it, 



where we entered the thick forest again. Peter Paul having 

 called a halt, addressed us in a very fatherly manner, to the 

 affect that we had better look to our weapons, for as he said, 

 ' ' You don't know what be about where we are going." Hav- 

 ing complied with his request we started afresh, and after 

 some pretty bad traveling arrived about sundown at a small 

 lake at the southern base of the granite pleateau. Here we 

 found an old log hut, which had been erected some time back 

 by lumberers, and made it our home for two or three days, 

 while we surveyed the country around. This lake from the 

 quantity of small, flat stones around its margin, was called 

 Whetstone Lake. The southern shores of this lake are clothed 

 with a heavy growth of timber, which appears to have escaped 

 the extensive fire that raged over the whole extent of the Blue 

 Mountain range some years ago. The timber is composed of 

 hemlock, spruce, maple and birch, with an underwood of 

 wlthe-rod ; and near the water an abundance of fern of two 

 species, the larger being the well-known Ormunda regalis. 



We may here remark in passing, that our Provincial maps 

 are at fault in regard to the route we took, for not a lake or 

 river Is marked upon any of them In that quarter, whereas the 

 country abounds with lakes and streams, some of good size. 

 We traveled as near as we could northwest from Shelburne, 

 but owing to the swamps and lakes we had to deviate at inter- 

 vals. The land from the district of Long Island Lake is very 

 level, and from what I could judge, is capable, when cleared, 

 of extensive cultivation, particularly that portion In which is 

 comprised the open savannah I have mentioned. 



Our first excursion from the camp at Whetstone Lake led 

 to the rocky slope of the Blue Mountains, which lay In full 

 view before us, and on reaching the elevated ground one of the 

 Indians sighted a bear which was quietly ambling alongamong 

 the blue berry bushes, regaling himself on the ripe and luscious 

 fruit. It was at once decided to stalk him true highland 

 fashion, and off we set. The Indians arriving within range 

 first sent a bullet through one of his feet, as we afterwards 



found. Turning rQund, the fellow made right at C and 



myself, standing together some forty yards below. On he 

 came with a growling noise, and when close to us showed a 

 fine array of teeth, which we would have preferred viewing 

 after his decease. There was nothing for it, however, but to 

 stand our ground when "crack" went my friend's ponderous 

 Lancaster, and with it went the massive conical ball which 

 caused poor bruin to change his course, for with a bound he 

 swerved to the right and was lost in a tlficket of birch and alder 

 Proceeding cautiously along, 'we found him at last stretched 

 out in a little hollow— and a huge beast he was, measuring from 

 tip to tip seven feet, two inches. We must here mention a 

 curious fact which we consider worthy of note. On running 

 hurriedly from boulder to boulder we slipped End fell through 

 a hole, with the knee-cap against a rock. The knee Instantly 

 swelled up and gave great pain, and we could barely drag 

 along, when one of the Indians said if rubbed with bear fat it 

 would soon be right again. When skinning the animal he cut 

 off a piece, and we rubbed the part well, and, singular enough, 

 In a quarter of an hour the swelling subsided almost as quickly 

 as it had risen, and we were enabled to walk back to camp. 

 The Indians have a very ready way of transporting bear meat. 

 Cutting it up in small pieces they fold up the bear skin neatly 

 with the pieces within, and tie the whole with bands of withe- 

 rod ( Viburnum) ; and with the same bands secure it across 

 their shoulders as a pack, leaving the arms free for action. 

 Bears were numerous at this spot, and were no doubt attracted 

 by the vast quantities of ripe berries, .particularly the huckle- 

 berry and blueberry (Gaylumojchia resinota) and (Vaccinium 

 canademe), the former in great abundance. The trees and 

 shrubs which clothe the sides of this rocky range are princi- 

 pally dwarf birch (Betula nigra and h.papyracea), alder (Al- 

 nus tiridte), interspersed with spmcel(Albm alba and rubra), 

 and dead pine {Pink strobus). Under stones in Whetstone 

 Lake I found several small leeches (Birudo), one of which 

 was of a whitish color. The larvaj of a caddis fly were 

 abundantly composed of pieces of weed and granite sand. We 

 noticed that the bird droppings, which were upon almost 

 every boulder on this range, were of*a dark.blue color, caused 

 no doubt by their feeding at "this season almost wholly upon 

 the berries of the blueberry and huckleberry. The shores of 

 Whetstone Lake were covered jwlth a beautiful granite sand, 

 nearly white. 



As we are now in Jhe most famous district in the province 



