844 
FOflEST AMD STREAM.* 
train. A sudden sparkling flame flashed along it, leaped 
up the dropping grains to the keg, and then came a ter- 
rific explosion, that hurled the ranked men far asunder, 
scorched and maimed, some Avrithing and groaning in 
torment, some past speech or motion, full forty in all, 
too badly hurt to go further. 
We wei-e in great consternation from the disaster, not 
only from the injury done to so many good men and the 
weakening of our force, but that the great noise of it and 
the singular cloud of smoke arising from it must ap- 
prise the enemy of our presence if they were in our 
neighborhood. One might fancy Wojahose had taken his 
revenge on us. The disabled men were sent back to 
Crown Point under such guard as could be spared, and 
at nightfall we went on our way. 
Five days later we came to the end of our voyage 
at the head of Missisquoi Bay, and secreted our boats 
very cunningly where they, with the provisions, were 
left in charge of two Stockbridge Indians. The object 
of the expedition was now well known to all. In the 
first light of morning we set forth in good spirits on our 
long march through the forest, some animated by the 
love of adventure, some by the desire for revenge, and 
others as much by the hope of plunder, for it was thought 
that these Indians had gathered a deal of spoils in their 
raids on our settlements. Continuing our march while 
daylight lasted, we encamped on high ground if pos- 
sible, the better to prevent surprise, and half the force 
was kept awake while the other half slept. As early as 
we could see our way, the march was resumed, always in 
three single files at some distance apart, and the file in 
very open order, with scouts in advance and on either 
flank. Looking across from rank to rank, as each 
moved silently forward, it was as if we saw our shadows 
cast by a level light on an impalpable screen, through 
which were seen the gray 'trunks fading away in the con- 
tinual twilight or gloom of the forest. 
At our second night's encampment the two Indian 
boat guards came up with us, bearing ill news. The 
boats and provisions had been discovered and taken by 
the enemy, and a party of French and Indians twice 
our number were seen in pursuit of us. Our com- 
mander promptly decided to push forward with all 
speed, and strike the contemplated blow before our 
pursuers could overtake us, and then withdraw by an- 
other route to some point on the Connecticut. He then 
dispatched a trusty lieutenant with a small guard to 
Crown Point, to request that stores should be sent up 
the river to meet us. Now, we were afoot still earlier 
than before, and at night halted later, after traveling all 
day at the topmost speed possible _ on such _ difficult 
ground as we presently came to. This was an immense 
spruce swamp or drowned land, for the water was often 
to our knees; and we slipped and stumbled on unseen 
roots and fallen trees through lengthening' miles of 
weariness and discomfort, to come at night only to such 
rest as we could get on platforms that we built of boughs 
laid on forked stakes above the water and sodden ground. 
Surely it seemed we could not be in more wretched 
plight; yet there was worse in store for us, which, if we 
had foreseen, we could not have had heart to endure this. 
As it was, some had already lost heart, among them 
my old first comrade in arms. Murphy, and strange 
enough it was, for he was always so glum, it seemed 
that there could be nothing to make him more so. One 
night we were sharing the misery of wet clothes in the 
chill night air on a couch of poles and boughs, when he 
began talking in a melancholy fashion: 
"Oh, mon, we'll ne'er set eyes on the civilized world 
again. We'll a' be drooned or murthered an' scalped by 
yon Indian devils. 'Twas an ill day that iver we came 
on this wild goose chase, like geese oursel's, a-paddlin' 
through the puddles just to be scalpit. We'll ne'er see 
yon fort again, mon, I'm sure. Wal, maybe some on ye 
will, but it'll not be me. I feel it in my ackin' bones, an' 
I'm a-thinkin' o' a' I ever done, gude an' bad, an', the 
Lord forgive, the's a muckle deal the maist o' the last. 
I'll be murthered and scalpit if I'm not drowned first like 
a bitch's whelp, in these domned quagmires, an' it's a 
shame to me after all the bonny fightin' I have done. 
De'il tak' this warrin' wi' heathen; there's nather profit 
nor glory in it.. I thought we'd gather some gear o' 
yon Indian wolves, but thev'll just get my scalp, an' 
that'll be all about it." 
He fell to smoking his pipe as if he would get all the 
comfort he could while he might, listening in silence to 
my arguments against his forebodings till he knocked 
out the ashes that dropped hissing into the water be- 
neath us, and then, expressing himself unconvinced in a 
grunt, went to sleep. 
Presently I followed him, for I was tired enough to 
have slept a-standing. I do not know how far the night 
was spent, when I awoke with a start, hearing my name 
called in Mercy's voice, as plain as ever I heard it in my 
life, yet in a very mournful tone, as if in warning, or for 
help. It was so real that before I was awake I sprang 
off the pole hammock, half to my knees in the cold water 
and stood listening agape with held breath, to hear 
nothing but the restless movements of my comrades and 
the dismal hooting of an owl afar off. When, after a 
time, I fell into an uneasy sleep I was again awakened 
by the voice calling my name, and so thrice that night 
it was repeated. It haunted me all the next day as we 
splashed and stumbled on through that Avretched swamp, 
till I was as heavy hearted as poor Murphy, with fore- 
bodings of our fate, but at last we came to higher 
ground, out of the black shadows of the spruces and 
with gleams of sunshine falling upon us through the 
brightness of autumn leaves, and my spirits rose. This 
was when we came to the St. Francis River, after nine 
days of swamp travel. 
- "The stream was five feet deep, and running very swiftly, 
so that to ford it we formed in lines abreast, joining 
hands with the tallest man upstream, and so waded 
across without loss, except some guns, most of which 
were recovered by our Stockbridge Indians, who could 
dive like muskrats. 
Not long after this, we got the good news thafe we 
were near the end of our journey outward, for our 
commander, mounting a lofty tree, discovered the In- 
dian town not "many miles away. When we were come 
within a mile of the place after nightfall, Major Rogers 
and two officers disguised to such likeness of Indians 
as to fool many of us, went on a spying tour into the 
village, and could not have hit on a better time, for it 
happened that the people were gathered to celebrate 
some pagan festival, and making such a pother with 
drums, rattles and shouting that a troop of horse 
might have ridden in on them unheard. Returning to 
us after gaining complete information of all the ap- 
proaches, our commander laid his plan of attack, to be 
made from all sides in the very early morning when, the 
Indians were in deep sleep after pow-wow. 
A.n Outing in Acadia. — IX. 
BY EDWARD A. SAMUELS. 
[Continued from fiage 146 ) 
From the hill we descended to the meadows, where the 
Doctor collected a few aquatic plants, which he said were 
quite rare in a locality so far north of their usual habitat. 
"How could they have found their Avay here?" I asked, 
examining the specimens with interest. 
"Probably they were brought here by the birds. You 
remember that I tried to throw a little light on this sub- 
ject yesterday, when the heron joined us at the falls?" 
"Yes, I have not forgotten what you said, and these 
plants were, no doubt, brought here bj-^ the birds, perhaps 
long ago, since they are now so abundant, but I .^hould 
think the severe winters here would kill them." 
"Not necessarily; the seeds fall into the mud beneath 
the water, where they lie, effectually protected, through 
the winter. It has been proved, however, that most seeds 
are not injured by even the most intense cold, and these 
have thus become thoroughly acclimated." 
"As you have a microscope, we might carry some of 
this mud back to the house and perhaps make some in- 
teresting discoveries." 
A strip of the bark was soon cut in the proper form 
and the two corners of one end were folded together and 
firmly affixed in the end of a sapling, which the Doctor 
split to receive them. This made 'a capital scoop. The 
birch cup was quietly sunk into the mud and then lifted 
out for our inspection. There was a myriad of wiggling 
CttMSfi or MemcBUtion of £gg^ 
(lirtti day). 
— Cleavage or ieernenutioa oi 
E{£S (sixlb day). 
■-acayaje or ugmnutioii of Egei 
(aiolh day). 
—Tadpole emerged {rixtecnth day) I 
lenelh iocb. Right-hand £(ure llia(iu> 
l5ed 3 tunes. 
-Se^entatioa of Egg (rourtcentli day) 
B, ejilarged. 
things; the mud seemed alive with them. There was a 
triton squirming in the mud, a tadpole and water insects 
without number. 
"There seems to be an abundance of life in this de- 
posit," said the Doctor, "and here is an interesting speci- 
men with which we can begin our investigations." 
The little creature crawled around on the Doctor's 
hand, but made no effort to escape. It was one of the 
many-spotted newts, sometimes called tritons, or salaman- 
ders, and its beautifully marked brown and vermilion 
coat, dotted with yellow and reddish spots, made it an 
attractive-looking object. 
The species is a common one in Northern and Eastern 
waters, where it feeds on aquatic insects and their larvae. 
In the aquarium it makes an interesting little pet, becom- 
ing acquainted with one A^ery quickly and accepting flies 
and other insects when offered it on the point of a grass 
stalk. I have frequently captured specimens and given 
them a home in my aquarium, where they afforded good 
opportunities for studying their habits. 
In the tank their antics are often very grotesque and 
amusing. Sometimes they sit erect at the bottom, where 
they watch for their insect food. After a while they move 
midway between the bottom and the surface, where they 
remain almost motionless for a short time or keep their 
position by "treading water." Suddenly, as if seized with 
a new desire, they dash rapidly about in every direction, 
acting as if they were determined to make a wild break 
for liberty. Their favorite food is a small angleworm, and 
when one is captured it is seized with a quick snap of 
the jaws and swallowed by- a series of snaps and gulps 
quite comical to witness. 
- "I have often wondered, Doctor," said I to my friend, 
v/ho was examining the newt as it moved slowly about on 
his hand, "how these little creatures breathe in the 
water; they evidently need atmospheric air to maintain 
life." 
"They come to the surface for air, but the young or 
tadpole newt has gills, and with these it breathes in the 
water just as the tadpole of the common frog does." 
"But this tadpole has no gills," I added, turning over 
the little squirmer that wriggled about in the bark dish. 
"No, it is too old for that ; it has passed the gill-breath- 
ing period, for the hind legs are perfectly developed and 
the forelegs are just Coming through the skin. In a 
short time the tail will be completely absorbed and the 
frog in its perfect shape Will appear. In fact, this tad- 
pole should have become a frog long ago. I cannot im- 
agine why it is so late in changing its form." 
The metamorphoses of the frogs and newts are very in- 
teresting, and are well worth the attention of students 
and observers. The spawn of the frog is often found in 
pools of fresh water, being deposited in masses or clusters 
which are glued together by the albuminous covering 
that surrounds them; if we lift one of these masses we 
find it is astonishingly heavy. The deposit of frog's spawn 
may readily be distinguished from that of the toad, which, 
although often dropped in the same pool, instead of being 
arranged in lumps or masses, is strung along, two or three 
at a time, on a sort of gelatine rope. 
If we closely examine the newly deposited spawn of the 
frog we find that each ovum forms a central black speck 
about one-twelfth of an inch in diameter in a transparent, 
albuminous globule, nearly half an inch in diameter, which 
is covered by a delicate membrane. For the purpose of 
—Dorsal aspect of Tadpole, nat, size and magnified 
(seventeenth day). In this figure- and SI, a shows external 
gills ; b, nostril ; c, rudimentary mouth Having rapid ciliary 
action. 
— I'orsal aspect of Tadpole (twentieth day) magnified' 
a, first appearance of membranous sheath throueh which the 
posterior hmbs protrude. 
Studying these ova, we can keep a dozen or two of them 
in a shallow vessel containing water, in which must be 
placed a liberal supply of aquatic plants, which would be 
likely to afford the tadpoles a sufficiency of infusoria, 
upon which they seem to subsist to a considerable extent 
after devouring the gelatinous egg mass which appears 
to form their first food. They are thorough scavengers, 
and any decaying matter, either animal or vegetable, is 
eagerly eaten. We find that the ovum changes but little 
until the fifth day, when a cleavage or segmentation be- 
comes apparent. 
The progress of this segmentation from now on may 
be easily followed, and it is very interesting. On the 
ninth day a striking change is manifest; the embryo 
assumes the form shown in the illustration, where A repre- 
sents the natural size of ovum and B the same magnified 
four diameters; at o are the rudimentary external gills; 
the inner circlet h, surrounding the embryo, is the vitelline 
sac or zona pellucida, itself an object of singular tenuity 
and crystalline transparency, and at c is the protruding 
tail. 
A change is now perceptible daily; the gills and tail 
grow rapidly, and the nostril becomes conspicuous, and oni 
the fifteenth day some of the tadpoles will emerge and lie 
upon the gelatinous egg mass, upon which they continue 
to rest until it is completely eaten by them. Fig. 7 repre- 
sents the appearance of a tadpole after emergence, its; 
length being seven-sixteenths of an inch. 
On the seventeenth day the nostrils, h, Fig. 8, are well 
developed, and a rapid ciliary action is apparent at the 
immature mouth, c, from which the water is driven back- 
ward in a current to the gills. On the twentieth day 
the gills extend almost to the tail, and the membranous 
sheaths, through which the posterior limbs protrude, are 
plainly visible, Fig. 9, d. 
The changes in the structure of the tadpole are many; 
the anterior limbs are elbowed out beneath the gill .cover- 
ings, and the posterior ones become more and more per- 
fect; the tails grows longer and thinner, and finally it 
is absorbed, together with the lips and secondary gills, 
and the body assumes the perfect frog shape. This 
usually occurs at about the one-hundredth day, if the 
weather is bright and warm. The foregoing illustrations 
are reproductions of drawings made by M. H. Robson, the 
eminent English microscopist. 
Unlike the spawn of the frog, the eggs of the newt or 
spotted salamander are- laid singly, each being deposited 
in the fold of a water plant, which is bent by the female 
to receive it. 
Mr, James Fullagar, who saw a female newt deposit her 
eggs in his aquarium, describes the operation as follows: 
"The laying of the egg is a curious operation to wit- 
ness, as each egg is laid singly, and is folded in a leaf. 
They are laid at intervals during a month or five weeks, 
so that I have had the young of all ages and sizes, from 
those just escaping from the egg to a month old. When 
about to lay an egg, the newt would examine several 
leaves before she found one to suit her. In some cases 
the leaf was too stout for her to bend with ease, and 
after vainly trying to fold it, she would leave off, and 
for this reason the leaf of the water-ranimculus, being 
large and easy to fold, was most used. The manner of 
operation was this: After examining several leaves, and 
making choice of a suitable one, she would place that 
part of her body whence the egg was about to pro- 
trude on the leaf, and with her hind legs fold the leaf 
over and around that part in such a manner as to enable 
her to receive the egg into the leaf between the two 
legs, the body being bent forward for that purpose. _ As 
soon as the egg is deposited, the body is slightly raised 
from it, to give room for the further and complete fold^ 
ing of it in the leaf, and is then held in that 
position for about three minutes, to insure its 
firm adhesion to the leaf. The newt then swim* 
