2 
FOREST AND STREAM 


and report on what steps could be taken to prevent a repeti- 
tion of such scenes. The gentleman who went in charge I 
happened to know, and he has told me that so numerous 
were the bears at this time, that he has seen men cutting up 
the carcass of a whale on the beach, actually obliged to 
leave their work and beat them off. 
From this time dates the establishment of Provison Posts, 
which were built at different parts of the island ; one at 
Fox Bay, near the scene of the wreck, another at Gamache, 
or Ellis Bay, and a third at Shallop Creek. These have 
been since added to, and at the present time besides the 
above, there are stores at West Point, South West Point, and 
East Point Boards were also nailed to trees, or posts, in 
conspicuous positions near the beach, with the distance to 
the nearest provision depot, and direction east or west lead- 
ing to it, marked upon them. These have done much to al- 
leviate distress, while the construction of light houses which 
followed soon after, ha greatly diminished the number of 
wrecks. 
During the summer of last year a hunting party was Ote 
ganized for the purpose of visiting the island, and the 
writer of this article was invited to join. The opportunity 
was one not to be lost, so applying for two month’s leave of 
absence, which was granted not without some little dificul- 
ty, he proceeded to meet them. From several causes the 
starting of the expedition was delayed until it finally was 
broken up. Mr. De Courcy and myself, however, determin- 
ed not to be done out of the trip altogether, and resolved to 
spend a fortnight there. My leave would not admit of a 
longer stay. We started for Gaspe in Canada, where we 
hoped to hire a schooner, and Indians to take us across. 
Here again fortune was unpropitious; we were two days de- 
layed in obtaining a vessel, and, when at length we did get 
away, were three days in going a distance we should have 
accomplished in a few hours. We were anxious to see as 
much of the island as posible, but as the short space of time 
at our disposal would not allow much shooting and fishing 
combined with rapid traveling, the object of our trip, as 
regards sport, was almost m/. In many other ways, how- 
ever, it proved most enjoyable. If, in the following imper- 
fect sketch, the writer can give some idea of the wild, weird 
island, with its low spruce-clad shores, and picturesque 
quiet bays and inlets ; of the fertility of its soil, which in 
many places is quite equal to the best in Canada, of the 
bright bracing climate ; and if he can in any degree dispel 
some of the gloom and popular aversion with which the 
mention of the island is inivaribly associated, he will be 
more than satisfied. 
Having prefaced thus far, let us now take a glance at the 
quiet village of Gaspe, and follow the preparations there 
being made for the trip. Situated at the head of a noble 
bay to which it gives its name, the village ‘lies nestled on 
the slope of a hill overlooking the south-west arm of the 
harbor, which here forms a basin shut in by mountains on 
every side. Some of these, sloping gracefully backward, 
are cultivated almost to the summit of their greatly round- 
ed heights, whilst others, clothed to the base with pine and 
spruce, descend abruptly to the water’s edge. Here and 
there picturesque cottages with gabled roofs, and green jal- 
ousies, each surrounded by its well trimmed garden, dot the 
surface of the hills, and the landscape is one of quiet but 
exceeding beauty. The town and neighborhood of iat 
appear to have sunk into a kind of Rip-Van-Winkle torpor, 
which perhaps has its effect in contributing to the still and 
peaceful feeling which pervades the very atmosphere. Fifty 
years ago probably nearly as many houses might have been 
found as there are at present. Of town, or village, properly 
called, thereis none. A few wharves, with large wooden 
blocks of store houses, two or three shops which combine 
under one roof the grocery, hardware, and drapery busi- 
ness, in the most wonderful manner, (the Post Office, by the 
way, forms part of one,) a small wooden hut which serves 
as a telegraph station, andiwe have its extent. As one con- 
templates the grass-grown kind of square in which these 
stand, and the deserted aspect of the wharves, he is forced 
to ask whence springs the source of that quiet ease and 
snug air of comfort which is to be seen in the surrounding 
homesteads. Visit the place a month later and the problem 
is solved. As the close of the fishing season approaches, 
and the boats return from their summer cruise, an amount 
of stir and bustle not often seen may be noticed. As schoo- 
ner after schooner discharges her cargo, and the vast store- 
houses are filled with cod, only awaiting transhipment to 
be carried over the navigable world, the secret of their riches 
lies revealed; the only thought that suggests itself is one of 
astonishment at the demand that must of necessity exist. 
We remained here two days, taking up our quarters at 
the Gulf House, a small wooden building, all doors and 
windows, pleasant enough in fine weather, but very chill 
and disagreable on a wet day. It was clean, and the pro- 
prietor we found willing and obliging to the best of his 
ability, though steeped in lethargy, and perfectly blind to his 
own interests. During the summer he had from fifty to 
sixty people constantly boarding with him, and was obliged 
to hire spare barns and houses to accommodate them. The 
charges were certainly moderate ; five shillings a day includ- 
ed lodging, attendance, and three ‘‘ square” meals, plain 
but wholesome of their kind ; but the majority of the vis- 
itors, merchants with their families seeking a little relaxa- 
tion and escape from the cramp of hot dusty towns during 
the summer months, would gladly have paid more for bet- 
ter accommodation and increased facilities for seeing the 
country. Horses were only to be procured with the great- 
est difficulty, pleasure boats not at all, and the natural con- 
sequence was that people were thrown too much on their 
own resources. 
Possessing as it does so many natural advantages, fine | 
scenery, pure bracing climate, sea bathing, good harbor 
for boating, and ample scope for the angler or tourist to 
follow the bent of his inclinations, Gaspe only requires a. 
little American enterprise and energy to develope into a’ 
fashionable watering place. 
Meantime we ascertained that the ‘‘ packet,” a small 
schooner which under contract from the Canadian Govern- 
ment carries the mails during the summer, to the settle- 
ments along the Labrador shore, was to sailin a few days 
on her monthly visit, and we made arrangements with the 
captain to drop us at West Point, Anticosti, which though 
not a regular place of calling, is often touched at. 
Our time was now fully occupied in selecting the sup- 
plies such a trip demanded. The forethought of kind 
friends in Quebec had provided us with an ample store to 
choose from, and the only difficulty lay in deciding what 
portion we could take. Space was limited; once fairly 
started we knew everything must be carried either in the 
canoe, or on our backs, and so selecting around of corned 
beef, a couple of tongues, a piece of bacon, some sauces, and 
a plentiful supply of flour and tea, indispensible articles on 
occasions of this kind, we set to work to stow them away. 
One of our camp kettles held the meat, the other a frying- 
pan, tea pot, plates, pannikins, and the various requisites 
forming our cuisine. A barrel of beer, acase of claret, and 
one of brandy, now awaited our approval. Claret was out 
of the question; beer was a luxury not to be despised; so we 
put it on one side, together with a large wicker eruche of 
brandy. Our effort, worthy of a better cause, did not meet 
with the success it deserved, for, as the sequel will show, 
we had to leave the greater portion of the beer at the West 
Point light house. A leather case held our bedding, con- 
sisting of a light mattress and blanket each, which when 
rolled up formed a bundle some two and one-half feet long, 
by one and one-half feet in depth. Our waterproof sheets serv- 
ed a double purpose : during the day asmalland portable hay- 
ersack in which a change of clothes, two flannel shirts, a 
pair of boots, and two pair of socks were always packed, 
and at night they proved a most acceptable addition to our 
bedding. A small package of quinine powders, and a bot- 
tle of chloroform constituted our medicine chest, which, 
with a field glass, and a few toilet necessaries De Courcy car- 
ried in a small bag over his shoulder. We each took a 
rifle, and a double barrelled. gun, a trout and a salmon rod. 
Nothing now remained but to procure a couple of In- 
dians and a canoe. Unfortunately nearly all the men were 
camping far up the river, and could not be summoned un- 
der three or four days. Through the kindness of Mr. E—., the 
harbor-master, we were at last enabled to secure two, and 
having agreed to pay each of them one dollar and twenty- 
five cents for the use of the canoe, besides finding them in 
provisions (for which we allowed them ten dollars), we or- 
dered them to get our baggage and the canoe on board the 
schooner. Shortly afterwards we received a message from 
the captain that should the wind be favorable he would 
start at daybreak. So we turned in early, and slept sound- 
ly till about four o’clock, when the deep gutteral voice of the 
Indian under our window warned us it was time to be off. 
It was a cold, gray morning a thick mist hung over the 
land-locked basin of Gaspe, and in the eastern sky the frost 
streaks of Aurora were topping the hills. Naught broke 
the stillness save the cry of the black ducks winging their 
morning flight far out to sea, and the voices of the schoon- 
er’s crew, as with a cheery ‘‘ heave away, haul away,” they 
hove round the capstan. In less than five minutes we were 
on board the packet, which was lying with her head up the 
stream. The anchor was already tripped, and as she paid 
off under the jib, we hoisted the fore and main sails, and 
with a fair breeze stood out of the harbor. 
Let us now briefly glance at the little vessel and her oc- 
cupants. The former needs little description, being an or- 
diary fishing schooner of some twenty-five tons. The lat- 
ter consisted of the captain and two men, natives of Gaspe, 
fine able-bodied fellows, with honest faces well tanned by 
exposure to many a winter storm and summer sun. Our 
party numbered five: De Courcy, myself, Flanigan, De 
Courcy’s servant, an Irishman who had served with him in 
the th Hussars, (a great character, and a constant 
source of amusement to us), and last but not least, the In- 
dians. The nationality of one of the latter was unmistakable- 
His small piercing eyes closely set together, long coal black 
hair which fell in straight thick masses down to his shoulders, 
and dark sallow complexion, proclaimed him a descendent 
of those children of the forest who for countless ages held 
undisputed possession over the boundless prairies, and far- 
stretching mountains and valleys of the vast continent of 
America. Peter Jocque was a good specimen of his race, lithe 
and supple, (though from a natural deformity he walked 
a little lame). Of a gentle and tractable disposition, we 
had every reason to be satisfied with him. He proved a capi- 
tal canoe-man, andif any hard work was to be done, was in- 
valuable. Of his companion and foster-brother, Hamilton, 
one cannot speak so well. He was a half-breed, his father 
being a Scotchman, and his mother a squaw. He had in- 
herited the fair complexion and curly hair of the former. 
Of his Indian descent there was not a trace, though having 
been brought up from infancy among them, he spoke the 
Micmac language, that of his tribe, with fluency. He was 
an active man, and could work well if he chose, but was 
of a lazy, stubborn nature, and on more than one occasion 
gave us trouble. Peter was a teetotaller, a ‘‘rara avis” in 
that respect, drink being one of his countrymen’s worst fail- 
ings. Hamilton, however, fully maintained the credit of 
his race. Several times we found him ‘‘three parts in the 
wind,” though he generally had the decency to wait till 
evening, when it was not of ‘so much consequence. 


Meanwhile the schooner had run along the coast, and was 
now abreast of Sandy Point Beach, a long, low spit of sand, 
stretching almost across the bay and dividing it from the 
harbor, properly so called. Under the lee of this natural 
breakwater vessels may lie completely sheltered from the 
heavy swell which at times rolls into the outer bay. On 
rounding the point we found that the wind was drawing 
ahead, and we consequently had to beat out. 
As we stood across the bay, first on one tack then on the 
other, we had a good opportunity of observing the scenery and 
aspect of the coast. On one stretch we headed for the pretty 
little village of Douglas, which stands on the rising ground 
at the south side of St. John’s river, and where there appears 
to be more land under cultivation than at Gaspe. The coast 
from Douglastown to the entrance of the bay gradually 
rises, and forms a succession of cliffs of shale and sandstone 
which in many places attain a height of two hundred 
feet. There are few houses, and the general appearence is 
bleak and sterile. On the other tack we lay over to the north- 
east side of the bay ; the bold steep nature of this coast 
thickly covered with the houses of the fishermen. The store- 
houses in many places are built on some receding ledge 
half way down the face of the cliff, and the curious zigzag 
manner in which the “flakes” (platforms of spruce boughs 
resting on uprights, on which the fish ‘are spread to dry), 
run along the tops and down the sides of the rocks, is very 
striking. One of these fishing establishments, some four 
miles within Cape Gaspe, known as the ‘‘ Grande Greve,” 
employs nearly two hundred men, of whom the larger half 
are engaged in fishing, while the remainder work on shore, 
and superintend the ‘‘ curing.” 
The wind had been falling light all the afternoon, and 
towards evening we found ourselves becalmed outside the 
bay, some few miles to the north-west of Cape Gaspe. On 
our left the cape and its range of cliffs rose sheer from the 
water's edge to a height of six hundred to seven hundred 
feet, grim sentinels guarding the entrance to the bay—a 
bleak forbidding coast—the home of countless flocks of sea 
birds which hovered around us, filling the air with wild com- 
plaints, till as the shadows stole down the cliffs and the west- 
ern sky grew red and warm with the glories of the dying 
sunset, they betook themselves to its clefts and crannies for 
the night. In front the low neck of Cape Rozier stretched 
far into the ocean, with its rocky shores, white cottages and 
light house glistening in the sunlight, while far behind on 
the other side of the bay, the softly rounded outline of the 
Perce Mountain showed clear and sharp against the evening 
sky. 
The distance from Gaspe Cape to West Point, Anticosti, 
is only seventy miles, and we had fondly hoped to have 
spent the night on the island. The accommodation on 
board the packet was not of thegbest; we had the choice 
between the ‘‘cabin,” a small darksome abode, reeking of 
cod oil and tobacco, and the forehold, which, though not 
sounding so dignified, was at all events clean. We pre- 
ferred the latter, and, having had along day, about eight of 
us spread our mattresses on a rude kind of framework 
built round the hold, and rolling ourselves in our blankets 
were soon asleep. 
On waking, about six o’clock next morning, the wash of 
the water, as it ran along the schooner’s side, fell pleasantly 
on my ear, and as J lay for some minutes dreamily listening 
to the gentle ripple, which only a single plank separated 
from my bunk, I was lured into the belief that at last we 
had a favouring breeze. Vain delusion ; on going on deck 
where one of the crew sat at the tiller we found we had 
drifted some seven or eight miles during the night, and 
were now abreast of Cape Rozier. Of wind there was not 
so much as a breath, but as we rose and fell on along ground 
swell setting from the eastward, which told of the storm 
that had raged in the Atlantic some days before, the water 
laved the side with each successive roll, and the cause of 
my deception was apparent. 
On returning to the hold I found De Courcy awake, 
while a shapeless mass of rugs and blankets lay on the deck, 
A pair of large boots protruding from one part, seemed to 
indicate that Flanigan had come to an untimely end. A 
gentle kick at the centre of the inanimate mass was follow- 
ed by a grunt ; a second met with no better success, and it 
was not till a third, more forcible than the previous ones, 
had been administered, that a wild apparation shot from 
under the blankets, and sat upright, with shock head of 
hair, and half opened eyes winking and blinking in the gloom 
of his unaccustomed domicile. It was our ‘‘ fidws Achates,” 
who for a minute or two glared angrily at the intruders of 
his slumbers, until perceiving where he was, he pulled him- 
self together with a— 
‘“Beg pardon, sir, shure I thought it was one of those In- 
jin devils.” ; 
Despatching him to get breakfast ready, we dressed and 
went on deck, where we were soon joined by the Captain 
and the rest of our little party. 
All day long we lay on deck, listening to tales of adven- 
ture by sea and land; of how in the summer of ’59, from 
some cause which could never be explained, the foxes forsook 
the forests of the Labrador, and were found running along 
the shores ; a strange phenomenon, as they are rarely seen 
except in winter, when they are occasionally met with sport- 
ing on the ice-floes which skirt the coast. Hundreds were 
killed, and the little schooner in which we now were, had in 
the short space of a fortnight sailed from, and returned to 
Gaspe, with over fifty skins, the accumulated value of which 
(there being anumber of the black and silver grey), was over 
£500. The preceeding winter had been one of unsual severity 
and the return of the Montagnais Indians in the spring, after 
their long winter hunt, was marked by sadly diminished 
numbers. Many of their tribe had fallen victims to starva- 
