THE WILDERNESS, AND OUR INDIAN FRIENDS
Man of strange race! stern dweller of the wild!
Nature's free-born, untamed, and daring child!
The clouds of the preceding night, instead of dissolving in snow,
brought on a rapid thaw. A thaw in the middle of winter is the most
disagreeable change that can be imagined. After several weeks of
clear, bright, bracing, frosty weather, with a serene atmosphere and
cloudless sky, you awake one morning surprised at the change in the
temperature; and, upon looking out of the window, behold the woods
obscured by a murky haze--not so dense as an English November fog,
but more black and lowering--and the heavens shrouded in a uniform
covering of leaden-coloured clouds, deepening into a livid indigo at
the edge of the horizon. The snow, no longer hard and glittering,
has become soft and spongy, and the foot slips into a wet and
insidiously-yielding mass at every step. From the roof pours down a
continuous stream of water, and the branches of the trees collecting
the moisture of the reeking atmosphere, shower it upon the earth
from every dripping twig. The cheerless and uncomfortable aspect of
things without never fails to produce a corresponding effect upon
the minds of those within, and casts such a damp upon the spirits
that it appears to destroy for a time all sense of enjoyment. Many
persons (and myself among the number) are made aware of the approach
of a thunder-storm by an intense pain and weight about the head; and
I have heard numbers of Canadians complain that a thaw always made
them feel bilious and heavy, and greatly depressed their animal
spirits.
I had a great desire to visit our new location, but when I looked
out upon the cheerless waste, I gave up the idea, and contented
myself with hoping for a better day on the morrow; but many morrows
came and went before a frost again hardened the road sufficiently
for me to make the attempt.
The prospect from the windows of my sister's log hut was not very
prepossessing. The small lake in front, which formed such a pretty
object in summer, now looked like an extensive field covered with
snow, hemmed in from the rest of the world by a dark belt of sombre
pine-woods. The clearing round the house was very small, and only
just reclaimed from the wilderness, and the greater part of it
covered with piles of brushwood, to be burnt the first dry days of
spring. The charred and blackened stumps on the few acres that had
been cleared during the preceding year were everything but
picturesque; and I concluded, as I turned, disgusted, from the
prospect before me, that there was very little beauty to be found in
the backwoods. But I came to this decision during a Canadian thaw,
be it remembered, when one is wont to view every object with
jaundiced eyes.
Moodie had only been able to secure sixty-six acres of his
government grant upon the Upper Katchawanook Lake, which, being
interpreted, means in English, the “Lake of the Waterfalls,” a very
poetical meaning, which most Indian names have. He had, however,
secured a clergy reserve of two hundred acres adjoining; and he
afterwards purchased a fine lot, which likewise formed part of the
same block, one hundred acres, for 150 pounds.[1] This was an
enormously high price for wild land; but the prospect of opening
the Trent and Otonabee for the navigation of steamboats and other
small craft, was at that period a favourite speculation, and its
practicability, and the great advantages to be derived from it,
were so widely believed as to raise the value of the wild lands
along these remote waters to an enormous price; and settlers in
the vicinity were eager to secure lots, at any sacrifice, along
their shores.
[1] After a lapse of fifteen years, we have been glad to sell these
lots of land, after considerable clearings had been made upon them,
for less than they originally cost us.
Our government grant was upon the lake shore, and Moodie had chosen
for the site of his log house a bank that sloped gradually from the
edge of the water, until it attained to the dignity of a hill. Along
the top of this ridge, the forest road ran, and midway down the
hill, our humble home, already nearly completed, stood, surrounded
by the eternal forest. A few trees had been cleared in its immediate
vicinity, just sufficient to allow the workmen to proceed, and to
prevent the fall of any tree injuring the building, or the danger
of its taking fire during the process of burning the fallow.
A neighbour had undertaken to build this rude dwelling by contract,
and was to have it ready for us by the first week in the new year.
The want of boards to make the divisions in the apartments alone
hindered him from fulfilling his contract. These had lately been
procured, and the house was to be ready for our reception in the
course of a week. Our trunks and baggage had already been conveyed
thither by Mr. D----; and, in spite of my sister's kindness and
hospitality, I longed to find myself once more settled in a home
of my own.
The day after our arrival, I was agreeably surprised by a visit from
Monaghan, whom Moodie had once more taken into his service. The poor
fellow was delighted that his nurse-child, as he always called
little Katie, had not forgotten him, but evinced the most lively
satisfaction at the sight of her dark friend.
Early every morning, Moodie went off to the house; and the first
fine day, my sister undertook to escort me through the wood, to
inspect it. The proposal was joyfully accepted; and although I felt
rather timid when I found myself with only my female companion in
the vast forest, I kept my fears to myself, lest I should be
laughed at. This foolish dread of encountering wild beasts in the
woods, I never could wholly shake off, even after becoming a
constant resident in their gloomy depths, and accustomed to follow
the forest-path, alone, or attended with little children, daily.
The cracking of an old bough, or the hooting of the owl, was
enough to fill me with alarm, and try my strength in a precipitate
flight. Often have I stopped and reproached myself for want of
faith in the goodness of Providence, and repeated the text, “The
wicked are afraid when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as
bold as a lion,” as if to shame myself into courage. But it would
not do; I could not overcome the weakness of the flesh. If I had
one of my infants with me, the wish to protect the child from any
danger which might beset my path gave me for a time a fictitious
courage; but it was like love fighting with despair.
It was in vain that my husband assured me that no person had ever
been attacked by wild animals in the woods, that a child might
traverse them even at night in safety; whilst I knew that wild
animals existed in those woods, I could not believe him, and my
fears on this head rather increased than diminished.
The snow had been so greatly decreased by the late thaw, that it
had been converted into a coating of ice, which afforded a dangerous
and slippery footing. My sister, who had resided for nearly twelve
months in the woods, was provided for her walk with Indian
moccasins, which rendered her quite independent; but I stumbled
at every step. The sun shone brightly, the air was clear and
invigorating, and, in spite of the treacherous ground and my foolish
fears, I greatly enjoyed my first walk in the woods. Naturally of a
cheerful, hopeful disposition, my sister was enthusiastic in her
admiration of the woods. She drew such a lively picture of the
charms of a summer residence in the forest that I began to feel
greatly interested in her descriptions, and to rejoice that we, too,
were to be her near neighbours and dwellers in the woods; and this
circumstance not a little reconciled me to the change.
Hoping that my husband would derive an income equal to the one he
had parted with from the investment of the price of his commission
in the steam-boat stock, I felt no dread of want. Our legacy of 700
pounds had afforded us means to purchase land, build our house, and
give out a large portion of land to be cleared, and, with a
considerable sum of money still in hand, our prospects for the
future were in no way discouraging.
When we reached the top of the ridge that overlooked our cot, my
sister stopped, and pointed out a log-house among the trees.
“There, S----,” she said, “is your home. When that black cedar-swamp
is cleared away, that now hides the lake from us, you will have a
very pretty view.” My conversation with her had quite altered the
aspect of the country, and predisposed me to view things in the most
favourable light. I found Moodie and Monaghan employed in piling up
heaps of bush near the house, which they intended to burn off by
hand previous to firing the rest of the fallow, to prevent any risk
to the building from fire. The house was made of cedar logs, and
presented a superior air of comfort to most dwellings of the same
kind. The dimensions were thirty-six feet in length, and thirty-two
in breadth, which gave us a nice parlour, a kitchen, and two small
bed-rooms, which were divided by plank partitions. Pantry or
store-room there was none; some rough shelves in the kitchen, and
a deal cupboard in a corner of the parlour, being the extent of our
accommodations in that way.
Our servant, Mary Tate, was busy scrubbing out the parlour and
bed-room; but the kitchen, and the sleeping-room off it, were still
knee-deep in chips, and filled with the carpenter's bench and tools,
and all our luggage. Such as it was, it was a palace when compared
to Old Satan's log hut, or the miserable cabin we had wintered in
during the severe winter of 1833, and I regarded it with complacency
as my future home.
While we were standing outside the building, conversing with my
husband, a young gentleman, of the name of Morgan, who had lately
purchased land in that vicinity, went into the kitchen to light his
pipe at the stove, and, with true backwood carelessness, let the
hot cinder fall among the dry chips that strewed the floor. A few
minutes after, the whole mass was in a blaze, and it was not without
great difficulty that Moodie and Mr. R---- succeeded in putting out
the fire. Thus were we nearly deprived of our home before we had
taken up our abode in it.
The indifference to the danger of fire in a country where most
of the dwellings are composed of inflammable materials, is truly
astonishing. Accustomed to see enormous fires blazing on every
hearth-stone, and to sleep in front of these fires, his bedding
often riddled with holes made by hot particles of wood flying out
during the night, and igniting beneath his very nose, the sturdy
backwoodsman never dreads an enemy in the element that he is used to
regard as his best friend. Yet what awful accidents, what ruinous
calamities arise, out of this criminal negligence, both to himself
and others!
A few days after this adventure, we bade adieu to my sister, and
took possession of our new dwelling, and commenced “a life in the
woods.”
The first spring we spent in comparative ease and idleness. Our cows
had been left upon our old place during the winter. The ground had
to be cleared before it could receive a crop of any kind, and I had
little to do but to wander by the lake shore, or among the woods,
and amuse myself.
These were the halcyon days of the bush. My husband had purchased a
very light cedar canoe, to which he attached a keel and a sail; and
most of our leisure hours, directly the snows melted, were spent
upon the water.
These fishing and shooting excursions were delightful. The pure
beauty of the Canadian water, the sombre but august grandeur of the
vast forest that hemmed us in on every side and shut us out from the
rest of the world, soon cast a magic spell upon our spirits, and we
began to feel charmed with the freedom and solitude around us. Every
object was new to us. We felt as if we were the first discoverers
of every beautiful flower and stately tree that attracted our
attention, and we gave names to fantastic rocks and fairy isles, and
raised imaginary houses and bridges on every picturesque spot which
we floated past during our aquatic excursions. I learned the use of
the paddle, and became quite a proficient in the gentle craft.
It was not long before we received visits from the Indians, a people
whose beauty, talents, and good qualities have been somewhat
overrated, and invested with a poetical interest which they scarcely
deserve. Their honesty and love of truth are the finest traits in
characters otherwise dark and unlovely. But these are two God-like
attributes, and from them spring all that is generous and ennobling
about them.
There never was a people more sensible of kindness, or more grateful
for any little act of benevolence exercised towards them. We met
them with confidence; our dealings with them were conducted with the
strictest integrity; and they became attached to our persons, and in
no single instance ever destroyed the good opinion we entertained of
them.
The tribes that occupy the shores of all these inland waters, back
of the great lakes, belong to the Chippewa or Missasagua Indians,
perhaps the least attractive of all these wild people, both with
regard to their physical and mental endowments.
The men of this tribe are generally small of stature, with very
coarse and repulsive features. The forehead is low and retreating,
the observing faculties large, the intellectual ones scarcely
developed; the ears large, and standing off from the face; the eyes
looking towards the temples, keen, snake-like, and far apart; the
cheek-bones prominent; the nose long and flat, the nostrils very
round; the jaw-bone projecting, massy, and brutal; the mouth
expressing ferocity and sullen determination; the teeth large, even,
and dazzlingly white. The mouth of the female differs widely in
expression from that of the male; the lips are fuller, the jaw less
projecting, and the smile is simple and agreeable. The women are a
merry, light-hearted set, and their constant laugh and incessant
prattle form a strange contrast to the iron taciturnity of their
grim lords.
Now I am upon the subject, I will recapitulate a few traits and
sketches of these people, as they came under my own immediate
observation.
A dry cedar-swamp, not far from the house, by the lake shore, had
been their usual place of encampment for many years. The whole block
of land was almost entirely covered with maple trees, and had
originally been an Indian sugar-bush. Although the favourite spot
had now passed into the hands of strangers, they still frequented
the place, to make canoes and baskets, to fish and shoot, and
occasionally to follow their old occupation.
Scarcely a week passed away without my being visited by the dark
strangers; and as my husband never allowed them to eat with the
servants (who viewed them with the same horror that Mrs. D---- did
black Mollineux), but brought them to his own table, they soon grew
friendly and communicative, and would point to every object that
attracted their attention, asking a thousand questions as to its
use, the material of which it was made, and if we were inclined to
exchange it for their commodities?
With a large map of Canada, they were infinitely delighted. In a
moment they recognised every bay and headland in Ontario, and almost
screamed with delight when, following the course of the Trent with
their fingers, they came to their own lake.
How eagerly each pointed out the spot to his fellows; how intently
their black heads were bent down, and their dark eyes fixed upon the
map. What strange, uncouth exclamations of surprise burst from their
lips as they rapidly repeated the Indian names for every lake and
river on this wonderful piece of paper.
The old chief, Peter Nogan, begged hard for the coveted treasure. He
would give “Canoe, venison, duck, fish, for it; and more by and by.”
I felt sorry that I was unable to gratify his wishes; but the map
had cost upwards of six dollars, and was daily consulted by my
husband, in reference to the names and situations of localities
in the neighbourhood.
I had in my possession a curious Japanese sword, which had been
given to me by an uncle of Tom Wilson's--a strange gift to a young
lady; but it was on account of its curiosity, and had no reference
to my warlike propensities. This sword was broad, and three-sided
in the blade, and in shape resembled a moving snake. The hilt was
formed of a hideous carved image of one of their war-gods; and
a more villanous-looking wretch was never conceived by the most
distorted imagination. He was represented in a sitting attitude, the
eagle's claws, that formed his hands, resting upon his knees; his
legs terminated in lion's paws; and his face was a strange compound
of beast and bird--the upper part of his person being covered with
feathers, the lower with long, shaggy hair. The case of this awful
weapon was made of wood, and, in spite of its serpentine form,
fitted it exactly. No trace of a join could be found in this
scabbard, which was of hard wood, and highly polished.
One of my Indian friends found this sword lying upon the bookshelf,
and he hurried to communicate the important discovery to his
companions. Moodie was absent, and they brought it to me to demand
an explanation of the figure that formed the hilt.
I told them that it was a weapon that belonged to a very fierce
people who lived in the east, far over the Great Salt Lake; that
they were not Christians as we were, but said their prayers to
images made of silver, and gold, and ivory, and wood, and that this
was one of them; that before they went into battle they said their
prayers to that hideous thing, which they had made with their own
hands.
The Indians were highly amused by this relation, and passed the
sword from one to the other, exclaiming, “A god!--Owgh!--A god!”
But, in spite of these outward demonstrations of contempt, I was
sorry to perceive that this circumstance gave the weapon a great
value, in their eyes, and they regarded it with a sort of
mysterious awe.
For several days they continued to visit the house, bringing along
with them some fresh companion to look at Mrs. Moodie's god!--until,
vexed and annoyed by the delight they manifested at the sight of the
eagle-beaked monster, I refused to gratify their curiosity by not
producing him again.
The manufacture of the sheath, which had caused me much perplexity,
was explained by old Peter in a minute. “'Tis burnt out,” he said.
“Instrument made like sword--heat red-hot--burnt through--polished
outside.”
Had I demanded a whole fleet of canoes for my Japanese sword, I am
certain they would have agreed to the bargain.
The Indian possesses great taste, which is displayed in the carving
of his paddles, in the shape of his canoes, in the elegance and
symmetry of his bows, in the cut of his leggings and moccasins, the
sheath of his hunting-knife, and in all the little ornaments in
which he delights. It is almost impossible for a settler to imitate
to perfection an Indian's cherry-wood paddle. My husband made very
creditable attempts, but still there was something wanting--the
elegance of the Indian finish was not there. If you show them a
good print, they invariably point out the most natural, and the
best-executed figure in the group. They are particularly delighted
with pictures, examine them long, and carefully, and seem to feel
an artist-like pleasure in observing the effect produced by light
and shade.
I had been showing John Nogan, the eldest son of old Peter, some
beautiful coloured engravings of celebrated females; to my
astonishment he pounced upon the best, and grunted out his
admiration in the most approved Indian fashion. After having looked
for a long time at all the pictures very attentively, he took his
dog Sancho upon his knee, and showed him the pictures, with as much
gravity as if the animal really could have shared in his pleasure.
The vanity of these grave men is highly amusing. They seem perfectly
unconscious of it themselves and it is exhibited in the most
child-like manner.
Peter and his son John were taking tea with us, when we were joined
by my brother, Mr. S----. The latter was giving us an account of the
marriage of Peter Jones, the celebrated Indian preacher.
“I cannot think,” he said, “how any lady of property and education
could marry such a man as Jones. Why, he's as ugly as Peter here.”
This was said, not with any idea of insulting the red-skin on
the score of his beauty, of which he possessed not the smallest
particle, but in total forgetfulness that our guest understood
English. Never shall I forget the red flash of that fierce dark eye
as it glared upon my unconscious brother. I would not have received
such a fiery glance for all the wealth that Peter Jones obtained
with his Saxon bride. John Nogan was highly amused by his father's
indignation. He hid his face behind the chief; and though he kept
perfectly still, his whole frame was convulsed with suppressed
laughter.
A plainer human being than poor Peter could scarcely be imagined;
yet he certainly deemed himself handsome. I am inclined to think
that their ideas of personal beauty differ very widely from ours.
Tom Nogan, the chief's brother, had a very large, fat, ugly squaw
for his wife. She was a mountain of tawny flesh; and, but for the
innocent, good-natured expression which, like a bright sunbeam
penetrating a swarthy cloud, spread all around a kindly glow, she
might have been termed hideous.
This woman they considered very handsome, calling her “a fine
squaw--clever squaw--a much good woman;” though in what her
superiority consisted, I never could discover, often as I visited
the wigwam. She was very dirty, and appeared quite indifferent to
the claims of common decency (in the disposal of the few filthy
rags that covered her). She was, however, very expert in all Indian
craft. No Jew could drive a better bargain than Mrs. Tom; and her
urchins, of whom she was the happy mother of five or six, were as
cunning and avaricious as herself.
One day she visited me, bringing along with her a very pretty
covered basket for sale. I asked her what she wanted for it, but
could obtain from her no satisfactory answer. I showed her a small
piece of silver. She shook her head. I tempted her with pork and
flour, but she required neither. I had just given up the idea of
dealing with her, in despair, when she suddenly seized upon me, and,
lifting up my gown, pointed exultingly to my quilted petticoat,
clapping her hands, and laughing immoderately.
Another time she led me all over the house, to show me what she
wanted in exchange for _basket_. My patience was well nigh exhausted
in following her from place to place, in her attempt to discover the
coveted article, when, hanging upon a peg in my chamber, she espied
a pair of trousers belonging to my husband's logging-suit. The
riddle was solved. With a joyful cry she pointed to them, exclaiming
“Take basket. Give them!” It was with no small difficulty that I
rescued the indispensables from her grasp.
From this woman I learned a story of Indian coolness and courage
which made a deep impression on my mind. One of their squaws, a near
relation of her own, had accompanied her husband on a hunting
expedition into the forest. He had been very successful, and having
killed more deer than they could well carry home, he went to the
house of a white man to dispose of some of it, leaving the squaw to
take care of the rest until his return. She sat carelessly upon the
log with his hunting-knife in her hand, when she heard the breaking
of branches near her, and turning round, beheld a great bear only a
few paces from her.
It was too late to retreat; and seeing that the animal was very
hungry, and determined to come to close quarters, she rose, and
placed her back against a small tree, holding her knife close to her
breast, and in a straight line with the bear. The shaggy monster
came on. She remained motionless, her eyes steadily fixed upon her
enemy, and as his huge arms closed around her, she slowly drove the
knife into his heart. The bear uttered a hideous cry, and sank dead
at her feet. When the Indian returned, he found the courageous woman
taking the skin from the carcass of the formidable brute. What iron
nerves these people must possess, when even a woman could dare and
do a deed like this!
The wolf they hold in great contempt, and scarcely deign to consider
him as an enemy. Peter Nogan assured me that he never was near
enough to one in his life to shoot it; that, except in large
companies, and when greatly pressed by hunger, they rarely attack
men. They hold the lynx, or wolverine, in much dread, as they often
spring from trees upon their prey, fastening upon the throat with
their sharp teeth and claws, from which a person in the dark could
scarcely free himself without first receiving a dangerous wound.
The cry of this animal is very terrifying, resembling the shrieks
of a human creature in mortal agony.
My husband was anxious to collect some of the native Indian airs,
as they all sing well, and have a fine ear for music, but all his
efforts proved abortive. “John,” he said to young Nogan (who played
very creditably on the flute, and had just concluded the popular air
of “Sweet Home”), “cannot you play me one of your own songs?”
“Yes,--but no good.”
“Leave me to be the judge of that. Cannot you give me a war-song?”
“Yes,--but no good,” with an ominous shake of the head.
“A hunting-song?”
“No fit for white man,”--with an air of contempt. “No good, no
good!”
“Do, John, sing us a love-song,” said I, laughing, “if you have such
a thing in your language.”
“Oh! much love-song--very much--bad--bad--no good for Christian man.
Indian song no good for white ears.” This was very tantalising, as
their songs sounded very sweetly from the lips of their squaws, and
I had a great desire and curiosity to get some of them rendered into
English.
To my husband they gave the name of “the musician,” but I have
forgotten the Indian word. It signified the maker of sweet sounds.
They listened with intense delight to the notes of his flute,
maintaining a breathless silence during the performance; their dark
eyes flashing into fierce light at a martial strain, or softening
with the plaintive and tender.
The cunning which they display in their contests with their enemies,
in their hunting, and in making bargains with the whites (who are
too apt to impose on their ignorance), seems to spring more from a
law of necessity, forced upon them by their isolated position and
precarious mode of life, than from any innate wish to betray. The
Indian's face, after all, is a perfect index of his mind. The eye
changes its expression with every impulse and passion, and shows
what is passing within as clearly as the lightning in a dark night
betrays the course of the stream. I cannot think that deceit forms
any prominent trait in the Indian's character. They invariably act
with the strictest honour towards those who never attempt to impose
upon them. It is natural for a deceitful person to take advantage
of the credulity of others. The genuine Indian never utters a
falsehood, and never employs flattery (that powerful weapon in the
hands of the insidious), in his communications with the whites.
His worst traits are those which he has in common with the wild
animals of the forest, and which his intercourse with the lowest
order of civilised men (who, in point of moral worth, are greatly
his inferiors), and the pernicious effects of strong drink, have
greatly tended to inflame and debate.
It is a melancholy truth, and deeply to be lamented, that
the vicinity of European settlers has always produced a very
demoralising effect upon the Indians. As a proof of this,
I will relate a simple anecdote.
John, of Rice Lake, a very sensible, middle-aged Indian, was
conversing with me about their language, and the difficulty he found
in understanding the books written in Indian for their use. Among
other things, I asked him if his people ever swore, or used profane
language towards the Deity.
The man regarded me with a sort of stern horror, as he replied,
“Indian, till after he knew your people, never swore--no bad word in
Indian. Indian must learn your words to swear and take God's name in
vain.”
Oh, what a reproof to Christian men! I felt abashed, and degraded
in the eyes of this poor savage--who, ignorant as he was in many
respects, yet possessed that first great attribute of the soul, a
deep reverence for the Supreme Being. How inferior were thousands
of my countrymen to him in this important point.
The affection of Indian parents to their children, and the deference
which they pay to the aged, is another beautiful and touching trait
in their character.
One extremely cold, wintry day, as I was huddled with my little ones
over the stove, the door softly unclosed, and the moccasined foot of
an Indian crossed the floor. I raised my head, for I was too much
accustomed to their sudden appearance at any hour to feel alarmed,
and perceived a tall woman standing silently and respectfully before
me, wrapped in a large blanket. The moment she caught my eye she
dropped the folds of her covering from around her, and laid at my
feet the attenuated figure of a boy, about twelve years of age, who
was in the last stage of consumption.
“Papouse die,” she said, mournfully clasping her hands against her
breast, and looking down upon the suffering lad with the most
heartfelt expression of maternal love, while large tears trickled
down her dark face. “Moodie's squaw save papouse--poor Indian woman
much glad.”
Her child was beyond all human aid. I looked anxiously upon him, and
knew, by the pinched-up features and purple hue of his wasted cheek,
that he had not many hours to live. I could only answer with tears
her agonising appeal to my skill.
“Try and save him! All die but him.” (She held up five of her
fingers.) “Brought him all the way from Mutta Lake[1] upon my back,
for white squaw to cure.”
[1] Mud Lake, or Lake Shemong, in Indian.
“I cannot cure him, my poor friend. He is in God's care; in a few
hours he will be with Him.”
The child was seized with a dreadful fit of coughing, which I
expected every moment would terminate his frail existence. I gave
him a teaspoonful of currant jelly, which he took with avidity, but
could not retain a moment on his stomach.
“Papouse die,” murmured the poor woman; “alone--alone! No papouse;
the mother all alone.” She began re-adjusting the poor sufferer in
her blanket. I got her some food, and begged her to stay and rest
herself; but she was too much distressed to eat, and too restless to
remain. She said little, but her face expressed the keenest anguish;
she took up her mournful load, pressed for a moment his wasted,
burning hand in hers, and left the room.
My heart followed her a long way on her melancholy journey. Think
what this woman's love must have been for that dying son, when she
had carried a lad of his age six miles, through the deep snow, upon
her back, on such a day, in the hope of my being able to do him some
good. Poor heart-broken mother! I learned from Joe Muskrat's squaw
some days after that the boy died a few minutes after Elizabeth
Iron, his mother, got home.
They never forget any little act of kindness. One cold night, late
in the fall, my hospitality was demanded by six squaws, and puzzled
I was how to accommodate them all. I at last determined to give them
the use of the parlour floor during the night. Among these women
there was one very old, whose hair was as white as snow. She was the
only gray-haired Indian I ever saw, and on that account I regarded
her with peculiar interest. I knew that she was the wife of a chief,
by the scarlet embroidered leggings, which only the wives and
daughters of chiefs are allowed to wear. The old squaw had a very
pleasing countenance, but I tried in vain to draw her into
conversation. She evidently did not understand me; and the Muskrat
squaw, and Betty Cow, were laughing at my attempts to draw her out.
I administered supper to them with my own hands, and after I had
satisfied their wants (which is no very easy task, for they have
great appetites), I told our servant to bring in several spare
mattresses and blankets for their use. “Now mind, Jenny, and give
the old squaw the best bed,” I said; “the others are young, and can
put up with a little inconvenience.”
The old Indian glanced at me with her keen, bright eye; but I had no
idea that she comprehended what I said.
Some weeks after this, as I was sweeping over my parlour floor, a
slight tap drew me to the door. On opening it I perceived the old
squaw, who immediately slipped into my hand a set of
beautifully-embroidered bark trays, fitting one within the other,
and exhibiting the very best sample of the porcupine quill-work.
While I stood wondering what this might mean, the good old creature
fell upon my neck, and kissing me, exclaimed, “You remember old
squaw--make her comfortable! Old squaw no forget you. Keep them for
her sake,” and before I could detain her she ran down the hill with
a swiftness which seemed to bid defiance to years. I never saw this
interesting Indian again, and I concluded that she died during the
winter, for she must have been of a great age.
My dear reader, I am afraid I shall tire you with my Indian stories;
but you must bear with me patiently whilst I give you a few more.
The real character of a people can be more truly gathered from such
seemingly trifling incidents than from any ideas we may form of them
from the great facts in their history, and this is my reason for
detailing events which might otherwise appear insignificant and
unimportant.
A friend was staying with us, who wished much to obtain a likeness
of Old Peter. I promised to try and make a sketch of the old man the
next time he paid us a visit. That very afternoon he brought us some
ducks in exchange for pork, and Moodie asked him to stay and take a
glass of whiskey with him and his friend Mr. K----. The old man had
arrayed himself in a new blanket-coat, bound with red, and the seams
all decorated with the same gay material. His leggings and moccasins
were new, and elaborately fringed; and, to cap the climax of the
whole, he had a blue cloth conical cap upon his head, ornamented
with a deer's tail dyed blue, and several cock's feathers.
He was evidently very much taken up with the magnificence of his own
appearance, for he often glanced at himself in a small shaving-glass
that hung opposite, with a look of grave satisfaction. Sitting
apart, that I might not attract his observation, I got a tolerably
faithful likeness of the old man, which after slightly colouring, to
show more plainly his Indian finery, I quietly handed over to Mr.
K----. Sly as I thought myself, my occupation and the object of it
had not escaped the keen eye of the old man. He rose, came behind
Mr. K----'s chair, and regarded the picture with a most affectionate
eye. I was afraid that he would be angry at the liberty I had taken.
No such thing! He was as pleased as Punch.
“That Peter?” he grunted. “Give me--put up in wigwam--make dog too!
Owgh! owgh!” and he rubbed his hands together, and chuckled with
delight. Mr. K---- had some difficulty in coaxing the picture from
the old chief; so pleased was he with this rude representation of
himself. He pointed to every particular article of his dress, and
dwelt with peculiar glee on the cap and blue deer's tail.
A few days after this, I was painting a beautiful little snow-bird,
that our man had shot out of a large flock that alighted near the
door. I was so intent upon my task, to which I was putting the
finishing strokes, that I did not observe the stealthy entrance (for
they all walk like cats) of a stern-looking red man, till a slender,
dark hand was extended over my paper to grasp the dead bird from
which I was copying, and which as rapidly transferred it to the side
of the painted one, accompanying the act with the deep guttural note
of approbation, the unmusical, savage “Owgh.”
My guest then seated himself with the utmost gravity in a
rocking-chair, directly fronting me, and made the modest demand that
I should paint a likeness of him, after the following quaint
fashion:--
“Moodie's squaw know much--make Peter Nogan toder day on
papare--make Jacob to-day--Jacob young--great hunter--give much
duck--venison--to squaw.”
Although I felt rather afraid of my fierce-looking visitor, I could
scarcely keep my gravity; there was such an air of pompous
self-approbation about the Indian, such a sublime look of conceit
in his grave vanity.
“Moodie's squaw cannot do everything; she cannot paint young men,”
said I, rising, and putting away my drawing-materials, upon which he
kept his eye intently fixed, with a hungry, avaricious expression. I
thought it best to place the coveted objects beyond his reach. After
sitting for some time, and watching all my movements, he withdrew,
with a sullen, disappointed air.
This man was handsome, but his expression was vile. Though he often
came to the house, I never could reconcile myself to his
countenance.
Late one very dark, stormy night, three Indians begged to be allowed
to sleep by the kitchen stove. The maid was frightened out of her
wits at the sight of these strangers, who were Mohawks from the
Indian woods upon the Bay of Quinte, and they brought along with
them a horse and cutter. The night was so stormy, that, after
consulting our man--Jacob Faithful, as we usually called him--I
consented to grant their petition, although they were quite
strangers, and taller and fiercer-looking than our friends the
Missasaguas.
I was putting my children to bed, when the girl came rushing in,
out of breath. “The Lord preserve us, madam, if one of these wild
men has not pulled off his trousers, and is a-sitting, mending
them behind the stove! and what shall I do?”
“Do?--why, stay with me, and leave the poor fellow to finish his
work.”
The simple girl had never once thought of this plan of pacifying her
outraged sense of propriety.
Their sense of hearing is so acute that they can distinguish sounds
at an incredible distance, which cannot be detected by a European at
all. I myself witnessed a singular exemplification of this fact. It
was mid-winter; the Indians had pitched their tent, or wigwam, as
usual, in our swamp. All the males were absent on a hunting
expedition up the country, and had left two women behind to take
care of the camp and its contents, Mrs. Tom Nogan and her children,
and Susan Moore, a young girl of fifteen, and the only truly
beautiful squaw I ever saw. There was something interesting about
this girl's history, as well as her appearance. Her father had been
drowned during a sudden hurricane, which swamped his canoe on Stony
Lake; and the mother, who witnessed the accident from the shore, and
was near her confinement with this child, boldly swam out to his
assistance. She reached the spot where he sank, and even succeeded
in recovering the body; but it was too late; the man was dead.
The soul of an Indian that has been drowned is reckoned accursed,
and he is never permitted to join his tribe on the happy
hunting-grounds, but his spirit haunts the lake or river in which he
lost his life. His body is buried on some lonely island, which the
Indians never pass without leaving a small portion of food, tobacco,
ammunition, to supply his wants; but he is never interred with the
rest of his people.
His children are considered unlucky, and few willingly unite
themselves to the females of the family, lest a portion of the
father's curse should be visited on them.
The orphan Indian girl generally kept aloof from the rest, and
seemed so lonely and companionless, that she soon attracted my
attention and sympathy, and a hearty feeling of good-will sprang
up between us. Her features were small and regular, her face oval,
and her large, dark, loving eyes were full of tenderness and
sensibility, but as bright and shy as those of the deer. A rich
vermilion glow burnt upon her olive cheek and lips, and set off the
dazzling whiteness of her even and pearly teeth. She was small of
stature, with delicate little hands and feet, and her figure was
elastic and graceful. She was a beautiful child of nature, and her
Indian name signified “the voice of angry waters.” Poor girl, she
had been a child of grief and tears from her birth! Her mother was
a Mohawk, from whom she, in all probability, derived her superior
personal attractions; for they are very far before the Missasaguas
in this respect.
My friend and neighbour, Emilia S----, the wife of a naval officer,
who lived about a mile distant from me, through the bush, had come
to spend the day with me; and hearing that the Indians were in the
swamp, and the men away, we determined to take a few trifles to the
camp, in the way of presents, and spend an hour in chatting with the
squaws.
What a beautiful moonlight night it was, as light as day!--the great
forest sleeping tranquilly beneath the cloudless heavens--not a
sound to disturb the deep repose of nature but the whispering of the
breeze, which, during the most profound calm, creeps through the
lofty pine tops. We bounded down the steep bank to the lake shore.
Life is a blessing, a precious boon indeed, in such an hour, and we
felt happy in the mere consciousness of existence--the glorious
privilege of pouring out the silent adoration of the heart to the
Great Father in his universal temple.
On entering the wigwam, which stood within a few yards of the
clearing, in the middle of a thick group of cedars, we found Mrs.
Tom alone with her elvish children, seated before the great fire
that burned in the centre of the camp; she was busy boiling some
bark in an iron spider. The little boys, in red flannel shirts which
were their only covering, were tormenting a puppy, which seemed to
take their pinching and pummelling in good part, for it neither
attempted to bark nor to bite, but, like the eels in the story,
submitted to the infliction because it was used to it. Mrs. Tom
greeted us with a grin of pleasure, and motioned to us to sit down
upon a buffalo-skin, which, with a courtesy so natural to the
Indians, she had placed near her for our accommodation.
“You are all alone,” said I, glancing round the camp.
“Ye'es; Indian away hunting--Upper Lakes. Come home with much deer.”
“And Susan, where is she?”
“By and by. (Meaning that she was coming.) Gone to fetch water--ice
thick--chop with axe--take long time.”
As she ceased speaking, the old blanket that formed the door of the
tent was withdrawn, and the girl, bearing two pails of water, stood
in the open space, in the white moonlight. The glow of the fire
streamed upon her dark, floating locks, danced in the black,
glistening eye, and gave a deeper blush to the olive cheek! She
would have made a beautiful picture; Sir Joshua Reynolds would have
rejoiced in such a model--so simply graceful and unaffected, the
very beau ideal of savage life and unadorned nature. A smile of
recognition passed between us. She put down her burden beside Mrs.
Tom, and noiselessly glided to her seat.
We had scarcely exchanged a few words with our favourite, when the
old squaw, placing her hand against her ear, exclaimed, “Whist!
whist!”
“What is it?” cried Emilia and I, starting to our feet. “Is there
any danger?”
“A deer--a deer--in bush!” whispered the squaw, seizing a rifle that
stood in a corner. “I hear sticks crack--a great way off. Stay
here!”
A great way off the animal must have been, for though Emilia and
I listened at the open door, an advantage which the squaw did not
enjoy, we could not hear the least sound: all seemed still as death.
The squaw whistled to an old hound, and went out.
“Did you hear anything, Susan?”
She smiled, and nodded.
“Listen; the dog has found the track.”
The next moment the discharge of a rifle, and the deep baying of the
dog, woke up the sleeping echoes of the woods; and the girl started
off to help the old squaw to bring in the game that she had shot.
The Indians are great imitators, and possess a nice tact in adopting
the customs and manners of those with whom they associate. An Indian
is Nature's gentleman--never familiar, coarse, or vulgar. If he take
a meal with you, he waits to see how you make use of the implements
on the table, and the manner in which you eat, which he imitates
with a grave decorum, as if he had been accustomed to the same
usages from childhood. He never attempts to help himself, or demand
more food, but waits patiently until you perceive what he requires.
I was perfectly astonished at this innate politeness, for it seems
natural to all the Indians with whom I have had any dealings.
There was one old Indian, who belonged to a distant settlement, and
only visited our lakes occasionally on hunting parties. He was a
strange, eccentric, merry old fellow, with a skin like red mahogany,
and a wiry, sinewy frame, that looked as if it could bid defiance to
every change of temperature.
Old Snow-storm, for such was his significant name, was rather too
fond of the whiskey-bottle, and when he had taken a drop too much,
he became an unmanageable wild beast. He had a great fancy for my
husband, and never visited the other Indians without extending the
same favour to us. Once upon a time, he broke the nipple of his gun;
and Moodie repaired the injury for him by fixing a new one in its
place, which little kindness quite won the heart of the old man, and
he never came to see us without bringing an offering of fish, ducks,
partridges, or venison, to show his gratitude.
One warm September day, he made his appearance bare-headed, as
usual, and carrying in his hand a great checked bundle.
“Fond of grapes?” said he, putting the said bundle into my hands.
“Fine grapes--brought them from island, for my friend's squaw and
papouse.”
Glad of the donation, which I considered quite a prize, I hastened
into the kitchen to untie the grapes and put them into a dish. But
imagine my disappointment, when I found them wrapped up in a soiled
shirt, only recently taken from the back of the owner. I called
Moodie, and begged him to return Snow-storm his garment, and to
thank him for the grapes.
The mischievous creature was highly diverted with the circumstance,
and laughed immoderately.
“Snow-storm,” said he, “Mrs. Moodie and the children are obliged to
you for your kindness in bringing them the grapes; but how came you
to tie them up in a dirty shirt?”
“Dirty!” cried the old man, astonished that we should object to the
fruit on that score. “It ought to be clean; it has been washed often
enough. Owgh! You see, Moodie,” he continued, “I have no hat--never
wear hat--want no shade to my eyes--love the sun--see all around
me--up and down--much better widout hat. Could not put grapes in
hat--blanket-coat too large, crush fruit, juice run out. I had
noting but my shirt, so I takes off shirt, and brings grape safe
over the water on my back. Papouse no care for dirty shirt; their
lee-tel bellies have no eyes.”
In spite of this eloquent harangue, I could not bring myself to use
the grapes, ripe and tempting as they looked, or give them to the
children. Mr. W---- and his wife happening to step in at that moment,
fell into such an ecstasy at the sight of the grapes, that, as they
were perfectly unacquainted with the circumstance of the shirt, I
very generously gratified their wishes by presenting them with the
contents of the large dish; and they never ate a bit less sweet for
the novel mode in which they were conveyed to me!
The Indians, under their quiet exterior, possess a deal of humour.
They have significant names for everything, and a nickname for every
one, and some of the latter are laughably appropriate. A fat,
pompous, ostentatious settler in our neighbourhood they called
Muckakee, “the bull frog.” Another, rather a fine young man, but
with a very red face, they named Segoskee, “the rising sun.” Mr.
Wood, who had a farm above ours, was a remarkably slender young man,
and to him they gave the appellation of Metiz, “thin stick.” A
woman, that occasionally worked for me, had a disagreeable squint;
she was known in Indian by the name of Sachabo, “cross eye.” A
gentleman with a very large nose was Choojas, “big, or ugly nose.”
My little Addie, who was a fair, lovely creature, they viewed with
great approbation, and called Anoonk, “a star;” while the rosy Katie
was Nogesigook, “the northern lights.” As to me, I was Nonocosiqui,
a “humming-bird;” a ridiculous name for a tall woman, but it had
reference to the delight I took in painting birds. My friend,
Emilia, was “blue cloud;” my little Donald, “frozen face;” young
C----, “the red-headed woodpecker,” from the colour of his hair; my
brother, Chippewa, and “the bald-headed eagle.” He was an especial
favourite among them.
The Indians are often made a prey of and cheated by the unprincipled
settlers, who think it no crime to overreach a red-skin. One
anecdote will fully illustrate this fact. A young squaw, who was
near becoming a mother, stopped at a Smith-town settler's house to
rest herself. The woman of the house, who was Irish, was peeling for
dinner some large white turnips, which her husband had grown in
their garden. The Indian had never seen a turnip before, and the
appearance of the firm, white, juicy root gave her such a keen
craving to taste it that she very earnestly begged for a small piece
to eat. She had purchased at Peterborough a large stone-china bowl,
of a very handsome pattern (or, perhaps, got it at the store in
exchange for _basket_), the worth of which might be half-a-dollar.
If the poor squaw longed for the turnip, the value of which could
scarcely reach a copper, the covetous European had fixed as longing
a glance upon the china bowl, and she was determined to gratify her
avaricious desire and obtain it on the most easy terms. She told the
squaw, with some disdain, that her man did not grow turnips to give
away to “Injuns,” but she would sell her one. The squaw offered her
four coppers, all the change she had about her. This the woman
refused with contempt. She then proffered a basket; but that was
not sufficient; nothing would satisfy her but the bowl. The Indian
demurred; but opposition had only increased her craving for the
turnip in a tenfold degree; and, after a short mental struggle,
in which the animal propensity overcame the warnings of prudence,
the squaw gave up the bowl, and received in return one turnip!
The daughter of this woman told me this anecdote of her mother as
a very clever thing. What ideas some people have of moral justice!
I have said before that the Indian never forgets a kindness. We
had a thousand proofs of this, when overtaken by misfortune, and
withering beneath the iron grasp of poverty, we could scarcely
obtain bread for ourselves and our little ones; then it was that
the truth of the eastern proverb was brought home to our hearts,
and the goodness of God fully manifested towards us, “Cast thy
bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days.”
During better times we had treated these poor savages with
kindness and liberality, and when dearer friends looked coldly upon
us they never forsook us. For many a good meal I have been indebted
to them, when I had nothing to give in return, when the pantry was
empty, and “the hearthstone growing cold,” as they term the want of
provisions to cook at it. And their delicacy in conferring these
favours was not the least admirable part of their conduct. John
Nogan, who was much attached to us, would bring a fine bunch of
ducks, and drop them at my feet “for the papouse,” or leave a large
muskinonge on the sill of the door, or place a quarter of venison
just within it, and slip away without saying a word, thinking that
receiving a present from a poor Indian might hurt our feelings, and
he would spare us the mortification of returning thanks.
Often have I grieved that people with such generous impulses should
be degraded and corrupted by civilised men; that a mysterious
destiny involves and hangs over them, pressing them back into the
wilderness, and slowly and surely sweeping them from the earth.
Their ideas of Christianity appeared to me vague and unsatisfactory.
They will tell you that Christ died for men, and that He is the
Saviour of the World, but they do not seem to comprehend the
spiritual character of Christianity, nor the full extent of the
requirements and application of the law of Christian love. These
imperfect views may not be entertained by all Christian Indians, but
they were very common amongst those with whom I conversed. Their
ignorance upon theological, as well as upon other subjects, is, of
course, extreme. One Indian asked me very innocently if I came from
the land where Christ was born, and if I had ever seen Jesus. They
always mention the name of the Persons in the Trinity with great
reverence.
They are a highly imaginative people. The practical meaning of their
names, and their intense admiration for the beauties of Nature, are
proof of this. Nothing escapes their observing eyes. There is not a
flower that blooms in the wilderness, a bird that cuts the air with
its wings, a beast that roams the wood, a fish that stems the water,
or the most minute insect that sports in the sunbeams, but it has an
Indian name to illustrate its peculiar habits and qualities. Some of
their words convey the direct meaning of the thing implied--thus,
che-charm, “to sneeze,” is the very sound of that act; too-me-duh,
“to churn,” gives the noise made by the dashing of the cream from
side to side; and many others.
They believe in supernatural appearances--in spirits of the earth,
the air, the waters. The latter they consider evil, and propitiate
before undertaking a long voyage, by throwing small portions of
bread, meat, tobacco, and gunpowder into the water.
When an Indian loses one of his children, he must keep a strict fast
for three days, abstaining from food of any kind. A hunter, of the
name of Young, told me a curious story of their rigid observance of
this strange rite.
“They had a chief,” he said, “a few years ago, whom they called
'Handsome Jack'--whether in derision, I cannot tell, for he was one
of the ugliest Indians I ever saw. The scarlet fever got into the
camp--a terrible disease in this country, and doubly terrible to
those poor creatures who don't know how to treat it. His eldest
daughter died. The chief had fasted two days when I met him in the
bush. I did not know what had happened, but I opened my wallet, for
I was on a hunting expedition, and offered him some bread and dried
venison. He looked at me reproachfully.
“'Do white men eat bread the first night their papouse is laid in
the earth?'
“I then knew the cause of his depression, and left him.”
On the night of the second day of his fast another child died of
the fever. He had now to accomplish three more days without tasting
food. It was too much even for an Indian. On the evening of the
fourth, he was so pressed by ravenous hunger, that he stole into
the woods, caught a bull-frog, and devoured it alive. He imagined
himself alone; but one of his people, suspecting his intention,
had followed him, unperceived, to the bush. The act he had just
committed was a hideous crime in their eyes, and in a few minutes
the camp was in an uproar. The chief fled for protection to Young's
house. When the hunter demanded the cause of his alarm, he gave for
answer, “There are plenty of flies at my house. To avoid their
stings I came to you.”
It required all the eloquence of Mr. Young, who enjoyed much
popularity among them, to reconcile the rebellious tribe to their
chief.
They are very skilful in their treatment of wounds, and many
diseases. Their knowledge of the medicinal qualities of their plants
and herbs is very great. They make excellent poultices from the bark
of the bass and the slippery elm. They use several native plants in
their dyeing of baskets and porcupine quills. The inner bark of the
swamp-alder, simply boiled in water, makes a beautiful red. From the
root of the black briony they obtain a fine salve for sores, and
extract a rich yellow dye. The inner bark of the root of the sumach,
roasted, and reduced to powder, is a good remedy for the ague; a
teaspoonful given between the hot and cold fit. They scrape the fine
white powder from the large fungus that grows upon the bark of the
pine into whiskey, and take it for violent pains in the stomach.
The taste of this powder strongly reminded me of quinine.
I have read much of the excellence of Indian cookery, but I never
could bring myself to taste anything prepared in their dirty
wigwams. I remember being highly amused in watching the preparation
of a mess, which might have been called the Indian hotch-potch. It
consisted of a strange mixture of fish, flesh, and fowl, all boiled
together in the same vessel. Ducks, partridges, muskinonge, venison,
and muskrats, formed a part of this delectable compound. These were
literally smothered in onions, potatoes, and turnips, which they had
procured from me. They very hospitably offered me a dishful of the
odious mixture, which the odour of the muskrats rendered everything
but savoury; but I declined, simply stating that I was not hungry.
My little boy tasted it, but quickly left the camp to conceal the
effect it produced upon him.
Their method of broiling fish, however, is excellent. They take
a fish, just fresh out of the water, cut out the entrails, and,
without removing the scales, wash it clean, dry it in a cloth, or
in grass, and cover it all over with clear hot ashes. When the
flesh will part from the bone, they draw it out of the ashes, strip
off the skin, and it is fit for the table of the most fastidious
epicure.
The deplorable want of chastity that exists among the Indian
women of this tribe seems to have been more the result of their
intercourse with the settlers in the country than from any previous
disposition to this vice. The jealousy of their husbands has often
been exercised in a terrible manner against the offending squaws;
but this has not happened of late years. The men wink at these
derelictions in their wives, and share with them the price of
their shame.
The mixture of European blood adds greatly to the physical beauty
of the half-race, but produces a sad falling-off from the original
integrity of the Indian character. The half-caste is generally a
lying, vicious rogue, possessing the worst qualities of both parents
in an eminent degree. We have many of these half-Indians in the
penitentiary, for crimes of the blackest dye.
The skill of the Indian in procuring his game, either by land or
water, has been too well described by better writers than I could
ever hope to be to need any illustration from my pen, and I will
close this long chapter with a droll anecdote which is told of a
gentleman in this neighbourhood.
The early loss of his hair obliged Mr. ---- to procure the substitute
of a wig. This was such a good imitation of nature, that none but
his intimate friends and neighbours were aware of the fact.
It happened that he had had some quarrel with an Indian, which had
to be settled in one of the petty courts. The case was decided in
favour of Mr. ----, which so aggrieved the savage, who considered
himself the injured party, that he sprang upon him with a furious
yell, tomahawk in hand, with the intention of depriving him of his
scalp. He twisted his hand in the looks which adorned the cranium of
his adversary, when--horror of horrors!--the treacherous wig came
off in his hand, “Owgh! owgh!” exclaimed the affrighted savage,
flinging it from him, and rushing from the court as if he had been
bitten by a rattlesnake. His sudden exit was followed by peals of
laughter from the crowd, while Mr. ---- coolly picked up his wig,
and drily remarked that it had saved his head.
THE INDIAN FISHERMAN'S LIGHT
The air is still, the night is dark,
No ripple breaks the dusky tide;
From isle to isle the fisher's bark
Like fairy meteor seems to glide;
Now lost in shade--now flashing bright
On sleeping wave and forest tree;
We hail with joy the ruddy light,
Which far into the darksome night
Shines red and cheerily!
With spear high poised, and steady hand,
The centre of that fiery ray,
Behold the Indian fisher stand
Prepared to strike the finny prey;
Hurrah! the shaft has sped below--
Transfix'd the shining prize I see;
On swiftly darts the birch canoe;
Yon black rock shrouding from my view
Its red light gleaming cheerily!
Around yon bluff, whose pine crest hides
The noisy rapids from our sight,
Another bark--another glides--
Red meteors of the murky night.
The bosom of the silent stream
With mimic stars is dotted free;
The waves reflect the double gleam,
The tall woods lighten in the beam,
Through darkness shining cheerily!