It is needless to say that the day we chose was fine; that the sun shone
brightly; that the curling eddies of the river smiled sweetly; that the
jagged pinnacles of the blocks of ice along shore which had not yet
melted sparkled brilliantly; that the fresh green foliage of the trees
contrasted oddly with these white masses; that Crusty and I shouldered
our canoe between us, after having placed our guns, etcetera, in it, and
walked lightly down to the river bank under our burden. It is needless,
I say, to describe all this minutely, as it would be unnecessary waste
of pen, ink, and paper. It is sufficient to say that we were soon out
in the middle of the stream, floating gently down the current towards
the Point of Marsh, which was to be the scene of our exploits.
The day was indeed beautiful, and so very calm and still that the glassy
water reflected every little cloud in the sky; and on the seaward
horizon everything was quivering and magically turned upside down--
islands, trees, icebergs, and all! A solitary gull, which stood not far
off upon a stone, looked so preposterously huge from the same
atmospherical cause, that I would have laughed immoderately, had I had
energy to do so; but I was too much wrapped in placid enjoyment of the
scene to give way to boisterous mirth. The air was so calm that the
plaintive cries of thousands of wildfowl which covered the Point of
Marsh struck faintly on our ears. "Ah!" thought I--But I need not say
what I thought. I grasped my powder-flask and shook it; it was full--
crammed full! I felt my shot-belt; it was fat, very fat, bursting with
shot! Our two guns lay side by side, vying in brightness; their flints
quite new and sharp, and standing up in a lively wide-awake sort of way,
as much as to say, "If you do not let me go, I'll go bang off by
myself!" Happiness is sometimes too strong to be enjoyed quietly; and
Crusty and I, feeling that we could keep it down no longer, burst
simultaneously into a yell that rent the air, and, seizing the paddles,
made our light canoe spring over the water, while we vented our feelings
in a lively song, which reaching the astonished ears of the
afore-mentioned preposterously large gull, caused its precipitate
departure.
In half an hour we reached the point; dragged the canoe above high-water
mark; shouldered our guns, and, with long strides, proceeded over the
swamp in search of game.
We had little doubt of having good sport, for the whole point away to
the horizon was teeming with ducks and plover. We had scarcely gone a
hundred yards ere a large widgeon rose from behind a bush, and Crusty,
who was in advance, brought it down. As we plodded on, the faint cry of
a wild-goose caused us to squat down suddenly behind a neighbouring
bush, from which retreat we gazed round to see where our friends were.
Another cry from behind attracted our attention; and far away on the
horizon we saw a large flock of geese flying in a mathematically correct
triangle. Now, although far out of shot, and almost out of sight, we
did not despair of getting one of these birds; for, by imitating their
cry, there was a possibility of attracting them towards us. Geese often
answer to a call in this way, if well imitated; particularly in spring,
as they imagine that their friends have found a good feeding-place, and
wish them to alight. Knowing this, Crusty and I continued in our
squatting position--utterly unmindful, in the excitement of the moment,
of the fact that the water of the swamp lay in the same proximity to our
persons as a chair does when we sit down on it--and commenced to yell
and scream vociferously in imitation of geese; for which, doubtless,
many people unacquainted with our purpose would have taken us. At first
our call seemed to make no impression on them; but gradually they bent
into a curve, and, sweeping round in a long circle, came nearer to us,
while we continued to shout at the top of our voices. How they ever
mistook our bad imitation of the cry for the voices of real geese, I
cannot tell--probably they thought we had colds or sore throats; at any
rate they came nearer and nearer, screaming to us in return, till at
last they ceased to flap their wings, and sailed slowly over the bush
behind which we were ensconced, with their long necks stretched straight
out, and their heads a little to one side, looking down for their
friends. Upon discovering their mistake, and beholding two human beings
instead of geese within a few yards of them, the sensation created among
them was tremendous, and the racket they kicked up in trying to fly from
us was terrific; but it was too late. The moment we saw that they had
discovered us, our guns poured forth their contents, and two out of the
flock fell with a lumbering smash upon the ground, while a third went
off wounded, and, after wavering in its flight for a little, sank slowly
to the ground.
Having bagged our game, we proceeded, and ere long filled our bags with
ducks, geese, and plover. Towards the afternoon we arrived at a tent
belonging to an old Indian called Morris. With this dingy gentleman we
agreed to dine, and accordingly bent our steps towards his habitation.
Here we found the old Indian and his wife squatting down on the floor
and wreathed in smoke, partly from the wood-fire which burned in the
middle of the tent, and partly from the tobacco-pipes stuck in their
respective mouths. Old Morris was engaged in preparing a kettle of
pea-soup, in which were boiled several plover and a large white owl;
which latter, when lifted out of the pot, looked so very like a skinned
baby that we could scarcely believe they were not guilty of cannibalism.
His wife was engaged in ornamenting a pair of moccasins with dyed
quills. On our entrance, the old man removed his pipe, and cast an
inquiring glance into the soup-kettle; this apparently gave him immense
satisfaction, as he turned to us with a smiling countenance, and
remarked (for he could speak capital English, having spent the most of
his life near York Factory) that "duck plenty, but he too hold to shoot
much; obliged to heat howl." This we agreed was uncommonly hard, and
after presenting him with several ducks and a goose, proposed an
inspection of the contents of the kettle, which being agreed to, we
demolished nearly half of the soup, and left him and his wife to "heat"
the "howl."
After resting an hour with this hospitable fellow, we departed, to
prepare our encampment ere it became dark, as we intended passing the
night in the swamps, under our canoe. Near the tent we passed a
fox-trap set on the top of a pole, and, on inquiring, found that this
was the machine in which old Morris caught his "_h_owls." The white owl
is a very large and beautiful bird, sometimes nearly as large as a swan.
I shot one which measured five feet three inches across the wings, when
expanded. They are in the habit of alighting upon the tops of blighted
trees, and poles of any kind, which happen to stand conspicuously apart
from the forest trees--for the purpose, probably, of watching for mice
and little birds, on which they prey. Taking advantage of this habit,
the Indian plants his trap on the top of a bare tree, so that when the
owl alights it is generally caught by the legs.
Our walk back to the place where we had left the canoe was very
exhausting, as we had nearly tired ourselves out before thinking of
returning. This is very often the case with eager sportsmen, as they
follow the game till quite exhausted, and only then it strikes them that
they have got as long a walk back as they had in going out. I recollect
this happening once to myself. I had walked so far away into the forest
after wild-fowl, that I forgot time and distance in the ardour of the
pursuit, and only thought of returning when quite knocked up. The walk
back was truly wretched. I was obliged to rest every ten minutes, as,
besides being tired, I became faint from hunger. On the way I stumbled
on the nest of a plover, with one egg in it. This was a great
acquisition; so seating myself on a stone, I made my dinner of it raw.
Being very small, it did not do me much good, but it inspired me with
courage; and, making a last effort, I reached the encampment in a very
unenviable state of exhaustion.
After an hour's walk, Crusty and I arrived at the place where we left
the canoe.
Our first care was to select a dry spot whereon to sleep, which was not
an easy matter in such a swampy place. We found one at last, however,
under the shelter of a small willow bush. Thither we dragged the canoe,
and turned it bottom up, intending to creep in below it when we retired
to rest. After a long search on the sea-shore, we found a sufficiency
of driftwood to make a fire, which we carried up to the encampment, and
placed in a heap in front of the canoe. This was soon kindled by means
of a flint and steel, and the forked flames began in a few minutes to
rise and leap around the branches, throwing the swampy point into deeper
shadow, making the sea look cold and black, and the ice upon its surface
ghost-like. The interior of our inverted canoe looked really quite
cheerful and snug, under the influence of the fire's rosy light. And
when we had spread our blankets under it, plucked and cleaned two of the
fattest ducks, and stuck them on sticks before the blaze to roast, we
agreed that there were worse things in nature than an encampment in the
swamps.
Ere long the night became pitchy dark; but although we could see
nothing, yet ever and anon the whistling wings of ducks became audible,
as they passed in flocks overhead. So often did they pass in this way,
that at last I was tempted to try to get a shot at them, notwithstanding
the apparent hopelessness of such an attempt. Seizing my gun, and
leaving strict injunctions with Crusty to attend to the roasting of my
widgeon, I sallied forth, and, after getting beyond the light of the
fire, endeavoured to peer through the gloom. Nothing was to be seen,
however. Flocks of ducks were passing quite near, for I heard their
wings whizzing as they flew, but they were quite invisible; so at last,
becoming tired of standing up to my knees in water, I pointed my gun at
random at the next flock that passed, and fired. After the shot, I
listened intently for a few seconds, and the next moment a splash in the
water apprised me that the shot had taken effect. After a long search I
found the bird, and returned to my friend Crusty, whom I threw into a
state of consternation by pitching the dead duck into his lap as he sat
winking and rubbing his hands before the warm blaze.
Supper in these out-of-the-way regions is never long in the eating, and
on the present occasion we finished it very quickly, being both hungry
and fatigued. That over, we heaped fresh logs upon the fire, wrapped
our green blankets round us, and nestling close together, as much
underneath our canoe as possible, courted the drowsy god. In this
courtship I was unsuccessful for some time, and lay gazing on the
flickering flames of the watch-fire, which illuminated the grass of the
marsh a little distance round, and listening, in a sort of dreamy
felicity, to the occasional cry of a wakeful plover, or starting
suddenly at the flapping wings of a huge owl, which, attracted by the
light of our fire, wheeled slowly round, gazing on us in a kind of
solemn astonishment, till, scared by the sounds that proceeded from
Crusty's nasal organ, it flew with a scream into the dark night air; and
again all was silent save the protracted, solemn, sweeping boom of the
distant waves, as they rolled at long intervals upon the sea-shore.
During the night we were awakened by a shower of rain falling upon our
feet and as much of our legs as the canoe was incapable of protecting.
Pulling them up more under shelter, at the expense of exposing our knees
and elbows--for the canoe could not completely cover us--we each gave a
mournful grunt, and dropped off again.
Morning broke with unclouded splendour, and we rose from our grassy
couch with alacrity to resume our sport; but I will not again drag my
patient reader through the Point of Marsh.
In the afternoon, having spent our ammunition, we launched our light
canoe, and after an hour's paddle up the river, arrived, laden with game
and splashed with mud, at York Factory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. Quicksilver easily freezes; and it has frequently been run into
a bullet mould, exposed to the cold air till frozen, and in this state
rammed down a gun barrel, and fired through a thick plank.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 2. The thousands of frogs that fill the swamps of America whistle
or chirp so exactly like little birds, that many people, upon hearing
them for the first time, have mistaken them for the feathered songsters
of the groves. Their only fault is that they scarcely ever cease
singing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 3. The traveller sits, or rather lies in it, wrapped in buffalo
robes; while the dogs are urged forward by a man who walks behind, and
prevents the machine from upsetting, which it is very liable to do, from
the inequalities of the ground over which it sometimes passes.