Produced by Juliet Sutherland, John R. Bilderback, Charles
Franks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. This
file was produced from images generously made available
by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions.
Editorial note:
This book is essentially identical to LADY MARY AND HER NURSE,
by Mrs. Traill, Project Gutenberg EBook #6479, but the two come
from different sources.
IN THE FOREST
or, PICTURES OF LIFE AND SCENERY IN THE WOODS OF CANADA
A TALE BY MRS. TRAILL
WITH 19 ILLUSTRATIONS
1881
[Illustration: A NARROW ESCAPE]
CHAPTER I
The Flying Squirrel--Its Food--Story of a Wolf--Indian Village--Wild
Rice
CHAPTER II
Sleighing--Sleigh Robes--Fur Caps--Otter Skins--Old Snow-Storm--Otter
Hunting--Otter Slides--Indian Names--Remarks on Wild Animals and their
Habits
CHAPTER III
PART I--Lady Mary reads to Mrs. Frazer the First Part of the History
of the Squirrel Family
PART II--Which tells how the Gray Squirrels fared while they remained on
Pine Island--How they behaved to their poor Relations, the Chipmunks--And
what happens to them in the Forest
PART III--How the Squirrels got to the Mill at the Rapids--And what
happened to the Velvet-paw
CHAPTER IV
Squirrels--The Chipmunks--Docility of a Pet One--Roguery of a Yankee
Pedlar--Return of the Musical Chipmunk to his Master's Bosom--Sagacity
of a Black Squirrel
CHAPTER V
Indian Baskets--Thread Plants--Maple Sugar Tree--Indian Ornamental
Works--Racoons
CHAPTER VI.
Canadian Birds--Snow Sparrow--Robin Redbreast--Canadian Flowers--American
Porcupine
CHAPTER VII.
Indian Bag--Indian Embroidery--Beaver's Tail--Beaver Architecture--Habits
of the Beaver--Beaver Tools--Beaver Meadows
CHAPTER VIII.
Indian Boy and his Pets--Tame Beaver at Home--Kitten, Wildfire--Pet
Racoon and the Spaniel Puppies--Canadian Flora
CHAPTER IX.
Nurse tells Lady Mary about a Little Boy who was eaten by a Bear in
the Province of New Brunswick--Of a Baby who was carried away but taken
alive--A Walk in the Garden--Humming Birds--Canadian Balsams
CHAPTER X.
Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, most frequently seen in northern
Climates--Called Merry Dancers--Rose Tints--Tintlike Appearance--Lady
Mary frightened
CHAPTER XI.
Strawberries--Canadian Wild Fruits--Wild Raspberries--The Hunter and
the Lost Child--Cranberries--Cranberry Marshes--Nuts
CHAPTER XII.
Garter snakes--Rattle-snakes--Anecdote of a Little Boy--Fisherman
and Snake--Snake Charmers--Spiders--Land Tortoise
CHAPTER XIII.
Ellen and her Pet Fawns--Docility of Fan--Jack's Droll Tricks--
Affectionate Wolf--Fall Flowers--Departure of Lady Mary--The End.
List of Illustrations.
LADY MARY AND THE NOSEGAY
A NARROW ESCAPE
THE FLYING SQUIRREL
ADVENTURE WITH A WOLF
INDIAN WIGWAMS
THE OTTERS
DOLLY'S SLEIGH RIDE
LADY MARY READING HER PICTURE BOOK
THE GRAY SQUIRREL AND THE CHIPMUNKS
THE PET SQUIRREL
NIMBLE RECOVERING HIS SISTER
WATCHING THE BIRDS
THE PRESENT FROM FATHER
BEAVERS MAKING A DAM
"CAUGHT AT LAST"
THE AURORA BOREALIS
THE LOST CHILD AND THE BEARS
A BOY HERO
THE INDIAN HUNTER
IN THE FOREST.
CHAPTER I.
THE FLYING SQUIRREL--ITS FOOD--STORY OF A WOLF--INDIAN VILLAGE--WILD RICE.
"Nurse, what is the name of that pretty creature you have in
your hand? What bright eyes it has! What a soft tail--just like a gray
feather! Is it a little beaver?" asked the Governor's little daughter,
as her nurse came into the room where her young charge, whom we shall
call Lady Mary, was playing with her doll.
Carefully sheltered against her breast, its velvet nose just peeping
from beneath her muslin neckerchief, the nurse held a small gray-furred
animal, of the most delicate form and colour.
"No, my lady," she replied, "this is not a young beaver; a beaver is
a much larger animal. A beaver's tail is not covered with fur; it is
scaly, broad, and flat; it looks something like black leather, not
very unlike that of my seal-skin slippers. The Indians eat beavers'
tails at their great feasts, and think they make an excellent dish."
"If they are black, and look like leather shoes, I am very sure I should
not like to eat them; so, if you please, Mrs. Frazer, do not let me
have any beavers' tails cooked for my dinner," said the little lady,
in a very decided tone.
"Indeed, my lady," replied her nurse, smiling, "it would not be an
easy thing to obtain, if you wished to taste one, for beavers are not
brought to our market. It is only the Indians and hunters who know
how to trap them, and beavers are not so plentiful as they used to
be."
Mrs. Frazer would have told Lady Mary a great deal about the way
in which the trappers take the beavers, but the little girl interrupted
her by saying, "Please, nurse, will you tell me the name of your pretty
pet? Ah, sweet thing, what bright eyes you have!" she added, caressing
the soft little head which was just seen from beneath the folds of
the muslin handkerchief to which it timidly nestled, casting furtive
glances at the admiring child, while the panting of its breast told
the mortal terror that shook its frame whenever the little girl's hand
was advanced to coax its soft back.
[Illustration: THE FLYING SQUIRREL]
"It is a flying squirrel, Lady Mary," replied her nurse; "one of my
brothers caught it a month ago, when he was chopping in the forest.
He thought it might amuse your ladyship, and so he tamed it and sent
it to me in a basket filled with moss, with some acorns, and
hickory-nuts, and beech-mast for him to eat on his journey, for the
little fellow has travelled a long way: he came from the beech-woods
near the town of Coburg, in the Upper Province."
"And where is Coburg, nurse? Is it a large city like Montreal or
Quebec?"
"No, my lady; it is a large town on the shores of the great Lake
Ontario."
"And are there many woods near it?"
"Yes; but not so many as there used to be many years ago. The forest
is almost all cleared, and there are fields of wheat and Indian corn,
and nice farms and pretty houses, where a few years back the lofty
forest grew dark and thick."
"Nurse, you said there were acorns, and hickory-nuts, and beech-mast
in the basket. I have seen acorns at home in dear England and
Scotland, and I have eaten the hickory-nuts here; but what is
beech-mast? Is it in granaries for winter stores; and wild ducks
and wild pigeons come from the far north at the season when the
beech-mast fall, to eat them; for God teaches these, His creatures,
to know the times and the seasons when His bounteous hand is open to
give them food from His boundless store. A great many other birds and
beasts also feed upon the beech-mast."
"It was very good of your brother to send me this pretty creature,
nurse," said the little lady; "I will ask Papa to give him some
money."
"There is no need of that, Lady Mary. My brother is not in want; he
has a farm in the Upper Province, and is very well off."
"I am glad he is well off," said Lady Mary; "indeed, I do not see so
many beggars here as in England."
"People need not beg in Canada, if they are well and strong and can
work; a poor man can soon earn enough money to keep himself and his
little ones."
"Nurse, will you be so kind as to ask Campbell to get a pretty cage
for my squirrel? I will let him live close to my dormice, who will be
pleasant company for him, and I will feed him every day myself with
nuts and sugar, and sweet cake and white bread. Now do not tremble and
look so frightened, as though I were going to hurt you; and pray, Mr
Squirrel, do not bite. Oh! nurse, nurse, the wicked, spiteful creature
has bitten my finger! See, see, it has made it bleed! Naughty thing!
I will not love you if you bite. Pray, nurse, bind up my finger, or it
will soil my frock."
Great was the pity bestowed upon the wound by Lady Mary's kind attendant,
till the little girl, tired of hearing so much said about the bitten
finger, gravely desired her maid to go in search of the cage and catch
the truant, which had effected its escape, and was clinging to the
curtains of the bed. The cage was procured--a large wooden cage, with
an outer and an inner chamber, a bar for the little fellow to swing
himself on, a drawer for his food, and a little dish for his water.
The sleeping-room was furnished by the nurse with soft wool, and a
fine store of nuts was put in the drawer; all his wants were well
supplied, and Lady Mary watched the catching of the little animal with
much interest. Great was the activity displayed by the runaway squirrel,
and still greater the astonishment evinced by the Governor's little
daughter at the flying leaps made by the squirrel in its attempts to elude
the grasp of its pursuers. "It flies! I am sure it must have wings. Look,
look, nurse! it is here, now it is on the wall, now on the curtains!
It must have wings; but it has no feathers!"
"It has, no wings, dear lady, but it has a fine ridge of fur that covers
a strong sinew or muscle between the fore and hinder legs; and it is
by the help of this muscle that it is able to spring so far and so
fast; and its claws are so sharp, that it can cling to a wall or any
flat surface. The black and red squirrels, and the common gray, can
jump very far and run up the bark of the trees very fast, but not so
fast as the flying squirrel."
At last Lady Mary's maid, with the help of one of the housemaids,
succeeded in catching the squirrel and securing him within his cage. But
though Lady Mary tried all her words of endearment to coax the little
creature to eat some of the good things that had been provided so
liberally for his entertainment, he remained sullen and motionless at the
bottom of the cage. A captive is no less a captive in a cage with gilded
bars and with dainties to eat, than if rusted iron shut him in, and kept
him from enjoying his freedom. It is for dear liberty that he pines and is
sad, even in the midst of plenty!
"Dear nurse, why does my little squirrel tremble and look so unhappy?
Tell me if he wants anything to eat that we have not given him. Why
does he not lie down and sleep on the nice soft bed you have made for
him in his little chamber? See, he has not tasted the nice sweet cake
and sugar that I gave him."
"He is not used to such dainties, Lady Mary. In the forest he feeds
upon hickory-nuts, and butternuts, and acorns, and beech-mast, and
the buds of the spruce, fir and pine kernels, and many other seeds
and nuts and berries that we could not get for him; he loves grain
too, and Indian corn. He sleeps on green moss and leaves, and fine
fibres of grass and roots, and drinks heaven's blessed dew, as it lies
bright and pure upon the herbs of the field."
"Dear little squirrel! pretty creature! I know now what makes you sad.
You long to be abroad among your own green woods, and sleeping on the
soft green moss, which is far prettier than this ugly cotton wool.
But you shall stay with me, my sweet one, till the cold winter is past
and gone, and the spring flowers have come again; and then, my pretty
squirrel, I will take you out of your dull cage, and we will go to
St. Helen's green island, and I will let you go free; but I will put
a scarlet collar about your neck before I let you go, that if any one
finds you, they may know that you are my squirrel. Were you ever in
the green forest, nurse? I hear papa talk about the 'Bush' and the
'Backwoods;' it must be very pleasant in the summer to live among the
green trees. Were you ever there?"
"Yes, dear lady; I did live in the woods when I was a child. I was born in
a little log-shanty, far, far away up the country, near a beautiful lake
called Rice Lake, among woods, and valleys, and hills covered with
flowers, and groves of pine, and white and black oaks."
"Stop, nurse, and tell me why they are called black and white; are the
flowers black and white?"
"No, my lady; it is because the wood of the one is darker than the
other, and the leaves of the black oak are dark and shining, while
those of the white oak are brighter and lighter. The black oak is a
beautiful tree. When I was a young girl, I used to like to climb the
sides of the steep valleys, and look down upon the tops of the oaks
that grew beneath, and to watch the wind lifting the boughs all glittering
in the moonlight; they looked like a sea of ruffled green water. It
is very solemn, Lady Mary, to be in the woods by night, and to hear
no sound but the cry of the great wood-owl, or the voice of the
whip-poor-will, calling to his fellow from the tamarack swamp, or,
may be, the timid bleating of a fawn that has lost its mother, or the
howl of a wolf."
"Nurse, I should be so afraid; I am sure I should cry if I heard the
wicked wolves howling in the dark woods by night. Did you ever know any
one who was eaten by a wolf?"
"No, my lady; the Canadian wolf is a great coward. I have heard the
hunters say that they never attack any one unless there is a great
flock together and the man is alone and unarmed. My uncle used to go
out a great deal hunting, sometimes by torchlight, and sometimes on
the lake, in a canoe with the Indians; and he shot and trapped a great
many wolves and foxes and racoons. He has a great many heads of wild
animals nailed up on the stoup in front of his log-house."
"Please tell me what a stoup is, nurse?"
"A verandah, my lady, is the same thing, only the old Dutch settlers
gave it the name of a stoup, and the stoup is heavier and broader,
and not quite so nicely made as a verandah. One day my uncle was crossing
the lake on the ice; it was a cold winter afternoon, he was in a hurry
to take some food to his brothers, who were drawing pine-logs in the
bush. He had, besides a bag of meal and flour, a new axe on his shoulder.
He heard steps as of a dog trotting after him; he turned his head,
and there he saw, close at his heels, a big, hungry-looking gray wolf;
he stopped and faced about, and the big beast stopped and showed his
white sharp teeth. My uncle did not feel afraid, but looked steadily
at the wolf, as much as to say, 'Follow me if you dare,' and walked
on. When my uncle stopped, the wolf stopped; when he went on, the beast
also went on."
"I would have run away," said Lady Mary.
"If my uncle had let the wolf see that he was afraid of him, he would
have grown bolder, and have run after him and seized him. All animals
are afraid of brave men, but not of cowards. When the beast came too
near, my uncle faced him and showed the bright axe, and the wolf then
shrank back a few paces. When my uncle got near the shore, he heard
a long wild cry, as if from twenty wolves at once. It might have been
the echoes from the islands that increased the sound; but it was very
frightful and made his blood chill, for he knew that without his rifle
he should stand a poor chance against a large pack of hungry wolves.
Just then a gun went off; he heard the wolf give a terrible yell, he
felt the whizzing of a bullet pass him, and turning about, saw the
wolf lying dead on the ice. A loud shout from the cedars in front told
him from whom the shot came; it was my father, who had been on the
look-out on the lake shore, and he had fired at and hit the wolf when
he saw that he could do so without hurting his brother."
"Nurse, it would have been a sad thing if the gun had shot your uncle."
"It would; but my father was one of the best shots in the district,
and could hit a white spot on the bark of a tree with a precision that
was perfectly wonderful. It was an old Indian from Buckhorn Lake who
taught him to shoot deer by torchlight and to trap beavers."
"Well, I am glad that horrid wolf was killed, for wolves eat sheep
and lambs; and I daresay they would devour my little squirrel if they
could get him. Nurse, please to tell me again the name of the lake
near which you were born."
"It is called Rice Lake, my lady. It is a fine piece of water, more
than twenty miles long, and from three to five miles broad. It has
pretty wooded islands, and several rivers or streams empty themselves
into it. The Otonabee River is a fine broad stream, which flows through
the forest a long way. Many years ago, there were no clearings on the
banks, and no houses, only Indian tents or wigwams; but now there are
a great many houses and farms."
"What are wigwams?"
"A sort of light tent, made with poles stuck into the ground in a circle,
fastened together at the top, and covered on the outside with skins
of wild animals, or with birch bark. The Indians light a fire of sticks
and logs on the ground, in the middle of the wigwam, and lie or sit
all round it; the smoke goes up to the top and escapes. Or sometimes,
in the warm summer weather, they kindle their fire without, and their
squaws, or wives, attend to it; while they go hunting in the forest,
or, mounted on swift horses, pursue the trail of their enemies. In
the winter, they bank up the wigwam with snow, and make it very warm."
[Illustration: INDIAN WIGWAMS]
"I think it must be a very ugly sort of house, and I am glad I do not
live in an Indian wigwam," said the little lady.
"The Indians are a very simple folk, my lady, and do not need fine
houses like this in which your papa lives. They do not know the names
or uses of half the fine things that are in the houses of the white
people. They are happy and contented without them. It is not the richest
that are happiest, Lady Mary, and the Lord careth for the poor and
the lowly. There is a village on the shores of Rice Lake where the
Indians live. It is not very pretty. The houses are all built of logs,
and some of them have gardens and orchards. They have a neat church,
and they have a good minister, who takes great pains to teach them
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The poor Indians were Pagans until
within the last few years." "What are Pagans, nurse?"
"People, Lady Mary, who do not believe in God and the Lord Jesus Christ,
our blessed Saviour."
"Nurse, is there real rice growing in the Rice Lake? I heard my governess
say that rice grew only in warm countries. Now, your lake must be
very cold if your uncle walked across the ice."
"This rice, my lady, is not real rice. I heard a gentleman tell my
father that it was, properly speaking, a species of oats [Footnote:
Zizania, or water oats]--water oats, he called it; but the common name
for it is wild rice. This wild rice grows in vast beds in the lake
in patches of many acres. It will grow in water from eight to ten or
twelve feet deep; the grassy leaves float upon the water like long
narrow green ribbons. In the month of August, the stem that is to bear
the flower and the grain rises straight up above the surface, and light
delicate blossoms come out of a pale straw colour and lilac. They are
very pretty, and wave in the wind with a rustling noise. In the month
of October, when the rice is ripe, the leaves torn yellow, and the
rice-heads grow heavy and droop; then the squaws--as the Indian women
are called--go out in their birch-bark canoes, holding in one hand
a stick, in the other a short curved paddle with a sharp edge. With
this they bend down the rice across the stick and strike off the heads,
which fall into the canoe, as they push it along through the rice-beds.
In this way they collect a great many bushels in the course of the
day. The wild rice is not the least like the rice which your ladyship
has eaten; it is thin, and covered with a light chaffy husk. The colour
of the grain itself is a brownish-green, or olive, smooth, shining,
and brittle. After separating the outward chaff, the squaws put by
a large portion of the clean rice in its natural state for sale; for
this they get from a dollar and a half to two dollars a bushel. Some
they parch, either in large pots, or on mats made of the inner bark
of cedar or bass wood, beneath which they light a slow fire, and plant
around it a temporary hedge of green boughs closely set, to prevent
the heat from escaping; they also drive stakes into the ground, over
which they stretch the matting at a certain height above the fire.
On this they spread the green rice, stirring it about with wooden paddles
till it is properly parched; this is known by its bursting and showing
the white grain of the flour. When quite cool it is stowed away in
troughs, scooped out of butter-nut wood, or else sewed up in sheets
of birch bark or bass-mats, or in coarsely-made birch-bark baskets."
"And is the rice good to eat, nurse?"
"Some people like it as well as the white rice of Carolina; but it does
not look so well. It is a great blessing to the poor Indians, who boil it
in their soups, or eat it with maple molasses. And they eat it when
parched without any other cooking, when they are on a long journey in the
woods, or on the lakes. I have often eaten nice puddings made of it with
milk. The deer feed upon the green rice. They swim into the water and eat
the green leaves and tops. The Indians go out at night to shoot the deer
on the water; they listen for them, and shoot them in the dark. The wild
ducks and water-fowls come down in great flocks to fatten on the ripe rice
in the fall of the year; also large flocks of rice buntings and red wings,
which make their roosts among the low willows, flags, and lilies, close to
the shallows of the lake."
"It seems very useful to birds as well as to men and beasts," said little
Lady Mary.
"Yes, my lady, and to fishes also, I make no doubt; for the good God
has cast it so abundantly abroad on the waters, that I daresay they
also have their share. When the rice is fully ripe, the sun shining
on it gives it a golden hue, just like a field of ripened grain.
Surrounded by the deep-blue waters, it looks very pretty."
"I am very much obliged to you nurse, for telling me so much about
the Indian rice, and I will ask mamma to let me have some one day for
my dinner, that I may know how it tastes."
Just then Lady Mary's governess came to bid her nurse dress her for
a sleigh-ride, and so for the present we shall leave her; but we will
tell our little readers something more in another chapter about Lady
Mary and her flying squirrel.
CHAPTER II.
SLEIGHING--SLEIGH ROBES--FUR CAPS--OTTER SKINS--OLD SNOW-STORM--OTTER
HUNTING--OTTER SLIDES--INDIAN NAMES--REMARKS ON WILD ANIMALS AND THEIR
HABITS
Nurse, we have had a very nice sleigh-drive. I like sleighing very
much over the white snow. The trees look so pretty, as if they were
covered with white flowers, and the ground sparkled just like mamma's
diamonds."
"It is pleasant, Lady Mary, to ride through the woods on a bright sunshiny
day, after a fresh fall of snow. The young evergreens, hemlocks, balsams,
and spruce-trees, are loaded with great masses of the new-fallen snow;
while the slender saplings of the beech, birch, and basswood (the lime or
linden) are bent down to the very ground, making bowers so bright and
beautiful, you would be delighted to see them. Sometimes, as you drive
along, great masses of the snow come showering down upon you; but it is so
light and dry, that it shakes off without wetting you. It is pleasant to
be wrapped up in warm blankets, or buffalo robes, at the bottom of a
lumber-sleigh, and to travel through the forest by moonlight; the merry
bells echoing through the silent woods, and the stars just peeping down
through the frosted trees, which sparkle like diamonds in the moonbeams."
"Nurse, I should like to take a drive through the forest in winter.
It is so nice to hear the sleigh-bells. We used sometimes to go out
in the snow in Scotland, but we were in the carriage, and had no bells."
"No, Lady Mary; the snow seldom lies long enough in the old country
to make it worth while to have sleighs there; but in Russia and Sweden,
and other cold Northern countries, they use sleighs with bells."
Lady Mary ran to the little bookcase where she had a collection of
children's books, and very soon found a picture of Laplanders and Russians
wrapped in furs.
"How long will the winter last, nurse?" said the child, after she had
tired herself with looking at the prints, "a long, long time--a great
many weeks?--a great many months?"
"Yes, my lady; five or six months."
"Oh, that is nice--nearly half a year of white snow, and sleigh-drives
every day, and bells ringing all the time! I tried to make out a tune,
but they only seemed to say, 'Up-hill, up-hill! down-hill, down-hill!'
all the way. Nurse, please tell me what are sleigh-robes made of?"
"Some sleigh-robes, Lady Mary, are made of bear-skins, lined with red
or blue flannel; some are of wolf-skins, lined with bright scarlet
cloth; and some of racoon, the commonest are buffalo-skins; I have
seen some of deer-skins, but these last are not so good, as the hair
comes off, and they are not so warm as the skins of the furred or
woolly-coated animals"
"I sometimes see long tails hanging down over the backs of the sleigh and
cutters--they look very pretty, like the end of mamma's boa."
"The wolf and racoon skin robes are generally made up with the tails, and
sometimes the heads of the animals are also left. I noticed the head of a
wolf, with its sharp ears, and long white teeth, looking very fierce, at
the back of a cutter, the other day."
"Nurse, that must have looked very droll. Do you know I saw a gentleman
the other day, walking with papa, who had a fox-skin cap on his head, and
the fox's nose was just peeping over his shoulder, and the tail hung down
his back, and I saw its bright black eyes looking so cunning I thought it
must be alive, and that it had curled itself round his head; but the
gentleman took it off, and showed me that the eyes were glass."
"Some hunters, Lady Mary, make caps of otter, mink, or badger skins, and
ornament them with the tails, heads, and claws."
"I have seen a picture of the otter, nurse; it is a pretty, soft-looking
thing, with a round head and black eyes. Where do otters live?"
"The Canadian otters, Lady Mary, live in holes in the banks of sedgy,
shallow lakes, mill-ponds, and sheltered creeks. The Indian hunters
find their haunts by tracking their steps in the snow; for an Indian
or Canadian hunter knows the track made by any bird or beast, from
the deep broad print of the bear, to the tiny one of the little
shrewmouse, which is the smallest four-footed beast in this or any other
country.
"Indians catch the otter, and many other wild animals, in a sort of
trap, which they call a 'deadfall.' Wolves are often so trapped, and
then shot. The Indians catch the otter for the sake of its dark shining
fur, which is used by the hatters and furriers Old Jacob Snow-storm,
an old Indian who lived on the banks of the Rice Lake, used to catch
otters; and I have often listened to him, and laughed at his stories."
"Do, please, nurse, tell me what old Jacob Snow-storm told you about
the otters; I like to hear stories about wild beasts. But what a droll
surname Snow-storm is!"
"Yes, Lady Mary; Indians have very odd names; they are called after
all sorts of strange things. They do not name the children, as we do,
soon after they are born, but wait for some remarkable circumstance,
some dream or accident. Some call them after the first strange animal
or bird that appears to the new-born. Old Snow-storm most likely owed
his name to a heavy fall of snow when he was a baby. I knew a chief
named Musk-rat, and a pretty Indian girl who was named
'Badau'-bun'--_Light of the Morning._"
"And what is the Indian name for Old Snow-storm?"
"'Be-che-go-ke-poor,' my lady."
Lady Mary said it was a funny sounding name, and not at all like
Snow-storm, which she liked a great deal better; and she was much amused
while her nurse repeated to her some names of squaws and papooses (Indian
women and children); such as Long Thrush, Little Fox, Running Stream,
Snowbird, Red Cloud, Young Eagle, Big Bush, and many others.
"Now, nurse, will you tell me some more about Jacob Snow-storm and
the otters?"
"Well, Lady Mary, the old man had a cap of otter-skin, of which he
was very proud, and only wore on great days. One day as he was playing
with it, he said:--'Otter funny fellow; he like play too, sometimes.
Indian go hunting up Ottawa, that great big river, you know. Go one
moonlight night; lie down under bushes in snow; see lot of little fellow
and big fellow at play. Run up and down bank; bank all ice. Sit down
top of bank; good slide there. Down he go splash into water; out again.
Funny fellow those!' And then the old hunter threw hack his head, and
laughed, till you could have seen all his white teeth, he opened his
mouth so wide."
[Illustration: The Otters]
Lady Mary was very much amused at the comical way in which the old
Indian talked.
"Can otters swim, nurse?"
"Yes, Lady Mary, the good God who has created all things well, has
given to this animal webbed feet, which enable it to swim, and it can
also dive down in the deep water, where it finds fish and mussels,
and perhaps the roots of some water-plants to eat. It makes very little
motion or disturbance in the water when it goes down in search of its
prey. Its coat is thick, and formed of two kinds of hair; the outer
hair is long, silky, and shining; the under part is short, fine, and
warm. The water cannot penetrate to wet them,--the oily nature of the
fur throws off the moisture. They dig large holes with their claws,
which are short, but very strong. They line their nests with dry grass,
and rushes, and roots gnawed fine, and do not pass the winter in sleep,
as the dormice, flying squirrels, racoons, and bears do. They are very
innocent and playful, both when young, and even after they grow old.
The lumberers often tame them, and they become so docile that they
will come at a call or whistle. Like all wild animals, they are most
lively at night, when they come out to feed and play."
"Dear little things! I should like to have a tame otter to play with,
and run after me; but do you think he would eat my squirrel? You know
cats will eat squirrels--so mamma says."
"Cats belong to a very different class of animals; they are beasts
of prey, formed to spring and bound, and tear with their teeth and
claws. The otter is also a beast of prey, but its prey is found in
the still waters, and not on the land; it can neither climb nor leap.
So I do not think he would hurt your squirrel, if you had one."
"See, nurse, my dear little squirrel is still where I left him, clinging
to the wires of the cage, his bright eyes looking like two black beads."
"As soon as it grows dark he will begin to be more lively, and perhaps
he will eat something, but not while we look at him--he is too shy
for that." "Nurse, how can they see to eat in the dark?"
"The good God, Lady Mary, has so formed their eyes that they can see
best by night. I will read you, Lady Mary, a few verses from Psalm
civ.:--
"'Verse 19. He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth
his going down.
"'20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beast
of the forest do creep forth. "'21. The young lions roar after their
prey, and seek their meat from God.
"'22. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them
down in their dens.
"'23. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour, until the evening.
"'24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made
them all: the earth is full of thy riches.'
"Thus you see, my dear lady, that our heavenly Father taketh care of
all his creatures, and provideth for them both by day and by night."
"I remember, nurse, that my dormice used to lie quite still, nestled
among the moss and wool in their little dark chamber in the cage, all
day long; but when it was night they used to come out and frisk about,
and run along the wires, and play all sorts of tricks, chasing one
another round and round, and they were not afraid of me, but would
let me look at them while they ate a nut, or a hit of sugar; and the
dear little things would drink out of their little white saucer, and
wash their faces and tails--it was so pretty to see them!"
"Did you notice, Lady Mary, how the dormice held their food?"
"Yes; they sat up, and held it in their fore-paws, which looked just
like tiny hands."
"There are many animals whose fore-feet resemble hands, and these,
generally, convey their food to their mouths--among these are the squirrel
and dormice. They are good climbers and diggers. You see, my dear young
lady, how the merciful Creator has given to all his creatures, however
lowly, the best means of supplying their wants, whether of food or
shelter."
"Indeed, nurse. I have learned a great deal about squirrels, Canadian
rice, otters, and Indians; but, if you please, I must now have a little
play with my doll. Good-bye, Mrs. Frazer; pray take care of my dear
little squirrel, and mind that he does not fly away." And Lady Mary
was soon busily engaged in drawing her wax doll about the nursery in
a little sleigh lined with red squirrel fur robes, and talking to her
as all children like to talk to their dolls, whether they be rich or
poor--the children of peasants, or governors' daughters.
[Illustration: Dolly's Sleigh-Ride]
CHAPTER III.
LADY MARY READS TO MRS. FRAZER THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE
SQUIRREL FAMILY.
One day Lady Mary came to her nurse, and putting her arms about her
neck, whispered to her,--"Mrs. Frazer, my dear good governess has given
me something--it is in my hand," and she slily held her hand behind
her--"will you guess what it is?"
"Is it a book, my lady?"
"Yes, yes, it is a book, a pretty book; and see, here are pictures
of squirrels in it. Mrs. Frazer, if you like, I will sit down on this
cushion by you and read some of my new book. It does not seem very
hard."
Then Mrs. Frazer took out her work-basket and sat down to sew, and Lady
Mary began to read the little story, which, I hope, may entertain my
little readers as much as it did the Governor's daughter.
* * * * *
PART I
THE HISTORY OF A SQUIRREL FAMILY.
[Illustration: LADY MARY READING HER PICTURE-BOOK.]
It must be a pleasant thing to be a squirrel, and live a life of freedom
in the boundless forests; to leap and bound among the branches of the
tall trees, to gambol in the deep shade of the cool glossy leaves,
through the long warm summer day; to gather the fresh nuts and berries;
to drink the pure dews of heaven, all bright and sparkling from the
opening flowers; to sleep on soft beds of moss and thistle-down in
some hollow branch rocked by the wind as in a cradle. Yet, though this
was the happy life led by a family of pretty gray squirrels that had
their dwelling in the hoary branch of an old oak-tree that grew on
one of the rocky islands in a beautiful lake in Upper Canada, called
_Stony Lake_ (because it was full of rocky islands), these little
creatures were far from being contented, and were always wishing for a
change. Indeed, they had been very happy, till one day when a great black
squirrel swam to the island and paid them a visit. He was a very fine
handsome fellow, nearly twice as large as any of the gray squirrels; he
had a tail that flourished over his back, when he set it up, like a great
black feather; his claws were sharp and strong, and his eyes very round
and bright; he had upright ears, and long, sharp teeth, of which he
made good use. The old gray squirrels called him cousin, and invited
him to dinner. They very civilly set before him some acorns and beechnuts;
but he proved a hungry visitor, and ate as much as would have fed the
whole family for a week. After the gray squirrels had cleared away
the shells and scraps, they asked their greedy guest where he came
from, when Blackie told them he was a great traveller, and had seen
many wonderful things; that he had once lived on a forked pine at the
head of the Waterfall, but being tired of a dull life, he had gone
out on his travels to see the world; that he had been down the lake,
and along the river shore, where there were great places cut out in
the thick forest, called clearings, where some very tall creatures
lived, who were called men and women, with young ones called children;
that though they were not so pretty as squirrels--for they had no fur
on them, and were obliged to make clothes to cover them and keep them
warm--they were very useful, and sowed corn and planted fruit-trees
and roots for squirrels to eat, and even built large grain stores to
keep it safe and dry for them.
This seemed very strange, and the simple little gray squirrels were very
much pleased, and said they should like very much to go down the lakes
too, and see these wonderful things.
The black squirrel then told them that there were many things to be seen
in these clearings; that there were large beasts, called oxen, and cows,
and sheep, and pigs; and these creatures had houses built for them to live
in; and all the men and women seemed to employ themselves about, was
feeding and taking care of them.
Now this cunning fellow never told his simple cousins that the oxen had to
bear a heavy wooden yoke and chain, and were made to work very hard; nor
that the cows were fed that they might give milk to the children; nor that
the pigs were fatted to make pork; nor that the sheep had their warm
fleeces cut off every year that the settlers might have the wool to spin
and weave. Blackie did not say that the men carried guns, and the dogs
were fierce, and would hunt poor squirrels from tree to tree, frightening
them almost to death with their loud, angry barking; that cats haunted the
barns and houses; and, in short, that there were dangers as well as
pleasures to be met with in these clearings; and that the barns were built
to shelter the grain for men, and not for the benefit of squirrels.
The black squirrel proved rather a troublesome guest, for he stayed
several days, and ate so heartily, that the old gray squirrels were
obliged to hint that he had better go back to the clearings, where there
was so much food, for that their store was nearly done.
When Blackie found that all the nice nuts were eaten, and that even
pine-kernels and beech-nuts were becoming scarce, he went away, saying
that he should soon come again.
The old gray squirrels were glad when they saw the tip of Blackie's tail
disappear, as he whisked down the trunk of the old oak; but their young
ones were very sorry that he was gone, for they liked very much to listen
to all his wonderful stories, which they thought were true; and they told
their father and mother how they wished they would leave the dull island
and the old tree, and go down the lakes, and see the wonderful things that
their black cousin had described.
But the old ones shook their heads, and said they feared
there was more fiction than truth in the tales they had heard, and
that if they were wise they would stay where they were. "What do you
want more, my dear children," said their mother, "than you enjoy here?
Have you not this grand old oak for a palace to live in; its leaves
and branches spreading like a canopy over your heads, to shelter you
from the hot sun by day and the dews by night? Are there not moss,
dried grass, and roots beneath, to make a soft bed for you to lie upon?
and do not the boughs drop down a plentiful store of brown ripe acorns?
That silver lake, studded with islands of all shapes and sizes, produces
cool clear water for you to drink and bathe yourselves in. Look at
those flowers that droop their blossoms down to its glassy surface,
and the white lilies that rest upon its bosom,--will you see anything
fairer or better if you leave this place? Stay at home and be contented."
"If I hear any more grumbling," said their father, "I shall pinch your
ears and tails." So the little squirrels said no more, but I am sorry
to say they did not pay much heed to their wise old mother's counsels;
for whenever they were alone, all their talk was how to run away, and
go abroad to see the world, as their black cousin had called the new
settlement down the lakes. It never came into the heads of the silly
creatures that those wonderful stories they had been told originated
in an artful scheme of the greedy black squirrel, to induce them to
leave their warm pleasant house in the oak, that he and his children
might come and live in it, and get the hoards of grain, and nuts, and
acorns, that their father and mother had been laying up for winter
stores.
Moreover, the wily black squirrel had privately told them that their
father and mother intended to turn them out of the nest very soon, and
make provision for a new family. This indeed was really the case; for as
soon as young animals can provide for themselves, their parents turn them
off, and care no more for them. Very different, indeed, is this from our
parents; for they love and cherish us as long as they live, and afford us
a home and shelter as long as we need it.
Every hour these little gray squirrels grew more and more impatient
to leave the lonely little rocky island, though it was a pretty spot,
and the place of their birth; but they were now eager to go abroad
and seek their fortunes.
"Let us keep our own counsel," said Nimble-foot to his sisters Velvet-paw
and Silver-nose, "or we may chance to get our tails pulled; but be
all ready for a start by early dawn to-morrow."
Velvet-paw and Silver-nose said they would be up before sunrise, as
they should have a long voyage down the lake, and agreed to rest on
Pine Island near the opening of Clear Lake. "And then take to the shore
and travel through the woods, where, no doubt, we shall have a pleasant
time," said Nimble-foot, who was the most hopeful of the party.
The sun was scarcely yet risen over the fringe of dark pines that skirted
the shores of the lake, and a soft creamy mist hung on the surface
of the still waters, which were unruffled by the slightest breeze.
The little gray squirrels awoke, and looked sleepily out from the leafy
screen that shaded their mossy nest. The early notes of the wood-thrush
and song-sparrow, with the tender warbling of the tiny wren, sounded
sweetly in the still, dewy morning air; while from a cedar swamp was
heard the trill of the green frogs, which the squirrels thought very
pretty music. As the sun rose above the tops of the trees, the mist
rolled off in light fleecy clouds, and soon was lost in the blue sky,
or lay in large bright drops on the cool grass and shining leaves.
Then all the birds awoke, and the insects shook their gauzy wings which
had been folded all the night in the flower-cups, and the flowers began
to lift their heads, and the leaves to expand to catch the golden light.
There was a murmur on the water as it played among the sedges, and
lifted the broad floating leaves of the white water-lilies, with their
carved ivory cups; and the great green, brown, and blue dragon-flies
rose with a whirring sound, and darted to and fro among the water-flowers.
It is a glorious sight to see the sun rise at any time, for then we
can look upon him without having our eyes dazzled with the brightness
of his beams; and though there were no men and women and little children,
in the lonely waters and woods, to lift up their hands and voices in
prayer and praise to God, who makes the sun to rise each day, yet no
doubt the great Creator is pleased to see his creatures rejoice in
the blessings of light and heat.
Lightly running down the rugged bark of the old oak-tree, the little
squirrels bade farewell to their island home--to the rocks, mosses,
ferns, and flowers that had sheltered them, among which they had so
often chased each other in merry gambols. They thought little of all
this, when they launched themselves on the silver bosom of the cool
lake.
"How easy it is to swim in this clear water!" said Silver-nose to her
sister Velvet-paw. "We shall not be long in reaching yonder island, and
there, no doubt, we shall get a good breakfast."
So the little swimmers proceeded on their voyage, furrowing the calm
waters as they glided noiselessly along; their soft gray heads and
ears and round black eyes only being seen, and the bright streaks caused
by the motion of their tails, which lay flat on the surface, looking
like silver threads gently floating on the stream.
Not being much used to the fatigue of swimming, the little squirrels
were soon tired, and if it had not been for a friendly bit of stick
that happened to float near her, poor Velvet-paw would have been drowned;
however, she got up on the stick, and, setting up her fine broad tail,
went merrily on, and soon passed Nimble-foot and Silver-nose. The current
drew the stick towards the Pine Island that lay at the entrance of
Clear Lake, and Velvet-paw leaped ashore, and sat down on a mossy stone
to dry her fur, and watch for her brother and sister: they, too, found
a large piece of birch-bark which the winds had blown into the water,
and as a little breeze had sprung up to waft them along, they were
not very long before they landed on the island. They were all very
glad when they met again, after the perils and fatigues of the voyage.
The first thing to be done was to look for something to eat, for their
early rising had made them very hungry. They found abundance of pine-cones
strewn on the ground, but, alas for our little squirrels! very few
kernels in them; for the crossbills and chiccadees had been at work
for many weeks on the trees; and also many families of their poor
relations, the chitmunks or ground squirrels, had not been idle, as
our little voyagers could easily guess by the chips and empty cones
round their holes. So, weary as they were, they were obliged to run
up the tall pine and hemlock trees, to search among the cones that
grew on their very top branches. While our squirrels were busy with
the few kernels they chanced to find, they were started from their
repast by the screams of a large slate-coloured hawk, and Velvet-paw
very narrowly escaped being pounced upon and carried off in its
sharp-hooked talons. Silver-nose at the same time was nearly frightened
to death by the keen round eyes of a cunning racoon, which had come
within a few feet of the mossy branch of an old cedar, where she sat
picking the seeds out of a dry head of a blue flag-flower she had found
on the shore. Silvy, at this sight, gave a spring that left her many
yards beyond her sharp-sighted enemy.
A lively note of joy was uttered by Nimble-foot, for, perched at his ease
on a top branch of the hemlock-tree, he had seen the bound made by
Silver-nose.
"Well jumped, Silvy," said he; "Mister Coon must be a smart fellow
to equal that. But look sharp, or you will get your neck wrung yet;
I see we must keep a good look-out in this strange country."
"I begin to wish we were safe back again in our old one," whined Silvy,
who was much frightened by the danger she had just escaped.
"Pooh, pooh, child; don't be a coward," said Nimble, laughing.
"Cousin Blackie never told us there were hawks and coons on this island,"
said Vehret-paw.
"My dear, he thought we were too brave to be afraid of hawks and coons,"
said Nimble. "For my part, I think it is a fine thing to go out a little
into the world. We should never see anything better than the sky, and
the water, and the old oak-tree on that little island."
"Ay, but I think it is safer to see than to be seen," said Silvy,
"for hawks and eagles have strong beaks, and racoons sharp claws and
hungry-looking teeth; and it is not very pleasant, Nimble, to be
obliged to look out for such wicked creatures."
"Oh, true indeed," said Nimble; "if it had not been for that famous
jump you made, Silvy, and, Velvet, your two admirers, the hawk and
racoon, would soon have hid all your beauties from the world, and put
a stop to your travels."
"It is very well for brother Nimble to make light of our dangers,"
whispered Velvet-paw, "but let us see how he will jump if a big eagle
were to pounce down to carry him off."
"Yes, yes," said Silvy; "it is easy to brag before one is in danger."
The squirrels thought they would now go and look for some
partridge-berries, of which they were very fond, for the pine-kernels
were but dry husky food after all.
There were plenty of the pretty white star-shaped blossoms, growing
all over the ground under the pine-trees, but the bright scarlet
twin-berries were not yet ripe. In winter the partridges eat this fruit
from under the snow; and it furnishes food for many little animals
as well as birds. The leaves are small, of a dark green, and the white
flowers have a very fine fragrant scent. Though the runaways found
none of these berries fit to eat, they saw some ripe strawberries among
the bushes; and, having satisfied their hunger, began to grow very
merry, and whisked here and there and everywhere, peeping into this
hole and under that stone. Sometimes they had a good game of play,
chasing one another up and down the trees, chattering and squeaking
as gray squirrels only can chatter and squeak, when they are gambolling
about in the wild woods of Canada.
Indeed, they made such a noise, that the great ugly black snakes lifted up
their heads, and stared at them with their wicked spiteful-looking eyes,
and the little ducklings swimming among the water-lilies gathered round
their mother, and a red-winged blackbird perched on a dead tree gave alarm
to the rest of the flock by calling out, _Geck_, _geck_, _geck_, as
loudly as he could. In the midst of their frolics, Nimble skipped into a
hollow log--but was glad to run out again; for a porcupine covered with
sharp spines was there, and was so angry at being disturbed, that he stuck
one of his spines into poor Nimble-foot's soft velvet nose, and there it
could have remained if Silvy had not seized it with her teeth and pulled
it out. Nimble-foot squeaked sadly, and would not play any longer, but
rolled himself up and went to sleep in a red-headed woodpecker's old nest;
while Silvy and Velvet-paw frisked about in the moonlight, and when tired
of play got up into an old oak which had a large hollow place in the crown
of it, and fell asleep, fancying, no doubt, that they were on the rocky
island in Stony Lake; and so we will bid them good night, and wish them
pleasant dreams.
* * * * *
Lady Mary had read a long while, and was now tired; so she kissed her
nurse, and said, "Now, Mrs. Frazer, I will play with my doll, and feed my
squirrel and my dormice."
The dormice were two soft, brown creatures, almost as pretty and as
innocent as the squirrel, and a great deal tamer; and they were called
Jeannette and Jeannot, and would come when they were called by their
names, and take a bit of cake or a lump of sugar out of the fingers of
their little mistress. Lady Mary had two canaries, Dick and Pet; and she
loved her dormice and birds, and her new pet, the flying squirrel, very
much, and never let them want for food, or water, or any nice thing she
could get for them. She liked the history of the gray squirrels very much,
and was quite eager to get her book the next afternoon, to read the second
part of the adventures and wanderings of the family.
* * * * *