ELLEN AND HER PET FAWNS--DOCILITY OF FAN--JACK'S DROLL TRICKS--
AFFECTIONATE WOLF--FALL FLOWERS--DEPARTURE OF LADY MARY--THE END
One day Lady Mary came to seek her nurse in great haste, and describe to
her a fine deer that had been sent as a present to her father by one of
his Canadian friends. She said the great antlers were to be put up over
the library door.
"Papa called me down to see the poor dead deer, nurse; and I was very
sorry it had been killed: it was such a fine creature. Major Pickford
laughed when I said so; but he promised to get me a live fawn. Nurse, what
is a fawn?"
"It is a young deer, my lady."
"Nurse, please can you tell me anything about fawns? Are they pretty
creatures, and can they be tamed; or are they fierce, wild little things?"
"They are very gentle animals; and, if taken young, can be brought up by
sucking the finger like a young calf or a pet lamb. They are playful and
lively, and will follow the person who feeds them, like a dog. They are
very pretty, of a pale dun or red colour, with small white spots on the
back like large hailstones; the eyes are large, and soft, and black, with
a very meek expression in them; the hoofs are black and sharp: they are
clean and delicate in their habits, and easy and graceful in their
movements.
"I remember," continued Mrs. Frazer, "to have heard of a sad accident
which was caused by a fawn."
"Oh, what was it, nurse? Do tell me, for I don't see how such a timid
pretty creature could hurt any one."
"A party of Indians were rowing in a canoe on one of the great American
rivers. As they passed a thick clump of trees, a young fawn suddenly
sprang out, and, frightened by their cries, leaped into the water. For
some days the rain had been heavy; the river was therefore running with a
wild, impetuous current; and the fawn was carried along by the rushing
tide at a tremendous rate. The Indians, determined to capture it, paddled
down the stream with eager haste, and in their excitement forgot that they
were in the neighbourhood of a great rapid, or cataract; dangerous at all
times, but especially so after long-continued rains. On, on, they went!
Suddenly the fawn disappeared, and looking behind them, the startled
Indians found themselves on the very brink of the rapid! Two of their
countrymen, standing on a rock overhanging the foaming waters, saw their
peril, and by shouts and gestures warned them of it. With vigorous efforts
they turned the prow of their canoe, and endeavoured to cross the river.
They plied their paddles with all the desperation of men who knew that
nothing could save them but their own exertions, that none on earth could
help them. But the current proved too strong. It carried them over the
fall, and dashed their bark broadside against a projecting rock. A moment,
and all was over! Not one of them was ever seen again!"
"Oh, what a sad story!" cried Lady Mary; "and all those men were killed
through one poor little fawn! Still, nurse, it was not the fawn's fault;
it was the result of their own impatience and folly. Did you ever see a
tame fawn, nurse?"
"I have seen many, my dear, and I can tell you of one that was the pet and
companion of a little girl whom I knew several years ago. A hunter had
shot a poor doe, which was very wrong, and contrary to the Indian hunting
law; for the native hunter will not, unless pressed by hunger, kill the
deer in the spring of the year, when the fawns are young. The Indian
wanted to find the little one after he had shot the dam, so he sounded a
decoy whistle, to imitate the call of the doe; and the harmless thing
answered it with a bleat, thinking no doubt it was its mother calling to
it. This betrayed its hiding-place, and it was taken unhurt by the hunter,
who took it home, and gave it to my little friend Ellen to feed and take
care of."
[Illustration: THE INDIAN HUNTER]
"Please, Mrs. Frazer, will you tell me what sort of trees hemlocks are?
Hemlocks in England are poisonous weeds."
"These are not weeds, but large forest trees--a species of pine. I will
show you some the next time we go out for a drive--they are very handsome
trees."
"And what are creeks, nurse?"
"Creeks are small streams, such as in Scotland would be termed 'burns,'
and in England 'rivulets'"
"Now, nurse, you may go on about the dear little fawn, I want you to tell
me all you know about it."
"Little Ellen took the poor timid thing, and laid it in an old Indian
basket near the hearth, and put some wool in it, and covered it with an
old cloak to keep it warm, and she tended it very carefully, letting it
suck her fingers dipped in warm milk, as she had seen the dairy maid do in
weaning young calves in a few days it began to grow strong and lively, and
would jump out of its basket, and run bleating after its foster mother if
it missed her from the room, it would wait at the door watching for her
return.
"When it was older, it used to run on the grass plot in the garden but if
it heard its little mistress's step or voice in the parlour, it would
bound through the open window to her side, and her call of 'Fan, Fan,
Fan,' would bring it home from the fields near the edge of the forest. But
poor Fan got killed by a careless boy throwing some fire wood down upon
it, as it lay asleep in the wood-shed. Ellen's grief was very great, but
all she could do was to bury it in the garden near the river-side, and
plant lilac bushes round its little green-sodded grave."
"I am so sorry, nurse, that this good little girl lost her pretty pet."
"Some time after the death of 'Fan,' Ellen had another fawn given to her.
She called this one Jack,--it was older, larger, and stronger, but was
more mischievous and frolicsome than her first pet. It would lie in front
of the fire on the hearth, like a dog, and rub its soft velvet nose
against the hand that patted it very affectionately, but gave a good deal
of trouble in the house. It would eat the carrots, potatoes, and cabbages,
while the cook was preparing them for dinner; and when the housemaid had
laid the cloth for dinner, Jack would go round the table and eat up the
bread she had laid to each plate, to the great delight of the children,
who thought it good fun to see him do so.
"Ellen put a red leather collar about Jack's neck, and some months after
this he swam across the rapid river, and went off to the wild woods, and
was shot by some hunters, a great many miles away from his old home, being
known by his fine red collar. After the sad end of her two favourites,
Ellen would have no more fawns brought in for her to tame."
Lady Mary was much interested in the account of the little girl and her
pets "Is this all you know about fawns, nurse?"
"I once went to call on a clergyman's wife who lived in a small log-house
near a new village. The youngest child, a fat baby of two years old, was
lying on the rug before a large log-fire, fast asleep; its little head was
pillowed on the back of a tame half-grown fawn that lay stretched on its
side, enjoying the warmth of the fire, as tame and familiar as a spaniel
dog. This fawn had been brought up with the children, and they were very
fond of it, and would share their bread and milk with it at meal times;
but it got into disgrace by gnawing the bark of the young orchard-trees,
and cropping the bushes in the garden; besides, it had a trick of opening
the cupboard, and eating the bread, and drinking any milk it could find.
So the master of the house gave it away to a baker who lived in the
village; but it did not forget its old friends, and used to watch for the
children going to school, and as soon as it caught sight of them, it would
trot after them, poking its nose into the basket to get a share of their
dinner, and very often managed to get it all!"
"And what became of this nice fellow, nurse?"
"Unfortunately, my lady, it was chased by some dogs, and ran away to the
woods near the town, and never came back again. Dogs will always hunt tame
fawns when they can get near them; so it seems a pity to domesticate them
only to be killed in so cruel a way. The forest is the best home for these
pretty creatures, though even there they have many enemies besides the
hunter. The bear, the wolf, and the wolverine kill them. Their only means
of defence lies in their fleetness of foot. The stag will defend himself
with his strong horns; but the doe and her little fawn have no such
weapons to guard themselves when attacked by beasts of prey. The Wolf is
one of the greatest enemies they have."
"I hate wolves," said Lady Mary; "wolves can never be tamed, nurse."
"I have heard and read of wolves being tamed, and becoming very fond of
their masters. A gentleman in Canada once brought up a wolf puppy, which
became so fond of him that when he left it, to go home to England, it
refused to eat, and died of grief at his absence! Kindness will tame even
fierce beasts, who soon learn to love the hand that feeds them. Bears and
foxes have often been kept tame in this country, and eagles and owls; but
I think they cannot be so happy shut up, away from their natural
companions and habits, as if they were free to go and come at their own
will."
"I should not like to be shut up, nurse, far away from my own dear home,"
said the little girl, thoughtfully. "I think, sometimes, I ought not to
keep my dear squirrel in a cage--shall I let him go?" "My dear, he has now
been so used to the cage, and to have all his daily wants supplied, that I
am sure he would suffer from cold and hunger at this season of the year if
he were left to provide for himself; and if he remained here the cats and
weasels might kill him."
"I will keep him safe from harm, then, till the warm weather comes again;
and then, nurse, we will take him to the mountain, and let him go, if he
likes to be free, among the trees and bushes."
It was now the middle of October; the rainy season that usually comes in
the end of September and beginning of October in Canada was over. The
soft, hazy season, called Indian summer, was come again; the few forest
leaves that yet lingered were ready to fall--bright and beautiful they
still looked, but Lady Mary missed the flowers.
"I do not love the fall--I see no flowers now, except those in the
greenhouse. The cold, cold winter, will soon be here again," she added
sadly.
"Last year, dear lady, you said you loved the white snow, and the
sleighing, and the merry bells, and wished that winter would last all the
year round.
"Ah, yes, nurse; but I did not know how many pretty birds and flowers I
should see in the spring and the summer; and now they are all gone, and I
shall see them no more for a long time."
"There are still a few flowers. Lady Mary, to be found; look at these."
"Ah, dear nurse, where did you get them? How lovely they are!"
"Your little French maid picked them for you, on the side of the mountain.
Rosette loves the wild-flowers of her native land."
"Nurse, do you know the names of these pretty starry flowers on this
little branch, that look so light and pretty?"
"These are asters; a word, your governess told me the other day, meaning
star-like. Some people call these flowers Michaelmas daisies. These lovely
lilac asters grow in light, dry ground; they are among the prettiest of
our fall flowers. These with the small white starry flowers crowded, upon
the stalks, with the crimson and gold in the middle, are dwarf asters."
"I like these white ones, nurse; the little branches look so loaded with
blossoms; see, they are quite bowed down with the weight of all these
flowers."
"These small shrubby asters grow on dry gravelly banks of lakes and
rivers."
"But here are some large dark purple ones."
"These are also asters. They are to be found on dry wastes, in stony,
barren fields, and by the corners of rail-fences; they form large
spreading bushes, and look very lovely, covered with their large dark
purple flowers. There is no waste so wild, my lady, but the hand of the
Most High can plant it with some blossom, and make the waste and desert
place flourish like a garden. Here are others, still brighter and larger,
with yellow disks, and sky-blue flowers. These grow by still waters, near
mill-dams and swampy places. Though they are larger and gayer, I do not
think they will please you so well as the small ones that I first showed
you; they do not fade so fast, and that is one good quality they have."
They are more like the China asters in the garden, nurse, only more
upright and stiff, but here is another sweet blue flower--can you tell me
its name?
"No my dear, you must ask your governess."
Lady Mary carried the nosegay to Miss Campbell, who told her the blue
flower was called the Fringed Gentian, and that the gentians and asters
bloomed the latest of all the autumn flowers in Canada. Among these wild
flowers, she also showed her the large dark blue bell flowered gentian,
which was in deed the last flower of the year.
"Are there no more flowers in bloom now, nurse?" asked the child, as she
watched Mrs. Frazer arranging them for her in a flower glass.
"I do not know of any now in bloom but the Golden Rods and the latest of
the Everlastings. Rosette shall go out and try to get some of them for
you. The French children make little mats and garlands of them to ornament
their houses, and to hang on the little crosses above the graves of their
friends, because they do not fade away like other flowers."
Next day, Rosette, the little nursery maid, brought Lady Mary an Indian
basket full of Sweet scented Everlastings. This flower had a fragrant
smell, the leaves were less downy than some of the earlier sorts but were
covered with a resinous gum that caused it to stick to the fingers, it
looked quite silky, from the thistle down, which, falling upon the leaves,
was gummed down to the surface.
"The country folks," said Mrs. Frazer, "call this plant Neglected
Everlasting, because it grows on dry wastes by road-sides, among thistles
and fire-weed; but I love it for its sweetness; it is like a true
friend--it never changes. See, my dear, how shining its straw-coloured
blossoms and buds are, just like satin flowers."
"Nurse, it shall be my own flower," said the little girl; "and I will make
a pretty garland of it, to hang over my own dear mamma's picture. Rosette
says she will show me how to tie the flowers together; she has made me a
pretty wreath for my doll's straw-hat, and she means to make her a mat and
a carpet too."
The little maid promised to bring her young lady some wreaths of the
festoon pine--a low creeping plant, with dry, green, chaffy leaves, that
grows in the barren pine woods, of which the Canadians make Christmas
garlands; and also some of the winter berries, and spice berries, which
look so gay in the fall and early spring, with berries of brightest
scarlet, and shining dark-green leaves, that trail over the ground on the
gravelly hills and plains.
Nurse Frazer brought Lady Mary some sweetmeats, flavoured with an extract
of the spicy winter-green, from the confectioner's shop; the Canadians
being very fond of the flavour of this plant. The Indians chew the leaves,
and eat the ripe mealy berries, which have something of the taste of the
bay-laurel leaves. The Indian men smoke the leaves as tobacco.
One day, while Mrs. Frazer was at work in the nursery, her little charge
came to her in a great state of agitation--her cheeks were flashed, and
her eyes were dancing with joy. She threw herself into her arms, and said,
"Oh, dear nurse, I am going home to dear old England and Scotland. Papa
and mamma are going away from Government House, and I am to return to the
old country with them. I am so glad--are not you?"
But the tears gathered in Mrs. Frazer's eyes, and fell fast upon the work
she held in her hand. Lady Mary looked surprised, when she saw how her
kind nurse was weeping.
"Nurse, you are to go too; mamma says so. Now you need not cry, for you
are not going to leave ma."
"I cannot go with you, my dearest child," whispered her weeping attendant,
"much as I love you; for I have a dear son of my own. I have but him, and
it would break my heart to part from him;" and she softly put aside the
bright curls from Lady Mary's fair forehead, and tenderly kissed her.
"This child is all I have in the world to love me, and when his father, my
own kind husband, died, he vowed to take care of me, and cherish me in my
old age, and I promised that I would never leave him; so I cannot go away
from Canada with you, my lady, though I dearly love you."
"Then, Mrs. Frazer, I shall be sorry to leave Canada; for when I go home,
I shall have no one to talk to me about beavers, and squirrels, and
Indians, and flowers, and birds."
"Indeed, my lady, you will not want for amusement there, for England and
Scotland are finer places than Canada. Your good governess and your new
nurse will be able to tell you many things that will delight you; and you
will not quite forget your poor old nurse, I am sure, when you think about
the time you have spent in this country."
"Ah, dear good old nurse, I will not forget you," said Lady Mary,
springing into her nurse's lap and fondly caressing her, while big bright
tears fell from her eyes.
There was so much to do, and so much to think about, before the Governor's
departure, that Lady Mary had no time to hear any more stories, nor to ask
any more questions about the natural history of Canada; though, doubtless,
there were many other curious things that Mrs. Frazer could have related,
for she was a person of good education, who had seen and noticed as well
as read a great deal. She had not always been a poor woman, but had once
been a respectable farmer's wife, though her husband's death had reduced
her to a state of servitude; and she had earned money enough while in the
Governor's service to educate her son, and this was how she came to be
Lady Mary's nurse.
Lady Mary did not forget to have all her Indian curiosities packed up with
some dried plants and flower seeds collected by her governess; but she
left the cage with her flying squirrel to Mrs. Frazer, to take care of
till the following spring, when she told her to take it to the mountain,
or St. Helen's Island, and let it go free, that it might be a happy
squirrel once more, and bound away among the green trees in the Canadian
woods.
When Mrs. Frazer was called in to take leave of the Governor and his lady,
after receiving a handsome salary for her care and attendance on their
little daughter, the Governor gave her a sealed parchment, which, when she
opened, was found to contain a Government deed for a fine lot of land, in
a fertile township in Upper Canada.
It was with many tears and blessings that Mrs. Frazer took leave of the
good Governor's family; and, above all, of her beloved charge, Lady Mary.
APPENDIX.
The Indians, though so stolid and impassive in their general demeanour,
are easily moved to laughter, having a quick perception of fun and
drollery, and sometimes show themselves capable of much humour, and even
of wit.
The following passage I extract from a Hamilton paper, Canada West which
will, I think, prove amusing to my readers--
At a missionary meeting in Hamilton which took place a short time since,
John Sunday, a native preacher, was particularly happy in addressing his
audience on the objects of the meeting, and towards the close astonished
all present by the ingenuity and power of his appeal to their liberality.
His closing words are too good to be lost. I give them as they were spoken
by him--
"There is a gentleman who, I suppose, is now in this house. He is a very
fine gentleman, but a very modest one He does not like to show himself at
these meetings. I do not know how long it is since I have seen him, he
comes out so little. I am very much afraid that he sleeps a great deal of
his time when he ought to be out doing good. His name is GOLD--Mr. Gold,
are you here to-night or are you sleeping in your iron chest? Come out, Mr
Gold. Come out and help us to do this great work--to preach the gospel to
every creature Ah, Mr. Gold, you ought to be ashamed of yourself to sleep
so much in your iron chest. Look at your white brother, Mr. Silver. He does
a great deal of good while you are sleeping. Come out Mr. Gold, Look too
at your little brown brother, Mr. Copper. He is everywhere. Your poor
little brown brother is running about doing all he can to help us. Why
don't you come out, Mr. Gold? Well, if you won't show yourself send us your
_shirt_--that is a _bank note_!
"This is all I have to say."
Whether the witty appeal of the Indian had the effect of bringing forth Mr
Gold from his hiding place is not said, but we hope it moved some of the
wealthy among his hearers to contribute a few sovereigns or gold dollars
to the missionary work of converting the poor Indians in the far west
regions of Canada.
* * * * *
LIST OF INDIAN WORDS.
A-da-min, The strawberry
Ah meek, The beaver
Ajidamo The red squirrel
Be-dau bun Dawn of the morning
Chee-ma in in Birch canoe.
Chee-to-waik The plover
Dah hinda, The bull frog
Gitche Manito, Giver of life
The Great Spirit
Ish koo-dah, Fire.
Kah ga-gee The raven.
Kaw No.
Kaw win No, no indeed.
Keen-o-beek, Serpent.
Mad wa-oska, Sound of waves.
Murmur of the waves
Mun a gah Blue-berry
Misko-deed Spring beauty
Nee-chee Friend.
Nap a nee Flour
Nee me no-che shah Sweetheart
Omee mee The wild pigeon.
Opee chee The robin.
O-waas sa The blue-bird
Peta wan ooka The light of the morning
Shaw Shaw The swallow
Spook Spirit
Ty yah! An exclamation of surprise
Waa wassa The whip-poor will.
Wah ho-no-mm A cry of lamentation.
Many of the Indian names have been retained in Canada for various rivers
and townships and are very expressive of the peculiar qualities and
features of the country.