New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-22
CONCLUDING INCIDENTS or OUR VISIT
TO ST. JOHNS. .

ncuth aide Hill which 10 the highest point near
a y.hn.-yi.ine To an altitude OF seven or
sisht hundred feet above the sea- crossing 1ne
N,;A,. q, tha head Of ths harbor, took steep,
s.opv path which presently separated into
,.sber of shtep-tracks, and branched on
..ops the scrubby underground which covered
xhe bill. therefore msde straight course for
re crest Of the ridge, which l reached after
rssgh walk Of neatly two miles, over Doggy
shelves Of level soil, up stony deci'ltles, .nd
through tearing Tickets Of stantei spruce.
TIE top Of the hill is covered with spongy,
peat like carpet, foot or moe IN dePth' I'rneo
from the accumulated deposits of the leaves ana
beushs Of the tees which once covered 1t. The
view il not so picturesque as that from signal
Hill. but embraces a much greater extent of
country TO the south and esst-a wild, unset
tied chaos of dark, wooded hills rolling away to
the Atlantic beadlands.
We walked for mile or more Il had one COM
psnioD) along the ridge to get better vie v Of
Freshwater HsibOr, which lies just east OF the
hill. Rougher travelling could not we'll be.
TIE summit was cut and g.shed both lateraly
AID in the line of its direction by chasms of
little dells with cold ponds at the bottom, some
times so concealed by dense growth of spruce
. that we clipped down to our waists among the
bOny branches before we we're aware. No ordi-
nary boots or garments could stand more than
three days of such work. At last we reached the
shoulder of bill overlooking freshwater HatOOr,
which we found to be merely long, narrow cove,
the end of which was closed by sand bar. Ihere
were two or three fshermens huts on It's banks,
and narrow strip of grazing land along the edge
of the bleak wilderness In which 1t was lnclosed
The ocean was dotted with fishing craft, sprinkled
all over its blue surface. On a favorte bank IN.
side Of Cape Spear crowd of forty or nifty had
collected together.
Our labor was repaid by stumbling upon path
which led from Freshwater to st. Johns. On our
return noticed lonely cabin among the thlckets
on the northern side of the HILL and left the path
70 pay il q visit and learn who the people were
who lived in such wild place We made our
way with difficulty through the trees and over the
ebasms until We reached little glen where some
clearing had been done and two patches OF weakly
potatoes had been planted, on the black, spOngy
soil The cabin stood on a stony knob just above.
As we approached, a little girl ran in aud closed
the door, and dog set up herce clamor.
Knocked, and after some delay an Irishwoman
with wild eyes, snkempt hair and dirty face,
made her appearance. 1 asked her for d1nk
whereupon che presently made her appearance
with q small pitcher aud requested us to wait
until she should 60 to q spring at little distance,
the water of which was superior to that oil the
stream near the house When she returned we
entered the house, which was the very counter
part of an Irish cabin-the walls Of stone and
mud, the floor of earth, and the furniture Of the
rudest and scantiest sort. Three girls were squat
ting around a pile Of smoky brushwOod in the
chimney place. aud the dog not yet satisfied IN re-
gard to our characters, stood suenly growing be-
side them
The woman, in spite of her appearance, had that
natural courtesy which springs from the heart.
After giving us some water she produced slab OF
Oaten bread an inch thick, and strongly resembling
specimen Of gritstone. The taste, however, was
better than the appearance aud when she added
fragment of salt Goldfish and insisted on our
drinking pot Of coffee which | have no doubt
she had prepared for her own and her chidren's
dinner, we found her hospitality by no means TO
he despised The humble fare had an excellent
relish after our scramble, and the hearty good Will
with which it was offered freshened the saPless
-adfsh and smoothed the ssperites OF the oatmeal
b large gray cat came into the cabin while
We we're thus engaged and after having regarded
us with much gravity for few moments, marched
out again. "Och /" said the woman, "but that 10
ga wonderful cat, sure. Thde never was such
"cat In the world at all at all She's not afraid, Sir
"ot the biggest dog that ever barked; she'll fly at
"hs throat, an if We didn't take her of she'd kill
chin mighty quick, tell ye. She knows every
swords as plain as any Christian. One night me
"husband and mesef was sttin' in this blessed
"room, an We heard scratchn like, at the door.
"Ssys my husband Peggy, think there's a "a.
"'comin. Well, the cat was up in the loft, and
"she heard What he said and she came down that
"very instant and waited by the door till the rat
"came in. II was dirty, big rat bigger nor tbs
"cat herself, and she says nothin' but let's it go
"down into the cellar in yon corner thin she
"heads it of and jumps on il. Oh Holy Virgin,
didn't the rat roar And it was the king of the
rats so my husband said, and never rat put
IBIS ugly nose into this house since that night,
"an' its four years ago"
Ihe cat was the object of the woman's bound.
ness enthusiasm and her stories of it's sagacity
were so amusing that we were lavish in our Ell
pressiOns Of wonder and admiration, for the sake
OF encouraging her. "She Almost frightens me
"sometimes she added, -" she looks into my
face like human craytur an think she'll up
"an' spake 10 me. When she sees anything
strange she jst sits down on her hinder claws,
an .he houlds her fore claws on each side of her
head, an she looks straight forrid till her eyes
blaze, and her body stretches right up, gttin'
thinner an thinner, an longer an longer, till
shes full yard and half high" We took
our departure after this giving the woman small
recompense for her stories, her oaten bread and
her Kindness, and receiving the invocation Of the
virgins blessing in return.
In the evening there was a social gathering 81
the house of MIR. Stabb, which was attended by
nearly all our guests. A portion of our company
were conveyed thither in carriages but as there
We're not enough of the latter TO accommodate ALL
the remainder set out on foot. presume it WAS
new sight for 81. Johns 70 witness fifteen or
twenty gentlemen and ladies' in evening dress
Promenading the streets We had not gone far