The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-06-28
ADMITTING ADVENTURE.


A few years ago loitered through the he
summer months in the Province OF Ontario
Canada had spent several days fishing 70
pickerel among the Thousand Islands o
the river st. Lawrence, with tolerablc success
thanks to the experience of my Kingston
boatman But the weather became too hot
even in this latitude, for such sport, and tn
fish refused to bite, SO | was fain to wande
about the sleepy little town Of Kingston, o
watch the soldiers at their afternoon drill, o.
the slopes of the fort, their red coats strongl
contrasting with the green sward of the pa
radc ground. 1t was always source of won
der to me how the people managed to enjo,
themselves in so dull place, for there wa
no hustle, no commercial signs scarcely cvcl
visible
One evening sat on the hotel stoop quiet
ly smoking cigar, when two OF my garrison
friends, Maj. Pomfrct and Capt. Hardingc
came out from their quarters and invited mt
to Join them in hunting tramp to the great
Pipe Pclt, us the lumber district is termed
Both of the gentlemen had only been in Ca
NADIA few months, having come with theil
enthusiastic sportsmen, and talked necessarily
of stalking blue bulls and antclopes, or shoot
ing tigers and cheetahs, were fnll of rare
skins and other trophies of the Indian jun
SlNp, " itdullJ I'LL III Win tiiNii lutbot
hunting programme.
We were to go by steamer up the Bay of
Quinte to Belleville, a busting little town, and
afterwards push on by wagon for Makoc, a
village then becoming famous for some gold
mines that had just been discovered.
The best part of that night was occupied in
packing up, so that when the Belleville steam
or cast off her mooring the following morn
ing, we were on board and babe goodbye to
sleepy old Kingston and her odd looking, ola
fashioned Martello towers. The trip up the
bay was a pleasant one, the scenery being
charming and perfect surprise, and late in
The afternoon we arrived at the queer little
Belleville wharf, as it stood among a colony
of steam saw mills, huge piles Of lumber, and
acres of rough logs huddlcd together by end
less bOOms.
A good nights rest at the hotel refreshed
Us, and at daylight next morning we started
for Makoc in IA light wagon, another follow.
ing with our hunting gear. After a rough
ride of three days we found ourselves enter.
ing the confines of Pine Belt. Nothing is
more impressive than these vast forests of
pine trees Over one hundred miles in width,
and extending from British Columbia to the
Bay of Fundy, the belt of timber affords an
almost incXhaustibe supply of that lumber
known the world over as Canada pine. So
dense is the growth Of these immense trees
that scarcely any underground is met with,
while the ground is softly carpeted with de
caying pine needles. The sun seldom pene-
tra'es these forest soltudes, and the woods !
are very cool and pleasant in summer. Here
and there we came across n natural opening,
which abounded in great abundance with all
sorts of small game.
Long before we reached the Pines the road |
had become indistinct and we were compel |
ed to trust entirely to our French Canadian
guides, whom we had engaged with their
pack Of dogs at Makoc
Camp was pitched that evening by the side |
of beautiful lake, bearing the Indian name
of SatChkatCh-a.wanna, our appettcs being
sharp set by the mess Of fish which Francois |
had caught, while Antoine and Jerome, the |
other guides, were pitching the tent and pre-. |
pairing the large fire so necessary In hunting |
expeditions
As the shades of night darkcned in upon
us, we could hear the cries of the wood fowl |
and the pleasant gable of the wild dack as
they noisily fell among the reeds Of the swamp
near-sOunds which gave us abundant prom
isc of sport the next day. A couple of Indian
junglchuntng stories from I he Major, pre-
pared US for bed, and we slept dreamlcssly in
front of the fire until sunrise. Francois
proved himself a true guide, for he reused
Us as the sun rose, and soon had us on the
lake in Il couple of bark canoes kept hung
up to the trees.
We made considerable havoc among the
ducks by the time the morning mists had dis
appeared, for the birds were deliciously limo
cent OF danger, 50 we finally gave up the
work in sheer pity. The afternoon was occu.
pied in fishing, and at supper we decided to
push further on to the northward in hopes of
larger game.
n twenty mile tramp, for it was useless at
tempting to take the carts along, led us 10
another lake known as OSh.a-wa. hala where |
we established our headquarters Jerome
and Antoine being sent back for fresh sup
plies. At the end of two days We found our.
selves very comfortably fixed, and cniovcd
fishing to our hearts content, the Major being
lucky enough to bag fat buck while he was
sauntcring among the openings.
Every night We could hear the mOnOtOnOus
coo Of the wOOd-pigeOns, and as they prom.
ised to be diversion, it was finally decided
that day should be devoted to them.
Pigeon shooting in the woods is peculiar
sport, for the hunter has To trust entirely to
his eye and ear. Moving slowly and silently
through the dense forest the pigeons mourn
tul cry Is at length heard. You stop and listen,
and when the bird again utters his note you
trace him TO his tree usually finding
him sitting on bare branch near the top
wholly unconscious Of danger The woods
resound with the discharge of your fowling
piece, and down tumbles the game A rest is
then necessary, in order that the pigeons may
recover from their slomentary fright. when
off the party starts again The proceeding
makes demonstrating rather exciting, and
in such wild woods as | have described full
bag is generally the result.
We started after pigeons the next day di.
rectly after breakfast Of course armed only
with shot guns. Francois, however, insisted /
on taking his rife. and he put in his pocket
a handful Of old Brown Bess bullets a pro
ceeding that proved quite providential before
tho daV Was pver Tho hi-1z tt-ara s,1.,s,.