The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1879-10-30

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90 90 habtlHg HAp 70 TIE bea9 NAitt'
ei tbs sgseAitbeWab-,he Norih BfancA
--spd | speedily iound mysef travelling
10 q northwest direction. vel sBpplisd
win the simpse neeessarics for ; sI1
months sbaenos 10 thai region. bad
provided myself With . mous,roas ksu'
taeky rife, wbleh 10 itself vas heavy
load, bot which vAlssd highly 90 SC.
count oi lis Aeeorsey and long rAuge. Ny
aompanioa 10 this expedition vas an old
lrapper, with whom bad become intI'
mate at trading pos, he had taken a
fancy to me ., shooting match wherein
bad Won the ebyiAbie reputation oi tbe
crack shot. This wAs no mean disiiue.
lion where eight ont Of ten bullets vere
slways put 10 the bulls-eye, Of about oge
and bali inches in diameter, at die.
tanee Of eighty yards. This excellence
a. rineman stood me In good stead A.
the sequel will show. Ny companion
was a tail, rsw.boDed, heavy shouldered
mao, whose nationality would have puz
zled = pbysiognomist, a. nothing Of his
face could be seen bata very large Roman
nose, pair OF piercing grey eyes and an
unlimited quantity ofgrizzled beard. lie
said little Of himself, except that be had
trapped and hunted OF and ON for he
dida't know bow long in them parts, and
kaikerlsted ss how some uu I'D fnd bis
old grizzeld kark.s out there some day,
! for be couldn't abide The settlements no
/ bow. As iol variety, about twenty five
years Of age, aud Canadian by birth. !
/ bad .peDt some yearsin the Hudson Bay
territory and was on my way southwark
when formed the idea Of joining Bill
Msrslon in bis winters hunt,
Marston's reputation as keen aud
wary hunter stood high among the band
OF which he had been quasi member,
61d II was admitted that be could draw a
i qaicker aud lruer bead than any man
! !hereab bouts. lie never hunted IN com-
parry with others OF bis class, but came
aud went tho one knew whence OF
WHITTIER; and the surprise was great when
was seen stepping into bis old dug oni
and taking a hand In the management Of
that rather ticklish craft. ! even heard
Aacther grizzied, huck-skinued old trap.
per say that be proposed accompanying
my companion, bnt be been rerulsed in
pretty abort terms; and now, said the
indignant trapper, splitting out huge
/ food of tobacco juice, he's tuck that
young un instead to keep bin in perpetu-
aFhot water. Msrston must have heard
this, rs ! did, but he took no notice Of il
whatever; and /, little taken down, was
glad when be gave the dugout strong
push of shore, aud sprang in with as
tonishing agility tor q msu of his age
which afterwards learned was over
/ flty.
We were about three weeks in reaching
Marston's eamp-fsr, Ear from any hu-
man habitAlion, except the occasional
wigwam OF some Indian hunter engaged
like ourselves. Part OF the way we sailed
along IN our dugout between the besuti-
iully tinted AMI ever varying tree clad
banks OF the river, pushing along by day
as rapidly as possible against the strong
current, and carefully drawing up our
canoe under some overhAnging tree, pass
Jog the night enveloped in our warm
blankets.
At the end of two weeks We arrived at
fork OF the river, where we left our ca
noe -concealIng 1t In the hollow OF cot
ton wood log, which Msrston had used
for this purpose many years. He told
me there was considerable fall a short
distance above the forks, over which we
could not get the canoe; so we shouidered
our packs and made the rest OF our jour
ueY on foot.
Un the fourth day OF our march, Mars
toms keen eye detected Indian signs here
aud there along our route, aud while he
seeaied TO feel annoyed al being msddled
with AID perhaps bis traps stolen, it did
not greatly affect me, az knew that ali
the tribes of British Indians we're on
friendly terms with the Company and the
hunlers.
At length we reached the lodge as Mar.
ston invariably called his bnt, without
seeing anything more of the Indians, and
my bost's temper was visibly improved
when be found everything vas exactly ss
be left II sometime before. lie at once
commenced initiating ME into the art Of
making up and setting traps for mink,
beaver aud otter, with which the river
aud ed djscenG meadows seemed to be sliye
aud In short time could do this as well
as my teacher, though perhaps less eIpe-
,titioasiy.
,ooe morning, after we had been thus
oecu, ,ied about three weeks, aud had taken
and eu red large number OF fine skins,
Marston got up and went out very early,
saving th. Vt be would yisit some distant
otter traps that had been set = long time.
remained IN camp for several honrs, bat
1nally, alter paying visit to eli the other
traps In our neighborhood-re setting
lhA, hAd been ,.urung-I took my rife and
went in search af game to supply our lar
der. This usually icil to my lot, and il
wss hy no means . hborious occupation,
- deer were plenty and tame, while
partridge aud grouse flew up at almost
every step.
/ had been out about an hour aud bad
bsgged several 6ne blfds, and was intent
ly looking up into giant old pioe for one
Of covey hal jnsl Doshed, when the
distant report OF rife broke the stiiiness
Of the mid foreat air. II seemed TO me as