Middletown transcript., 1903-01-10
Rl ARLY one September day
70 I left the river steamer
on the head waters

OF the OttaWa, dno
struck off into a wilderness brok'
Fen by settlements only near the
navigable reaches of the river
was looking for farm.
My uncle, who had been in the
militiaduring the "Fenian raids,
unexpectedly found himself en-
titled to a quarter section OF
what was known as "veterans
lands" in northern Ontario, and
as he was unable to leave his
business, I had volunteered to
select a desirable claim. This
would at the same time give me
an opportunity for mycustomary
annual camping expedition.
By way Of companion | took
with me a small but abnormally
restless fox-terrior who had been
in the woods with me before.
No one can possibly be lonely IN
the company Of fox-terrier, and
I had educated Jack to take a
more scientific interest in par
tridges and rabbits than is ma
tural to his breed. Having such
small game and the occasional
backwoods settlers to depend
upon, I expected to have no diff
Guilty about provisions, and car
ried merely a few pounds of con-
centrated supplies in my KNAPP
sack. The rest of my load con
sisted simply Of a gun and a lib
eral stock of ammunition. At the
end Of the corduroy road, with 8
geological survey map as a guide,
took half f-obliterated trail into
the forest.
I found settlers less frequent,
the land less promising, and the
woods much less penetrable than
I had been led to expect. For
three days and half Jack and |
treaded the tangled undergrowth,
became involved in swamps, and
RATED ourselves across rivers.
During all this time the weather
had been perfect, but the fourth
day rose cold and cloudy. At
about noon a heavy rain began,
that presently settled into a dis
NAL, all-day drizzle which satur-
ated everything above ground,
and produced an indescribably
dreary effect of autumn and des-
olation.
It depressed even Jacks abun-
dant spirits, and he trotted Sob
erly behind me, manifesting only
a slight interest in the rabbit and
woodchuck burrows we passed
AS for myself, I did not much
mind getting drenched; but I
greatly disliked the idea of a
wet camp.
No shelter presented itself, but
shortly before sunset came un-
expectedIy upon an unmistakab1e
wood-road, choked with "sec-
ond growth" yet indicating the
neighborhood of human beings.
l turned it up at once, with the
pleasurable anticipation of find
ing a clearing and a hospitable
settler at the end Of it; butas the
road continued to show every in
dication of long disuse, these
hopes gradually weakened. Still,
there was certain to be build
ing of some sort, even if de-
serted, and indeed, a quarter
of a mile farther the road curved
a little, and I saw before me the
expected clearing, with the en-
pity log shanty, black -windowed
and deserted staring drearily
through the twilight rain.
It was a most melancholy look
ing place, and under ordinary
circumstances | should vastly
have preferred camping in the
open forest. Butin this weather
l welcomed it and pushed
through the dripping jungle of
shrubbery, weeds and berry
bushes that had grown over and
choked a rather extensive clear
ing.
The door had blown from it's
leather hinges and lay beside the
threshold; leaves had drifted in
to the interior, and there were
many birds nests in the inner
corners of the walls. The inter-
nal aspect of the place sugges-
gested that it had been abandon
ed for two or three years at least,
but the roof did not appear to
leak-not more, that is, than was
naturally to be expected.
Theshanty contained tworooms
and in the larger and outer one
was the great rock fireplace, still
showing traces of blackened
brands. A couple of small win
dows never to have been glazed,
and there was not a stick Of fur I
nitura abOut the nlace. A door.