The canoe, which approached the shores of the lake where our explorers stood, was a large one, built after the fashion of the coracle of the ancient Britons, namely, with a frame of wicker-work covered with deerskin. It was propelled with paddles by a woman seated in the stern and a little girl in the bow.
“My wife is a woman of forethought,” remarked Hendrick, with a pleased expression. “Seeing that we are a large party, she has not only brought our largest canoe, but has made Oscar get out the small one.”
He pointed2 to the island, from a creek3 in which a little canoe of a reddish colour was seen to issue. It was made of birch-bark, and was propelled by a small boy, who seemed from his exertions4 to be in urgent haste to overtake the other craft.
“Your son, I suppose?” said Paul.
“Yes, my eldest5. His younger brother is but a babe yet. These, with my daughter Goodred, and my wife Trueheart, who are now approaching, constitute the family which God has given to me.”
A feeling of satisfaction filled the heart of Paul Burns as he listened to the last words, for they proved that their new friend was not among those who deem it weakness or hypocrisy6 in men to openly acknowledge their Maker7 as the Giver of all that they possess. This feeling was merged8 in one of surprise when the canoe touched the shore, and an exceedingly pretty child, with fair complexion9, blue eyes, and curling hair, stepped lightly out, and ran to her father, who stooped to kiss her on the cheek. Hendrick was not demonstrative, that was evident; neither was his wife, nor his child. Whatever depth of feeling they possessed10, the surface ran smooth. Yet there was an air of quiet gladness about the meeting which enabled Paul to understand what the hunter meant when, in a former conversation, he had said that he “made those around him happy.”
“Is baby well?” he asked quickly.
“Yes, father, quite well, and I very sure wishing much that you come home soon. You been long time away.”
“Longer than I expected, Goodred. And I have brought friends with me,” he added, turning to his wife. “Friends whom I have found in the forest, Trueheart.”
“You friends be welcome,” said Trueheart, with a modest yet self-possessed air.
The woman, who advanced and held out a small hand to be shaken in European fashion, was obviously of Indian extraction, yet her brown hair, refined cast of features, and easy manner, showed as obviously the characteristics of her white father. Though not nearly so fair as her child, she was still far removed from the deep colour of her mother’s race.
Before more could be said on either side the enthusiastic youngster in the bark canoe leaped ashore11, burst into the midst of the group with a cheer, and began wildly to embrace one of his father’s huge legs, which was about as much of his person as he could conveniently grasp. He was a miniature Hendrick, clad in leather from top to toe.
The whole party now entered the canoes, skimmed over the lake, and past the wooded islets, towards the particular island which the hunter called “home.”
It was as romantic a spot as one could desire for a residence. Though only a quarter of a mile or so in diameter, the island, which was composed of granite13, was wonderfully diversified14 in form and character. There was a little cove1 which formed a harbour for the hunter’s canoes; bordering it was a patch of open ground backed by shrubs15, above which rose a miniature precipice17. The ground in the centre of the isle12 was rugged—as the captain remarked, quite mountainous in a small way! Hendrick had taught his children to call it the mountain, and in the midst of its miniature fastnesses he had arranged a sort of citadel18, to which he and his family could retire in case of attack from savages19. One peak of this mountainette rose in naked grandeur20 to a height of about fifty feet above the lake. Elsewhere the islet was wooded to the water’s edge with spruce and birch-trees, in some places fringed with willows21. On a few open patches were multitudes of ripe berries, which here and there seemed literally22 to cover the ground with a carpet of bright red.
On the open ground, or lawn, beside the cove, stood the hunter’s hut, a small structure of rounded logs, with a door, on either side of which was a window. From those glassless windows there was a view of lake and isles23 and distant woods, with purple mountains beyond, which formed a scene of indescribable beauty. Close to the door, forming, as it were, a porch to it, there stood a semi-circular erection of poles covered with birch-bark and deerskins, in front of which blazed the household fire, with a tripod over it, and a bubbling earthen pot hanging therefrom. Around the inner side of the fire, under the semi-circular tent, were spread a number of deerskins to serve as couches. On one of these sat an Indian woman, with the family babe in her arms.
It was a wonderful babe! and obviously a wise one, for it knew its own father directly, stretched out its little arms, and shouted for instant recognition. Nor had it to shout long, for Hendrick, being fond of it and regardless of appearances, seized it in his arms and smothered25 it in his beard, out of which retreat crows and squalls of satisfaction thereafter issued.
“Excuse me, friends,” said Hendrick at last, delivering the child to its mother. “I have been absent on a visit to my wife’s relations, and have not seen little Ian for a long time. Sit down, and we will see what cheer the pot contains. I don’t ask you to enter the hut, because while the weather is mild it is pleasanter outside. When winter comes we make more use of the house. My wife, you see, does not like it, having been accustomed to tents all her life.”
“But me—I—likes it when the snow fall,” said Trueheart, looking up with a bright smile from the pot, into which she had previously26 been making investigations27.
“True—true. I think you like whatever I like; at least you try to!” returned the hunter, as he sat down and began to tie the feathers on the head of an arrow. “You even try to speak good grammar for my sake!”
Trueheart laughed and continued her culinary duties.
“You told us when we first met,” said Captain Trench28, who had made himself comfortable on a deerskin beside the baby, “that you had taken special means not to forget your native tongue. Do I guess rightly in supposing that the teaching of it to your wife and children was the means?”
“You are right, captain. Of course, the language of the Micmac Indians is more familiar and agreeable to Trueheart, but she is obstinate29, though a good creature on the whole, and insists on speaking English, as you hear.”
Another little laugh in the vicinity of the earthen pot showed that his wife appreciated the remark.
Meanwhile Goodred busied herself in preparing venison steaks over the same fire, and Oscar undertook to roast marrow30 bones for the whole party, as well as to instruct Oliver Trench in that delicate operation.
While they were thus engaged the shades of evening gradually descended31 on the scene, but that did not interfere32 with their enjoyment33, for by heaping fresh resinous34 logs on the fire they produced a ruddy light, which seemed scarcely inferior to that of day; a light which glowed on the pretty and pleasant features of the wife and daughter as they moved about placing plates of birch-bark before the guests, and ladling soup and viands35 into trenchers of the same. Savoury smells floated on the air, and gradually expelled the scent36 of shrub16 and flower from the banqueting-hall.
Truly, it was a right royal banquet; fit for a king—if not too particular a king—to say nothing of its being spread before one who was monarch37 of all he surveyed, and served by his queen and princess!
There was, first of all, soup of excellent quality. Then followed boiled salmon38 and roast sea-trout. Next came a course of boiled venison, fat and juicy, with an alternative of steaks and grilled39 ribs40. This was followed by what may be styled a haunch of beaver41, accompanied by the animal’s tail—a prime delicacy—in regard to which Captain Trench, with his mouth full of it, said—
“This is excellent eatin’, Master Hendrick. What may it be—if I may presume to ask?”
“Beaver’s tail,” replied the hunter.
“Dear me!” exclaimed Olly, withdrawing a roast rib24 from his mouth for the purpose of speech; “beavers seem to have wonderfully broad and flat tails.”
“They have, Oliver, and if you will try a bit you will find that their tails are wonderfully good.”
Oliver tried, and admitted that it was good; then, observing that little Oscar had just finished his fourth venison steak, he politely handed him the trencher. The greasy-fingered boy gravely helped himself to number five, and assailed42 it as if he had only just begun to terminate a long fast.
There were no vegetables at that feast, and instead of bread they had cakes of hard deer’s-fat, with scraps43 of suet toasted brown intermixed—a species of plum-cake, which was greatly relished44 by the visitors. At the last, when repletion45 seemed imminent46, they finished off with marrow bones. With these they trifled far on into the night. Of course as the demands of appetite abated47 the flow of soul began.
“I see neither nets, hooks, nor lines about the camp, Hendrick,” said Paul Burns, after the queen and princess had retired48 into the hut for the night. “How do you manage to catch salmon?”
The hunter replied by pointing to a spear somewhat resembling Neptune’s trident which stood against a neighbouring tree.
“We spear them by torchlight,” he said. “Oscar is a pretty good hand at it now.”
“You live well, Master Hendrick,” remarked Trench, raising a bark flagon to his lips and tossing off a pint49 of venison soup, with the memory of pots of ale strong upon him. “Do you ever have a scarcity50 of food?”
“Never; for the country, as you have seen, swarms52 with game. We dry the flesh of deer, otter53, martens, and musk-rats, and store it for winter, and during that season we have willow-grouse and rabbits for fresh meat. Besides, in autumn we freeze both flesh and fish, and thus keep it fresh till spring, at which time the wildfowl return to us. The skins and furs of these creatures furnish us with plenty of clothing—in fact, more than we can use. The question sometimes comes into my mind, Why did the Great Father provide such abundance for the use of man without sending men to use it?—for the few Micmacs who dwell in the land are but as a drop in the ocean, and they totally neglect some things, while they waste others. I have seen them slaughter54 thousands of deer merely for the sake of their tongues and other tit-bits.”
“There is much of mystery connected with that, Master Hendrick, which we cannot clear up,” remarked Trench.
“Mystery there is, no doubt,” said Paul quickly. “Yet there are some things about it that are plain enough to those who choose to look. The Word of God (which, by the way, is beginning to be circulated now among us in England in our mother tongue), that Word tells man plainly to go forth55 and replenish56 the earth. Common sense, from the beginning of time, has told us the same thing, but what does man do? He sticks to several small patches of the earth, and there he trades, and works, and builds, and propagates, until these patches swarm51 like ant-hills, and then he wars, and fights, and kills off the surplus population; in other words, slays57 the young men of the world and sows misery58, debt and desolation broadcast. In fact, man seems to me to be mad. Rather than obey God and the dictates59 of common sense, he will leave the fairest portions of the world untenanted, and waste his life and energies in toiling60 for a crust of bread or fighting for a foot of land!”
“Some such thoughts have passed through my mind,” said Hendrick thoughtfully, “when I have remembered that my ancestors, as I have told you, discovered this land, as well as that which lies to the west and south of it, long before this Columbus you speak of was born. But surely we may now expect that with all our modern appliances and knowledge, the earth will soon be overrun and peopled.”
That Paul was justified62 in his doubts must be obvious to every reader who is aware of the fact that in the present year of grace (1889) there are millions of the world’s fair and fertile acres still left untenanted and almost untrodden by the foot of man.
“It’s my opinion,” remarked Captain Trench, with a blink of the eyes, induced possibly by wisdom and partly by sleep, “that you two are talking nonsense on a subject which is quite beyond the reach of man’s intellect.”
“It may be so,” replied Paul, with a laugh which merged into a yawn, “and perhaps it would be wiser that we should go to rest. Olly and Oscar have already set us a good example. What say you, Hendrick?”
“Then I will not tax your good-nature. We will seek repose64. But what of our future movements? My sleep will be sounder if I could lie down with the assurance that you will continue to be our guide into the fertile interior of which you have said so much.”
“I will go with you,” returned Hendrick, after a few moments’ thought, “but I must ask you to spend a few days in my camp to rest yourselves, while I provide a supply of fresh meat and fish for my family; for, willing and able though Oscar is to provide for them, he is yet too young to have the duty laid upon his little shoulders.”
This having been satisfactorily settled, the captain and Paul wrapped themselves in deerskin blankets, and lay down with their feet to the fire.
Hendrick, having heaped a fresh supply of fuel on the embers, followed their example, and the camp was soon buried in profound silence.
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1
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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4
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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7
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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8
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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9
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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10
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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12
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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13
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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15
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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17
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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18
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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20
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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28
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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29
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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32
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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resinous
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| adj.树脂的，树脂质的，树脂制的 | |
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viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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grilled
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| adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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40
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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41
beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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42
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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43
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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44
relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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45
repletion
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| n.充满，吃饱 | |
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46
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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47
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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48
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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49
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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50
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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51
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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52
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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53
otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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54
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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55
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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56
replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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57
slays
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的第三人称单数 ) | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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59
dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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60
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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61
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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64
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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