Away in the Wilderness Read online

  CHAPTER THREE.

  THE ENCAMPMENT.

  Camping out in the woods at night is truly a delightful thing, and thepleasantest part of it, perhaps, is the lighting of the fire. Light isagreeable to human eyes and cheering to the human heart. Solomon knewand felt that when he penned the words, "A pleasant thing it is for theeyes to behold the sun." And the rising of the sun is scarcely moregrateful to the feelings than the lighting of a fire on a dark night.So our friends thought and felt, when the fire blazed up, but they weretoo busy and too hungry at the time to think about the state of theirfeelings.

  The Indian was hungry. A good fire had to be made before the venisoncould be roasted, so he gave his whole attention to the felling of drytrees and cutting them up into logs for the fire. Jasper was alsohungry, and a slight shower had wetted all the moss and withered grass,so he had enough to do to strike fire with flint and steel, catch aspark on a little piece of tinder, and then blow and coax the spark intoa flame.

  The artist was indeed free to indulge in a little meditation; but he hadstumbled in the dark on landing, and bruised his shins, so he could onlysit down on a rock and rub them and feel miserable.

  But the fire soon caught; branches were heaped up, great logs were piledon, forked tongues of flame began to leap up and lick the branches ofthe overhanging trees. The green leaves looked rich and warm; the thickstems looked red and hot; the faces and clothes of the men seemed as ifabout to catch fire as they moved about the encampment preparing supper.In short, the whole scene was so extremely comfortable, in reality aswell as in appearance, that Heywood forgot his bruised shins and beganto rub his hands with delight.

  In a very short time three juicy venison-steaks were steaming before thethree travellers, and in a much shorter time they had disappearedaltogether and were replaced by three new ones. The mode of cooking wasvery simple. Each steak was fixed on a piece of stick and set up beforethe fire to roast. When one side was ready, the artist, who seemed tohave very little patience, began to cut off pieces and eat them whilethe other side was cooking.

  To say truth, men out in those regions have usually such good appetitesthat they are not particular as to the cooking of their food. Quantity,not quality, is what they desire. They generally feel very much likethe Russian, of whom it is said, that he would be content to eat sawdustif only he _got_ _plenty_ _of_ _it_! The steaks were washed down withtea. There is no other drink in Rupert's Land. The Hudson's BayCompany found that spirits were so hurtful to the Indians that theyrefused to send them into the country; and at the present day there isno strong drink to be had for love or money over the length and breadthof their territories, except at those places where other fur-tradersoppose them, and oblige them, in self-defence, to sell fire-water, asthe Indians call it.

  Tea is the great--the only--drink in Rupert's Land! Yes, laugh as yewill, ye lovers of gin and beer and whisky, one who has tried it, andhas seen it tried by hundreds of stout stalwart men, tells you that theteetotaller is the best man for real hard work.

  The three travellers drank their tea and smacked their lips, and grinnedat each other with great satisfaction. They could not have done more ifit had been the best of brandy and they the jolliest of topers! But theheight of their enjoyment was not reached until the pipes were lighted.

  It was quite a sight to see them smoke! Jasper lay with his huge frameextended in front of the blaze, puffing clouds of smoke thick enough tohave shamed a small cannon. Arrowhead rested his back on the stump of atree, stretched his feet towards the fire, and allowed the smoke to rollslowly through his nostrils as well as out at his mouth, so that it keptcurling quietly round his nose, and up his cheeks, and into his eyes,and through his hair in a most delightful manner; at least so it wouldseem, for his reddish-brown face beamed with happy contentment.

  Young Heywood did not smoke, but he drew forth his sketch-book andsketched his two companions; and in the practice of his beloved art, Ihave no doubt, he was happier than either.

  "I wonder how many trading-posts the Hudson's Bay Company has got?" saidHeywood, as he went on with his work.

  "Hundreds of 'em," said Jasper, pressing the red-hot tobacco into thebowl of his pipe with the end of his little finger, as slowly and coollyas if his flesh were fire-proof. "I don't know, exactly, how manythey've got. I doubt if anybody does, but they have them all over thecountry. You've seen a little of the country now, Heywood; well, whatyou have seen is very much like what you will see as long as you chooseto travel hereaway. You come to a small clearing in the forest, withfive or six log houses in it, a stockade round it, and a flagstaff inthe middle of it; five, ten, or fifteen men, and a gentleman in charge.That's a Hudson's Bay Company's trading-post. All round it lie the wildwoods. Go through the woods for two or three hundred miles and you'llcome to another such post, or fort, as we sometimes call 'em. That'show it is all the country over. Although there are many of them, thecountry is so uncommon big that they may be said to be few and farbetween. Some are bigger and some are less. There's scarcely asettlement in the country worthy o' the name of a village except RedRiver."

  "Ah! Red River," exclaimed Heywood, "I've heard much of thatsettlement--hold steady--I'm drawing your _nose_ just now--have you beenthere, Jasper?"

  "That have I, lad, and a fine place it is, extendin' fifty miles or morealong the river, with fine fields, and handsome houses, and churches,and missionaries and schools, and what not; but the rest of Rupert'sLand is just what you have seen; no roads, no houses, no cultivatedfields--nothing but lakes, and rivers, and woods, and plains withoutend, and a few Indians here and there, with plenty of wild beastseverywhere. These trading-posts are scattered here and there, from theAtlantic to the Pacific, and from Canada to the Frozen Sea, standin'solitary-like in the midst of the wilderness, as if they had droppeddown from the clouds by mistake and didn't know exactly what to do withthemselves."

  "How long have de Company lived?" inquired Arrowhead, turning suddenlyto Jasper.

  The stout hunter felt a little put out. "Ahem! I don't exactly know;but it must have been a long time, no doubt."

  "Oh, I can tell you that," cried Heywood.

  "You?" said Jasper in surprise.

  "Ay; the Company was started nearly two hundred years ago by PrinceRupert, who was the first Governor, and that's the reason the countrycame to be called Rupert's Land. You know its common name is `theHudson's Bay Territory,' because it surrounds Hudson's Bay."

  "Why, where did you learn that?" said Jasper, "I thought I knowed a-mosteverything about the Company; but I must confess I never knew that aboutPrince Rupert before."

  "I learned it from books," said the artist.

  "Books!" exclaimed Jasper, "I never learned nothin' from books--more'sthe pity. I git along well enough in the trappin' and shootin' waywithout 'em; but I'm sorry I never learned to read. Ah! I've a greatopinion of books--so I have."

  The worthy hunter shook his head solemnly as he said this in a lowvoice, more to himself than to his companions, and he continued tomutter and shake his head for some minutes, while he knocked the ashesout of his pipe. Having refilled and relighted it, he drew his blanketover his shoulder, laid his head upon a tuft of grass, and continued tosmoke until he fell asleep, and allowed the pipe to fall from his lips.

  The Indian followed his example, with this difference, that he laidaside his pipe, and drew the blanket over his head and under his feet,and wrapped it round him in such a way that he resembled a man sewed upin a sack.

  Heywood was thus compelled to shut his sketch-book; so he also wrappedhimself in his blanket, and was soon sound asleep.

  The camp-fire gradually sank low. Once or twice the end of a log fell,sending up a bright flame and a shower of sparks, which, for a fewseconds, lighted up the scene again and revealed the three slumberingfigures. But at last the fire died out altogether, and left theencampment in such thick darkness that the sharpest eye would havefailed to detect the presence of man in that distant part
of the lonewilderness.