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Show TRJ\VF.LS TIIROUGII UPPER CANADA: h 1 I 1 t!Je v~n. ]t c .l ((', anCL <- ll ·•1 1.·.. e itli:. lf.' cx• tendinQ.... to th farthefl: part of the h·') ri.wn, altog:.:thu· formed an it1tc rdl:in ~" and b .llt. iful {c 'JlC. Whilll we were dct.tincd here by rontr.uy Wllld s, we regularly went on Qw r a rt cr t) J.C n 1< 1 :. tlrLt to t·,•, ke •'l r·•1 •· nblc in the woods ; often times alfc:) w :1m 1(cd ourft:lves with the div erfion of hunting fquirrcl with (l o:rs, among (l: til ilm1b·· ·'1 1ld youn eoo· trc ·son the borders of the lake, thoufmds of which animal · we found in the neighbourhood of the fort. The (quirrel , alarmed by the barl ing of the do~;s , kap fror~ tree to trcc.: with wonderful fwiftn ·fs; you follow them lofdy, 01akmg the trees, 'and firihn o- ngainil: the hra.nchc with pole . ' mctimcs they will le~d you a chace of a quarter of a mile :1.nd more; but fooner or later, tern. fit:d by your attentive purfuit, make n. t 1Hi.: leap, and come t~ the ground; the dogs, evl.!r on the watch, then fci2c the ~pportumty t_o lay hold of them; frequently, however, the fquirrc l w11l elude the1r .repeated frwps, and mount another tree bdore y~u can loo~ round you. I hav · fclc.lom known them to be hurt by then· fall, notwlthfl:anding that I have many times feen them tumble from branches of trees trpwards of t\venty feet from the ground. In our r.1mbles we ufed frequently to fall in with parties of the Sencka Indians, fro1n the oppofite fide of the lake, that were amufing themfcltcs with hunting aJJc.l fl1o oting thefc animals. They {hot them principally wirh bows and blow-guns, at the ufe of which lafl: th~ 'cnc..kas an; wonderfully expert. The blow-gun is a narrow tube, commonly about fix feet in length, made of a cane reed, or of fomc pithy wood thro uo-h whi h they drive !hort Ocndc:r arrows by the force ' .::> of the breath. Th arrows are not much thick r than the lower firing of a violin; they arc headed generally with littk triangnlar bits of tin, allli round the oppoilte end s, for the length of two in hes, a qunntity of the down of thifl:lc ·, or fomcthing very like jr, i bound, fo as to leave the arro vs at this part of fuch a thickncfs tlut they may but b1 n;ly pafs into the tube The arrows arc put in :u the end of the tube that is held next to the mouth, the down catches the br ·ath, and with ~ {inart puff they will fly to tl1c difimce f fifty yards. I have followed young ~kn k· Indian~, whllfl !hooting with blow-guns, for hours to .. .gcthcr, V I L LA G E 0 F T B E . 1·. N r: I' s. ,?., ·ether, during which time I have never known them once to n i , the·,. aim, at the diftance of ten or fifteen yards, althour;l they t1vlt at Lh t.: ittle red {quirrcls, which arc not half the fizt.: of :1 rat; and with fitch \voncicrful force ufcd they to blow forth the arrows, that they fr~..· qucttt ly (lrovc them up to the very thifllc - ciown through the hcaJs o( tht: large!. bla k fi.1uirrels. The effeCt of there ,.,.uns appears at fidl: lil c magic. The tube is put to the mouth, and i11 th · twinl· lirw oC an c)' · you fe · he fc.ptirrcl that is aimed :lt f.tll lifclcfs to tlw ground; nor pprt, n t the iinalldt noift: even, is to be heard, nnr is it poniblc to fee the arrow, r quiclly docs it fly, until it appears falh.:ncd in the body or th ' animal. The Sencka is one of the fix nations which formerly bore the general name of the Iroquois Indi:llls. Their princip,d village is fituated on· J3uffillo Creek, which falls into the cailcrn extremity of Lake Eric, n the New York fhore. W c took the fl1ip's boat one morning·, and went over to vifit it, but all the Indi,ms, men, women, and children, amounting in all to upwards of lix hundred perfons, had, at an early hour, gone down to Fort Niagara, to partake of a fcat1 which was there prepared for them. We walked about in the ncighbonrhood of the village, dined on the grafs on fomc cold provifions that we had taken with us, and in the evening, returnc I. Oppofite to the mouth of JJnffillo · reck there is a very dangcrou. £md bar, which at times it is totally imp 011 le to pafs in any other veOcl:, than bateaux; we found it 110 cafy matter to get over it in the fl1ip'~ long bo. t with four ars on going into the cre<.:k, and in returning the. pafEge \Vas really tremendous. The wind, which was \'v'dlcrly, and of auric impelled the vafl: body of water in the lake towards the mouth of the ere k, had incrcafed conliderably whillt e had been 011. fhorc, and the waves had begun to break with {uch fury over the b.u·, that it was not without a conftderable {hare or tt:rror that we contemplat ·d the profpcCl: of paffing throngh them: the commodore f the King's {hips on the lake, who was at the helm, w.ts dctcrlllin · I. 1ww ever, to crofs the bar that night, and ac ordingly, a Hrit fi em: · h~n ing been enjoined, that the crew might hear his orckr , we boldly cnter<.Jd )nto the midfl of th~.: breakers: the bont now rolled about in a mo{l: \I u · larll1il1 !>' .. |
