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Show .334 TRAVELS TIIROUGII UPPER CANADA: valley, between two of the f:mtl hils on the po.nt, a phe through '.hi 1 t11 el) :,rsgcni.a 11y f) l ficd in goine~- towards l 1c wa·c r, the hunt~rs• \ hon I accompam·c · d "" t once told how many bear.s 1 :Hi cutJ ,e down from the upper conntry the preceding night, an,l alia how m tny of them _were cuu1. s. 'f0 thc, cy·c of a cc,mmun obfcrvcr the tr.tck u[ thc:fc anvnals among;fl: the 1 ·aves i · \Vholly imp~rccr tiblc; .indeed, in many infbnce~, even after the hunter hJ.d pointed them out to me, I coul l bttt bardy perceive the prints of their fi·et on t~lt: clof ·~l in(pc hor:; yet the hun-. ters, on coming up to the place, f<l:W th~k nurks w1th a gl.1ncc of the C) e. . . . . .1\ftl!r ki11i 11g a b ar, the firfl: care of the hunters 1s to finp hu11 of Ius {] in. This bn!incf~ is p rformcd b ' them in a very few minutes, as tlll:y alw:1ys carry knives about tht:m particubrly fu it.t'd for tb<.; purpofl:; aftc1v1.ard the c:uc~1tc is cut up, an operation in whtch the tomah; wk, an inl1rumcnt that they, moil:ly·, carry with them al(o, is particularly ufeful. The choicel1: parts of the animal arc th n {eleCted and carried home, and the rdl ldt in the wood . The Indians hold the paws of the bear in great cfiimation; ftcwcd with young puppies, they are ft.rved up at all their principal fcafls. On killin0 the animal, the paws arc gaOled with a knife, and, afterwards, hung over a fire, amid~ the fmol e, todry. The fkinsof the bears arc applied to numbcrlefs ufes, 111 the country, by the farmers, who fet no fmall value upon them. They are commonly cured by being fi)!cad upon a wall or betwe(,;n two trees, before the fi.w, and in that po!ition fcra.ped with a knife, or piece of iron, daily, which bring · ut the grcafc or oil, a. very confidLrable quantity f whi h oozes from them. Racoon and deer fkins, &c. arc urtd in a fimilar manner. 11 e Indians have a rneth d of drefiing thefc difFerent fk.ins with th~ h:1ir on, and of rendering them at the fame time as pliable as a piece of cloth ; this is principally effeCted by rubbing the !kins, with the hand, in the fn 1ckc of a wood fire. . Towards the middle f the Lty, the but t being over, the p:trty returned to tl c h:1bitation on th" 'oint. On arriving tl ere I found my t..:omp:lnions, who had jufl: come on O!ore, and after hav.ing {boiled about th woods for a time, we all went on board the lhip to dine. The B I R D S. 335 The fl7 had been very gloomy the whole of this d1.y; it became more aml more fo as the vcninrr approached, an l the feamcn fo;·etold that before morning there would b..: a ·eadful fi orm. At no ti1nc a friend to the watery clement, I immedi.t t 'iy formed the rcfolution of paf1ing the night on ihorc ; accordingly having got the boat manned after dinner, I took with me my fcrvant, and landed at the head of the bay on the eafl:ern fide of tl e poin t. li!..!re being left to ourfclves, we pitched our tent by moonlight, under t 1c f11eltcr of one of the fieep fand hilL; and having 1 indled a large fire in the front of it, laid down, and were foon lulled to rcpofe by th · ht)Jlow roar of the ' ind amidil: the tall trees of the furrounding forcfl. Not fo my comp:lllions, who vifited me at an early hour the next morning, and lamented forely that they had not accompanied me on f110rc. There had b<.;cn a tremendous fea running .in the lake all night; the wind had £hifted fomcwhat to the fonthward, and Point Abincan, in con(cquen e, affording but little prot Cl:ion to the ve!lCI, f11e had rolled about in a mofl: alarm ing manner; one of the {bncheons at her bow fiarted by her violent working; the water came pouring in as from a pump; :t (cenc of confu lion enfued, and the f.1ilors were kept bufily cmployt:d the greater part of the night in fl:opping the leak. The vefid being old, crazy, and on her lafl: voyag , feriou apprehen!ions were entertained leO: iomc.: wor1e accident fho uld befal her before morning, and neither the crew nor the pafTengers fel t themfelv s at all eafy until day-light appeared, when the gale abated. W c amufcd ourfclves this morning in rambling through the woorls, and along the OlOres of the lake, with ot.rr fowling pieces. On the fi:rand we found gn:at numbers of gulls, and different birds of prey, fuch as hawk , kites, &c.; here alfo we met with large flocks of ftnd larks, as they arc called by the people of the country, in colour famewhat rcicmbling the gr y lapwing; their walk and nnnncr a]fo arc fo very fimilar, th tt, when on tht.,; ground, they might be t,d en for the fame bird were they hut of a larger fi2 ·; they an.: not much bigger than a fpan·ow. In the woods we fell in for the 1irfi time with a large covey or flock of fpruce partrid.ses or p eaf~mts, as the people call them in this neighbourhood. In colour, they are not much unlike the Engli01 p,u tridge, |