us pilot boats sail up and
down, almost under the windows of the house; and in the offing are
hundreds of vessels, whose white sails glimmer on the horizon like the
wings of sea-gulls, as they beat up for anchorage, or proceed on their
course for England or Quebec. The magnificent panorama is closed by the
distant hills of the opposite shore, blending with the azure sky. This,
however, is the only view, the land being a monotonous repetition of
bare granite hills and stunted pines [see note 1].

Here, then, for a time, my travels came to a close, and I set about
making myself as comfortable in my new quarters as circumstances would
permit.

Tadousac I found to be similar, in many respects, to the forts in the
north. The country around was wild, mountainous, and inhabited only by
a few Indians and wild animals. There was no society, excepting that of
Mr Stone's family; the only other civilised being, above the rank of a
labourer, being a gentleman who superintended a timber-cutting and
log-sawing establishment, a quarter of a mile from the Company's post.

My _bourgeois_, Mr Stone, was a very kind man and an entertaining
companion. He had left Scotland, his native land, when very young, and
had ever since been travelling about and dwelling in the wild woods of
America. A deep scar on the bridge of his nose showed that he had not
passed through these savage countries scathless. The way in which he
came by this scar was curious, so I may relate it here.

At one of the solitary forts in the wild regions on the west side of the
Rocky Mountains, where my friend Mr Stone dwelt, the Indians were in
the habit of selling horses, of which they had a great many, to the
servants of the Hudson Bay Company. They had, however, an uncommonly
disagreeable propensity to steal these horses again the moment a
convenient opportunity presented itself; and to guard against the
gratification of this propensity was one of the many difficulties that
the fur-traders had to encounter. Upon one occasion a fine horse was
sold by an Indian to Mr Stone, the price (probably several yards of
cloth and a few pounds of tobacco) paid, and the Indian went away. Not
long after the horse was stolen; but as this was an event that often
happened, it was soon forgotten. Winter passed away, spring thawed the
lakes and rivers, and soon a party of Indians arrived with furs and
horses to trade. They were of the Blackfoot tribe, and a wilder set of
fel