the
sleeping figures of the men. This, with a few rough wooden chairs and a
small cupboard, comprised all the furniture of the house.

I soon singled out _my_ man from among the sleeping figures on the
floor, and bade him equip himself for the road--or rather for the march,
for road we had none. In half an hour we were ready; and having
fortified ourselves with a cup of weak tea and a slice of bread, left
the house and commenced our journey.

My man Bezeau (a French Canadian) was dressed in a blue striped cotton
shirt, of very coarse quality, and a pair of corduroys, strapped round
his waist with a scarlet belt. Over these he wore a pair of blue cloth
leggins, neatly bound with orange-coloured ribbon. A Glengarry bonnet
covered his head; and two pairs of flannel socks, under a pair of raw
seal-skin shoes, protected his feet from the cold. His burden consisted
of my carpet-bag, two days' provisions, and a blue cloth capote--which
latter he carried over his shoulder, the weather being warm. My dress
consisted of a scarlet flannel shirt, and a pair of _etoffe du pays_
trousers, which were fastened round my waist by a leathern bolt, from
which depended a small hunting-knife; a foraging cap and deer-skin
moccasins completed my costume. My burden was a large green blanket, a
greatcoat, and a tin tea-kettle. Our only arms of offence or defence
were the little hunting-knife before mentioned, and a small axe for
felling trees, should we wish to make a fire. We brought no guns, as
there was little prospect of meeting any game on the road; and it
behoves one, when travelling on foot, to carry as little as possible.

Thus we started from Esquimain River. The best joke, however, of all
was, that neither I nor my man had ever travelled that way before! All
we knew was, that we had to walk fifty miles through an uninhabited
country, and that then we should, or at least ought to, reach Isle
Jeremie. There were two solitary houses, however, that we had to pass
on the way; the one an outpost of the Hudson Bay Company, the other a
saw-mill belonging to one of the lumber companies (or timber-traders) in
Quebec. In fact, the best idea of our situation may be had from the
following lines, which may be supposed to have been uttered by the
establishment to which we were bound:--

"Through the woods, through the woods, follow and find me,
Search every hollow, and dingle, and dell;
To the right, left, or front, you may pas