our to those taken later
in the season, and may be bought very reasonably from the Indians. I
gave a small loaf of bread for a fish weighing from eighteen to twenty
pounds. The masquinonge is to all appearance a large species of the
pike, and possesses the ravenous propensities of that fish.

One of the small lakes of the Otanabee is called Trout Lake, from the
abundance of salmon-trout that occupy its waters. The white fish is also
found in these lakes and is very delicious. The large sorts of fish are
mostly taken with the spear, few persons having time for angling in this
busy country.

As soon as the ice breaks up, our lakes are visited by innumerable
flights of wild fowl: some of the ducks are extremely beautiful in their
plumage, and are very fine-flavoured. I love to watch these pretty
creatures, floating so tranquilly on the water, or suddenly rising and
skimming along the edge of the pine-fringed shores, to drop again on the
surface, and then remain stationary, like a little fleet at anchor.
Sometimes we see an old duck lead out a brood of little ones from among
the rushes; the innocent, soft things look very pretty, sailing round
their mother, but at the least appearance of danger they disappear
instantly by diving. The frogs are great enemies to the young broods;
they are also the prey of the masquinonge, and, I believe, of other
large fish that abound in these waters.

The ducks are in the finest order during the early part of the summer,
when they resort to the rice-beds in vast numbers, getting very fat on
the green rice, which they eagerly devour.

The Indians are very successful in their duck-shooting: they fill a
canoe with green boughs, so that it resembles a sort of floating island;
beneath the cover of these boughs they remain concealed, and are enabled
by this device to approach much nearer than they otherwise could do to
the wary birds. The same plan is often adopted by our own sportsmen with
great success.

A family of Indians have pitched their tents very near us. On one of the
islands in our lake we can distinguish the thin blue smoke of their wood
fires, rising among the trees, from our front window, or curling over
the bosom of the waters.

The squaws have been several times to see me; sometimes from curiosity,
sometimes with the view of bartering their baskets, mats, ducks, or
venison, for pork, flour, potatoes, or articles of wearing-apparel.
Sometimes their object is to borrow "kettl