The Young Voyageurs | Page 3

the squirrels, and the beautiful martens (sables)
that hunt them from tree to tree. There are found the foxes of every
variety, the red, the cross, and the rare and highly-prized silver-fox
(Vulpes argentatus), whose shining skin sells for its weight in gold!
There, too, the black bear (Ursus Americanus) yields its fine coat to
adorn the winter carriage, the holsters of the dragoon, and the shako of
the grenadier. There the fur-bearing animals exist in greatest plenty,
and many others whose skins are valuable in commerce, as the moose,
the wapiti, and the wood-bison.
But there is also a "prairie" district in the fur countries. The great table
prairies of North America, that slope eastward from the Rocky
Mountains, also extend northward into the Hudson's Bay territory.
They gradually grow narrower, however, as you proceed farther north,
until, on reaching the latitude of the Great Slave Lake, they end
altogether. This "prairie land" has its peculiar animals. Upon it roams
the buffalo, the prong-horned antelope, and the mule-deer. There, too,
may be seen the "barking-wolf" and the "swift fox." It is the favourite
home of the marmots, and the gauffres or sand-rats; and there, too, the
noblest of animals, the horse, runs wild. West of this prairie tract is a
region of far different aspect,--the region of the Rocky Mountains. This
stupendous chain, sometimes called the Andes of North America,
continues throughout the fur countries from their southern limits to the
shores of the Arctic Sea. Some of its peaks overlook the waters of that
sea itself, towering up near the coast. Many of these, even in southern
latitudes, carry the "eternal snow." This "mountain-chain" is, in places,
of great breadth. Deep valleys lie in its embrace, many of which have
never been visited by man. Some are desolate and dreary; others are
oases of vegetation, which fascinate the traveller whose fortune it has
been, after toiling among naked rocks, to gaze upon their smiling
fertility. These lovely wilds are the favourite home of many strange
animals. The argali, or mountain-sheep, with his huge curving horns, is
seen there; and the shaggy wild goat bounds along the steepest cliffs.
The black bear wanders through the wooded ravines; and his fiercer
congener, the "grizzly"--the most dreaded of all American
animals--drags his huge body along the rocky declivities.

Having crossed the mountains, the fur countries extend westward to the
Pacific. There you encounter barren plains, treeless and waterless;
rapid rivers, that foam through deep, rock-bound channels; and a
country altogether rougher in aspect, and more mountainous, than that
lying to the east of the great chain. A warmer atmosphere prevails as
you approach the Pacific, and in some places forests of tall trees cover
the earth. In these are found most of the fur-bearing animals; and, on
account of the greater warmth of the climate, the true felidae--the
long-tailed cats--here wander much farther north than upon the eastern
side of the continent. Even so far north as the forests of Oregon these
appear in the forms of the cougar (Felis concolor), and the ounce (Felis
onza).
But it is not our intention at present to cross the Rocky Mountains. Our
journey will lie altogether on the eastern side of that great chain. It will
extend from the frontiers of civilisation to the shores of the Arctic Sea.
It is a long and perilous journey, boy reader; but as we have made up
our minds to it, let us waste no more time in talking, but set forth at
once. You are ready? Hurrah!
CHAPTER TWO.
THE YOUNG VOYAGEURS.
There is a canoe upon the waters of Red River--Red River of the north.
It is near the source of the stream, but passing downward. It is a small
canoe, a frail structure of birch-bark, and contains only four persons.
They are all young--the eldest of them evidently not over nineteen
years of age, and the youngest about fifteen.
The eldest is nearly full-grown, though his body and limbs have not yet
assumed the muscular development of manhood. His complexion is
dark, nearly olive. His hair is jet-black, straight as an Indian's, and long.
His eyes are large and brilliant, and his features prominent. His
countenance expresses courage, and his well-set jaws betoken firmness
and resolution. He does not belie his looks, for he possesses these
qualifications in a high degree. There is a gravity in his manner,

somewhat rare in one so young; yet it is not the result of a morose
disposition, but a subdued temperament produced by modesty, good
sense, and much experience. Neither has it the air of stupidity. No: you
could easily tell that the mind of this youth, if once roused, would
exhibit both energy and alertness. His quiet manner has a far different
expression. It is an air