The Young Voyageurs | Page 8

mastiff--a
powerful animal. He was the dog `Marengo.'" You remember

Marengo?
In the canoe there were other objects of interest. There were blankets
and buffalo-robes; there was a small canvass tent folded up; there were
bags of provisions, and some cooking utensils; there was a spade and
an axe; there were rifles--three of them--and a double-barrelled
shot-gun; besides a fish-net, and many other articles, the necessary
equipments for such a journey.
Loaded almost to the gunwale was that little canoe, yet lightly did it
float down the waters of the Red River of the North.
CHAPTER THREE.
THE TRUMPETER SWAN AND THE BALD EAGLE.
It was the spring season, though late. The snow had entirely
disappeared from the hills, and the ice from the water, and the melting
of both had swollen the river, and rendered its current more rapid than
usual. Our young voyageurs needed not therefore to ply their oars,
except now and then to guide the canoe; for these little vessels have no
rudder, but are steered by the paddles. The skilful voyageurs can shoot
them to any point they please, simply by their dexterous handling of the
oars; and Basil, Lucien, and Francois, had had sufficient practice both
with "skiffs" and "dugouts" to make good oarsmen of all three. They
had made many a canoe trip upon the lower Mississippi and the bayous
of Louisiana; besides their journey up the Saint Peter's had rendered
them familiar with the management of their birchen craft. An
occasional stroke of the paddle kept them in their course, and they
floated on without effort. Norman--such was the name of their
Canadian or Highland cousin--sat in the bow and directed their course.
This is the post of honour in a canoe; and as he had more experience
than any of them in this sort of navigation, he was allowed habitually to
occupy this post. Lucien sat in the stern. He held in his hands a book
and pencil; and as the canoe glided onward, he was noting down his
memoranda. The trees upon the banks were in leaf--many of them in
blossom--and as the little craft verged near the shore, his keen eye

followed the configuration of the leaves, to discover any new species
that might appear. There is a rich vegetation upon the banks of the Red
River; but the flora is far different from that which appears upon the
low alluvion of Louisiana. It is Northern, but not Arctic. Oaks, elms,
and poplars, are seen mingling with birches, willows, and aspens.
Several species of indigenous fruit trees were observed by Lucien,
among which were crab-apple, raspberry, strawberry, and currant.
There was also seen the fruit called by the voyageurs "le poire," but
which in English phraseology is known as the "service-berry"
(Amelanchier ovalis). It grows upon a small bush or shrub of six or
eight feet high, with smooth pinnate leaves. These pretty red berries are
much esteemed and eaten both by Indians and whites, who preserve
them by drying, and cook them in various ways. There was still another
bush that fixed the attention of our young botanist, as it appeared all
along the banks, and was a characteristic of the vegetation of the
country. It was not over eight feet in height, with spreading branches of
a grey colour. Its leaves were three inches wide, and somewhat lobed
liked those of the oak. Of course, at this early season, the fruit was not
ripe upon it; but Lucien knew the fruit well. When ripe it resembles
very much a red cherry, or, still more, a cranberry, having both the
appearance and acrid taste of the latter. Indeed, it is sometimes used as
a substitute for cranberries in the making of pies and tarts; and in
many parts it is called the "bush cranberry." The name, however, by
which it is known among the Indians of Red River is "anepeminan,"
from "nepen," summer, and "minan" berry. This has been corrupted by
the fur-traders and voyageurs into "Pembina;" hence, the name of a
river which runs into the Red, and also he name of the celebrated but
unsuccessful settlement of "Pembina," formed by Lord Selkirk many
years ago. Both took their names from this berry that grows in
abundance in the neighbourhood. The botanical appellation of this
curious shrub is Viburnum oxycoccos; but there is another species of
the viburnum, which is also styled "oxycoccos." The common "snowball
bush" of our gardens is a plant of the same genus, and very like the
"Pembina" both in leaf and flower. In fact, in a wild state they might be
regarded as the same; but it is well-known that the flowers of the
snowball are sterile, and do not produce the beautiful bright crimson
berries of the "Pembina." Lucien lectured upon these points