C. L. Brightwell

“ At the time when your grandfather travelled, the whole land was covered with snow, excepting on the tops of some of the hills, from which the snow had melted. These lofty, bare spots are called ‘naps,’ and they resemble island meadows in an ocean of snow. Upon these, the deer were grazing leisurely, like cattle, in numerous herds. They go in quest of food from one of these naps to another, in places near water, which after long frost becomes exceedingly scarce; in the interior, the tracks of the deer were as thick as of cattle in the snow in a well-stocked farmyard. ”

“ You will be wishing to hear the story of Boxa’s ancestor, a dog, as I have said, deserving of renown. It chanced, in one of his official journeys, your grandfather visited a part of the coast peculiarly fatal to European vessels, especially to those outward bound to Quebec in the spring; the shore in the neighbourhood being very low, and the ledges of rock extending far out to sea. On one of the islands which he visited, he took up his abode in a neat cabin belonging to a planter, where he found welcome shelter, and a cheerful fire made from the wreckwood scattered abundantly upon the shore. ”

“ She then advanced a few steps, and took the glass he presented to her; but scarcely had she raised it to her eye when a shout was heard from one of the sailors—‘Stop him! stop the monkey; he’s got the child!’ Every eye was turned in the direction to which the man pointed; and there we saw the ship’s monkey, a favourite animal with the sailors, of which they made a great pet, climbing up a rope which he held in one hand, while with the other he hugged close to him the helpless infant! ”

“ Love divine is the constraining and blessed principle that bears the fainting spirit up. ‘We love Him because He first loved us.’ Let that, my own dear boy, be your motto; and then if you lose your life in the service of your Lord, you will find it again in eternal joy. ”

“ They are exceedingly fatiguing, too, as they become very heavy when wet; and the wearer is compelled to walk with long and rapid strides, in order to prevent the rackets from striking against each other. Sometimes, when the day’s journey was a long one, the faithful terrier which accompanied your grandfather throughout the whole route would howl for very exhaustion; and whenever his master stopped to look about him, or to set his compass, the poor brute would scratch about and make himself a bed for a few minutes’ rest in the soft snow. ”

“ It was evident that something unusual had occurred to disturb the household. Hastily rising and dressing himself, he made the best of his way downstairs, and there he found the wife of his host busily engaged in chafing the hands and arms of a poor half-drowned lad who had just been brought into the cabin and laid upon the floor. He, it appeared, had been cast ashore by a heavy swell, but there were others beside him who were still in danger.
“‘Could you manage, sir, to stand against the wind, perhaps you could carry this coil of rope; they may be wanting it,’ said the woman. ”

“ He inquired, with a sigh, whether any efforts had been made to help the sufferers?
“‘Oh, yes!’ said his host, a worthy man, though rough in his address and appearance. ‘Yes! we do our best, but it is very seldom our help comes in time to be worth much. Once or twice we have saved a solitary seaman by throwing a rope, or by sending in our dogs to drag others ashore; and some years ago there were seven men wrecked in the night, unknown to us. When the morning came, I was out early and discovered footmarks along the shore, which told me a tale I could read plain enough. ”

“ What follows is very sad; it is touchingly told in the journal, and I will read the account as it is there given:—‘The atmosphere now became so thick, that, had we not been troubled with snow-blindness, we could not have seen more than a few yards, and could not possibly have made our way in an unknown country.
“‘These Newfoundland fogs are fearful things; they surpass, indeed, the imagination of Europeans. You seem to be actually in cloud-land; for nothing but cloud is visible above, around, and beneath. ”

“ By means of these strange snow-shoes, the feet are prevented from sinking into the soft, deep snow. Even the Indians, shod in this fashion, occasionally meet with heavy falls, especially when descending very steep hills; and a foreigner feels terribly awkward and at a loss when first he attempts to use them. ”

“ I doubt not you have often heard the saying, ‘One half the world little knows how the other half lives;’ and, indeed, we have but little idea of the shifts to which thousands of our fellow men are put, and of the discomforts and troubles of their daily life. ”

“ Ward; “it is impossible that I should tell you all I have seen in Newfoundland. I can, however, give you an account of some of your dear grandfather’s missionary journeys, in which he met with many adventures, and, at the close of one trip, fell in with the good man to whom the wonderful dog Box belonged.” ”

“ These people lived, for the most part, in wretched cabins, which swarmed with men, women, and children, while every nook and corner not thus occupied was filled with pigs, fowls, sheep, or dogs; and the thick smoke, or, as the people emphatically call it, ‘cruel steam,’ is most distressing to the eyesight, which suffers greatly in consequence. ”

“ But, in the first place, I should mention that, when travelling into the interior, he was obliged to walk in Indian rackets, or snow-shoes, a very difficult matter to one unaccustomed to their use.”
“Why difficult, grandma? I thought snow-shoes kept you from slipping, and made it much easier to walk in winter.”
“The snow-shoes of which I speak, my dear, are very different from anything you have ever seen; nor could you imagine it possible to travel in them if you had a pair now before you. ”

“ This state of things lasts often for days; now it is a bright white, as though the day were struggling through; now it becomes shaded, and now almost night. Sometimes there are little openings, and you catch a clean vista between two walls of vapour, but it is presently shut out by the rolling masses of fog. ”

“ At length he came to the resolution to retrace his steps, hoping to make the scanty supply of biscuit which still remained hold out until they could regain the spot where the Indians had encamped, and where they had buried some venison. Of the three travellers, he suffered least from snow-blindness, which he thought was owing to the fact that he had kept a black gauze veil over his face at mid-day, and had resolutely adhered to his purpose of not rubbing his eyes. He was, therefore, best able to guide his companions. ”