28 chapters
5 hour read
Selected Chapters
28 chapters
Canoeing in Kanuckia
Canoeing in Kanuckia
OR HAPS AND MISHAPS AFLOAT AND ASHORE OF THE STATESMAN, THE EDITOR, THE ARTIST, AND THE SCRIBBLER RECORDED BY THE COMMODORE AND THE COOK (C. L. NORTON AND JOHN HABBERTON) ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 182 Fifth Avenue 1878. Copyright by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1873. DEDICATION. THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF KING CANUTE, WHO TOOK A ROYAL DUCKING WITH AN EQUANIMITY WHICH FAIRLY ENTITLES HIM TO RECOGNITION BY THE CANOE CLUB....
33 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
MELANCHOLY as the admission must necessarily be to persons with aspirations toward literary Art, the authors are forced to acknowledge that most of the incidents recounted therein actually occurred during a canoeing cruise to the Northward, in which they were participants; that the localities described have a geographical existence, and that the persons introduced and the experiences recorded are, with trifling exceptions, true to the life. They frankly admit that they might not have been so tru
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
INTRODUCTORY.
INTRODUCTORY.
"GO see her?—certainly I will!" said the Artist. "So will I!" exclaimed the Scribbler, jumping to his feet and rearranging his neck-tie; "if she is half as beautiful as you say, I'd go every day to see her, even were the trip twice the score of miles that it is." "And I," said the Editor, replacing in his vest-pocket the folding-scissors which he nervously fingered by force of professional habit. "'Tis done, then," said the Statesman, "she will be at my house to-morrow evening and the winter thr
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
I. GETTING UNDER WAY.
I. GETTING UNDER WAY.
ALL night the Statesman, the Editor, the Artist and the Scribbler had been rumbling northward in a sleeping car, and as day dawned the steady and quickened clank of wheels told that they were on a down grade toward the Lake, and nearing the point where vacation was really to begin. They had turned into their respective berths somewhere south of Albany; they awoke and looked down from a precipitous hillside into the clear Lake. Presently the train slowed and in another minute they were questionin
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
II. COOKS AND COFFEE POTS AND SEAMANSHIP.
II. COOKS AND COFFEE POTS AND SEAMANSHIP.
AS is the case in all well regulated families, the Cook was the first person to greet the morning of the second day. He not only did so, but he greeted it in its extreme infancy, an instant after his own watch, had it been a repeater, would have struck midnight, and from this moment onward he manifested the liveliest interest in the growth of the new day. His impatience could scarcely be attributable to a desire to see the sun rise, for at home the Cook habitually rose at dawn, and had already a
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
III. THE COOK STUDIES NAVIGATION.
III. THE COOK STUDIES NAVIGATION.
AS the squadron turned out and took its matutinal swim, soon after sunrise, the lake was dimpled by a favorable breeze, and after breakfast orders were issued to make sail. "I've got to make a spar first, Commodore," exclaimed the Cook, "my main boom is gone, or hasn't come, I don't know which." "Find another at once," said the commanding officer, and the Cook seized the hatchet, and started into the timber, returning presently with an elm pole weighing twenty pounds, nearly half the weight of h
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IV. THE WRECK OF THE ROCHEFORT.
IV. THE WRECK OF THE ROCHEFORT.
AT dawn the Purser arose and woke the camp with the blood-curdling cry, "The Rochefort is gone!" The rest, as soon as they could rub their eyes open, scanned the lake to leeward, but no trace of the missing canoe could be seen. The sky was grey with low driving clouds and the lake repeated the sombre hue, save when it broke into white before the southerly gale. With ill concealed reluctance the Commodore offered to lend his darling Becky to the bereaved Statesman, who protested that the loss of
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
V. SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.
V. SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.
IF the reader has watched with any interest, the development of what may perhaps without offence be termed canoebial character, he must have been pained to observe that however fair minded the average canoeist maybe in other respects, neither his judgment nor his statements can be trusted where his own boat is concerned. Of this fact each member of the expedition became convinced in the course of the first day out, and the authors deem it their duty to warn the public against indiscriminate beli
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VI. MY NATIVE LAND, FAREWELL.
VI. MY NATIVE LAND, FAREWELL.
Morning dawned on a somewhat forlorn set of castaways. Every man was more or less damp, not to say wet, and the Vice with his bedraggled mutton-chop whiskers presented a peculiarly lugubrious appearance as he exasperated the Americans of the party by singing in the pitch of an Irish "keen" the old Southern air "Maryland, My Maryland." The day promised to be a fair one, and by sunrise land had been reached, a fire built, dry clothes extracted from bags and water-tight compartments, and amiability
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VII. GARRISON LIFE.
VII. GARRISON LIFE.
THE Vice and the Purser, having boats of the Chrysalid model, were so long in stowing their cargoes that the Commodore and the Cook started in advance of the remainder of the squadron and made a brisk run to a British fort, the outline of whose parapet was discernible to a military eye, on an island some miles distant. When built during the last war, this work was far beyond the range of Yankee guns, but now the two forts might exchange cards with some chance of doing execution, albeit they are
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VIII. THE BEGINNING OF ACADIA.
VIII. THE BEGINNING OF ACADIA.
ON the morning of this day, two canoeists arose from their nautical couches with that satisfied air which betokens a night of peaceful rest, but the Vice and the Purser arose only after many a premonitory groan, and even then they strongly resembled a couple of rough logs from which a single slab had been sawn, so flattened was one side of each. The Commodore eyed them with manifest satisfaction, called the attention of each of them to the appearance of the other, and exclaimed, "Observe the eff
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IX. AREAS OF RAIN.
IX. AREAS OF RAIN.
SLEEP was sedulously courted this morning by the entire squadron, for not only did the late hours and social dissipations of the preceding night have a soporific effect, but a steady rain had set in during the small hours, and not even the Cook felt any disposition to arise and shine. The tent was rather close quarters for four, so the Commodore had slept in his canoe, and for him rising meant stepping out of a dry nest into a steady down-pour. After a while, however, voices began to issue from
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
X. ACADIA.
X. ACADIA.
AT length the voyagers seemed really in Acadia. A large village at the lower end of the canal exhibited in charming profusion the red-tiled roofs, white stuccoed cottages, and verandahs peculiar to French village architecture; all signs over the shop-doors were in French, and nearly all of them indicated that spirituous liquors were sold there; the native stare was of short duration and respectful, instead of long drawn and insolent, as it would have been at any canal terminus in the United Stat
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XI. SEVERAL OTHER DAYS.
XI. SEVERAL OTHER DAYS.
THE disgust of the voyagers on the next morning, when they found themselves reduced to breakfasting on bread and coffee, was provocative of vigorous paddling, and a large town was soon reached. The voyagers passed en route a small Indian camp, in which were exhibited some of the positive results of civilized environment, for one of the men had a beard, and the only visible squaw wore an apron with pockets. As the town was one at which the expedition expected many letters, there was a movement in
25 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XII. A CHANGE OF SCENE.
XII. A CHANGE OF SCENE.
AFTER breakfast the Commodore announced that as nearly as he could estimate the town of St. Ursus was only about one hour's run from the camp, and that thence the squadron was to be shipped across country, to Lake End, a freight train being due about the middle of the morning, and a passenger train following shortly after noon. With light hearts the squadron paddled down a lovely stretch of river, past one or two "swell" houses at which the Vice looked askance, as the probable abodes of an "effe
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIII. SWIFT WATER.
XIII. SWIFT WATER.
HERE, at the foot of "Rapid No. 2," the authors would say a word for the benefit of the inexperienced. They are asked by cautious readers if this kind of play is not dangerous. Certainly, just as coasting, and travelling by rail, and crossing Broadway, and playing base and foot-ball, are dangerous. In short, just exactly as life itself is dangerous. They would not advise any but bold swimmers to undertake the amusement; but where proper survey is taken to avoid possible falls, a wetting is the w
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIV. MORE RAPIDS.
XIV. MORE RAPIDS.
CONTRARY to custom the camp had been pitched where the morning sun would strike in upon it. This is undesirable unless an early start is the order of the day, for breakfast in the level rays of a summer sun is not so comfortable as in the shade of a natural screen. At a tolerably seasonable hour, therefore, the squadron paddled around the point and across the reach which still separated them by two miles or so from the outlet. For variety the wind was dead ahead, but the distance was soon passed
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XV. THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
XV. THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
IT had been something of a relief to stow masts and sails compactly away for a few days, and now again it was an agreeable change to be once more under canvas and see the slender masts bend and spring before the breeze. In the course of a day's sail the river narrowed perceptibly, as rivers are wont to do as they near their outlets, and the various members of the expedition, having noted the fact, proceeded, each in his own way, to discover the cause thereof. A melancholy howl (learned from Gari
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
IN the preceding pages the authors have introduced in a desultory way some hints which it is hoped may prove of practical use to inexperienced or possibly to experienced canoeists. There are some questions however which are asked by every one who contemplates engaging in this delightful recreation, and to a few of these questions answers are now volunteered. I. Where can I get a canoe? The best answer is a list of builders. James Everson, Williamsburgh, N. Y., W. Jarvis, Ithaca, N. Y., and Georg
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Just Published:
Just Published:
FOR REFERENCE, LIBRARIES, AND FAMILY USE, The Library Atlas, Consisting of 100 Maps of Modern, Historical, and Classical Geography, and 4 Astronomical Charts, with descriptive Letter-press by Bryce, Collier, and Schmitz, and copious Indices, containing over 50,000 names. Large 8vo. Half morocco, neat. 14 00 Half morocco, extra. 16 00 A most exhaustive and comprehensive work of reference. It gives, brought down to the latest date, all the information and statistics to be found in the expens
41 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VALUABLE BOOKS
VALUABLE BOOKS
PUBLISHED BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, New York. I. Tent Life in Siberia. Adventures Among the Koraks and other Tribes in Kamchatka and Northern Asia. Fifth Edition. 12mo, cloth extra. $2 00 "We strongly recommend this book as one of the most entertaining volumes of travel that have appeared for some years."—London Athenæum. II. Travels in Portugal. By John Latouche . With Photographic Illustrations. Octavo, cloth extra. 3 50 "A delightfully written book, as fair as it it pleasant. * * * Entert
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HISTORICAL WORKS
HISTORICAL WORKS
PUBLISHED BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, 182 Fifth Avenue, New York . HAYDN. A Dictionary of Dates, relating to all Ages and Nations, for Universal Reference. By Benjamin Vincent . The new (15th) English edition, with an American Supplement, containing about 200 additional pages, including American Topics and a copious Biographical Index. By G. P. Putnam, A.M. In one very large volume of more than 1,000 pages. Price. $9.00 Half Russia. 12.00 This is the most comprehensive and reliable book of ref
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PUTNAM'S SERIES OF SCHOOL HISTORIES.
PUTNAM'S SERIES OF SCHOOL HISTORIES.
History of England. For Junior Classes. By L. Schmitz , LL.D. With Illustrations and Historical Map. 16mo, cloth. $1 00 "Dr. Schmitz's volume is sensibly written."— Athenæum. "Dr. Schmitz has the pen of a ready writer. He has the art of compressing what he has to say in a few words, and yet rendering his narrative lively and picturesque. It is attractively illustrated, and a capital historical map of the British Islands adds to its value."— National Schoolmaster . History of Scotland. By Suth
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BOOKS ON BIOGRAPHY
BOOKS ON BIOGRAPHY
PUBLISHED BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS. New York. BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF CONTEMPORARY STATESMEN. Edited by Thomas Wentworth Higginson . Or Four Volumes handsomely bound, in box, $6 00. "These volumes will be popular and useful because they present these characters from an American stand-point by those eminently qualified to see and appreciate the qualities which have lifted them into a world-wide prominence."— American Journal of Education. "It is in the character of statesmen simply that the divers
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS. DODGE. The Plains of the Great West, and their Inhabitants . A vivid and picturesque description of the Western plains of the American Continent, including accounts of the game, a careful topographical record, notes of emigration, &c., &c., and an exhaustive account of the life and habits of the Indians (both the "reserved " and the "unreserved"), their customs in fighting, hunting, marriage, death, clothing, religious beliefs and rites, &c., &
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Bayard Taylor's Novels.
Bayard Taylor's Novels.
I. HANNAH THURSTON. A Story of American Life. One vol. 12mo, $2. Household edition. $1 50 "If Bayard Taylor has not placed himself, as we are half inclined to suspect, in the front rank of novelists, he has produced a very remarkable book—a really original story, admirably told, crowded with life-like characters, full of delicate and subtle sympathies, with ideas the most opposite to his own, and lighted up throughout with that playful humor which suggests always wisdom rather than
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Bayard Taylor's Travels.
Bayard Taylor's Travels.
ELDORADO; or, Adventures in the Path of Empire (Mexico and California). 12mo, $2. Household edition. $1 50 "To those who have more recently pitched their tents in California, the narrative of Taylor will have interest as assisting them to appreciate the wondrous changes that have been effected in this region since the days of turmoil, excitement, and daring speculation of which the tourist speaks."— Sacramento Union. CENTRAL AFRICA. Life and Landscape from Cairo to the White Nile.
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BAYARD TAYLOR'S COMPLETE WORKS.
BAYARD TAYLOR'S COMPLETE WORKS.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF BAYARD TAYLOR. In fifteen volumes. People's edition, cloth, $30. Household edition. $22 50 THE TRAVELS , separate, ten volumes, $22.50. Household edition. $15 00 ⁂ Sent post-paid, on receipt of price, by G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers...
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter