vincial Government, and to remove to the innumerable islands in the waters before us. I assured them that their titles to their present hunting-grounds remained, and ever would remain, respected and undisputed; but that, inasmuch as their white brethren had an equal right to occupy and cultivate the forest that surrounded them, the consequence inevitably would be to cut off their supply of wild game, as I have already described. In short, I stated the case as fairly as I could; and, after a long debate, succeeded in prevailing on the tribe to whom I had particularly been addressing myself to dispose of their lands on the terms I had proposed; and whether the bargain was for their weal or woe, it was, and, so long as I live, will be, a great satisfaction to me to feel that it was openly discussed and agreed to in presence of every Indian tribe with whom Her Majesty is allied; for, be it always kept in mind, that while the white inhabitants of our North American Colonies are the Queen's subjects, the red Indian is, by solemn treaty, Her Majesty's ally.

As soon as the Council was over, the superintendent of Indian affairs proceeded to deliver to the tribes assembled their annual "presents," or, as they might more justly be termed, "tributes;" and before evening many a happy squaw grinned approbation of the bright, gaudy, glittering ornaments, white blankets, &c., that adorned her wigwam.

The next day, after I had been occupied some hours in business of detail, the whole of the Indian chiefs and young men on the island assembled to

I

take part in some Olympic games I had directed to be prepared for them, and which appeared to give them indescribable delight.

We had prizes for archery, prizes for rifle shooting, at both of which sports, or rather professions,-for they exist by them,-the Indians highly excel.

We had then canoe races; and last of all swimming

races.

For the latter none but the very strongest and most active of their young men competed.

The candidates, about twenty in number, assembled in line on the beach about fifty yards from the waters of the blue lake, which, without a ripple on its lovely countenance, lay sleeping before them. Their anxiety to start was clearly evident from the involuntary movement of little tell-tale muscles on their cheeks, red arms, backs, and straight legs: in short, they stood trembling, now in one part, now in another, like young horses by the side of a covert in England which hounds are drawing.

As soon as the signal rifle was fired, off they started at their utmost speed; and certainly nothing could be finer than to see them, like so many Newfoundland dogs, dash into and then hop, skip, and jump through the water, until the first strike of their extended arms showed that they had taken leave of the bottom, and were, comparatively speaking, tranquilly afloat.

The whoop and encouragement of their respective friends, as sometimes turning one cheek upwards and sometimes the other, they gallantly stemmed through

the water towards a canoe lying about half a mile from the shore, were highly exhilarating; and the excitement increased, as first two or three jet-black heads, and then four or five more rounding the canoe, suddenly changed into as many blood-red faces strenuously approaching a prize which had been selected as not only the most appropriate but the most encouraging, namely, a horizontal pole covered from end to end with glass beads for young squaws.

The eye of every swimmer as he advanced appeared eagerly fixed upon the glittering prize, which no doubt his heart had already destined for the object or objects of his affection; however, in all regions of the globe human hopes are eggs that very often indeed turn out to be addled; and thus it was with the hopes of the swimmers before us. The race was what is termed excellent; indeed the struggle was so severe that half a dozen of the leading swimmers might, to use a sporting phrase, "have been covered with a sheet;" the consequence of which was, that they came within their depths at the same moment; and they were no sooner on their feet than, with uplifted arms, tearing and splashing through the shallow water, they rushed to the beach, then onwards to their goal; and arriving there nearly together, they knocked pole and pole-holders head over heels on the ground, and then throwing themselves upon them they crushed all the beautiful glass beads to atoms! "The lovely toys, so keenly sought,

The

Thus lost their charms by being caught."

young squaws for whom the prizes had been

destined,―had they been present,-might, no doubt, have drawn from the result a useful moral. The catastrophe, however, was really most tragical, and so deeply affecting that, to restore sunshine after the storm, I ordered the pole to be refitted with beads, to be fairly divided among the young conquerors; and, indeed, to tell the truth, I took care that even the squaws of the defeated should have some reason to be thankful for the exertions that had been made in their behalf.

While the excitement caused by these little games was at its height, we managed, unperceived, to get into our canoes, and paddle homewards. As our duty was over, we had plenty of time to shoot and fish as we proceeded. Our days were passed in meandering, under a clear sky, through the beautiful islands I have described, and on which, at night, we slept as before. The expedition was altogether a most delightful one: wholesome exercise for the body, healthy recreation for the mind; and I certainly returned to my daily work at Toronto considerably stronger than when I had left it to make my visit to that simple, high-bred, and virtuous race of men, the red aborigines of the forest.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FLARE-UP.

*

As soon as Mr. McKenzie, Dr. Duncombe, Mr. Robert Baldwin, Mr. Speaker Bidwell, Dr. John Rolph, and other nameless demagogues found that their demand for “responsible government" was repudiated by the people of Upper Canada, to whom they had appealed; that in consequence of their having made this demand they had lost their elections, and that their seats in the Commons' House of Assembly were filled up with loyal men, opposed to the revolutionary innovation they had desired to effect, it was naturally to be expected they would have given up a political contest in which it was evident that they had morally been completely and irretrievably defeated.

In England, where the popular voice is a manystringed instrument composed of fundholders, landowners, churchmen, statesmen, shipowners, manufacturers, independent labourers, and paupers, it is quite impossible that any measure can be approved of by all these different and conflicting interests;

* Dr. Thomas Rolph, long distinguished in Upper Canada by his eloquence and loyalty, is now residing at Portsmouth.