Adventure and adventurers > Away in the wilderness, or, Life among the red Indians and fur-traders of North America

AWAY IN THE WILDERNESS.
bark and dried leaves; and once, when hard
pressed, he had smoked oakum. He would rather
have gone without his supper than without his
pipe ! A powder-horn and shot-pouch were slung
over his shoulders by two cross belts, and he car¬
ried a long single-barrelled gun.
I have been thus particular in describing Jasper
Derry, because he is our hero, and he is worth
describing, being a fine, hearty, handsome fellow,
who cared as little for a wild Indian or a grizzly
bear as he did for a butterfly, and who was one
of the best of companions, as he was one of the
best of hunters, in the wilderness.
Having gained the top of the hillock, Jasper
placed the butt of his long gun on the ground,
and, crossing his hands over the muzzle, stood
there for some time so motionless, that he might
have been mistaken for a statue. A magnificent
country was spread out before him. Just in front
lay a clear lake of about a mile in extent, and the
evening was so still that every tree, stone, and
bush on its margin, was reflected as in a mirror.
Here, hundreds of wild ducks and wild geese
were feeding among the sedges of the bays, or
flying to and fro mingling their cries with those
of thousands of plover and other kinds of water-
fowl that inhabited the place. At the lower end
of this lake a small rivulet was seen to issue forth
and wind its way through woods and plains like a