STORY OF A FUR COUNTRY NORTH OF CANADA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1852, 20 May 1887, Page 35

STORY OF A FUR COUNTRY NORTH OF CANADA.

By, One of Oue Little Folks.

The bears fortunately did not get in,- but as the supply of wood was 'becoming exfhausted, Sergeant Long determined to risk his life in order to obtain some fuel? He did not succeed in reaching the shed, as he fainted in the attempt. ' Just as Lieutenant Hobson closed the door, after Long was brought in, a bear pushed against it. Mac Nab and Rae rushed to their officers' assistance, Wilt the bear succeeded in "forcing his way into the passage. Mrs Barnett seizing a pistol fired the contents into the animal's mouth. After this, Hobson determined to burn the furniture, and very soon large fires were blazing in the stoves and furnace. The temperature of the rooms wasnowbearable. At 3 o'clock next day the bears broke into the loft. They could not- get to the ground floor, but the pipes from the fires ran along the loft. These were nofc very strong, and the intruders broke them, The men rushed up the ladder to fight the bears, but in the midst of the melee a terrible rumbling sound was heard, which shook the house till the beams of the walls separated, and Hobson and hia companions had the pleasure of seeing the bears rushing away howling with rage and fright. The rumbling proved to be an earthquake.

On the 12bh January the party were able to go out of doors, the weather having suddenly become warm. The breaking tip of the ice, however, did not commence till April. The 18th July, the day on which the eclipse was to take place, broke misty and cloudy, but towards 8 o'clock the wind swept the clouds and mist away, leaving it bright and clear ; and now a startling discovery was made. Cape Eathurst, when the party arrived, was under the 70th degree of latitude ; it was now found to be 73deg N.lat: All the strange phenomena was now explained; The Peninsula of Victoria was an immense iceberg, which had been connected with the mainland for centuries, ' It had been gradually converted by successive .deposits of earth and sand into apparently solid ground, but the, earthquake of the Bth January had wrenched it from its moorings, and -it was now floating at the mercy of "the ' winds' and waves. - , ! ." : ' The lieutenant told this to Mrs 1 Barnett, Madge, Thomas Black, , and Sergeant Long, iHe told them that nothing 'but' ice which > would cover the Arctic. Sea could stop the ! island, and then they wquld' perhaps be able to cross to the, mainland" on^ihe' ice/ or it might run ashore on" some land.b'efofp winter came. This was to be kept^a, 'secret till it .was necessary' to tell the. iothers, as it would only have the effect . of ' disheartening them.

It was determined that bearings should be taken every day (weather permitting), as on board a ship. The next day, after taking the bearings, Hobson announced ;that, the island had drifted several miles further north. Mac Nab was ordered to make a huge boat, Hobson telling him that he intended to go as far. as Russian America next summer. He also determined to make a tour of the island that day, taking Sergeant Long and Mrs Barnett, and leaving the command- of the fort co Mrs Joliffe, as the corporal was sometimes very imprudent.

(To he continued.)

LETTERS PROM LITTLE FOLKS,

Conditions of the Prizb Letter Competition.

The voting la the competition, for a prize for the best letter which appears ia this column before July 15, commenced with the letters published on April 22, and will finish with those to .be' published on July 15.

All our little folks are Invited to vote- Let each one select every week the letter which he or she thinks best, and fill in the attached voting paper, putting the name of the writer, of the "letter in tbe line left blauk for that, purpose, and sending the voting paper to the Witness Office without delay. A week's time will be allowed for voting." Thus all who intend to vote for the writer of the best letter in this week's Witness must post - their voting papers in time to reach the Witases Office 1 by the following Friday. The name of the writer who gets the largest number of votes will be published in the Witness a fortnight after the appearance of the letter, and he or she will then be oue^of the thirteen who will be left in the final competition at the end of the three months, when tl<e thirteen letters will be republished in order that the best one may be selected.

Letters must be ■written on one side of the paper only, and they will be inserted in the order in which they arrive. Any writer may send more than one letter after the iiret has appeared, but in inserting them, those from correspondents who have nofc.had oue letter in will be given the first place. For example : If any ef those who have letters in this week send others for next week, they will .have to wait until the letters from fresh correspondents appear before their letters will be inserted. , i , < Letters received before the 19th May, will appear in the Witness of May 27 ' ' ■ " ", No votes will be received unless they are 'on a coupon paper, nnd only those who cut out and forward tbe interim coupons will be allowed to vote iv the final competition. ~>

' Out this out, fill in the blanks, and send to the Witness Office before Friday, May 27. Little Folks must not write on both sides of the paper. • •

VOTING ?OR THE BEST LETTER IN THE

LITTLE FOLKS OF MAY 6.

Twelve little folks ha w e voted for the best letter in the Witness of the 29th April, and out of this number Willie Dougall again heads the list with eight votes, so that Ins second letter will also be one of the thirteen from which the prize letter will b« ultimately selected. The voting was as follows :— , Martha Martin... ... ... 7 • Dot M. Grant ... ... • ... 2 , Anna Kamaay ... ... ' ... 1 • Nellie Saunders ... ... l '■ ,^ Bertie Adams „.. ».. .., 1 An impression seems to prevail that those who forward letters must not yote, and consequently the number of votes recorded is considerably restricted. This is not so,; all little folks are invited to vote, and those who send letters for publication may enclose their voting papers in the same envelope. Dear Dot, — A man ,who is living .up -here with us went up to our other place,, called Eauihini, to get a lot of wood. He made a raft of manuka and put the wood on top, and came down the river on it. .He started 'at half-past i 2 o'clock' in the day and did_ nqt get- home till half-past 8 at night. Hd ' maoV a large, fire coming down on the raft, for ' it 'was very dark and cold that night. Two of my brothers went to look for him, thinking something had happened, but they had not gone" far when they saw him coming. He told us he was' in an edJy for nearly two hours. The next day I saw the raft. My brother got on it and his foot weut right through it. There is a large flood in the river now; if there had been one when he came down it would have been rather difficult to stop the raft. As it was, we put out in a boa! and towed it ashore.

About three weeks ago our boat got loose, and the 'young man went after it in a large washing-tub. We thought the tub would capsize, but it did not, and he reached the boat quite safely. There is a quarry about three-quarters of a mile from here, but it is not being worked now. I think work is going to be commenced again soon. There were about 30 people living down there -when it was being -worked, but there is only a family of six living there rtow. It is called the Kaiwhaike Quarry.

We have plenty of pheasants, pigeons, quail, and hares on our place. My brothers go ahootiug. I can cook, ride, swim, row, dance, and I think I should like to learn shooting as well. Will you tell me if you can ride and swim, and when your birthday is ? I will be 13 next Saturday, 7th May ; so dear Dot, I don't expect I will be able to write to you again. — Yours truly,

Jane B. Lockett,

Mara Mara,Totara, May 2.

Dear Dot, — It is a long time since I wrote to you now, but I am sorry to state that the story I am going to tell you this time is a very sad one. About a month ago a dear little schoolmate of mine, called Williamena Mace, met with a very sad and, as it turned out, fatal accident, being burned so, badly during her mother's absence that she died. As the particulars of the accident appeared in the Witness I need not repeat them. The sad accident happened on the Monday evening, and the dear little girl died , on Tuesday. Everybody - was very sorry, for she used to be such a smart, .clever little* girl, and everyone was extremely fond of her..' Her mother took her loss very much to heart, and she has had the sympathy 'of everyone in her trouble. ; I trust dear little Williamina will be happy now in a better world. Her funeral was a very large one. ■ Six of her little schoolmates carried the coffin 1 down to the cemetery, and the rest all marched down behind it, thus coming. to the grave .in little knots, and' looking in it, then turning away and giving place to others, and then all her friends turned away and left my dear little schoolmate to God. With kind love to you, dear Dot, and all little folks, I remain, yours truly, ! >■ „ -\ ;Ettie Lapranchi. Cardrona, May 4. . Dear Dot, — I am preparing for the Second (Standard. There are two girls and three boys io my class. We are learning geography and grammar. We hare four calves and one pet lamb. We are milking three cows. I was at Mataura last Saturday", and saw two threshing mills. It is nine miles from our place to Mataura. I have about two and a-half or three miles to go to school, and on my way I have to cross the Wharekiki stream.— Yours truly, Andrew Crawford.

Fassafern, May 5.

Deak Dot, — I live at Bellview, Tuturau. I go to the Wharekiki school. I. read in the Third Royal Reader. I like going to school very ranch, I have never beeu absent one day since school ' commenced — one year and seven months ago. I got a first-class certificate for good attendance.

1 Before we came to live at Tuturau we lived at the Calve Farm, ■ where we had a beautifnl garden of fruit-trees. . We had plums, apples, cherries, pears, and peaches, gooseberries, black currants, red currants, and strawberries. Our house was close to'the riv.er-side. We had two boats— a large and small one. The small one was used for crossing the river, and the large one for taking down coal to Mr Lamb's house, — Yours truly,

Mary Ann Robson (aged 11 years). Bellview, Tuturau, May.s.

Dear Dot. — I have read all the letters from Little Folks, and in doing so I came to one from Willie, aged 90. Dear Dot, you said in your reply you were as old again, so you must be iBO. Now, it you only live till I save enough money io bring me to Dunedin, I will come and ask the Editor to show me Dot. Dear Dot, Winter is on, so you must take care of yourself, for old people soon catch cold. I must now tell'you the threshing mills, are all busy just now, and all. the fields are looking bare. "Dear Dofr, you would think it strange to live in the country, and not to see all the nice things that you can see in, town, for there must be some fine buildings there, and some pretty gardens. Milton., is the only large town that I 1 ever seen, and then I was passing through and i going to the Taieri, so I did not see very much of it, as I was ,4a . the . train at, the time. . . -Dear Dot, we do not have many amusements here. It is a very quiet place to live in.-jj-Youratrjdy, Josephine Kulneb f\" 5* j (aged 11 years 9 months)! i . r P.S.— I am sending jrpu a forget-me-not scrap ■'iiicl a pretty fern.~jLlC ! T-- ' ' -r- , Plat, May.] 6. *; ; ; . -^ »,., J3BAB; Do^-rl^lire-follturi; Bush, 18k miles from Dunedin, seven miles from Brighton, and two miles fromthC Taieri Beach. We.havea good few neris, three geese and a few ducks. Twoof . our geese are very, old, one bejng.the same age as, 'my eldest sister, (15 years old), and the other the' same age as lam (12 years). 1 The one' 15 years' old; is grey and- .white,, arid the other is 'pure white, The. oldest, goosq has laid a good few, eggs. At first she laid 15 egge, next year SO,

another year 46, and 50 for two years, another 48, and these last years 46., , ,Some, 4 years she doesn't hatch, while in others :>she does. The years that she doesn't hatch, mother puts the eggs under hens— four under each hen. We have plenty of water and grass for our geese, and in winter we give them a meal of oats every day. The first egg the old goose laid was a large one, and exceedingly round. < • My goose lays 12 eggs every time,' but she lays twice a year. She hatches one of the settings herself, and mother puts the other setting under hens. When my goose fetches out her setting, she is awfully wild. She won't let anyone near her. — Yours truly t T Maggie Qoill (aged 12 years). Kuri Bush, May 7.[Dear Maggie,— Look among the small type and see if you can find something about how you wrote.this letter, and let me know next time you write.— 'Dot. ' .

Dear Dot, — I am not going to write you a long letter this time; just a few lines to tell you that we only get the mail once a week — on Friday. So I could not send the coupon any sooner. — Yours truly,

Oteramika, May 6.

Bessie. Dear Dot, — The place where I live is called Lowburn, from the little creek of thatnamerising in Mount Pisa and ending at the Clutha river. It is surrounded by terraces, with gullies in them, supposed to be formed by a flood, The gullies have been worked for gold. Father is working for gold in a place about two miles away, called Five-mile. He and his mate are working their claim with a water-balance. All the other miners in the Five-mile are vjorking their ground with a windlass.' Father's is considered much the better plan. Igo to our school. lam in the Fourth Standard. We have just got a new schoolmaster, Mr W. \V. Mackie. , Our late master (Mr Chappie) left on the 27th of April. I often go out for a ride. — Yours truly,

Willie Wood (aged 10£ years). Lowburn Creek, May 8.

. Dear Dot, — I live in a nice place near Riverton, we call it Seaview. The sea is about half-a-mile from us, and often go to the shore to gather shells. I have got a nice little kitten Would you please give me a nice name for it. I am sending you a pretty card, I hope you will like it. — Yours truly, • • Jennie Frew (aged 9 years). Seaview, Otaitai Bush, May 8.

Dear Dot,— l am going to tell you that we have got a new school here, the old one having been removed after lasting 20 years. The new building is larger and much nicer, but the worst of it is we have no proper road to it. Father says there has never been a proper one got from the council, which makes it bad for us girls, as we have to scramble through wire fences, which tear our clothes, and then mother says we do it on purpose. I hope you will spend part of your holidays with us in the summer. Then we can go but walking on the beach, and have a good row on the water in calm weather. — Yours truly, Annie.

Lower Harbour, May 9.

Deab Dot, — I went to a Scotch concert with my father and mother the other night. It was a very successful affair. Mr Purves sang a lot of Scotch songs and gave a number of recitations, which were very well received. Mr M 'Alpine was very comical in the recitation about " The wee thing that jaggetthem a'-."' He said that* the rose and the shamrock you could squeeze and throw awa', but the wee.thing that jagget them was the Scotch thistle, which he helQ on the point of , his stick. They kept us laughing the, whole time they were, speaking, ' and I would like them to come again. I, send ; my' voting paper to,' you in this letter.- I read your poetry in the Witness, and I thought it •first-rate. I have got two pretty little kittens ; one is black the other is white. Now, Dot, would ' you give me a nice name for each of 'them.— Yours truly, Duncan Ross. " Qlenkenich, May'lo. 1 Dear Dot, — I live at Otautau. It is a very nice place, and the' river is not very, far from us. In winter we get flooded. Last winter there ' was a very big flood. When Igo to Dunedin I will call and see yon. I have one brother in .Dunedin. Igo to school every day ; lam in the Third Standard. Dear Dot, will you give me a nice name for my pet lamb ? — Yours truly, . Gertrude (aged 12 years). Otautau, May 8. •. Dear Dot, — I got up this morning and lit the fire ; gave mamma and papa their breakfast tfn bed ; and then I cleared away, tidied up the dining-room, and partly prepared the dinner. I then had to mind my little brother Tommy. — Yours truly,

' Mabbl Kennedy (aged 9h years). ; Oamaru, May 8. " \ Dear Dot, — I go to school every day, and on Saturday I go up the hill with nay brothers to )mnt rabbits. We take the dogs with us. One bf the dogs, named Dash, is a splendid hunter. On Gpod Friday we caught about 40 rabbits. — .Yours truly,

John Williamson (aged 9 years). , North Taieri, May 6.

, DpAijt Dot, — I' am going to tell ymi ahout our dog Nelly. She had nine pups, {Jncle has one of the pups, and all the others we drowned. Nelly was very sorry, and kept running all over the place looking for them, but of course she could not find them.— Yours truly, Henry Horrell (aged 11 years). , Mandeville, Otama.

Dear Dot,— This is a nice place. Where I live there is a pretty lake called Lake George.. There is a nice beach and plenty of mussels and cockels. I go to school. I am in the third class. We sometimes go in the sea during our dinner time, and sometimes play lawn tennis at school, for we have lots of things to play with, as the master of our school tries to make us all happy. I have four brothers and one sister. My sister was four years old yesterday. We had a few little girls to tea, and had some fun. We live seven miles from Riverton. This is a nice place for picnics. I sometimes go to town to do the shopping, as Jam the eldest. Do you ever go shopping for ypur mother? I should h'ke to see Dunedin. I have seen Invercargill, and lived .-.there, for 10,. months,, but I like Colac Bay better. — Yours truly, ■ - ■ .* r OAEoi.i|nß'Hoi!GooD,( a gedloiyearß). • ,Colac:W,.Ma'ylO:^-: H « 1 Deab Dot. — We live at Ngapara, and'hafH fou£mtte&to_ga tp^school.. I have four brothersj and three sisters. There are five .of ÜB.going to I school. |rMy'yVtfngesfc sister. is a yearoldr",SJie'{ iifljacha^prei^litttegirl. I have "no pete. I am in the Second Standard. My brother and "sisteis are in* the |?ourtK| Standard. M^iwo .brothers, younger than I am, are in the A'B O;~ ' Yours truly, , . j f v , W'I?"W ' I? " " 5 J I>f Jju&T Roxbprgh (aged-8 years)'.. V ; Ngapara, May 1&. • ' -.. „ v- \v- -.•• . ' DSab 'Dot^l dreamt y ybu were here. When .we in the train, a gentleman (who wore eye*. glasaeß) gave ua bis seat, He got oat at Gr&g-

mere, near Invercargill;and his wife,* little la<Sy in a pink dress, met him. I wonder if Dot knows who they were. There wera three gentle* men here last week, and they shot 125 ' docks in' two days. I would like to send you some, but I don't know how. I went for a nice ride yester* day on the little pony. With love, yours, .truly, „. „. Alice Vynbb , Five Rivers, May 9. Deab Dot,— l am going to tell you something about our school. At Easter we* had a school concert, the Athenseum Hall being crowded on the occasion. All the money that was taken at the door was given to bur prize fund. With songs, and recitations, and singlestick' drill we spent a pleasant night. '\ Our teacher, Mr Strong, was conductor,' and Miss Trueman pianist: Before the close of the concert the chairman distributed the standard and good , attendance prizes for the. past year.— ■" Yours truly, „ , ni ji " i .A Miner's Boy. *i Bannockburn, May 9. \ 1( MORE ABOUT QUARANTINE TOM. , I have got another very amusing letter from Willie about some more of Tom's tricks, but.it is »o loug, and so many little folks have written this week, that I have not been able,- to make room for it. I shall probably be able'tofind a place for it next week or the week after.~Dor.