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PREFACE
The Author having
brought out several years since a work on sporting in Atlantic America,
which was favourably received, is induced to present the present volume
of more recent experiences, especially as the interval since elapsed has
been unmarked by the production of any English publication of a similar
land.
Many inquiries
concerning the sports and physical features of the British Provinces
bordering on the Atlantic, evidently made by those who meditate seeking
a transatlantic home, appear from time to time in the columns of
sporting periodicals, and elicit various and uncertain replies.
The Author’s sojourn in
the Acadian Provinces having extended over a period of fifteen years, he
trusts that the information here afforded will prove useful to such
querists.
It will appear evident
that he has formed a strong attachment to the country, its scenery and
wild sports, and by some it will probably be said that the pleasures of
forest life are exaggerated in his descriptions of a country possessing
neither grandeur of landscape nor inducements to the “sensational”
sportsman. There is, however, a quiet, ever-growing charm to be found in
the woodlands or on the waters of Acadie, which those who have resided
there will readily admit. Many who have touched at its shores as
visitors within the Author’s recollection, have made it their home;
whilst those of his vocation who have been called away, have almost
invariably expressed a hope of speedy return.
Several of the
descriptive sporting scenes found in this work will be recognised as
having appeared in “The Field" and the Author begs to express his
appreciation of the Editor’s courtesy in permitting their republication.
The notices on the natural history of the Elk and Beaver are reproduced,
with slight alterations, from the pages of “Land and Water,” with the
kind consent of the managers, the articles having appeared therein over
the signature of “Alces.”
The acknowledgments of
the Author are also due to several old friends across the Atlantic—to
“The Old Hunter,” for anecdotes of camp life, and to Dr. Bernard Gilpin
for his valuable assistance in describing the game fish, and in
preparing the illustration of the American Brook Trout.
CONTENTS
Chapter I. The Maritime
Provinces.
Chapter II. The Forests of Acadie.
Chapter III. The Alcine Deer of the Old and New Worlds.
Chapter IV. Moose Hunting.
Chapter V. The American Reindeer.
Chapter VI. Cariboo Hunting.
Chapter VII. Lake Dwellers.
Chapter VIII. Cave Lodgers.
Chapter IX. Acadian Fish and Fishing.
Chapter X. Notes on Newfoundland.
Chapter XI. Camping Out.
Chapter XII. The Progress of the Seasons.
APPENDIX
Nocturnal Life of
Animals in the Forest.
Acclimatisation in Acadie.
Miscellaneous Notes and Anecdotes on Natural History. |
