rieties of small birds, among which
the most interesting are the snow-birds, or snow-flakes, which pay the
country a flying visit at the commencement and termination of winter.

Such is York Fort, the great depot and gate to the wild regions
surrounding Hudson Bay. Having described its appearance and general
characteristics, I shall proceed to introduce the reader to my future
companions, and describe our amusements and sports among the marshes.

BACHELORS' HALL.

On the--of June, 1843, I landed the second time on the wharf of York
Fort, and betook myself to Bachelors' Hall, where Mr Grave, whom I met
by the way, told me to take up my quarters. As I approached the door of
the well-remembered house, the most tremendous uproar that ever was
heard proceeded from within its dingy walls; so I jumped the paling that
stood in front of the windows, and took a peep at the interior before
introducing myself.

The scene that met my eye was ludicrous in the extreme. Mounted on a
chair, behind a bedroom door, stood my friend Crusty, with a large pail
of water in his arms, which he raised cautiously to the top of the door,
for the purpose of tilting it over upon two fellow-clerks who stood
below, engaged in a wrestling match, little dreaming of the cataract
that was soon to fall on their devoted heads; at the door of a room
opposite stood the doctor, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of
sending a thick stream of water in Crusty's face from a large syringe
which he held in his hands; while near the stove sat the jolly skipper,
looking as grave as possible under the circumstances.

The practical joke was just approaching to a climax when I looked in.
The combatants neared the door behind which Crusty was ensconced. The
pail was raised, and the syringe pointed, when the hall door opened, and
Mr Grave walked in! The sudden change that ensued could not have been
more rapidly effected had Mr Grave been a magician. The doctor thrust
the syringe into his pocket, into which a great deal of the water
escaped and dripped from the skirts of his coat as he walked slowly
across the room and began to examine, with a wonderful degree of
earnestness, the edge of an amputating knife that lay upon his
dressing-table. The two wrestlers sprang with one accord into their own
room, where they hid their flushed faces behind the door. Certain
smothered sounds near the stove proclaimed the skipper to be revelling
in an excruciating fit of s