cal moment when the stone was dashed in his
face. Though too late to prevent this, they were in time to prevent a
repetition of the blow; and after a short scuffle with the Indians,
without any blood shed, they succeeded in carrying their master up to
the fort, where he soon recovered. The deep cut made by the stone on
the bridge of his nose left an indelible scar.

Besides Mr Stone, I had another companion--namely, Mr Jordan, a clerk,
who inhabited the same office with me, and slept in the same bedroom,
during the whole winter. He was a fine-looking athletic half-breed, who
had been partially educated, but had spent much more of his life among
Indians than among civilised men. He used to be sent about the country
to trade with the natives, and consequently led a much more active life
than I did. One part of his business, during the early months of
spring, was hunting seals. This was an amusing, though, withal, rather
a murderous kind of sport. The manner of it was this:--

My friend Jordan chose a fine day for his excursion, and, embarking in a
boat with six or seven men, sailed a few miles down the St. Lawrence,
till he came to a low flat point. In a small bay near this he drew up
the boat, and then went into the woods with his party, where each man
cut a large pole or club. Arming themselves with these, they waited
until the tide receded and left the point dry. In a short time one or
two seals crawled out of the sea to bask upon the shore; soon several
more appeared, and ere long a band of more than a hundred lay sunning
themselves upon the beach. The ambuscade now prepared to attack the
enemy. Creeping stealthily down as near as possible without being
discovered, they simultaneously rushed upon the astonished animals; and
the tragic scene of slaughter, mingled with melodramatic and comic
incidents, that ensued, baffles all description. In one place might be
seen my friend Jordan swinging a huge club round with his powerful arms,
and dealing death and destruction at every blow; while in another place
a poor weazened-looking Scotchman (who had formerly been a tailor! and
to whom the work was new) advanced, with cautious trepidation, towards a
huge seal, which spluttered and splashed fearfully in its endeavours to
reach the sea, and dealt it a blow on the back. He might as well have
hit a rock. The slight rap had only the effect of making the animal
show its teeth; at which sight the tailor retreated pre