cited by perceiving evident signs of the axe having been
at work in the forest; and a little farther on discovered, to our
inexpressible joy, a small piece of ground enclosed as a garden. This
led us to suppose that the post could not be far off, so we pushed
forward rapidly; and upon gaining the summit of a small eminence, beheld
with delight the post of Isle Jeremie.

This establishment, like most of the others on the St. Lawrence, is
merely a collection of scattered buildings, most of which are
storehouses and stables. It stands in a hollow of the mountains, and
close to a large bay, where sundry small boats and a sloop lay quietly
at anchor. Upon a little hillock close to the principal house is a
Roman Catholic chapel; and behind it stretches away the broad St.
Lawrence, the south shore of which is indistinctly seen on the horizon.
We had not much inclination, however, to admire the scenery just then;
so, hastening down the hill, my man walked into the men's house, where
in five minutes he was busily engaged eating bread and pork, and
recounting his adventures to a circle of admiring friends; while I
warmed myself beside a comfortable fire in the hall, and chatted with
the gentleman in charge of the establishment.

At Isle Jeremie I remained about six weeks; or rather, I should say,
belonged to the establishment for that time, as during a great part of
it I was absent from the post. Mr Coral, soon after my arrival, went
to visit the Company's posts lower down the St. Lawrence, leaving me in
charge of Isle Jeremie; and as I had little or nothing to do in the way
of business (our Indians not having arrived from the interior), most of
my time was spent in reading and shooting.

It was here I took my first lessons in navigation--I mean in a practical
way; as for the scientific part of the business, that was deferred to a
more favourable opportunity--and, truly, the lessons were rather rough.
The way of it was this:--Our flour at Isle Jeremie had run out. Indians
were arriving every day calling loudly for flour, and more were
expected; so Mr Coral told me, one fine morning, to get ready to go to
Tadousac in the boat for a load of flour. This I prepared to do at
once, and started after breakfast in a large boat, manned by two men.
The wind was fair, and I fired a couple of shots with my fowling-piece,
as we cleared the harbour, in answer to an equal number of salutes from
two iron cannons that stood in front of th