Having Received Numerous Civilities From The Hudson's Bay
Company, The Captain Sent An Invitation To The Officers Of The
Party To An Evening Regale; And Set To Work To Make Jovial
Preparations.
As the night air in these elevated regions is apt
to be cold, a blazing fire was soon made, that would have done
credit to a Christmas dinner, instead of a midsummer banquet.
The
parties met in high good-fellowship. There was abundance of such
hunters' fare as the neighborhood furnished; and it was all
discussed with mountain appetites. They talked over all the
events of their late campaigns; but the Canadian veteran had been
unlucky in some of his transactions; and his brow began to grow
cloudy. Captain Bonneville remarked his rising spleen, and
regretted that he had no juice of the grape to keep it down.
A man's wit, however, is quick and inventive in the wilderness; a
thought suggested itself to the captain, how he might brew a
delectable beverage. Among his stores was a keg of honey but
half exhausted. This he filled up with alcohol, and stirred the
fiery and mellifluous ingredients together. The glorious results
may readily be imagined; a happy compound of strength and
sweetness, enough to soothe the most ruffled temper and unsettle
the most solid understanding.
The beverage worked to a charm; the can circulated merrily; the
first deep draught washed out every care from the mind of the
veteran; the second elevated his spirit to the clouds. He was,
in fact, a boon companion; as all veteran Canadian traders are
apt to be.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 377 of 442
Words from 101054 to 101318
of 118673
