tween it and the sea. My grandparents (my mother’s parents) lived 
     
     over there and owned nearly all the land. This land was given by 
     
     King George III, as pay, or in lieu of pay, to one of the retiring offi- 
     
     cers of his army. My granduncle was this officer’s body servant. 
     
     When the officer was about to return to live in England he trans- 
     
     ferred all this land to my granduncle. He sent for his youngest 
     
     brother, who with his wife came over in 1803. These were my grand- 
     
     parents. My granduncle was killed by a kick from a horse and all 
     
     the property came into the possession of my grandfather. With the 
     
     exception of small clearings made by early French settlers, the whole 
     
     Island was a vast forest. A poet says: uI think I shall never see a 
     
     poem so lovely as a tree.” The vast forest was a volume of poems. 
     
     The lake abounded in fish: trout, smelts, herring, gaspereaux and 
     
     perch. The shores were the summer resort of a great variety of game 
     
     birds. There were many wild birds and beasts on the shores and in 
     
     the woods. Iwill tell about them in a separate chapter. A road 
     
     crossed the Island from the one lake to the other.» On the north end 
     
     it made a loop around the lake. The distance across is about three 
     
     miles. The road was at first only a foot path, and was crooked. It 
     
     is an outstanding illustration of how crooked ways at the beginning 
     
     are likely to be followed through life. It will require great effort to 
     
     straighten them after they are well established. 
     
    
   
   
    
     About midway on this road a settlement was formed and named 
     
     “Portage.” We pronounced it “Portash”. To reach this settlement 
     
     from either side the road ran through nearly a mile of thick woods or 
     
     forest; this woods was infested with bears that were a terror and dan- 
     
     ger, especially to women and children. We had to pass through this 
     
     woods to get to school. In the chapter on “My School Days” I will tell 
     
     you of the alarms and hair-breadth escapes we had. Half way through 
     
     the woods a brook crosses the road. Along the brook many kinds of 
     
     water-loving animals lived and roamed, of which I will tell you soon. 
     
    

    
     On entering the settlement from the South at the edge of the 
     
     clearing, there is a slight rise of 'ground'from the top of which my 
     
     home stood in full view. 
     
    
   
   
    
     These are the surroundings and some of the scenes of my boy- 
     
     hood. My feelings are well expressed in the charming lines of “The 
     
    
   
   
    
     15