These log or lumber camps were and are still all constructed on much the same model, being composed of pine trunks, placed lengthwise one above the other, with a sloping roof covered over with pine boughs, and often, as on the present occasion, with a thick layer of snow. The fire is in the centre, and the inmates lie on pallets made of the soft twigs of the spruce, with their feet inwards, and well wrapped up in rugs and blankets. None but those who have experienced it can conceive the comfort of a log hut in the depths of a primeval forest. When Charles Langlade and his party arrived it was already fairly crowded: but room was instantly made for the new-comers; they were welcomed with true, genuine hospitality, such as is often lacking in more civilised countries. They were offered a share of the coarse but wholesome food—salt pork, bread, and potatoes, washed down with a weak decoction of a sort of herb tea. Mercèdes and Marthe, with the wife of the lumber-man, were the only women, amidst a score of men; but they were treated with the most perfect respect, the warmest and most secluded corner being assigned to them; and although every available space was occupied, there was no impurity in the atmosphere, as an enormous log fire was kept constantly burning, and the apartment was thus freely ventilated through the large smoke flue of the roof. It would have required far greater discomfort to have prevented any of the party from resting, so thoroughly were they all worn out with the unaccustomed method of travelling and the exhilarating air they had inhaled all day. So it came to pass that, wrapped in furs and blankets on the primitive pallets, they fell asleep, and did not awake till with the dawn of day their companions began to move; then they arose, and, after a frugal meal, started off once more.
There had been a heavy frost that night, which enabled them to run with ease on snowshoes, with which they had now become familiar; therefore the fatigue was less, and before noon they had reached the border of the forest. Here they found the two Indians awaiting them with sleighs, in which, after resting for a couple of hours, they started off again. This new way of travelling appeared to them simply delightful, notwithstanding the cold wind which cut their faces as they flew across the country.
“We must hurry on,” said Charles Langlade to the General, who, with Mercèdes and Marthe, occupied his sleigh; “the thaw is coming, and then the roads will be impassable.”
Several times they were stopped by rivers or broad streams, but they always found the Indians waiting for them with the canoe or raft.
“How have you done it? It is wonderful, such forethought,” said the General on one occasion to Charles.
“There is nothing wonderful in it,” he said. “The Indians know where I am bound for and my needs; they are swift of foot, and every inch of the way is familiar to them; it is child’s play.”
The last part of the journey was comparatively easy; their road lay through many a Canadian village, where they found ready hospitality; and when by chance the General made himself known, the enthusiasm of the inhabitants was unbounded. The population was entirely French, and intensely patriotic, loving the old France with a, so to speak, idealised affection.
“You may rest assured they will rise to a man when you call upon them to do so,” said Charles Langlade; and then he added, with something very like a sigh, “To-morrow you will reach Quebec.”
“Thanks to you,” said the General. “I do not know how to express my gratitude for your services!”
“By making use of me whenever you can,” said Charles hastily. “Remember, I am always ready. I ask for nothing better than to serve the cause of France, to keep Canada for the old country. But the English are strong; they are determined. Pitt is Minister, and he is sending out troops. It will be a hard struggle, a desperate struggle; but if you conciliate the Indians they will side with France, and they are a power in themselves. You do not know me yet; but in Quebec Charles Langlade’s name is familiar, and you will learn that I am a true man, ready to support you, and that you may have faith in me.”