ed by our author in a subsequent work. No doubt there were provocations, but the men who could enact the following, partook rather of the nature of demons than of human beings. Any thing more disgustingly cruel we never met with:

"As soon as our people had got over the second ravine, they took a sweep, wheeled about, and met the Indians in the teeth; then dismounting, the battle began, without a word being spoken on either side. As soon as the firing commenced, the Indians began their frantic gestures, and whooped and yelled with the view of intimidating; they fought like demons, one fellow all the time waving a scalp on the end of a pole; nor did they yield an inch of gronnd till more than twenty of them lay dead; at last, they threw down their guns, and held up their hands as a signal of peace. By this time our people had lost three men, and not thinking they had yet taken ample vengeance for their death, they made a rush on the Indians, killed the fellow who held the pole, and carried off the scalp and the five horses. The Indians then made a simultaneous dash on one side, and got into a small coppice of wood, leaving their dead on the spot where they fell. Our people supposed that they had first laid down their arms and next taken to the bush because they were short of ammunition. as many of the shots latterly were but mere puffs. Unfortunately for the Indians, the scalp taken proved to be none other than poor Anderson's, and this double proof of their guilt so enraged our people, that to the bush they followed them.

"M.Donald sent to the camp for buck-shot, and then poured volleys into the bush among them, from a distance of some twenty or thirty yards, till they had expended fifty-six pounds weight; the Indians all this time only firing a single shot now and then, when the folly and imprudence of our people led them too near; but they seldom missed their mark, and here three more of the whites fell. At this part of the conflict two of our own people, an Iriquois and a Canadian, got into a high dis pute which was the bravest man; when the former challenged the latter to go with him into the bush and scalp a Piegan. The Canadian accepted the challenge; taking each other by one hand, with a scalping knife in the other, savage like, they entered the bush, and advanced until they were within four or five feet of a Piegan, when the Iroquois said, 'I will scalp this one, go you and scalp another;' but just as the Iroquois was in the act of stretching out his hand to lay hold of his victim, the Piegan shot him through the head, and so bespattered the Canadian with his brains that he was almost blind; the latter, however, got back again to his comrades but deferred taking the scalp.

"M'Donald and his men being fatigued with firing, thought of another and more effectual plan of destroying the Piegans. It blew a strong gale of wind at the time, so they set fire to the bush of dry and decayed wood; it burnt with the rapidity of straw, and the devouring element laid the whole bushes in ashes in a very short time. When

it was first proposed, the question arose who should go and fire the bush, at the muzzle of the Piegan's guns. The oldest man in the camp,' fell upon Bastony, a superanuuated hunter on the said M'Donald; 'and I'll guard him.' The lot wrong side of seventy; the poor and wrinkled old man took the torch in his hand and advanced, trembling every step with the fear of instant death before him; while M'Donald and some others walked at his heels with their guns cocked. The bush was fired, the party returned, and volleys of buck-shot were again poured into the bush to aid the fire in the work of destruction.

“About one hundred yards from the burning bush, was another much larger bush, and while the fire was consuming the one, our people advanced and stationed themselves at the end of the other, to intercept any of the Piegans who might attempt the doubtful alternative of saving themselves by taking refuge in it. To ensure success, our people left open the passage from the one bush to the other, while they themselves stood in two rows, one upon each side, with their guns cocked; suddenly the half roasted Piegans, after uttering a scream of despair, burst through the flames and made a last and expiring effort to gain the other bush; then our people poured in upon each side of them a fatal volley of ball and buckshot, which almost finished what the flames had spared. Yet, notwithstanding all these sanguinary precautions, a remnant escaped by getting into the bush. The wounded victims who fell under the last volley, the Iroquois dealt with in their own way-with the knife.'-Vol. ii. pp.

56-59.

But we turn to more pleasing topics. The principal occupation of the white man in this distant territory is trapping the beaver, and the mode adopted in this pursuit is thus briefly described:

"A safe and secure spot, near wood and water, is first selected for the camp. Here the chief of the party resides with the property. It is often exposed to danger of sudden attack, in the absence of the trappers, and requires a vigilant eye to guard against the lurking savages. The camp is called head-quarters. From hence all the trappers, some on foot, some on horseback, according to the distance they have to go, start every morning, in small parties, in all directions, ranging the distance of some twenty miles around. Six traps is the allowance for each hunter; but to guard against wear and tear, the complement is more frequently ten. These he sets every night, and visits them again in the morning; sometimes oftener, according to distance, or other circumstances. The beaver taken in the traps are always conveyed to the camp, skinned, stretched, dried, folded up with the hair inside, laid by, and the flesh used for food. No sooner, therefore, has a hunter visited his traps, set them again, and looked out for some other place, than he returns to the camp, to feast, and enjoy the pleasures of an idle day.

"There is, however, much anxiety and danger

"The camp remains stationary while two-thirds of the trappers find beaver in the vicinity; but whenever the beaver becomes scarce, the camp is removed to some more favorable spot. In this manner, the party keeps moving from place to place during the whole season of hunting. Whenever serious danger is apprehended, all the trappers make for the camp. Were we, however, to calculate according to numbers, the prospects from such an expedition would be truly dazzling: say, seventy-five men, with each six traps, to be successfully employed during five months; that is, two in the spring, and three in the fall, equal to 131 working days, the result would be 58,950 beaver! Practically, however, the case is very different. The apprehension of danger, at all times, is so great, that three-fourths of their time is lost in the necessary steps taken for their own safety. There is also another serious draw-back unavoidably accompanying every large party. The beaver is a timid animal; the least noise, therefore, made about its haunt will keep it from coming out for nights together; and noise is unavoidable when the party is large. But when the party is small, the hunter has a chance of being more or less successful. Indeed, were the nature of the ground such as to admit of the trappers moving about in safety, at all times, and alone, six men, with six traps each, would, in the same space of time, and at the same rate, kill as many beavers--say 4716-as the whole seventy-five could be expected to do! And yet the evil is without a remedy; for no small party can exist in these parts. Hence the reason why beavers are so numerous.'-Vol. i.—pp. 228-230.

"The great medicine bag was then opened, and a decorated pipe of peace taken out of it; the pipe was then filled, with the usual formality, by Pee eye em, who immediately afterwards took a handful or two of sand, with which he covered a small hole by the fireside; then smoothing it over, he made two small holes with his finger in the sand, large enough to hold a goose's egg, one on each side. This done, he then took out of the medicine bag a small piece of wood, shaped like a sugar-tongs, with which he took up a piece of burning horse-dung, and laid it in the hole of sand to his left; resting the bowl of his pipe in the hole to the right, and holding the stem of his pipe all the time in his left hand. He then took up the same piece of wood or tongs, and with it took the burning piece of horse-dung out of the hole to the left and laid it upon his pipe; which was no sooner lighted, than Pee-eye-em taking up the pipe with both hands, drew three whiffs, allowing none of the smoke to escape, but swallowing the whole of it; then taking the pipe from his mouth, he held it vertically each time that he smoked, blowing the cloud out of his mouth on to the stem: this he did three successive times, and each time he uttered a short prayer, as if invoking a blessing.

"Then holding the pipe horizontally, and pointing to the east, he drew three whiffs, blowing the smoke on to the stem as before; then turning to the west, next to the south, and lastly to the north, he did the same; always observing to repeat the short prayer when he turned the pipe. Lastly, pointing the pipe to the ground, he drew three whiffs, blowing the smoke as before, on to the stem; signifying that the animosities of war But in all this ceremony, Pee-eye-em did not might be for ever after buried beneath the earth. once, as is generally customary among Indians, hold the pipe to, or blow the smoke, either to the sun or the firmament.

"All this time Pee-eye-em was sitting on his hams; but now rising up, and turning the pipestem, he presented it to one of the Cayouses, tel

him to touch it with his mouth, but not to withdrawing the pipe for a moment, he presented exhale any smoke; the Cayouse did so; then it to him a second time, with the same positive injunction, which the Cayouse observed. The caution was no doubt intended to impress upon the Cayouse the duty of reflecting on the responsibility of what he was going to do; for smoking with Indians on such occasions is the same as an oath with us; then putting it to his mouth the

relieved by the lighter shade of the apricot, the silvery sheen of the poplar, and the purple tint of the pomegranate; while lofty cone-like cypresses appear at intervals, and a few palm-trees here and colored foliage thus surrounding the bright city, there raise up their graceful heads. The variously and the smooth plain beyond, now bounded by naked hills, and now mingling with the sky on the far distant horizon, and the wavy atmosphere that makes forest, plain, and mountain tremble, give a softness and aerial beauty to the whole scene that captivates the mind of the beholder."

It has been supposed that in this age of locomotion, libraries of researches, narratives, and journals have exhausted the romance of travel, and made persons familiar with most objects of interest, especially in the East, and with all their associations, classic or sacred, ere the eye rests upon them. But this is not the case. There is a magic power in the living real

"The view that presents itself to the eye of the traveller as he surmounts the last ridge of Antilibanus, after passing the bleak and barren slopes beyond, is rich and grand almost surpassing conception. From the side of the little wely above referred to the best prospect is obtained. The elevation is about 500 feet above the city, which is a mile and a half distant. The peculiar forms of Eastern architecture produce a pleasing effect at this distance. Graceful minarets and swelling domes, surmounted by gilded crescents, rise up in every direction from the confused mass of terraced roofs, while in some places their glittering tops just appear above the deep green foliage, like diamonds in the midst of emeralds. In the centre of all stands the noble pile of the great mosk, and near it may be seen the massive towers and battlemented walls of the old castle. Away on the south the eye follows the long narrow suburb of the Medan, at the extremity of which is the Gate of God,' where the great pilgrim caravan, on each returning year, takes leave of the city. The buildings of Damascus are almost all of snowy whiteness, and this contrasts well with the surrounding foliage. The gardens and orchards, which have been so long and so justly celebrated, encompass the city, and extend on both sides of tha Barada some miles eastward. They cover an area at least twenty-five miles in circuit, and make the environs an earthly paradise. The varied tints of the foliage, and of the blossoms and fruit in their season, greatly enhance the beauty of the picture. The sombre hue of the olive, and the deep green of the walnut are finely

pencil can ever appropriate, still less exhaust. The descriptions of others, however graphic, and even the sketch of the artist, however faithful, only place before the mind's eye an ideal scene, which we can contemplate, it is true, with unmingled pleasure, and even with satisfaction; but when the eye wanders over plain and mountain, or the foot touches "holy ground," the superiority of the real over the ideal is at once felt and acknowledged.

Not that Damascus, a city thoroughly Oriental in character, has not also all the usual drawbacks of Eastern habits. Its streets are narrow and tortuous, the city irregular, dirty, and half ruinous, the houses like piles of mud, stone, and timber, heaped together without order, but in the same city, also, all that remains of the romance of the East is likewise to be met with. Its bazaars are splendid, and they are frequented by a great variety of races-Arab, Turk, Druse, Persian, and Kurd-in most picturesque costumes. Most of the mosques are fine specimens of Saracenic architecture, as are also the khans. In both it is in the gateways that the Saracenic architecture is seen to the greatest advantage.

But the chief glory of Damascus is in the splendor of its private houses. Νο contrast could be greater than that between the exterior and the interior. The irregular mud walls and rickety-looking projecting upper chambers give but poor promise of splendor within. The entrance is by a mean doorway into a narrow and