"
"Did you ever hear of any little boy or girl having been carried off by a
wolf or bear?" asked the child.
"No, my lady, not in Canada, though similar accidents may have happened
there; but when I was a young girl I heard of such tragedies at New
Brunswick--one of the British provinces lying to the east of this, and a
cold and rather barren country, but containing many minerals, such as
coal, limestone, and marble, besides vast forests of pine, and small lakes
and rivers. It resembles Lower Canada in many respects; but it is not so
pleasant as the province of Upper Canada, neither is it so productive.
"Thirty years ago it was not so well cleared or cultivated as it is now,
and the woods were full of wild beasts that dwelt among the swamps and
wild rocky valleys. Bears, and wolves, and catamounts abounded, with foxes
of several kinds, and many of the fine-furred and smaller species of
animals, which were much sought for on account of their skins. Well, my
dear, near the little village where my aunt and uncle were living, there
were great tracts of unbroken swamps and forests, which of course
sheltered many wild animals. A sad accident happened a few days before we
arrived, which caused much sorrow and no little fright in the place.
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