Around the Camp-fire

In Short

Six young men paddle through the lakes and rivers of eastern Canada, breaking up their exhausting physical labor by telling dramatic tales around the evening campfire. As they push their canoes down the Squatook, Toledi, and Temiscouata waters, each traveler contributes yarn after yarn of human survival and wild animal encounters. The stories range from close calls with bears, panthers, and wolf packs to lighthearted mishaps with runaway steers and bicycles. Written with vivid regional color and classic frontier humor, the book endures as a celebrated tribute to North American wilderness lore and male camaraderie.

The Story

The journey opens in late July as six friends—Stranion, Magnus, Queerman, Sam, Ranolf, and the unnamed narrator—leave behind the stifling heat of Fredericton for a wilderness canoe expedition toward the Squatook region. Eager to swap city life for wild rapids and outdoor freedom, the party sets off with their boats, camping equipment, and high spirits. Their days are spent navigating challenging shoals, hauling canoes through dense alder thickets, and wrestling with river currents. Every evening, once the shelter is built and the fire crackles, the men gather to swap gripping personal anecdotes and tall tales.

As they travel from camp to camp—moving along Beardsley Brook, the Squatook River, Toledi, and Temiscouata—the storytelling takes center stage. Sam recounts a terrifying chase down a river, paddling frantically while a furious bear swims just two canoe-lengths behind him. Queerman follows with a memory of Fundy’s tide-regions, where an attempt to study dogfish ended in a punishing, bloodthirsty sea battle. Ranolf shares a lighter story of his youth on the Tantramar marshes, where a charging bull forced him to use a leaping-pole for a sudden escape.

The campfire tales cover a vast spectrum of wilderness hazards and human ingenuity. Magnus recalls an uncle’s encounter with peccaries in Mexico, while another story tells of a cook stranded on a roof while a bear eats the camp's bean dinner. In a more solemn tale, a woodsman named Jake loses a leg to a bear, only to encounter the very same beast ten years later, fending off the attack by jamming his iron-shod wooden limb down the animal's jaws. There are harrowing accounts of winter trappers cornered in snowstorms by wolf packs, a hunter trapped in a narrow cave with a wounded wolf, and a traveler pinned beneath a panther until his faithful dog, Jeff, bites the predator's tail to save his life. Even humor and urban life bleed into the wild, with stories of runaway steers terrified by new-fangled bicycles, college rivalries over Latin scholarships, and a man saved from hostile forces by a nest of angry hornets during the War of 1812.

As the journey nears its end on the Temiscouata, the men share a final evening of dark lore, including local legends of "Indian Devils" and mysterious phantom hound cries echoing across the lake. After recording their final camp statistics and singing traditional songs around the dying embers, the six friends pack their canoes onto a train the following morning. They return home proud, thoroughly sunburnt, and renewed in body and spirit.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Seeking escape from Fredericton’s summer heat, six close companions pack their canoes and head upriver into the wild Squatook waterways. After a long day of hard paddling, they establish their first night's camp and initiate their tradition of sharing dramatic wilderness stories around the fire.

Dispatches from the woods Navigating tight channels like Beardsley Brook requires chopping through thick alders and retrieving fallen gear from clear streams. At each new campsite, members of the party take turns narrating harrowing past encounters with aggressive bears, cornered peccaries, and charging bulls.

Escaping the wild The journey deepens as the men tackle long portages, dense woods, and sudden summer weather changes. Storytelling sessions grow more intense, featuring winter trapping perils, deadly wolf pack assaults on stranded boats, and desperate struggles against wild panthers.

The last camp-fire Reaching the final legs of the river network at Toledi and Temiscouata, the group gathers for their last night under the stars to hear eerie tales of forest lore. The next morning, they load their gear onto a homeward-bound train, refreshed and bound by shared adventure.

The People

• The Narrator serves as the group's practical record-keeper, tracking daily mileage, fish caught, and story titles while contributing his own tales of dangerous animal encounters. He wants to complete the expedition safely while preserving every memory of their wilderness retreat.
• Ranolf is an agile, spirited storyteller with a fond memory for his boyhood adventures near the Tantramar marshes. He wants to keep his companions entertained with lively, lighthearted stories of narrow escapes using leaping-poles and encounters with bull moose.
• Magnus is a stoic, reliable companion who draws upon a rich storehouse of far-flung family lore, from Mexican peccary attacks to winter trapping struggles. He seeks to match the dark intensity of the woods with equally dramatic tales of human resilience.
• Sam is a tobacco-loving canoeist whose quick wit and casual demeanor belie a penchant for suspenseful storytelling. He wants nothing more than a quiet pipe by the fire, but repeatedly captivates the camp with accounts of desperate river races against angry bears.
• Stranion acts as a natural leader among the canoeists, often stepping up to maintain camp morale and initiate the evening gatherings. He seeks the refreshing isolation of the deep forest, using his sharp storytelling skills to transport his friends to frozen winter wildernesses.
• Queerman is a thoughtful traveler who brings variety to the circle, sharing distinct stories of coastal sea life, dogfish battles, and noble work dogs like Jake.

In Its Own Voice

“When again we reached deep water I was paddling a splendid stroke, and the bear, apparently as fresh and as wrathful as ever, was floundering along perhaps two canoe-lengths in the rear.”

When Sam recounts his narrow escape on the river, he highlights the absurd, heart-pounding proximity of the chasing beast.

“Men talk at times of the loneliness of the dark, but to my mind there is no more utter solitude than may be found in a broad white glare of sunshine.”

Ranolf reflects on the eerie silence of the open marshlands before launching into his story of a runaway bull.

“Swayed by the common impulse of destructiveness, I suggested that we should set fire to the nest.”

Magnus sets up a tale about his friend's grandfather during the War of 1812 by describing their encounter with a massive hornets' nest while fishing.

What It's Really About

Beneath its adventure-filled frame, the book explores the restorative power of nature and the timeless tradition of human storytelling. The wild waterways of New Brunswick serve as a backdrop for testing physical endurance, but the campfire circle is where the true bond among the men is forged. By sharing tales of danger, survival, and comedic mishap, the characters process the unpredictability of the natural world and tame its threats through narrative. The book argues that companionship and humor are essential tools for overcoming hardship, whether facing a brutal winter blizzard, a prowling predator, or the tedious monotony of everyday life. Ultimately, it celebrates the deep-seated impulse to escape modern constraints and reconnect with the wild.

Why Read It Today

Around the Camp-fire appeals to outdoor enthusiasts, fans of classic adventure fiction, and anyone who appreciates traditional frontier storytelling. Reading it feels like sitting beside a crackling fire after a long day of hiking, listening to seasoned woodsmen trade yarns under a starry sky. Sir Charles G. D. Roberts captures the sensory details of the North American wilderness with remarkable clarity—the sting of the summer sun, the chill of sudden northern winds, and the rhythmic dip of canoe paddles.

Modern readers should be prepared for late-nineteenth-century literary conventions, including occasional period dialects, dramatic exaggerations typical of tall tales, and historical attitudes toward hunting and wildlife management that reflect the era in which it was written. Despite these period elements, the book's core warmth, humor, and reverence for nature remain vibrant. It leaves you with a lasting appreciation for the beauty of untouched forests and the enduring comfort of good stories shared among true friends.