83 



was spent in getting weapons offensive and defensive in order, getting 

 grub into handy and easily got at ))ackages, and sundry othei; details. 

 After a while the genius of the place one Jessuj) appeai^ed. He 

 looks after the greenhorns who occasionally frequent Trout Lake; this 

 lake having veiy undeservedly a great name among nimrods and 

 fishermen ; he rows them around and shows them where good sport is 

 not to be found. The genius of course began after his kind to spin 

 yarns and tell about the big fish to Ije found in the lake and the diffi- 

 culties of hauling them in when hooked, etc., etc., and soon made us 

 regi'et having left our landing nets and gaffs at honze. " But," said he 

 pati-onizingly, " Of course you have a revolver." " Well ! when you 

 catch your big fish just fire a shot or two close to his head, and the 

 concussion will stun and enable you to lift him in without ti'ouble." 

 This idea was stored away for future use, and it was not necessary to 

 wait very long for a trial of its value, for that very evening two of our 

 party hooked a twenty pound maskinonge and found that concussion 

 was very useless, but that pistol bullets used in the ordinary manner 

 were very effective, for the first big fish was landed, but not until he 

 had had three shots put into him. 



While camped here we received a visit from Mr. Gilbert, an 

 American geologist, who lives in Washington, D.C. Mr. Gilbert said 

 that his object, in this part of the world, was to trace a connection 

 between the waters of Trout Lake and Lake Nipissing, and to find 

 proof that in days gone by the flow of water had not been separated by 

 a lieight of land as now, but had all passed out towards the south-west 

 through the channel of the French River. He stated that as far as he 

 could judge the waters of Trout Lake are twenty-five feet higher than 

 those of Lake Nipissing, also that he had found an old water line 

 twenty-five feet above the then head of Trouc Lake, and another old 

 water line fifty feet above the waters of liake Nipissing, showing that 

 at one time they were united. 



Our next camp ground was in the prettiest spot on the whole lake, 

 viz. : in a grove of pines on " Big Island." I mention this camp ground 

 on account of an incident that oocui'rcd, and was X"ecalled to my mind 

 by readiug in the December number of the Ottawa Naturalist a most 

 interesting paper by W. P. Lett. During the night I was awakened 



