22 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



some little difficulty in steering, and were rather 

 awkward in the management of a paddle. A birch- 

 hark canoe sits so lightly on the water, that a puff 

 of wind drives it about like a walnut- shell ; and 

 with the wind dead ahead, paddling is very slow 

 and laborious. But we got on famously after a 

 short time, Milton being an old hand at the work, 

 and the others accustomed to light and crank craft 

 on the Isis and the Cam. We glided along pleasantly 

 enough, lazily paddling or floating quietly down the 

 sluggish stream. The day was hot and bright, and 

 we courted the graceful shade of the trees which over- 

 hung the bank on either side. The stillness of the 

 woods was broken by the dip of our paddles, the 

 occasional splash of a fish, or the cry of various 

 birds. The squirrel played and chirruped among 

 the branches of the trees, the spotted woodpecker 

 tapped on the hollow trunk, while, perched high on 

 the topmost bough of some withered giant of the 

 forest, the eagle and the haw^k uttered their harsh and 

 discordant screams. Here and there along the banks 

 swarms of black and golden orioles clustered on the 

 bushes, the gaily-plumed kingfisher flitted past, ducks 

 and geese floated on the water, and the long-tailed 

 American pigeon darted like an aiTOw high over the 

 tree-tops. As night approached, a hundred owls 

 hooted round us ; the whip-poor-will startled us with 

 its rapid, reiterated call ; and the loon — the most 

 melancholy of birds — sent foiih her wild lamenta- 

 tions from some adjoining lake. Thoroughly did 

 we enjoy these wild scenes and sounds, and the 



