158 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October 



berries a couple of chickadees took an interest in our work, and a 

 hairy woodpecker rapped out his compliments from some neigh- 

 boring trees. We proceeded up the Inlet by moonlight. The 

 almost oppressive silence hushed our conversation, and only the 

 swish of our paddles woke the echoes of the nearly perpendicular 

 walls which closed us in. Once some heavy animal, probably a 

 deer, broke the branches in the dark forest of the right bank ; 

 again we saw a porcupine move up from the waters' edge from 

 the left, but for hours these were the only sounds that broke the 

 stillness. Just as we were looking about for a landing place, two 

 whip-poor-wills on opposite sides of the inlet struck up a cheery 

 duet. This music brought us back to the world of reality. We 

 landed, made camp, and not even the droning of the mosquitoes 

 could rob us of the pleasure ot this midnight litany from the 

 whip-poor-wills. 



We rested Sunday, and on Monday portaged past Collin's 

 Mills, paddled up the Mahzenazing River, and by dinner time had 

 had put the last habitation ten miles behind us. Whilst eating our 

 lunch at a dam, made to raise the water in the river for logging 

 purposes, we enjoyed the company of about a score of cedar wax- 

 wings. Up the river we went, finding that this six-foot dam had 

 made miles of marsh, and "drowned" land. Nothing could be 

 more desolate than this marshy stream bordered everywhere by 

 dead trees holding their bare arms rebelliously towards heaven. 

 Repeatedly a large crane got up in front of us and moved lazily 

 on in advance. Black ducks, singly or in pairs, would start up at 

 our approach and quack the announcement of others hidden in the 

 reeds. Once a bittern, startled by the noise of our gun, flew away 

 southward as though determined to leave the region forever now 

 that man had invaded the solitude. We reached the shore of 

 Johnny Lake at midnight, tired, thirsty and wet, for the' rain had 

 commenced to fall. To add to our discomfort the little clearing 

 where we were trying to get some wet wood to burn, was literally 

 choked with mosquitoes. No wonder ':he garrulous chatter of a 

 flock of crow black-birds roused our wickedness. We resolved on 

 a black-bird pie. They must have suspected our intentions, for we 

 never got within gun range, 



