[ELLS & BARLOW] PROPOSED OTTAWA CANAL : 169 
smaller passage parallel to this, which, at high water, affords an exit to a 
considerable quantity of the water of the lake. The downward extension 
of this passage is continued in a deep gorge, which connects with the 
main channel a short distance below the falls, the whole apparently 
representing the erosion of a band of crystalline limestone or ophical- 
cite which here occurs associated with the granite. About half a mile 
above Talon Chute a small rapid occurs with a descent of less than a foot, 
and, a short distance westward, Talon Lake opens up to view. To the left, 
as we enter the lake, a large bay extends westward about three miles, 
known as Kabiskaw Bay, at the western extremity of which an important 
tributary (Kabiskaw Creek) enters, forming the outlet of Nasbonsing 
Lake, a large and irregular sheet of water situated in the southern part 
of the township of Ferris. 
Lake Talon has a trend of northwest and southeast, is about seven 
miles long and has, in general, a breadth of almost three-quarters of a mile. 
The shores are frequently bold and rocky, although occasional small sandy 
flats occur, and one of these, known as Graswell's Point, on the northeast 
side about half-way up the lake, has always been a favourite camping 
spot. Shield’s Point, near the lower end of the lake on the southwest side, 
is a tolerably level flat, composed chiefly of sand, gravel and other loose 
material, This point juts out into the lake, forming a bar where the 
water appears to be much shallower than in the rest of the lake. The 
general depth may be said to vary from fifty to one hundred feet, but in 
occasional spots a depth of two hundred feet and over was met with. The 
connecting stream between Talon and Turtle or Lower Trout Lake, as 
the next expansion in the river has been called, is about four miles. The 
stream leaves Turtle Lake about a mile from the eastern extremity. It is 
a shallow river often rocky and rapid with some small intervening ponds 
of deeper water. The upper part flows through a rocky defile, while the 
remaining half pursues a serpentine course through a sandy alluvial fiat. 
On leaving the lake the stream assumes a northerly direction, but gradu- 
ally curves around to the northeast, entering Talon Lake at the northwest 
end, This formerly constituted a part of the regular canoe route but is 
now seldom used, and scarcely a trace remains of what must at one time 
have been a well-beaten portage trail. The route now adopted leaves 
the eastern extremity of Turtle Lake over the “ Portage de la Mauvaise 
Musique” to Lac des Pins, and thence, by a portage a little over half a 
mile in length, into a bay of Talon Lake about a mile below its upper end 
Turtle or Lower Trout Lake as it is sometimes called, runs nearly 
east and west, and is about four and a half miles in length, although not 
more than half a mile at its widest place. An ascent of barely a foot 
occurs ina short channel, cut through boulders and other loose material, 
before the largest lake and the summit level of the river is reached. 
Trout Lake is a magnificent expanse of pure clear water often over two 
