THE DUSKY GKOUSE. 133 



from the banks even by sinking wells to a depth of sev- 

 eral feet. The shore ends so abruptly m some i3laces 

 that a man of war can float alongside it, but it recedes 

 gradually in others, until it finally breaks off at a height 

 of twenty or thirty feet above the bottom. The magnif- 

 icence of the panorama visible from this lake cannot be 

 described, and must be seen to be appreciated. 



Our tent was pitched m an alcove of towering pines, 

 which seemed to have been arranged as a temple for the 

 nymphs of the forest, so regularly were they grouped. 

 This idea was strengthened by the hymn-like murmuring 

 of the branches which bent to and fro in the evening 

 breeze, and the gentle soughing of the waves on the peb- 

 bly beach. When the tent was erected and all prepara- 

 tions made for a regular week's work, by gathering and 

 chopping wood, digging holes in which to cook bear 

 and deer heads, and cleaning away the deep bed of leaves 

 that surrounded the camp, it was so late in the evening 

 that we deemed it best to postpone an assault on the 

 game of the region until the next morning. I was much 

 pleased with this decision, as it gave me an op2:)ortunity 

 of enjoying the magnificent landscape spread out before 

 me, and to drink in its varied beauties. 



While Smith and myself were seated on the shore, ab- 

 sorbed in our own thoughts, and heedless alike of the 

 moaning of the pines or the screaming of the loons, 

 which rode on the wavelets in the middle of the lake, 

 our attention was attracted by a drama which was taking 

 place in the air. We had noticed, as soon as we came 

 near the lake, the abundance of hawks, ospreys, and 

 white-headed, or fishing eagles, that were either sailing 

 and circling in the firmament or demurely perched on 

 some towering tree from which they commanded a view of 

 the lake and the surrounding country. We inferred from 

 this that the region was well stocked with food, but we 

 did not know until afterwards what a favorite ground it 



