THE RICE HARVEST IN ONTARIO. 



ICE LAKE is one of the larg^er 

 , lakes of the Trent Valley, beinij 



\^V. about twenty-two miles long- and 

 from one to four miles wide. It is 

 between the Counties of Northumberland on 

 the south and Peterboro on the north. A 

 number of small streams empty into it, also 

 some larg-er, as the Otonabee, Indian and 

 Ouse. 



The lake itself looks beautiful from almost 

 any point, especially from Hiawatha, Keene, 

 Foley's and Birdsall's on 

 the north, and from Ben- 

 ally, Gore's Landing-, Har- 

 wood and McCracken's on 

 the south shore. 



There are a number of 

 islands in the lake, some 

 small and others larg-e, 

 Whites havings 300 acres of 

 good land. 



Then there are bays 

 formed by points of land 

 that jut into the lake and 

 are very beautiful. Perhaps 

 the most interesting- point 

 of land is the one known 

 as Desangs or Roaches. 

 It is the one that in the 

 long-, long ago the Indians 

 chose as a place for wor- 

 ship, building the wonder- 

 ful serpent mound that a few years ago 

 was recognized by Mr. David Boyle, of 

 the Canadian Institute. 



For years and years the point had been a 

 favorite picnic ground with the inhabitants 

 of the north and south shore ; the same 

 beauty of location attracted them that had 

 the aborigines before the time when Cham- 

 plain and his party camped there when they 

 were exploring the Trent waters. Who 

 will eainsav the thousfht that localities have 



their own spirit, attracting or repelling 

 humanity. 



The object of this paper is not to enter 

 into all the beauties of and around Rice 

 Lake, and there are many — for truly the 

 country north of the lake may justly be 

 called the Midlothians of Ontario — hill and 

 valley, no matter where the eye travels. 

 From some of the hills views extending 

 thirty miles are at the disposal of the gazer ; 

 from one point on a clear day seven town- 



FiG. 2013. Gathering Rice. 



ships can be seen. But this is not the lake, 

 it is lake, stream and land. 



Rice Lake is noted for its sport, consist- 

 ing- of fishing and shooting. The fish that 

 are trolled and angled for are bass, black 

 and yellow ; the game hunted are snipe, 

 plover and ducks. Of the latter there are 

 the summer and fall ducks, each good in 

 in their season. 



The food of the fish is supplied largely by 

 tlie beds of wild rice, or known as black 



