THE WOODLAND LAKE 5 



to the eyes. There were also swamps in which no cedars 

 grew, but the ground was overrun with bushes, and these 

 were favourite spots for many of the wild fruits which 

 grow in the Canadian district. Here there were cran- 

 berries in abundance, a fruit much esteemed in all the 

 American districts where it grows. Gathering them was 

 a ticklish business, for the favourite habitat of the bush 

 was a treacherous peat-moss into which I more than once 

 suddenly sank in an alarming manner. 



The blackberries which I found here were much finer 

 than any which I ever saw in old England, and there 

 were also wild strawberries which were small and of little 

 worth. I was surprised to find wild cherries in these 

 woods, and disappointed to discover that they were of 

 such bad flavour as not to be worth the trouble of 

 gathering. Of a few other wild fruits found here I must 

 make the same remark. I was further reminded of the 

 woods and lanes of the dear old country by finding plenty 

 of hedge-nuts; but on the whole this country is not better 

 provided with berries than England ; and I could quite 

 realise that a person lost hi these forests could easily 

 starve to death, an opinion the reverse of that I used to 

 entertain : for I had repeatedly said that I could not 

 believe that a person keeping his head, and displaying a 

 little energy, might not easily find the wherewithal to 

 sustain life for a considerable time in the dreariest forest. 

 Here, however, it would all depend on his being able to 

 procure fish from the waters ; for the vegetable products 

 are very scanty in winter, only a little moss being eatable, 

 and that difficult to procure when the snow is on the 

 ground. As to game, he might have to go many days 

 without seeing anything large enough to kill, even if he 

 had the fortune to come upon it within range ; for most 

 of the animals and birds about here, in the summer season 

 at least, were very wild. 



The commonest of the small birds at this time was 

 the Lapland bunting (Calcarius Lapponicus), which har- 



