THE HALCYON IN CANADA. 239 



the wood from here and from Snow Lake on their 

 toboggans, from two and a half to three feet long. 

 They have kinks and ways of their own. About 

 half a mile above camp we discovered a deep oval 

 bay to one side the main current of the river, that 

 evidently abounded in big fish. Here they disported 

 themselves. It was a favorite feeding ground, and 

 late every afternoon the fish rose all about it, mak- 

 ing those big ripples the angler delights to see. A 

 trout, when he comes to the surface, starts a ring 

 about his own length in diameter ; most of the rings 

 in the pool, when the eye caught them, were like 

 barrel hoops, but the haughty trout ignored all our 

 best efforts ; not one rise did we get. We were told 

 of this pool on our return to Quebec, and that other 

 anglers had a similar experience there. But occa- 

 sionally some old fisherman, like a great advocate 

 who loves a difficult case, would set his wits to work 

 and bring into camp an enormous trout taken there. 



I had been told in Quebec that I would not see a 

 bird in the woods, not a feather of any kind. But I 

 knew I should, though they were not numerous. I 

 saw and heard a bird nearly every day on the tops of 

 the trees about that I think was one of the cross-bills. 

 The king-fisher was there ahead of us with his loud 

 clicking reel. The osprey was there too, and I saw 

 him abusing the bald eagle who had probably just 

 robbed him of a fish. The yellow-rumped warbler I 

 saw, and one of the kinglets was leading its lisping 

 brood about through the spruces. In every opening 



