114 I^^ iJ^^ Canadian Forests v 



one sees his quaintness. Looking something like a 

 cross between a miniature magpie and a shrike, he 

 flits about the trees, pretending an intense un- 

 consciousness of you and your belongings, until he 

 has satisfied himself that you are not inimical ; then 

 he becomes bold, not to say impudent, and hops and 

 pecks about in search of unconsidered trifles, and 

 evidently intends that you should consider him as 

 one of the party. On your departure he calls his 

 friends around him, and the last bit of vitality which 

 you see as your canoe pushes off from the deserted 

 camp, is the party inspecting your remains and com- 

 paring notes, complimentary or otherwise, on your 

 cooking and mode of living generally. From his 

 dress and manner I should suppose him to have 

 been, in a prior state of existence, connected with 

 the dissenting interest, 



' October 6th. — We crossed Lake Superior in the 

 Silver Spray, a little tug belonging to the Silver 

 Islet Company, rather too small for the work, for 

 getting caught in a heavy storm, we had hard work 

 to make Copper Harbour on the south shore. Then 

 we left her, and took a light waggon across the 

 peninsula to Lac-la-Belle, which was pretty enough, 

 particularly one side of it, where the hill was blazing 

 with scarlet and yellow foliage. The drive was 

 through the forest the whole way, and now and then 

 we came on a deserted mine, with the windows of 

 the wooden shanties around it boarded up to save 

 the glass. In some places these collections of 



