1 1 6 In the Canadian Forests v 



* Our road followed for a long way the great 

 conglomerate backbone of Keweenaw point, which is 

 the great nidus of the copper ore, and pierced in 

 every direction by big mines, some working, some 

 played out. We visited the largest of them, possibly 

 the largest in the world, the Calumet and Hecla, 

 which is, they say, a nice little property for a few 

 shareholders. A long drive through the forest 

 brought us to Houghton, a pretty little town on an 

 arm of the lake, principally composed of wooden 

 houses built with great taste, and painted white and 

 brown, which gives it a Swiss-like aspect, and this is 

 heightened by the quantity of German and French 

 which one hears talked in the streets. From 

 Houghton we started in two light waggons for 

 Ontonagan, near which it was reported that a 

 wonderful silver mine had been found. As we 

 started late, and had at least thirty miles to go, we 

 had a heavyish time of it. The road was so bad 

 that even by daylight we had to travel the greater 

 part of the way at a foot-pace, and after nightfall it 

 was, of course, even worse. 



' It led up and down through forests of sugar 

 maple — now of a universal light, bright yellow colour 

 — swarming with partridges. Small clouds of 

 sparrow-like snow birds, beginning to put on their 

 white winter jackets, fluttered around us, and now 

 and then a quaint little squirrel chattered at us from 

 a branch, and we saw one specimen of the ivory- 

 billed woodpecker, a very handsome fellow. Early 



