LAKE SUPERIOR. 129 



of Lake Superior. All clay long the black-flies watch 

 their chance to find a bare spot of human flesh to 

 sting and tear ; immediately on the falling of the 

 shades of evening the almost invisible sand-flies, the 

 "no see 'ems" of the half-educated Indian, make 

 their appearance in countless millions of infinitesimal 

 torture, and all night long the ceaseless hum of the 

 hungry mosqaito drives sleep from the wearied 

 sportsman's eyelids. Veils and ointments are, there- 

 fore, a prime necessity, without which a visit to this 

 section is an impossibility ; and even with the best 

 protections, the warm days that give these insects 

 unaccustomed activity are scarcely tolerable. But 

 in spite of these petty discomforts it is a noble lake, 

 beautiful in all its moods, silent and waveless in the 

 warm sunshine, rippled and sparkling in the gentle 

 breeze, or lashed to anger by the storm, when it 

 rages along the shore and bursts in furious surf 

 upon the rocks. Nowhere else can trout-fishing be 

 had in greater perfection and more endless variety, 

 nowhere else can the fisherman find purer sources 

 of enjoyment or finer opportunities to exercise his 

 art, and nowhere else can the lover of nature dis- 

 cover more to amuse or instruct him. It lies in the 

 heart of an almost unbroken wilderness, the largest 

 lake in the world, one huge spring of the coldest 

 ice-water, and filled with trout that the painter can 

 scarce find colors to imitate, and that will dwell in 

 the angler's memory for ever. 

 6* 



