OR, THE LAKE LANDS OF CANADA. 25 



In accordance with this decision we left Toronto in the 

 afternoon, travelled by rail as far as the Muskoka wharf, 

 which is situated on Lake Muskoka, and from this point by 

 a small steamer, which reached Bracebridge about midnight. 



O O 



The instant the steamer touched its wharf at this point 

 three guides came on board, sought out the Governor, held 

 a brief interview with him, caught up our luggage and 

 quickly passed from the boat to the shore, where they were 

 completely enveloped in darkness, as there were no lights 

 on the wharf and the steamboat was but dimly lighted. It 

 was, therefore, difficult for us to follow these guides to the 

 hotel where we had determined to spend the remainder 

 of the night. The darkness was so intense that even 

 after our eyes had become accustomed to the changed 

 condition due to our passage from the badly-lighted boat to 

 the absolutely unlighted streets of the frontier village, our 

 guides, though preceding us only a few paces, were still 

 completely invisible. It was during this trying period that 

 the chief ingeniously came to our assistance by uttering 

 from time to time shrill war-whoops, which at this moment 

 recalled to the mind of the Scribe the doings and suffer- 

 ings of the former inhabitants of this land, the ancient 

 Hurons. 



Having reached the hotel, we were conducted to the 

 bar-room and office, which was dimly lighted with a single 

 kerosene lamp. This light rendered visible the forms and 

 faces of our guides, and consequently enabled us to form 

 our own ideas of the persons with whom we were expected 

 to associate during the next few days. 



We now saw standing before us our three guides. The 



