CHAPTER XVIII. 



AN EXPLORING VOYAGE IN AN ALDER SWAMP A BEAVER DAM A 



FAIR SHOT AND A MISS DROWNING A BEAR AN UNPLEASANT 



PASSENGER. 



WE started the next morning on an exploring voyage 

 round the lake, to look into the bays and inlets, try the fish 

 and deer, and see what we could see generally. We struck 

 across to an island opposite our landing-place, containing 

 five or six acres, covered with a dense growth of spruce, 

 hemlock, and fir, with an occasional pine standing with its 

 tall head proudly above the other forest trees, while along 

 the ground the low whortleberry bushes, loaded with fruit, 

 now just ripening, grew. This island is near the south 

 shore, and separated from it by a narrow channel some 

 twenty rods in width. We landed, and were regaling our- 

 selves upon the berries, leaving our boats and guns on the 

 lake side of the island. We had wandered near the centre 

 of the island, when three deer started up within two rods of 

 us, and rushed whistling and snorting in huge astonishment 



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