Ike Land of the H'inanishe 



His bottes sauvages, in odd contrast with 

 cassock and biretta, show that he has just 

 come in from a long tramp to an outlying 

 mission, the only road to which is by 

 canoe and portage. He is a keen angler, 

 and has improved the opportunity by 

 catching some brockets the pike (Esox 

 lucius] thus furnishing material as well 

 as spiritual sustenance for the struggling 

 settlement. The interior of the presby- 

 tery is severely plain ; but the book-shelves 

 show the scholarly tastes, lack of time to 

 cultivate which is his only complaint. 

 After a pleasant chat we take our leave, 

 but not till the Cure has promised to try 

 and get time for a day at the winanishe. 



On the way down the road home there 

 are many polite greetings, with lifting of 

 hats and "salut, Messieurs/' A peep into 

 the schoolhouse turns the busy hum into 

 a rustle of rosy-cheeked, clean-faced, tidy 

 girls and boys forming into line to salute 

 the Messieurs with courtesies and bows. 

 As the nearest doctor is lifteen miles away, 

 and comes only once a month, there is a 

 great run on the medical skill and patience 

 of a kind-hearted guest of the Club. He 

 has to deal not only with the vertiges and 

 douleurs of patients who come from far 

 and near, but with Nere Tremblay's wife's 

 76 



