Nepigon River Fishing 



finds a space cleared, however dirty. Our 

 faithful workers, after careful inspection, 

 pick out some point, dry, shelving, but not 

 steep, well shaded, and as free from rocks 

 as this stony region affords with an easy 

 landing-place, and a bit of gravel or stone 

 basin for the bath. A few trees are felled, 

 none being more than a foot through, 

 stumps left or stakes driven for due order 

 of tent-ropes and bedposts, and the canvas 

 house set firm and square as a home for a 

 fortnight. The next duty is to give the 

 canoes a thorough overhauling, after the 

 strain of their amphibious journey. 



The canoes used on the Nepigon are a 

 larger variety of the fairy craft paddled by 

 the Micmacs and Montaignais of the lower 

 river. They are nearly double the size of 

 the latter, the largest being over thirty- 

 five feet long and five feet wide, deeper 

 and more heavily ribbed, showing the 

 contrast between a pleasure carriage and a 

 burden wagon. Like an evolution from 

 the lonely voyageurs skiff into a vessel for 

 trade and war, each carried, two centuries 

 ago, a score of scalping Hurons, and can 

 to-day float three tons of fur-packs or pro- 

 visions. Naval estimates at the Post fix 

 their cost at from seventy-five to a hun- 

 dred and twenty dollars, the bark used in 



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