CHAPTER XVIII. 

 GEORGIAN BAY. 



C* EORGIAN Bay lies northeast of Lake Huron, and has ex- 

 ^J tensive communication with it between Great Manitou- 

 lin Island and Cape Hurd, as also about the mouth of St. 

 Mary's River to the north. This bay is nearly as large as 

 Lake Ontario, and contains islands almost innumerable, 

 Great Manitoulin, some eighty miles long, leading in size, 

 and the rest presenting every variety of extent down to 

 mere rocky shoals. Having pitched my tent at Little Cur- 

 rent, a village and steamboat landing on a northeastern point 

 of Great Manitoulin, I make excursions in a small boat to 

 various points of interest in the vicinity, to identify the 

 plants and to note the fossils in the lower silurian rocks 

 of these islands, but more particularly to study the nidifi- 

 cation of the birds in the locality. Fossils are abundant, 

 and there is such a variety of wild flowers, that many of the 

 islands appear like immense flower gardens, very many of 

 the plants being different from those of Western New 

 York. 



THE GOOSANDER. 



Here I find nearly all the Sparrows, breeding, especially 

 the White-throat; the Thrushes are very well represented; 

 our beautiful family of Warblers is varied and numerous; 

 both the Ruffed Grouse and the Spruce Partridge breed 

 here; the Eagle's nest is not uncommon; and some of the 



