154. DAYS IN THE OPEN 



object of our search, for he had kindly undertaken 

 to engage guides and make the other necessary 

 arrangements for our trip up the river. He proved 

 to be one of the most courteous and obliging of 

 gentlemen, and spared no pains to assist us in 

 preparations for the trip. To his wise selection 

 of guides was due much of the pleasure of our 

 outing. 



Behold us on a sunny morning fairly embarked 

 and headed up the noble Nepigon. A little 

 geography and guide-book eloquence might be 

 appropriate just here. The Nepigon River is the 

 largest tributary to Lake Superior. It is about 

 forty miles in length, and the outlet of Lake Nepi- 

 gon, a body of water seventy miles long by fifty 

 miles wide, with a shoreline of five hundred and 

 eighty miles. There is a fall of one hundred and 

 thirty feet in its course of forty miles, and that 

 means numerous cascades and rapids. But the 

 fact of prime importance is that this river is the 

 home of big trout; not only large, but pugnacious. 

 They are the Sullivans beg pardon, I mean the 

 Johnsons of the Salmo Fontinalis family. 



But this is getting ahead of my story. We are 

 just starting up the river. Let me introduce you 

 to our four guides : Aleck De La Ronde, Joe 

 Kejigos, Vincent Ashawikyegulap and Zavier 

 Misak. They are Ojibway Indians. Aleck, the 

 head man, not only speaks English, but reads and 

 writes. Joe speaks a little English, and the other 



