WINTER TALKS ON SUMMER PASTIMES. 21 



colors of the kaleidoscope. I am afraid I sometimes unne- 

 cessarily protracted my 'play* to enjoy the exquisite picture." 



"You spoak," said one of the coterie, "of the Au Sable as 

 having the flow of an ordinary trout stream. The popular 

 idea is that the whole of Michigan, except its extreme north- 

 ern portion, is practically a uniform plane, with no high 

 hills and no mountain brooks nor swift flowing waters, such 

 as we have in our own State." 



"And this popular idea is not far wrong. There are no 

 real mountains in Michigan. Nevertheless, the topography 

 of the center of the lower peninsula is such that many of the 

 streams move with considerable velocity. The current of 

 the Au Sable, for instance, flows from one to four miles an 

 hour, and its water is as pure and as transparent as any 

 mountain stream I ever saw. But when I have said this I 

 have said about all that can be said in its favor. It has 

 very few beautiful scenic features. Its banks are generally 

 low and uninviting. There are not, so far as 1 traversed it, 

 many pleasant camping places directly on its borders. On 

 my last visit I floated several miles before I found a spot where 

 I was willing to pitch rny tent, and when I landed an inci- 

 dent occurred that made me wish myself a hundred miles 

 away. It was this : A party of ladies and gentlemen had 

 just broken camp as we landed, and were awaiting their 

 wagons to take them to the village. While thus waiting, 

 the ladies amused themselves in gathering wild flowers, and 

 in their rambles they had encountered a huge massassaugua, 

 whose glittering eyes and warning rattle had sent them flying 

 and screaming back to camp. Although diligent search, 

 was made for the reptile, he remained undiscovered. The 

 incident was followed by the pleasant assurance from my 

 guide, that 'although a good many 'saugas were round, they 

 very seldom bit anyone; or, if they did, a quart of whisky, 

 swallowed at once, was a sure cure/ As I hadn't the 

 whisky I didn't hanker after the bite. My sleep in the 

 woods, with nothing but a few hemlock boughs between 

 my body and mother earth, is usually sound and re- 

 freshing. But upon this occasion I was terribly nervous, 



