Sporting Innocents Abroad 



waters of Lake Rossignol, with his novitiate in the bow, 

 provisions and tent stowed compactly amidships, and 

 himself kneeling cautiously in the stern, the situation 

 takes on an entirely new aspect. The guide inquires 

 casually: 



" Mr. Newman, have you ever been in a canoe before ?" 

 If the answer is in the negative, the guide from that 

 moment watches every move of his charge with fatherly 

 solicitude. If the answer is in the affirmative, he will 

 suggest that the passenger demonstrate his ability by 

 using the bow paddle. The first half-dozen strokes 

 will prove the truth or falsity of the statement to the 

 guide's experienced eye, and he will conduct himself 

 accordingly. 



At this point it might be as well to explain the social, 

 ethical, and business status of a licensed sportsman's 

 guide in the Canadian woods. The novice wants to 

 forget the quite common and erroneous idea that a 

 licensed guide is a servant in the sense of being a menial. 

 He is licensed by the Government to protect, with his 

 life if necessary, the visiting sportsman from all the 

 dangers of whatever nature, and at the same time protect 

 the forest from conflagrations that might be started by 

 the careless or ignorant, and to protect the fish and 

 game from illegal slaughter. He is a direct representa- 

 tive of the great Canadian Government, and it is against 

 the law for any sportsman, outside of a resident taxpayer, 

 to hunt, fish, or even camp in the Canadian woods 

 without first employing the services of a licensed guide. 

 Socially he is very likely upon as high a plane in his 

 community as the visitor when at home. If he were 

 not a good, sober, taxpaying, industrious citizen, he 

 would never have been appointed a guide. Treat him 

 as a friend and equal, and you will find that he is a friend 

 indeed, all the while you are in the woods. Having a 



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