42 CAMP FIRE REMINISCENCES 
ment compared with strolling by a stream in this 
country, as the growth of alders and brush by the 
stream is almost impenetrable, so the relief was 
great when at last we emerged upon this springy . 
meadow. After a short rest, we struck into the 
forest. The walking was much worse here than 
where we had been a few days before, owing to the 
amount of fallen timber covered with slippery 
moss and lichen, and to the boggy nature of the © 
ground. Game tracks were few and we worked 
hard all day without seeing anything. I think 
Dalle took me through the alders that morning 
just to show me what difficult travelling it was, for 
we returned to the canoe by a much better route. 
When we arrived at camp we found the horses 
and buckboards there, and that the industrious 
Semond had cooked a splendid dinner for us, which 
was ready to serve. After dinner, for an hour, I 
witnessed an aurora display which I had never 
Seen surpassed, even in high latitudes. It seemed 
out of place in this gorgeous country on an almost 
summer’s night. One expected to hear the creak 
of rafting ice, or the boom of a splitting berg, but 
the gurgling of water in La Belle Riviére, as it © 
left the lake, was the only sound. Our camp this 
night was exceedingly comfortable, as the ground 
upon which the tent was pitched was high and dry. 
It was also beautifully situated, with a very gaudy, 
hard-wood forest behind, and the river, as it flowed 
from the lake front. The cheerful habitants sang 
until late and I could not help thinking how naPPY 
they were, living their childlike lives, 
