66 LAKE SUPERIOR. 



followed the course of our boat. Fronting us was 

 the long island called by the same name as the bay 

 beyond it, and towering far above were the moun- 

 tains of the mainland, cleft in two places where the 

 Harmony and Batchawaung Rivers had broken their 

 way to the lake ; to the right extended the bay for 

 many miles, and to the left stretched in its immen- 

 sity the trackless " Gitche-Gumee, Big-Sea-Water." 

 Darkness approaches slowly in northern latitudes; 

 our oarsmen were weary, and our pace was mode- 

 rate, but we had to make a long detour to reach 

 the river beyond, and it was determined to camp on 

 the island. Reaching the upper end, we landed, and 

 our men searched for a favorable spot. One pecu- 

 liarity of a voyage ur is his antipathy to camping at 

 an unusual place ; warned by his experience of the 

 inconveniences that attend such a course, the diffi- 

 culty of making a comfortable bed, properly secur- 

 ing the tent, and arranging the fire, he will endure 

 considerable extra labor to reach a spot with which 

 he is acquainted. Therefore we were not surprised 

 when Frank reappeared and announced the imprac- 

 ticability of establishing our camp. 



The day had been hard for the men ; the weather 

 had been hot and the journey long, and it gave me 

 pleasure to hear Don propose that we should row 

 for a time. He was rather unaccustomed to the ex- 

 ercise, but kept up bravely as we continued our 

 course round the island and across towards the main 

 shore. The pale light still filled the atmosphere to 

 that degree that, at nine o'clock, we could read fine 



