LAKE SUPERIOR. 85 



" Tea ! "Well, there are some people that can 

 hardly tell wash-basin slops from the best Bohea." 



" But, then," I hurriedly explained, to moderate 

 his disgust, " chifla is so liable to be broken ; I had 

 once an entire case of liquor smashed by my guides." 



" Yes, and that liquor-case is a case in point ; 

 because that was lost you do not give up carrying 

 liquor, do you ? Then why cease using china cups, 

 not that they have been, but only from fear that 

 they may be broken ?" 



" They are so much heavier than tin," I remon- 

 strated. 



" As if the weight of two cups, one for you and 

 one for me, and two plates, was so serious. Let's 

 dispense with something else ; take less to eat, if 

 you please, but have it decently served." 



Convinced by this eloquence, I meekly promised 

 to comply on our next expedition, but Don was not 

 altogether satisfied, and continued : 



"I do not wish you to consent to these views 

 merely to suit my wishes. I want you to be con- 

 vinced. I dare say there are advantages about tin ; 

 it may be knocked about, is always ready at hand, 

 is light, and stores in small compass ; for rough tra- 

 vel, doubtless, it is admirable, and, were we to make 

 long portages, would be better than china. After 

 all, the taste of tin must be more apparent than real ; 

 the metal cannot come off, or it would dissolve ; 

 and how, then, can it give a taste ? The pots are 

 large, but a man wants a good, long drink, whether 

 of tea or brandy, when exhausted with hard work 



