LAKE SUPERIOR 115 



portions of the grain, is compact, and easily pro- 

 tected from wet ; it furnishes an astonishing variety 

 of desserts where any dessert is a luxury, and it is 

 an admirable addition to one's stores, though I wish 

 it had a little more taste. 



The dinner, including the corn-starch dessert, was 

 a success, and revived Don's spirits, so that he was 

 up betimes thereafter during our stay at the Har- 

 mony. 



With reluctance we bade farewell to the pretty 

 stream, whose soothing murmurs, grateful shade, 

 and wild scenery invited us to remain ; and our 

 eyes lingered on the hills from which it springs, as 

 we slowly passed out of Batchawaung Bay on the 

 route to Gros Cap and the Sault. But, aware that 

 our limited time was almost expired, we pushed on 

 our homeward way, stopping to dine at the camp- 

 ground near its mouth. Here we found, amid the 

 debris of ancient wigwams, the bleached skulls of 

 numerous beavers, and were surprised at the pecu- 

 liar formation of their long, mordant teeth. We 

 had frequently noticed logs of considerable diameter 

 that had been cut through by these powerful natu- 

 ral saws, and that bore the long furrows that they 

 made; but were astonished to find, in extracting 

 these teeth from the skull, that they constituted 

 nearly a semicircle. Worn as they would be by 

 severe and continued use, nature had made this 

 provision to supply the rapid waste, and the portion 

 of the ivory concealed in the skull was fully two 

 inches long. Don collected several, and finding a 



