368 



PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



giant river of Canada and its surrounding landscape, be- 

 cause it is without a fault perfection verified. 



Strong and enduring are the thews of our boatmen, 

 tough but pliant the ash oars, and although each stroke 

 they are bent like hoops, still our progress over the rip- 

 pling, glancing, eddying water is slow. But delay matters 

 not here ; in fact, it is rather pleasing, for it affords the 

 spectator time to gaze, ay, inhale the manifold beauties that 

 surround him : look to the left at that feathery birch, how 

 playfully and daintily its long, graceful^ floating limbs tap, 

 tap, tap upon the rapid's surface. Another rival in attract- 

 iveness grows close by; it is the wood-grape, with its 

 long tendrils floating in every breath of air, but treacher- 

 ously longing to lay hold of the tree that now she only fans 

 with her passing touch. And the red maple and yellow 

 maple and scarlet sumac crowd together, rivals for the 

 palin of precedence in gaudiness of hues ; while behind 

 them, in calm dignity, towers the giant pine, looking down 

 with unbending dignity upon its minor surrounding breth- 

 ren. The motion of these Canadian waters itself is joyous, 

 and every dip and plunge and jump of the birch-bark canoe 

 seem to be its ebullition of excessive animal spirits. 



But, unconsciously, we have glided out of the swift cur- 

 rent into eddying back currents; our spoon-bait trails thir- 

 ty odd yards behind ; in fact, it has been for some time 

 forgotten, for admiration and thought have been feeding 

 upon the beauties of surrounding nature, when suddenly 

 we are recalled to the fact that we are fishing, by several 

 rapid jerks upon the line; the top of the rod bends toward 

 the unseen adversary, and the reel-handle spins round with 

 unusual velocity. Now comes the test to prove your knowl- 

 edge of the gentle art. Take and give, never be hurried, 

 or permit excitement to control you, for a worthy foe you 

 have to struggle with, and coolness and nerve will alone in- 



