62 THROUGH CANADA 



beaver stores birch, poplar, hard and soft maple, 

 black ash, cherry, hazel, and white pine. As a rule 

 there is only a small quantity of cedar and pine 

 stored, although it is the most plentiful of all 

 Canadian woods. The Indians say that the latter 

 contain medicinal properties, and the bark is only 

 used " as occasion may require." 



We surprised several beavers in the rivers and 

 lakes. They are quick to take the alarm and dive, 

 swimming thirty or forty yards before showing them- 

 selves again. Like all animals, they have their own 

 way of warning their companions and putting them 

 on the qui vive. In the act of diving they strike 

 their tails against the water, which makes a ringing 

 sound that can be heard hundreds of yards away. 

 Their broad flat tails are eminently fitted for the 

 purpose, and the force of the stroke shows great 

 muscular power. As a comestible this appendage 

 of the beaver ranks high in the estimation of the 

 epicure. 



The evening shadows were falling on Canoe Lake 

 when we left the river. The day had been hot, and 

 a thunderstorm was brewing. Mark, apprehensive 

 of discomfort, plied the paddle with renewed vigour, 

 making the canoe shoot rapidly through the water. 

 On the western margin the dark pines made fantastic 

 shadows, and the islets in the centre of the lake 

 repeated themselves in inverted forms in its clear 

 depth. The shelter of a hut awaited us on the lake 



