LAKE MISTASSINI 207 



ing to Lake Temiscamie, whose outlet flows into Lake 

 Mistassinis, or Little Mistassini, which in its turn emp- 

 ties its surplus waters into Great Lake Mistassini, over 

 a waterfall twenty feet high. 



The shortest route to Lake Mistassini, as already 

 indicated, is that by way of the Ashuapmouchouan. 

 This was followed in the summer of 1894 by Mr. 

 Archibald Stuart, who reached the lake in little less 

 than three weeks from Lake St. John, accompanied 

 by four Indian guides. He left the Ashuapmou- 

 chouan proper at the mouth of the Chigobiche, which 

 was ascended as far as Lake Chigobiche, a fine body 

 of water thirty miles long. In the river there is ex- 

 ceedingly fine trout fishing. The lake of the same 

 name is very picturesque, and on one of its islands is 

 an old Indian cemetery, marked by many mounds. 

 The guides never camp upon this island, for fear of 

 disturbing the spirits of the dead. A short portage 

 from Lake Chigobiche leads to the Kiviere de la Cote 

 Croche, which empties into Lake Ashuapmouchouan, 

 the headwaters of the river of that name. Another 

 portage leads to the Nicaubau River, the heavy rapids 

 of which have to be ascended in order to reach first 

 Little and then Great Lake Nicaubau. Yarious small 

 portages and short canoe routes, known only to the 

 Indians, lead to the height of land, in the neighbor- 

 hood of which beaver are so exceedingly plentiful that 

 the progress of the canoe is constantly interrupted by 

 their villages and dams. In the swamps on either 

 side of the height of land are any number of par- 

 tridges, while ducks are plentiful on all the lakes. 

 Lake Obatagooman is reached soon after passing the 



