136 Wilderness Ways. 



down the lake with a fair wind, and a small spruce set. 

 up in the bow of my canoe for a sail, he followed me 

 four or five miles, calling all the way. And when I 

 came back to camp at twilight with a big bear in the 

 canoe, his shaggy head showing over the bow, and 

 his legs up over the middle thwart, like a little old 

 black man with his wrinkled feet on the table, Huk- 

 weem's curiosity could stand it no longer. He swam 

 up within twenty yards, and circled the canoe half 

 a dozen times, sitting up straight on his tail by a 

 vigorous use of his wings, stretching his neck like 

 an inquisitive duck, so as to look into the canoe and 

 see what queer thing I had brought with me. 



He had another curious habit which afforded him 

 unending amusement. There was a deep bay on 

 the west shore of the lake, with hills rising abruptly 

 on three sides. The echo here was remarkable; a 

 single shout brought a dozen distinct answers, and 

 then a confusion of tongues as the echoes and re- 

 echoes from many hills met and mingled. I discov- 

 ered the place in an interesting way. 



One evening at twilight, as I was returning to camp 

 from exploring the upper lake, I heard a wild crying 

 of loons on the west side. There seemed to be five 

 or six of the great divers, all laughing and shrieking 

 like so many lunatics. Pushing over to investigate, I 



