A SUMMER DRIVE IN THE LAKE COUNTRY. 221 
he made known his power of usefulness to the Indians, 
who immediately turned his services to account. They 
compelled him to carry this immense stone far back into 
the deep woods, and under guard, in a rude cabin, to 
use it as an anvil. Here for many months he ham- 
mered out rude implements for his wily captors. He 
finally escaped and made his way back to his friends, 
but so emaciated with hard work and poor fare that he 
was not at first recognized by his friends. 
Mrs. McNair is an enthusiastic and practical bot- 
anist, and is the local correspondent for various botan- 
ical clubs in the State. Under her guidance we have 
ransacked miles of woods, fields, and ravines in quest 
of rare plants and flowers. 
The flora of Mount Morris and vicinity is one of the 
richest in the State. The showy orange-colored flower, 
butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), grows here in great 
abundance. Also that rare and interesting plant Pin- 
guicula vulgaris. On Murray Hill opposite, the high 
banks, we find the grass of Parnassus (Parnassia Car- 
olintana), and near by are broad patches of the delicate 
starry catchfly (Silene stellata) adorning this notable 
hillside. In the vicinity we find the following, some of 
them common, many of them rare: Sickle-pod (Ar- 
abis Canadensis), greenbriar (Smilax hispida), celan- 
dine (Chelidoniwm majus), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), 
dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), horse balm (Collin- 
sonia Canadensis), bellwort (Campanula rotundifolia), 
monkey, flower (Mimulus ringens), skullcap (Scutel- 
laria lateriflora), and that elegant milkweed (Asclepias 
