Nov. 80, 1882.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



843 



ness, to bursl wildly forth below like ;i f!<-<-<-- of SpUp silver: 

 A. fierce roar throbbed up out Of the ravine with the chilly 

 puffs of spray, in strange contrast with the wide-spread 

 silence of the peaceful night. lien' we loitered till the 

 >i --lii's in our pipes were cold, and then turneil in to warm 

 blankets and pleasant dreams. 



Tlie next morning was raw and threatening, but we ntade 

 pi. p nations for an curly Start. While packing up we had 

 visitors— lumbermen, trappers, Indians, Buch as wore usually 

 hired for guides. When those found we were going alone 

 their forebodings wore direful They judged aswift de 

 struclion was lying in wait for the rash strumrers who were 

 going to essay the Squatooks and the Tpledi without their 

 guidance, bnt we were obdurate, and weni, in one canoe 

 Stranion and W. B M in the oilier Hanolf, Sam and myself. 

 Tie- bedding, extra clothing, etc.. done up in squares of 

 oiled canva- and laced snugly, served as luxurious seats, 

 while the eatables and other perishable material were stowed 

 in light, strong boxes, made to tit the canoes. 



The first day oni is gendi'allj somewhat uneventful, and 

 this was no exception. One only cjcciterasfll fell to us. As 

 we struggled up alt obstinate rapid three miles above Kd- 

 munilslon. we came in view of a cosy old farm house, 

 wherein a fair lady. \\ ell known to one of our number, 

 chanced to be rusticating. Having heard of our coming, 

 she was on the watch for us. and waved a daint y h.mdker- 

 ehii i from an upper window. Straightway the canoewhieb 

 Sirauion hud in charge became unmanageable, and was 

 swept ignominiously to the foot of the rapid, a;:-! this 



little ihlay (Which we were careful HOI Prefer to) we 



pushed on energetically . making short stoppage for dinner, 

 and reached the Portage with an hour of daylight to spare. 

 This liti.-iii miles bf poWng, agatol such strong water as 



we had all Hie way, we oonsittereda v. r\ good da\'- work. 



At the Portage an old log cabin,, mem -. day deserted, 



.spared u.s Ihc neee-sily of pileld Hi on v I c:i| . Il »;e ^lllli, 

 (In . well vcutil.-iicd and a liuiidant I y uncivilized. What a 

 delicious and acceptable supper Sirauion concoeied for us 

 that night! He was the unquestioned head of our culinary 

 department Though we all labored with natural diligence 

 nl such seasons, his was the controlling, the originating 

 mind. Then, supper over, how prolonged and btttel' the 

 strife between us «;ivwora toyaybiirs and the (swarming 

 midges and mosquitoes, These pests we might have avoided 

 ri,'u,-l\ had we delayed our expe lition till the tatter pari of 

 August, but this Oilr business arrangements made impossi- 

 ble. We built in the cabin a smouldering fire of cedar hark 

 and rotten wood, which produces an acrid smoke very dis- 

 tasteful to the mosquitoes. While we kept awake- the battle 

 was drawn, brat when we slept our blood was. In the morn- 

 ing each was loud in ridicule of his neighbor's face, which 

 was puffy, and swollen, and speckled wiih much del orativfi 

 skill. As we Earned no looking-glasses, we wen- spared i he 

 Unpleasantness of .self-examination. All llus was mainly 

 the work of the midges or sand Hie*, the most grievously 

 tormenting of all winged pests. The Indians aptly style 

 them ••bite-uin-no-see-uinV— when they call them Bo had 

 names— and the "teuderfoot," on makihs their acquaintance 

 for the lifetime, thinks he is being pellcd with white-hot 

 needle pmnls, invisible and omnipresent, 



Afler deciding upon this nip we had at once written to 

 Tom Lynch, a character of renown dwelling on the M.-ula- 

 W-askn shorCs, engaging him to meet us at the Portage with 

 a team aud drag to carry us over to Mud Lake. He was on 

 hand soon after daybreak — much too early for our tastes - 

 wiih hi- leant, a yoke of half-tamed brindled steers. The 

 drag was on the other shore ai a convenient landing place, 

 where lie- apology for a road which we were about to tra- 

 verse look its beginning. The passage of the stream, as 

 Lynch conducted ii. was a picturesque undertaking. His 

 fen y was .1 clumsy bateau, iu the stern of which stood a 

 chum of his, whom he had brought to assist, poliug the 

 crafl across the current; while in the bow lowered his own 

 stalwart figure, a huge hrown patch in the back of bis home- 

 spun shirt, his trousers half lucked into his hoots. Here he 

 guided, wiih a rope and vehement exhortations, the swim- 

 ming of the yoked steers, which .snorted heavily alongside. 

 As it were a practical parody, the scene grotesquely recalled 

 one »f Arnold's vivid pictures in "The Strayed Reveller"— 

 •■They see the ferry 



On the broad clay-laden. 



Lone Chorasmiau stream; thereon, 



With snort and strain. 



Two horses, strongly swimming, tow 



The teriyhoat. with woven ropes 



To cither bow, 



Finn lianiesscl by the mune; u chief, 



With spout ftiifl shaken spear, 



Stands at the jirow anil {.'iiiiles them: * * » * * 



The loaded boat swings, groaning. 



In the yellow eddies; 



The gods behold them " 



| 'We, our passage safely accomplished and speedily in our 

 fight craft, and our limbs now stretched luxuriously on a 



slojiing patch of green, walched all this Willi calttt eyes. 

 Thus, in serene impassiveneas, we impersonated the "-od's. 



ill fore starling through tile woods we look means oi cir- 

 cumventing the "black Hies, which by this time hail grown 

 Well nigh unbearable, burrowing ih Our hair and ear, and 

 eyes, and swarming upon every unprotected locality. \Y,- 



lntlicled on Ihem a crushing defeal by I he potent aid of 

 "slitheroo.'' This magic fluid consists of Stockholm tar 

 aud tallow, spiced with pennyroyal, and boiled io about the 

 • thickness of treacle, and the fly that would not shun its 

 fragrance would le possessed of- verv ill -conditioned nostrils 



When this was thoroughly applied lo our skins we were 



faunc-lested and defiant, bu| might have plausibly enough 

 claimed kinship with the generations of Ham. In Such 



much more forcible than refined, which Tom Lynch would 



be delivered of at every rut or mud hole. A« lie- whole, 

 way consisted of ruts and mud holes. iii,s, latter oecasion- 

 . Iiy variegated with a few spruce poles thrown in for road 

 repair.-, ii may well be imagined what a strain was ml i anon 

 Rom's vocabulary, yet during the whole day— this is upon 

 record- -he was not once guilty of repetition, neither did '.he 

 ■well of English undetilcd" one,- threaten to inn tin. His 

 comrade, a thick-sel man wiih a slouch. -d gray hat, short 

 flaxen beard, and wonderfully slubhy lingers, occasioned 

 some dispute among us. Pari held him to be Tom', brother, 

 While others identified him wiih a certain Mr. Griffin of 

 celehrily. 1 said he was Mr. Griffin unuueslionubly. En 

 roule we "froze to" each other, he and l', and taking our 

 (guns went to visit some bear traps whi<di be had set in the 

 vicinity of the Portage road. He gave me much of his 

 autobiography by the way, therefore 1 speak with authority 



on the subject. Mr, Griffin was a J. P.. and skilled to keep 

 the peace when all bones were broken. He knew also to 

 try conclusions with an anlagpnisl and then fulmine against 

 him with the thunders of the law. Nevertheless he was an 

 amiable companion and a peaceful-minded man. As for ihc 

 bear traps they had accomplished nothing arduous, so we 

 rejoined the party uninjured. 



The middle of the afternoon saw us launched upon Mud 

 Lake, a pond perhaps three miles in circumference, and a 

 very blot upon the face of the country; weedy, stagnant, 

 and swarming wiih leeches. It hardly exceeds' two feet in 

 apparent depth, bin the bottom is fathomless slime, stirred 

 up vilely at every flip of the paddle. Its low marshy shores, 

 fringed here and there with dead hushes; and tall charred 

 U links, afforded US but one little bit of beauty, the green and 

 living corner where Beardsley Brook Hows out, Hi re at Ibis 

 season the si ream was very shallow; so that two of us were 

 required to go beside each canoe and case her over the difficult 

 places. I took the less laborious part of wading ahead, with 

 the ih sign of catcjttfag s few iroul for supper. 'In so small a 

 stream of course the fish were small, but they were abundant 

 and hungry; so after a half hour of good sport in a mild way 

 1 Bit doWjl laden wiih my spoils. When the canoes over- 

 took me 1 resigned my part to Sam, and took my place by 

 the canoe. By Ibis linn, our way had become less'obstruclcd 

 and we moved on easily and quickly. We were descending 

 a beautiful alder-fringed stretch WbCn around the bend of 

 Ihc stream belowUS appeared Sam, wiih undignified -ud- 

 denCSS. He struggled toward us knee-deep in tho current, 

 dashing up the spray magnificently before him, his eyes; as 

 wide as saucers and avery hair on. end. "A bear' A. bear!" 

 he gasped; and hurling down his rod and fish in the canoe 

 In- seized a heavy revolver. What a change now "came o'er 

 the spirit of his dreaoll' I" his mouth and eyes shone 

 Bternest determination. Wchadgrasped qui- weapons pre- 

 cipitately, and hailed, hui Bamorged oson. leading lhew&j 

 As thus full arnie.l we pressed forward down Mn-.-oii ie 

 told us in suppressed voice thai as he angled and meditated, 

 and then; was no sound save the hushed tumult of a little 

 rapid beyond on the recurrent swish of his line, suddenly 

 from the bask behind him rose the angry blatanl grow] which 

 is the persuasive utterance of ihc. she bear with cubs At 

 this he fell indignant anil Marl led; BO.h&'gttt&fl terrific yell, 

 and hurled a rock into the bushes to signify he was not in 

 any wise to be trilled with, Then arose a roar, which put 

 bis voice to Miami-; Hie undergrowth rocked and crashed 

 with the swift approach of tlie monster; and tilled with 

 penitential misgivings he made haste to flee. How difficult 

 il is to run in water knee-deep, whoever has tried knows 

 well. Ncverlheless tsam had aiiaini-d an almost incredible 

 speed, and when firsl he broke upon oui view in a cloud of 

 spray, wc imagined a U,-:cn, "Btern-wheeter" had at last 

 iuvaded these solitudes. W ben w <■ reached the scene of the 

 tragedy, the bear, or bears, had vanished. But "they glared 

 through their absences," and. we were satisfied. 



Now the stream was deeper, the necessity for wading was 

 past, and we ].i-c;s.d on vigorously in search of a suitable 

 camping ground. The weather had turned sullen and raw, 

 and there was a light rain falling. At last, about dusk, we 

 reached a spol thai bore plain traces of a previous encamp 

 mint. Sonic former tourists had cleared and levelled a 

 space for their tent, and gathered for their luxurious limbs 

 a store of elastic boughs, which wc found quite dry, except 

 upon the surface of (be pile. This wasall very satisfactory, 

 but we were wet and cold, aud quite tired out, and no one 

 felt equal to the tasluif carrying more than his own wean be, ,\y 

 up the slippery steep of mud before him. Beingin charge of 

 oiii-slini canieeu I was called upon urgently, and finding 

 only two lin cups at hand proceeded in each of these to mix 

 a double ration. Before this could be fully explained 

 Stranion seized the cup nearest him and made short work of 

 its contents. It held Sam's share as well as his own. and 

 Sam was righteously indignant. But Sirauion grasped a 

 canoe, and straightway il was up the bank wherewfi desired 

 it to be. He went to work as if bis strength were theatten'lh 

 of ten; we caught the enthusiasm, rrtam'ooieril the hei-his 

 were stormed, and we had taken formal possession. The 

 rain still fell, aud only by diligent coaxing could the tire be 

 persuaded to burn. The sandflies were more in number 

 than the sands, but we laughed at them from the safe re- 

 treat of our "slitheroo." At supper we were all merry hut 

 Sam; and he sat cross-legged on his blanket with an injured 

 air, eyeing his plate of fried trout scornfully. He wouldn't 

 look at porridge that night. Though we" had made him 

 fullest reparation for Stranion 's rapacity, the remciuurauce 

 of it still rankled in his breast We on the other hand were 

 very hilarious, ami when Stiauioii raised a modicum of por- 

 ridge on his big pewter spoon, and, missing his mouth, 

 landed it in his rigid cheek with such impeluositv that tnc 

 spoon bent double, then indeed we made night hideous, ami 

 our convulsive laughter upset the candle, and nearly the leul 

 as well. But Sam sat there unsympathetic and scolded us 

 sharply: told us not lo acl like asses, rescued theovei llnow n 

 c::ndle, and altogether was very abusive. But the uproar, 

 like everything else, finally had to subside, and we slept. 



Alas! what despair awaited us in the morning! Itanolf 

 had laken charge of the bottle of "slitheroo'' the night be- 

 fore, aud had placed it against a tree some distance from the 

 camp for safety A.t breakfast the- flies came for us, so we 

 went for the sliiheroo; but the bottle wasstanding-carofullj 

 on its head (a posture sometime affected by halfcinplied 

 heer-botlles!) and the precious fluid had all flowed out. Wc 

 beat our breasts iu bitterest lamentation, but of course ii 

 was not Eanolfs fault. By co-operation. the fiendish flies baa 

 done it while wc slumbered. This was Ranolf'ssueircsiion. 

 and we accepted it gratefully. 



1 1 woiijd have occupied a good deal of time to concoct 

 more slitheroo, and we were in a hurry to reach the good 

 lishing-erounds. So all that day wc toiled on under the 

 scourge of the Mies, and by nightfall our faeBS resembled 



nothing in heaven or earth or sea. Otherwise thladay'a 



journey was mil dillieuh, Ihoiudi lor the last hall mile 'of 

 ItS'course Beardsley Brook was so pvergrown with alders 

 that at tinns we wen- obliged to push and chop our wav 

 most laboriously. Sere we wasted some time lisiniig for 

 SapVs pipe, which had fallen overboard among the alders. 

 This pipe was black, with crooked stem, very philioi ie in 

 build, and so heavy we all ihoughl il would ' sink when il 



fell. When ihc catastrophe ocoutted we halted till the 



Wider, here about two feet deep, should become clear. 

 Then peering dowu among the alder stems Banolf spied tin- 

 pipi "ii th- yellow bottom, looking blurry and distorted 

 Ihrough the iuwin ciiireni. Long. wc grappled for it, and 

 poked at it with puddles aud poles. We would c&utioustj 

 raise it a little way on the blade of a paddle; bm even as 

 we began to triumph it would wriggle oil' again as if actually 



alive, and Settle languidly back upon the sand. We all 

 knew without W. B-'tfexplanatidns, that its life-like move- 

 ment was due to its being so little heavier than its own bulk 

 of water, as well as toum-ven refraction of the light through 

 the moving tlui.l. or to some satisfactory scientific cans,. ,,r 

 other; and finally Sam, gelling impatient, plunged in arm 

 and head and shoulder, and grasped our tormentor victori- 

 ously. He came up empty-handed and sheepish, and we 

 beheld n huge black tad-pole, now thoroughly aroused, 

 flaunt oil' down stream in high dudgeon. Banolf remarked 

 that the laws of refraction were lo him obscure, and we 

 continued our journey: but we overtook the !ion« flfla pipe 

 further down stream, floating near the surface. 



The Squatook River in this part of it s course Is smooth 

 and -win. and we glided out upon the bosom ot the Big 

 Squatook Lake about noon. By sis o'clock wc had trav- 

 ersed the length of this beautiful aud solitary basin, and* 

 Were pitching our lent near the ouilel, on a soli brown car- 

 pet of pine needles. Here was a circular opening amid ihe 

 towering trunks. Between the lake and our encampment 

 hung a screen of alder and wild cherry, whence a while 

 beach of pebbles si an ted broadly to the water. While Shan 

 ion and W. B. made preparations for supper, the rest of us, 

 going a hundred yards or so further on, Whipped the waters 

 of the outlet, where we counted upon good spoil. The 

 shores of the lake here draw together in two grand curves, 

 and at the apex flows out i he Squatook River, about waist 

 deep and a stone's throw broad. It ripples freshly on for 

 the first few rods, and then begins (o dai I and chafe, and lift an 

 angry voice. Here the Indians gather io Spear whitefish 

 in their season, and to further this they had fenced across 

 the outlet with a double row of slake.-'. AH but the small- 

 est fish arc thus compelled to descend Ihrough a pa-aee 

 three feci wide or m, left in mid -si ream; and here l he hold 

 ftfilicete awaits them with Impending spear. This fence we 

 found very convenient. Letting the canoe drift against il 

 we perched o» top of thestftkos, a couple of feci above water, 

 and c.-i-l our flics unimpeded in .very direction. Banolf's 

 drop was a small fly with red body and guinea-fowl wing, 

 and no sooner did il touch Hie water than it was seizid 

 fiercely. The l'n-b. which was safely hooked, was evidently 

 a prize, and Banolf snuggled to the beach to land him more 

 Securely. After a brave fight, which held our breathless 

 attention, his tronlship bowid to inevitable late, and was 

 gently scooped ashore. It was a beautiful, bright, clean 

 shaped fish, and the camp scales registered him two pounds. 

 As for Sam and myself, such tlies as we were wont to ap- 

 prove for evening casting were flouted, or only p.alrouizedby 

 hungry younglings; while the red body and gray wing was 

 in constant demand. Changing our easts to .suit the taste 

 thusencrgetieallv expressed,' wc had brilliant sport till it 

 got too dark to see; ha Ifpoundcrs, one after anoihcr, and 

 three more lish that tipped the beam for a pound each. By 

 this time a ruddy glare shone out over the lake from our 

 canop fire up l he shore, and enticing odors were wafted to 

 our nostrils from time to lime, home strangely on the cool 

 night wind. So we left the gathering gloom of the river 

 and betook ourselves to camp for tea. 



We decided to spend some days in this delightful spot, 

 and we named our . slablislnueid I loi el de Squatook Our 

 te.nl was pitched between the prevailing winds and ihc fire- 

 place, which occupied the open space among the pines. 

 Lopping the lower branches of the surrounding trees we 

 made ourselves pegs on which to hang our litis and other 

 utensils, and a dry cedar leg, which Stranion split skilfully, 

 furnished us slabs for a table. Of course our coinmisar- 

 iat was well supplied with campers' necessaries nud lux- 

 uries which il would he superfluous to mention here. Bui 

 upon trout above all we feasted, morn and noon and night ; 

 sometimes boiled, sometimes broiled, but more oflen frii d 

 in the fragrant yellow meal, and the di-ln-aic liel-ness of ihe 

 hot pink luscious flakes can only be imagined by true fi-b- 

 ermen, for true fishermen feast in their spoil where their 

 spoils were taken, with the relish of free air, and vigor, antl 

 keen appetites. 



Campers prate much of early hours, and of seeking their 

 blankets with the selling of the sun, but no such doctrines 

 fonts. .Night iu the wilds is. exquisite with a weird, myste- 

 rious beauty, a vague immensity of solitude, such as" Ihe 

 garish day can never dream of. Supper over we would 

 stretch ourselves out on Ihe teut floor, pillowing our heads 

 on the folded bedding, the tenl curtains at the back, lowaid 

 the lonely gloom of the forest, laced securely, and our boxes 

 ranged across just inside, making for our heads a snug rest- 

 ing place. At our feet the wide open curlains suffered us 

 to look out across the yellow fire-lit circle, through the 

 trunks and hanging branches, to the still, gleaming level of 

 the lake, whence at intervals would ring out, startliugly 

 clear, the goblin laughter of the loon, and listening intently 

 we woul'd catch the dim. quavering, dislant answer. 



Willi candles burning on the boxes at our heads, we some- 

 times lay reading till near midnight— Stranion with Mor- 

 ris's "Earthly Paradise," Sam, wiih "Monsieur Lecoq." 



Banolf wiih Eugene Sue's "Wandering Jew,'' W. B. with 

 "A Tramp Abroad," and the writer immersed in the for- 

 tunes of "Henry Esmond." Owing to the habit, common 

 to Stranion and W. B. of reading aloud some striking pas- 

 sage every now and then, I often found Lady Casl lcwood guiby 

 Of broadly facetious remarks, or Ihe beautiful Unscrupulous 

 lips of Beatrix uttering amorous and tearful verse. Such 

 incongruities are startling till one gets accustomed to 

 them. 



efore turning in wc would doff our scanty garments, run 

 down the beach, and dash, out into the cool lake-waters, 

 there to lioai almost motionless, till the return of stillness 

 and (if the perfect reflections would leave us seemingly sus- 

 pended in the midst of a starry sphere. And the absolute 

 fullness of peace it was. to yield every limb to Ihe soft, em- 

 bracing lluhl. and upheld without consciousness of support, 

 losway gently with the gleaming crystal surface, di-illing 

 as it wen-, a disembodied spirit through the spangled ether! 

 Then back loom- blankels, luxuriously weary; and With 

 the soughing of the pines all about us, whose couch compar- 

 able with ours! UHAEI.es G. I). It.i|'.!-:i;is, 

 i-hki.khicton. New Brunswick. 



[to be continued.] 



B&MBONNEI/. — M. Bombonnel, the renowned projector of 

 the Algerian wild-beast preserve, has again come to the 

 from. The Paris Fyaro says that he has been wild bom- 

 hunting in Burgundy, and lias now started oil' to meet Mr. 

 Marlinier, diicclor of Ihe Wrnitwir rffl Ghftm and seveial 

 Russian sportsmen. He goes iu hoi haste, bavin- received 

 news from. the steward on his African domain of a grand 

 old lion, with an enormous appetite, who is dining daily 

 off a horse or nude. 



