138 



RECREA TION. 



pended as many as possible on the tent 

 poles, and photographed them. We 

 stayed ten days at the camp, catching in 

 all 107 trout, all in the rapids below 

 Cameron's pool and Camp Alexander. 



The day to turn our faces homeward 

 came all too soon. The tent is taken 

 down. We take our last look at the 

 rapids above the camp, and turning the 

 yacht into the current speed down to 

 and over lake Helen, and bid farewell 

 to the glorious Nepigon. 



Above Cameron's pool the river ex- 

 pands into lake Jessie, which is three 

 miles long and is dotted with numerous 

 islands. The narrows separates the 

 latter from lake Maria. Near here 

 is the celebrated split rock, a solid mass 



in the river bed, around which the cur- 

 rent sweeps. Then after several miles 

 more of rapid water is lake Emma, and 

 for six miles still upward the river 

 thunders and boils, descending from 

 lake Nepigon, which is 70 miles in 

 length by 50 in width. Its coast line, 

 indented with many coves and bays, 

 measures nearly 600 miles. Nearly 1,000 

 islands dot its surface, and many streams 

 enter the great reservoir. This is the 

 ideal region for the angler and explorer, 

 and the trip can be easily made with In- 

 dian guides who are familiar with every 

 rapid and portage. 



Farewell, noble river ! The memory 

 of our glorious outing, on your shores, 

 will live as long as life shall last. 



A COON HUNT IN YE OLDEN TIME. 



JUDGE HINMAN. 



Memory still retains my first coon 

 hunt. Joe, a hired boy on a 

 mountain farm, reported to the 

 village boys he knew where coons were 

 thick. Accepting our proposition to 

 supply him with ammunition and let him 

 be one of the hunting party, he agreed 

 to take us right to the spot. Five of 

 us, including Jim, who owned a valua- 

 ble coon dog, for which he had refused 

 many offers of purchase, reached Joe's 

 place in the evening. Joe was a six- 

 footer, slim as a bean pole, and when 

 standing besides his equally long gun, 

 appeared to be a twin of it. As we 

 entered the woods Joe was all excite- 

 ment, and at the snapping of every 

 twig, down would come the long barrel 

 from his shoulder, and several of us 

 received bruises when he swung it 

 around to a firing position. Arriving 

 at the edge of a corn field all sat down 

 to rest except Joe, who on tip toe 

 brought his gun to shoulder every time 

 a corn husk rattled. % Promising to let 



him have the first shot when a coon was 

 treed, he marched in our rear and kept 

 ordinarily quiet for the balance of the 

 night. Not having discovered the first 

 sign of a coon, we retraced our steps 

 for home at the first streak of dawn, 

 and passing a field of buckwheat, Joe, 

 unnoticed by any of the party, suddenly 

 took two strides to the fence, poked his 

 gun between the pane's and fired. In- 

 stantly several yelps of pain were heard, 

 and over the fence into the road, 

 bounded Jim's dog minus two thirds of 

 his tail. To say the atmosphere was 

 highly sulphurous would faintly express 

 it. Jim was angry, Joe scared and 

 speechless, and the rest of the party 

 convulsed with laughter. The re- 

 diculousness of the thing at last caused 

 Jim to laugh, although insisting Joe 

 should pay damages. The matter was 

 compromised by Joe agreeing to find 

 the dog's tail and wear it in his hat 

 band for three successive Saturday 

 evenings, when he visited the village 

 store, as a memento of his skillful mark- 

 manship. Joe showed up at the store 

 once, but never after. 



