4*4 



RECREATION. 



slough with about one foot of water 

 and 2 feet of mud. Midway of 

 the slough one of the geese advised 

 me that he was not dead. He stuck 

 his feet in the back of my coat and 

 began pounding me over the head 

 with his wings in a manner that re- 

 minded me of the time when I 

 went to a country school. He simply 

 knocked fire out of my eyes, but I 

 kept on across the slough. I was 

 weak when I reached the bank. I 

 threw my geese and # gun on the 

 ground, and sat down to wipe, as I 

 supposed, the perspiration from my 

 neck ; but it wasn't perspiration at all, 

 it was blood. That goose had cut my 

 head in 3 places and I was bleeding 

 profusely. Nothing daunted, I made 

 for the boat. 



By the time we got ready for our 

 float down the river it was dark. 

 Then our troubles began. The shoals, 

 or sand bars, stood ever ready to re- 



ceive us. We could not make any 

 progress. We went about a mile in 3 

 hours. At last we went ashore. I 

 had 3 guns, the 8-gauge weighing 18 

 pounds; 3 geese, shells galore, lunch 

 buckets, rubber boots, overcoats and 

 what-not, and was 9 miles from home, 

 on the darkest night I ever saw ; with 

 a guide whose ankles had both been 

 broken in the Adirondack mountains 

 years before. We started to walk 

 home, but the old man couldn't make 

 the trip. He stopped at a Mexican's 

 ranch. I walked home. We carried 

 all that load on foot 3 miles. I feel 

 tired yet. It was 12 o'clock that cold 

 winter night when I reached home. 

 The old man brought the boat down 

 the river the next day. The geese 

 weighed 15, 16 and i6j^ pounds. It 

 was enough ; the work was hard, but 

 the compensation was sufficient. In 

 fact, I should like to repeat the trip 

 now. 



THE NORTH WOODS 



W. M. BRYAN, M.D. 



Back in the deep, dark, silent Northern 

 woods, 



Far from the hurrying, sickly haunts of 

 men; 



Where Nature reigns, untouched by care- 

 less hand, 

 And time scars not the splendid scenery — 

 There river, lake, and giant trees combine 

 To demonstrate God's perfect handiwork. 



O clouds that float above the mountain tops, 

 Where lie the banks of white, eternal snow ; 

 O winds that wander through the pine tree 



boughs, 

 You visit ne'er a nobler land than this ! 



Fair realm of peace and dreams and rest, 

 Where Nature holds dominion blest, 

 The calm repose that thou dost keep 

 Seems like a thousand years of sleep 

 Of some vast sun which God's great might 

 Will wake again to life and light. 



The peaceful beauty of each lake, 

 On whose fair breast the shadows shake, 

 Must cheer the wanderer through the days 

 Of winter snows or summer haze. 



Arcadia, Columbialand, 



Thy somber beauty is so grand 



My soul of thee a home would make, 



My last, long spirit-rest to take. 



First Lawyer : Does your assistant know 

 anything about law? 



Second Lawyer: Not a thing. We only 

 keep him to draw up wills. — Exchange. 



