DOWN THE MOON RIVER. 



35i 



tangled underbrush and the queer shale 

 rock formations. These portages give 

 most welcome varieties to the trip. At 

 about 10 miles from Bala, your guide pushes 

 up a short stream and sticks the nose 'of 

 the canoe into a patch of rushes. He 

 crowds the little craft through tall, coarse 

 grass and water lilies for 100 yards and 

 then enters 'Longe lake, noted in that re- 

 gion for its muskalonge. It is a small lake, 

 with its shores well wooded, and you will 

 have poor luck indeed, if, after an hour, 

 your patience is not rewarded by fish that 

 are fish. A 10-pounder is about the aver- 

 age, and he will give you a tug that will 

 repay you for the journey, if you have not 

 already felt repaid 100 times. 



Back into the river, you rest at one of the 

 falls for lunch, casting for bass above and 

 below the falls with success always. You 

 can go through to Georgian bay if you like, 

 and back to Bala by the Muskosh, a ster- 

 ling canoe trip requiring 3 days or so. 

 Nearer the bay the falls are more abrupt, 

 the rapids more swift, the portages longer, 

 but the grandeur of the scene remains until 

 you reach open water. A good day's trip 

 is to 'Longe lake and back to Bala. The 

 return with the slanting rays of the setting 

 sun lighting the tops ot the trees, with the 

 river's quiet pools and little bays acting as 

 mirrors for the perfect reflection of every- 



thing on the shore line, and with gulls, 

 cranes and owls in view as you glide along, 

 makes you conscious of a restfulness pecu- 

 liar in its charm, that you wish might be 

 abiding. It can not long remain. Like 

 all good things, it too, has its end. 



It has its end in fact but not in fancy. 

 Memory will retain the scenes of such a 

 trip and permit us to bring them up when 

 winter winds are blowing and when ice and 

 snow hide stream and field. We may see 

 in the grate fire before us the summer blue 

 of the sky the sun tinted green of the 

 woods; hear the delightful ripple of the 

 winding brooks and the restful songs of 

 the birds. Nature speaks at all times in 

 every season to those who are alive to her 

 charms. Her summer voices to the many 

 are most melodious, but even cold, bleak, 

 December's voice, though often harsh, 

 has in it no discord for those who hear aright. 



If all memories ended with our summer 

 vacations what little rest or enjoyment 

 would our outings afford. The good that 

 comes from living over a delightful experi- 

 ence, had in close communion with gener- 

 ous nature, is not to be counted in dollars. 

 How rich, then, is one who, having seer, 

 has retained the wondrous pictures to be 

 viewed on every side during a vacation 

 wandering in this matchless region of the 

 Muskoka lakes. 



COURTESY OF THE GRAND TRUNK RYt 



