AU SABLE, THE HIGHLY 

 INTERESTING 



A Ten-Day Fishing Cruise Between Grayling, Mich., and 

 Oscoda — How to Go and What to Take 



BY WALTER C. O'KANE 



N COMPANY 



with two gentle- 

 men from West- 

 ern Ohio, the 

 writer enjoyed 

 last summer a 

 delightful canoe 

 cruise in the 

 upper part of 

 the lower penin- 

 sula of Michi- 

 gan. This arti- 

 cle is written to 

 recount, not the 

 daily mileage of 

 our journey, but 

 rather the practical side of the trip — what 

 we'tpok with us, how we got there, what 

 boats we used or might have used, what sort 

 of water we found, what fish, and the general 

 characteristics of the river. This in the 

 belief that many another city man, like our- 

 selves, might readily make this trip, and 

 find it immensely enjoyable to himself and 

 profitable to his constitution. 



The three of us who made this trip were 

 and are practically beginners. One of us 

 had made a run the year before through 

 lakes and streams in Michigan. Another 

 had camped many seasons in Ohio, but 

 always in orderly, near-town outings, char- 

 acterized by gasoline stoves, cots to sleep on 

 and a floor in the tent. 



Our choice of streams fell on the famous 

 Au Sable, principally because of its reputa- 

 tion for fish. Of its good or bad points as 

 regards rapids and camping-places we knew 

 nothing, and succeeded in finding out very 

 little. It simply looked " highly interesting," 

 and was within reach. 



We outfitted at home, in Ohio. One of us 

 had a flat-bottomed, folding canvas boat, 

 fourteen feet long by about forty-five inches 



beam. We took it with us. An old Indian 

 watched us set it up on the banks of the 

 river, when we were getting ready to put in, 

 and after solemn deliberation for ten min- 

 utes remarked, "No good. Big leak." But 

 it came through unharmed. Our tent, pro- 

 visions, blankets, extra clothing and general 

 duffle were packed in four heavy canvas war 

 bags, each eighteen inches in diameter and 

 thirty inches deep, with a draw-string at the 

 top and a canvas handle on the side. These 

 bags were good, but it would have been 

 better had two of them been ten or twelve 

 inches in diameter instead of eighteen. 

 That is big enough for the provision bags. 

 If larger they are too heavy, if packed full. 

 These bags were disposed of at night by 

 standing them in a row on two or three 

 sticks or small logs, and putting a poncho 

 over them. That kept them perfectly dry, 

 and left our tent clear. 



The tent was six by six, and five and 

 a -half feet high, with loops on top through 

 which we ran a ridge-rope. In the front 

 was sewed a cheese-cloth mosquito bar. 

 Another time we would have a sod cloth 

 sewed around to the bottom of the tent and 

 a ground cloth overlapping it inside the 

 tent, in addition to the cheese-cloth front, as 

 the only pests that got at us came in under 

 the sides, or were hidden in the grass or 

 weeds when we pitched our canvas. The 

 ridge-rope was all right. But it is easier to 

 pitch even a small tent with poles, and on 

 the Au Sable they can readily be secured at 

 the start and carried through in the boats. 



Our provisions partly filled two of the big 

 bags and made the heavier part of the load. 

 Perishables, such as butter, lard, tea and 

 ground coffee, were carried in friction-top 

 tin cans. Matches likewise. The remaining 

 provisions went in small sacks, such as 

 banks use for coin. In fact, most of ours 



