120 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



tenanted the streams and arboreal re- 

 treats of a pristine wilderness. 



Fated to continue on and on in this in- 

 herited privilege, half a century has now- 

 passed in a study of the wild lite in a 

 great homogeneous area, where the ex- 

 tinction or marked declination in certain 

 forms have been compensated by the 

 gradual appearance of species new to the 

 region, accompanied by the gradual in- 

 crease of some of the more valuable birds, 

 animals, and fish so improvidently de- 

 creased in pioneer days. 



Anxious to see the surrounding wilder- 

 ness, a chance came to me when a family 

 party started on a camping trip to the 

 mouth of Huron River, fifty miles to the 

 west of Marquette, a remote portion of 

 the southern shore, where there was not 

 a single habitation between the town and 

 the camping place. 



Transported by steamer to within five 

 miles of the shore, several yawls, with 

 canoes in tow, were soon under way. 

 Passing the Huron Islands, dotted white 

 with nesting herring gulls, among the 

 first of the northern bird refuges to be 

 established by President Roosevelt thirty- 

 five years later, we landed in a small 

 clearing near the entrance to the river, 

 where the tents were erected, and then 

 began ten most interesting days beneath 

 the canvas. 



INDIAN GUIDES OBJECTS OF INTEREST 



The Indian guides were, perhaps, the 

 object of greatest interest, for they gave 

 much attention to the two young mem- 

 bers of the party, whose incessant ques- 

 tions were only equaled by raids on the 

 provision tent. 



Trout, grouse, and pigeons were abun- 

 dant and many deer tracks along the 

 banks indicated what might be done in 

 the hunting season. 



Among the guides was one first em- 

 ployed by the writer's grandfather in 

 1850. His swarthy complexion and com- 

 ical expression led to his being called 

 Jack La Pete, through a supposed re- 

 semblance to the Jack of Spades (see 

 page 115). Jack was small, thin, and 

 active, with a volubility in striking con- 

 trast to the taciturnity of his race, a trait 

 possibly due to a trace of Hibernian 

 blood, for in other respects he resembled 

 the O jib way Indians. 



During long contact with the better 



class oi pioneers, who were intent Upon 

 the permanent development of a country 



rich in minerals and timber, and often 

 acting as guide to those seeking to enjoy 



the abundance of game and fish, lack be- 

 came possessed of a greater knowledge 

 of worldly affairs than any of his asso- 

 ciates, and the fact that he had spent a 

 year in Washington as interpreter in. 

 litigation affecting his tribe added further 

 prestige. 



About the camp-fire in the evening he 

 made us little birch-bark canoes initialed 

 with the quills of the porcupine, while the 

 spreading tail of the grouse became a fan 

 and the skin of a muskrat was made into 

 a shot-pouch. In conversation he was 

 equally active, and told many weird tales, 

 including a personal interview with the 

 great Manitou, who on one occasion came 

 down the clay chimney of his cabin and 

 with a mysterious incantation restored 

 Jack's failing eyesight. 



a night's camp at the mouth of dead 



RIVER 



Being much impressed with the experi- 

 ences of the first camp, three boy com- 

 panions between the ages of nine and 

 twelve were selected for a one night's 

 visit to the mouth of Dead River, several 

 miles north of town. The enterprise was 

 to be undertaken without the assistance 

 of guides or elders, so prone to interfere 

 with the freedom of youth. 



Marquette, like most early communities 

 of the north, had no suburbs, and when 

 one stepped out of the backyard, there 

 began the domain of the wild, for the 

 rigorous winters, deep snow, and lack of 

 conveniences deterred any but Indians 

 living outside the settlement. 



Assisted up the beach by a one-horse 

 wagon, the outfit was deposited beside a 

 pyramidal rock where the river entered 

 the lake, at which place there was plenty 

 of drift-wood for a continuous camp-fire, 

 axes being barred as well as guns, and, 

 moreover, no one was to wade the shal- 

 low river on account of quicksands and 

 because the pathless swamps and dense 

 forests beyond were reported to be occu- 

 pied by beasts having a particular pref- 

 erence for small boys. 



The tent, when erected, leaned much 

 to one side, in response to a crooked pole ; 



