344 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov, 25, 1886. 



CANADIAN BACK LAKES. 



SOME of your readers might like a few notes of a canoe 

 trip lasting a month on the back lakes of Canda^ and 

 as many of them aimiially cast about for a route on which 

 to spend a few weeks of camp life, combining canoeing, 

 shooting and fishing, it might be the means of supplying 

 tJiem with the necessary information. Commencing at 

 Laidlaw's landing, near the head of Balsam Lake, I went 

 down through it to Camerons Lake, past Fenelon Falls, 

 into Stm-geon Lake and nearly to its foot; returning went 

 up the Scugog River, past the Farm of Lindsay into 

 Scugog Lake and up Scugog Lake to Port Perry at its 

 head, taking the train from there back to Toronto. The 

 distance paddled was about seventy miles in a straight 

 line from point to point in the route, hiit of course the 

 paddling to and fro to shooting and iiehing grotmds 

 would perhaps double or more than double that distance. 

 My outfit consisted of a canoe, built by English, of Peter- 

 boro, 16ft. long, 31in. beam and I2in. deep, with a good 

 deal of sheer at each end, after the fashion of the birch 

 bark — a good point. Having a fiat floor with fine ends, it 

 carried a large load, paddled easily when loaded and was 

 steady enough to stand up in and shoot. A marquee tent 

 13x12 with a bell behiiad, made of factory cotton, with a 

 fly to go over it of the lightest factory cotton, which only 

 costs five cents a yard. This is a great protection to a 

 tent, and when well stretched no rain will come through 

 the tent; it also keeps it cool, warding off the sun and 

 giving a free circulation of air between the two. I think 

 this arrangement preferable to having a single tent of 

 heavier material. A large waterproof blanket in which 

 my bedding was rolled up when moving formed the 

 ground work of my bed at night. A sailor's canvas bag, 

 painted lead color, which made it quite waterproof, held 

 my clothes. An old champagne basket, costing twenty- 

 five cents, covered with oilcloth, contained the grub. I 

 had also an axe and small spade, 12-bore gun, box hold- 

 ing 300 carti'idges, si^lit bamboo trout rod, trolling Line 

 Avith sj)oon, jack lamp (using coal oil and giving so strong 

 a light that I can read a letter by it at night 100ft. off), 

 some wax candles; two large tin pails, fitting into each 

 other, the smaller one containing, ranged round the in- 

 side, separate tins, to hold tea, coffee, sugar, salt and pep- 

 per, and in the space in the center a teapot— a very good 

 contrivance, as the larger pail serves as a waterpail, and 

 if wanted the smaller one, by takiug out the loose tins 

 and teapot, can be used as a pail also. 



My camp stove is the best style I have ever seen, being 

 extremely light but very complete and useful. It has 

 two holes on the top for cooldng, same size as a No. 8 

 stove. The fire is in the upper part, with an oven under- 

 neath. The oven roasts beautifully, and is heated by 

 turning a damper at the back, which sends the heat over 

 the top of the oven, then underneath it and into the pipe. 

 I have roasted a large mallard easily and well in it in less 

 than an hour, besides using the two holes on the top for 

 other purposes. The telescoping pipes fit into the fire 

 place. The oven holds the frying pan, a wasting pan and 

 a broiler, so that when the stove is packed up it is all self 

 contained, and yet is so light that it can be lifted easily 

 with two fingers. I had a tin plate sewed into the side of 

 the tent, with a hole in the midtUe to allow the pipes to 

 go through, and some additional lengths of pipe, and on 

 a wet or cold day put the stove inside the tent, when with 

 water and wood" inside also I cordd be warm and comfort- 

 able, and independent of what the weather might be out- 

 side. I had also two tin pails tapering to the bottom, 

 which fitted into the holes on the top of the stove, gomg 

 below it about two inches, and by usmg them and the 

 oven at the same time, I could have three cooking oper- 

 ations going on at once. The stove is made of sheet iron 

 and costs complete about |6. It is decidedly the best 

 camp stove that I have met with in an experience of 

 forty years. 



I had with me a pure Clumber spaniel puppy, six 

 months old, bred by yom* correspondent. Mi-. Mercer, of 

 Ottawa, Ont., which I was anxious to initiate with camp 

 life and its accompaniments. She exhibited qualities, 

 young as she was, that hold out good jjromise of her mak- 

 mg one of the finest dogs I ever saw. Her she, Johnny, 

 is a litter brother of Newcastle, who has won, 1 believe, 

 many first prizes at exhibitions in his class; he (Johnny) is 

 a noted dog for his questing and retrieving qualities, and 

 his daughter will not, I think, belie either her immediate 

 or more remote ancestry. 



I left Toronto on Aug. 30 by the afternoon train on the 

 Midland Division of the G. T. E., which runs to Coboconk 

 at the head of Balsam Lake, stopping at a small station 

 called Kirkfield, to which place I had some days pre- 

 viously sent by freight my canoe and camping traps. The 

 next day a friend who lived in the %iUage went with me 

 to the Drowned Land on the Talbot River, wMch runs 

 into Lake Simcoe, a noted resort for woodducks and 

 black ducks. Tlais drowned land extending about five or 

 six miles or more in lengtli, is formed by a dam built 

 across the river at Bolsover, setting the water back, and 

 covers many thousand acres. Here we intended shooting 

 the next day, Sept. 1, on which day the season for duck 

 and snipe shooting commences. During the evening 

 another party of four arrived, and pitcbed their tent 

 close to ours, and during the night several other local 

 sportsmen put in an appearance, so that in the morning 

 the river was well lined with guns. We had fan- shoot- 

 ing in the morning, but the number of guns seemed so 

 effectually to have scared the ducks that after that morn- 

 ing very few remained, most of them having left for 

 safer quarters. 



Having promised to wait at Kirkfield for a friend who 

 intended joining me there, from Toronto, I remained at 

 the Drowned Land till Saturday afternoon, killing a few 

 ducks every morning and evening, and enjoying the 

 beautiful weather and the camp life. On Wednesday 

 morning I shot a woodduck, which f eU into the river 

 behind me. I was standing on the bank at the time, 

 about 20yds. from the edge. I took the puppy to the 

 bank, and pointmg to the duck, said, "Go and fetch dead, 

 Joe." Fortunately just then the duck, which was only 

 winged, gave a flapi and the puppv saw it at once and 

 swam out to it. This was the first bkd that she had ever 

 attempted to retrieve, and as the duck on her approach 

 began to struggle, she swam round it two or three times, 

 but appeared afraid to take hold of it and began to return 

 to the shore. I ordered her very emphatically to go back 

 and fetch it, when she a,tonce retm-ned to the bird, swam 

 round it again once or twice, and at last took hold of the 

 point of one of its wings and swam to the shore, towing 



the duck behind her. As soon as I saw that she was 

 bringing the duck I walked back to the place where I 

 was standing when I fired, and when she reached the 

 shore and got the duck on the land she took it up and 

 brought it to me. This was not bad for a six months old 

 puppy. After that she brought every bhd that I sent her 

 for without the least hesitation. But I did not overtask 

 her, not wanting to keep her, at her age, always wet. 

 The teaching was what I wished an opportunity to give, 

 not to make her retileve every bu'd. In another year, 

 when full grown and strong, she will be able to do that 

 without the injury to her health which might result from 

 such a coxirse at present. On returning to the camp 

 morning and evening after shootuig I always gave her a 

 duck to carry from the landing to the tent, and that 

 practice I kept up all the time I was out. After the first 

 few times, the puppy of her OAvn accord always picked 

 up a duck without 'waiting to be told,'>nd marched quite 

 proudly to the tent, carrying the duck and looking back 

 every now and then to me with a perfectly self-satisfied 

 air. Though I never before owned one, I had often heard 

 that one of the peculiailties of the Clrunber spaniel was, 

 that they took natm'ally to retrieving, and certainly if 

 the majority of the breed are to be judged by my puppy, 

 they are lionestly entitled to their reputation. She is 

 very tender mouthed, carrying a bu'd for long distances 

 without ruffling a feather." I think it is a pity that this 

 breed of spaniels is not more generally known and used. 

 Their great power gives them a decided advantage over 

 most of the other breeds of spaniels ia carrymg birds in 

 heavy ground, and then hunting mute is a-Tiotlier point 

 in their favor. Then noses are excellent, and their 

 beauty and high general intelligence make them pleasant 

 companions both in the field and about home. 



I believe that there are only two families of these 

 spaniels in the Dominion, one in Halifax and one in 

 Ottawa; but I feel confident that as then usefulness and 

 splendid hunting and retrieving qualities become moi'e 

 generally known, they will come to the front as they 

 have not yet done, and will be in great demand by sports- 

 men in general. At present hardly one Canadian sports- 

 man in ten ever saw one or knows anything of their 

 qualities and capabiUties. For snipe, woodcock and 

 partridge shooting, and for retrieving ducks I consider 

 them unequalled by any breed of dogs, and I believe that 

 they would also be excellent dogs to shoot quail over. 

 They hunt so close to the gun that their flushing the birds 

 without pointing would not be of any consequence, and 

 in finding scattered birds after the bevies had been flushed 

 and marked down, I believe they would not be excelled 

 by the very best pointers and setters. If yoxi only consider 

 that for about 200 years this breed of spaniels has been 

 kept absolutely pure by the dukes of Newcastle, and that 

 during that time each successive generation has been 

 used for himting and retrieving, and if you believe that 

 such habits will, in the lapse of time, become from such 

 constant use almost second natm-e, you can easily under- 

 stand why tlie Clumber spaniel of to-day, if pnre bred, 

 should be a dog that almost naturally, and without teach- 

 ing, takes to the ways of his ancestors. 



I retm-ned to Kirkfield on Saturday afternoon, to find a 

 letter from my friend in Toranto, saying that the tyranny 

 of business would prevent him from joining me that 

 evening. And on Monday morning I had my canoe and 

 traps loaded in a lumber wagon, and drove four miles to 

 Laidlaw's landing, on Balsam Lake. 



That afternoon I went into camp alone, about three 

 miles down the lake, near McNishes Creek, at the mouth 

 of wliich there is a considerable extent of drowned land, 

 where last year at this time there were a great many 

 woodducks and quite a number of black ducks. The 

 next morning I was on the shooting grotmd before day- 

 light, but much to my disappointment, I saw only two 

 or three ducks and did not get a shot. Evening produced 

 the same result, so that point of my route, where I ex- 

 pected some fan- shooting, turned out barren. I cannot 

 account for the absence of the ducks this year unless they 

 had aU been shot off, which seems almost impossible, 

 though strongly suspect that they had been constantly 

 shot at by i^eople in the neighborhood since Aug. 15, fif- 

 teen days before the open season. This would have 

 driven them from the restricted territory of the shooting 

 grounds 



This is one of the hardsliips and disappointments that 

 the sportsman who comes from a distance to shooting 

 grounds and who respects the law, has to undergo. In out 

 of the way parts of the country, unless the government ap- 

 pomts game wardens who will do their duty, it is per- 

 haps unavoidable. Wealthy corporations of sportsmen, 

 who own or lease shooting grounds, can afford to employ 

 men to watch them; but the rest of the country where 

 game is to be foimd is practically left quite unprotected, 

 and in too many instances the man who respects the law 

 and on the opening of the season at some expense and 

 trouble goes to a point where he has a right to expect 

 shooting, finds, on reaching his destination, that local 

 shooters have anticipated Mm by a fortnight or thi-ee 

 weeks, and have either killed or driven away all the 

 game. This is particularly the case with ducks wliich, if 

 persistently shot at day after day on ground of not great 

 extent, will leave it entu-ely. It is different with field 

 game which, of course, may be killed off before the time, 

 but unless it is, it does not leave the locality where it was 

 reared. What is to be the remedy? In Manitoba the 

 government appoints game wardens all over the country 

 who will and do prosecute people who shoot out of season. 

 I do not think that any salary is attached to the office, 

 but there there is no difliculty in finding plenty of men 

 who are quite willing to accept the office, a,nd the system 

 works well, no ill feeling following the prosecution of of- 

 fenders by the game wardens, who act ex officio and in a 

 pubUc capacity. Why could not the same system be 

 adopted in Ontario? I feel satisfied that in Ontario no 

 difficulty would be found in getting men to act as game 

 wardens, and one or two prosecutions, with the knowl- 

 edge tliat it was the duty of the game wardens to protect 

 the game, would very soon effectually put a stop to the 

 shooting, which is systematically carried on in many 

 places for two or three weeks before the expiration of the 

 close season. I think that if the matter were represented 

 to the Ontario government by a strong body of sports- 

 men, the object would most likely be attained. Is it not 

 worth a trial? 



My camp was pleasantly situated and good fishing ui 

 the lake close to it, Not being pushed for time, I re- 

 mained in it till Wednesday, when I started for Cameron's 

 Lake, the next below Balsam in the chain. I was sorry 



to leave pretty Balsam Lake where, although I had been 

 disappointed in my expect-ed shootuig, I had much en- 

 joyed my two days' sojourn. It was a paddle of about 

 seven miles to tlie "foot of the lake wliere the river which 

 connects it with Carmeron's Lake commences, at a pretty 

 hamlet called Rosedale. 



At the landing, which I made about noon on a beautiful 

 sunny day, miderueath a fine spreading oak on a bench 

 sat an old white-haired hale and handsome man, talking to 

 two others lying on the grass at his feet. On approaching 

 I saw that the old man was blind. He turned out to be 

 the postmaster, and had a small store in which the post- 

 ofiice was close by. He told me that he had been per- 

 fectly blind smce'ten years old, tlie result of an accident. 

 He was most intelligent and ansv^^ered all my questions 

 without the least hesitation. On my saying tliat I wanted 

 my milk pail filled, and wished to' get' a lo;ii of bread, he 

 at once rose saying, "Come with me to the post-office and 

 my old woman will attend to your wants," which I did, 

 and found his wife a comely, nice elderly woman, who 

 did as he said. I gave her a twenty-five-cent piece in 

 payment. The store was somewhat dark, and she said, 

 "Is this a twenty or twenty-five-cent piece?" "Give it to 

 me," the old man said, "I will tell you." He took it be- 

 tween his thumb and finger and feeling it for an instant 

 only, said at once "It is a twenty-five-cent piece." How 

 very acute the sense of touch becomes in the blind. I 

 never saw it more strongly marked than on this occasion , 

 and Avhat a wise and merciful .arrangement it is that 

 makes u]) in some measure for the loss of one sense, by 

 increasing the dehcacy and power of another. I found 

 that I had to go down the river two miles to a dam and 

 lock, thence make a portage, as the lock was out of repair 

 and not used. This was not pleasant news, being alone, 

 but as there was no other way I had only to proceed. 

 The portage was not a long one, only about 40yds. around 

 the dock, but the unloading singlehanded, reloading, 

 hauling the canoe over, and carrying all yom- traps on a 

 very warm September day, was not hj any means a 

 pleasant task. About three milse below the dock, I was 

 told, 1 would come to Cameron's Lal^e; and on the right 

 hand side, where the river entered the lake, 1 would find 

 a nice camping ground and some duck shooting. Some 

 distance below the dock I came to a place where the river 

 turned in three different directions, or rather where there 

 were tlnee rivers; one kept on to the right, another to 

 the left, and still another went straight on, and they all 

 appeared to be of about equal size and volume. Here 

 was a puzzler. Wliich was the proper one for me to take ? 

 I came to a stop and tried- to tliink the matter out by 

 theorizing on the du-ection of each, but as I had no map 

 with me (a great oversight) I could come to no satisfactory 

 conclusion, and as the evening was approaching, it was 

 getting time to be in camp, I was, however, snrroimded 

 on all sides by di-owned and submerged land, where no 

 campmg place was to be found. 'Vifliat was I to do? If I 

 went on and took the wrong route I Avould only be losing- 

 valuable time, and would either have to spend the night 

 sitting in my canoe or go back to the dock and camp 

 there. At this critical moment a- most tmearthly soimd 

 smote on my ear, making me almost jump upright in the 

 canoe. It was repeated in a few seconds, and I then 

 recognized it as the escape of steam from a high-pressure 

 engine, and from ai-ound a point close by in the river on 

 my left appeared a steamer with a barge load of cord 

 wood in tow. The barge had gone agromid just around 

 the point, hidden from me, and the steamer being ready, 

 was commencing to start with it again. I waited tiU she 

 came up to me, when they said my route lay to the right; 

 the river to the left was the Burnt River, and the one 

 straight before me was its course to the lake ; the one to 

 the right was the continuation of the river which came 

 from Rosedale. Thanking them for a proffered tow, 

 which was declined, and very glad at finding myself re- 

 lieved from my souiewhat disagreeable dilcimna, I pad- 

 dled on. Soon I came to the mouth of the river, where 

 it enters Camerons Lake. Here on the right hand side I 

 found a very nice camping place, sheltered by the woods 

 on thi-ee sides and open to the lake; and as evening was 

 coming on I lost no time in unloading the canoe, putting 

 up my' tent and stove and preparing supper. 



The next morning before daylight I was awakened by 

 the pattering of rain on the fly of the tent, the first that 

 had fallen since I started; so instead of getting up to 

 have a shot at the early woodducks, as I had intended, I 

 turned over in my blankets and enjoyed a snooze till 

 about 7 o'clock, wheh I rose and breakfasted. I had left 

 the stove standing in front of the tent the evening before, 

 but now brought it inside, put on the additional length of 

 pipe, which reached three feet above the ridgepole, and 

 with a pail of water and some wood inside, was quite 

 independent of the weather. It partially cleared up at 

 halt-past 10, and as the mouth of the river, only llOyds. 

 from the tent, looked like a good place for bass, I deter- 

 mined to give it a trial. Catching some small frogs, I 

 put my rod together, using the bait tip, and was very 

 soon anchored just where the river enters the lake. A 

 gro-wlh of weeds prolonged the point which f oi-med the 

 end of fchc eastern bank, and dropping my frog just clear 

 of them, in less than five minutes I hooked a 31bs. bass, 

 which on the light bamboo rod gave me fine sport for 

 some minutes, when he consented to allow the landing net 

 to be put under him; and in less than half an hour I 

 caught tvvo more, both considerably larger than the fii-st, 

 the last the largest, and weighing, I am sm-e, over 4lbs. 

 Three finer or handsomer bass it would be difllcult to 

 produce. I was much surprised to find two of them fidl 

 of roe and the third of milt. If this is general, should 

 not this season be a close period for these fish? I did not 

 fish for nor catch any more bass on my trip, so had no 

 further opportunity for observation on this point. If my 

 half -hour of fishing at this point be a fair sample of the 

 sport here, few better bass fishing resorts are to be found. 



As it commenced to rain again I went back to the tent, 

 and keeping up a good fire in the stove was quite com- 

 fortable. Between three and four in the afternoon it par- 

 tially cleared oft', and having been told that close to where 

 the *Bm-nt River joined the Gidl, there was a small lake 

 sm-rounded by drowned land and bog, which could be 

 entered bv a canoe and was a good place for woodducks, 

 I started to see if I could find it. I was successful, and it 

 turned out to be just as described to me, except in the 

 point that the ducks were very scarce, there only being 

 thi-ee in it and they all got away unshot at. I was quite 

 uncertain whether the ducks would fly in there in the 

 evening, and as it was some distance from camp and 

 thi-eatening to rain again, I thought it best to get back. 



