284 FOREST AND STREAM. t0«. 8, iM. 
combination of a water spaniel and Newfoundland, 
good-natured, but courageous, who had been on river 
trips before, and apparently enjoyed the change of scene 
and habitation from day to day as much as any one of 
the party. 
A week before we proposed to start our boats, tents 
and most of our supplies were shipped to State Line 
Station, Wisconsin, which, as its name indicates, is upon 
the boundary line between, in this case, the States of 
Wisconsin and Michigan. 
The railway station is only about two miles from the 
Wisconsin River, but about five miles from Gen. 
Thomas' place on Lac Vieux Desert, where the river 
comes into being as a stream only a few feet wide, start- 
ing from the southwest "corner" of the lake on its long 
journey to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. 
Here we proposed to launch our boats. These last are 
deserving of special mention. They are much larger 
than are usually taken on such a trip, but are made light 
enough to be portaged when empty bv two persons with- 
out difficulty. 
The Otter is a cedar boat, built by R. J. Douglass & 
Co., of Waukegan, 111., in 1893; a double-ender 16ft. 
long by 48in. beam, decked 3ft. at each end; a very 
convenient arrangement for the storage of many articles 
of camp outfit, which you want to have at hand, but 
always where they will be protected from rain. 
The other boat is one of Mullens' make, a steel double- 
ender, 15ft. long, christened Osprey. Neither of the 
boats have cross seats, but instead zinc lined lockers or 
boxes i8in. long, if t. wide and ioin. deep, with hinged 
lids, are used as seats when the boat is in use. These 
are fastened in place when used as seats, but when we 
camped they were carried ashore, and contained all the 
principal articles connected with the commissary de- 
partment. Individually these lockers were convenient 
seats about the camp-fire, and when placed together they 
formed a table 2ft. by 3ft. 
When the Otter was stripped of everything she 
weighed only I25lbs. The Osprey under the same cir- 
cumstances weighed i4olbs. 
Our tent was one of Comstock's 8 by 8, iooz. Protean 
tents with two flies; the best and most convenient tent 
ever devised. Canvas carry-all bags contained plenty of 
extra clothing, and eight pairs of blankets, wrapped in 
the rubber floor cloth of our tent, always insured tis dry 
bedding. Having plenty of room in our boats, we took 
along a varied assortment of provisions, believing it is 
foolish to do without anything which could be taken 
along without inconvenience. Accordingly our stock 
comprised such goods as assorted canned soups, canned 
pork and beans, sausages, canned cream, olive oil for 
salads, claret, etc. Mason's fruit jars are very conven- 
ient for carrying many articles, and our lockers were 
made of such size that the jars would fit in snugly and 
stand right side up. 
Our cooking utensils w r ere such as are commonly used 
except the stove or range, which is the Professor's own 
invention, and is such a very useful and convenient 
article that it deserves a particular description. 
When open it is simply a grate of three bars of I 
by J4 i ron about 3^in. apart, the bars being edge up, of 
course. At each end are cross-pieces, to which the grate 
bars are loosely bolted or hinged, the bars being given 
a half-twist at each end, so as to bring the flat surface 
against the corresponding surface of the cross-pieces for 
convenience in hinging. 
At each end of the cross-pieces, and consequently at 
each corner of the grate, are attached legs of §4 round 
iron pointed at the lower end; these are fastened by 
means of an '"eye" into a larger hole in the cross-pieces 
so that they will work freely. 
When packed for traveling the grate collapses to- 
* gether *ib that the bars are almost in contact with the' 
legs folded down against the grate, and the whole forms 
a compact bundle which can be stowed away in the 
bottom of a boat, taking up scarcely any room, and a 
perfect treasure in making a quick camp. 
If can be set up in half a minute, and you have a 
grate raised just as much above the fire as you wish, al- 
ways level, for you drive each leg into the ground in- 
dependently, and can set it on a side hill -if you wish, and 
have it exactly right. 
A week after our boats and other things had been 
shipped by freight we took the C. & N. W. train from 
Chicago for State Line Station, which we reached about 
noon on Aug. 11, and found to our satisfaction that the 
freight had arrived the night before. The next question 
was where to launch our boats, and how to get them to 
the river. 
The railway agent said the distance by the railroad 
track was only a mile and a half or two miles, and that 
he could take everything down on a hand car for three 
dollars, but could not go until after 6 o'clock P. M.. so 
as to be assured of a clear track. There was not a team 
and wagon of any kind in the place, but we were told 
that Len. Thompson, who keeps a kind of a resort at Lac 
Vieux Desert, had one large enough for the purpose. 
The Professor volunteered to walk the five miles from the 
station to Thompson's place, and see what could be done, 
while the.-xast. of us put in the time t>y walking down 
the track to the railway bridge, with. a view of determin- 
ing what sort of a place we would have for unpacking 
our goods and preparing for embarkation, if by any 
means we were not able to get transportation to the 
lake. 
If we came down from the station after 6 o'clock, on 
the handcar, it would be necessary to go into camp at 
once, without making any start that afternoon, as the 
river ran through low, marshy ground for a long dis- 
tance below, and it would be advisable to have several 
hours of daylight before us when we started, so as to 
have plenty of time* jn which to find a camping place. 
There was no suitable place near the bridge, and we 
came away decidedly of the opinion that we must some- 
how or other have our things taken to the lake. There 
was nothing to do but to return to the station and await 
our companion's return from his tramp to the lake. 
About 3 o'clock we were agreeably surprised to hear the 
rattle of a wagon coming through the pine woods from 
the direction of the lake, and soon the Professor ap- 
peared in a big box wagon drawn by a pair of horses 
which suited the vehicle in size, with an intelligent look- 
ing young fellow for driver, whose dark complexion 
proclaimed his connection with the original owners of 
these wilds. Thompson, the elder, has lived on his 
present place since 1859, when the whole region around 
the head waters of the Wisconsin was indeed a wilder- 
ness. His wife is a half-breed Ojibway, the daughter, it 
is said, of a United States surveyor, who located meri- 
dians and ran boundary lines through this region in early 
times. The children of the present generation are bright 
and intelligent to a much greater degree than one would 
expect from their surroundings. The older ones are 
sent away to be educated; the young fellow who drove 
our team being home on a vacation. 
Our tents, supplies of all kinds and boats were speed- 
ily loaded up and we were off for the lake. The road 
was so rough and the boats swayed about so much, not- 
withstanding we had tied them down as securely as pos- 
sible, that we all had to walk, letting the wagon bump 
and lurch along with only our freight on board. The 
woods were full of sweet fern and ripe blueberries. The 
latter were so plentiful that anyone so disposed could 
step to the side of the road anywhere and pick a hand- 
ful of the luscious fruit at one clutch without losing an 
instant's time, and many were the agreeable mouthfuls 
gathered as we followed behind the lumbering wagon. 
About 6 o'clock we came in sight of the big log house 
of the Thompsons, and a quarter of a mile beyond, on 
a grassy spot near the shore of the kike, Ave unloaded 
the wagon and set about pitching our tent lor the first 
time on our '97 trip. 
After having made up our beds on a foundation of 
hazel brush under the rubber floor cloth, we securely 
trenched the tent to provide against rain, a precaution 
it is well to take in all cases, no matter how favorable 
the sky may appear, and we went up to the big log house 
for supper, as there was not time to unpack the large box 
containing our provisions and cooking utensils that 
night. We had heard that venison was always to be 
had here, but perhaps something in our appearance in- 
dicated that we would not be apt to look with entire 
indifference upon violations of the game laws. At any 
rate, we were not asked if we would have any mountain 
mutton, as I had half expected, but our supper con- 
sisted of something which is in season 365 days in the 
year, and good on every one of them: fried ham, baked 
potatoes and coffee, with baking powder biscuits and 
good butter; for all of which we were only charged the 
small sum of twenty-five cents each. 
We went to bed in our snug little tent at an early hour 
that evening, and were asleep sooner than might have 
been expected, considering that for all of us it was the 
first night under a tent for nearly or quite a year. 
There is a strangeness about one's first night in camp 
which sometimes keeps the drowsy god away an un- 
conscionably long time. Tired nature conquered after 
a time, and we had all been wrapped in sleep for two 
or three hours when we were awakened by the cries of 
a drunken Indian, half yelling, half singing in the most 
dismal accents it has ever been my lot to hear. Talk 
about the wailing of a lost spirit; it must be exhilarat- 
ing compared to what we heard that night. The author 
of these hideous noises followed the path within 20yds. 
of our tent, but did not stop, for which we were duly 
thankful. When his voice was lost in the distance we 
again went to sleep and this time slept undisturbed un- 
til morning. 
The next forenoon was devoted to getting out the con- 
tents of a couple of big dry goods boxes, in which our 
supplies of all sorts had been packed for shipment by 
rail to State Line. This done, the Professor a'nd I went 
out on the lake and cast the fly for a while along the 
shore,, in the hopes of raising a bass, but without suc- 
cess. 
Later in the day R. got a few minnows and went 
out with us, using a new Bethabara bait-casting rod, 
while I confirmed to use the fly. We skirted the shore 
and cast patiently in all the most favorable looking 
spots, but for a long time there was no response. At 
last, when it was nearly night, I quit casting, and R. was 
reeling up with the intention of doing the same; his 
minnow was close to the boat, with not more than half 
a dozen feet of line between it and the tip of the rod, 
when suddenly, splash! snap! the rod was broken near 
the middle, and only the head and shoulders of the min- 
now remained on the hook, the rest having been bitten 
clean off by a muskalonge, which had seized it as it was 
about to be lifted from the water. It was too late to do 
more fishing that night, so we reluctantly turned the 
boat toward our cmp, a mile or more away. During all 
the time we had been out the lake was unrippled by any 
sign of fish; suddenly everything changed, and within a 
few moments the water was covered by dozens of winged 
insects, and fish were rising greedily, sometimes leaping 
half their -length out of the water for their prey, and 
again quietly sucking them down so that they dis- 
appeared with hardly a ripple. 
All this was most plainly visible on the illuminated 
surface of the water toward the western shore, where 
our tent was pitched, and when the fading light of the 
sun already set was reflected upon the water. In other 
directioms it was too dark to see much of the peculiar 
spectacle. The insects seemed to be light colored, but 
I did not succeed in getting one. If I had been pro- 
vided with any small, light-colored artificial fly I should 
have put it on and tried to catch one of the fish, but 
having only big, dark-colored bass flies, it was not worth 
while to try. 
The scene reminded me of what I have heard of cisco 
when the cisco flies are rising on Lake Geneva. Perhaps 
the fish in Lac Vieux Desert are cisco. 
I do not know much about insects, but these resembled 
as near as I could judge the kind which are founVl 
in such numbers on some summer mornings covering 
the pavement under an arc light or a large street lamp. 
They seemed to me to come from below to the sur- 
face, and after struggling for a few moments took wing 
and fluttered away, if not seized in the meantime by a 
fish. 
The next morning was the time fixed upon for our 
start down the Wisconsin. There is a dam where the 
river issues from the lake; one of those constructions 
which are the bane of boat navigation in the lumbering 
districts. We encountered them everywhere, and in- 
variably found them a nuisance in more ways than one. 
Give me a stream where I can depend upon the flow of 
water being reasonably uniform from day to day, and 
where no more substantial personage than the clerk of 
the weather can be held responsible for the increase or 
decrease of volume. 
To embark in the morning with plenty of water under • 
your boats, and by noon to find the river has fallen a 
foot or so, and you have to drag your loaded boat over 
the boulders half the time, because some lumber com- 
pany a few miles up the stream has shut the gates of 
their dam and reduced the river to a rivulet, is exasperat- 
ing in the extreme. 
At the source of the Wisconsin River we had a chance ' 
for the first and last time to manage matters our- 
selves. The dam was not more than a couple of hun- 
dred yards by land from our tent, but to reach the 
chute with the boats we were obliged to make a long 1 
detour around and through extensive weed beds, where 
it was difficult to find the channel which led to the out- ■ 
let. 
In order to insure plenty of water for at least our first 
day upon the river, we raised the gate of the dam a 
couple of hours before we were ready to start, and con- 
sequently when the two boats, one after the other, shot 
through the narrow opening on Friday, Aug. 13 (in- 
auspicious date), we found ourselves embarked on a 
stream from 10 to 15ft. wide and 2 or 3tt. deep, with a I 
tolerably swift current. 
There is one part of our equipment which I have for- 
gotten to mention, but which added so much to our 
comfort that any one taking such a trip should not 
fail to be similarly provided. I refer to two large tin 
canteens covered with blanketing for carrying drinking 
water. ■ Each one held something over a gallon, and we 
never missed a chance to fill when we came to a good 
spring. Provided with these we were enabled to choose • 
our camp ground each night without taking into con- 
sideration the question of drinking water, which on other 
similar trms had made it at times very difficult to find a j 
satisfactory location. 
All we required was a high and airy spot, where we 
would be as free as possible from swampy exhalations ( 
and from that pest of summer camps, mosquitoes. The | 
two canteens held water enough to last over one day, 
and on one occasion we made a Sunday camp and by us- 
ing river water for coffee got along very well from 
Saturday until Monday morning. 
The Wisconsin for the first thirty or forty miles of its j 
course is the crookedest and most deadly uninteresting 
stream I have ever seen. Back and forth through 
marshy meadows it winds with wearysome repetition; 
an occasional tamarack swamp affords the only change. 
„ The marsh land is bordered by sandy ridges elevated 
only a few feet, once covered by pine timber, but now 
clothed only with scrubby oaks and brush of various 
sorts 10 or 12ft. in height, with numerous blackened 
trunks rising here and there, and giving an exceedingly 
forbidding aspect to the scene. The Professor and I 
werj| ahead in the Otter, while the two younger voyagers 
followed in the Osprey. Sometimes they would be a 
quarter of a mile behind us by the course of the river, 
when we could see them across some neck of land not 
a hundred yards away. There seemed to be no fish of any , 
sort, big or little, no minnows in the shallows, or large : 
ones darting away in the deeper water as we approached; 
no frogs were seen, and stranger still no turtles or 
snakes. I was partially struck by the scarcity of birds 
and animals. None of the heron or bittern family or 
of the smaller waders were seen, and no animals except 
muskrats. Even when we landed and explored a little 
way, no rabbits, woodchucks, squirrels or any of the ' 
small wild life which gives an interest to the settled coun- 
try three or four hundred miles south was to be seen — 
nor were there small birds or any of the hawk kind. The 
only explanation which seemed satisfactory to us for the 
scarcity of life was that the ever recurring forest fires 
have exterminated it. It seemed an interminable length 
of time after our embarkation, not less than four hours, 
before we came to the first of the bridges on which the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railway crosses the river, near 
its head; the other is half a mile further on. We were 
here four or five miles from Lac Vieux Desert, but had 
come several times that distance by the windings of the 
river. Here we threw out our anchors and took lunch 
as we sat in the boats, there being no inducement either 
to land or to linger longer than was necessary to com- 
fortably take our meal. 
For miles beyond nothing more tempting for a camp- 
ing place was found than bits of ground elevated only a 
foot or two above the level of the water 'or dreary tam- 
arack swamps. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, how- 
ever, we noticed that the country back of the river bot- 
tom was becoming more hilly and was gradually drawing 
in on both sides toward the river. The upland was 10 I 
or 20ft. above the stream, and ridges still higher were 
seen. The high banks encroached upon the stream at 
every turn; the current ran more swiftly, boulders ob- 
structed the channel; little ripples gave a life and beau- 
ty to the stream which it had sorely lacked, and pre- 
sently we swung around a bend of the river about a 
quarter of a mile long, and saw before us an old logging 
dam. It had been partly carried away by floods the 
preceding winter, but the gap filled in by tree trunks 
and drift stuff- made the inevitable carry more diffi- 
cult than it would otherwise have been, because we were 
compelled to make our landing further up. After making 
an examination of the place we determined to camp at 
the top of the dam or the approach thereto, for at one 
time there had been a road across the river at this point; 
the chute having been spanned by a bridge. By making 
our camp at the top of the dam we divided un the work 
of portaging, and four pairs of hands soon transferred j 
our tents and supplies from the landing place 50yds. or 
so up the stream to the spot we had selected as the 
best which offered for our tent. It was so sandy that the 
malleable iron tent pegs would not hold very well, and 
had to be reinforced with green oak stakes a couple of 
teet long. 
While the rest were busy with the various preparations ' 
for the night, R. took a pail and the spade and we\it on 
an exploring expedition down the river where the banks 1 
were highest, looking for drinking water. We hoped 
