4s B 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
a-weather for obstructions. Reached Port Carling at 
6 30 P. M.J tired and hangr)^; got a man to help carry th.e 
boat over the lock and turned in for supper 
Up at 6 A. M. next nioriiing. The cook not being 
around, we lifted a few soda biscuits and a bit of cheese 
off the dining-room table into coat pockets, launched the 
skiff and rowed four or five miles around Tobin's Point, 
which used to be the meeting ground of the Indian tribes; 
a raised circle marks their council chamber yet. Walked 
all over the point, munching the biscuits and cheese; did 
not notice tliat there was a young bull among the cattle in 
a field we were going through; he seemed to notice a red 
sweater we wore, however, and to save him from hurting 
his horns we ran for the nearest fence — not that we were 
afraid of him, but he Avas such a nice-looking bull wc 
did not like to put him to any inconvenience. Our early 
training as member of the Society for Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals came in handy, and we walked a mile, 
skirting through bush and swamp just to show Mr. Bull 
that he could have the field all to himself if he felt that 
way about it. Got back at 10 A. M., had breakfast and 
caught the 10:30 boat which passes the hotel steps, went 
up in the pilot house with the captain and kept him smok- 
ing s-cent temperance hotel cigars while I plied him with 
questions. He liked the cigars, and I enjoyed his talk, 
so we broke even. Had a good dinner on boat — 40 cents 
— got to Muskoka wharf i :30 P. M., hired a rowboat to 
take us to the Sanatarium for Consumptives, met a friend 
who was a patient and had put on iiyilhs. in three great 
air lots of Ozone, 700ft. above Lake Ontario, just the place 
for a summer outing. 
Caught the train at 3:15. got back to Toronto 7:30, after 
a very enjoyable three days' trip. We go up again next 
week. Will G. MacKendrick. 
Toronto, Nov. 18. 
Doing Nothing. 
I WAS walking along King street the other day peace- 
fully chewing an after-luncheon toothpick, when I met 
a man — a man with mahogany face, hollow cheeks and a 
peeled nose. 
"Hello!" he exclaimed. "Where've you been? Pve 
missed you around the bay lately." 
"Nothing strange about that," I replied; "Pve been in 
Muskoka for ten days." 
"Have a good time?" inquired the weary-eyed appari- 
tion. 
"Immense." 
"What did you do?" 
"Oh, nothing." 
"Nothing!" he cried. "What's the fun in that?" 
"Lots," I said, if you go about it in the right way and 
have some one to help you. But," I went on, "you look 
as though you had been away somewhere. What did you 
do and where did you go?" 
?Iis eyes lit up with the burning fire of the self-sacri- 
ficing devotee, and he broke out: "Say! I've had a great 
lime. Been back among the lakes in Peterborough and 
Victoria counties. You know Stony Lake. Balsam Lake, 
Lovesick Lake. Buckhorn, Chemung, Sturgeon and the 
rest of them. Why, we covered 300 miles in ten days, 
and one day we paddled fifty miles. When we struck 
Coboconk the boys there just stared when we told 'em 
we'd left Bridgenorth that morning." 
"Pretty place — Stony Lake," I hazarded. 
'•M — m; not bad. Had a hard time, though, paddling 
up Clear Lake at this end of Stony. There's no .shelter 
there, and it took us an hoiir and a half to go four miles, 
the wind was so strong." 
"Did you visit Fairy Lake, near Juniper Island? It's 
a charming little lake — just like an emerald dropped 
down among the rocks and trees maiiy feet above the 
level of Stony Lake." 
"No: didn't have time, We were in a hurry to get to 
Eel's Creek, toward the other end of the lake, and over 
the portage. We wanted to camp the other side of the 
falls." 
"I enjoy a camp," I broke in. "I like the quiet and the 
solitude, the cool peaceful woods and the magnificently 
spangled heavens. Then, after a good meal, it's grand to 
sit beside a roaring catnp-fire and watch the sparks soar- 
ing up and mingling their fiery spangles with the silver 
of the stars. I know Eel's Creek well; just there you 
can camp and have the tinkling of the falls as a cradle 
song when at last you turn into your warm blankets 
and drowse into the land of dreams." 
As I spoke I saw the enthusiasm fade out of his eyes, 
and I asked what kind of a time he had on Eel's Creek. 
"Oh, not bad; but Tom had forgotten the bread and 
we bad to make our supper oft' corned beef and cake. 
Confound him! He was thinking so much about that' 
cake and the girl who gave it to him that he hadn't any 
room in his head for bread. Yes; and the mosquitoes 
were awful that night. I had three or four bites active 
all night, and by the time one got better a new mos- 
quito would get me somewbere through the blankets. 
We got up about 5, ate some beef and cake and started 
up the creek about 6 o'clock." 
"What did you think of the Indian carvings on the 
rocks up there?" I put in. 
"Indian carvings? I didn't see any. Oh, yes; when 
I come to think of it there were some funny looking 
rocks on one side; but we wanted to go up to the head 
of the creek and get back into Stony Lake and as far on 
the way toward Young's Point as we could before night, 
and we couldn't stop. We did it, too, and camped near 
luniper Island; but it rained all that afternoon and our 
blankets got wet. We might have landed and camped 
at noon, but we didn't like to waste the time. Gosh! it 
was chilly and damp that night, and the wood was so 
wet we couldn't make a fire. I warmed up the wet spots 
in my blankets pretty weU by morning, but it was pretty 
tough getting into my clothes again, they were so cold 
and damp. Tom was worse off than I. He'd left his 
where they got the drip from a small hole in the tent." 
A reminiscent gleam of satisfaction shone in his eyes 
as he though of Tom's feelings and remarks while strug- 
gling into his clothes. , . _ 
"Oh, well," he went on, "that day made up tor it. We 
had the wind with us, and the way we cut up to Burleigh 
and then kited along Lovesick and Buckhorn after pass- 
ing the Burleigh portage was a caution." 
"What did you live on?" I asked. "You coitldn't eafry 
niucli in your canoe," 
' Oh, oatnneal and bread and butter and cheese aud 
bacon mostly. We had som^e canned Jneat, but hadn't 
room for much. Tom forgot the bread once and once it 
got wet, and we had to dry it in slices in the frying pan. 
When we could get milk we had porridge morning and 
night — it was filling at the price. When we had no milk 
we had porridge for breakfast and bread and cheese for 
lunch and fried bacon for supper." 
He paused thoughtfully and then added with a revival 
of enthusiasm: "But we had a great trip. No fellows 
in the club came near making the record we did." 
I looked at him pityingly, and^thcn, taking him by the 
sleeve to prevent his leaving me, spoke to him thus: 
"My friend, listen to me and I'l tell you what I didn't 
do and why I had a pleasant holiday. 
"I didn't live on porridge Avithout milk, and mouldy 
bacon. 
"I didn't need to fry my bread to dry it; or my socks 
either. 
"I didn't cover so many miles in so many hours and 
take my fun out of doing it. I had plenty of time to look 
at all the beautiful things we passed, and even had time 
to go out of my way to find them. 
I didn't lose an unnecessary hour's sleep, and always 
had three good meals a day, rain or shine; and if any 
Tom forgot the bread there were always plenty of cooks 
to make biscuits." 
I held him pitilessly and continued to pour into his 
ears the story of my uneventful holiday. What I said to 
him I will shortly relate to you, but you must imagine 
for yourselves the changing expression of his face as it 
gradually dawned upon him that possibly one might find 
enjoyment that was not measured by the mile or even 
by the number of events that could be crowded into 
an hour. 
One day toward the end of August I started out with 
the fixed intention of doing nothing for a while, and 
boarded the Muskoka express at Toronto, bound for 
one of the best places I knew of for that purpose. The 
usual people were on board — friends from the city, stran- 
gers from the city and visitors from the States, the latter 
generally recognizable by the large number of expensive 
rings worn by the women. Two of the travelers, neither 
at all old, but indeed almost new, chiefly attracted my 
attention. One, pale, solemn and owlish, gazed upon 
everything and everybody with a calm blase air that made 
one wonder what secrets of eternity were leaving mem- 
ories in his mind to make him so indifferent to things 
temporal. The other took the liveliest possible interest 
in everything and flirted so outrageously with me that I 
had no hesitation in asking the mother how' old she was. 
As age is a tender point Avith ladies, the exact months 
of the young lady must remain my secret. 
The time went by, and at the usual hour we were on 
board the staunch Medora. It was interesting to me 
to recall my first impressions of Muskoka on gazing 
once more upon the scenes I had almost forgotten. Lake 
Muskoka gave me a feeling of keen disappointment when 
first I passed through the narrows and entered its Avaters. 
NoAV, having no extravagant expectations, I thought it 
delightful rather than otherwise, and readily overlooked 
the gaunt stems of the fire-swept pines or worm-killed 
hemlocks. Though the Avhole scene may fail to make 
what the artist would call a "picture," the eye can readily 
pick out "bits" which arc charmingly eft'ective. 
Those bold rocks to the right, for instance, at once at- 
tract attention by their contorted ruggedness, suggestive 
of vast durability and an impassive resistance which was 
yet unable to successfully oppose the violence of primeval 
fires and the slower action of air and water. 
Their sides are marbled with lichens, sage green, yel- 
low, orange, red, brown. Their tops are covered with 
bright green moss and behind them rise gnarled and 
twisted evergreens with black green splashes of foliage 
standing clear cut against the yellow Avhite of the smoke 
from some distant forest fire. The foreground holds as 
its points of interest the ripples of the water and the 
Avaving, dancing reflections of the rocks. To the left in 
the foreground a crimson canoe balances the picture and 
gi\-es effect to a distance made up of Avooded islands and 
a mass of tumbled cumulus clouds with shining marbled 
crests. I look, and long for a camera to take it, color 
and all. 
Stop after stop the steamer made, dropping pale city 
folks with miscellaneous baggage, or sometimes taking 
on a nut-brown camper Avith no impedimenta but a canoe 
and a dingy dunnage bag. 
At last, at 8:30, we circled into Cragie Lea dock and 
a familiar complicated whistle announced to me that my 
friends were Avaiting to roAV me over to Patience, where 
my holiday was to be spent — at least at such times as I 
did not happen to be somewhere else. 
Having arrived at the scene of lack of action it may be 
well to giA^e an outline sketch of those Avho were to 
assist me in my laborious task of doing nothing. First 
of all, there Ava's the baby, Avho Avas generally asserted to 
be related to me, and, to tell the truth, I usually admitted 
the fact. Then Came the baby's mother, also related to 
me, but only by marriage. 
Afterwards came Grandma, usually found Avhen wanted 
worshiping at Baby's shrine; several aunts, also more 
or less devoted, and an uncle, betAveen whom and her 
father the baby distributed favors Avith a great degree of 
impartiality. 
Now began sweet dolce far niente, and for ten days 
we got up when we were tired of sleeping and A\'ent to 
bed again Avhen there Avas nothing to be gained by stay- 
ing up longer; ate our meals AA'hen they Avere ready and 
between times helped to get them by rowing for bread, 
milk or butter. Then, just as the spirit moved us, we 
swam, read the latest fiction, walked, loafed and minded 
the babv. When I say "we did this" or "we did that." 
you must understand that "Ave" stands for a variable 
quantity, composed perhaps of almost any combination 
of three or four that could be made of the company. 
Craigie Lea, the chosen scene of our idling, is a beau- 
tiful bay situated on the mainland betAveen the mouth of 
the Joseph River and the entrance of Little Lake Jo. It 
is screened from the open Avaters of Lake Joseph by 
Cliff Island to the northwest, Chiefs to the Avest and 
Loon Bottle and other small islands to the southwest, 
and is indeed an ideal spot in Avhich to live an outdoor 
life. , , , - 
One night, guided only by the stars and ovir knowledge 
of tlie chart, we roAved out into the darkness and headed 
down Avhere Bottle Lsland marked the SQUthertimost cor- 
ner of Chief's. There is a peculiar charm in finding one's 
way at night in those dark channels full of the black 
reflections of the islands and the twinkling images of the 
stars — a charm compounded of a slight thrill of uncer- 
tainty about the Avay, a mysterious sense of having em- 
barked in a more or less risky enterprise and a final 
glow of triumph Avhen, through a hitherto unexplored 
channel, the familiar lights of home are once more seen. 
Another such a night Ave pushed out through the chan- 
nel between Cliff and the mahiland and off across the 
Lake to Yoho. Behind us the shore and the islands soon 
became an indistinguishable dusky blur, but in the sky 
the stars shone clearly and the light of Yoho blazed in 
invitation. Straight to it Ave raced before a fresh Avav'e- 
cresting AAand, then swung about and pointed our slap- 
ping bow back for the northern corner of the square of 
Pegasus, in line with which our channel opened out. 
With splash and swish and long, strong pulls we swung 
along till the blur ahead took form and shape and re- 
vealed again the well-known places we had left bghiittd 
not long before. 
Then agaiiij. one clear afternoon, we roAved up Little 
Lake Joseph, perhaps some four miles long. At the far 
northeastern corner of the lake the rocks and rising- 
woods croAvd close about the lake and in the absolute 
calm of the evening projected themselves so deep into- 
the lake that the Avorld below seemed as real as the 
world above. I shouted a loud "Ha! Ha!" and such 
a burst of hideous laughter broke from the woode'd 
heights on our right that it might well have seemed we 
Avere trespassing on a realm where fairy castles and 
demon-haunted glens could still be found. My compan- 
ions frankly confessed to a creepy feeling, inspired by 
the gathering gloom, the mysterious reflections, the 
shadow-haunted land and the mocking echoes. ' 
Right at the corner of the lake we landed -where the 
timber slide-way comes down through the solemn woods 
of the natural park. On the shore our camp-fire, piled 
high Avith well-dried cedar boughs, sent cascades of 
flaky sparks roaring upAvard to meet the arching boughs 
above, and around it Ave sat eating our frugal meal with 
forest sauce and drinking fragrant tea from the little 
brown pot toasting and steaming on a log beside the 
fire. Behind us the timber road stretched up and away 
among the trees till lost in shadows fancy filled Avith 
moving forms. The rustling of a squirrel, the complain- 
ing of a whippoorwill and the booming of a frog alone 
reminded us Ave were not in a land where no living thing- 
existed to rest on nature's bounty. Gradually conversa- 
tion dropped, till at length we sat musing silently, th^n 
regretfully Ave embarked, after dashing out the fire with 
a pail of water, leaving the spot in the gloom of night. 
Yet another day Ave took our bathing suits and roAved 
quietly down to the little bay to the south of Patience, 
AA-here the sandy bottom and shallow Avater made the spot 
the delight of the fair bathers of our party. 
At one side of the rocky point forming the southern- 
most horn of the bay was a secluded bower where the 
girls could dress; on the other side the men Avere out of 
sight of all intruders. I undressed slowly that afternoon 
and sat on a log in my bathing .suit. Suddenly I heard 
an inquisitive chattering near at hand. The log on 
which I sat ran up into the bushes, and not 10 feet away 
Avas overhung by a little tree. Running up the tree 1 
saAv a little red squirrel, gazing intently at me the Avhile 
with bright, bold eye. I chirruped to him and he ratt 
out on a branch as near to me as he could get and looked 
me over. Evidently the examination Avas satisfactory, 
for he ran back to the trunk of the tree, ran down it and 
came along the log to within 6 feet of me. Then he ran 
back and took a walk around his tree. Again I chir- 
ruped and back he came, this time in most friendly fash- 
ion running up to Avithin about 3 feet of my motionless 
form. His alert fearlessness and general friendliness 
Avere most refreshing, and gave sufffcient evidence that he 
had not as yet made the acquaintance of many small boys. 
But voices were calling me from around the point and 
I rose to my feet. My little friend took it as a hint to 
go and scuttled off among the trees Avith his confidence 
in humanity still unshaken. 
A plunge into the cool clear water Avashed aAvay the 
cobwebs from our minds, the heat from our bodies, and 
left us with a cool freshness of feeling that made a good 
row a mere playful exhibition of the superabundance of 
life Avithin us. Down the shallows and deeps, the curves 
and reaches of the Joseph River we Avent, leaving a wake 
Avhose spreading ripples reflected the sunset color in 
trembling threads of gold. A river it is called, but two 
channels connected by a narrow strait more acfcurately 
describes it, for a long, generally narrow arm from Lake 
Rousseau has been connected with a shorter arm from 
Lake Joseph by a short channel blasted out of the solid 
rock. ToAA'ard the loAver end is a lakelike expansion, and 
here Ave landed, to light the indispensable fire and eat the 
equally indispensable supper. It is strange what a charm 
there is in a meal eaten afar among the woods or beside 
the restless waters. Simple fare is as welcome as the 
best creations of a Soyer, one's own exertions as all- 
sufficing as the assiduous attentions of a black-coated 
Avaiter, and the art of camp cookery as fascinating as 
the most engrossing arts of civilization. Man Avas a sav- 
age for many thousand years before he acquired an ad- 
vanced civilization, and it is hard to make him forget 
the at-homeness-in-the-woods he inherits from his syl- 
van forbears. 
But we could not linger long after supper, and once 
more got afloat and headed for the wooden bridge span- 
ning the riA'er just below our landing spot and forming a 
link in the road from Port Carling to Rousseau. It was 
dark by the time we got to Gregory's on Rousseau, and 
landed for mail, and so once more we had the fascination 
of groping our way in the darkness up the Avindings of 
the Joseph RiA^er. and only a careful noting of the star.? 
saved us from inadvertently running up a blind channel 
ere we got into the straight and na^roAV waters where the 
steersman could not err. 
One Sunday afternoon, after a week of summer breezes. 
Keewaydin, the northAvest wind, awoke from sleep and 
bleAV his fierce strong breath down the channels between 
Cliff and Chief's and on across the bay, throwing up the 
water in snapping crested Ava\'es against the rocks at 
our door. The channels lying in the course of the wind 
were inky black save for the running crests of white, and 
