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A. C, A» National Meet, Sugar Island, Thousand Islands, St. Lawrence River, August 5-\9, J 904. 
A Canoe Cruise. 
BY WM. H. l'eSTRANGE, DULUTH, MINN. 
This is a description of a canoe cruise taken by 
myself and one companion on the waters of the Cana- 
dian boundary directly north of the western end of 
Lake Superior. We reside in Duluth, Minn., and, ex- 
cept for a two days' trip, neither of us had ever been up 
in that country before. With a good map, showing the 
portages, and a compass, any one can find his way 
about in the lakes of the boundary. There is a continu- 
ous waterway from Pigeon River, on Lake Superior, 
to the Lake of the Woods, which forms the inter- 
national boundary. This was formerly the highway of 
the Hudson Bay Company's trappers, westward bound. 
It is best reached from Duluth by the Duluth & Iron 
Range Railroad, which runs north about eighty miles. 
The water in all the lakes we traversed, flows north- 
west into Rainy Lake. East, over the divide, the water 
empties into Pigeon River. One can travel by canoe 
from this region to the Rocky Mountains to Hudson 
Bay, or to the waters of the Mississippi. This is the 
country par excellence of the canoeist and voyageur. 
The geological formation of the country we ex- 
plored consists of a series of ridges of up-ended strata, 
none more than looft. high, with a lake between almost 
every ridge. The ground is all rock, with a thin cov- 
ering of soil, and is useless for agricultural purposes, 
though covered in many places with a thick growth of 
small timber. All the lakes contain pickerel, and some 
of them bass and wall-eyed pike, and in a few places 
there are landlocked salmon. Ducks are not very plen- 
tiful east of Basswood Lake, though we saw some every 
day we were out. West of Basswood there is more rice, 
and consequently more ducks. Further west, in the 
Bow String country, is the greatest duck shooting in 
the world. We saw a great many Indians traveling 
about on the lakes. 
We started on our ten days' cruise with a 14ft. Peter- 
boro canoe, but, owing to the failure of the express 
company to deliver the' canoe on time, we were forced 
to hire one at Ely. We were fortunate in securing a 
splendid canoe at very reasonable rates. It was a i6ft. 
canvas covered canoe, made by B. N. Morris, of 
Veazie, Me. These canoes are made of cedar, with 
wide splint ribs, after the fashion of a birch, and are 
covered with canvas, painted and rubbed to a smooth 
finish on the outside. They are the best all-round 
canoes I have ever seen, strong and Hght, and free from 
the great defect of all basswood canoes, that of soaking 
water. They are nicely finished, with spruce gunwales 
and cane seats, and give one an impression of "the best 
is none too good" style of workmanship that is gratify- 
ing in this day of factory made products. They stand 
rough treatment and pounding on rocks better than any 
other style of construclion, and when the canvas is c'n, 
it is easily repaired. The one we had had an outside 
keel, which stiffens the canoe, and takes some of the 
wear ofif the bottom; it also seems to steady the boat, 
though it did not interfere with ease in turning. We 
took three paddles, to be one the safe side._ 
Our tent was a peaked arrangement, designed by a 
Duluth man. It was 5 by 8ft. on the ground and came 
to a peak nearly over the front. There was an i8-in. 
wall at the back. The tent hangs by the peak between- 
two crossed poles,, and there are no guys, except at the 
back, to distend the wall. It is admirably adapted for 
a two-man trip, weighing no more than an A tent of the 
same floor size, and being much more roomy and com- 
fortable. It gives ample standing room in the front, 
where needed, and can be pitched quickly by one man. 
It weighed about seven pounds. • 
We had three light blankets and one tarpaulin made 
of good duck, treated on one side with linseed oil and 
beeswax. This makes a fine, pliable waterproof, as 
comfortable to handle as a rubber blanket, besides 
being much cheaper and more durable. It insures a 
dry bed in any kind of weather, and serves to cover the 
duffle when traveling in the rain. We had two pack- 
sacks, of the kind universally used in the Northwest, 
and they held all our outfit. They weighed 75lbs. a 
piece on starting. Wc found that the list of provisions 
given would have been ample for fifteen days. We 
carried a folding tin reflection baker, commonly used 
by the cruisers here, and a set of three oval nesting 
pails. 
The expenses of the trip, outside of the camera and 
our railroad fares, including hotel bill, was $23.40. 
OUTFIT. 
2 teaspoons. 
1 large iron spoon. 
1 2qt. mixing pan. 
1 fry-pan, with socket for wood 
handle, dish towels, etc. 
1 Winchester repeating shotgun. 
PROVISIONS. 
lOIbs. flour. 
121bs. bacon. 
51bs. bread. 
21bs. coffee. 
y2lb. tea. 
31bs. loaf sugar. 
21bs. brown sugar. 
%lb. baking powder. 
lib. salt. 
1 can pepper. 
51bs. butter. 
21bs. hardtack. 
2Ibs. dates. 
31bs. brick cheese. 
lib. lima beans. 
2 jars extract of beef. 
2 packages pancake flour. 
1 package Quaker oats. 
6 cans evap. cream. 
2 packages Uneeda wafers, 
lib. rice. 
81bs. potatoes, 
lib. onions. 
%doz.- wax candles. 
2 boxes matches. 
I tent, 5 X 8ft. 
1 ax. 
3 pairs blankets. 
1 oiled duck blanket. 
2 pack sacks. 
1 haversack for lunches. 
1 Marble folding hand ax. 
1 sheath knife. 
1 set of three nesting pails. 
1 folding tin baker. 
2 plates, knives and forks. 
S tin cups. 
50 cartridges. 
1 Bristol rod, lines, spoons, etc. 
1 iVi X 414 folding Kodak, 4doz. 
films. , 
1 16ft. Morris canoe, 3 paddles. 
Oat Log. 
Monday, Oct. 5.— We shipped our canoe to Ely by 
express the day before starting, to avoid possible con- 
tingencies, and left Duluth on the Duluth & Iron Range 
train at 7:36 this morning, reaching Ely at noon. Our 
canoe had not arrived. The express company was to 
blame, to be sure, but that did not help us on our way. 
After a delay of several hours, telegraphing fruitlessly, 
we abandoned our canoe and hired one on the spot, a 
little beauty. We engaged a team to take us and our 
duffle over to Winton, on Fall Lake, a distance of about 
four miles. Winton is nothing but a sawmill town, but 
it has two big mills, and is a pretty busy place. We 
put our canoe into the water about 4 o'clock and pad- 
dled two miles down the lake and camped for the 
night within sight and sound of the mills, for they run 
night and day, and the big steam-feeds could be heard 
plainly at that distance. The weather was ideal, and 
we congratulated ourselves on an auspicious start. 
However, we found that we had left our camera at Ely 
and would be oljliged to return for it to-morrow. 
Tuesday, Oct. 6.— -This morning broke cloudy and 
threatening, and by the time we had breakfast de- 
spatched it was raining quietly. We paddled back to 
Winton and tramped over to Ely in the mud. We 
stayed only long enough to get the camera and buy a 
tin of boot grease and started back. We took the rail- 
road track back, which proved a Httle the shorter. We 
got back to camp by 12:30, having eaten our cold lunch 
as we walked, and immediately struck camp and pro- 
ceeded down the lake. Our map did not show Fall 
Lake, as we thought we could find the first portage 
easily, but when we got there, we could not find the 
portage. It is in behind several islands, and we circled 
round the islands several times, and must have been 
very close to it more than once. When it grew dark 
we abandoned the search and ran for the railroad at the 
extreme eastern end of the lake. There was riothing 
here but a deserted warehouse, in which we decided to 
camp, for it was still raining and we were pretty wet. 
The roof leaked badly, but we pitched our tent on the 
floor, using nails for tent stakes, and slept dry, though, 
as there were no boughs in the vicinity, we found the 
planks rather hard. A small package of nails is^a use- 
ful item in a camp kit, though one would seldofii need 
them to nail up the tent. 
Wednesday, Oct. 7. — The train arrived this morning 
at 8 o'clock from the other end of the road, and we 
loaded our outfit on a flat car. We waited- half an hour 
before the tug arrived from Winton with a load of 
supplies going into the woods, and they were promptly 
transferred to the train. The distance across is four or 
five miles, and this landed us on Basswood Lake. Here 
is a log hoist for taking logs out of the water and load- 
ing them on cars, then they are hauled over to Fall 
Lake and dumped into the water again, to be towed 
to Winton. Here was a considerable depot of supplies 
and the shops and roundhouses of the "railroad." The 
road belongs to Swallow & Hopkins, who own one of 
the mills at Winton. We got on the water at 10 o'clock 
and paddled four miles around a point into a bay 
running southerly. The portage here is a little obscure 
at a distance, and we might have had some delay in 
finding it, but for some Indians who were going our 
way. They were going into Moose Lake. We got 
several snap shots of them, but owing to the dark 
weather the negatives were no good. It began to rain 
about this time, and kept up the rest of the day. The 
portage is about half a mile long. About half way 
across, it crosses a little creek, and here we put the 
light canoe in the stream and floated it down, and 
shipped the packs at the head of Wind Lake. We 
found our packs very much easier to carry than the 
canoe, although the canoe weighed little more than one 
pack. ' We ate lunch here, and started down the lake. 
Tried the trolling line here, but did not get anything; we 
hooked one on Basswood, but lost it. 
The portage at the east end of Wind Lake was not 
marked on our map, but we ran down to the extreme 
end and fell right on it. It was now raining briskly, 
and we started to portage. This was a long hard carry 
and we did not get all our stuff over until 4 o'clock. We 
made a good camp, but could not get any wood that 
would burn well. Supper was cook-ed finally, with much 
pains and was thoroughly appreciated. We were pretty 
well soaked by this time, and were glad to get into the 
tent and tie the flaps tight and roll into the blankets 
by 8 o'clock. It was comfortable enough there to suit 
any one, and we swapped lies about previous experi- 
ences of a similar nature, and decided that, with a 
good supper and a snug bed, we had no reason to kick. 
We prayed devoutly for fine weather before going to 
sleep, and, as it proved later, our piety was rewarded. 
Thursday, Oct. 8. — In the morning we woke early 
and looked out to find it still raining, so we went back 
to bed for a couple of hours. By 8 o'clock, however, 
it ceased raining, and we emerged to get breakfast. 
While we were eating, the Indians overtook us. After 
breakfast we embarked on Moose Lake and paddled 
across .the lake to an. island on the opposite shore. 
From here we could see that we had camped within 
half a mile of a logging camp. The loggers had strung 
a boom, across here between two islands, and we had 
to unload and lift the canoe over. The opposite shore 
was straight and bare, and we could see no indication 
of a portage. We decided to head straight south and 
approach the shore in a slanting direction; but when 
we got out from under the island we found so much of 
a sea running that we swung around and ran almost 
before it, and by good luck struck the shore right on 
the portage. The only mark distinguishable at 50yds. 
distance was the blaze on a big stump, for the shore has 
been burned, and the trail up the bank cannot be seen 
at any distance. By this time it had cleared off nicely. 
We started over the trail with our packs, but it is a stiff 
pull over to the other side, about a mile, and hard 
going. This was the hardest portage we made. These 
trails are all well traveled, but run over rocky ridges 
and down into swamp holes. When we got back to 
Moose Lake it was nearly 2 o'clock, and we ate lunch 
on the shore, before shouldering the canoe. This 
portage ends on a small lake, and when we got over 
there, we decided to camp. It was early still, but 
the sun was out and we wanted to dry out our stuff, 
which had all got more or less damp in the two days' 
rain. Here we made soda biscuits, for the first time 
and for a first attempt they were very successful, though 
not what an expert would call perfect. However, they 
were very much better than the remains of, the bread, 
which had dried up and crumbled from rough handling. 
Friday, Oct. 9. — This morning we started on the por- 
tage to Snowbank, it is about a mile long and nearly as 
bad as the one of the day before. We got our canoe 
over the trail by noon, and ate lunch in the sun on 
Snowbank Lake. We took several good pictures here. 
Snowbank is a large body of water, and would a 
beautiful spot for a summer resort, if easily accessible. 
It took us until about 4 o'clock to paddle to the other 
end, the wind was light and we did not paddle very 
fast. We had no trorble in finding the outlet of the 
lake, which tapers off into a beautiful little arm, from 
which a Httle tumbling stream runs down over the 
rocks to a small pool about three hundred yards below. 
The stream rtms through a cedar wood, and its w'ters 
are as clear and sparkling as champagne — the po - -n- . 
follows the bank of the stream, which is little more thm 
a succession of falls and rapids. This place, the ojilct 
and the portage and the surrounding woods, as we 
found them, in the evening flush of a splendid October 
day. made a scene of surpassing loveliness entirely 
beyond my powers of description. We camped on the 
little lake at the lower end of the portage on the moss 
carpet of a dried cedar swamp, and I never hope to find 
again such a beautiful spot for a camp. We tried 
fishing arotmd the foot of the stream, but could not get 
a bite. 
[to be continued.] 
A. C. A. Membership. 
The following have been proposed for membership to 
the A. C. A.: Hilton H. Slayton, Frank P. Felton, J. H. 
I'restrn, Charles D. Dunnington, James Edmund, William 
L. Fitts, Alfred K. Hobbs, all of Manchester, N. H ; 
John B. Prazier, of Winchester, Mass. ; James H. Darrah, 
of Winchester, N. H. ; Charles F. Mighill, of Haverhill, 
Mass. ; T. M. Josselyn, of Boston, Mass. ; Alan Patterson, 
of New York city ; Robert P. Nichols, of Ithaca, N. Y. ; 
DeForest Candee, of New York city; Will N. Fox, of 
r'altimore, Md. 
Comm'cssionets of the Palisades Interstate Park 
Office of the Secretary, 
31 Nassau street. New York City, May 9, 1904. _ 
Mr. Louis C. Kretsmcr, Vice-Commodore ^ Atlantic Divi- 
sion of the American Canoe Association. 
Dear Sir— The members of Yonkers C. C, Hia vatha 
C. C, Fort Washington C. C, Knickerbocker C. C, 
Brooklvn and New York C. C.'s, of Gravesend Bay, and 
also unattached members in good standing of the Atlantic 
Division of the American C^noe Association, are hereby 
authorized to camp during the summer of 1904 upon the 
lands belonging, to the Commissioners of the Pahsades 
Interstate Park,' at such uucccnpicd points as they may 
select 
