Torua, Four Dollar* a Year. I 
Ten Tenia a Copy. I 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 
For Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. 
COPPERHEAD. 
T> ESIDE our path and Just ahead he lay, 
** The hated thing 1 
A base assassin In the sunny ray, 
Colled, waiting tor a step to come his way, 
To turn and spring I 
The coppery blotches on his flattened head, 
The leering eyes, 
And forked tongue, create a sense of dread, 
But treacherous silence in the path we tread- 
That we despise. 
Alert In ambush on his devious trail, 
More human like. 
The rattlesnake with crepitating tall, 
To give the warning signal will not fall, 
Though quick to strike. 
But r. Coniortrix Is a different beast, 
’Tls well to know ; 
He’s ever watchful for a fight or feast ; 
Of warning sound he never gives the least 
To friend or foe. 
And there he lay, colled, trembling In his rage, 
A thing despised; 
Grim murder couchant ready war to wage— 
An enmity that time can ne'er assuage— 
Bate symbolized! 
'Mong vicious things we classed him with the worst. 
And ere he fled 
We taunted him as foe of man the first, 
As foe of man by ever; man accursed, 
And crushed his head l 
— J. C. Burnett. 
For Forest and Stream and Rod and Qun. 
ghe M e m° n - 
W E found ourselves upon a very warm Thursday morn- 
ing, late in July, speeding over the Northern Railway 
of Canada, en route for Collingwood, on the Georgian Bay, 
where the steamer Cumberland awaited us. Emerging from 
the heated, suffocating atmosphere of the cars, we landed on 
the Collingwood wharf at five o'clock, and met with a lively 
sense of relief — the sweep of the cool west wind that came 
fresh and strong from the Province of Kelwatin, across some 
hundred miles of cold, clear inland seas. 
Shortly after six o'clock we got under weigh and steamed 
out into the rather vigorous play of waves on the open bay. 
We enjoyed the freshness and novelty of the situation until 
certain uncomfortable qualms reminded us of one of the greatest 
of the multitude of ills that humanity inherits- We retired to 
our berth before night had laid nature’s counterpane over the 
forms of drowsy life. 
The early dawn of Friday morning showed us in dim out- 
line the ghastly shapes that stud the channel to the north of 
Manitoulin, which the increasing light caused us to think re- 
sembled pretty closely the charming scenery of the Thousand 
Islands. Upon one of the little islets, a dark .granite rock 
covered with bright green foliage, we observed one of the 
singular riles or conditions of sepulture that accompany the 
setting out of a forest child for the happy hunting grounds. 
Within the sound of the everlasting murmur of the waters we 
discerned an Indian grave that seemed to contain the bones of 
some noted chief, aud near it, formed of bark and brush, the 
small hut of the watcher, wherein sat an aged Indian— the 
living watched and waited on the dead. The Indian mission 
on the Grand Manitoulin Island was among the first missions 
established in Upper Canada for the conversion of the heathen 
Indiaus, and, although doubtless this man had dwelt in the 
light of the gospel for many years, the old traditions of his 
race were strong within his breast, aud the mystery of the 
later faith had tor him nothing of the strength of his simpler 
belief in the Manitou and a spirit- land where the conditions of 
life were free from the pain, the cold and hunger that he 
sufEcred here, but not utterly changed and beyond his realiza- 
tion. There was meaning for him in the running, shady brook, 
and the whisper of the forest trees, and the music of falling 
water was in his heart ; but there was no meaning in the 
splendor of the heaven preached by missionaries. His 
buffalo, and fish, and fields of waving corn would interrupt the 
grand choruses of the angelic choir, and without these things 
no Indian could be happy. 
We passed from the Sault Ste. Marie Canal out upon the 
calm waters of Superior on the evening of Saturday, and be- 
fore sunset the air on deck became so cool that one after 
another of the passengers donned warmer wraps, and wo who 
had so lately exerted our ingenuity to avoid heat were thank- 
ful to encompass our chilled bodies in all the top covering 
available. The stars came out looking bright aud eager for 
a frolic in the clear depths above, and we Cumberland pas- 
seugers, close huddled under the saloon awning, settled our- 
selves for a hearty chat, the nearest land far behind us in the 
gloom, the thudding push of the vessel alone disturbing the 
solemn tranquillity of the situation. 
One of the passengers was an old-time H. B. vot/ageur 
whose stones were exceedingly interesting. In his early life 
he had made several voyages in charge of fur-loden canoes, 
freighted in the Far West, aud bound for the ancient City of 
Montreal. Then all was solitude, rarely interrupted, from the 
hort Range on the Red River to the St. Lawrence. Upon one 
occasion his canoe and freight were lost in crossing Black Bay 
(Lake Superior). He and his ten voyageura were thrown upon 
the storm-beaten rocks near the mouth of the Black Sturgeon 
River After four weeks of weary toil, half-starved and faint- 
ing, they reached a small post of the company only in time to 
avoid death. The night was passed in story telling. 
In our three-days’ companionship we had become tolerably 
well known to each other, and uow that mutual study bad di- 
verted most of the interest from external finish, some of the 
few passengers began to long for the journey’s end. 
For our own part we had just found our sea 
legs and would not have objected to accompany 
the steamer to Duluth. However, the captain informed 
us that we would reach the mouth of the Nepigon 
shortly after one o’clock on Monday morning. We shook off 
the hand of “habit "that bears so strougly upon bachelor- 
hood, and, putting together our traps on Sunday evening, pre- 
pared to cut adrift. 1 
At two o'clock in the morning the stoppage of the steamer 
and the burned stamping aud general excitement upon deck 
awoke us to the dim consciousness that we were to get up and 
dress. Obeying the impulse, aud with only a half notion of 
the wherefore, we were soon shivering at the gangway while 
the ship hands, seemingly in half delirium, furiously tossed 
our luggage into the boats alongside, cursing the while in the 
ordinary naval fashion. A surveying party in one bor t and 
we, with their and our personal effects, in the other boat, 
were rowed away from the lighted ship into the fog and dark- 
ness of the morning. The discomfort of our condition was 
not lessened by discovering that our boat from long disuse 
was leaking sadly. After drawing out of the water some of 
the flour bags aud sacks ot bacon, and with much squeezing 
and gymnastic exercise, we succeeded in getting thoroughly 
soaked and out of temper, and, fortunately, in time managed 
to get command over the leak. The steamer dared not ven- 
ture up the river on account of sand bars, so that we had a 
pull of about two miles to reach the wharf of the H. B. Co at 
the Red Rock landing, where we arrived after an hour's pa- 
tient toil. The cry of a bittern, as he rose from the marsh 
and flew across our bow, alone disturbed our drowsy ascent 
of the river. 
In the gray chill morning we stand upon the wharf shiver- 
ing and even yet but half awake. Before us waved the mist- 
enshrouded river ; the noise of the rapids above us sounds in 
our ears, together with the faint sojg of the boats’ crews fast 
receding down the river. We try to realize that we are at last 
within the realms of adventure so graphically pictured by 
Washington Irving and Ballantyne, whose writings had siron*- 
ly colored our young life’s hope. We shiver with the raw 
morning air, and thankfully accept the invitation of the H. B. 
trader who leads the way into the company’s store house. 
Here we occupy a couple of rough shakedowns, slumberously 
thank our benefactor, and fall asleep. The sun is some five 
hours high when we are awakened by a siir in the store below 
us. The daylight discovers to our consciousness a strange 
looking bed-chamber, the walls and rafters hung with the 
varied assortments of a general store. After a plunge in the icy 
waters of the river and a substantial breakfast at the trader's 
house, we pitch tent on the high ground looking toward the 
rapids and Lake Helen. The bright sunlight falls upon a beau- 
tiful scene this July morning, and with a deep sense of 
thankfulness aud chest expansion we open our lungs to the 
fresh breeze and our hearts to the bounteous good, and set 
about putting our house in order. Some Indians and two 
half-breeds are lounging about, and the hearty voice of the 
porter, a’fine, muscular half-breed, comes ringing up from the 
store in laugh or loud jest as he holds forth to his customers, 
some of whom we saw coming down the river from a far off 
post an hour or two before. They looked exceedingly pic- 
turesque as they careered, shouting and laughing, down the 
rapids, eight or nine of them in one of the large canoes. 
They were company servants, and were returning from Nor- 
way House where they had delivered a load of supplies. As 
they neared the landing we walked down to meet them. They 
came in swiftly and silently with rather a bravado of speed to 
impress the two strangers, probably. However, they appar- 
ently took not the slightest notice of us. The moment the 
canoe touched land it was lifted out of the water, tipped up 
to relieve it of leakage, and on the shoulders of four Indians 
carried lightly up the bank and deposited in the boat-house. 
It is extraordinary the weight these Indiuns will “pack" 
across portages. During the survey of the Canada Pacific 
Railway there were no less than seven deaths on one portage, 
the result of excessive straining. 
Day after day we fished with almost unvarying success, but 
as we had no means of preserving our catch we were content 
1878 / Volume 10.— No. 20. 
iNo. Ill Fallon S«., N. Y. 
to leave in the rivor all flah that wo could not conveniently eat. 
Across the river from the H. B. storo rise the perpendicular 
rocks that give the post its name, lying parallel with the 
river a course. They form a striking background in their 
dark solemnity shadowing the fresh green of the valley. It 
is a difficult undertaking to scale the bold front of the cliff : 
and for the pleasure of feeling the fresh breeze about three 
hundred feet above the water level we were incapacitated 
exerting ourselves upon the following day. 
The trout in the Nepigon range in weight from one-quarter 
to more than six pounds, and afford genllo exercise and ex- 
citement in introducing ihcm to terra Anna, especially if the 
water be rapid. Some distance up the River, trout are taken 
in great quantities by the Indiuns and with the most uncouth 
tackle ; indeed, we were told that the common custom at the 
foot of some of the upper rapids was to attach a half-dozen 
bear hooks to a strong line and draw out from two to four 
fish at every cast. This is only at certain seasons. When the 
ice forms on the Bay at the mouth of the Nepigon many In- 
dians with their fumilics move down to the coast from the in- 
terior and catch through the ice salmon trout and white 
fish sufficient to keep them from starving during the winter. 
These, with rabbits and what they can buy from the H. B. 
store, form their food during the winler, with an occasional 
beaver and musk rat, and sometimes they are fortunate enough 
to shoot a cariboo or bear. 
The rations of an Iudian in the service of the II. B. Com- 
pany are, three times a day, a double handful of flour, a small 
piece of pork, and occasi mully a little tea and salt. They are 
not particular as to the latter article, and evon when eating 
fresh meat do not grumble at its absence. Boiling the pork 
in a large kettle they mix flour and water iuto a thick paste 
which is then rolled into long strings of ubout an inch diame- 
ter, cut into three or six iueh lengths, and boiled for twenty 
minutes with the pork. When all is cooked tho contents of 
the pot are turned out upon a bed of balsam boughs, and with 
knife and fingers the voyaaeura proceed to dine at their own 
sweet will, seated arouud the “pile." Not tempting, per- 
haps, still we have found ourselves able upon occasion to en- 
joy this rough meal. This should invest with fresh charm 
for the dyspeptic tho pie crust that stomach-conscience has 
been driven to reject, through a perusal of Hall's “ How to 
Live LoDg," or otherwise. No liquor is permitted to bo sold 
to the Indians on the North atiore of Lake Superior, a regula- 
tion that is rigidly enforced. They are thus thrown upon 
their own resources to enjoy the iC9ihetlc charm of intoxica- 
tion, and they meet the necessity promptly with a horrible 
mess of chewing tobacco, R. R. R., or Perry Davis’ Paiu Kil- 
ler, and water, a decoction that throws them into the seventh 
Heaven of delirium very speedily. 
One evening at sundown, while enjoying our ease before 
the tent-door after u comfortable meal, we observed two 
canoes cross the river, each containing five or Bix squaws. 
The night was just of tho temperature calculated to lend a 
churm to indolence, aud to stir up in one’s memory the 
shadows of songs and music that we love. Languidly we 
watched the strangely freighted chemana as the rapid strokes 
of the paddlers hurried them across the river. They entered 
the trees upon the low bank opposite, and were lost to sight. 
Dimly conscious that this wus something unusual and outside 
our experience of the weaker vessel, European or American, 
to be thus moving in amicable concert uuless for some very 
definite purpose, we smoked on and waited further develop- 
ments. We had not long to wait, for almost immediately 
after their disappearance there came swelling across the water 
about as mournful a chant or dirge as it was ever our fortune 
to hear. Stronger and stronger grew the tones of the chant 
as the passion of the siDgers seemed to awaken, and now, full, 
passionate and mournful, into the growing night, sounded the 
voices in a melody that might almost have been the wuil of 
the lonely Irish widow and her friends over the corpse of 
“Con, the Shaughran." In a half hour or thereabouts the 
canoes recrossed the rivor, the paddlers keeping up the while 
an alternate sobbing and wading that positively seemed heart- 
breaking. We ascertained from one of the H. B. officials 
that the squaws had been lamenting the death of two children 
carried off by fever some days previous. Whatever tho 
moving cause of this mamfesiation of grief, it was saddening 
to witness and had the effect of sending us to our blankets 
with the uncomfortable sensution that visible misery always 
inflicts upon the innocent beholder. We ventured no further 
up the river than to Lake UcIcd, where capital trolling may 
be had for pike and pickerel, etc. The expense of the trip 
and waut of time alone deterred us from hiring a couple of 
Indians and exploring Lake Nepigon, rather more than forty 
miles from Red Rock. The lake is said to be beautiful ; is 
dolled with innumerable islands, and from the depth and 
number of its bays is perplexing to ihe inexperienced naviga- 
tors. The Indiaus about the Red Rock Post were, without 
exception almost, good natured, simple and honest, with a 
wonderful faith in the prowess of the while men, whom they 
look upon as magicians, possessing an extraordinary agency 
for good or evil. They cun, with a tew exceptions, be trusted 
implicitly. We were told that in 1872 a cache ot provisions 
bud been left in the woods bordering LoDg Lake, about sixty 
miles from Lake Nepigon, for the use of a surveying party 
who were expected to arrive at the cache some time in Septem- 
ber, but for some reason failed to follow the route originally 
marked out. DuriDg the winler months the Indians in the 
neighborhood were unable to kill any game on account of the 
