KTAADN. 
35 
pleasant evening, we decided to row five miles by moon¬ 
light to the head of the North Twin Lake, lest the wind 
should rise on the morrow. After one mile of river, or 
what the boatmen call “ thoroughfare,”— for the river 
becomes at length only the connecting link between the 
lakes, —and some slight rapid which had been mostly 
made smooth water by the dam, we entered the North 
Twin Lake just after sundown, and steered across for 
the river “ thoroughfare,” four miles distant. This is a 
noble sheet of water, where one may get the impression 
which a new country and a u lake of the woods ” are 
fitted to create. There was the smoke of no log-hut nor 
camp of any kind to greet us, still less was any lover of 
nature or musing traveller watching our batteau from 
the distant hills; not even the Indian hunter was there,, 
for he rarely climbs them, but hugs the river like our¬ 
selves. No face welcomed us but the fine fantastic 
sprays of free and happy evergreen trees, waving one 
above another in their ancient home. At first the red 
clouds hung over the western shore as gorgeously as if 
over a city, and the lake lay open to the light with even 
a civilized aspect, as if expecting trade and commerce, 
and towns and villas. We could distinguish the inlet to 
the South Twin, which is said to be the larger, where 
the shore was misty and blue, and it was worth the .while 
to look thus through a narrow opening across the entire 
expanse of a concealed lake to its own yet more dim and 
distant shore. The shores rose gently to ranges of low 
hills covered with forests ; and though, in fact, the most 
valuable white pine timber, even about this lake, had 
.been culled out, this would never have been suspected 
by the voyager. The impression, which indeed corre¬ 
sponded with the fact, was, as if we were upon a high 
