268 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March i, 1913 
Paddle and Portage in Temagami-land 
The Lure of Temagami is its Canoeing and] Fishing—Both as Yet 
Unspoiled in a Thousand Lakes 
By S. E. SANGSTER (CANUCK) 
T he song of the paddle sounds sweet to 
many thousands of red-blooded, outdoor 
enthusiasts of America. Nowhere on the 
continent to-day are long canoe cruises, combin¬ 
ing unspoiled fishing waters, to be fitly com¬ 
pared with those of interior Ontario and Que¬ 
bec. The silent places are being rapidly shoved 
off to the northern edge of the map. To-morrow 
there will be no hinterland left to e.xplore; sum¬ 
mer hotels will be the finish of the e.xploring 
canoe fisherman. 
It is my purpose herein to outline as prac¬ 
tically as feasible on paper, in a limited space, 
a series of real canoe routes from the central 
point of Temagami Inn, or Bear Island, some 
of them under twenty-five miles in length, and 
others taking one further into the paddlcways, 
running up a total stretch of one hundred miles 
or more. 
Temagami is a veritable forest kingdom 
some fifty by sixty miles, all of which has been 
withdrawn by the Ontario Government from set¬ 
tlement and constituted a forest reserve. Into 
this immense area no lumberman or settler will 
be allowed to swing his devastating axe; no 
sawmills pollute the crystal air. All is as nature 
made it. Dropped into its center lies Lake 
Temagami, a great octopus, its hundreds of arms 
and feelers stretching in all directions into this 
forest land. Get the word Temagami—pro¬ 
nounced “te-mog'-a-me’’ with a full, open, deep- 
chested tone. The very sound of this Ojibway 
Indian for deep waters stirs the red blood in 
the outdoor enthusiast. The pine, the balsam 
and tamarack, with their indescribable odors 
that bring peace to the soul and sweep away 
the cobwebs of worry from fagged brains, well 
makes one say with Warman: 
“Crystal Temagami, \\'asaciiiagama, 
S\vift-rnnn-ng waters and skies that are liliie, 
Out on the deep again, rock me to sleep again. 
Rock me to sleep in my little canoe.” 
And 'tis up here, where the summers are 
short and the twilight long that one puts in his 
canoe for a vacation that will never be for¬ 
gotten. Over the G. T. R. from Toronto to 
North Bay and thence straight north over the 
T. & N. O. steel some seventy miles or more 
to Temagami station. Without loss of time a 
sturd}^ little steamer runs you down to Temagami 
Inn and Bear Island. This is the point from 
whence the canoe routes off the beaten path may 
best have birth. 
Take a map of this northern portion of 
Ontario and follow the routes hereafter de¬ 
scribed. Should you care to attempt it. a cruise 
clear through to Hudson’s Bay is feasible. I 
refer herein, however, to less arduous routes, 
such as may be accomplished from a week to 
five weeks’ time. First regarding outfitting and 
guide. You can take up your own canoe, if de¬ 
sired : or you can rent excellent ones at Bear 
Island from the H. B. Co. Post there, or from 
the Steamboat and Hotel Company on a basis 
of around from $3 to $3 50 per week. Guides 
are obtainable, their charges from $2.50 to $3 
per day, with a reduction for a cruise of, say, 
four weeks or more, bringing it down in the 
neighborhood of $2 to $2.25 per day. All items 
of outfit in the shape of tents, blankets, cooking 
utensils are to be obtained from either the Steam¬ 
boat Company or the H. B. Co. Post at reason¬ 
able prices. Y’e would recommend writing well 
in advance to IMr. FI. Woods, FI. B. Co. Factor, 
Bear Island, Temagami P. O., Ontario, to ar¬ 
range for whatever may be required along the 
above items. 
It is feasible for a party if its members are 
really good canoeists and have had experience 
in the real outdoors, to cruise these paddleways 
without a guide. However, it is, I think, well 
worth the additional cost to have a good guide 
along. He not only puts one into the right spots 
for the big fish, but also takes off your hands 
the grubby work in camp. If. say, your party 
number three men, or two men and one lady 
(it is thoroughly feasible to take along your 
wife or sister), then with two canoes you could 
take one guide, making two persons per canoe. 
Starting with shorter trips and then coming 
to those more arduous, making Bear Island or 
Temagami Inn the putting-in point. 
No. I. Going due west behind Alexander 
Island, portaging into Gull Lake, thence by por¬ 
tage to Turtle Lake, thence into Manito-pec-pa- 
gee, swinging northward into Emerald Lake and 
on into Obabika Lake and Obabika Bay; thence 
either by portage into Devil’s Bay or to the 
northwest arm of Temagami and back to the 
starting place. Distance, some thirty-five miles. 
The fishing, trout and small-mouth bass; good. 
No. 2. Continuing the above trip from 
Obabika Lake on northward through W’akimika 
Lake and Diamond Lake, thence over the Sharp 
Rock portage out to the Lady Evelyn Hotel. 
Distance, fifty miles. 
No. 3. From Bear Island southward through 
Cross Bay into Cross Lake, thence turning to- 
THE KIND OF FISH YOU READ ABOUT. 
Caught by the Author. 
