May 17, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
621 
the world of nature, amply illustrated. There 
is an abundance of deer, moose and caribou 
within the confines of the reserve, and night 
flashlight pictures have been taken time and 
time again here by well-known artists of the 
camera school. This being an era of photo¬ 
graphy, no person should enter this region 
without a picture machine of some sort, for one 
will be amply repaid, since there is nothing in 
the world that will equal a story told in photo¬ 
graphs — the mute film depicts as no human 
tongue can serve to depict every gloried sen¬ 
sation the trip made possible. 
The birds found here are many and varied, 
among them being the ivory-billed woodpecker, 
the cardinal, the hermit-thrush, the merganser 
duck, the eagle, the golden pheasant and a mul¬ 
titude of other songbirds. All these serve to 
keep the bird lover in touch with the infinite. The 
Government of Canada is introducing into the park 
all varieties of well known, and almost extinct 
birds, for it is realized that with such a mag¬ 
nificent place wherein to breed, the opportun¬ 
ities for the future are manifold, if a little care 
and concentration is taken in the beginning. A 
bird named the capercailzie has been introduced 
from Norway to the park. This bird is a species 
01 the grouse family, and it is said it is certain 
to live and become abundant there. 
Beside there being found deer, moose and 
caribo'.i in the park, there are also black bear 
and any number of beaver, the latter being pro¬ 
tected, and which has multiplied to such an 
extent that rivers have been dammed over and 
rangers have been forced to trap some of them 
off to keep the population in trim and at a more 
reasonable average. It is also noted that there 
are any number of wolves in the park. One 
ranger trapped and poisoned in the neighbor¬ 
hood of fifty-three the winter of 1911. 
Nor is this park entirely a summer resort. 
It has become associated so closely with the 
pastimes of summer that anything else may 
seem out of place, but the fact remains that 
many are enjoying Algonquin in the winter with 
as much fervor as the summer brings on. 
Rugged old King Winter is a gallant soul, but 
he wooes you pretty vigorously; if you are of 
the right grain, he holds for you a treasure 
store of wealth and beauty the languid summer 
never could impart to you. Snowshoeing fills 
in many odd nooks for the person who would 
greet winter in the right spirit, but one must 
brave the battalions of the north with a smile 
and not a curse. Undoubtedly there are many 
enjoying Algonquin in the winter and finding 
there something life withholds for those of a 
more tender ilk. 
Such an immense tract as that furnished by 
the Algonquin National Park offers within its 
limits about all that the man of outdoor tenden¬ 
cies desires; but its twin brother, the Temagami 
Forest Reserve, has become so famous that a 
word about it here would not be amiss. Form¬ 
erly access to this reserve was a matter of 
more or less difficulty, but the building of a 
railroad into the heart of it banished this un¬ 
desirable feature, and now, if one cares to en¬ 
joy the wonders of Temagami, he can do so 
without the great difficulty of the past. Within 
the boundary lines of this famed region the 
angler, camper, canoeist and nature lover will 
find the out-of-doors complete in every respect 
— there is nothing he need wish for and find 
lacking. This is a region written of in prose 
and in song by some of the brightest lights in 
the literary world, idealized by the redmen who 
lived in that fabled region, and remembered by 
all who have been within its confines as one of 
the most enchanted spots in all the world. 
The reserve is practically an entire wilder¬ 
ness and contains something like 5.900 square 
miles of forest and water. The lake itself con¬ 
tains about 100 square miles of water, has about 
1,400 islands dotting its sparkling surface and 
over 3,000 miles of shore line. The hills of 
this region are of solid rock—no opportunity 
for the sneering man who would deride you 
for mentioning that there are still places where 
man has not intruded. This region was evi¬ 
dently meant by the Creator as a place where 
the work-worn and unhealthy could come and 
recuperate in peace—away from the sound of 
whistle and automobile horn, away from the 
GETTING A BITE. 
clash and clangor. It is the playground tri¬ 
umphant, the paradise of the outdoor man. 
Crystal Temagami—peerless Temagami—the 
land of summer charm and fulfillment. One 
could sit by those shores and write forever, and 
still have something to say of its manifold 
wouders, and its blessed oportunities. The en¬ 
croaching of civilization has left this spot un¬ 
harmed; it will always remain as it is, to invite 
and bring joy to the hearts of untold genera¬ 
tions, for it is immortal. 
In speaking of this region one is called 
upon to use superlatives; one cannot think of 
it without uttering melodious adverbs, adjec¬ 
tives or phrases, for the simple reason it is 
complete. This would make a kingdom for the 
lumberman, but the ax is withheld. Through 
those solemn aisles will ring no ax-blades, only 
the wind stirring those funereal tops into beaded 
music, the morning to lend its benediction and 
the lowering shadows to call forth the vesper. 
Hill upon hill, blue water on blue water, and 
green upon green-—-it is nature in her unstinted 
magnificence, revealed in an unspoiled wilder¬ 
ness and open to the care-worn and jaded. 
Yet do not think for one minute that accommo¬ 
dations are lacking. The accommodation is of 
the best and a credit of no mean order. A fleet 
of steamers ply from place to place, on their 
route being three splendid hotels with all up- 
to-date propensities and modern improvements 
to satisfy the most exacting nature. It is a 
region of charm untold—the revel of the canoe¬ 
ist, angler and camper. 
The climate is of such an order as to furnish 
clear, warm days and invigorating, cool nights. 
It is a geological wonder; the air is light and 
has not the pressure so often found in the 
climatic atmosphere in the States. The water 
of the lake is of the most transparent clearness 
one could imagine, and the bottom is either 
rocky or is formed of sand—there is no mud 
and other disagreeable features one cannot but 
couple with our lakes in the States. As a canoe 
glides over those shimmering reaches you may 
gently lean over and gaze down, down into the 
water, to the depth of thirty feet, and see the 
rotund fishes idly moving along the watery 
trails, content and sleek. It is a charmed 
picture, once beheld, always remembered. 
A scribe in speaking of the dry, clear at¬ 
mosphere, has said: 
“The writer has frequently carried on con¬ 
versation with people campel on an island a 
full mile away. To appreciate this, measure 
off in your mind a mile from where you sit, 
and imagine shouting to and being heard by a 
person sitting at the other end of that mile. 
This is wireless telegraphy without sending or 
receiving instrument, except the ears and the 
throats of two lusty campers. In the still, clear 
Temagami evenings the weird cry of the soli¬ 
tary loon, the sharp yelp of the questing wolf, 
the hoarse bellow of the angry bull-moose come 
over the quiet waters, mingled with the in¬ 
cessant bark of the Indian dogs, the lightsome 
laugh of some care-free tourist, and the dip, 
dip of some belated paddle. Everywhere in 
Temagami is the echo rock. Anywhere between 
the islands you can get as many as six distinct 
echoes. Some August nights, when the moon 
is sailing between fleecy clouds, and the planets 
shine like points of light in the crystal depths 
below your canoe, let a clear baritone voice 
roll over the waters, and you might think the 
gods themselves had awakened and that every 
rock and islet was the home of some musical 
spirit, voicing the theme of the night in silver 
song.” 
It is in such places as these that we learn 
to love .nature in her various moods; nature 
gay, always, the strength and ruggedness show¬ 
ing in every feature, and the superb grandeur 
making this part of her the home of a great 
peace. You will find many of your kind here in 
the summertime; you will find their tents here 
and there showing white against the background 
of blue or black; you will hear their voices, see 
their craft upon the inimitable waters, and at 
night witness the gleam of their fires. But one 
will travel sometimes for weeks without sight 
or sign of human presence. If you are seeking 
utter wilderness, you will find it here. The 
revel of the canoeist, truly! 
There are bays and inlets without number; 
quiet places where the ghostly canoe will tink- 
lingly part the waters and creep forward like 
an apparition from the deep. There are hours 
of reverence; the beauty of nature personified. 
By all means, remember Temagami if your va¬ 
cation takes you to the laud of the North. 
In changing address, the old as well as the 
new should be given. 
