Sept. 2, igi 1.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
369 
of the railroad had distributed wondrous curves 
and still more remarkable grades, the time made 
by the train was not bad. Generally it seemed 
as though we were either laboriously pulling up 
a grade or gloriously coasting down the corres¬ 
ponding slope. Every four or five miles we 
came to a station, usually a small wooden build¬ 
ing of absolutely no pretensions, with perhaps 
a store and one or two houses in sight. The 
names of some of these places were sonorous 
and attractive—Hebron, Hectanooga, Meteghan, 
Belliveau—-but as a rule a single glance was 
quite sufficient. At Brazil Lake we were agree¬ 
ably surprised to catch a glimpse of our old 
guide on former outings, Heman Crowell, who 
had driven sixteen miles from East Kemptville 
that morning. A frantic waving of hats and 
hands had to suffice for present greetings, but 
we knew we were to see him more satisfactorily 
three weeks later as we came down the Tusket. 
As the railroad approached the upper end of 
Saint Mary’s Bay near Weymouth, the scenery 
improved somewhat, and the hills became more 
rolling. Here good views were obtained of the 
tidal Sissyboo, the headwaters of which we were 
to visit, as we crossed on a high trestle and ran 
for a short distance parallel to and high above 
it on the hill. Further on at the pretty town of 
Digby came the first glimpse of that superb arm 
of the Bay of Fundy, the far-famed Annapolis 
Basin. For twenty miles we skirted its southern 
shores, enjoying a constant succession of mag¬ 
nificent land and water scenes, and realizing 
very fully what a wonderful setting nature had 
given to the many dramas history has played on 
its shores. Near to Annapolis Royal the land 
was better cultivated and more pastoral, and the 
blossoming orchards in every direction reminded 
us that we were entering the garden of Nova 
Scotia where, it is claimed, the best apples in 
the world are grown. 
Annapolis, the Port Royal of the 
French period, is a charming, ramb¬ 
ling village, faintly reminiscent of 
rural England, delightfully situated 
on the upper and narrower part of 
Annapolis Basin, full of interesting 
historical associations, and possesses 
a quaint and picturesque quality of 
its own which strongly tempts the 
visitor to tarry long within its en¬ 
virons. We were met at the station 
by Mr. Thomas’ man with the three- 
seated buckboard and proceeded at 
once to the Queen’s Hotel and had 
a good dinner, then tried to buy the 
chocolate for the trip. The diet of 
the woods is apt to excite a craving 
for sweets, and we have found that 
nothing meets this need better, or 
carries more conveniently in pack or 
pocket than cakes of pure chocolate. Unfortu¬ 
nately, Annapolis was out of chocolate that day 
and we were obliged to take in its place maple 
sugar, later to find it was a fair substitute edibly, 
but more liable to gather moisture. 
It was a sixteen-mile drive in the buckboard 
to South Milford. The welcome which greeted 
us at the Milford House was sincere and un¬ 
affected, and immediately after supper we went 
into executive session with Mr. Thomas. We 
learned that according to instructions the three 
guides, canoes and equipment had gone ahead 
that day and would be ready for us on the mor¬ 
row somewhere below Maitland. We also 
learned with some chagrin that our expecta¬ 
tions of being the pioneers in making a trail 
from Lake Rossignol to the Tusket were doomed 
to disappointment. According to Mr. Thomas 
no one had ever attempted this trip prior to this 
year, but just ten days ahead of us were two 
Bostonians, with Charlie Charlton and Louis 
Harlow as guides, with the same purpose in 
view. But when we were told what excellent 
sportsmen they were, and that one of them was 
a brother in the healing art, and further that 
the contemplated routes would coincide only as 
far as Fifth Lake, all feeling of annoyance dis¬ 
appeared. Their party was going on down the 
Sissyboo as far as Second Lake, and from there 
get over into the Barrio branch of the Tusket 
River, while our plan would take us from Fifth 
Lake up to Sporting Lake and thence to the 
Oakland Lake headwaters of the Tusket. 
Mr. Thomas submitted to us the list of pro¬ 
visions he had provided for the trip. To our 
inexperienced eyes there seemed to be sufficient 
to last a month, but he informed us that there 
was only enough for six men for about a fort¬ 
night, and the canoes could not safely carry 
much more. Fortunately, the problem of re¬ 
plenishing the food supply had been considered 
and a letter was sent to our old guide, Heman 
fWrhepwAY 
To UVESJRiOL 
MAP OF THE CANOE ROUTE FROM ROGERS’ LANDING TO TUSKET. 
