’ March 14, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
409 
northern limit of ordinary tourist travel. Be- 
bond the falls, we were informed, lay a vast and 
dangerous region which was unusually visited 
md only by the foolhardy and the venturesome, 
undisturbed by such remarks we crossed to 
[south Bay by means of a short cut through Lake 
frlannah and dropped suddenly from Nepigon 
River.with its wealth of tourists and Indians into 
Mepigon Lake and the solitude of the wilderness. 
Mow for the first time it was felt that we had in 
ruth entered upon the silent places where nature 
Iwells unconstrained and unashamed. This lake, 
with an area of 3,000 square miles, contains un- 
uimbered islands of variable size, most of which 
ire extremely beautiful, while from every side 
sf the great reservoir come the rushing waters 
->i many tributaries, some of which might easily 
[rival the Nepigon both in beauty and as trout 
streams. Eventually, when access to it becomes 
more simple, this unequaled and lonely lake 
should rival in popularity the Muskoka district 
even as now and forever it surpasses the Mus- 
<oka in stateliness and regal splendor. No badin- 
iage or trifling, however, is permitted by this ma¬ 
jestic sheet of water which takes its existence so 
seriously. It is not a canoeable lake and he who 
i ventures upon its surface does so with the alert 
I eye and muscular poise of an animal trainer, for 
the winds arise suddenly and with their long 
sweep woe betide the canoeist who has no island 
refuge at hand, and even so he may not improb¬ 
ably suffer an indeterminate imprisonment on his 
haven of safety. The islands, however, are so 
numerous as to simulate the mainland until they 
dissolve at one’s approach into their constituent 
units. 
Paddling vigorously from island to island and 
from island to mainland, we crept up the western 
shore to Nepigon House of the Hudson’s Bay 
Company. Having added somewhat to our sup¬ 
plies and thoroughly overhauled the canoes, we 
pushed out and soon entered the Wabinosh 
River, an important link in the old fur trail. 
From the Wabinosh with its high bluffs and 
rocky margins so characteristic of the northern 
Superior shore, we crossed the divide through a 
series of small lakes of mud and ooze and en¬ 
tered Rock Island Lake, one of the reservoirs of 
the Ogoke River, and for two days we beat up 
against a strong head wind. The game was not 
devoid of excitement. Paddling quietly along 
under the lee of an island until the shelter failed, 
we bent strenuously to our work in a mad race 
with wind and wave until we reached the pro¬ 
tection of the next one, where we could get a 
breathing spell and bail out the water we had 
shipped. Our course lay somewhat to the west 
and as we got more and more into the trough of 
a northeast sea, it became necessary to dodge a 
little. One soon learns to make a quick estimate 
of an approaching wave and determine whether 
to retard the canoe and let the threatened danger 
pass ahead or to so hasten the advance that the 
wave shall break behind. After a few hours of 
such observation one can understand why the 
primitive peoples found all nature inhabited by 
spirits of good and evil; it is so easy to confuse 
nature’s absolute impartiality with one’s own de¬ 
sires and fears. Joyous and innocent spirits 
danced and bubbled with glee upon the crest of 
the foam that passed before us while other 
waves broke with a sullen and petulant # disap¬ 
pointment at the uncomfortably close escape of 
their quarry. 
The supply of islands was apparently inex¬ 
haustible and behind each one we gathered our 
forces for the next attack. Each island we ap¬ 
proached, however, threatened to be the last 
when a camp would be inevitable, but as we 
came closer a densely forested sister would sud¬ 
denly appear beyond and push into view from 
behind like a full-rigged frigate. 
Upon White Earth Lake a number of rocky 
islets were encountered whereon stunted cedars 
of great age were eking out a miserable exist¬ 
ence, their trunks being so very far out of pro¬ 
portion to their diminutive stature as to suggest 
a visit to a Japanese garden. The thickly forested 
islands soon reappeared, however, and one in 
particular was so densely wooded and resembled 
so closely the famous cathedral that it was- 
promptly named Milan Isle. Upon this we en¬ 
camped near the entrance to the main Ogoke 
stream and spent the long twilight in full enjoy¬ 
ment of the solitude and dreamy remoteness of 
the forest. The environment is so majestic in 
scale that peace and contentment settle down 
upon the individual who can feel the fibres of 
his being vibrate in unison with the forest gamut. 
The nerves become so attuned to the largeness 
of life that all things small and mean seem to 
drop away and leave the spirit at rest. 
The forest fires, hitherto happily remote or 
signalized only by a column of smoke, now be- 
