on the right the eye ranged over the inky lake till it was
lost in thick darkness. A thin, transparent night-fog added to the
mystical appearance of the scene, upon which I looked with mingled
feelings of wonder and awe. The only distinct sound that could be heard
was the measured sound of the paddles, which the men plied in silence,
as if unwilling to break the stillness of the night. Suddenly the guide
uttered in a hoarse whisper, "_A terre_!" startling the sleepy men, and
rendering the succeeding silence still more impressive.

The canoe glided noiselessly through a maze of narrow passages among the
tall cliffs, and grounded on a stony beach. Everything was then carried
up, and the tents pitched in the dark, as no wood could be conveniently
found for the purpose of making a fire; and without taking any supper,
or even breaking the solemn silence of the night, we spread our beds as
we best could upon the round stones (some of which were larger than a
man's fist), and sank into repose. About a couple of hours afterwards
we were roused by the anxious guide, and told to embark again. In this
way we travelled at night or by day, as the weather permitted--and even,
upon one or two occasions, both night and day--till the 12th of October,
when we arrived at the _Sault de Ste. Marie_, which is situated at the
termination of Lake Superior, just as our provisions were exhausted.

We had thus taken eighteen days to coast the lake. This was very slow
going indeed, the usual time for coasting the lake in a north canoe
being from eight to ten days.

The Sault de Ste. Marie is a large rapid, which carries the waters of
Lake Superior into Lake Huron. It separates the British from the
American possessions, and is fortified on the American side by a large
wooden fort, in which a body of soldiers are constantly resident. There
is also a pretty large village of Americans, which is rapidly
increasing. The British side is not fortified; and, indeed, there are
no houses of any kind except the few belonging to the Hudson Bay
Company. This may be considered the extreme outskirts of civilisation,
being the first place where I had seen any number of people collected
together who were unconnected with the Hudson Bay Company.

I was not destined, however, to enjoy the sight of new faces long, for
next morning we started to coast round the northern and uninhabited
shores of Lake Huron, and so down the Ottawa to Montreal. Mr and Mr