ntinued to laugh while we pitched our camp in the green woods near
the shore and prepared our supper of roast goose. It was a feast day.
With goose, plenty of trout and good water for paddling, it was a time
to eat, drink, and be merry.

Our high spirits still remained when we broke camp in the morning
(Wednesday, August 19), but they were destined soon to be dashed. Not
long after we started we found ourselves in good-sized lakes, with arms
extending in every direction. All day we hunted for the river, but
found only small streams emptying into the lakes. The country now was
much rougher, and much more rocky and barren, than any we had seen
since we left the coast. The trees were more stunted and gnarled, and
the streams usually had a bed-rock bottom. In the course of the day
Hubbard shot three rock ptarmigans--"rockers," George called them.
They were the first we had seen, and were still wearing their mottled
summer dress; later in the season they are a pure, spotless white.
Towards evening we made our way to a point on the northwesterly part of
the lakes where a small stream came through a mountain pass, and there
went into camp.

We were much disappointed at our failure to find the river, but not
disheartened. In order to make certain that we had not overlooked it,
we decided to paddle back the next day as far as the last rapid and
make one more careful search. Failing then to find the river, we
should portage through the mountain pass at the entrance to which we
had camped.

"Do you remember," asked Hubbard, "the slogan of the old Pike's
Peakers?--'Pike's Peak or Bust?'"

"Yes," said I; "and very often they busted."

"Well," said Hubbard, "we'll adopt it and change it to our needs.
'Michikamau or Bust,' will be our watchword now."

And sitting around the fire, we all took it up and repeated
determinedly, "Michikamau or Bust!"

The morning of the next day (Thursday, August 20) we occupied in
mending our moccasins with parts of the caribou skin. George also took
the venison from the bags and hung it over the fire to give it a little
more drying, as it had begun to mould. In the afternoon Hubbard and I,
in accordance with the plan we had adopted, paddled back over our
course and re-explored the lower lakes. We discovered nothing new.
The fact was that these lakes were the source of the Beaver River.

While we were paddling about we came upon two old and two young loons.
The old ones tried to lure us