[Contents]CHAPTER XIIBEGINNING THE SEARCHRay was surprised next forenoon at the ease with which Ganawa managed their journey up-stream. For the greater part of the distance the old Indian knelt in the stern of the canoe, and by means of a pole steered and pushed the craft safely past many rocks and through much swift water, while Bruce walked along the south bank and pulled on a long rope. In a few places they lifted the canoe out of the water and carried it a short distance over land. Ray, with his gun and his dog, walked along the trail as if he were furnishing the safe conduct for the two canoeists. Although Ganawa and Bruce worked the canoe up-stream with great caution, they nevertheless made such good progress that they reached the great whirlpool at the foot of the falls during the forenoon.[98]The falls of the Michipicoten have the character of a mountain cataract. The water does not drop over a projecting cliff as it does at Niagara, but in some half dozen turns and twists it rushes down a steep cliff of granite. Over the last step the water rushes at an angle which makes a mad whirlpool, in which the water turns and turns like a caged animal that is vainly looking for an escape from its prison. At certain stages of the water, the outflow from the whirlpool seems to come entirely from below, while the whirling surface water will hold logs and other objects in its grip for days to leave them finally stranded on the rocks. When the water is at this stage, even the lumbermen find it at times impossible to break the whirling and milling movement of the logs.From the whirlpool the travellers had to carry their canoe and packs up a steep trail of a hundred and fifty feet and some distance beyond, until it was safe to put the canoe in the water again; for above great[99]falls and rapids the water of a river acquires a vicious gliding swiftness, which seizes men and animals as with a vise-like grip from which they can seldom escape. The water above the falls of the Michipicoten is especially treacherous. The river is wide and quite smooth and one may wade into it near the shore, but in the deep water in the middle of the stream the river is madly rushing to the first chute of the falls, and a boat or canoe once caught in the midstream rush rarely escapes destruction. Even in recent years several white men, who did not gauge right the danger of the smoothly gliding stream, have lost their lives by being carried over the falls.About a mile above the roaring, thundering falls, Ganawa stopped at a camping-place close to a quiet pool in the river.“My sons,” he said, “here we shall stay, maybe several days. You, my sons, may now set up our tepee and make us a good camp.” As in this place also a set of poles was standing in position, making camp was[100]quick and easy work; but Bruce and Ray, after the tepee was up, went to work at cutting a goodly lot of firewood. For this and other work, Bruce had brought a good heavy ax, because, as he said, it seemed foolish to him for a full-grown man to work with a small boy’s hatchet. He admitted that these small axes were valuable weapons for the Indian warriors and hunters and for the squaws in cutting firewood. “But for a white man,” he insisted, “give me a real ax, the kind used by the wood-choppers and farmers of New England. Ray may use an Indian hatchet; it is about the right weight for him.”The lads chopped two kinds of wood. One pile consisted of short and dry pieces of pine, spruce, mountain ash, white elm, white cedar, a little black ash, and small sticks of dry willow, moose-maple, pin-cherry, and choke-cherry.The moose-maple so common north of Lake Superior is not a real tree, but only a good-sized bush. The lads did not cut[101]any dry birch, because dead birch wood found in the forest is nearly always both wet and rotten and valueless as fuel. The bark of the birch does not allow the wood to dry, and within a few years the dead wood has changed to a kind of punk, which is good for smoking fish and meat, but quite worthless for a real fire. Sugar maple, soft maple, oaks, butternut, black walnut, and other trees common farther south and east do not grow along the Michipicoten River nor are they found in the region of Michipicoten Bay. Common broad-leaved trees in this region are the aspen, or common poplar, the balsam poplar, or balm of Gilead, and the white birch. The white birch is the most common; it grows to a good size and, if cut green, makes the best fuel found in the North woods.After the lads had cut a supply of dry wood for purposes of cooking and for a fire in the tepee, they started to cut a lot of green birch for their outdoor camp-fires. Birch is the only kind of broad-leaved wood[102]found in the northern forest which will burn green. It will not sputter and throw sparks, but after it is well started by the use of some dry wood it can be kept going indefinitely with a steady red glow by adding fuel as it is needed.All the evergreens will burn green, but they are unpleasant to handle on account of their pitch and they make much black smoke; while green poplars, elm, oak, and ironwood are so sappy, especially in the summer season, that they will steam and sizzle on the fire and can hardly be made to burn with the aid of dry wood.After the lads had cut enough wood to last them for a week or so, Ganawa told them that they must now secure food for several days before they could go and look for signs of the cache of their friends. Bruce was more than willing to do this, because he saw with much anxiety that the small supply of food which they had brought with them would soon be gone, if they touched it at all.[103]The great country north and northeast of Lake Superior is very poor in wild plant food suitable for human beings. There is little or no wild rice, and there are no roots or bulbs which can be gathered in large quantities. There is, however, an abundance of blueberries and raspberries in good seasons; but a man who has no bread or meat cannot live long on berries.In the matter of animal food, however, the case stands better for the North Country. The great swamps, valleys and hills of this region have long been and still are the home of the moose, the biggest animal of the deer family now living. At times woodland caribou are found in the region, and generally there is a supply of snowshoe rabbits. At the present time, deer are fairly common in the region, but the journals and stories of the old voyageurs and traders do not mention deer, which at that time had not spread so far north.The most reliable food supply of the region is fish, and Bruce and Ray now set[104]about securing enough fish so they might later on give all their time to exploring and looking for some clue of the whereabouts of Jack Dutton.[105]
[Contents]CHAPTER XIIBEGINNING THE SEARCHRay was surprised next forenoon at the ease with which Ganawa managed their journey up-stream. For the greater part of the distance the old Indian knelt in the stern of the canoe, and by means of a pole steered and pushed the craft safely past many rocks and through much swift water, while Bruce walked along the south bank and pulled on a long rope. In a few places they lifted the canoe out of the water and carried it a short distance over land. Ray, with his gun and his dog, walked along the trail as if he were furnishing the safe conduct for the two canoeists. Although Ganawa and Bruce worked the canoe up-stream with great caution, they nevertheless made such good progress that they reached the great whirlpool at the foot of the falls during the forenoon.[98]The falls of the Michipicoten have the character of a mountain cataract. The water does not drop over a projecting cliff as it does at Niagara, but in some half dozen turns and twists it rushes down a steep cliff of granite. Over the last step the water rushes at an angle which makes a mad whirlpool, in which the water turns and turns like a caged animal that is vainly looking for an escape from its prison. At certain stages of the water, the outflow from the whirlpool seems to come entirely from below, while the whirling surface water will hold logs and other objects in its grip for days to leave them finally stranded on the rocks. When the water is at this stage, even the lumbermen find it at times impossible to break the whirling and milling movement of the logs.From the whirlpool the travellers had to carry their canoe and packs up a steep trail of a hundred and fifty feet and some distance beyond, until it was safe to put the canoe in the water again; for above great[99]falls and rapids the water of a river acquires a vicious gliding swiftness, which seizes men and animals as with a vise-like grip from which they can seldom escape. The water above the falls of the Michipicoten is especially treacherous. The river is wide and quite smooth and one may wade into it near the shore, but in the deep water in the middle of the stream the river is madly rushing to the first chute of the falls, and a boat or canoe once caught in the midstream rush rarely escapes destruction. Even in recent years several white men, who did not gauge right the danger of the smoothly gliding stream, have lost their lives by being carried over the falls.About a mile above the roaring, thundering falls, Ganawa stopped at a camping-place close to a quiet pool in the river.“My sons,” he said, “here we shall stay, maybe several days. You, my sons, may now set up our tepee and make us a good camp.” As in this place also a set of poles was standing in position, making camp was[100]quick and easy work; but Bruce and Ray, after the tepee was up, went to work at cutting a goodly lot of firewood. For this and other work, Bruce had brought a good heavy ax, because, as he said, it seemed foolish to him for a full-grown man to work with a small boy’s hatchet. He admitted that these small axes were valuable weapons for the Indian warriors and hunters and for the squaws in cutting firewood. “But for a white man,” he insisted, “give me a real ax, the kind used by the wood-choppers and farmers of New England. Ray may use an Indian hatchet; it is about the right weight for him.”The lads chopped two kinds of wood. One pile consisted of short and dry pieces of pine, spruce, mountain ash, white elm, white cedar, a little black ash, and small sticks of dry willow, moose-maple, pin-cherry, and choke-cherry.The moose-maple so common north of Lake Superior is not a real tree, but only a good-sized bush. The lads did not cut[101]any dry birch, because dead birch wood found in the forest is nearly always both wet and rotten and valueless as fuel. The bark of the birch does not allow the wood to dry, and within a few years the dead wood has changed to a kind of punk, which is good for smoking fish and meat, but quite worthless for a real fire. Sugar maple, soft maple, oaks, butternut, black walnut, and other trees common farther south and east do not grow along the Michipicoten River nor are they found in the region of Michipicoten Bay. Common broad-leaved trees in this region are the aspen, or common poplar, the balsam poplar, or balm of Gilead, and the white birch. The white birch is the most common; it grows to a good size and, if cut green, makes the best fuel found in the North woods.After the lads had cut a supply of dry wood for purposes of cooking and for a fire in the tepee, they started to cut a lot of green birch for their outdoor camp-fires. Birch is the only kind of broad-leaved wood[102]found in the northern forest which will burn green. It will not sputter and throw sparks, but after it is well started by the use of some dry wood it can be kept going indefinitely with a steady red glow by adding fuel as it is needed.All the evergreens will burn green, but they are unpleasant to handle on account of their pitch and they make much black smoke; while green poplars, elm, oak, and ironwood are so sappy, especially in the summer season, that they will steam and sizzle on the fire and can hardly be made to burn with the aid of dry wood.After the lads had cut enough wood to last them for a week or so, Ganawa told them that they must now secure food for several days before they could go and look for signs of the cache of their friends. Bruce was more than willing to do this, because he saw with much anxiety that the small supply of food which they had brought with them would soon be gone, if they touched it at all.[103]The great country north and northeast of Lake Superior is very poor in wild plant food suitable for human beings. There is little or no wild rice, and there are no roots or bulbs which can be gathered in large quantities. There is, however, an abundance of blueberries and raspberries in good seasons; but a man who has no bread or meat cannot live long on berries.In the matter of animal food, however, the case stands better for the North Country. The great swamps, valleys and hills of this region have long been and still are the home of the moose, the biggest animal of the deer family now living. At times woodland caribou are found in the region, and generally there is a supply of snowshoe rabbits. At the present time, deer are fairly common in the region, but the journals and stories of the old voyageurs and traders do not mention deer, which at that time had not spread so far north.The most reliable food supply of the region is fish, and Bruce and Ray now set[104]about securing enough fish so they might later on give all their time to exploring and looking for some clue of the whereabouts of Jack Dutton.[105]
CHAPTER XIIBEGINNING THE SEARCH
Ray was surprised next forenoon at the ease with which Ganawa managed their journey up-stream. For the greater part of the distance the old Indian knelt in the stern of the canoe, and by means of a pole steered and pushed the craft safely past many rocks and through much swift water, while Bruce walked along the south bank and pulled on a long rope. In a few places they lifted the canoe out of the water and carried it a short distance over land. Ray, with his gun and his dog, walked along the trail as if he were furnishing the safe conduct for the two canoeists. Although Ganawa and Bruce worked the canoe up-stream with great caution, they nevertheless made such good progress that they reached the great whirlpool at the foot of the falls during the forenoon.[98]The falls of the Michipicoten have the character of a mountain cataract. The water does not drop over a projecting cliff as it does at Niagara, but in some half dozen turns and twists it rushes down a steep cliff of granite. Over the last step the water rushes at an angle which makes a mad whirlpool, in which the water turns and turns like a caged animal that is vainly looking for an escape from its prison. At certain stages of the water, the outflow from the whirlpool seems to come entirely from below, while the whirling surface water will hold logs and other objects in its grip for days to leave them finally stranded on the rocks. When the water is at this stage, even the lumbermen find it at times impossible to break the whirling and milling movement of the logs.From the whirlpool the travellers had to carry their canoe and packs up a steep trail of a hundred and fifty feet and some distance beyond, until it was safe to put the canoe in the water again; for above great[99]falls and rapids the water of a river acquires a vicious gliding swiftness, which seizes men and animals as with a vise-like grip from which they can seldom escape. The water above the falls of the Michipicoten is especially treacherous. The river is wide and quite smooth and one may wade into it near the shore, but in the deep water in the middle of the stream the river is madly rushing to the first chute of the falls, and a boat or canoe once caught in the midstream rush rarely escapes destruction. Even in recent years several white men, who did not gauge right the danger of the smoothly gliding stream, have lost their lives by being carried over the falls.About a mile above the roaring, thundering falls, Ganawa stopped at a camping-place close to a quiet pool in the river.“My sons,” he said, “here we shall stay, maybe several days. You, my sons, may now set up our tepee and make us a good camp.” As in this place also a set of poles was standing in position, making camp was[100]quick and easy work; but Bruce and Ray, after the tepee was up, went to work at cutting a goodly lot of firewood. For this and other work, Bruce had brought a good heavy ax, because, as he said, it seemed foolish to him for a full-grown man to work with a small boy’s hatchet. He admitted that these small axes were valuable weapons for the Indian warriors and hunters and for the squaws in cutting firewood. “But for a white man,” he insisted, “give me a real ax, the kind used by the wood-choppers and farmers of New England. Ray may use an Indian hatchet; it is about the right weight for him.”The lads chopped two kinds of wood. One pile consisted of short and dry pieces of pine, spruce, mountain ash, white elm, white cedar, a little black ash, and small sticks of dry willow, moose-maple, pin-cherry, and choke-cherry.The moose-maple so common north of Lake Superior is not a real tree, but only a good-sized bush. The lads did not cut[101]any dry birch, because dead birch wood found in the forest is nearly always both wet and rotten and valueless as fuel. The bark of the birch does not allow the wood to dry, and within a few years the dead wood has changed to a kind of punk, which is good for smoking fish and meat, but quite worthless for a real fire. Sugar maple, soft maple, oaks, butternut, black walnut, and other trees common farther south and east do not grow along the Michipicoten River nor are they found in the region of Michipicoten Bay. Common broad-leaved trees in this region are the aspen, or common poplar, the balsam poplar, or balm of Gilead, and the white birch. The white birch is the most common; it grows to a good size and, if cut green, makes the best fuel found in the North woods.After the lads had cut a supply of dry wood for purposes of cooking and for a fire in the tepee, they started to cut a lot of green birch for their outdoor camp-fires. Birch is the only kind of broad-leaved wood[102]found in the northern forest which will burn green. It will not sputter and throw sparks, but after it is well started by the use of some dry wood it can be kept going indefinitely with a steady red glow by adding fuel as it is needed.All the evergreens will burn green, but they are unpleasant to handle on account of their pitch and they make much black smoke; while green poplars, elm, oak, and ironwood are so sappy, especially in the summer season, that they will steam and sizzle on the fire and can hardly be made to burn with the aid of dry wood.After the lads had cut enough wood to last them for a week or so, Ganawa told them that they must now secure food for several days before they could go and look for signs of the cache of their friends. Bruce was more than willing to do this, because he saw with much anxiety that the small supply of food which they had brought with them would soon be gone, if they touched it at all.[103]The great country north and northeast of Lake Superior is very poor in wild plant food suitable for human beings. There is little or no wild rice, and there are no roots or bulbs which can be gathered in large quantities. There is, however, an abundance of blueberries and raspberries in good seasons; but a man who has no bread or meat cannot live long on berries.In the matter of animal food, however, the case stands better for the North Country. The great swamps, valleys and hills of this region have long been and still are the home of the moose, the biggest animal of the deer family now living. At times woodland caribou are found in the region, and generally there is a supply of snowshoe rabbits. At the present time, deer are fairly common in the region, but the journals and stories of the old voyageurs and traders do not mention deer, which at that time had not spread so far north.The most reliable food supply of the region is fish, and Bruce and Ray now set[104]about securing enough fish so they might later on give all their time to exploring and looking for some clue of the whereabouts of Jack Dutton.[105]
Ray was surprised next forenoon at the ease with which Ganawa managed their journey up-stream. For the greater part of the distance the old Indian knelt in the stern of the canoe, and by means of a pole steered and pushed the craft safely past many rocks and through much swift water, while Bruce walked along the south bank and pulled on a long rope. In a few places they lifted the canoe out of the water and carried it a short distance over land. Ray, with his gun and his dog, walked along the trail as if he were furnishing the safe conduct for the two canoeists. Although Ganawa and Bruce worked the canoe up-stream with great caution, they nevertheless made such good progress that they reached the great whirlpool at the foot of the falls during the forenoon.[98]
The falls of the Michipicoten have the character of a mountain cataract. The water does not drop over a projecting cliff as it does at Niagara, but in some half dozen turns and twists it rushes down a steep cliff of granite. Over the last step the water rushes at an angle which makes a mad whirlpool, in which the water turns and turns like a caged animal that is vainly looking for an escape from its prison. At certain stages of the water, the outflow from the whirlpool seems to come entirely from below, while the whirling surface water will hold logs and other objects in its grip for days to leave them finally stranded on the rocks. When the water is at this stage, even the lumbermen find it at times impossible to break the whirling and milling movement of the logs.
From the whirlpool the travellers had to carry their canoe and packs up a steep trail of a hundred and fifty feet and some distance beyond, until it was safe to put the canoe in the water again; for above great[99]falls and rapids the water of a river acquires a vicious gliding swiftness, which seizes men and animals as with a vise-like grip from which they can seldom escape. The water above the falls of the Michipicoten is especially treacherous. The river is wide and quite smooth and one may wade into it near the shore, but in the deep water in the middle of the stream the river is madly rushing to the first chute of the falls, and a boat or canoe once caught in the midstream rush rarely escapes destruction. Even in recent years several white men, who did not gauge right the danger of the smoothly gliding stream, have lost their lives by being carried over the falls.
About a mile above the roaring, thundering falls, Ganawa stopped at a camping-place close to a quiet pool in the river.
“My sons,” he said, “here we shall stay, maybe several days. You, my sons, may now set up our tepee and make us a good camp.” As in this place also a set of poles was standing in position, making camp was[100]quick and easy work; but Bruce and Ray, after the tepee was up, went to work at cutting a goodly lot of firewood. For this and other work, Bruce had brought a good heavy ax, because, as he said, it seemed foolish to him for a full-grown man to work with a small boy’s hatchet. He admitted that these small axes were valuable weapons for the Indian warriors and hunters and for the squaws in cutting firewood. “But for a white man,” he insisted, “give me a real ax, the kind used by the wood-choppers and farmers of New England. Ray may use an Indian hatchet; it is about the right weight for him.”
The lads chopped two kinds of wood. One pile consisted of short and dry pieces of pine, spruce, mountain ash, white elm, white cedar, a little black ash, and small sticks of dry willow, moose-maple, pin-cherry, and choke-cherry.
The moose-maple so common north of Lake Superior is not a real tree, but only a good-sized bush. The lads did not cut[101]any dry birch, because dead birch wood found in the forest is nearly always both wet and rotten and valueless as fuel. The bark of the birch does not allow the wood to dry, and within a few years the dead wood has changed to a kind of punk, which is good for smoking fish and meat, but quite worthless for a real fire. Sugar maple, soft maple, oaks, butternut, black walnut, and other trees common farther south and east do not grow along the Michipicoten River nor are they found in the region of Michipicoten Bay. Common broad-leaved trees in this region are the aspen, or common poplar, the balsam poplar, or balm of Gilead, and the white birch. The white birch is the most common; it grows to a good size and, if cut green, makes the best fuel found in the North woods.
After the lads had cut a supply of dry wood for purposes of cooking and for a fire in the tepee, they started to cut a lot of green birch for their outdoor camp-fires. Birch is the only kind of broad-leaved wood[102]found in the northern forest which will burn green. It will not sputter and throw sparks, but after it is well started by the use of some dry wood it can be kept going indefinitely with a steady red glow by adding fuel as it is needed.
All the evergreens will burn green, but they are unpleasant to handle on account of their pitch and they make much black smoke; while green poplars, elm, oak, and ironwood are so sappy, especially in the summer season, that they will steam and sizzle on the fire and can hardly be made to burn with the aid of dry wood.
After the lads had cut enough wood to last them for a week or so, Ganawa told them that they must now secure food for several days before they could go and look for signs of the cache of their friends. Bruce was more than willing to do this, because he saw with much anxiety that the small supply of food which they had brought with them would soon be gone, if they touched it at all.[103]
The great country north and northeast of Lake Superior is very poor in wild plant food suitable for human beings. There is little or no wild rice, and there are no roots or bulbs which can be gathered in large quantities. There is, however, an abundance of blueberries and raspberries in good seasons; but a man who has no bread or meat cannot live long on berries.
In the matter of animal food, however, the case stands better for the North Country. The great swamps, valleys and hills of this region have long been and still are the home of the moose, the biggest animal of the deer family now living. At times woodland caribou are found in the region, and generally there is a supply of snowshoe rabbits. At the present time, deer are fairly common in the region, but the journals and stories of the old voyageurs and traders do not mention deer, which at that time had not spread so far north.
The most reliable food supply of the region is fish, and Bruce and Ray now set[104]about securing enough fish so they might later on give all their time to exploring and looking for some clue of the whereabouts of Jack Dutton.[105]