work as hard as the engagés, to encourage them to do their duty with more alacrity, and avoid all cause of complaint.
The wind proving favourable, we proceeded to Cranberry Lake, so called from the great quantity of cranberries growing in the swamps. We stopped here two days to refresh ourselves after the great fatigue we had undergone in struggling against the rapids. Being sufficiently recovered, and having nothing to detain us, we proceeded to a short carrying place called La grande Côte de la Roche, near the entrance of the Nipegon River, which is a high ridge of rocks that must be passed to avoid the great cataract which I mentioned in my former voyage. At this time we had very little animal food, but fortunately killed three large bears in the middle of the portage, which supported us several days, besides which, we reserved some of the meat we had smoked and dried to carry with us.[1]
From La grande Côte de la Roche we proceeded to Lac le Nid au Corbeau, or Crow's Nest Lake, which is about two hundred miles in circumference, and supplied by a number of small rivers; there are also several islands on it which furnish the Indians with great plenty of wild fowl: bears are also found here in abundance, and a surprising number of beaver dams, running in a crooked direction about ten miles. The Chippeways hunt here, and find a great deal of game.
The reader will observe that in the first voyage I gave
an account of another Crow's Nest Lake, which is very
small, with an island in the [107] middle with high palm
————
- ↑ For the difficulties of this passage from Pays Plat to Nipigon, see the account of the building of this section of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, in Ingersoll, Canadian Guide-Book (New York, 1892), ii, pp. 29, 30.—Ed.
