In the
afternoon we passed up the short reach of river into another lake,
the largest we had yet seen, stretching miles away to east and
west, we could not tell how far. We could see, the men thought,
about ten miles to the east, and twelve to fifteen west. The lake
seemed to average about four miles in width. The narrowest part
was where we entered it, and on the opposite shore, three miles
away, rose a high hill. It seemed as if we might even now be on
Michikamau, perhaps shut from the main body of the lake only by the
islands. From the hill we should be able to see we thought, and so
paddled towards it.
The hill was wooded almost to the top, and above the woods was the
barren moss-covered summit. The walking was very rough. It seemed
to me as we climbed that I should be stifled with the heat, and the
flies, and the effort, but most of all with the thoughts that were
crowding my mind. Instead of being only glad that we were nearing
Michikamau I had been growing more and more to dread the moment
when I should first look out over its broad waters. Sometimes I
felt that I could never go on to the top--but I did.
The panorama of mountain, and lake, and island was very impressive.
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