Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Christian Boissonnas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) [Illustration: “THAT WAS THE MOMENT OF LIFE”] MACKINAC AND LAKE STORIES By MARY HARTWELL CATHERWOOD _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ [Illustration] HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright, 1899, by HARPER & BROTHERS. _All rights reserved._ TO My Dear Daughter HAZEL THE COMPANION OF ALL MY JOURNEYS CONTENTS PAGE MARIANSON 1 THE BLACK FEATHER 20 THE COBBLER IN THE DEVIL'S KITCHEN 34 THE SKELETON ON ROUND ISLAND 54 THE PENITENT OF CROSS VILLAGE 69 THE KING OF BEAVER 89 BEAVER LIGHTS 118 A BRITISH ISLANDER 137 THE CURSED PATOIS 151 THE MOTHERS OF HONORÉ 170 THE BLUE MAN 187 THE INDIAN ON THE TRAIL 202 ILLUSTRATIONS “THAT WAS THE MOMENT OF LIFE” _Frontispiece_ “SHE LAY BREATHING LIKE AN INFANT” 4 THE TRAIN-AU-GALISE 56 “‘I THINK THE CAMP GO AROUND AND AROUND ME’” 60 “‘I HAVE ALWAYS PRAYED THIS PRAYER ALONE’” 102 “IT'S BROTHER STRANG SERENADING” 104 “‘YOU WILL GIVE YOURSELF TO ME NOW?’” 111 “‘LET ME LOOSE!’ STRUGGLED EMELINE” 115 I WAS STARTLED TO SEE HER RUSH AT THE CAPTAIN 140 THE QUARTERS 144 “HE APPEARED AT THE DOOR, AND IT WAS HONORÉ” 186 MARIANSON When the British landed on the west side of Mackinac Island at three o'clock in the morning of July 17, 1812, Canadians were ordered to transport the cannon. They had only a pair of six-pounders, but these had to be dragged across the long alluvial stretch to heights which would command the fortress, and sand, rock, bushes, trees, and fallen logs made it a dreadful portage. Voyageurs, however, were men to accomplish what regulars and Indians shirked.