They were
of all shapes, sizes and colours, and, though very civil to man,
from whom they got nothing but kicks and stones, they kept up a
constant row amongst themselves.
To see a scrimmage of fifty or sixty of them on land or in the
water, where they went daily to fish, was a scene to be remembered.
They did not bark, but loped through the woods, which were the camp's
latrines, as scavengers by day, and howled in unison at regular
intervals by night; for there was a sort of horrible harmony in
the performance, and when the tom-toms of the gamblers accompanied
it on all sides, and the pounding of dancers' feet--for in this
enchanted land nobody ever seemed to go to bed--the saturnalia
was complete.
It was indeed a gala time for the happy-go-lucky Lakers, and the
effects of the issue and sale of scrip certificates were soon
manifest in our neighbourhood. The traders' booths were thronged
with purchasers, also the refreshment tents where cigars and ginger
ale were sold; and, in tepees improvised from aspen saplings, the
sporting element passed the night at some interesting but easy
way of losing money, illuminating their game with guttering
candles, minus candlesticks, and presenting a picture worthy
of an impressionist's pencil.
But the two dancing floors were the chief attraction. These also
had been walled and roofed with leafy saplings, their fronts open
to the air, and, thronged as they generally were, well repaid a
visit.
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