s
branch. We were precisely twenty minutes in passing through it, with the
full force of paddles. It receives two small inlets, the most southerly
of which we entered, and the canoes soon stuck fast, amidst aquatic
plants, on a boggy shore. I did not know, for a moment, the cause of our
having grounded, till Ozawandib exclaimed, "O-um-a, mikun-na!" here is
the portage! We were at the Southern flanks of the diluvial hills,
called HAUTEUR DES TERRES--a geological formation of drift materials,
which form one of the continental water-sheds, dividing the streams
tributary to the Gulf of Mexico, from those of Hudson's Bay. He
described the portage as consisting of twelve _pug-gi-de-nun_, or
resting places, where the men are temporarily eased of their burdens.
This was indefinite, depending on the measure of a man's strength to
carry. Not only our baggage, but the canoes were to be carried. After
taking breakfast, on the nearest dry ground, the different back-loads
for the men were prepared. Ozawandib threw my canoe over his shoulders
and led the way. The rest followed, with their appointed loads. I
charged myself with a spy-glass, strapped, and portfolio. Dr. Houghton
carried a plant press. Each one had something, and the men toiled with
five canoes, Our provisions, beds, tent, &c. The path was one of the
most intricate and tangled that I ever knew. Tornadoes appeared to have
cast down the trees in every direction. A soft spongy mass, that gave
way under the tread, covered the interstices between the fallen timber.
The toil and fatigue were incessant. At length we ascended the first
height. It was an arid eminence of the pebble and erratic block era,
bearing small gray pines and shrubbery. This constituted our first
pause, or _puggidenun._ On descending it, we were again plunged among
bramble. Path, there was none, or trail that any mortal eye, but an
Indian's, could trace. We ascended another eminence. We descended it,
and entered a thicket of bramble, every twig of which seemed placed
there to bear some token of our wardrobe, as we passed. To avoid this,
the guide passed through a lengthened shallow pond, beyond which the
walking was easier. Hill succeeded hill. It was a hot day in July, and
the sun shone out brightly. Although we were evidently passing an alpine
height, where a long winter reigned, and the vegetation bore every
indication of being imperfectly developed. We observed the passenger
pigeon, and one or two speci