bank, and the eddy which tailed off from it came
down a little lower than the rock behind which the canoe now lay. There
was a furious gush of water between them and this eddy, but the men knew
what the canoe could bear, and their nerves were strong and steady.
Across they went like a shot. They were swept down to the extreme point
of the eddy, but a few powerful strokes of the paddle sent them into it,
and next moment they were floating behind the second rock, a few yards
higher up the stream.

Thus they darted from rock to rock, gaining a few yards at each dart,
until at last they swept into the smooth water at the head of the rapid.

Many a time was this repeated that day, for rapids were numerous; their
progress was therefore slow. Sometimes they came to parts of the river
where the stream was very strong and deep, but not broken by rocks, so
that they had no eddies to dart into. In such places Arrowhead and
Heywood walked along the bank, and hauled the canoe up by means of a
line, while Jasper remained in it to steer. This was hard work, for the
banks in places were very steep, in some parts composed of soft mud,
into which the men sank nearly up to their knees, and in other places
covered so thickly with bushes that it was almost impossible to force a
path through them. Jasper and the Indian took the steering-paddle by
turns, and when Heywood required a rest he got into his place in the
middle of the canoe; but they never halted for more than a few minutes
at a time. All day they paddled and dragged the canoe slowly up against
the strong current, and when night closed in they found they had
advanced only three miles on their journey.

The last obstacle they came to that day was a roaring waterfall about
thirty feet high. Here, it might have been thought, was an effectual
check to them at last. Nothing without wings could have gone up that
waterfall, which filled the woods with the thunder of its roar; but the
canoe had no wings, so what was to be done?

To one ignorant of the customs of that country, going on would have
seemed impossible, but nothing can stop the advance of a backwoods
voyager. If his canoe won't carry him, he carries his canoe! Jasper
and his friends did so on the present occasion. They had reached what
is called a portage or carrying-place, and there are hundreds of such
places all over Rupert's Land.

On arriving at the foot of the fall, Heywood set off at once to a spot
from