ig canoe could not make
much way agin the strong current of the river, so we put ashore again
and took to our legs.

"After making a long tramp up the banks o' the river, we fell in with
some good-sized pines; but although they are big for this part of the
country, they are not big enough for building. Then we pushed into the
gullies, which are sheltered from the cold winds off the bay, and here
we found the trees a good deal bigger. There are pines and larch in
abundance, and some of the larch are even bigger than we require."

"Are they far inland?" inquired Stanley.

"No, monsieur, they are only a few hundred yards from the banks of the
river, and growin' on the edge of a small creek, which I noticed is deep
enough to float them down."

"Good, very good," said Stanley, filling his pipe with a fresh charge of
tobacco; "that is most fortunate, for it will save time, and take fewer
men to bring them here. Go on, Francois."

"Bien, monsieur. Then I felled one or two o' the trees, to see what
like they are; and I found that they are very tough and good. The pines
are firmer and tougher than any I ever saw in the Indian country, owing,
I suppose, to their stunted growth. While I was thus employed, Augustus
shot the grouse we brought home, and we saw a great many coveys of them.
In fact, we might have shot many more; but as we did not know how far
we should have to walk, we thought it best not to burden ourselves too
much. We also saw a great many ducks, and shot a few, as you see."

"Did you see goose?" inquired La Roche, whose mind had a natural
tendency to culinary matters.

"No," replied Francois, "I saw no geese; but I did not go out of my way
to look for them. I was more taken up with the timber than replenishing
the kettle."

"Ah! that ver' great pity. Oui, grand dommage. De kittle toujours de
most importance t'ing on de voyage. If you forget him, you goot for
not'ing. Mais, Francois, did you look into the deep clear pool at de
foot of de rapid?"

Francois emitted a cloud of smoke with a negative in the middle of it.

"An!" said La Roche with a sigh, "I thought not; mais it was pity. You
see one goose for certain, if you have look straight down into dat
pool."

"Bien," continued Francois, turning to Stanley. "I then went into one
or two more gullies, and saw some more sticks fit for building; but
after all it is only in the gullies they grow, and there are not very
many. The trees on the