ery step.

"That night, we slept in a large natural cave on the very brink of the
precipice by the river. At dawn of day we resumed our march, and as we
advanced, the country became more and more level, and after four days
of toil and fatigue, we halted and camped on a hill by the riverside,
where a small creek runs into the river. We met there a party of
Canadian hunters and trappers who gave us a friendly welcome, and
replenished our store of provisions with game and venison. They
informed us that the easiest and least wearisome way to reach
Louisiana was to float down the Tennessee and Meschacebe rivers. The
plan suggested by them was adopted, and the men of our party, aided
by our Canadian friends, felled trees to build a suitable boat.

"There, petiots, a great misfortune befell us. We experienced a
great loss in the death of Rene Leblanc, who had been our leader and
adviser in the hours of our sore trials. Old age had shattered his
constitution, and unequal to the fatigues of our long pilgrimage, he
pined away, and sank into his grave without a word of complaint. He
died the death of a hero and of a Christian, consoling us as we wept
beside him, and cheering us in our troubles. His death afflicted us
sorely, and the night during which he lay exposed, preparatory to his
burial, the silence was unbroken, in our camp, save by our whispered
words, as if we feared to disturb the slumbers of the great and good
man that slept the eternal sleep. We buried him at the foot of the
hill, in a grove of walnut trees. We carved his name with a cross over
it on the bark of the tree sheltering his grave, and after having said
the prayers for the dead, we closed his grave, wet with the tears of
those he had loved so well.

"My narrative has not been gay, petiots, but the gloom that darkened
it will now be dispelled by the radiant sunshine of joy and of
happiness.

"Our boat was unwieldy, but it served our purpose well. We stored in
it our baggage and supplies; we sold our horses and wagons to our
Canadian friends, and taking leave of our Indian guides, we cut loose
the moorings of the boat. We floated down stream, our young men
rowing, and singing Acadian songs.

"Nothing of importance happened to us after our embarkment, petiots.
During the day, we traveled, and at night, we moored our boat safely,
and encamped on the banks of the river. At last we launched on the
turbulent waters of the Mississippi and floated down that nob