170 JOHN C. FREMONT. 



"We pushed off* again; but, after making a little 

 distance, the force of the current became too great 

 for the men on shore, and two of them let go the 

 rope. Lajeunesse, the third man, hung on, and was 

 jerked head-foremost into the river from a rock 

 about twelve feet high ; and down the boat shot 

 like an arrow, Basil following us in the rapid cur- 

 rent, and exerting all his strength to keep in mid- 

 channel, his head only seen occasionally, like a black 

 spot in the white foam. How far he went I do not 

 exactly know, but we succeeded in turning the boat 

 into an eddy below. 'Ore Dim!' said Basil Lajeu- 

 nesse, as he arrived immediately after us ; 'je crois 

 bien que fai nage un demi milled He had owed his 

 life to his skill as a swimmer, and I determined to 

 take him and the two others on board and trust to 

 skill and fortune to reach the other end in safety. 

 "We placed ourselves on our knees, with the short 

 paddles in our hands, the most skilful boatman 

 being at the bow, and again we commenced our 

 rapid descent. 



"We cleared rock after rock, and shot past fall 

 after fall, our little boat seeming to play with the 

 cataract. We became flushed with success and 

 familiar with the danger, and, yielding to the ex- 

 citement of the occasion, broke forth together into 

 a Canadian boat-song. Singing, or rather shouting, 



