< HAP. xvn. INDIAN NAMES. 28? 



three names, to prevent the incantations of other 

 Indians inimical to their tribe having any effect upon 

 their offspring. 



A heavy thunder-storm induced us to land during the 

 afternoon, and while we were discharging the canoes 

 of a portion of their load, one of those accidents happened 

 which no doubt cause the death of many Indians in the 

 woods. One of the men, while endeavouring to take a 

 gun from beneath the bars of his canoe, struck the 

 hammer against the side and discharged the gun. The 

 shot passed through the side of the little craft, blowing 

 a large piece of bark out. This compelled us to shift a 

 portion of the baggage into my canoe, as the broken one 

 could not carry more than two men without taking in 

 water. We went on until nightfall proposing to repair 

 the canoe after we had camped. 



At sunset on the 7th we reached the sixth rapid of the 

 Moisie, but to our astonishment found that the river had 

 fallen so much that we could pass it without any delay. 

 This rapid lies at the end of the Grand Portage, and rather 

 than again encounter that stupendous barrier, we deter- 

 mined to go down the river, running those rapids which 

 were passable for small canoes, and portaging round the 

 rest. The second rapid involved a short portage, and at 

 the third we camped. 



The spot where we pitched our tents was by far the 

 wildest and most inhospitable we had yet encountered. 

 The river flowed in a huge crack or gorge, with polished 

 rocks rising on each side to about twenty feet, backed 

 by steep crags or rocky hills, between 400 and 500 

 feet high. In order to procure fuel, the men had to 



