292 THE NORTH-WES'^ PASSAGE BY LAND. 



nately persisted that he dare not venture on horseback, 

 and the river was too deep and rapid to be safely 

 forded on foot. After some useless discussion with 

 him, we plunged our horses in. The Assiniboine and 

 his family having crossed already ; but before 

 Cheadle's horse had left the bank a yard, Mr. O'B. 

 rushed madly after, dashed in, and grasping the 

 flowing tail of Bucephalus with both hands, was 

 towed over triumphantly. After this great success, 

 his anxiety about jDrospective rivers was greatly 

 alleviated. 



After leaving the little marsh above-mentioned, we 

 Avere again buried in the densest forest, without any 

 opening whatever, for several days, and worked away 

 in the old routine of cutting through timber, driving 

 perverse horses and extricating them from difficulties, 

 and subsisting on our scanty mess of "rubaboo." 

 Tracks of bears w^ere numerous, and we saw signs of 

 beaver on all the streams, but our advance was neces- 

 sarily so noisy that we had small chance of seeing 

 * game, and we could not afford to rest a day or two 

 for the purpose of hunting. 



On the 5th The Assiniboine's single hand became 

 so swollen and painful from the injuries caused by 

 the thorns of the aralea, that he was unable to handle 

 an axe, and the task of clearing a path devolved upon 

 Cheadle. This misfortune retarded us greatly, for 

 he was, of course, not so expert a pioneer as The 

 Assiniboine, and his assistance could ill be spared by 

 the horse-drivers, who were now reduced to Milton and 

 the boy — with Mr. O'B., who began to afford more 



