104 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
small Land Tortoise which are very common in this Country. We then 
successively came to the Portage of Prairie 287 Paces, then the Portage 
of La Cave,! 100 Paces, then to the Portage of Talon, 300 Paces, the 
Country here is very wild and romantic. Going to the Top of a high 
Rock to view the surrounding Country I found a Sort of Flower Pot 
on a large and grand scale. The Water had excavated at the Top of 
the Rock a large round circular Hole exactly the Shape of a Flower 
Pot and in this a small beautiful Mountain Ash in full Verdure was 
growing. Here we dined at about + past 2. The Scenery about us 
was enchanting though it continued to rain at Intervals in Torrents. 
We dined on a high Rock beneath which was a Waterfall dashing over 
a rugged pointed Bed of Rocks and through a confined Passage, nearly 
80 feet almost perpendicular Height.2 On this Portage the Trunk of 
a Tree is still to be seen which forms the Subject of the many numerous 
Stories of Disasters and Miseries with which this Journey abounds. 
During a stormy Day a Canoe passed under it at the Moment it fell. 
The Canoe and Men were dashed to Pieces and all were destroyed except 
one Man who had his Leg broken and remained in this State for several 
Days without Assistance. During our Dinner a beautiful little Squirrel 
remained close to us seeming to enjoy our Company. We then em- 
barked and came to the Portage de Pin de Musique*® which we did not 
find so terrifick as described by Mackenzie. The Distance is about 450 
Paces. The last Portage is the Turtle Portage when you come to the 
Lake of this Name where the Matawa takes its source. On entering 
this Lake we met 4 Canoes with Indians with a Deputation of 80 War- 
riors going to Lord Dalhousie. One of the Indians had killed another 
and they were going to intercede for the Culprit. The Chief was a fine 
old Man apparently about 70, designated by the Feather in his Hat, a. 
common Goose Quill. The young Men were very well looking. I only 
observed one Female who was probably the Wife of the Son of the Chief, 
as she was sitting behind him. She had a most beautiful intelligent 
Countenance the finest black Eyes and a Complexion which would have 
been considered as a Brunette and not darker in any Country. We 
made the Chief a Present of Tobacco and Biscuits. After passing this 
Lake we came to another, the Passage from one to the other scarcely 
allowing Space for our Canoe. We then passed through a Succession 
1 This portage is marked on map in Mackenzie (1801), frontispiece. 
2 Probably the narrow passage at the entrance to the Lac de Talon. 
3 The diarist follows closely the names given by Mackenzie (1801), butit is to be 
noted that there is a Portage des Pins at the north end, and a Portage de la Mau- 
vaise Musique at the south end of the Lake des Pins marked on some maps. 
