A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 75 
thirty dozen, there might be danger of my falling short. 
As it was, the fish destroyed in the course of my trip at 
least ten dozen. 
A delicious night's rest was the reward of our efforts 
at arranging a proper camp, and in fact, henceforth 
there was no trouble from flies, mosquitoes, or any insect, 
except to a slight degree during the day-time ; an annoy- 
ance that a segar would effectually dispel. From a quarter 
before seven to a quarter past eight next morning I alone 
took twelve fish averaging over two pounds, and during 
the day, w^iile ascending the river for a short distance to 
investigate what now became to us a serious question, 
the depth of water, Walton and myself together caught 
twelve, and in the afternoon twenty-eight more. In the 
course of this day we established a rule to throw back 
all fish weighing under two pounds, a rule we adhered 
to till our last day in the river. The water proved to be 
very low, and although at night we occasionally heard 
the rush of a large fish up the rapids, the salmon had 
passed above and were probably on their spawning 
grounds, whither it now began to be very doubtful 
whether we could follow them. It was late in the sea- 
son, as we knew, for salmon, although we had come pre- 
pared for them, and wished to catch at least a few. 
We had picked up at Sault de Cochon, as a super- 
numerary, a boy of about eighteen, who was one of the 
most remarkable beings the sun ever shone upon. He 
would sit for hours with his mouth open and his hands 
before him, and, unless told, would hardly have sense to 
eat enough to keep himself from starvation. After dark, 
our men, with a hook and line and the entrails of a trout 
