A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 85 
row, whicli was to be onr last on the river, when we cap- 
tured twenty-eight, a few of which, however, did not 
exceed a pound and a half in weight. 
The next day came, and good bye to the beautiful La 
Yal. Slowly and sorrowfully we struck our tent, sadly 
we collected together, and stowed the many little arti- 
cles that the occasion had hallowed to our hearts. With 
feelings of deep regret we embarked, and looking our 
last look at the camping-ground that had been our home, 
commenced a descent to our chaloupe. As there were 
three canoes, and only ^ve canoemen, including my 
friend, I was gladly compelled to take the bow of one 
and act as steersman. Of course my experience was 
limited, for, with the exception of having once upset 
Walton to his intense disgust, I had taken little active 
part in canoe management, and having for my stern-oar, 
Joe, whose only idea was to push ahead under all cir- 
cumstances, we performed manoeuvres that astonished 
more than they delighted our associates. Ours was the 
leaky canoe that had been patched up with gum and a 
piece of a shirt for the occasion, and being utterly reck- 
less of it, we shot down rapids and leaped over rocks 
like a runaway race-horse. Wonderful were our hair 
breadth escapes ; the rapid water, Joe with his '^Avances 
toujours,^^ gave me no time to see and less to avoid the 
half-hidden dangers, even if my skill had been equal to 
the task, and we darted along amid the foaming current, 
or plunged headlong down cataracts, at a rate and in a 
manner that would have surprised a locomotive off the 
track. We succeeded, however, in keeping straight with 
the current, and although once or twice our destruction 
