1849. FATAL ACCIDENT. 129 



rocks opposite the lower and strongest part of the fall, 

 had them towed up the remainder by water : and as our 

 boat was now much weakened by the rough usage it had 

 unavoidably been exposed to, for the purpose of saving 

 time, and the tear and wear that would be caused by 

 having it dragged over the portage, I was desirous of doing 

 the same. I was the more led to do this, as the men were 

 of opinion that it might be effected with safety. All that 

 appeared in any way difficult was easily done, and there 

 was only one short place to be ascended, which was so 

 smooth that a loaded boat might have passed it ; here, 

 however, from some unaccountable cause, the steersman 

 was seized with a sudden panic, and called to those towing 

 the boat to slack the line. This was no sooner done 

 sufficiently to allow him to get firm footing, than he leaped 

 on shore, followed by the bowman, and allowed the boat 

 to sheer out into the current, where the line broke, and 

 the boat soon oversetting, was carried into one of the 

 eddies some distance down stream; to which Albert and I 

 ran, and stationed ourselves at two points of rock near 

 which the wreck would pass. It drove to where Albert 

 was, and he hooked it by the keel with an oar until I 

 came to his aid, when I fixed a pole in a broken plank 

 and called my companion to assist me in holding on ; he 

 either did not hear me correctly, or thinking that he would 

 be of more use on the bottom of the boat, sprung to it, and 

 before I had time to call him off, or even think of his 

 clanger, they were carried by a turn of the current into a 

 small bay, where I believed both were safe ; not so, how- 

 ever, for the next minute they were swept out again, and 

 the last I saw of our excellent interpreter was his making 

 a leap towards the rocks ; he missed them and disappeared, 

 nor did he rise again to the surface. 

 VOL. II. K 



