398 DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSIT. 



Among the principal of the difficulties which 

 impede inland navigation and transport in North- 

 West America, the numerous rapids must be con- 

 sidered chief : where these are trifling they are 

 mounted or descended with fully laden boats and 

 slight inconvenience or delay ; but in passing bad 

 rapids great care, preparation, and skill, become 

 necessary, and most generally "portages" have to 

 be made at a great expense of time and labour. 

 The boats are brought to the foot of the rapid, and 

 there unloaded, every article being transported on 

 the men's backs through the woods to a point of 

 the stream above the embarrassed locality ; the boats 

 are then dragged "light" up the rapid, or where 

 it is very bad, are themselves carried across the 

 portage, after which they are again speedily laden, 

 and the party hastens onwards. In the voyage 

 between Tort Simpsoi and York Factory, nearly 

 ninety places of greater or less difficulty occur ; some 

 are of little notice, others dangerous in the extreme, 

 and these, I need scarcely observe, require very 

 great skill and practice in their passage. We of the 

 boat expedition, who might not unreasonably advance 

 a claim to some credit for knowledge of boats and 

 their management, were quite incompetent to act in 

 these positions : there is nearly as much diff'erence 



