408 CURIOUS PHENOMENON. 



remarkable characteristic ; the water is perfectly 

 crowded with green particles like short pieces of 

 hair : they are apparently separated from vegetation 

 at the bottom by the agitation of the water, as I 

 understood that in winter, when frozen over, the lake 

 is quite clear. The conceit struck me that this was 

 the hair-cuttiiig saloon of the mermaids and mermen, 

 and these capillary particles the refuse of their 

 verdant locks. 



It would needlessly occupy the time of my readers 

 did I detail every circumstance of our rapid downward 

 route ; I shall therefore content myself with mention- 

 ing only the more remarkable points of this very 

 interesting journey. Running a rapid is one of the 

 most exhilarating incidents one can experience ; the 

 excitement and risk lend enchantment to the occasion, 

 and one's spirits rise to the boiling point. We were 

 under the guidance of the first rapid pilot in the 

 country, who had had charge, for more than twenty 

 years, of the boats which each season carry supplies 

 to Methy Portage for the Mackenzie River District, 

 and convey the furs of that brigade to York 

 l^actory, but even L'Esperance, whose skill and 

 experience were undoubtedly very great, could not 

 avoid " breaking " a boat sometimes. 



