With Gun ^ Rod in Canada 



very clear conception of the ethics involved and his 

 duties, your guide will seldom take advantage of the 

 fact that you are meeting him upon terms of equality. 

 As a class they take pride and pleasure in waiting upon 

 you, teaching, and making you as comfortable as possible. 



Now to return to the change that takes place in your 

 existence the moment you put yourself in a guide's 

 hands and start out for a week's outing in a seventeen- 

 foot canvas canoe. 



Remember that all your eggs are in one basket. 



If you are careless in your movements, you may tip 

 the craft over, lose your provisions, and perhaps even 

 your life. Though you may save the latter more or 

 less valuable commodity, an immediate trip back to a 

 base of supplies is necessary in order to refit, with a conse- 

 quent loss of time and money. Rough handling of the 

 canoe among rocks and snags may result in tearing a 

 hole in the light fabric with which it is covered, resulting 

 in serious consequences. Careless handling of firearms 

 is an abomination that no guide will tolerate. Wasting 

 food is also to be guarded against. If you are not an 

 experienced axe-man, never touch your guide's axe. 

 There are two reasons for this. They are both important. 

 The first is that you are liable to cut yourself and bleed 

 to death before you can be moved to medical assistance; 

 and the second is that you are apt to so dull or break the 

 edge of the axe that nothing short of a grindstone will 

 make it fit for use, and neither grindstones nor axes grow 

 on trees. Without a sharp axe it is impossible for a 

 guide to do his work of making camp. 



You may have some very exhilarating " runs " down 

 over rapids. If your guide hesitates about running you 

 over any particular rapid, do not insist upon his doing 

 so. He probably knows that certain falls are dangerous, 

 and he very properly avoids taking an unnecessary 



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