NEWFOUNDLAND IN THE 'SEVENTIES 229 



following canoes ; but no such untoward accident 

 occurred, and after some hours of paddling we 

 drew up our boats at our old camp near the head 

 of the lake, made a fire, cooked and ate our supper, 

 and after a couple of hours' sleep started again 

 the following morning, about two hours before 

 dawn. We had hard work on that day's journey. 

 The river was very rapid : our course lay up 

 stream, and we had to pole all the way. It is not 

 easy for a novice to stand upright in a small 

 birch-bark canoe, but after a little practice he 

 gets his canoe legs, and learns not only to balance 

 himself without danger to the frail craft, but to 

 exert in safety the whole of his strength in forcing 

 her up some rapid stream. It is astonishing to 

 see the apparent ease with which two good men 

 will drive a canoe up a rapid. They approach it 

 in the same way as does a fish, stealing quietly up, 

 husbanding their strength, and taking advantage 

 of every little eddy to get as close to the fall as 

 possible ; and then make a rush out into the 

 stream without any hurry, plashing, or confusion, 

 but with quiet, methodical, concentrated strength. 

 Once out in the full force of the current, and the 

 struggle begins. For a few yards the momentum 

 of the canoe carries her on ; then she stops, the 



