166 BOONEVILLE TO SARATOGA. 



We built a boat, at odd times, studied up the maps and 

 guide-books, and the question of out-fit and supplies, 

 and got everything, route and all, down to a fine point. 

 We shipped our boat by rail to Booneville, had it trans- 

 ported by wagon to Moose liiver Village, and, having been 

 told that the river was navigable from that point up to the 

 lakes, we put our boat into the water there. That was two 

 days ago. 



" The river is navigal)le after a fashion, to be sure, or we 

 shouldn't be liere now. But it is full of snags, rocks and 

 rapids, and we made very slow progress and had a hard 

 time of it. The night that we spent on the way, it 

 rained fearfully. We carr}' for our bed, and swing between 

 two trees, a double-length hammock and sleep in it, feet to 

 feet. In place of a tent we have a rubber blanket long 

 enough to cover us both completely, heads and all. That 

 was the way we camped in the rain, the horrid din of a 

 thunderstorm with fearfully vivid lightning all about us. 

 For cooking utensils we have onlj' a frying-pan." 



"No coifee-pot ? " inquired I in amazement. 



"No ; after we have fried our pork or trout, we scrub out 

 the frying-pan and make coffee in it." 



" Spare me, on that," I said ; "I want my coftee in the 

 woods as good as at my own breakfast table, — other cook- 

 ing will take care of itself, with such appetite as the woods 

 give." 



" Oh, it does the business well enough, on a pinch ; and 

 we were bound to reduce our luggage to the lowest possible 

 point: Why, knives and forks and a spoon or two, and 



