TRAVELLING ON WESTERN RIVERS. 299 



bark canoe, it is more difficult to build one. I 

 never knew a white man succeed in accomplishing 

 this task so well as the veriest lout of a red-skin. 

 It is par excellence their craft, and although we may 

 hourly witness their construction, the secret of their 

 success still remains hidden. 



We now enjoyed the relief afforded our hard- 

 worked legs, to an extent that could not be over- 

 rated. With unalloyed pleasure we could gaze upon 

 the changes of the landscape, and take note of the 

 numerous islands as we passed them, and all without 

 any exertion on our part, and, better still, every mile 

 we traversed brought us nearer our destination. 



At the same time, travelling upon these far 

 western waters is a dangerous mode of locomotion, 

 for out on the broad expanse of a river you are 

 an object of attraction to all eyes, and if a war 

 party of young braves belonging to a tribe of hos- 

 tile Indians discover you, your predicament will 

 be far from enviable, for you will be incapable of 

 defence, and at the same time present a most 

 enticing target, the ribs and bark of such slender 

 crafts not being so adapted for defence and shelter 

 as the sides of an ironclad. By turns replacing each 

 other in the stern, in spite of a small inward monitor 

 which kept whispering words of caution, homeward 

 we progressed. While the smoke from our pipes 

 circled aloft, and we knelt or reclined upon our 

 blankets, we lived in anticipation of a happy ending 

 to our journey, and reckless of the consequences 



