210 LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 



canoe eight loads, four trips for each of us, over 

 every portage. This enabled us to make but 

 slow progress and we averaged only about six 

 miles per day net. William stood this hard 

 work pretty well. He was young and strong, 

 and taking quite a liking to this novel kind of 

 life. We had also some fishing and shooting, 

 which he enjoyed very much and if it had not 

 been for his dread of Indians he would have been 

 quite happy. He dogged my footsteps all the 

 time, and could not remain alone five minutes 

 at night in our shelter camp. He used to crawl 

 into the very Bottom, so as to lie behind me. 



On the ninth day we reached the forks of the 

 Trinity. Here we had a long portage or carry 

 of four miles in length. We had also a camp 

 there, where a portion of our kit was to be left. 

 It was also one of our fishing places and there we 

 dried trout tor bait. It was then about the be- 

 ginning of October and the leaves were commenc- 

 ing to fall, but the undergrowth was still pretty 

 dense. The portage we had to make that morn- 

 ing was one seldom used and was overgrown with 

 alders and other small shrubs. I always carried 

 the canoe, as I was afraid to trust William with 

 it, in case he might smash it by a fall. Shoul- 

 dering it I started on, William following with 

 one pack, our tin kettle and two axes. The por- 

 tage led up a long gully, and when about half 

 way up the mountain, the gully forked and it 



