320 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



weight of 240 pounds, the packers at a jog-trot set off uphill 

 and down, over rugged rocks and fallen timber, through fern- 

 covered marsh and dense underbrush. Coming to an 

 opening in the wood at the far end of the portage, they quickly 

 tossed their burdens aside, and back again they ran. Nowhere 

 could one see more wiUing workers. You heard no swearing 

 or grumbling about the exceedingly hard task before them. 

 On the contrary, every man vied with the rest as to which 

 could carry the greatest load and most swiftly cross the portage. 

 Rivalry sped the work along. Shirts and trousers reeked with 

 perspiration. The voyageurs puffed and panted as they went 

 by, and no wonder — the portage was three quarters of a mile 

 in length. 



Then away we went again, and up, up, up, we mounted day 

 by day, toward the height-of-land, where a long portage over 

 low-lying marshy ground brought us to the place where our 

 descent began; then for days we ran with the current until it 

 entered a larger river, and soon we found that endless rapids 

 interrupted our work, and down many of them the canoes were 

 run. The Hudson's Bay Company, however, never allows its 

 men to shoot rapids with fur-laden canoes; so it was on that 

 wild stretch of our trip that the skill of the voyageur was tested 

 most. 



FIGHTING WITH DEATH 



At the head of one of the great rapids Oo-koo-hoo, seeing 

 that I mated well with one of his crew, invited me to take a 

 paddle and help them through. Tossing in an extra paddle 

 for each canoeman we stepped aboard, and with a gentle shove 

 the current caught the hght canoe and carried us out to mid- 

 stream. Long before we sighted white water the roar of the 

 cataract was humming in our ears. We midmen sat upon 

 dunnage sacks and braced our moccasined feet against 

 the ribbing. Presently the bowman stood up and scanned 



