142 NEW BEUKSWICK. 



geurs. A second attempt must then be made. Occasionally 

 the labor is varied by a spurt with the paddles over a long 

 reach of still water, or the water runs over a bar so shoal '.that 

 all hands have to get out and wade, to lift the canoe over. 

 . All this -experience is very exciting and interesting for the 

 first few miles. The sportsman is delighted with the fresh- 

 ness of the novelty; with the vivid green of the foliage 

 sparkling with morning dew ; with the rush of the cool and 

 limpid waters, and the lullaby motion of the craft ; with the 

 towering hills and leafy woods that hallow his seclusion ; and 

 the gentle breeze that wafts the smoke of his cigar astern. 

 But when it comes to a matter of two or three hundred 

 miles, with a journey of twenty days duration, the romance 

 wears off. In its more practical bearings the , voyage resolves 

 itself into a period of sheer dogged effort an obstinate over- 

 coming of mechanical forces by insufficient leverage ; a test 

 of temper and physical endurance ; and a slow match against 

 time. Sitting in the comfort of one's slippers and cigar, with 

 the blaze of a winter's fire kindling old reminiscences, one is 

 apt to forget the miseries of camp-life. Of the cloud in the 

 back-ground he sees only the silver lining. Like the wrecked 

 and gasping sailor who swears never .to go to sea again, with 

 the restoration that follows rescue, he remembers only the 

 fascinations of his ocean life, and ships with the first fair wind. 

 Let not the reader . forget that he who would enjoy the 

 charms and freedom of forest life, must also put up with its 

 drawbacks and discomforts. When the first flush of the 

 morning exhilaration is over, and the day grows sultry ; when 

 the Indians begin to reek and perspire with their exertions; 

 when the limbs become cramped and ache from their con- 

 fined position ; when the black flies swarm and attack with 

 persistent venom ; when all the birds and beasts have retired 

 to umbrageous cover, then the voyage becomes painfully 

 monotonous ; the everlasting click of the setting-poles grates 

 sharply upon the nerves ; the woods are painfully still ; the 

 river gurgles in doleful monotones over the rocks ; a given 



