Nepigoii River Fishing 



dian blood. The worst of them are pure 

 Indians, slothful, dirty, sullen, and insub- 

 ordinate. It fares ill with the novice who 

 falls into the hands of such a pair. He 

 will be pulled lazily along in a wet boat, 

 portaged with exasperating slowness and 

 long and frequent halts for gossip with 

 friends, or greedy forays on provisions, 

 dumped into old camps reeking with the 

 summer's refuse, his tent pitched awry, 

 the cooking nauseous, unless he turns chef 

 himself, and his stores spoiled and wasted. 

 Then these fellows have a true talent for 

 sickness. They may give out at any mo- 

 ment, insist on being sent home to die, 

 or lie groaning and guzzling until it suits 

 their humor to go to work a while. 



At the other extreme, the best of the 

 guides are like the picked men of any 

 business anywhere. Alert, cheerful, ex- 

 pert afloat and neat ashore, they make 

 their employer's comfort a duty, and his 

 success their pleasure. They are com- 

 panionable, too, with their native shrewd- 

 ness, their original notions, and quick 

 sense for the queer ways of the many 

 people they have had to do with. Each 

 of five or six of such men who might be 

 named, and are well known wherever the 

 river is known, is as complete a valet of 

 the woods as could be desired. 



97 



