FLOATING DOWN THE ATHABASCA. 87 



carol, in which he was occasionally joined by Gaultier ; 

 and as they dipped their paddles they sang in unison 

 an old Canadian boat-song, much to Jake's disgust. 



" Wagh ! " he exclaimed, after some muttered dissatis- 

 faction, " ye'll scare all the birds off the water with yer 

 squawkin' ! I've been a-tryin' to get sight on a swan 

 this half-hour, an' the critters takes to wing jest as I 

 squints at 'em. Ye're enuff to frighten the feathers off 

 a turkey-buzzard ! " 



Thus admonished, the lads would hold their peace 

 for a time; but under the exhilarating influence of 

 bright skies, and brilliant sunshine lighting up the 

 emerald glades of the forests and sparkling on the 

 waves of the river, they would again incur old Jake's 

 censure by the indulgence of their light-hearted mirth. 



Thus they journeyed on. Each succeeding day found 

 them alert at sunrise ; and as the fatigue of travelling 

 down stream was inconsiderable, they often prolonged 

 their day's journey until the silver moon sailed above 

 the woods and glanced on the dimpled surface of the 

 water. 



One evening as they were landing an unusual cir- 

 cumstance occurred. The place they had selected for 

 their camp was just at the point of a short promontory 

 or bend in the bank which projected into the Athabasca 

 for some twenty or thirty yards. The moon had been 

 clouded for some minutes, but had just emerged from 

 the fleecy vapours which had eclipsed her beams as the 

 party landed on the point. This was but a few yards 



