UP-STREAM BY CANOE TO CHIPEWVAN 299 



It was very hard paddling, and it was not of that noise- 

 less, gliding variety we are accustomed to associate with 

 the red man afloat. One Indian was stationed in the 

 bow, another at the stern, and the priest and I were 

 amidships. We took our stroke from the bowman, 

 which was never less than fifty to the minute, and some- 

 times, when in particularly stiff water, ran up as high 

 as sixty. I am positive in this statement, as I timed 

 them by the watch. This is the common style of pad- 

 dling among the Northland Indians. Their paddles have 



SNOW-SHOES WORN BY THE AUTHOR IN THE BARREN GROUNDS 



a three -inch blade, and their stroke is simply a dig at 

 the water accompanied by a great deal of splashing and 

 noise. 



It rained for the greater part of the time, and when 

 it did not rain it turned cool enough to freeze the 

 water on our paddle-blades. There were patches of snow 

 all along the banks, and it rather amused me to observe 

 that now, in camping, we chose places where the snow 

 was most abundant, whereas hitherto I had been search- 

 ing for spots where the snow was least. The reason we 

 now sought snow was because the Buffalo River takes its 



o 



