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CHAPTER XVIII. 



DANGEROUS NAVIGATION NARROW ESCAPE MOOSE RIVER BEAU- 

 TIFUL CASCADE AMERICAN RIVERS BRILLIANTLY-COLOURED FISH 



BEAVERS TRACES OF AN ENCAMPMENT MAN AND NATURE 



EFFRONTERY OF A WHITE EAGLE THE CANOE OVERTURNED BY A 



BEAR DINNER AT THE SOUTHERN HOTEL, ST. LOUIS. 



BUT to return to the Great West. Day broke bright 

 and clear. A gentle, mellow, balmy breeze kissed 

 the landscape with feathery touch, and the country 

 looked so reposed and peaceful that, if it ever con- 

 tinued so, the world we live in would too favourably 

 compare with the spirits' home beyond the clouds. 

 Sleep and dry clothes had done me much benefit, for 

 my head feels clear, my step is elastic, my hand 

 steady ; so when the canoe is shot out on the liquid 

 element, deep and strong is the hold I take of the 

 water with my paddle, while, to the disgust of my 

 companion, I cannot restrain expressing my feel- 

 ings of pleasure by whistling snatches of airs for- 

 gotten in my misfortunes, and whose dulcet strains 

 had never before spoken to the surrounding echoes. 



The further we progress the more rapid and dan- 

 gerous becomes the navigation ; boulders and rocks, 

 some towering high, as if glorying in their magnitude, 

 others conscious of their insignificance, like sneaking 



