64 ON THE GREAT CHURCHILL RIVER 



and an open course lay before us at camping time. 

 At the first rapid— Pine Portage — we waded into 

 the water and let the canoe slowly down a shallow 

 branch of the river on the north side; at the 

 second — Birch Portage — we portaged the canoe, 

 stores, and specimens overland through the wood 

 on the south shore ; and at the third — Fall 

 Portage — we again portaged, but only over a 

 narrow twenty-yard rocky neck, to evade the fall 

 that was there, for the water below was navigable. 

 To travel, as we did, without an Indian guide 

 to lead exactly over the recognised route — which 

 is invariably the quickest and least laboursome 

 route, and the outcome of knowledge handed 

 down from one generation to another — meant 

 that when no human trace could be found on 

 shore, such as an old portage path, when naviga- 

 ting rapids, or where friction of feet had slightly 

 whitened a vague line over an exposed platform 

 of rock, we simply had to act on blunt individual 

 judgment in accomplishing our journey ; and 

 blundered on occasions and gave ourselves extra 

 labour. On rare occasions we saved labour, as 

 in this case, for a small map I possessed stated 

 that there were four portages at this part of the 

 river, while we only actually made two, though 

 a third would have been necessary had we not 

 succeeded in letting down the canoe at the top 

 rapid. However, travelling guideless as a rule 

 increases the labour and risks, and certainly 

 means loss of time ; yet, even so, there is some- 

 thing most attractive in attaining to complete 

 independence, complete freedom from reliance 

 on others, which is most typical of the primitive 



