A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 83 



bed. I being the heaviest, had the most of it ; but by 

 the aid of a blazing fire, I slept warm and comfortable 

 till the morning air struck me, when the time came to 

 rise, and sent a shiver to my very bones, giving me at 

 iirst horrible visions of consumption, night-sweats and 

 early death. Our tally of fish taken during the day 

 amounted to fifty-three, weighing nearly two hundred 

 pounds, and I had captured the greatest weight as yet 

 taken at one cast, landing two fish, one of which weighed 

 two and the other three pounds and a half. A handsome 

 present the river gods made me for my birthday ! 



The next day, after an hour had been spent in vainly 

 trying to attract the salmon, our journey was continued 

 to the camp, the river as we descended proving worse, 

 the rocks higher, the rapids fiercer, the water lower, 

 our canoe frailer, till it came almost to dragging the 

 latter over the bed of a current instead of floating com- 

 fortably along its surface. All hope of ascending to the 

 head-waters was extinct, the rapids above the lake we 

 knew must be worse than those below, and the latter 

 were totally impassable for a loaded canoe. In our 

 despair, we fished steadily at every breathing spell, and 

 might have taken unlimited numbers, for they rose 

 gloriously. 



While walking unconsciously along, separated from 

 my companions, I was fairly startled at observing what 

 at first glance seemed to be a female figure seated on the 

 opposite side of the stream beneath the bank. The 

 impression was only dissipated by a close inspection. 

 The rains had scooped out of the bank a dark niche, the 

 edges of which were ornamented with vines and moss. 



