98 NAEKATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 



finally struck the river by the merest chance. The Governor, on 

 reaching camp, looked as if he had been carried over steeps and 

 through gloomy defiles, which had completely exhausted his 

 strength, and he was not long in retiring to his tent, willing to 

 leave such rough explorations for the present, at least, to other per- 

 sons, or, if he ever resumed them, to do it with better guides. Poor 

 Wabishkepenais looked chagrined and as woebegone himself as 

 if he had encountered the bad influences of half the spirits of 

 his Indian mythology ; for the fellow had really been lost in his 

 own woods, and with a charge by whom he had felt honored, and 

 employed his best skill to conduct. The camp-fires already threw 

 their red glare among the trees as night spread her sable pall 

 over us. The tents were pitched ; the canoes turned up on the 

 shore to serve as a canopy for the men to sleep under. Indians 

 and Canadians were soon engaged at their favorite pipes, and 

 mingled their tones and hilarious conversation ; and we finally 

 all slept the sounder for our eventful day's toils and misadven- 

 tures. But deeply printed on our memory, and long to remain 

 there, are the thrilling scenes of that day and that night. 



At five o'clock the next morning, the entire camp was roused 

 and in motion, when we began to descend the stream. We had 

 descended about ten miles, when the Ontonagon Indians stopped 

 the canoes to examine a bear-fall, on the east bank. It was a fine 

 open forest, elevated some six or eight feet above the water. It 

 was soon announced that a bear was entrapped. We all ascended 

 the bank, and visited the locality. The structure had been so 

 planned that the animal must needs creep lowly under a crib of 

 logs to get at the bait, which he no sooner disturbed than a weight 

 of logs fell on his prostrated legs. The animal sat up partially 

 on his fore paws, when we advanced, the hinder being pressed 

 heavily to the earth. One of the Indians soon fired a ball through 

 his head, but it did not kill him, he still kept his upright posi- 

 tion. Dr. Wolcott then requested permission to fire a shot, 

 which was aimed at the heart, and took eSect about that part, 

 but did not kill him. One of the Indians then dispatched him 

 with an axe. He was no sooner dead than one of the Indians, 

 stepping up, addressed him by the name 3Iuk-wah, shook him by 

 the paw, with a smiling countenance, saying, in the Indian lan- 

 guage, that he was sorry they had been under the necessity of 



