A CANADIAN RIVER 109 



downward journey, and I more than once 

 remained in the canoe for this, greatly en- 

 joying the excitement of a descent quite as 

 trying to the nerves as any toboggan slide 

 with which I was ever concerned. There 

 was a good salmon pool just above the rapid, 

 and there was always the chance that a fish 

 hooked in this pool would take the bit be- 

 tween his teeth and insist upon going down; 

 I do not think, however, that any of our 

 party ever had this stirring experience. I 

 remember that on one occasion, as we were 

 dropping carefully down the rapid, each 

 man using the whole of his strength to 

 steady the canoe, we caught sight of a fine 

 new pole which had got fixed between two 

 rocks and been left there by some previous 

 travellers. The temptation was irresistible ; 

 our course was checked for a moment, and 

 the coveted weapon snatched as we shot past 

 it, and carried off in triumph. 



We used to take it in turns to visit these 

 upper waters, sending up a separate canoe 

 to carry our blankets and stores. This com- 



