40 CRUISE OF THE STEAMER CORVVIN. 



tiie fact' of the storm we si't onf early iii the moniiuy. Retweeii tliese poTiijes, as Las been 

 already stated, the river widens and the eurreiit decreases, so tliat with a .tfale of wind aheail we 

 found it almost as hard work to (h^s(H^iid as to ascend the stream. However, we soon got hevoTKi 

 this low stretcli of (^i)unlry and l)y 2 o'clock reached the upper end of the Icnver canon. Tliw 

 river now was rising- rapidly, and 1 observf^l with apprehension that many of the rock\- points 

 which had afforded us a footiiold in coming uj) were now overfloweil liy the muddy torrent. 

 We stopi)('d at the first convenient ledg(^ and all of the party, with the exception of Ta,li-(ali- 

 rok and mysidf. go;, out of the Ixjat. '{"he tow-line was then secunsd to the stern of thi' Ihi.-M 

 and the Indians on shore veered away or held on. as directed by Tah-tah-rok. In tins way we 

 slowly woi'ked our way through the gorge until within two hundred yards of clear water. 

 This is till' worst ])art of the river and it really seemed as if we woidil he coinjudled at the last 

 mo)nent to ahandou the boat. She was unloaded and all the instruments placed in a safe spot 

 near by. We tlieu all clapped on to the tow-line and let her go. carefully guiding her jiast 

 half-submi'rgi'il ro(d<s and tlimugh nai-i-ow passages where the water was deejjest, until at last 

 sli" rested safely in a (]uiet pool at the foot of the cascade. The rain now came down in streams, 

 and amid the discordant cries of hundreds of gulls, the roar of the rapidly rising river, and 

 the howling of the wind through the gorge, we hurried back over the rocks (jiarts of our hi-idge 

 not yet having swept away), and brought the instruments down to the boat, and at .") o'clock, 

 having safely accomi)lished what had never been done before, we camped at our old iilace. 

 finding our cache undisturbed. 



A large fire was built, and in spite of the fact that the storm was now at its height, we 

 were so completely sheltered by the thick spruce trees that w-e were soon dry again, and having 

 eaten a hearty msal we all lay down on the soft moss, and rolling uj* in our rul)ber blankets, 

 slept as soundly as if surrounded by every convenience of civilization. 



The storm lasted till midnight, when it ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and when 

 morning l)roke the air was warm and pleasant and the sun rose clear and bright in a sky that 

 was free from clouds. I spent the day in obtaining a set of observations for determining the 

 latitude, longitude, and variation of the compass, and the Indians, under the direction of Tah- 

 tah-rok, removed tlie willow '■cluifing gear" we had put on the boat, as it would not be neces- 

 sary to keep it on a,ny longer. 



At 7 o'clock ot July 27 we broke cam}) and started on our wa,y down stream. Soon we 

 entered the islaml system of the river, and. choosing passages not explored in coming np. we 

 shot past hundreds of small thickly-wooded islets at the rate of ten miles per hour. Once in 

 attempting to i)ass between two small islands we found our way blocked by a tree which had 

 fallen entirely across the stream, and we were compelled to turn back and j)roceed by another 

 channel. These interruptions occurred frequently while passing through this portion of the 

 river, but our progress was very rapid notwithstanding. 



Toward JO o'clock a brisk wind from tlie west sprang up. and soon increased to a mod- 

 erate gale, accompanied by a heavy rain, and being directly in our faces was exceedingly 

 disagreeable. At noon the sun came out. and I got an observation. Toward 8 p. m. we reached 

 the Indian village Avliere Stoney turned back in 1884, and were about to'camp. when a note 

 was lianded mt; from Marsh, dated Jidy 17, and informing me that in attempting to get the 

 launch farther down stream she had gone ashore in the rapids, and at the time of writing there 

 seemed no way of saving her. I detei-ndned to keep straight on to the launch without delay, 

 and so, after partaking ol' a hastily-pre]ia,red supper of tish a:id tea,, we bade our Indian friends 

 good-bye and started down stream. Soon ;i bend in the rivei- hid t lie lires of the village from 

 our sight. The murniui-ing of the current as it swept along the rocky shores drowned the 

 voices of the children at play. The howling of the dogs died away in the di.stance, and the 

 wind .-nid i-ain having ceased a strange silence fell upon us all. 



There was no need to piaddle now. The swift current bore the Pioneer along at the rate 

 (A eight to ten miles ])er hour. Tlii'oiigh narrow passages and deej) ])ools we rushed. Now 

 ))a,st low baidvs. with iIm' d;irkiMiing mountains away off across the purple tundra- ])lains: then 

 shut in by high i-ocky shores toppecj by clustering spruce and biirh, whose tops stood out like 

 needle-points against the star-lit sky. Now the river is once more a single stream, with au 



