62 CRUISE UF THE STEAMER CORWIN. 



adilitimi to tlie Diany tiiiics we liad been oliliged io juiii]) overbdard it caused no little bodily 

 disriiiiil'Dr't and luado our |)i(ii;i'('SS slow aad dislnai'teiiiiin'. Al iiinlitrall wc^ rearlied a point 

 where the |ii'os]iect was thou,i;li1 to he lietter. ami we ])it(died i-aiii]) ill the midst of a dleiiehiD^ 

 storm, llaviiii;' had no o))jH)i-t unity to hah for hiiieheon on aceount ol' tiie rain, the ])anus of 

 liiul.ti'er hei;-a:i to he I'eH ; hut now a fire was out of the question. After haviii;^; gotten our 

 e((iii|ia ;e under shelter, we i'iiilea\'ored to sat isfy ourselves with iiard hread and water —a diet 

 not calculated to increase tjie rii^idily of tlie hackhone. 



The rain of the day coutiiiue<l tlii-ou.nliouf. the niijht, and the foHowim;- ninrniii^ lirouj^ht 

 no chan.n'e with it. Not wit hstandiiiL;- t he dreary iiros^ject, we resumed our joui-ney. lio|iin,i;- to 

 lind a better condition of all'airs fui-fhei- alon^;. Contrary to my expectations, the nature of our 

 work seemed more lio])eless than before; the current seemed tc^ increase in strength every nule 

 of our journey, and before we liad ])roceeded very far above the camp we were obliged to aban- 

 don the |)addles and place ourselves in the trucking harness. The river baidvs at this j'oint 

 were such that tracking was m;xt to imi)ossible; the dense growth of bushes, together with the 

 tangled mass of fallen tind)er along the shores, rendered our footing very precarious. 



Shortly after starting in the morning we I'eached a very daugerous rapid, through whi(di 

 the tiu'hulent waters dasheil with an almost irresistible force, and I directed Nelson to adjust 

 the tracking harness in-ejiaratory to passing around it. When all was iu readiness I took the 

 steering paddle and sheered the bidarka into the nudst of the flood. The strength of the cur- 

 rent, however, was greater than I anticipated, and catching the canoe imder the bow, in an 

 instant we were whirled into the torrent. While \'ainly endeavoring to check its mad career 

 Nelson was dragged into the river and na,rr(.)wly escaped drowning. In the mean time, by the 

 severest e.xertiou, I succeeded in heading the canoe inshore, and linally landed some distance 

 behnv the rapids. 



Profiting by these exjieriences, we soon learneil to jiroceed with more caution and adojited 

 safer methods of overcoming the dangerous olistatdes. 



The region through which our joui'iu'y now lay was of the incist forliiddiug description, 

 and apparently almost destitute of life, both animal and vegeta]>le. The adjacent country pre- 

 sented a most remarkable descent; mountains and hills which we had i)assed three days l)efore 

 seemed far below us, and every mile seemed to iilunge us di.'eper into the s(jlituiles of the region. 



The river 2)resented the same divided ajjpearance, and no wi'll-defined (diannel could be 

 found. Late in the aftei'noon we reached a native villagi^ wliiidi apiiareutly liad liecii deserted 

 only a few days before our arrival. It appeared to have l)een occupied duidng the winter. 

 Several huts cont;iiued sledging outfits which had been cached until the return of the owners, 

 wlio had probably gone to the coast on trading expeditions. 



The heavy and protracted rains of the past few days had now caused very high water, and 

 we found, to our dismay, that the current had nearly doubliil in strength. The river gave no 

 evidence of changing for the I.H't-ti'r. but. if jiossible. seemed to bei-oine more intricate and wind- 

 ing tlum Itefore. 



It was im]:)ossil.)le to stein the current witli our {la-ddles. and even in ])laces where the track- 

 ing line could be used it required our utmost exertions to drag the l)idarka througli the water. 

 In ad<lition to this, the drenching rains which still continued to f;dl, together with the cold 

 winds, reiuh'red our labor very arduous. 



Tlu! basin of tlie river seemed to occupy a ti-a(d\ several miles in width: the banks were very 

 low. and an ordinary storm would cause it to o\-ei-How and inundate miudi of the surroundins^ 

 country. Many of the channels weri' undouhteilly caused by the spring freshets, at which time 

 the moving ic'e. imjielled by the cui-reut, plays havoc along the banks, destroying the tinibi'r. 

 plowing new cdiannels. and fre(|nenlly i-eaching even the native' lints on the higher laml. 



Many of lla^ huts we saw weri^ in (dose proximity to the water, and in another year's time 

 would undoubtedly lie swept .away. 



nil the following morning, tiie rain ha.\iiig coiil inurd t liroiighoiit the iiiuhl . the ri\ cr had 

 risen severaJ feet, and it wa,s very evident that, we coiild not continue our juiiriicy iiiiiil the 

 waters had subsided. The hard usage to wdiicli the canoe had lieeii subjected during the jiast 

 week had worn it very batlly, and it caust^d jn*' Jio little anxiety, the constant succession of 



