CHAPTER XX 

 ON THE NYARLING 



ALL night it rained; in the morning it was dull, foggy, 

 and showery. Everything was very depressing, espe- 

 cially in view of this second defeat. The steady diet 

 of Moose and tea was debilitating; my legs trembled 

 under me. I fear I should be a poor one to stand 

 starvation, if so slight a brunt should play such havoc 

 with my strength. 



We set out early to retrace the course of the Nyarling, 

 which in spite of associated annoyances and disap- 

 pointments will ever shine forth in my memory as the 

 " Beautiful River." 



It is hard, indeed, for words to do it justice. The 

 charm of a stream is always within three feet of the 

 surface and ten feet of the bank. The broad Slave, 

 then, by its size wins in majesty but must lose most 

 all its charm; the Buffalo, being fifty feet wide, has 

 some waste water; but the Nyarling, half the size, has 

 its birthright compounded and intensified in manifold 

 degree. The water is clear, two or three feet deep at 

 the edge of the grassy banks, seven to ten feet in mid- 

 channel, without bars or obstructions except the two 

 log-jambs noted, and these might easily be removed. 

 The current is about one mile and a half an hour, so 

 that canoes can readily pass up or down ; the scenery 



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