X ITINERARY. 



accidentally however, when the boat has got too far down in the great 

 suction towards the drop, and always with disaster. A boat-load of 

 men had been drowned some little time previously, the returning 

 labourers, too anxious to get down quickly for the holidays, having 

 persuaded the captain to make the attempt and thus avoid the delay of 

 the laborious haul over the portage at the side. 



The roughly crescent-shaped series of falls across the river, with 

 its numerous tree- clad rocky islands, broken channels, and rushing 

 foaming cataracts, presented a very beautiful and striking picture, as 

 is always the case where the rivers are thus broken up by these great 

 dykes. The full effect can only be got, however, where there is a 

 really high point overlooking the whole basin, which was not the case 

 here, where the scene must be taken in sections. 



Tiie portage is a ratner long and rough path across a rocky island on 

 the right bank, and it took us a long time to empty the boats and haul 

 tliem over by means of skids to a narrow channel above. However, it 

 gave us the opportunity of a thorough clean out, the boats always 

 accumulating a surprising collection of leaves, twigs, rotten wood, and 

 earth tluriug such trips, and we were able to spread out on the rocks 

 and dry all the things that had got wet or damp in the falls. 



As we had a double crew to haul on each boat, it was a fairly simple 

 oparation, and we were able to send out a couple of Indian huntsmen. 

 There was too much water about, they reported later, and the bag was 

 small — a powis, maam, and bush-tortoise. The last was almost invari- 

 ably one of the objects brought in, and they were much appreciated in 

 pepper-pot. On the return journey, with low water, half-a-dozen men 

 brought back a heavy bag of busli-hog, wood-deer, accouri, powis, 

 maam, marudi, and tortoise, the distiict being a really good one for 

 game. 



We had splendid bathing, diving and swimming in a large pool on 

 this island, into which the Avater rushed down a narrow channel. 

 When we passed on our return, it was quite a shock to see that the 

 bottom of the pool, which was nearly dried up, was but a mass of 

 sharp pinnacles of rock ; and it seemed almost beyond belief that we 

 could have dived head first and played about without injury or even 

 touching one of them. It gave us quite a nasty feeling at the moment, 

 though we realised that it was the height of the water in the first 

 instance that had saved us ; still we certainly would not have dived in 

 so joyously had we had any idea that these sharp })innacles lay below, 

 hidden by the dark dye-coloured water. 



A house had been built on the island as a police-station, where gold- 

 miners were searched on returning from the fields in the early days 

 Avhen theft was common. It was now abandoned, and furnished good 

 quarters for the night. Some of the men hung their hanniiocks 

 beneath, where there was not a high space, but a very heavy draught 

 saturated with moisture froui the falls ; and one of them — an elderly 

 black man, Pembroke, from the canals — woke in the morning with his 

 face swollen and fearfully contorted, his mouth and nose being twisted 

 almost to his ear on one side. He was a short and very broad built 

 mail and rather odd-looking, and this deformity gave him a most peculiar 

 and sinister appearance. The Indians were convulsed with laughter, as 



