A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 75 



thirty dozen, there might be danger of my falling short. 

 As it was, the fish destroyed in the course of my trip at 

 least ten dozen. 



A delicious night's rest was the reward of our efforts 

 at arranging a proper camp, and in fact, henceforth 

 there was no trouble from flies, mosquitoes, or any insect, 

 except to a slight degree during the day-time ; an annoy- 

 ance that a segar would effectually dispel. From a quarter 

 before seven to a quarter past eight next morning I alone 

 took twelve fish averaging over two pounds, and during 

 the day, while ascending the river for a short distance to 

 investigate what now became to us a serious question, 

 the depth of water, Walton and myself together caught 

 twelve, and in the afternoon twenty-eight more. In the 

 course of this day we established a rule to throw back 

 all fish weighing under two pounds, a rule we adhered 

 to till our last day in the river. The water proved to be 

 very low, and although at night we occasionally heard 

 the rush of a large fish up the rapids, the salmon had 

 passed above and were probably on their spawning 

 grounds, whither it now began to be very doubtful 

 whether we could follow them. It was late in the sea- 

 son, as we knew, for salmon, although we had come pre- 

 pared for them, and wished to catch at least a few. 



"We had picked up at Sault de Cochon, as a super- 

 numerary, a boy of about eighteen, who was one of the 

 most remarkable beings the sun ever shone upon. He 

 would sit for hours with his mouth open and his hands 

 before him, and, unless told, would hardly have sense to 

 eat enough to keep himself from starvation. After dark, 

 our men, with a hook and line and the entrails of a trout 



