254 Thirty Years 
from making an insecure step on a slippery stone ; on 
one of these occasions, the largest canoe was so much 
broken as to be rendered utterly unserviceable. This 
was felt as a serious disaster, as the remaining canoe 
having through mistake been made too small, it was 
doubtful whether it would be sufficient to carry us 
across a river. Indeed we had found it necessary in 
crossing Hood’s River, to lash the two canoes together. 
As there was some suspicion that Benoit, who carried 
the canoe, had broken it intentionally, he having ona 
former occasion been overheard by some of the men to 
say, that he would do so when he got it in charge, we 
closely examined him on the point ; he roundly denied 
having used the expressions attributed to him, and 
insisted that it was broken by his falling accidentally ; 
and as he brought men to attest the latter fact, who 
saw him tumble, we did not press the matter further. 
'I may here remark, that our people had murmured a 
good deal at having to carry two canoes, though they 
were informed of the necessity of taking both, in case 
it should be deemed advisable to divide the party ; 
which it had been thought probable we should be 
obliged to do, if animals proved scarce, in order to 
give the whole the better chance of procuring sub- 
sistence, and also for the purpose of sending forward 
some of the best walkers to search for Indians, and to 
get them to meet us with supplies of provision. The 
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