SHECATICA AND JACQUES CARTIER 



the forest, they have journeyed back and 

 forth for centuries. Many tons of furs have 

 been brought by this portage, which leads 

 over the hills and by little lakes to the Big 

 Coxipi River, then by a series of lakes and 

 portages to the St. Paul River, and so on over 

 the height of land to Hamilton Inlet. 



One not familiar with Indian portage-paths 

 might picture a broad, smooth path, almost 

 a road, over the mountains and through the 

 forest, as a result of such long usage. This is 

 not the case, however, for the portage is but 

 a narrow footpath in which men may walk 

 in single file, a path that winds and twists to 

 avoid obstacles, some of which, like fallen 

 trees, may have long since disappeared. A 

 portage-path well suits the purposes of an or- 

 nithologist, for in it he may cover large areas 

 of country without the necessity of strug- 

 gling through the thick growths except for 

 short forays on either side, and he has no 

 need of watching his direction lest he be lost. 

 Its superiority was well shown that morning 

 when I stumbled upon the portage and went 

 a couple of miles into the interior, while the 

 botanist, not finding it near the Little Coxipi 



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