122 RECREATION 



die-wheel steamer was waiting to push We were up at four the next morn- 

 it upstream. ing, only to find the river hidden by a 



We had little to do now except to thick, heavy fog. The water, from 



keep the boat as straight as possible where we stood on the bank, was quite 



and in the best current. In fact, we invisible. After a time, however, the 



were all rather tired from the hard sun grew stronger and the mists lifted 



work necessary in passing the bridge slowly and melted away. We untied 



and sawmill At its best, a sweep is a our boats and worked slowly out into 



heavy, unwieldly thing to use, and after the current. There were a number of 



swinging one an hour or so one feels sharp bends to be rounded that morn- 



no desire for patented physical culture ing, and as the water swept round these 



exercises. We soon noticed that the places with greatly increased velocity, 



Saskatchewan River was very crooked, we had plenty of hard work to keep 



winding in and out in an apparently our boat from being flung ashore, 



aimless fashion. The banks for the About ten o'clock we passed the little 



most part are steep and high, and a village of Fort Saskatchewan, nestling 



considerable portion are covered with high on the south bank of the river. As 



trees and brush, spruce, willow and we passed we could see the roofs of the 



poplar the most numerous, with here Northwest Mounted Police barracks, 



and there a clump of white crooked About an hour's journey down river, 



birch. Along about seven in, the even- when rounding a curve, we surprised 



ing we passed under a ferry wire an old Canadian goose leading her lit- 



stretching from bank to bank in a long tie brood of goslings up the river. As 



graceful curve. There was no ferry- soon as she saw us she flew off across 



keeper's house in sight, but the tinkle the river, squalling and squarking as 



of a cow-bell and a dog's bark told us it noisily as possible. The little geese were 



was not far. Rounding a curve an hour swimming bravely upstream, and al- 



or so later we were startled by a loud, though one of the Frenchmen took the 



weird call. rowboat and tried to capture one they 



" What's that ?" I asked sharply, for easily escaped by scattering and diving, 



the sound was new to me. Our dinner was prepared on the 



"Only a loon," said the Frenchman, boat, a small fire being kindled in a low 

 and, sure enough, in a jew minutes we box filled partly with earth. The after- 

 passed the bird. He was close to the noon passed without special incident, 

 shore, and in the lengthening shadows Once or twice we had small rapids to 

 we soon lost sight of him, although his descend, but the increased speed and 

 mocking laugh floated down to us once the motion were more pleasures than 

 more. About nine we pulled nearer otherwise. At one place we saw an old 

 shore and began looking for a harbor. Russian woman coining down a nar- 

 One of the Frenchmen (we had three row path. As we passed her she drew 

 along) was in the rowboat with the up some sort of home-made fish-trap 

 tow rope coiled at his feet, and when and took out a large fish. We were too 

 we neared a little cove where the water far away to see what species, 

 was almost still he paddled rapidly The scenery along the river was al- 

 ashore, snubbed to a convenient tree, ways interesting. The banks for the 

 and we swung gracefully around and most part were covered with trees or 

 stopped. The sweeps were swung brush. Occasionally there would be 

 ashore for a gangplang, and we pitched stretches of grassy slopes, a little far- 

 our tent on the high bank. A fire was ther great masses of yellowish brown 

 kindled for supper and a smudge, and limestone would predominate, and 

 in due time all was silent, save the flow again there would be long places where 

 of the water without the tent and the the clay banks were almost bare. Many 

 hum of ambitious mosquitoes within. of these clay banks were literally 



