168 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



be injured to a distant part, and afterwards 

 succeeded in extinguishing the flame. 



August 8. — During this day we crossed 

 five portages, passing over a very bad road. 

 The men were quite exhausted with fatigue 

 by five P.M., when we were obliged to en- 

 camp on the borders of the fifth lake, in 

 which the fishing nets were set. We began 

 this evening to issue some portable soup 

 and arrow-root, which our companions re- 

 lished very much ; but this food is too un- 

 substantial to support their vigour under 

 their daily exhausting labour, and we could 

 not furnish them with a sufficient quantity 

 even of this to satisfy their desires. We 

 commenced our labours on the next day in 

 a very wet uncomfortable state, as it had 

 rained through the night until four A.M. 

 The fifth grassy lake was crossed, and four 

 others, with their intervening portages, and 

 we returned to the river by a portage of 

 one thousand four hundred and fifteen 

 paces. The width of the stream here is 

 about one hundred yards, its banks are mo- 



