AN EXCITING RACE 
sharp corners, where the water was thrown with much 
vigour in one direction, then, being driven off immediately 
at a different angle, curled over itself, producing moun¬ 
tains of foaming water forty or fifty feet in height, and 
leaving great depressions near the inner corner. 
We cut some long poles, and I placed one man with 
a big pole on guard at each corner close to the water in 
order to push the canoe away toward the middle of the 
stream in case she came too near those dangerous points. 
That channel was some 600 metres long. When we 
were ready we let the canoe go, all spare hands holding 
fast to the rope, running and scrambling up and down 
and along the high rocky cliff, the canoe giving us violent 
jerks when the direction of the current was changed. 
With much alarm we saw her spring up in the air like a 
flying-fish on one or two occasions. We ran along like 
mad, out of breath and sweating, trying to keep ahead of 
the canoe. The two men with poles also ran along after 
the danger points were passed, so as to shove her along 
when she came too near other dangerous rocks. 
After a race of great excitement, we all, with bleeding 
feet and hands — the palms of our hands actually 
blistered by the rope which slid through our tightly closed 
fists — were eventually able to pull the canoe safely on 
shore below the rapid. 
In that mad flight I found time to pull out the camera 
for one second and take a snapshot of the canoe in the 
middle of the rapid. The photograph is reproduced 
among the illustrations of this volume. 
My men were so tired that it was impossible to go on. 
Moreover we had before us the second section of that 
formidable rapid, and we could not negotiate this without 
emptying the canoe, which was full of water, and readjust¬ 
ing the rope. 
We spent the night of August sixth on those rocks, 
the minimum temperature being 63° Fahrenheit. 
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