by way of consent, and then the subject
was dropped, as the party had reached the canoe so often mentioned, and
fewer words had determined much greater things between the parties.

CHAPTER III.

Before these fields were shorn and till'd,
Full to the brim our rivers flow'd;
The melody of waters fill'd
The fresh and boundless wood;
And torrents dash'd, and rivulets play'd,
And fountains spouted in the shade.
BRYANT.

It is generally known that the waters which flow into the southern side
of Ontario are, in general, narrow, sluggish, and deep. There are some
exceptions to this rule, for many of the rivers have rapids, or, as they
are termed in the language of the region, "rifts," and some have falls.
Among the latter was the particular stream on which our adventurers were
now journeying. The Oswego is formed by the junction of the Oneida and
the Onondaga, both of which flow from lakes; and it pursues its way,
through a gently undulating country, some eight or ten miles, until it
reaches the margin of a sort of natural terrace, down which it tumbles
some ten or fifteen feet, to another level, across which it glides with
the silent, stealthy progress of deep water, until it throws its tribute
into the broad receptacle of the Ontario. The canoe in which Cap and his
party had travelled from Fort Stanwix, the last military station of the
Mohawk, lay by the side of this river, and into it the whole party now
entered, with the exception of Pathfinder, who remained on the land, in
order to shove the light vessel off.

"Let her starn drift down stream, Jasper," said the man of the woods
to the young mariner of the lake, who had dispossessed Arrowhead of his
paddle and taken his own station as steersman; "let it go down with the
current. Should any of these infarnals, the Mingos, strike our trail, or
follow it to this point they will not fail to look for the signs in the
mud; and if they discover that we have left the shore with the nose of
the canoe up stream, it is a natural belief to think we went up stream."

This direction was followed; and, giving a vigorous shove, the
Pathfinder, who was in the flower of his strength and activity, made a
leap, landing lightly, and without disturbing its equilibrium, in the
bow of the canoe. As soon as it had reached the centre of the river or
the strength of the current, the boat was turned, and it began to glide
noiselessly down the stre