a few mouthfuls of pemmican, and then rush out again for fresh air;
our hands swinging like the sails of a windmill round our heads, while
every now and then, as a mosquito fastened on a tender part, we gave
ourselves a resounding slap on the side of the head, which, had it come
from the hand of another, would certainly have raised in us a most
pugnacious spirit of resentment. In this manner we continued rushing
out of and into the smoke till supper was finished, and then prepared
for sleep. This time, however, I was determined not to be tormented; so
I cut four stakes, drove them into the ground, and threw over them my
gauze mosquito-net, previously making a small fire, with wet grass on
it, to raise a smoke and prevent intruders from entering while I was in
the act of putting it on; then, cautiously raising one end, I bolted in
after the most approved harlequinian style, leaving my discomfited
tormentors wondering at the audacity of a man who could snore in a state
of unconcerned felicity in the very midst of the enemy's camp.

On the following morning we started at an early hour. The day was
delightfully cool, and mosquitoes were scarce, so that we felt
considerably comfortable as we glided quietly up the current. In this
way we proceeded till after breakfast, when we came in sight of the
first portage, on which we landed. In a surprisingly short time our
luggage, etcetera, was pitched ashore, and the canoe carried over by the
Indians, while I followed with some of the baggage; and in half an hour
we were ready to start from the upper end of the portage. While
carrying across the last few articles, one of the Indians killed two
fish called suckers, which they boiled on the spot and devoured
immediately.

Towards sunset we paddled quietly up to the "White Mud Portage," where
there is a fall, of about seven or eight feet, of extreme rapidity,
shooting over the edge in an arch of solid water, which falls hissing
and curling into the stream below. Here we intended to encamp. As we
approached the cataract, a boat suddenly appeared on the top of it, and
shot with the speed of lightning into the boiling water beneath, its
reckless crew shouting, pulling, laughing, and hallooing, as it swept
round a small point at the foot of the fall and ran aground in a bay or
hollow, where the eddying water, still covered with patches of foam
after its mighty leap, floated quietly round the shore. They had
scarcely landed when a