ge. We found that they belonged to
the Oxford House boats, which had just arrived at the other end of the
portage, where they intended to encamp, as it was now late. Robinson's
Portage is the longest on the route, being nearly a mile in length; and
as all the brigades going to York Factory must pass over it twice--in
going and returning--the track is beaten into a good broad road, and
pretty firm, although it is rather uneven, and during heavy rains
somewhat muddy. Over this all the boats are dragged, and launched at
the upper or lower end of the portage, as the brigades may happen to be
ascending or descending the stream. Then all the cargoes are in like
manner carried over. Packs of furs and bales of goods are generally
from 80 to 100 pounds weight each; and every man who does not wish to be
considered a lazy fellow, or to be ridiculed by his companions, carries
two of these _pieces_, as they are called, across all portages. The
boats are capable of containing from seventy to ninety of these pieces,
so that it will be easily conceived that a _voyageur's_ life is anything
but an easy one; indeed, it is one of constant and harassing toil, even
were the trouble of ascending rapid rivers, where he is often obliged to
jump into the water at a moment's notice, to lighten the boat in
shallows, left entirely out of the question. This portage is made to
avoid what are called the White Falls--a succession of cataracts up
which nothing but a fish could possibly ascend. After carrying over our
canoe and luggage, we encamped at the upper end. The river we commenced
ascending next morning was pretty broad, and after a short paddle in it
we entered the Echimamis. This is a sluggish serpentine stream, about
five or six yards broad, though in some places so narrow that boats
scrape the banks on either side. What little current there is runs in a
contrary direction to the rivers we had been ascending. Mosquitoes
again attacked us as we glided down its gloomy current, and nothing but
swamps, filled with immense bulrushes, were visible around. Here, in
days of yore, the beaver had a flourishing colony, and numbers of their
dams and cuttings were yet visible; but they have long since deserted
this much-frequented waste, and one of their principal dams now serves
to heighten the water, which is not deep, for the passage of brigades in
dry seasons. At night, when we encamped on its low, damp banks, we were
attacked by myriads of