story
just as Pierre told it to me, with the sidelights of Indian philosophy
and the natural expressions of wood lore that made his story much more
piquant and picturesque than mine could ever be. Anyway, I'll do the
best I can.

"It seems that one summer he was sent out by one of the big lumber
companies to scout for timber. He was told to get another Indian or two
and go up the Shipshaw River and report the growth of timber near the
water, whether he thought it could be rafted down or not, and any other
information that would be valuable for the lumber companies. He took
along two nephews of his, named Jean and Jacques, and an old Indian,
named Montagnais because he was reputed to be the head chief of the
tribe of that name to which all the Indians of that part of the country
belonged. The old Indian told Pierre before he started that there was
plenty of big timber in the Shipshaw Valley but that he would find it
practically impossible to raft it down. Pierre told the lumber company
this but they desired him to go anyway, stating that they wished to find
out definitely about the matter that summer.

"They started off and took the steamer to Chicoutimi at the head of the
Saguenay River. They there got into their canoes and were soon going up
the Shipshaw. They found this river one of great volume, and they had
many long portages to make and much fast water to pole up. It took them
over three weeks of hard paddling and portaging to get near its source.
At last they got as far up as the valley as Pierre thought was
necessary. It was Pierre's idea that on the way down, they would stop
off every few miles and go back into the country to look over the woods
This they did, and, of course, this made their progress down rather
slow.

"One day they came on a real Indian encampment at the foot of the
rapids, and as it was near evening they determined to stop and enjoy the
company of their brother tribesmen for the night. They found the Indians
very glad to see them. They told them that they had wintered far to the
north of the Great Divide and that they planned to get down to the St.
Lawrence and in touch with white people and civilization once more.
Later in the evening, they learned that the little party had stayed at
that one place for three full days, because the chief was determined to
catch a big salmon that had tantalized him during that time. This salmon
had been seen by all of them, as he lived in a big pool at the h