held them over
the fire till they was done black, and Nipitabo ate one, and I ate the
tother, with a lump o' snow to wash it down!"

"It must have been rather dry eating," said Charley, laughing.

"Rayther; but it was better than the Injin's leather breeches, which we
took in hand next day. They was _uncommon_ tough, and very dirty,
havin' been worn about a year and a half. Hows'ever, they kept us up;
an' as we only ate the legs, he had the benefit o' the stump to arrive
with at the fort next day."

"What's yon ahead?" exclaimed Charley, pausing as he spoke, and shading
his eyes with his hand.

"It's uncommon like trees," said Jacques. "It's likely a tree that's
been tumbled across the river; and from its appearance, I think we'll
have to cut through it."

"Cut through it!" exclaimed Charley; "if my sight is worth a gun-flint,
we'll have to cut through a dozen trees."

Charley was right. The river ahead of them became rapidly narrower;
and, either from the looseness of the surrounding soil or the passing of
a whirlwind, dozens of trees had been upset, and lay right across the
narrow stream in terrible confusion. What made the thing worse was that
the banks on either side, which were low and flat, were covered with
such a dense thicket down to the water's edge, that the idea of making a
portage to overcome the barrier seemed altogether hopeless.

"Here's a pretty business, to be sure!" cried Charley, in great disgust.

"Never say die, Mister Charles," replied Jacques, taking up the axe from
the bottom of the canoe; "it's quite clear that cuttin' through the
trees is easier than cuttin' through the bushes, so here goes."

For fully three hours the travellers were engaged in cutting their way
up the encumbered stream, during which time they did not advance three
miles; and it was evening ere they broke down the last barrier and
paddled out into a sheet of clear water again.

"That'll prepare us for the geese, Jacques," said Charley, as he wiped
the perspiration from his brow; "there's nothing like warm work for
whetting the appetite and making one sleep soundly."

"That's true," replied the hunter, resuming his paddle. "I often wonder
how them white-faced fellows in the settlements manage to keep body and
soul together--a-sittin', as they do, all day in the house, and a-lyin'
all night in a feather bed. For my part, rather than live as they do, I
would cut my way up streams like them we've just passed ev