et overhead, the roar of the
water was deafening, We pushed off again; but, after making a little
distance, the force of the current became too great for the men on
shore, and two of them let go the rope. Lajeunesse, the third man, hung
on, and was jerked headforemost into the river, from a rock about twelve
feet high; and down the boat shot, like an arrow, Bazil following us in
the rapid current, and exerting all his strength to keep in mid
channel--his head only seen occasionally like a black spot in the white
foam. How far we went, I do not exactly know; but we succeeded in
turning the boat into an eddy below. "_'Cre Dieu,_" said Bazil
Lajeunesse, as he arrived immediately after us, "_Je crois bien que j'ai
nage un demi mile._" He had owed his life to his skill as a swimmer, and
I determined to take him and two others on board, and trust to skill and
fortune to reach the other end in safety. We placed ourselves on our
knees, with the short paddles in our hands, the most skillful boatman
being at the bow; and again we commenced our rapid descent. We cleared
rock after rock, and shot past fall after fall, our little boat seeming
to play with the cataract. We became flushed with success, and familiar
with danger; and, yielding to the excitement of the occasion, broke
forth into a Canadian boat-song. Singing, or rather shouting, we dashed
along, and were, I believe, in the midst of the chorus, when the boat
struck a concealed rock immediately at the foot of a fall, which whirled
her over in an instant. Three of my men could not swim, and my first
feeling was to assist them, and save some of our effects; but a sharp
concussion or two convinced me that I had not yet saved myself. A few
strokes brought me into an eddy, and I landed on a pile of rocks on the
left side. Looking around, I saw that Mr. Preuss had gained the shore on
the same side, about twenty yards below; and a little climbing and
swimming soon brought him to my side. On the opposite side, against the
wall, lay the boat, bottom up; and Lambert was in the act of saving
Descoteaux, whom he had grasped by the hair, and who could not swim.

For a hundred yards below, the current was covered with floating books
and boxes, bales and blankets, and scattered articles of clothing; and
so strong and boiling was the stream, that even our heavy instruments,
which were all in cases, kept on the surface, and the sextant, circle,
and the long, black box of the telescope, were