of the wharf. There we
saw a ragged looking individual, smoking a very short and black clay
pipe, with one arm in a sling, who seemed to recognize us, and waved
his hat vigorously with his well arm. Soon we recognized Young and
were pumping away at his well hand in our delight at finding his
injuries no worse, and that Cary and Cole were yet pushing on,
determined to accomplish their object.

Young's hand had been in a critical state; the slight injury first
received unconsciously, from exposure and lack of attention had caused
a swelling of his hand and arm that was both extremely painful and
dangerous, and which, the doctor said, would have caused the loss of
the thumb, or possibly of the whole hand, had it gone uncared for much
longer. Of course it was impossible to leave a man in such a
condition, or to send him back alone. So Smith very regretfully
volunteered to turn back--at a point where a few days more were
expected to give a sight of the Falls, and when all thought the
hardest work of the Grand River party had been accomplished--and
accompany Young back to Rigolette.

It was a great sacrifice of Smith's personal desires, to be one of the
re-discoverers of the falls, to the interests of the expedition, and
it involved a great deal of hard work, for, after paddling and rowing
all day, he had to build and break camp every night and morning, as
Young's hand grew steadily worse and was all he could attend to. At
the mouth of the river, which was reached in shorter time than was
expected, and without accident, Young obtained some relief from
applications of spruce gum to his hand by Joe Michelini, a trapper and
hunter, famous for his skill in all Labrador. Northwest River was
reached the following day, and after a few days of rest for Smith,
during which time Young's injury began to mend also under the
influences of rest and shelter, they hired a small schooner boat to
take them to Rigolette. On the passage they were struck by a squall in
the night, nearly swamped, and compelled to cut the Rushton boat
adrift in order to save themselves. The next day they searched the
leeward shore of the lake in vain, and had to go on without her,
arriving at Rigolette without further accident, and had been there
about a week when we arrived. The boat was picked up later in a badly
damaged condition, and given to the finder.

While Young outlined his experience we hunted up Smith, who had been
making himself useful as a clerk