t upon the name of
humanity." Davenport paused, as if indulging mournful memory, and then
proceeded. "Near the source of the Dead River, we had to pass through a
string of small lakes, choked with drift-wood and rocks. So it seemed as
if we met greater difficulty at every step of our advance. At last we
reached the four-mile carrying place, from the Dead River to the stream
that leads into Lake Megantic. We took the batteaux out of the water and
dragged and carried them over the highlands till we reached the little
stream, which conducted us by a very crooked course into Lake Megantic.
I began to think our toils and dangers would soon be over, and of course
worked with a light heart. At the Lake, we found Lieutenant Steel and
the exploring party which had been sent forward to explore and clear the
path at the portages. The night after our party entered the Lake, we
encamped on the eastern shore, where a large Indian wigwam that appeared
as if it had been used for a council, served to shelter us from the cold
winds. Colonel Arnold ordered Hanchet and fifty men to march by land
along the shore of Chaudiere River, and he, himself, embarked with
Captain Oswald, Lieutenants Steel and Church and thirteen men,
determined to proceed as soon as possible to the French inhabitants, and
send back provisions to the army. This was the only plan to save the men
from starvation. You see the Chaudiere is a rough rapid river, the water
in some places boiling and foaming over a rocky bottom. The baggage had
to be lashed to the boats. Arnold's party fell among the rapids. Three
of the boats were overset, dashed to pieces against the rocks and their
contents swallowed up by the waves. Six men struggled for some time in
the water, but were saved. That accident turned out to be a lucky one,
for no sooner had the men dried their clothes and re-embarked, than one
of them, who had gone forward, cried out 'a fall ahead,' and thus the
whole party was saved from destruction. Soon after we entered the
Chaudiere we worked round several falls and kept clear of the rapids for
a while; but it couldn't last. We lost boats here and there, till we
hadn't enough to carry the men and what baggage we had with us, and so
we took to the land, and began our march through the woods along the
banks of the river. Now a kind of suffering began, which we hadn't
dreamed of when we started, but which we had been expecting before we
lost our boats. We had to drag ourselve