were so many, that they begrudged the few minutes necessary to
properly lash the loads into the boats, each time they broke camp; and
delay and disaster were the results. As the day was nearly spent, camp
was made but about a mile from the last, and time used in repairing
damages. A very ingenious baker for bread was contrived by Cole from
an empty flour tin, a new paddle made to replace the one lost, and a
redistribution of the baggage remaining effected.

In the following five days sixty-six miles were made with a few short
carries, some rowing and a good deal of hard tracking. Having passed
the Mininipi river and rapids, the latter being the worst on the
river, the bank furnishing almost no foothold for tracking the Mauni
rapids were reached and finally at 5 P.M., Aug. 6th, the party emerged
into Lake Waminikapo. As Cary's journal puts it, here the party "first
indulged in hilarity." The hardest part of the work was over and had
been done in much less time than had been expected. According to all
accounts the falls should be found only thirty miles beyond the head
of the lake, which is forty miles long and good rowing water, and
about three weeks time yet remained before they were due at Rigolette.
Added to this a perfect summer afternoon, comparatively smooth water,
running around the base of a magnificent cliff and opening out through
a gorge with precipitous sides, showing a beautiful vista of lake and
mountain, with the knowledge of rapids behind and the object of the
trip but a short way ahead and easy travelling most of that way, and
we may readily understand why these tired and travel worn voyagers
felt hilarious. Cary says of the scene: "As we gradually worked out of
the swift water the terraces of sand and stones were seen to give way
and the ridges beyond to approach one another and to erect themselves,
until at the lake's mouth we entered a grand portal between cliffs on
either hand towering for hundreds of feet straight into the air. And