proved it to be much frequented--by whom or for what purpose I could
not say, for I had seldom passed the limits of my farm during last
winter, and was nearly as ignorant of the topography of the environs
as the first day I arrived. I had not heard of the existence of a
river in the quarter, nor did I imagine there was any; the conclusion
I arrived at therefore was, that I had lost my way, and that my most
eligible course was, to endeavour to find the main stream, and by
following it, retrace my course to the portage.

I soon fell on the river, but my retrograde march proved exceedingly
toilsome; at every step I was obliged to bend the branches of the
underwood to one side and another, or pressing them down under my
feet, force my way through by main strength: some short spaces indeed
intervened, that admitted of an easier passage; still my progress was
so slow that the sun appeared before I reached the upper end of the
portage. Finding an old canoe here, belonging to the post, I resolved
on crossing to the opposite side of the river, where I knew there was
a path that led to the house, by which the Indians often passed when
travelling in small canoes. I accordingly ran to the lower end of the
portage for a paddle, where I found my men still asleep; and having
heard that the lower end of this path came out exactly opposite to the
upper end of the portage, I struck out into the woods the moment I
landed, fancying that I could not fail to discover it.

The sun got higher and higher as I proceeded, and I went faster and
yet faster, to no purpose;--no path appeared; and I at length became
convinced that I was lost--being equally in difficulty to find my way
back to the river as forward to the post.

The weather was very sultry; and such had been the drought of the