On our first Sunday out we remained in camp to rest. We were all
pretty tired, and enjoyed the long sleep in the morning. The day
was fine, but very warm. In the morning Hubbard caught about
twenty small trout, and after luncheon he and George went up the
river on a scouting trip. When they returned in the evening, they
reported important discoveries. First they had come upon a small,
rocky stream flowing into our river from the south, which stream
Hubbard felt sure must be the Red River the Blakes had told us
about, and a mile above that a two-mile stretch of good water. But
the discovery that pleased Hubbard the most was some old cuttings
that apparently had been made by Indians; he was of the opinion, as
were all of us, that they indicated we really were on the
Mountaineer Indian trail to Michikamau, and that we undoubtedly
soon should come upon lakes and other good water that would carry
us through; and the discoveries of the scouting trip buoyed up our
spirits wonderfully.

On Monday morning (July 20) George took an axe and cut us a portage
route from our camp through a swamp a mile and a half to the foot
of a hill. This route we covered three times. It was impossible
for one man alone to carry the canoe through the swamp, and in
addition to it and the firearms we had at this period to transport
about five hundred pounds of baggage made up into packs of about
seventy-five pounds each. At first Hubbard and I found seventy-
five pounds a pretty good load to carry, and neither of us could
get even that on his back without help from George; but later on we
learned to back and carry with comparative ease a hundred pounds or
more. In packing we never used either shoulder or chest straps,
relying solely upon the head strap, which passes across the