George came upon the rotten poles of an old Indian wigwam, and this
discovery made Hubbard happy; he accepted it as evidence that Goose
Creek was the river mapped as the "Northwest" and the Indian route
to Michikamau. Accordingly it was decided to follow the southerly
branch, and to leave the main stream at this point.

I was glad to leave the valley of the Susan. Our whole course up
the valley had been torturous and disheartening. We had been out
fifteen days from Northwest River Post and had covered only eighty
miles. Hubbard had been ill, and I had been ill. Always, as we
pressed onward, I dreaded the prospect of retracing our steps
through the Susan Valley. I hated the valley from end to end. I
have more reason to hate it now. To me it is the Valley of the
Shadow of Death.




VI. SEARCHING FOR A TRAIL

When we portaged into Goose Creek on Friday, July 31st, Hubbard had
quite recovered from his illness, I, too, was well again, and our
appetites had returned. It is true that my legs and feet were much
swollen from the continuous work in the cold river, but the
swelling caused me no inconvenience. All of us, in fact, were in
better shape for the fight against the wild than at any time since
the start.

For three or four miles up Goose Creek the rapids were almost
continuous, and we had to portage for practically the whole of the