rapid. Upon our return to the point where the two streams came
together we found that the other canoe, against my positive
instructions not to proceed at uncertain points until I had decided
upon the proper route to take, had gone up the branch on the left,
tracked through a rapid and disappeared.

There were no signs of Indians on either of these branches so far as
we could discover, and I was well satisfied that somewhere on the
north bank of the expansion, probably not far from the island and old
cache which we had passed, was the trail. But evening was coming on
and rain was threatening, so there was nothing to do but follow the
other canoe, which had gone blindly ahead, until we should overtake
it, as it contained all the cooking utensils and our tent. This fail-
ure of the men to obey instructions took us a considerable distance
out of our way and cost us several days' time, as we discovered later.

We tracked through some rapids and finally overhauled the others at a
place where the river branched again. It was after seven o'clock, a
drizzling rain was falling, and here we pitched camp on the east side
of the river just opposite the junction of the two branches.

On the west fork and directly across from our camp was a rough rapid,
and while supper was cooking I paddled over with Richards to try for
fish. We made our casts, and I quickly landed a twenty-inch
ouananiche and Richards hooked a big trout that, after much play, was
brought ashore. It measured twenty-two and a half inches from tip to
tip and eleven and a half inches around the shoulders. I had landed a
couple more large trout, when Richards enthusiastically announced that
he had a big fellow hooked. He played the fish for half an hour
before he brought it to the edge of the rock, so completely exhausted