Volume 1

30 GRAND GALET—JAMES FALLS—WOOD PORTAGES.
two bales new tobacco, one bale canal tobacco, one bale kettles,
one bale balls, one bale shot, one case guns. I was
surprised that a keg of sugar drifted down about half a mile
below the rapid, as its weight was 8/ lbs.; it proved to be
but little damaged. The kegs of gunpowder also floated a
great distance, and did not leak. Whilst we were very
busily employed repairing damages, by patching and mending
the canoe and drying the property, a few Indians came
to us. I employed them to search for the goods, but they
could find none. They appeared insolent, and troubled me
a long time for liquor, but we gave them none. This
evening we had a terrible storm, with thunder, lightning,
and rain.
Sunday, Aug. loth. This morning we made another
attempt to recover our packages, but our labor was in vain.
Although, at the place where the canoe upset, the water
was not more than six feet deep, the current was so swift
that everything must have been swept below the falls.
4 p. m. we were ready, having patched our broken canoe as
best we could, and soon came to where the Indians were
camped, on a small island. Gave them some liquor for
dressed skins, and proceeded to Grand Galet," where we
put up for the night.
Aug. nth. At daybreak we loaded and embarked
;
our
broken canoe was very leaky. Came down to Chute a
Jacques portage, of about 150 paces; thence it is but a
few miles to Grande Pointe des Bois, a portage of about 400
paces ; thence it is but a few yards to Petite Pointe des
Bois portage, which is about 150 paces over. Here we
overtook 24 canoes bound for different parts. Everyone
2* This was a usual camping-place between Portage de I'lsle and the falls
about to be mentioned.
At
Galet means some sort of rock, and the distinction in
voyageurs' usage between galet, roche or rocher, and pierre, is not always clear.
But galet generally seems to indicate large smooth rock in mass, as distinguished
both from large broken or sharp rocks and from small stones ;
a galet is what
we should call a bowlder ; and I find Grand Galet sometimes formally translated
Big Bowlder, as a place-name. The word is sometimes miswritten galle, pi.
galles ;
and Thompson's MS, has galley in some places.