C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

134 THE LADIES, THE GWICH'IN, AND THE RATrepeat the manoeuvres of the previous day following the course of the sinuousriver by cutting across from one group of nrs to another. These trees were dottedabout on the vast open country for many miles. Now and then we would travel inthe canoe, but directly we came to a swift reach of water we had to disembark tolighten the load. Then we would scramble up the bank again and resume ourself-dependence, while our guides paddled on in that strange current below thelevel of the land, where we could neither hear nor see them, unless we stood onthe bank directly above the canoe. Once again, a sense of the vastness of thecountry overcame us, like a threat from something that might destroy us at anymoment. The muskeg stretched away on every side, there was league after leagueofit, and if we lost our guides, now hidden below the earth's surface, how shouldwe ever nnd them again?We came at last to a peaceful lake and the four of us paddled across it together.Then the scenery began to repeat itself and something happened that increasedour pride immeasurably.Gwen had our wretched little map in her pocket, but it was of no practical use.The sun was shining and Lazarus had given us our general direction in case wegot separated from the canoe. Actually, it was Lazarus himself who was nearly lostand when we saw him following a stream that seemed to come from the northeastinstead of from the north-west, we shouted to him to come up into ourworld and reconnoitre. He scrambled up the bank, shinned up a nr tree,scanned the horizon and agreed that we were right. There was really not muchcredit due to us, since we on the bank had a wider general view than the guidesbelow, but if we had not both felt the same pride in our own performance ourconceit would have been unendurable to each other.The flowers in this open country were very beautiful and every species that wehad found on the way up from Destruction City seemed to be flourishing heretogether.We made four portages, the first being a very short one from one lake toanother. We did our best to help by man-handling the rucksacks and the lighterpackages, but we felt weak as straws when we watched Lazarus and1immy carryingthe heavy stuff. 1 immy' s strength was nothing when compared to that of Lazarusbut he was active and ever-ready for a job, with a disposition to laugh and smile.The next portage, again from one lake to another, was several hundred yardslong. The third one, where we stopped to lunch, was half a mile and here it wasthat we saw a mountain sheep in the distance, hurrying up a rocky face. We