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

Notes to Poges 111-131,214 275in answer to Elijah's prayer: "And it came to pass at the seventhtime [oflooking at the sea], that he [Elijah's servantl said,Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man'shand" (I Kings 18:44).we knew now that Lazarus would take that care off our shouldersThere is no equal in the field notes for this chapter's last twoand the next chapter's first two paragraphs: however, the statementof trust in Lazarus is echoed in a most praiseworthy, ifracially conscious, evaluation made by Vyvyan in her letter toher mother of 3 August, once the canoe trip had beencompleted: "Our Indian guides were splendid, speciallyLazarus the elder one. It was touch and go at first whether weturned back, for the water was very high and the current swift. Idon't believe any other gUide would have had the spirit to goon .... I can't see any white men doing the work they did. Theycooked, pitched camp, made hres, ferried us across the riverwhen we came to an impassable cliff, and were always cheerfuleven at the end of a long day. We were lucky in striking a goodtype of Indian, for they are a pretty poor lot as a rule. These 2were undefeated and undefeatable." His race is not overtlyreferred to in an evaluation of him in one ofVyvyan'spublished articles: "Lazarus was indeed one of nature'sgentlemen, silent, reliable, a watcher of signs, stalwart, with flatcheeks, wiry hair and power of endurance" ("On the Rat" 51).CHAPTER 19: A TURNING POINT (11-12 JULY)Although Vyvyan's held note for 12july mentions brandy attea, the description of the women's clandestine tippling in thewillows appears only in the published version; there, itcontributes to the book's ongoing reiteration ofVyvyan's anxietiesover the guides' reliability. As well, of course, only thebook's retrospective reconstruction of the journey makes theBarrier River camp a turning point in their ordeal on the RatRiver."Short hours of sleep ... are beginning to make us feel a bitempty."Vyvyan's field note for 12 july is the source of this quotation.we had to resume our scramble through white poplars andundergrowthIn her letter to her mother of 3 August, Vyvyan uses an interestingEnglish expression to describe her progress through thebush: "We walked or rather scrambled through thick brush likebeaters going through coverts." A beater is one who, inhunting, drives game from cover. Vyvyan used the simile againwhen she published her article in 1938 about the trip in BluePeter (303).CHAPTER 20: NEARING THE DIVIDE(13-14 JULY)CHAPTER 18: To BARRIER RIVER (II JULY)No field note mentions the women's disagreement withLazarus over the size and timing of the mid-day meal.The first five paragraphs of this chapter are not based on heldnotes, and the paragraphs about a "heightened sense of adventure"and food cravings are additions.Field Note for Sund'!J 11 JulyAll day they shoved the canoe on, both waist deep in waterpushing ... pullingDorrien Smith's field note for this date clarifies the date ofsome ofVyvyan's photographs: "Clara got a good chance toKodak the two guides toiling and sweating the canoe up therapids. "Gwen.,. made up her mind to produce doughnutsVyvyan's description of Dorrien Smith's creation of"puftaloonas" and the comparison between her work and ablacksmith's hammering iron have no counterpart in eitherher or Dorrien Smith's held notes.we had now come to niggerheads ... a nightmare form ofvegetation ... you will fall into the space between your tuftand the next oneThis is a fair description of a very common tundra phenomenon,but it neglects to emphasize that a thorough soaking