"We got through the first chute all right," said Bearie, "but the wind blew us on to the rapids above Green Island and the crib stuck on the rocks. We worked all day to get her off, but it was no use. At last there was a creak and a crash, and the whole thing went to 'smithereens.' One stick only remained on the rock, with Martin clinging to one end and me to the other. It worked like a 'see-saw'; when Martin came up I went down, and when I came up Martin went down. Though my eyes, ears, nose and mouth were full of water, I managed to call out,—
"'Ough, Martin; how do you like that?'
"Martin came up I went down."
"Then Martin went up and I went under, and he called out:
"'How do you like it yourself, youngster?'
"At length they got us off by throwing a rope from a point above and letting it float down to where we were. I managed to get hold of it first and tied it round my waist, and it was all I could do to keep my head above water in the raging torrent. I was not sorry, as you may imagine, to see a boat put out from Barren's Point to pick me up. They tried the same plan with Martin, and got him off safely, too.
"When we came to the head of the Sault we had to hire some Indians from Caughnawaga," continued Bearie. "They could not speak English, and we could not understand much French so father wrote down in his note-book a good many words which he spelt according to the sound, and with the supposed meaning attached to each word. In this way he soon had a number of words, phrases and sentences which he at once began to use. He found it very hard to get some words, and the Indians often looked very bewildered when he spoke to them. He tried for a long time to find out the word for 'pike-pole,' and at length decided that it must be 'Am-chee-brin.' He used the word all the way to Quebec before discovering that it meant 'Un petit brin,' a common expression among the French-Canadians, meaning 'a little.'"
"But that was not the worst," said the Chief. "When we came to Bastican we went to a Post-house* for dinner, and the 'bonne femme' introduced with great pride her only child, a black-eyed boy of about two.