A lovely niche, at one point, was scooped out of the rock, over the coping of which poured a thin sheet of water, evidently impregnated with mineral, and staining the rock down which it poured with variegated tints of bronze, beautified by the morning sun.
With characteristic grandeur the bends of the river "shouldered" into each other, giving the expanses the appearance of lakelets; and after a succession of these we came to the first rapid, "The Mountain"-- Watchikwe Powistic--so called from a peak at its head, which towered to a great height above the neighbouring banks.
The rapid extends diagonally across the river in a low cascade, with a curve inward towards the left shore.

It was decided to unload and make the portage, and a very ticklish one it was.

The boats, of course, had to be hauled up stream by the trackers, and grasping their line I got safely over, and was thankful.

How the trackers managed to hold on was to me a mystery; but the steep and slippery bank was mere child's play to them.

The right bank, from its break and downward, bears a very thick growth of alders, and here we found the wild onion, and a plant resembling spearmint.
In the evening we reached the next rapid, called the Cascades--Nepe Kabatekik--"Where the water falls," and camping there, we had a symposium in our tent, which I could not enjoy, having headache and heartburn, a nasty combination.