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Let's go back to the banks of our beloved river, you and I and get up early in the morning and run to the riffles near the old cooper-shop and catch a bucket of shiners and chubs, and then hurry on to Boomer's dam or 'way upstream above the Island where we used to have the Sunday-school picnics or, maybe just stay at the in-town dam near the flour mills and the saw-mills where old Shoemaker Schmidt used to catch so many big ones fat, yellow pike and broad black-bass.
This part of the river is hemmed in on both sides by high mountain chains and broken every few hundred yards by rapids and “riffles.”
It is a very good river with some riffles that can be waded down to the edges of black pools or white chutes of water; with appropriate big trees fallen slantwise into it to form deep holes; and with hurrying smooth stretches of some breadth. In all of these various places are rainbow trout. There is no use fishing until late afternoon.
A M. we came up with Drewyer who had seperated from us yesterday evening and lay out all night not being able to find where we had encamped. he had killed 5 deer which we took on board and continued our rout. the river is still divided by a great number of islands, it channels sometimes seperating to the distance of 3 miles; the current very rapid with a number of riffles; the bed gravel and smooth stones; the banks low and of rich loam in the bottoms; some low bluffs of yellow and red clay with a hard red slate stone intermixed. the bottoms are wide and but scantily timbered; the underbrush very thick consisting of the narrow & broad leafed willow rose and Currant bushes principally. high plains succeeds the river bottoms and extend back on either side to the base of the mountains which are from 8 to 12 miles assunder, high, rocky, some small pine and Cedar on them and ly parallel with the river. passed a large creek on Lard. side 20 yds. wide which after meandering through a beautifull and extensive bottom for several miles nearly parallel with the river discharges itself opposite to a large cluster of islands which from their number I called the 10 islands and the creek Whitehous's Creek, after Josph.
Then every few miles there ran a rivulet as clear as crystal, its bottom checkered at the riffles into a brilliant pattern like plaid delaine by the shining of the clean red, white and yellow granite pebbles through the crossed ripples from the banks.
The obstructions of rocky points and riffles still continue as yesterday; at those places the men are compelled to be in the water even to their armpits, and the water is yet very could, and so frequent are those point that they are one fourth of their time in the water, added to this the banks and bluffs along which they are obliged to pass are so slippery and the mud so tenacious that they are unable to wear their mockersons, and in that situation draging the heavy burthen of a canoe and walking ocasionally for several hundred yards over the sharp fragments of rocks which tumble from the clifts and garnish the borders of the river; in short their labour is incredibly painfull and great, yet those faithfull fellows bear it without a murmur.
As the Boy got up and reached for his stick, Austin stood there saying, to nobody in particular, that he'd just been over to No. 29, where they were trying a new-fangled riffle. "Don't your riffles do the trick all right?" asked the Boy. "If you're in any doubt, come and see," he said.
The survey of the day before made doubt impossible. Gettysburg looked at the boxes, the pits they had dug, the water running over the riffles, behind which lay the gold. "I wish Van was to home," he said. "He'd know." Their helplessness without the absent Van was complete. In the game of life they were just old boys who would never become mature.
Soon after we got under way it began to rain and Continued untill 12 oClock when it Seased but Still remained cloudy through the ballance of the day. the obstructions of rocky points and riffles Still continue as yesterday; at those places the men are compelled to be in the water even to their armpits, and the water is yet very cold, and So frequent are those points that they are one fourth of their time in the water. added to this the bank and bluff along which they are obliged to pass are So Slippery and the mud So tenatious that they are unable to bare their mockersons, and in that Situation dragging the heavy burthen of a Canoe and Walking occasionally for Several hundred yards over the Sharp fragments of rocks which tumble from the Clifts; and in Short their labour is incredibly painfull and great, yet those faithfull fellows bear it without a murmer.
Then there were a dozen others, and the three miles of riffles, and all the rest of it. At our present rate it would take us a week to make the Falls. Below the Halfway Pool we looked for Dick. He was not to be seen. This made us cross. At the Halfway Pool we intended to unload for portage, and also to ferry over Dick and the setter in the lightened canoe. The tardiness of Dick delayed the game.
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