CHAPTER IV.


Our curiosity as to how our boat was to get up the rapid was soon
satisfied. Along both sides of the boat ran a stout plank, to which were
securely fastened a row of cleats, about two feet apart. The crew
gathered at the bow, each man holding a long pole with an iron point. On
the order being given by the conductor, who held the helm, two men
stepped out and took their place on the planks, one on each side, and
dropped the iron points of their poles into the river, until they struck
bottom. Then, pressing the end they held against their shoulders, pushed
with all their might. As the boat yielded to their thrust, they stepped
backward down their planks, making room for another man in front, until
there were four on each side of the boat, pushing with their utmost
strength. As the men who first got on the planks reached the end, they
jumped aside and made their way to the bow to begin anew the same
operation, of dropping their poles into the water, tucking the head of
them into the hollow of their shoulders, and, leaning forward, push as
they did before, receding step by step, the cleats giving the needed
purchase to their feet. The current was swifter than any millstream, yet
the boat was pushed slowly up until we reached the entrance to a canal,
smaller than that at Lachine, for it was only 2-1/2 feet deep and so
narrow that the crew jumped it when they wished to cross. It served the
purpose, however, of enabling the boat to pass the worst part of the
rapid, where it foamed in great billows. Quitting the canal the swift
current was again met and the setting poles again put into use. Our lads
were eager to try their hands, but a few minutes was enough, their
shoulders being too soft for the work. Those of the crew were calloused