Here the trappers leave
their boats and make no attempt to take canoes farther up, but
portage their provisions and traps the remaining 40 miles to Seal
Lake. It seemed quite thrilling to have arrived at the wonderful
rapids I had heard so much about. It made me tremble a little to
think of sometimes being on them in a canoe, for there was so much
water, and the river looked so big.
Below Point Lucie a broad bed of loose rocks reached high up at its
foot, and in the curve of the point were great sand and gravel-
covered hummocks of ice. For some distance below us the farther
and right bank of the river was lined with huge ice-banks, still 10
and 12 feet thick, which extended up almost to where the river came
pouring out from the foot of Mount Sawyer, in a leaping, foaming
torrent. At this point the river spread out over a bed of loose
rocks about half a mile wide, which broke the water into channels,
the widest, deepest, and swiftest of which flowed along the farther
shore. The smaller and shallower ones curved into the bay above
Point Lucie. A short distance above us several of these united,
and from there the water was deep and swift and poured round Point
Lucie with tremendous force.
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