before their hard work in making a passage past the
rapids. I went with the mistress to a house that
was not far away for milk. A smiling woman met
us at the door and asked us inside; the house was clean
and neat. We tried to make her understand what
we wanted but failed until I put the pail between
my knees and imitated milking a cow. She laughed
heartily and by signs made us know she did not have
a cow. Stepping to the fireplace she dipped a
tin into a big pot that simmered in a corner and handed
it to the mistress. It was soup. Holding
out some money, she made signs to fill the pail.
Having done so she picked out five coppers from the
money offered, and bade good-by with many a smile and
nod. The soup proved to be fine, just one drawback,
its flavor of garlic. ’They use no split
peas to make their pea-soup here,’ remarked Mrs
Auld, ’and it is an improvement.’
‘No, no,’ interjected Treffle, ’soup
be good because all time kept boiling; pot by the
fire Sunday to Sunday.’ The chill in the
morning air made the hot soup grateful.
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 almost like bone, but even to them it was
hard work, for the sweat rolled down their faces,
as they struggled along the planks bent double.
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