of so small a party might not escape detection; but such was the case.  To one unaccustomed to the vigilance and intelligence of these savages, it must appear just as probable that the vessel could be followed through the wastes of the ocean, by means of its wake, as that the footprints should be so indelible as to furnish signs that can be traced for days.  Such, however, is the fact, and no one understood it better than the Chippewa.  He was also aware that the country toward Ohio, whither the fugitives would naturally direct their course, now that the English were in possession of Detroit, must soon be a sort of battle-ground, to which most of the warriors of that region would eagerly repair.  Under all the circumstances, therefore, he advised the flight by means of the river.  Le Bourdon reasoned on all he heard, and, still entertaining some of his latent distrust of Peter, and willing to get beyond his reach, he soon acquiesced in the proposition, and came fully into the plan.

It was now necessary to reload the canoes.  This was done in the course of the day, and every arrangement was made, so as to be ready for a start as soon as the darkness set in.  Everybody was glad to move, though all were aware of the extent of the hazard they ran.  The females, in particular, felt their hearts beat, as each, in her husband’s canoe, issued out of the cover into the open river.  Pigeonswing took the lead, paddling with a slow, but steady sweep of his arm, and keeping as close as was convenient to one bank.  By adopting this precaution, he effectually concealed the canoes from the eyes of all on that side of the river, unless they stood directly on its margin, and had the aid of the shadows to help conceal them from any who might happen to be on the other.  In this way, then, the party proceeded, passing the site of the hut, and the grove of Openings around it, undetected.  As the river necessarily flowed through the lowest land, its banks were wooded much of the way, which afforded great protection to the fugitives; and this so much the more because these woods often grew in swamps where the scouts would not be likely to resort.

About midnight the canoes reached the first rift.  An hour was lost in unloading and in reloading the canoes, and in passing the difficulties at that point.  As soon as this was done, the party re-embarked, and resorted once more to the use of the paddle, in order to gain a particular sheltered reach of the river previously to the return of light.  This was effected successfully, and the party landed.

It now appeared that Pigeonswing had chosen another swamp as a place of concealment for the fugitives to use during the day.  These swamps, through which the river wound its way in short reaches, were admirably adapted to such purposes.  Dark, sombre, and hardly penetrable on the side of the land, they were little likely to be entered after a first examination.  Nor was it at all probable that females, in particular,