The night was clouded and dark, and so
much of the way now lay through forests that there was little reason
to apprehend detection. The chief causes of delay were the rifts,
and the portages, as had been the case the night before. Luckily, le
Bourdon had been up and down the stream so often as to be a very
tolerable pilot in its windings. He assumed the control, and by
midnight the greatest obstacle to that evening's progress was
overcome. At the approach of day, Pigeonswing pointed out another
creek, in another swamp, where the party found a refuge for the
succeeding day. In this manner four nights were passed on the river,
and as many days in swamps, without discovery. The Chippewa had
nicely calculated his time and his distances, and not the smallest
mistake was made. Each morning a place of shelter was reached in
sufficient season; and each night the fugitives were ready for the
start as the day shut in. In this manner, most of the river was
descended, until a distance that could be easily overcome in a
couple of hours of paddling alone remained between the party and the
mouth of the stream. Extreme caution was now necessary, for signs of
Indians in the neighborhood had been detected at several points in
the course of the last night's work.
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