Читать книгу The Journey to the Polar Sea - Franklin John - Страница 34

After a short delay at this post we sailed through the remainder of Swampy Lake and slept at the Lower Portage in Jack River; the distance sailed today being sixteen miles and a half.

Jack River is only eight miles long but, being full of bad rapids, it detained us considerably. At seven in the morning of the 24th we crossed the Long Portage where the woods, having caught fire in the summer, were still smoking. This is a common accident owing to the neglect of the Indians and voyagers in not putting out their fires, and in a dry season the woods may be seen blazing to the extent of many miles. We afterwards crossed the Second, or Swampy, Portage and in the evening encamped on the Upper Portage, where we were overtaken by an Indian bringing an answer from Governor Williams to a letter I had written to him on the 15th in which he renewed his injunctions to the gentlemen of the boats accompanying us to afford us every assistance in their power. The Aurora Borealis appeared this evening in form of a bright arch extending across the zenith in a North-West and South-East direction. The extent of our voyage today was two miles.