There were some rocks, but there was water enough so that these
could be avoided. If one channel did not suit us, we took another, and
although we were drenched in every rapid, and the cockpit was half
filled each time, it was not cold enough to cause us any great
discomfort, and we bailed out at the end of each rapid, then hurried
on to tackle the next. Each of these rapids was from a fourth to a
third of a mile in length. The average was at least one big rapid to
the mile. When No. 5 was reached we paused a little longer, and looked
it over more carefully than we had the others. It had a short, quick
descent, then a long line of white-topped waves, with a big whirlpool
on the right. There were numerous rocks which would take careful work
to avoid. The waves were big,--big enough for a motion picture,--so
Emery remained on shore with both the motion-picture camera and the
8X10 plate camera in position, ready to take the picture, while I ran
my boat.
At the head of this rapid we saw footprints in the sand, but not made
with the same shoe as that which we had noticed above the junction. We
had also seen signs of a camp, and some fishes' heads above this
point, and what we took to be a dog's track along the shore.
At the head of the next rapid we saw them again, but on opposite side
of the river, and could see where boat had been pulled up on the sand.
This next rapid was almost as bad as the one above it, but with a
longer descent, instead of one abrupt drop.
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