at least wouldn't ever ha' answered to
the muster-roll of the exploring expedition!

"But that warn't the worse thing I had
to expec' neither. For it was just about
that time that them Eucaltaws would be
comin' up from Victoria all half drunk, and
not cariri' what they did now that they were
goin' home; and it was yet two days clear
to Victory,* and one to Nanaimy.† That
first night we paddled on gaily until both
me and the boys began to get sleepy, and
we drew into a cove just before daylight to
sleep. It was a soft, sandy beach—a cove
within a cove—and our little canoe drove
noiselessly on the strand. We were too
sleepy to take any food, except what we
had bin pecking at in the canoe, and
accordingly began to roll ourselves in our
blankets as soon as we had got ashore.
But, you know, them Injuns are a queer
lot, and are always prying around and
suspicious. I guess my boys, from long
experience, smelt a rat. Anyhow, just as
I was securing my coat under my head,
and had taken off my boots to lie down,
I was noiselessly shook, and one of the
lads, in a voice trembling with terror and
with a face white, even through his brown
skin, told me that there were lots of
Indians just across the point, not two
hundred yards from where we were sleepin'!
I jest quietly drew on my boots and my
coat and looked over the point, and there
true enough lay nigh about six canoe loads
of Indians, all asleep. They were doubtless
on their way up from Victoria, and were
Eucaltaws, gentlemen whom just at present
I would have rayther not have foregathered
with. Allers believing in the doctrine of
letting sleeping dogs lie, I slipped round agin,
dropped my blanket into the canoe, lifted
it into the water, and sneaked out of that
little sandy cove. You've heard of men
getting out of a place by the skin of their
teeth? Well, that was me, and them two
small Injun boys! It was!

* Victoria—the capital of Vancouver Island.
† Nanaimo, a small town, ninety miles north of
Victoria.

"We never halted until it was broad
daylight, when we drew into the flats south of
the Qualicum river, at a place which our
cap'n used to call the Rio de Grallas, of
the old Spanish charts, though them British
surveyors are a sight too big to use that
name now, and not being able to get a
better, have none at all on their plans.
There we had breakfast—pork and boiled
beans—and some deer's meat we had
brought from camp, with a panniken of
tea, and a snooze in the woods, out of sight
of the shore. It was gettin' for afternoon
afore we woke up, but I didn't much care,
as I didn't calc'late going further than
Nanaimo that day, and if I could ketch
the mail-boat there, of going back on my
old tracks agin. Then we put the fixins
in the canoe and set off agin! Good
Heavens! jest as we were turnin' the point,
what should heave in sight but some three
large war canoes, Eucaltaws, I could take
my oath on it. We saw them (which
would have been all right) but they saw
us, too, and as they sighted us I could hear
them givin' a whoop, and diggin' their
paddles into the water. I felt scared, for
I knew right well if they didn't kill me,
they would kill the boys or take them
as slaves, and clear us out of canoe and
everything else. As quick as lightnin' I
shoved the canoe up the little river, until
we got it behind a large log, where I felt
certain they couldn't find it, and then I
took to the woods with my boys. We were
now out of sight, but they were certain
soon to be on hand. Thinking to get a
sight of them, we climbed two thick fir-
trees close by in the dark wood—the two
boys one, and I the other. From the
thick branches we could easily watch their
movements. I hadn't very long to wait,
for with a whish, and a clatter of the
paddles on the canoe side, they came up to
the mouth of the river. They were mighty
certain we had gone in there, and we, or
at any rate our canoe, couldn't be very
far off. The river was, however, too shallow
for their big war canoes, and they had
soon to halt, as they grounded.
Another thirty yards and they would have
seen my canoe, covered over with broken
sticks and other stuff. I always wonder
they didn't sight it, but they didn't, else
I guess I would have lost the number
of my mess about that time. Then they
halted and took council about what they
were to do. One was afraid, and the
other darn't. Indians know that when
their enemies are in the bush, they have
usually muskets, and nobody likes
naturally to look down a gun-barrel, there's
no knowin' who may be struck. So they
stood and jawed until some more canoes
came up. Hitherto there had only been
four war canoes, all full of fighting men,
and I was scared to see four human heads
fastened to the front of their canoes. You
know them Coast Injuns don't take scalps
like the interior ones, but heads, I guess,