of the river and transported a mile and a quarter by land.  You may suppose, there was some work about that part of the journey.  The banks on each side of the river were very rugged and rocky; and we had to carry the greater part of our baggage on our backs.  One half of the party helped the oxen to draw the boats up to the place where they were to be put into the water again.  We found some of the boats were leaky, and a great deal of the provisions damaged, which was a matter of importance, as you will see when I get farther on in my story.  We were seven days in passing round that fall and repairing our boats.  During those seven days, we worked as I had never seen men work before; and, strangely enough, there were very few grumblers in our party.  We joked and sang lively songs, even during the hardest labor; and I got into a much better humor than I was in when I started.  We had an Irishman, named Jim O’Brien, in our mess, who was one of the best hearted and quickest-witted chaps I ever encountered; and we had a friend of his, named Murtough Johnson, who was as dull and blundering as O’Brien was keen and ready.  So, you see, with O’Brien’s jokes and Johnson’s blunders we had something to amuse us.  I recollect, at one time, we were pushing our boat up on the bank clear of the water, and Johnson handled his pole so clumsily that he fell into the river.  O’Brien hauled him out after he had a severe ducking in rather cold water.  The officers worked as hard as the men.  Every sinew and muscle was brought into use.  Colonel Arnold seemed to be ever active, cheering on the men, and often lending his hand to aid them.”

“What sort of a looking man was Arnold at that time?” inquired Hand.

“He was then about thirty-five years old,” replied Davenport; “of the middle size, and rather stout, his face was rather handsome; but there was an iron look about his mouth that many a man would not like; his eyes were of a dark grey, and full of fire and restlessness.  He seemed never to be satisfied unless he was moving about and doing something.”

“Exactly as I knew him,” remarked Kinnison.

“Well,” said Davenport, “I’ll return to my story.  At the end of seven days we were ready to move on; and we soon arrived at the Carratunc Falls, where there was another portage.  We got round that, however, without much difficulty.  The banks were more level and the road not so long; but the work afterwards was tough.  The stream was so rapid that the men were compelled to wade and push the batteaux against the current.  There was a little grumbling among us, and quite a number of the men deserted.  Two days after reaching the Carratunc Falls, we came to the Great Carrying Place.  There work was to begin to which all our other work was play.  The Great Carrying Place extended from the Kennebec to the Dead River, about fifteen miles, and on the road were three small ponds.  Before we took our batteaux out of the water of the Kennebec, we built a block-house on its banks, as a depository for provisions, so as to secure a supply in case of retreat.”