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Show 3972 Kane- D 1992 strength, and all we needed was a little practice, with the right kind of teacher, and we got quite a lot of it there for three or four days while the provisions were being packed in the sacks and got ready to pack in the boat. When we started, we were fairly good; by the time we got all the way through, we were pretty good oarsmen. Q which boat led the expedition? A Mr. Stanton's boat. Q You and Mr. Gibson were the oarsmen? A Yes, and Mr. McDonald was the steersman; Mr. Stanton rode in the bow of the boat facing down the river, right at my back. Q How many pairs of oars did you use on each boat? A Two pairs on each boat; each man had two oars; my recollection now, they were ten- foot oars, might have been nine foot six; they were about that; they were extra long oars. Our boats were overloaded, of course heavy to pull and hard to pull; no rough water bothered them; they wouldn't sink or upset; air- tight compartments would keep them up when they were full of water; with their loads and the men in, they would go down level with the water, be hard to handle, but we know we would always have a boat under us, if we didn't get washed out ourselves. We were fixed so we could out our feet in sort of a |