Canoeing With The Cree

Eric Sevareid, former CBC news journalist, wrote "Canoeing With the Cree" as a teenager.  He was 17 and his friend was 19 when they canoed from Minneapolis to the Hudson Bay.  They talked the Minneapolis newspaper into sponsoring their trip.  They got $50 to start and another $50 when they finished. They wrote articles about their journey and the newspaper published them.  They left in the middle of June and arrived in the middle of September.  They had to paddle against the current the entire length of the Minnesota River.  They had numerous portages.  They left without really knowing what they were doing.  They weren't prepared to portage.  Their belongings were in containers that were not easy to carry.  Beside the sunburn and the mosquitoes on their 2,250 mile trip, they had to fight discouragement.  Many people told them to turn back. Eric's friend, Walter, got a severe infection in his hand that set them back a few days.  They didn't have very good maps.  They were not experienced canoeists.  They learned the hard way how to handle rapids and the rough waters of Lake Winnipeg.  They were lucky to make it out alive. The book includes some photos of their journey.  This small, easy to read book, was a real pleasure to me.