CHAP. iv. AN INCIDENT IN THE WOODS. 55 



will die off like the marten or the rabbits during the 

 bad years. But having mentioned cats reminds me of 

 something that you will perhaps like to hear : it happened 

 near the Forks ; we shall come to it to-morrow it is not 

 far from the place where I killed the bear. 



' I was going along my line of traps, when I met an 

 Indian with a sledge hauled by two dogs. He was a 

 Montagnais, so that I could not understand much of his 

 language, but he spoke English a little, and we could easily 

 make one another out. I said to him, " You have a heavy 

 load on your sledge." " A heavy load," he replied, in a 

 mournful tone. 



' I saw he did not like to talk, so I asked him to come 

 to my lodge and pass the night. We got there early, and 

 cooked some supper. The Indian had plenty of caribou 

 meat with him, and gave me some, which he took from 

 the sledge. After a smoke he began to talk, and said he 

 came from the St. Marguerite, which enters the gulf a 

 few miles above Seven Islands. He had a nice little pack 

 of furs with him, more than I had ; and the caribou 

 were numerous about seventy miles up the river, but 

 there was a camp of ISTasquapees there who were killing 

 them off. After a while, just as it was growing dusk, 

 he asked me if he might bring his sledge into my lodge ; 

 " for," said he, " I have a body there, and I am afraid the 

 dogs will eat it if it is left outside." 



' He brought the body in, and laid it in the coldest part 

 of the lodge, where there was a little snow drifted through 

 a crack. 



' " Oh," said the Indian, " if the snow does not melt 

 here the body will take no hurt." 



