CHAP. iv. THE INDIAN AND HIS DEAD COUSIN. 57 



cat, and followed it. My cousin was first, and he turned 

 round and said to me, ' I '11 go round that mountain, if 

 you go up the valley with the dogs, and we are sure to 

 get him.' We separated. In an hour I heard a gun, 

 and then sat down, and I waited long. Night was 

 coming on ; I thought I would go and look. I could 

 find nothing, so, as it was getting dark, I fired my gun : 

 no answer. I fired again : no answer. Something, I 

 said, has happened to my cousin : I must follow his track 

 as soon as it is daylight. 



' " I pulled some sapin,* made a bed on the snow, drew 

 some branches over me, and slept weh 1 . Next morning I 

 followed the tracks, and before I got half round the 

 mountain I saw my cousin. He was nearly dead could 

 just speak. Close to him was the cat, frozen stiff. My 

 cousin had slipped into a crack of the rock just after he 

 had fired and wounded the cat, when he was within twenty 

 yards of it. One of his legs was broken. As soon as he 

 fell, the cat sprang upon him, and tore off part of his 

 scalp ; he killed it with his knife, but could not get out of 

 the crack on account of his broken leg ; he could not 

 reach his gun to fire it off, and let rne know. There he 

 must have remained, and have died alone, if I had not 

 chanced to come. I lifted him out of the crack, but his 

 fingers snapped off they were frozen. He just said to 

 me, ' Nipi ! nipi ! ' water ! water ! I quickly made a 

 fire, put some snow in my blanket, held it over the flame, 

 and got him some water. He told me to take him to 

 Seven Islands or the Moisie, and bury him there. He 



* Branches of the spruce. 



