CHAP. xr. COOKING IX EAINY WEATHER. 165 



woods. The operations of kneading and baking, or rather 

 roasting in the frying-pan, were successfully performed 

 under cover of a birch-bark umbrella, and before the 

 men had ' finished their sleep,' we had made bread, such 

 as it was, sufficient for the day's consumption. Our fire was 

 placed at the foot of a large balsam spruce. The heat 

 soon made the resinous matter ignite, and while we were 

 in the height of our culinary operations, the tree took 

 fire, and, notwithstanding the rain, the forked flames 

 crackled among the branches with so loud a noise as to 

 wake the Indians who were lying under a temporary 

 tent constructed of spruce and birch-bark. The Nasqua- 

 pee sprang up, and, running to the burning tree, snatched 

 something from, one of the lower branches. It was a 

 musk-rat which he had killed the evening before, and 

 designed for his breakfast. The other Indians after 

 looking at the burning tree for an instant, turned round 

 and went to sleep again. Michel busied himself with his 

 musk-rat, preparing it for roasting, while we threw water 

 on the trunk of the tree and extinguished the flaming 

 resin, which was slowly trickling down and making our 

 fire uncomfortably smoky. 



It is not an easy matter to cook in the open air during 

 heavy rain : the bread requires to be protected, both 

 during the important process of kneading as well as when 

 roasting before the fire in a frying-pan ; everything is wet 

 and unpleasant, and india-rubber coats are not the most 

 suitable garments for those engaged around a hot fire. 

 Considering the inconveniences under which we laboured, 

 the effort was highly successful and thoroughly appreciated. 

 Michel roasted and ate his rat with great gusto, inviting 



