86 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



after carrying off his bride, returned in the night and 

 stole back the horse given in payment. Kekekooarsis, 

 indignant at such behaviour, retaHated by secretly 

 fetching his daughter home, and was now in consider- 

 able fear of the disappointed bridegroom, whom he 

 anticipated might do him bodily injury, and begged 

 us to give him shelter for the night, lest he should be 

 waylaid on his return home in the dark. This we of 

 course granted, but his apprehensions appeared to have 

 been groundless, for the husband bore his loss with 

 perfect indifference, and made no attempt to regain 

 his wife. 



On the 9th La Ronde returned, having found but 

 little sign of game until a day's journey distant, when 

 marten tracks became tolerably plentiful, and he had 

 set a few traps. On the following day the frost set in 

 with great severity, and six inches of snow had fallen 

 during the night. The men now set to work to con- 

 struct a couple of horse sleighs, in readiness for a 

 joui'ney to the plains in search of fresh meat. Whilst 

 they were thus engaged, we employed ourselves in 

 supplying the larder, with Eover's assistance, and 

 rarely failed to bring in a supply of prairie grouse, 

 wood partridges, and rabbits. The latter were very 

 wary, and we saw so few that, until the snow fell, we 

 had no idea that they were numerous. When the 

 snow became deep, it w*as furrowed by their paths in 

 all directions, and we caught them by placing snares 

 across these runs. 



With the exception of wolves and buffalo, wild 

 animals of any kind are rarely seen in the Hudson's 



