126 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



for Ms fatlier's step, and at last took to firing his 

 gun at short intervals, to signal our whereabouts. No 

 answering shot replied, but about midnight Keena- 

 montiayoo appeared, bending beneath a load which, 

 on nearer view, showed to our gloating eyes the 

 heart, tongue, and other tit-bits of buffalo. These 

 were soon cooked and eaten, and over our supper he 

 told us that he had hunted all day without resting, 

 but had not found a trace of buffalo. On his return, 

 however, just before dark, he discovered a solitary 

 bull, which he killed. The cold had so benumbed him 

 that he was quite unable to cut any meat until he 

 had made a large fire, and afterwards was detained a 

 long time covering up the carcase with timber and 

 snow, to protect it from the wolves. 



The next morning we moved camjD close to the 

 dead buffalo, and spent that day in cutting him up, 

 and collecting a good supply of dry wood, which was 

 scarce at this place. 



The following day we found tw^o more buffalo, 

 and succeeded in badly wounding one of them. 

 Darkness came on before we could overtake him, 

 but we found him next morning, having been pulled 

 down and j^artly eaten by the wolves during the night. 



At this time Milton's face, which had been frost- 

 bitten two days before, swelled up with erysipelas in 

 a most alarming manner. We were 80 or 100 miles 

 from home, without any protection from the 

 extreme severity of the weather. We decided to 

 cache a great part of the meat, and travel back to 

 La Belle Prairie as fast as the dogs could go. 



