82 FORT CONFIDENCE. 



Albert found more ready imitators in another 

 practice which he taught the men. He was ap- 

 pointed to attend to the officers' fires, and im- 

 mediately set about preparing his wood sledge 

 according to his own fashion. He first coated the 

 runners with earth or clay tempered with water, 

 coat after coat freezing as rapidly as it was applied. 

 Hot water was used in this operation, otherwise it 

 would have frozen too quickly for him to give it 

 the convex form and smoothness that were neces- 

 sary. He next washed the runners with water, 

 polishing the ice with his naked hand as it formed. 

 Canadians and Europeans looked on carelessly, 

 merely saying to one another, " What can the 

 savage be about ?" but none of them having the 

 most distant idea that they would follow his ex- 

 ample next day. The four sledges employed by 

 the woodmen were of equal size, and each was 

 drawn by two men. The drawers of wood went out 

 together, were equally loaded, and, to their extreme 

 surprise, Albert and his companion outstripped 

 them all on the journey home ; their emulation 

 was excited, they laboured hard the whole day, 

 and at night confessed that they were fairly beaten. 

 Then they tried Albert's sledge, and found it run 

 so easily, that forthwith they requested him to 

 prepare their sledges in the same way ; and during 

 the winter the sledge-men invariably dressed their 

 runners in the Eskimo mode. 



