THE LAST PISTOL SHOT. 53 



Friday, they fully expected to reach Joe Michelin's house 

 and get the relief that was sadly needed, but as the necessity 

 for keeping up became less imperative, their weakness began 

 to tell on them more. Gary's shoes became so bad that 

 going barefoot was preferable, except over the sharpest rocks, 

 and Cole's feet had become so sore that as a last resort his coat 

 sleeves were cut off and served as a cross between stockings 

 and boots. They were doomed to disappointment, however, 

 and compelled to camp at nightfall with four or five miles bad 

 travelling and the wide river between them and the house. 

 Fires were made in hopes of attracting the trapper's attention 

 and inducing him to cross the river in his boat, but as they learned 

 the next day, though they were seen, the dark rainy night pre- 

 vented his going over to find out what they meant. The last 

 shot cartridge was used that night on a partridge, and the red 

 squirrels went unmolested thereafter. This last shot deserves 

 more than a passing notice. In one sense these shot cartridges 

 for Cole's pistol were their salvation. Just before the expedi- 

 tion started from Rockland it was remarked in conversation 

 that the boat crew under DeLong, in the ill-fated expedition of 

 the "Jeanette", met their death by starvation in the delta of 

 the Lena, with the exception of two, Naros and Nindermann, 

 simply because their hunter, Naros, had only a rifle with ball 

 cartridges, the shot guns having been left on board the "Jea- 

 nette;" that on the delta there was quite an abundance of 

 small birds which it was almost impossible to kill by a bullet 

 and even when killed by a lucky shot, little was left of the bird. 

 Cole was impressed by these facts and upon inquiring ascer- 

 tained that the pistol shot cartridges ordered by the expedition 

 had been overlooked. He energetically set about supplying the 

 lack, and after persistent search, almost at the last hour, suc- 

 ceeded in finding a small stock in the city, which he bought out. 

 To the remnant of this stock which escaped the fire at Burnt 

 Cache camp, as has been said, is the escape of Cary and Cole 

 from starvation largely due. 



The value of. these cartridges had day by day, on the weary 

 return from Grand Falls, become more and more apparent to 



