CHAPTER IX 



THE LAND OF THE MUSK-OX 



A7AR cry it was from bright June at Port 

 Chippewayan to dim October on Great Slave 

 Lake. 



Two long, laborious months Rea and Jones 

 threaded the crooked shores of the great inland sea, 

 to halt at the extreme northern end, where a plunging 

 outlet formed the source of a river. Here they found 

 a stone chimney and fireplace standing among the 

 darkened, decayed ruins of a cabin. 



&quot; We mustn t lose no time,&quot; said Rea. &quot; I feel 

 the winter in the wind. An see how dark the days 

 are gettin on us.&quot; 



&quot; I m for hunting musk-oxen,&quot; replied Jones. 



&quot; Man, we re facin the northern night; we re in 

 the land of the midnight sun. Soon we ll be shut 

 in for seven months. A cabin we want, an wood, 

 an meat.&quot; 



A forest of stunted spruce trees edged on the lake, 

 and soon its dreary solitudes rang to the strokes of 

 axes. The trees were small and uniform in size. 

 Black stumps protruded, here and there, from the 



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