CHAPTER X 



SUCCESS AND FAILURE 



A last the marvel in the north dimmed, the 

 obscure gray shade lifted, the hope in the 

 south brightened, and the mercury climbed 

 reluctantly, with a tyrant s hate to relinquish power. 



Spring weather at twenty-five below zero ! On 

 April 1 2th a small band of Indians made their appear 

 ance. Of the Dog tribe were they, an offcast of the 

 Great Slaves, according to Rea, and as motley, star 

 ing and starved as the Yellow Knives. But they were 

 friendly, which presupposed ignorance of the white 

 hunters, and Rea persuaded the strongest brave to 

 accompany them as guide northward after musk-oxen. 



On April i6th, having given the Indians several 

 caribou carcasses, and assuring them that the cabin 

 was protected by white spirits, Rea and Jones, each 

 with sled and train of dogs, started out after their 

 guide, who was similarly equipped, over the glisten 

 ing snow toward the north. They made sixty miles 

 the first day, and pitched their Indian tepee on the 

 shores of Artillery Lake. Traveling northeast, they 

 covered its white waste of one hundred miles in two 



168 



