262 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



as possible. This trot was one means of keeping 

 warm, and while it is trying to the muscles of a white 

 man at first, he soon becomes accustomed to it and 

 finds it an easy way to travel. Just about noon the 

 Indian who was leading suddenly stopped and began 

 preparations for building a fire. One of the others 

 went a few yards away and began chopping a hole 

 in the ice at the edge of the swamp. Dyche supposed 

 that he was after water and took a small bucket to 

 the place, but was surprised to see the Indian pulling 

 a large piece of moose-meat from the hole. It had 

 been placed in the water in the course of some previous 

 hunt. The flesh was white on the outside, but in- 

 side it was good and sweet. The Chippewas said that 

 it would keep a long time in the ice-cold water with- 

 out spoiling. As meat is never spoiled for an Indian, 

 this assertion can be taken in an Indian sense. Dyche 

 discovered a bear's skull tied to a tree and started to 

 take it down to examine it, but was prevented by the 

 Indians. On this, as on numerous occasions when 

 he asked concerning peculiar customs and habits of 

 the savages, the only response given him was : " Oh, 

 that's Indian." This was accompanied by a signifi- 

 cant shrug of the shoulders and such an evident desire 

 to avoid the subject that the naturalist did not press 

 his questions. 



About the middle of the afternoon Maypuck called 

 a halt and the Chippewas made camp. A quantity of 

 dry tamarack logs were cut and brought in to keep 

 the fire going during the night. Nights are bitterly 

 cold in this country, and the Indians evident!} 1 " did not 

 believe in the doctrine advanced by their brethren of 



