CHAPTER XVII. 



A white World The Animals gone A Gale Snowed-up A Chance of 

 Starvation Disagreeable Alternatives The Party determines to divide 

 A Substitute for Starvation Adieu Nip and Tug "strike a Lead " 

 Wild-cat as Food A Fairy Godmother Go after her with a Rifle Joe 

 on the Watch Death of the Doe The missing Stock come into view. 



THERE had been several light snow-storms, each succeeded 

 by bright, warm, sunny days ; the season for severe snow 

 was over. The spell of fine settled weather promised to us 

 in the early spring seemed at hand, and our stock of pro- 

 visions having got very low, it was decided, one evening, that 

 the time to be off had arrived. 



And indeed there was no reason why we should tarry 

 any longer. So it was arranged to take two or three days, 

 during which to procure, by diligent hunting, fresh meat for 

 our journey, for our men to pack up, and then to make 

 a start. 



The next day we were not at all successful, game seemed 

 unaccountably scarce, and towards evening the sky com- 

 menced to be overcast. About 11 o'clock that night I was 

 awakened by my companion. My eyes opened upon a 

 white world, and snow was coming steadily down. After 



