DAYS IN THE WOODS 259 



have it, or the flexible root of a fir if you have not. 

 Cut down a lot of pine branches, and thatch the 

 framework with them till you have formed a little 

 lean-to, which will keep off a good deal of wind and 

 all the dew. Then you strew the ground thickly 

 with fir-tops or bracken, gather a lot of dry wood 

 in case you want to make a fire, and all is ready for 

 the night. 



In a scene very like that, many a year ago now, 

 I spent the last two nights of the calling season. 

 It was nearly sundown before our work was 

 over, and, leaving Noel to finish camp, I sent 

 John to a tree-top to look out, and sat down myself 

 on a rock at a little distance to smoke the calumet 

 of peace. These " barrens " are very melancholy 

 at the decline of day, intensely sad, yet in their 

 own way beautiful, full of delicate colouring. The 

 grey, dead, tufted grass lies matted by the margin 

 of the stream, over which brown alders droop, 

 looking at their own images in the water, perfectly 

 still, save when some otter, beaver, or musk-rat 

 plunges sullenly in and disturbs it for a moment. 

 The ground, carpeted with cariboo moss, white as 

 ivory but with purple roots, is smooth, save for 

 a few detached rugged masses of granite covered 

 with grey or black lichens. An occasional dwarfed 



