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O/V SNOWSHOES AND DOG-SLEDS. 227 



to be seen, and for a time we saw no signs of any human 

 presence. We turned down the river, and ere long came 

 upon the tracks of a solitary hunter. These Jimmie 

 knew to be the tracks of his brother, and by following 

 them a mile or two into a dense evergreen wood, we 



in 3 upon the camp. It was a solitary tepee, situated 



the heart of a snow-clad thicket of spruce trees and 

 scrub, so dense that a bird could scarcely fly through it. 



The Indian lodge or tepee was built of poles placed 

 losely together, and arranged in the shape of a cone 

 The cracks between the poles were chinked tightly with 

 moss, with which the tepee was then covered, except- 

 ing a foot or so at the top, where a hole was left for the 

 chimney. An opening made in the wall to serve as a 

 doorway was closed by a heavy curtain of deerskin, 

 and as we lifted it we saw in the centre of the lodge, 

 pon a square mud-covered hearth, a smouldering wood 

 fire burning, from which the circling smoke ascended 

 to find its way through the chimney, while huddled 

 around it by the wall were the old Indian, his squaw 

 and their children. Deerskin cushions were offered us, 

 and as we seated ourselves more wood was piled on the 

 fire. 



William, the Indian, was a much older man than his 

 brother, for his long flowing locks were already whitened 

 with age, though he still appeared strong and athletic. 

 Presents of tobacco were passed around ; pipes were then 

 lighted, and information sought and obtained, both by 

 ourselves and the Indian. We found that William had 

 seen and killed only one deer for some weeks past, and 

 was now almost out of food, and entirely out of ammu- 

 nition. We supplied him with the latter, and told him 



