

CROSSING THE NELSON. 235 



Later two of the hunters returned with several ptarmi- 

 gan and one or two rabbits, and last of all, some time 

 after dark, the remaining two Jim and our noble 

 guide walked into camp carrying the carcase of a deer. 



With careful use we had meat enough now to keep 

 us from suffering for several days, and in order to 

 guard against greed or waste my brother and I took 

 possession of the stock and divided it up equally among 

 the party, each man receiving in all about ten pounds. 



Without narrating in detail the incidents following 

 it will be sufficient to state that for ten long days our 

 weary wait on the bleak banks of the Nelson was con- 

 tinued. From time to time the men were sent out to 

 hunt, but except in the above instance were obliged to 

 return empty-handed. 



On the morning of the 19th, the guide and Jim,, 

 provided with rifles, blankets, axes and snowshoes, 

 started up the river, determined to find deer if there 

 were any in the neighborhood, and also to investigate 

 the possibilities of crossing the river higher up. 



Four days of bitterly cold weather passed, the ther- 

 mometer varying from 12 to 15 degrees below zero, and 

 back came our discouraged hunters without having fired 

 a shot. Food was becoming alarmingly scarce. A fox 

 which happened in our way was trapped and eagerly 

 devoured. 



On the evening of the 22nd, though the mercury in- 

 dicated 22 below zero, the channel of the river above us 

 was noticed to be less thickly blocked with ice than 

 where we were encamped. It was resolved, if possible, 

 to haul the boat a mile or two farther up stream, and 

 there to launch and measure our strength with the floe. 



