THROUGH THE FOREST AND HOME AGAIN. 243 



guide from Churchill. He was a very dark Indian, 

 younger than Jimmie, and of much less noble appear- 

 ance, and was known by the name of Charlie. He 

 was said to be well fitted for the purpose, and we 

 felt that a brother of our guide could not be a very 

 poor man. Our party, including Arthur Omen, the 

 driver from Churchill, who had determined to accom- 

 pany us out of the country, was now complete. Twelve 

 days' rations, consisting of bacon, flour, sugar and tea, 

 were served out to each man, with a warning to make 

 them last through the trip or suffer the consequences. 

 The flour was then baked up into the more convenient 

 orm of cakes. Dog-fish was also provided, and all 

 being loaded upon the three sleds and two toboggans, 

 the second stage of our sledding journey was begun on 

 Tuesday morning, the 28th of November. The dog-sleds 

 were not the same as those we had used in traversing 

 the hard driven snow of the plains, but were what are 

 known as " flat sleds " or large toboggans, they being 

 better suited to woodland travel. 



The condition of our party on leaving York was 

 vastly different from what it had been on leaving 

 Churchill. The two hundred mile tramp, although 

 crippling some of us and causing all plenty of exertion, 

 had hardened our muscles so much that, with the ten 

 days' " lie up " on the bank of the Nelson River, and a 

 four days' rest at York, we were now in first-class 

 walking trim, and started up the Hays River at a brisk 

 pace. 



The first day's march was upon the river ice, and our 

 first camp was made on the bank, in two feet of snow, 



