PROVISIONS FOR THE WILDERNESS. 39 



two provinces, in canoes and on snowshoes, and 

 was never short a meal. I admit that with the 

 wasteful and improvident character of the In- 

 dians, the leader of the party must use due care 

 and watchfulness over his outfit and see it is 

 not wrongly used. 



Take, for instance, the provisions for a party 

 of seven men for fifteen days, the weight ag- 

 gregates 347 pounds, and is of formidable bulk; 

 and when the necessary camping paraphernalia, 

 tents, blankets, kettles and frying pans, are piled 

 on the beach alongside the eatables, the sight 

 is something appalling, and the crew is apt to 

 think what an unnecessary quantity of provis- 

 ions; but before the journey is over we hear 

 nothing about there being too much grub. Long 

 hours, hard work and the keen, bracing atmos- 

 phere gives the men appetites that fairly as- 

 tonish even themselves. 



If a party is to return on the outgoing trail, 

 and after being off a few days finds it is using 

 within the scale of provisions, it is very easy to 

 cache a portion for the home journey with a 

 certainty of finding it "after many days," that 

 is, if properly secured. If in the depth of win- 

 ter, and there is a likelihood of wolves or wol- 

 verines coming that way, a good and safe way 

 is to cut a hole in the ice some distance from 

 the shore on some big lake, cutting almost 



