80 CANADIAN WILDS. 



We, figuratively, locked the door for the bal- 

 ance of that trip after the horse had been stolen, 

 for the remaining boxes were stored each night 

 in the officers' tent, and during the day a re- 

 sponsible person was on guard over them. 



It was a severe loss out of the returns of 

 one post. No one, perhaps, could be blamed for 

 it, but it had the desired effect of repealing the 

 order, and we were told to pack as in the good 

 "old corn-meal days," and mix our furs. 



To arrive at an average of each kind of skins 

 through each and every pack, we counted the 

 whole returns and estimated the gross weight, 

 and then divided so many of each kind of furs 

 through the several packs, something like this: 

 10 beavers, 2 bears, 40 marten, 10 mink, 100 

 rats, 4 foxes, 4 otters, 4 lynx 80 pounds, or as 

 the average might count out. 



Previous to packing, the skins were neatly 

 folded, placed in a pile and weighted down for 

 a week. They were then built in the desired 

 pack shape and underwent a severe wedge press 

 hammering to reduce the bulk, then tied with 

 three strong cross lashings, either of raw cow- 

 hide or twenty-four-thread cod line, and when 

 all was secure, the wedges being released, the 

 pack tumbled out complete, less the lateral ty- 

 ings, which were two in number, of eigh teen- 

 thread cod line. 



