122 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



with its mudflats in the middle of the river, the banks became 

 higher, while on small islands in the river, or in gullies along 

 the sides, we saw comparatively tall willow-brush. On 

 November 8 we pitched our camp on a small island so 

 thickly studded with scrub trees that we had to clear a place 

 for the tent. It was a fine place. The brush, though it 



.,.,>, 



TAKLOOKSRAK AND HIS WIFE. 



only reached to my shoulders, looked like a small forest, 

 and our tent was warm and comfortable, with a big fire 

 roaring in the stove and our bags spread on a mattress of 

 willow twigs. 



The whole of November 9 was spent in following up the 

 windings of the river, and before nightfall we had reached the 

 mountains. The skins which we were looking for turned out 

 to be considerably further away than I had expected. We 

 must have gone at least sixty-five miles, and Kreeseek told me 

 that we had still two days' travelling before us. Fortunately, 

 however, on November 10, when we had been travelling for 

 about three hours, we saw a native in front of us. Kreeseek 

 hallooed to him, and when we reached him my companion saw 

 that it was his own brother. The whole family, whom he had 

 thought at least one hundred miles to the west, on another 

 river, had recently come over to the Koogoora. Food had 

 been very scarce where they had been before, and they now 

 hoped to be able to live a life of ease on the fish which they 



