188 BY ESKIMO DOG-SLED 



something to stand on while they ply their 

 nefarious trade. 



There is a hideous fascination about watch- 

 ing the mosquitoes : you may slap and dance, 

 but however many you may kill there are 

 always plenty waiting their turn, and the only 

 satisfaction you get is in the knowledge that 

 new-comers receive an extra share of their 

 attentions, and that some day you will be 

 hardened. The first bites may produce really 

 alarming results. I am sure that I took all 

 due precautions the first night that I slept 

 on shore in Labrador, but a mosquito must 

 have crawled under my door in the darkness, 

 for in the morning I could only open one eye, 

 and the question that greeted me at the break- 

 fast table was, " Have you bumped yourself ? " 



Summer in Labrador may seem a quiet time 

 from the hunter's point of view ; there are no 

 foxes or wolves to trap ; and though there 

 may be black bears away up the river-banks 

 of the mainland not many folks have the time 

 to go after them, for the summer fur is not 

 of much value and the bear is only useful for 

 his meat. Polar bears sometimes come our 

 way in the summer-time, and then there is a 

 furious hunt, followed by a great deal of chatter- 

 ing over the pipes in the evening ; but the 

 most of the white bears have retreated to the 



