THE MOOSE. 173 



sufficiently unaccustomed to the snow shoes to be 

 quite knocked up. The Indians set to work at once 

 to construct a cabin wherein to spend the night. 

 They took off their shoes, and using them as 

 shovels, soon excavated a chamber twenty feet 

 broad, the walls of which were made of snow, 

 hardened by the pressure of the hands and feet. 

 They then cut some young saplings, and by inclining 

 them against each other, and then covering them 

 with branches and pieces of bark (leaving an open- 

 ing for the doorway, and another at the top for the 

 smoke), managed to make a very decent tent. Two 

 enormous blocks of wood served for fireplace, and 

 between these were placed the driest twigs that could 

 be found. All round the tent, the Indians had con- 

 structed snow pillows, so that we could lie with our 

 feet to the fire, and by spreading our blankets 

 upon the dried branches we managed to get a com- 

 fortable bed. 



As soon as these preparations were finished, 

 M'Lean, the Indians, and myself made the best of 

 our way to the river, to get our supper. With the 

 help of an axe, the Hurons dug a couple of holes in 

 the ice, and whether it was that the admission of 

 fresh air gave the trout an inordinate appetite I 

 don't know, but as soon as we dipped in a hook, up 

 came a fish, and after floundering for a minute or 

 two on the bed of moss which the Indians had 

 prepared for its reception, there it lay, coated in a 



