46 A-TA-KA-KOt'P IN CAMP. 



side, the other side forming a slant, and the two ends keeping 

 out all draughts, making us very comfortable. A-ta-ka-koup 

 rather laughed at it when he saw it unpacked, but he laughed 

 no more when he was lying in it, and said that his squaw 

 should make him one. 



In a dry country such as that was, where a storm was a 

 rarity after the snow was once down, such a shelter as this 

 was far better than a tent, being much more easily warmed, as a 

 fire could be lighted so much nearer to it ; and many a night I 

 have lain in my bag, chatting with whomever formed the party, 

 and felt as if I would not change my quarters for the finest 

 room in the world. 



On this occasion the amount of chatting was necessarily very 

 limited, as A-ta-ka-koup knew only about twenty or thirty 

 words of English ; but he was a grand companion in other 

 ways, being always ready to get up, however cold it was, and 

 make up the fire, besides cutting all the wood, and bringing 

 most of it into camp. 



Sometimes he seemed to forget that I did not understand 

 him, and would go on talking, evidently, from the signs he 

 made, telling me of battles he had fought and of men he had 

 killed, and I would give a grunt now and then Indian fashion 

 as if I understood it all. 



Having made a very snug camp, we started at once, and soon 

 came on moose-tracks of that morning. A-ta-ka-koup said 

 that they were those of three cows and a bull, and we followed 

 them for more than an hour, by which time we were evidently 

 close to them. The snow was here very deep, as we sank in 

 nearly to our knees with snow-shoes on, and the moose 

 evidently had to jump to get along at all. 



