82 ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



I was not seeking trouble, but it came just the same. 

 I had never worn moccasins until I left La Biche. I had 

 never used the web snow-shoe until I left McMurray, and 

 therefore the second day out my feet were so blistered 

 and lacerated by the lacings that blood dyed my duffel, 

 and walking was agony. Hitherto I had been counting 

 my progress by days ; now I reckoned by the fires, of 

 which we made three daily, when we drank tea and my 

 misery enjoyed a brief respite. It was cold, bitterly cold, 

 and the wind swept up the Athabasca River, down which 

 we travelled, apparently coming directly from the north 

 pole. But neither wind nor painful travelling nor hunger, 

 which we experienced the last two days, delayed us, and 

 when we finally reached the shores of Lake Athabasca, and 

 viewed the Hudson's Bay Company fortlike post four 

 miles away, it was like a sight of the promised land. I 

 had been twenty days on the road, and come about 580 

 miles from the railroad, so that, what with lacerated feet, 

 twisted ankle, and fatigue, I was pretty well used up when 

 I passed through the gateway of Fort Chipewyan. 



