94 



ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



season has little to do with the length of time spent on 

 the road if you are making a long journey and time is an 

 object. Indeed, to me the days always seemed long 

 enough, and the dogs to go well enough. In winter you 

 start at three, make your first fire at 

 seven, start again at eight, which is 

 just about daybreak, having a second 

 fire at eleven, and camp at three, 

 which gives about an hour before 

 dark to cut a supply of firewood. In 

 spring it is daylight long before you 

 start at six, and long after you camp 

 at eight ; in fact, in May I wrote in 

 my note-book frequently at ten, and 

 it was not really dark at midnight. 

 In midsummer there is no night, and 

 in midwinter the short days are of 

 slight significance to the tripper, be- 

 cause the moon equalizes matters by 

 shining full throughout the period in 

 which the sun shines least. 



I have said that Chipewyan is the practical dividing- 

 point between two great Indian families, but the traveller 

 who did not hear their speech, which is altogether dissimi- 

 lar in intonation and word, would not appreciate it. There 

 is no very noticeable outward distinction between the 

 Cree and the Chipewyan Indian, except possibly the face 

 of the latter is broader. Otherwise they have about the 

 same physical characteristics high cheek-bones, large 

 mouth, African nose, dirty yellowish -ochre complexion, 

 coarse, straight black hair, and sparse mustache seen occa- 

 sionally. They are never corpulent, and never clean. 

 Ethically there is no choice between them : their capacity 

 and prejudice for lying are equal, and one is as untrust- 



SQUAW LEGGING 



