I 7 8 ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



fined to the monotony of the single-headed drum, or may- 

 hap an occasional fiddle picked up at the post, which in 

 that case squeaks through a medley of reels. Their dear- 

 est recreation is sleeping, since most of their time is spent 

 in procuring food, and the balance in resting from the toil 

 required to obtain it. 



The day after my arrival Beniah took up seriously the 

 question of getting volunteers for the musk-ox hunt. At 

 least I judged so from the gathering of the men in our 

 lodge, the long and earnest conference, and the displeased 

 looks that were every now and again cast my way. It 

 must be remembered that I knew practically nothing of 

 the language, and was dependent on signs. My Dog-Rib 

 vocabulary consisted of currc (stop), ccla oulcc ? (what is it 

 called ?), cthar (far), con (fire), cga (hurry), bet (meat), oole 

 (none), ilia (no), ch (yes), too (water), cthcn (caribou), cjcri 

 (musk-ox), cdzar (cold), and sla (plenty) words that Gau- 

 det told me at the last minute, when my interpreter 

 backed out, and which I wrote down phonetically just as 

 I was starting. I picked up a few others afterwards, but 

 had really always to rely on signs, and I found the Ind- 

 ians not only dull of comprehension, although they ordi- 

 narily learn much quicker by the eye than by the ear, but 

 disinclined to understand me. They seemed, with one or 

 two exceptions, to wish to make it as difficult for me as 

 possible. 



Judging by appearances, Beniah was having a heated 

 time of it persuading them to go into the Barrens, as I 

 supposed he would have, and the storm that had blown 

 up, and the cold, which my thermometer registered as 46 

 below, did not tend to increase their liking for the vent- 

 ure. But I was convinced that Beniah would bring it 

 about, because these Indians could not afford to deny 

 him, and he would not, could not, cro without them. 



