2OO 



ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



quickly toss his meat to him before the others caught up r 

 and then stand guard over him while he ate it. 



The eating did not occupy much time there was 

 only a growl, a grab, and a gulp, and the meat was 



gone. 



It was necessary to be expeditious, for the dogs that 

 had swallowed their meat ran from group to group 

 seeking those that had not, and woe betide the poor 

 beast that attempted to masticate his morsel ! Two of 

 my train, Flossie and Finnette, were very timid, and gave 

 me no end of bother. It was only necessary for another 

 dog to start towards them, and they would drop their 

 meat and run off. I found it necessary to hold them by 

 the scuff of the neck while they ate, and I laid my whip- 

 stock over the heads of the clogs that fought around me. 



Feeding animals in the Zoo isn't a circumstance to 

 feeding dogs in the Barrens. 



As I have said, our three-caribou feast of that morning 

 our third in the Land of Little Sticks was the last. 

 I like to dwell on it even now. First the legs of the cari- 

 bou were cut off, stripped of their sinews and flesh, and 

 the bones cracked open for the marrow ; then the heart 

 and kidneys and two unborn calves ; then the tongues 

 and the eyes and the ears ; and all the while ribs were 

 roasting, stuck upon sticks about the fire, and a kettle full 

 of what was left from the dog-feed hung suspended from 

 a tripod over all. I confined myself to the marrow and 

 ribs, and simply marvelled at the quantity those Indians 

 ate. When we started on again there was not left a great 

 deal of the three caribou to load on to the sledges, but 



o 



the Indians were in ^rood-humor. 



