2I 4 ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



in the Barrens; nevertheless every man in the party but 

 myself was more or less severely snow-blind, one or two 

 so badly as to necessitate their holding on to a sledge- 

 line for guidance. 



As I had in times past been very badly snow-blinded, I 

 took extraordinary precautions in the Barrens; for the 

 thought of getting up with musk-oxen and being unable 

 to sight my rifle was unendurable. So I drew the hand- 

 kerchief that was wound about my head in lieu of a hat 

 down to the tops of my goggles. This kept the sun from 

 shining down in my eyes, while little pieces of black silk 

 fitted to the wire screening at the sides shut out all light 

 from that direction. I always walked behind my sledge, 

 and kept my eyes on the tail of its moose-skin wrapper. 

 While my eyes pained me incessantly, as much from the 

 smoke of the tiny fire in the lodge as from the glare of 

 the sun, I was never snow-blind. 



Referring again, before I go on with my trip, to the 

 handkerchief I wound about my head after the Indian 

 fashion, I may say it served me better than all the other 

 head-gear I possessed. I had set much store by a worsted 

 hood knitted for me in Canada, with a neck-piece that 

 fitted about the chin, and a draw-string by which I could 

 close it up to my eyes. But I found it more harmful 

 than beneficial, for the reason that the freezing of my 

 breath transformed its entire front into a sheet of ice, 

 which it was impossible to thaw by our w r retched fire, and 

 served only to freeze my face more quickly than expos- 

 ure. For the same reason I carried a small pair of scissors 

 to keep my beard and mustache clipped short. So the 

 worsted hood was discarded, and the handkerchief held 

 my hair, which reached nearly to my shoulders, in place 

 over my ears, and permitted me to draw the hood of my 

 fur capote forward and bind it snugly in place. Of course 



