322 ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



arid on June ;th the cargo had been transferred and I went 

 on board. The first person to greet me was Mr. Livock, 

 the Hudson's Bay Company officer who had been so kind 

 to me at Edmonton, and who was now in charge of the boat. 

 And the very next was my on-time guide " Shot," whom 

 I had long since forgiven for the annoyance he gave me. 

 " Shot " was the pilot of the boat, and is, by-the-way, not 

 only one of the very best, but about the only one who can 

 successfully take the steamer from the landing to the 

 island, for the river is very wide and low, and the channel 

 winds among formidable bowlders. 



The next morning we started, and on the morning of the 

 fourth day, June I ith, after making several stops for wood, 

 and tying up every night at dark, we arrived at Athabasca 

 Landing at 10.30. 



I immediately set out to engage transportation to Ed- 

 monton, which is ninety miles away, and finally secured 

 a half-breed, a pair of horses, and a light freight-wagon. 

 We started at one o'clock on that day and travelled 

 until midnight, for I was very anxious to get to Ed- 

 monton by the next night in order to catch the semi- 

 weekly train to Calgary. The following morning we 

 started at four o'clock, and that afternoon at five a tele- 

 graph-pole and wires, the first signs of civilization, greet- 

 ed me. 



I shall not attempt to describe my feelings when I first 

 viewed those telegraph-wires. The realization that my 

 long trip was really at an end, and that here I was once 

 more in touch with the world, was too overwhelming to 

 transcribe on paper. 



Ten minutes later I was in the Queen's Hotel, shaking 

 hands with everybody at once, and deeply grateful that 

 my trip of 2800 miles had come to an end. 



