MEETING OF THE WILD MEN 205 



up, up, up!" ending in a shrill yell from the guide startled the 

 drowsy crew. It was three o'clock in the morning. Had it not 

 been for the brilliancy of the Northern Lights all would have 

 been in darkness. An obscure form bent over an ash-bed and 

 fumbled something. A tiny blaze appeared and rapidly grew 

 until the surrounding forest was aflare. Over the fires frying- 

 pans sizzled, while tea-pails heaped with snow began to steam. 

 A hurried breakfast followed. The sleds were packed. The 

 dogs, still curled up in the snow, pretended to be asleep. 



"Caesar! Tigre! Cabri! Whiskey! Tete Noire! Pilot! 

 Michinass! Coffee! Bull! Brandie! Caribou! "shouted the 

 men. A few of the dogs answered to their names and came to 

 harness while some holding back were tugged forward by the 

 scruff of the neck. Others were still in hiding. The men 

 searched among the mounds and bushes. Every now and then 

 the crack of a whip and the yelp of a dog announced the finding 

 of a truant. Two trackers on large snowshoes had already 

 gone ahead to break the trail. It was easy to follow their tracks 

 though the woods were still in darkness and remained so for 

 several hours. At dawn Oo-koo-hoo and our little outfit parted 

 company with the Dog Brigade. Already the packet was 

 many miles ahead. As I turned on my western way, I thought 

 of the work of these postmen of the wilderness, of the hardships 

 they endured, and the perils they braved; and the Chief 

 Factor's assertion that no packet had ever been lost beyond 

 recovery, recalled to mind other stories that were worth re- 

 membering: For instance, a canoe express was descending the 

 Mackenzie River; the canoe was smashed in an ice jam, and 

 the packeteers were drowned. A few weeks later passing 

 Indians caught sight of a stick bobbing in the surface of the 

 stream. Though the water was deep and the current was 

 running at the rate of three miles an hour, the stick remained 

 in the same place. So the Indians paddled over to investi- 

 gate. They found that to the floating stick was fastened a 



