THROUGH CANADIAN WILDS 



299 



RANGER IX CAXOE OX THE RIVER MATTAWIN 



night's rest. In the morning we started 

 with the scow, but the wind was so 

 strong and our makeshift oars so in- 

 efficient that it was noon before we 

 reached the lower bay, and finding this 

 frozen too thickly to break we stopped 

 for lunch. 



We made a couple of light sleds for 

 our baggage and skirting the shore, as 

 the ice was barely thick enough to hold 

 us, we reached the end of the lake and 

 crossed the portage, arriving at Lac 

 Marcotte about four thirty. This had 

 all frozen over since we crossed it on 

 the way up and as there was a good 

 camp just across the bay, about three- 

 quarters of a mile off we were anxious 

 to reach it so that we would not have 

 to pitch the tent. I tried the ice with 

 a pole and finding it pretty thick cut 

 several holes with my ax to a point 

 about one hundred feet from shore and 

 found it safe. Going back for my 

 pack, I told my companion to remain 

 about two hundred feet behind me in 

 case anything happened and off we 

 started. 



I had gone about six hundred feet 

 from the place where we went on to 



the ice and was about three hundred 

 feet from the nearest shore when all 

 of a sudden without any warning the 

 ice seemed to give way in all directions 

 dropping me into the freezing water. I 

 was dragging my sleeping bag on a sled 

 and this \vas floating near me. I swam 

 to the edge of the ice nearest to the 

 shore and tried very carefully to get 

 up on it, but it was too thin. I tried 

 this in several places, breaking the ice 

 in front of me toward shore in the 

 hope of finding a place where it w r ould 

 bear me. I had called to my man as 

 soon as I went in and he had gone 

 back to shore and cut a long pole which 

 he slid out to me. This I placed across 

 the narrowest part of the break and 

 got almost out on the ice when it broke 

 again and down I went headfirst into 

 the water. I was getting so chilled now 

 that I could hardly swim so I made for 

 my sleeping bag and with that to hold 

 me up swam to the ice nearest shore. 

 Sliding the bag under my chest I tried 

 to work myself out on to the ice and 

 got my whole body on it with only my 

 feet on the bag and was just congratu- 

 lating myself on my success when the 



