A CHRISTMAS JAUNT 



prepared for him, the empty cariole is 

 pulled out of the way, the other party 

 passes and then the animal must be ex- 

 tricated from his snowy cavern and har- 

 nessed. So tedious and fatiguing are 

 these crossings, that drivers who travel 

 this road frequently make their jour- 

 neys at night to avoid them, and will 

 wait at some convenient spot for half 

 an hour or longer when they hear of 

 vehicles on the way. Though we were 

 never compelled to resort to the manoeu- 

 vre pictured, it was sometimes a delicate 

 affair to get by without upsetting when 

 the road had to be conceded. 



The boy who drove us was born at the 

 little hamlet of Mille Vaches far down 

 the North Shore, but had been brought 

 up in the States, where he had learned 

 to speak indifferent but fluent French 

 and English. This ability was standing 

 him in good stead with the travelling 

 public, as his master had only made the 

 usual early steps in the alien tongue of 



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