196 LEAVING THE LONE LAND 



on the snow to wish me bon voyage and au revoir, 

 for all had told me they hoped I would some day- 

 come again amongst them. It was a somewhat 

 touching farewell to me, for it bore the final 

 goodwill of rude men, not easy of approach, who 

 had come to acknowledge me their friend, and 

 theirs was friendship I valued. Only a day or 

 two before the priest at the Fort had taken upon 

 himself the task of telling me of the feeling of 

 the Indians toward the white stranger. He had 

 summed up his kindly meant remarks with : " If 

 at any time you come back to this territory, you 

 will have many friends among the natives ready 

 to help you in your work, and glad to go with you 

 on the trail, for they feel you are as one of them, 

 and they understand and trust you — all say the 

 same, and they are quick to distinguish." Who 

 would not feel, who had lived among a strange 

 race, touched and deeply grateful for such acknow- 

 ledgment of comradeship ? 



Thus warm hand-shakes, which had nothing 

 of conventionality about them, sent me on my 

 way, while a parting volley of rifle shots followed 

 from the shore as we mushed the dogs and sped 

 out over the frozen lake on the trail into the 

 South. 



As we drew away I looked back on that diminu- 

 tive settlement of cabins, husbanded together 

 and wholly human in that vastly desolate land, 

 and loving the strange wild North and its freedom, 

 and its people, was disposed to repeat : " I've 

 bade 'em good-bye — but I can't." 



Gewgewsh and Napisis, who had also harnessed 

 their dogs, ran with us till we camped at our first 



