252 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



more suddenly and was swifter, one of the boats was 

 tied to the bank just below the rapids, the line was 

 passed up as far ahead as possible and all hands pulled 

 on it, Bill steering the boat with the gee-pole or with 

 his hands on the bow until it was safely brought up; 

 then we went back for the other. In this work the boys 

 had to wade frequently across places that were deeper 

 than the height of their boots, and by nightfall all of us 

 were usually wet from the waist down, if indeed not also 

 thoroughly soaked above this from the melting snow on 

 the bushes. 



In spite of this and of the wetness of the wood every- 

 where we could always fell a dead spruce tree, cut a log 

 of it and get the heart wood out with an axe. Small 

 pieces of kindling split from this were then whittled with 

 a knife until a large bunch of shavings hung fast together 

 on each. A pile of these shavings judiciously nursed 

 with a match always produced a roaring fire in a few 

 minutes, and after a hot bed of coals was formed we 

 could throw on the wet logs with confidence that they 

 would soon burst into blaze. Sometimes the frying pans 

 were set directly on the coals or two green logs were cut 

 and placed parallel above the fire so that the pans would 

 rest on them. Pots were slung from a cross beam laid 

 over the fire on stakes, and we never failed to have a 

 good meal at the end of each day's work. Sometimes we 

 found abandoned cabins and made use of them instead 

 of pitching a tent, which saved the considerable work of 

 cutting stakes and pegging out the tent. In cabins we 

 set up our stove. 



In the hurry of getting a fire started Fritz caused 

 much amusement in the cabin at Schooner Bend, a house 

 where he had wintered and which he called one of his 



