OUT OF THE FOREST 125 



the forest. Inside they found a man's skele- 

 ton lying on the little shelf which constituted 

 the bed. By the side was a rifle and the bony 

 hand still grasped a twig attached to the 

 trigger, a shattered skull told the rest of the 

 tale. 



On a bench beside the bed were the tin 

 plates, a cup and the mouldy remains of what 

 once had been food. 



What a tragedy ! One could picture illness 

 coming on and the struggle against it. Too 

 weak to pack out, he eventually had to take 

 to bed — at first possibly able to get up and 

 cook a little food while provisions lasted — 

 then his strength gradually declined, the lonely 

 nights thinking of the inevitable end, and then 

 the final decision possibly hastened by hearing 

 the howling of wolves round the log cabin. 



After all, his best friend was his rifle and 

 that was close to hand. Who can blame him 

 for the decision he had the courage to carry 

 out? 



Lansdown was one of the men sent out to 

 bury the remains. 



September 15th. The morning was fine 

 and we got away about 8.30. Thomson an- 

 nounced that the provisions had practically 

 run out — no more flour or sugar and we were 

 two days from the lake. We had actually 



