212 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



making me several presents. He said I would be sure 

 to find along the road Indians who would have to be paid 

 for their services. There is a certain type of silk hand- 

 kerchief which at that time passed practically for money, 

 and of these Harvey gave me several. He also gave me 

 certain delicacies of food. 



The police at the barracks insisted that I must not 

 go unarmed, and gave me one of their service revolvers. 

 I had left my rifle behind at Herschel with the idea that 

 the journey would be almost entirely by boat or raft, 

 first on the ocean and the Mackenzie River and later on 

 the Bell River and Porcupine, and that I would not have 

 time to stop along the road to hunt. I did not, there- 

 fore, really want the revolver, but because I valued the 

 kind intentions of the police in this matter I took it. I 

 was to return the revolver to the head office of the police 

 at Regina when I got out. 



Once across the river our journey with pack loads 

 began. The two Indians were carrying about eighty 

 pounds each and I was carrying about forty pounds. 

 This division of the packs had been made to conform 

 with Firth's ideas of practicability and propriety. I 

 understood it was not considered good form for an 

 employer to carry as much as his Indians did. 



We had no trouble following the path for about five 

 miles when we came to the place where I had said 

 good-bye to Elihu Stewart the year before. Stewart had 

 started out from Macpherson in the evening and his 

 camping five miles from the post had, accordingly, 

 seemed to me logical. When my Indians now insisted 

 on camping at the same place I saw no logic in it for it 

 was not yet evening, but they said that all people who 

 went across the mountains camped there and that, 



