256 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



On this occasion the glaring light on the snow had been 

 so hard on my eyes that I did not feel they were in perfect 

 condition, and no one can shoot well if his eyes are not 

 right. Unless there is a change of wind caribou are not 

 likely to turn their course back along the trail by which 

 they have come. I accordingly selected a hill across 

 which they had walked that morning and half a mile away 

 from where they now were. On the top of this hill where 

 I could see them, although they could not see me (because 

 my eyes were better than theirs) I lay down, covered my 

 head with a canvas hunting bag to keep the sun away, and 

 went to sleep. Sleeping is the best_gossil 

 irg time, but my object now was not only to pass the time 

 until the caribou began moving but also to get my eyes 

 into perfect condition. 



When you go to sleep at twenty below zero you have in 

 the temperature an automatic alarm clock. My clothes 

 were amply warm enough to keep me comfortable while I 

 was awake, but I knew that when I went to sleep my 

 circulation would slow down. This reduces the 1 

 temperature and the same weather that will not chill 

 when you are awake will chill you enough to wake you 

 from a sleep. 



In this case the chill woke me in about half an hour 

 to an unpleasant situation. A fog had set in and I could 

 not see the caribou, nor had I any means of knowing 

 whether they were still lying down or whether they had 

 started to move. If this had been a good game country, 

 I might have taken chances on advancing through the fog 

 a little, but I was so impressed with the possibility that 

 these were the only animals within a hundred miles that 

 carelessness was not to be considered. At this time of year 

 we had twenty-four hours of daylight. The fog was 



