THE VOYAGE ACROSS THE LAKE 177 



put out a line of mouse-traps, when the cry was raised 

 by the Indians now eating their 7th meal: 'Chim-pal- 

 le! Hurra IChilla quee!' ('Sailing wind! Hurra, boys!'). 



"The camp was all made, but after such a long calm 

 a sailing wind was too good to miss. In 10 minutes 

 every tent was torn down and bundled into the boat. 

 At 10.10 we pulled out under a fine promising breeze; 

 but alas! for its promise! at 10.30 the last vestige of 

 it died away and we had to use the oars to make the 

 nearest land, where we tied up at 11 P. M. 



"That night old Weeso said to me, through Billy, 

 the interpreter: 'To-morrow is Sunday, therefore he 

 would like to have a prayer-meeting after breakfast.' 



"'Tell him/ I said, 'that I quite approve of his 

 prayer-meeting, but also it must be understood that if 

 the good Lord sends us a sailing wind in the morning 

 that is His way of letting us know we should sail/ 



"This sounded so logical that Weeso meekly said, 

 'All right.' 



"Sure enough, the morning dawned with a wind and 

 we got away after the regular sullen grumbling. About 

 10.20 the usual glassy calm set in and Weeso asked 

 me for a piece of paper and a pencil. He wrote some- 

 thing in Chipewyan on the sheet I gave, then returned 

 the pencil and resumed his pilotic stare at the horizon, 

 for his post was at the rudder. At length he rolled the 

 paper into a ball, and when I seemed not observing 

 dropped it behind him overboard. 



'"What is the meaning of that, Billy?' I whispered. 



'"He's sending a prayer to Jesus for wind.' Half 

 an hour afterward a strong head-wind sprang up, 



I 



