00-KOO-HOO PLAYS THE GAME 141 



into thin, spiral strips and twisted, with the hair-side out, about 

 thin thongs, and woven together like a small-meshed fish-net, 

 so that, though the hair overlapped and filled every mesh 

 completely, one's fingers might be passed through the garment 

 anywhere. They also made rabbit-skin blankets in the same 

 way; and of all blankets used in the north woods, none has 

 so many good qualities. A rabbit-skin blanket is less bulky 

 than that of the caribou skin; it is warmer than the famous four- 

 point woollen blanket of the H. B. Co., and not only ventilates 

 better than either of the others, but it is light to carry. It has 

 the drawback, however, that unless it is enclosed in a covering 

 of some light material, the hair gets on everything, for as long 

 as the blanket lasts it sheds rabbit hair. I have tried many 

 kinds of beds, and many kinds of blankets, and sleeping bags, 

 too, even the Eskimo sleeping bag of double skin — hairless 

 sealskin on the outside and hairy caribou skin on the inside — 

 and many a night I have slept out in the snow when it was fifty 

 degrees below zero, and experience has taught me that the 

 rabbit skin blanket is best for winter use in the northern forest. 

 A sleeping bag that is large enough to get into is too large when 

 you are in it; you cannot wrap it around you as you can a 

 blanket, therefore it is not so warm; besides, it is harder to 

 keep a bag free of gathering moisture than a blanket. 



But to return to the children. It used to amuse me to see the 

 boys returning from their hunts carrying their guns over their 

 shoulders. The contrast in size between the weapons and the 

 bearers of them was so great that by comparison the lads looked 

 like Liliputians, yet with all the dignified air of great hunters 

 they would stalk up to their sisters and hand them their guns 

 and game bags to be disposed of while they slipped off their 

 snowshoes, lighted their pipes, and entered the lodge. By the 

 way, I don't believe I have mentioned that in winter time the 

 guns are never kept in the lodges, but always put under cover 

 on the stages, as the heat of the lodges would cause the guns to 



