MEETING OF THE WILD MEN 177 



invariably strove to steal ahead so that after a few hours' 

 run the best dogs were usually leading. 



For several hours we followed the lake and the river, and 

 just before daylight appeared in the southeastern sky the Aurora 

 Borealis vanished from view. Later, a golden glow tipping the 

 tops of the tallest trees, heralded the rising of the sun. Coming 

 out upon a little lake — for we were now short-cutting across 

 the country — we saw that the light over the distant hills had 

 broken into a glorious flood of sunshine. Half over the far-off 

 trees, along the horizon, the sun was shining, and the whole 

 southeastern sky seemed aflame with bands and balls of fire. 

 A vertical ribbon of gradually diminishing lustre, scarcely wider 

 than the sun, was rising into the heavens to meet a vast semi- 

 circle of rainbow beauty arched above the natural sun. Where 

 the strange halo cut the vertical flame and the horizon on either 

 side three mock suns marked the intersection. Above the 

 natural sun and beneath the halo, four other mock suns studded 

 the vertical band of light. It was a wonderful sight and 

 lasted fully twenty minutes — the sky was just as I have shown 

 it in my picture of the York Factory Packet. 



Now the brigade was halted, in voyageur parlance, "to 

 spell the dogs one smoke," which, being translated, meant that 

 the dogs could rest as long as it took their masters to smoke a 

 pipeful of tobacco. The drivers, conversing in little groups or 

 sitting upon sleds as they puffed at their pipes, watched the 

 beautiful phenomenon, and the talk turned to the many re- 

 markable sun-dogs that they had seen. Presently the mock 

 suns grew dim; the arch faded away; the band lost its colour; 

 the true sun rose above the trees and then, as ashes were 

 knocked from pipes, we resumed our journey. 



After leaving the lake we entered a muskeg that extended 

 for miles. Its uneven surface was studded with countless 

 grassy hummocks, many of them crowned with willow and 

 alder bushes or gnarled and stunted spruces or jack pines. 



