154 NARRATIVES. 



presented to my mind in as many minutes. One plan was to 

 place a board on the ice, get on it, and shove myself along by 

 placing the point of my sharp spear on the ice ; but, on fur- 

 ther consideration, I concluded this would be too slow an 

 operation. If I succeeded in getting out on the ice, the rats 

 could easily keep out of my way, as I should not be able to 

 leave my board. Another plan was to fasten a piece of board 

 a foot square to each foot ; but, on further thought, this plan 

 was also abandoned as being unsafe. Although the water did 

 not exceed four feet in depth down to the old ice, yet, in case 

 I broke through, the boards might operate to keep my heels 

 up and my head down. I now determined to test the real 

 strength of the ice ; and, procuring a piece of slab twelve or 

 fourteen feet long, I shoved it off on the ice. Leaving one 

 end resting on the shore and walking out on this, I stepped 

 off upon the ice. It barely held my weight, and soon began 

 to settle, so that the water came upon the ice. However, I 

 came to the conclusion that if I could get upon the ice with 

 my skates on and keep constantly under pretty good headway, 

 it would hold me up. Stripping off all extra clothing, and 

 laying aside every unnecessary weight, I strapped on my 

 skates, and, with spear in hand, launched forth in pursuit of 

 the game. The ice bent and waved before me ; but I glided 

 swiftly on, and in less than a minute was among the musk- 

 rats. 



I now discovered that the rats kept a hole open through the 

 ice, right above their house ; and, before I got within striking 

 distance, they dove into the water and disappeared. I could 

 hear them snuffing up against the ice, but could not see them 

 on account of a slight sprinkling of snow which covered the 

 ice. As soon as I left for another place, they would come up 

 again through the holes on the ice. I saw that, in order to 

 get a chance to strike them, I must wait at the holes for them 

 to return for a fresh supply of air. This I found rather 

 tedious, as I was obliged to keep constantly in motion, run- 

 ning in a circuit around the hole, on account of the weakness 

 of the ice. In this way I would have to wait several minutes, 

 and, when one did return to breathe, he was so very quick I 



