198 NARRATIVES. 



tary precision, the thing can be done. To lie out straight on 

 one's back, between the heels and knees, and other protuber- 

 ances of the sleepers on either side, is an equally difficult 

 operation. Notwithstanding the smallness of our quarters, we 

 are not troubled with the ventilation question. Our door is 

 an old coat, which swings freely in the breeze, and rather as- 

 sists the draught of the chimney ; besides which, there are vari- 

 ous crevices in the walls and roof, where the moss and chink- 

 ing have tumbled out, that give unimpeded entrance to the 

 air, and exit to the surplus smoke. Across the shanty, just in 

 front of the fire and over the foot of the bed, Mr. N. has 

 placed a seat, which we call the * deacon's seat.' In front of 

 this, we erect a table at meal-time by placing a single leg un- 

 der one end of a short hemlock slab, and inserting the other 

 end between the logs of the shanty. It is crowding work to 

 get round at evening and morning, or on rainy days, when 

 baking and cooking are going on, and the table is being set. 

 Yet we manage to keep good-natured, and enjoy it. Even 

 such limited quarters are preferable, in the cool nights and 

 days of late October, to the open camp in the woods, and we 

 have been thankful for their temporary use." 



By this time we had our home-shanty about half built, and 

 were contemplating a vigorous trapping campaign. We were 

 looking the long Canada winter in the face, and rejoicing in 

 the prospect of a battle with it. John P. had begun to set 

 traps, and in the course of two nights had caught a fine mink 

 and ten muskrats. We had selected a beautiful location on 

 the north shore of the lake for a winter home. Rowing, 

 spearing fish, felling trees, and shanty building had succeeded 

 to the arduous toils of the voyage through the terrible " Out- 

 let." The signs of game were rather scarce in the immediate 

 vicinity of the lake, but our plans were to run lines of traps 

 far back into the northern woods, where mink, marten, and 

 beaver were supposed to exist in abundance. At this junct- 

 ure it became evident that the health of our captain was not 

 equal to the execution of the campaign he had planned. For 

 most of the time since reaching McK.'s he had been partially 

 disabled. Now, just as we were building our shanty and pre- 



