THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 23 
I am sorry to have to thus challenge the report of so re- 
nowned an explorer as Sir George, but such we found to be the 
facts. By the 8th of June our voyagers had accomplished the 
task of transporting our entire outfit across the twenty mile 
portage, and nearly half way up the ice of Artillery Lake, when 
we came near meeting with a serious mishap. We were using 
hand sleds on the lake for moving our stuff, but the ice, though 
still four feet thick, had become so honey-combed or candled 
as to be dangerous, and the climax came when one of our loaded 
sleds settled down into the ice and was only prevented from be- 
ing lost, with all its precious cargo, by the support of a long 
canoe which was securely lashed on top of the load. As it was, 
much difficulty was experienced in saving the submerged load, 
which had to be removed piece by piece, at great personal risk, 
to a place of safety. 
One who has not witnessed the disintegration of this heavy 
northern ice can. perhaps scarcely understand its action, but the 
process is as follows (the winter ice of the Mackenzie River 
District being about seven feet thick, for I had occasion several 
times to observe this when cutting holes for fishing purposes) : 
The first effect of the warm weather is to melt the snow 
upon the ice and cause it to be flooded. In a few days the 
water disappears through the ice and the upper surface grad- 
ually becomes candled until it is a bed of sharp spikes, very dif- 
ficult and painful to travel over without the best of footwear 
for both man and dogs. 
As the warmth of the sun increases, this candling process 
is continued until at length, when that condition is about 
reached, one may push a pole through ice four feet thick. Such 
had become its condition on Artillery Lake on the 8th of June, 
upon the discovery of which we sought and found a comfort- 
able camping ground, on the east shore of the lake, in a small 
grove of scrubby spruce timber, which proved to be the last on 
our out-bound journey until after we had crossed the height of 
land and neared the valley of Thelon River. Ten days only 
elapsed between our Winter and Summer modes of travel, for 
on the 18th of June we embarked in our Peterboros, and two 
