CHAPTER XVII 

 THE THIRD BUFFALO HUNT 



THE Indians are simply large children, and further, 

 no matter how reasonable your proposition, they take 

 a long time to consider it and are subject to all kinds 

 of mental revulsion. So we were lucky to get away 

 from Fort Smith on July 4 with young Frangois 

 Bezkya as guide. He was a full-blooded Chipewyan 

 Indian, so full that he had knowledge of no other 

 tongue, and Billy had to be go-between. 



Bezkya, the son of my old patient, came well rec- 

 ommended as a good man and a moose-hunter. A 

 "good man" means a strong, steady worker, as canoe- 

 man or portager. He may be morally the vilest out- 

 cast unhung; that in no wise modifies the phrase 

 "he is a good man." But more: the present was a 

 moose-hunter; this is a wonderfully pregnant phrase. 

 Moose-hunting by fair stalking is the pinnacle of 

 woodcraft. The Crees alone, as a tribe, are supposed to 

 be masters of the art; but many of the Chipewyans 

 are highly successful. One must be a consummate 

 trailer, a good shot, have tireless limbs and wind and 

 a complete knowledge of the animal's habits and ways 

 of moving and thinking. One must watch the wind, 

 without ceasing, for no hunter has the slightest chance 

 of success if once the Moose should scent him. This 



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