274 



THE ARCTIC PRAIRIES 



manent amusement. It taught me one thing that I 

 did not suspect, namely, that it is much harder to haul 

 a canoe with three inches of water under her keel than 



'"*- -e-" 



Musk-ox tracks 



a. Moose track in rocky country 



b. The same in muddy country 



with three feet. In the former case, the attraction 

 of the bottom is most powerful and evident. The 

 experience also explained the old sailor phrase about 

 the vessel feeling the bottom: this I had often heard, 

 but never before comprehended. 



All day we tracked, covering 20 to 25 miles between 

 camps and hourly making observations on the wild life 

 of the river. Small birds and mammals were evidently 



[Fox swimming Slave River. October 4, 1907 



much more abundant than in spring, and the broad, 

 muddy, and sandy reaches of the margin were tracked 

 over by Chipmunks, Weasels, Foxes, Lynxes, Bear, 

 and Moose. 



