74 THEOUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIN 



of " advanced civilization " had been anticipated there, it 

 was simply another proof that extremes meet. 



Whatever else was hidden, however, there was one thing 

 omnipresent, namely, the mongrel dog. It was hopeless to 

 explore the origin of an animal which seemed to draw from 

 all sources, including the wolf and fox, and whose appetite 

 stopped at nothing, but attacked old shirts, trousers, dunnage- 

 bags, fry-pans, and even the outfit of a geologist, to appease 

 the sacred rage of hunger. 



It was believed that over a thousand of these dogs, mainly 

 used in winter to haul fish, surrounded our tent, and when 

 it is said that an ordinary half-breed family harboured from 

 fifteen to twenty of the tribe, there is no exaggeration in the 

 estimate. They were of all shapes, sizes and colours, and, 

 though very civil to man, from whom they got nothing but 

 kicks, and stones, they kept up a constant row amongst them- 

 selves. 



To see a scrimmage of fifty or sixty of them on land or in 

 the water, where they went daily to fish, was a scene to be 

 remembered. They did not bark, but loped through the 

 woods, which were the camp's latrines, as scavengers by day, 

 and howled in unison at regular intervals by night ; for there 

 was a sort of horrible harmony in the performance, and 

 when the tom-toms of the gamblers accompanied it on all 

 sides, and the pounding of dancers' feet — for in this 

 enchanted land nobody ever seemed to go to bed — ^the 

 saturnalia was complete. 



It was indeed a gala time for the happy-go-lucky Lakers, 

 and the effects of the issue and sale of scrip certificates were 

 soon manifest in our neighbourhood. The traders' booths 

 were thronged with purchasers, also the refreshment tents 

 where cigars and ginger ale were sold ; and, in tepees impro- 

 vised from aspen saplings, the sporting element passed the 

 night at some interesting but easy way of losing money, 

 illuminating their game with guttering candles, minus 

 candlesticks, and presenting a picture worthy of an impres- 

 sionist's pencil. 



