ACEOSS THE SUB-AKCTICS OP CANADA 



the revolver, and the glutton, nnlmrt, dodging around some 

 rocks, was almost run upon by Frangois, who in his excite- 

 ment fired again, and at the same time took a header. It 

 appeared as if he had shot himself instead of the wolverine, 

 but he had hit neither ; he had only experienced another bad 

 tumble on the rough, rocky ground. Gathering himself up 

 again, Frangois followed in hot pursuit, making a most deter- 

 mined chase, but just as he was about to do the tragic act, 

 Mr. Wolverine disappeared among the broken rocks, and could 

 not any more be found. 



Thus ended the hunt, and the men, greatly disgusted, 

 wearily recrossed the plain and climbed the hill. 



Finding great quantities of moss in the neighborhood, 

 several large piles of it were collected, tied up into bundles, 

 and taken back with us to camp for fuel. Two varieties of 

 this moss fuel were commonly found growing upon the stony 

 hill-tops, the one, reindeer moss (Lichen rangiferinus) , being 

 almost white, and the other black and wiry-looking and the 

 better fuel of the two. Either variety, of course, had to be 

 dry in order to bum, and that was a condition in which we 

 seldom found it, as incessant wet weather had been ex- 

 perienced since entering the Barren Grounds. 



When dry moss was found, therefore, it was our custom to 

 keep the kettles boiling all or most of the night, in order to 

 cook enough meat to supply camp for several days. 



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