CHAPTER XIX. 



CROSSING THE NELSON. 



On the morning of the 11th of November our parties 

 arranged to separate. The route of Mr. Matheson's party 

 henceforth lay away to the eastward, while our path still led 

 to the south, toward the banks of the ISTelson Eiver. A place 

 was prepared on our own . dogsled for crippled Michel, and 

 the team of six dogs harnessed. Then the flat sleds, including 

 one for Eli, the son of old William the Indian, were loaded 

 with all that the dogs were unable to haul. Our supplies by 

 this time were diminished to the extent of about two hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds, so, that, even with the additional 

 weight of a man, the loads were lighter than at the outset of 

 the journey. 



Loads being thus readjusted, and our feet harnessed to 

 snowshoes, we bade farewell to our friends from the Fort, as 

 well as to those of the forest, and made a new start. 



The weather was now unusually mild for the month of 

 November, making the snow soft, and even wet in some 

 places. This made travelling hard for the team, as it' caused 

 the ice-glazing to melt from the sled, and the mud-shoeing 

 to wear and drag heavily upon the track. My brother and I 

 still suffered much from our crippled limbs, but with con- 

 siderable difficulty managed to keep up with the rest. After 

 making a small day's march we camped for the night on the 

 bank of a stream called by the Indians the White Bear Creek. 

 The weather having turned colder during the night, making 

 the prospects for travel more favorable, we started dovTn 

 stream the next morning upon the ice of the creek, and then 



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