CEOSSING THE NELSON 



sledding party returned with a little bag and can of pounded 

 dried fish, two or three gallons of seal oil, and some seal 

 blubber for the dogs ; all of which, though not exactly luxu- 

 rious, we were heartily glad to receive. Later two of the 

 hunters returned with several ptarmigan and one or two rab- 

 bits, and last of all, sometime after dark, the remaining 

 two — Jim and our noble guide — ^walked into camp carrying 

 the carcase of a deer. 



We had meat enough now, with careful use, to keep us 

 from suffering for several days, and in order to guard against 

 greed or waste, my brother and I took possession of the stock 

 and divided it up equally among the party, each man receiv- 

 ing in all about ten pounds. 



Without narrating in detail the incidents following, it will 

 be sufficient to state that for ten long days our weary wait on 

 the bleak banks of the Nelson was continued. From time to 

 time the men were sent out to hunt, but except in the above 

 instance, were obliged to return empty-handed. 



On the morning of the 19th, the guide and Jim, provided 

 with rifles, blankets, axes and snowshoes, started up the river, 

 determined to find deer if there were any in the neighbor- 

 hood, and also to investigate the possibilities of crossing the 

 river higher up. 



Four days of bitterly cold weather passed, the ther- 

 mometer varying from 12 to 15 degrees below zero, and back 

 came our discouraged hunters without having fired a shot. 

 Food was becoming alarmingly scarce. A fox which hap- 

 pened in our way was trapped and eagerly devoured. 



On the evening of the 22nd, though the mercury indicated 

 22 deg. below zero, the channel of. the river above us was 

 noticed to be less thickly blocked with ice than where we 

 were encamped. It was resolved, if possible, to haul the boat 

 a mile or two farther up stream, and there to launch and 

 measure our strength with the floe. 



All hands excepting Michel, who was still unable to walk, 



215 



