CHAPTER XVIII. 
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 
Nelson River. A place was prepared on our own dog- 
sled for crippled Michel; the team of six dogs was 
harnessed, and the flat sleds, including one for Eh, the 
son of old William the Indian, were loaded with all that 
the dogs were unable to haul. Our supplies by this 
time werediminished to the extent of about two hundred 
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 
