446 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 16, 1911. 
acted as interpreter, that as he had been en¬ 
gaged in the presence of the trader and other 
witnesses and had been paid a portion of his 
wages in advance, I could not now excuse him 
from performing his part of the contract. At 
this they both laughed and asked me what I 
could do in case they did not see fit to go 
with me. 
On the bank their upturned canoe was lying, 
while my automatic shotgun was resting upon 
my shoulder. I replied that if my goods were 
not loaded and everything in readiness to start 
in fifteen minutes, I would render their canoe 
unfit for the water so far as it was a means of 
conveyance for leaving me. 
This had the desired effect and within the 
specified time the skiff was loaded; in fact, over¬ 
loaded. A young man who was taking his 
family to Norway House for the summer 
chanced along and agreed to take a few small 
boxes, while old Albert, my former canoeman 
on venturesome canoe trips, bargained to carry 
a few parcels in his canoe along with himself 
and wife. Thus my goods were distributed be¬ 
tween two canoes and the skiff. 
Our clumsy boat was propelled by means of 
four narrow oars that resembled rake handles. 
The men could not be induced to take wider 
ones, for they feared the extra hard work in¬ 
volved in their use. My post was on a huge 
pile of luggage at the stern, where for the en¬ 
tire trip I wielded the steering oar, oftimes 
with feet dangling in the water. 
The men were in excellent spirits at the start 
and for several miles down the Oxford Lake 
we made fairly good time. Then night ap¬ 
proached and as we had consumed our entire 
stock of provisions at the first meal, the men 
placed a gill net in the water to secure our 
breakfast, while I whipped the surface of the 
lake with my spoon-hook to provide for the sup¬ 
per. Two or three large trout fell a prey to 
the small triple hook, after one of the largest 
had broken off two barbs at a single stroke. It 
required skill and the assistance of my men 
to land one of these great beauties. Our catch 
the next morning consisted of two large jack- 
fish and one trout. While they were being 
dressed, I shot two rabbits, and so we had 
enough for the next meal also. 
After sailing for quite a distance the wind 
changed, and with the heavy boat and small 
oars travel was found to be very difficult. Nighl 
found us at the end of Oxford Lake with but 
a distance of thirty miles accomplished in a day 
and a half of travel. 
At our camp that second night I succeeded 
in shooting a “weenisk,” or groundhog, and a 
“magua,” or loon; and these were eaten for 
lunch. An hour or so later the canoes which 
had remained behind caught up with uS. 
Our method of camping, except when it 
rained, was exceedingly simple—we rolled up in 
our blankets and lay down upon the rocks, or 
moss, as the case might be, around the cheer¬ 
ful camp-fire and went to sleep. In case of 
storm the tents were pitched for shelter. 
The following day an early start was made, 
and after leaving Oxford Lake a short portage 
was crossed, and we began to ascend a rapid 
river. On this little river it was. necessary to 
make four portages with the goods, while the 
empty skiff was hauled through the seething 
rapids by means of the well-known “tracking line.” 
On a lake aptly named the “Windy” Lake, we 
were wind-bound for an entire afternoon. As 
the day was warm and the mosquitoes had been 
driven away by the wind, I lay down upon the 
shore to secure a few minutes of needed rest. 
Presently I heard the report of a gun, and soon 
after was awakened to hear some one shouting, 
“Missionary, you are hungry; here is plenty of 
meat,' William has killed a moose.” Thinking 
that they had shot a rabbit and were attempting 
a joke at my expense, I gave them a half- 
audible reply and went to sleep again. 
When I awakened, it was nearly night; the 
wind had gone down and the lake was rapidly 
calming. There, sure enough, lay the dressed 
carcass of a yearling moose and all hands were 
engaged in devouring odd bits that had been 
hastily cooked. 
Humbly thanking our Heavenly Father for 
this supply of much-needed food, I proceeded 
to join the circle, and keen hunger soon gave 
place to satisfied fulness. With great difficulty 
were my men induced to embark. They wished 
to camp beside the carcass and eat until they 
could eat no more. 
Hastily packing a few pieces of meat into a 
sack we hurried into the boat and during the 
hours of twilight crossed the dreaded lake and 
camped upon the opposite shore amid swarms 
of mosquitoes. Our traveling companions re¬ 
mained by the meat and did not catch us again 
for several days, owing to the after-effects of 
their gluttony. 
Starting early in the morning a number of 
lakes were crossed and in trolling from the 
boat a number of small but gamy jack-fish 
were caught and they formed a welcome addition 
to the bill of fare which consisted entirely of 
moose meat. 
On the shore of a small lake a cow moose 
was discovered. With her were two well grown 
calves. They were quietly feeding and soon 
afterward waded out into the water and began 
to drink. As they did not see us, I hoped to 
secure a photograph. After wading ashore 
through deep water and carefully focusing my 
camera, I was about to withdraw the shutter, 
when, looking up, to my chagrin, I saw Lady 
Moose and her two children just passing out 
of sight into the forest. This experience had 
oft befallen me at other times and places. While 
I fully apreciated the excellence of my view 
camera, I was forced to admit its inconvenience. 
Had I a hand camera with the same lens, sev¬ 
eral exposures might have been obtained before 
the animals disappeared in the woods. 
Abraham had an old muzzle-loading shotgun 
loaded with ball. With this he started after the 
moose, but returned in a few minutes declaring 
that the moose were near at hand, but that he 
was afraid to discharge his gun with such a 
load in it. Of course I knew that it was not 
the gun but the moose that old Abe feared. 1 
had occasion more than once to regret that I 
had not brought my rifle along on this trip, for 
we were entirely dependent upon our guns and 
fishing tackle for subsistence. 
Soon after this experience with the moose 
we were obliged to make a long and difficult 
portage. This involved much labor as our 
skiff weighed in the neighborhood of seven 
hundred pounds. By means of a strong line, 
with all hands pulling frantically, the crossing 
was accomplished, and after a beautiful six-mile 
sail we arrived at the famous Robinson portage, 
which is about a mile in length. 
In crossing Robinson portage we were re¬ 
minded of Tennyson’s immortal “Charge of the 
Light Brigade.” Mosquitoes to the right of us; 
mosquitoes to the left of us; mosquitoes in front 
of us; mosquitoes behind 11 s—biting and devour¬ 
ing us! With two heavy bags resting upon my 
head and shoulders, held in place by the pack- 
strap; two dress suitcases in my right hand and 
a gun and a pair of oars in the left, I staggered 
along unable to oppose the onslaught of my 
fiery tormentors. My face became smeared with 
blood and for many a day after it caused the 
most intense pain. 
We next embarked upon the stagnant waters 
of the Echimamish River, and here our diffi¬ 
culties increased. The water was low and we 
were unable to make the twenty miles of the 
river in one day, and so were compelled to 
camp on a small knoll in the midst of a quak¬ 
ing muskeg that threatened at every moment to 
engulf us. At three or four places along the 
river stone dams had been constructed to aid 
in taking the huge York boats through in times 
of low water. These dams served the purpose 
of locks and were opened in succession to per¬ 
mit the passage of the boat upon the rush of 
waters. The rocks at these places were literally 
plastered with flour that had oozed from the 
hundreds of sacks dumped upon them, while 
the York boats were in transit. 
At some places along the river the mosquitoes 
swarmed in incredible numbers. They “filled 
the air and darkened heaven.” Had we not 
wrapped our heads and faces in cheesecloth and 
mosquito netting and encased our hands in 
gloves we could not have traveled at all. 
Breathing would have been a perilous thing 
because of the danger of inhaling the insects 
through the nostrils. The Eechimamish is a 
favorite breeding ground for mosquitoes. 
Rev. Thomas Crosby, of British Columbia, 
tells of a reputable gentleman who maintained 
that he had in his possession a cow whose tail 
had been so badly bitten that it dropped off. 
I have a friend who lived formerly in New¬ 
foundland whose little twelve-year-old brother 
was killed by an onslaught of mosquitoes, his 
eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils being crammed 
with them. Traders and Indians have told of 
dogs being killed by them, and I know for a 
fact that both moose and deer are driven frantic 
by these insect foes and are forced to spend 
most of the daytime in the water up to their 
necks. 
Near the end of the river much grass was 
growing and soon we came out on Badger Lake. 
Old Albert had preceded us and had camped 
on this lake and set the net. He was rewarded 
by a fair catch of whitefish. We enjoyed the 
change of diet very much, for we had subsisted 
upon very short rations of meat for two days. 
This proved to be our last hearty meal until 
nearly to Norway House three days later 
The following day in the rapids of the Nelson 
River my automatic shotgun was lost overboard. 
As the rocks were nearly vertical and the water 
sixty-five feet deep, I reluctantly left the gun 
lying at the bottom of the Nelson River. Soon 
afterward the skiff itself was very nearly lost 
by the snapping of a line. During the desperate 
exertions in ascending the violent rapids en¬ 
countered by travelers in the North country, it 
