294 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. 25, I 9 11 - 
we had had so far, and cutting enough dry 
wood to last a week, so that we would not have 
to make any noise and would have nothing to 
do but hunt. Next morning we noticed ice 
tending out into the stream on each side for pe 
haps six; feet, hut thought nothing of it until 
we had paddled up stream, to find it frozen clean 
across We hated to go back without a moose 
after having worked so hard to get to good 
moose ground and putting up such a comfort- 
mp, but on the other hand what was the 
use oi staying? If there was any Prospec of 
warmer weather, it would have been different, 
but it was steadily growing colder. There was 
such a crust on the snow that a moose could hear 
a man a long distance away, so that hunting on 
land was out of the question, and as the strean 
was frozen up, so also was hunting from the 
canoe. Therefore, we decided to get back neare 
civilization before our provisions gave out 
We packed up in a hurry and started off. 
When we came to the point where the Indians 
were camped, we landed to take some pictures. 
They had evidently seen us, and as we came up 
the slope to their camp we saw, sitting m a low 
across the front of the principal tent, a squaw 
with a papoose; a girl, ten years old and three 
or four boys. All had their eyes down when 
we came up and kept them so for some time. 
When we spoke to the squaw she smiled and 
pointed to her head, evidently trying to tell us 
she was sick. We tried to explain what we 
wanted, and showed them the camera, ol whicii 
they seemed afraid. Al. gave the squaw a quar¬ 
ter'and took several pictures. Just as we were 
leaving we heard the two Indians coming. They 
shoved our canoe aside and rushed up to the 
camp, not knowing what to make of our visi • 
However, a few words from the squaw and the 
sight of the quarter seemed to settle matters, 
and after taking a picture of the head of the 
family, we left them. 
At the end of the lake we found the stream 
leading from it to the portage frozen over, and 
landing, cut a young tree six feet long and fom 
inches in diameter at the butt. By raising this 
by the small end and letting the butt fall on the 
ice, we made fair progress for about half the 
distance, then concluded to carry. We ha an 
awful time crossing a bog and down timber. On 
the way we met Feister, the trapper, who on ac¬ 
count of the freeze up had been unable to get 
back to his wife and child, who were camped, as 
Philip Ward had told us, on a lake ten miles 
distant. He invited us to stay with him over 
night, and we were very glad to accept the in¬ 
vitation. Feister had the cabin nice and warm 
and a good supper for us. He thought it would 
become warmer in a day or so, and as he could 
do nothing until then and would have to stay 
at the cabin, he would be glad to have us stay 
with him. A Pennsylvania Dutchman, he ha 
been miner, cattleman, lumberman and had given 
up a job as cook on the Government timber re¬ 
serve at $3 per day and board to go trapping. 
He showed us a fine lot of mink, lynx, marten, 
fisher and bear furs, and said that he had cleared 
over S60 the previous week. 
On Monday morning it was colder than ever, 
and we went with Feister over one of his lines 
of traps. Al. narrowly escaped stepping into 
a steel bear trap weighing forty pounds. 
Feister showed us how to pitch our bark 
canoe which leaked badly from its passage 
through the ice. He cut a piece of wood, pref¬ 
erably white cedar, two or two and one-halt 
feer long and three or four inches in diameter. 
One end was notched and put into the fire until 
it glowed. Then by holding it close to the part 
to'be pitched, and blowing vigorously, the pitch 
was softened and rubbed into place with the 
fingers, which had to be moistened to prevent 
the pitch from sticking to them. We had to 
repeat this performance several times before we 
reached Bisco. 
It was just as cold as ever next day, and we 
made up our minds to start out, as we did not 
wish to impose on good nature and make too 
o-reat inroads on Feister’s scanty store of pro¬ 
visions, which he insisted on using without al¬ 
lowing us to contribute out of ours, saying we 
might find we had little enough before we 
reached the railroad; but he persuaded us to 
wait another day, which we did, and then as the 
weather showed no sign of getting warmer, we 
‘Tit out.” . . 
Feister was sorry that we had to go back with¬ 
out a moose, and said that if it was not for the 
fact that he had to reach his family as soon as 
possible, he would go along to help us out He 
was the best specimen of a good-natured, kind- 
hearted woodsman I have ever met, and I shall 
never forget what he did for us. We offered to 
pay him, but he became offended and refused 
to take a cent. , 
We carried our stuff over a trail which he 
showed us, to Albert Hoffman Lake. We made 
a sledge of two saplings laid lengthwise, with 
cross pieces bound to them. On these we placed 
the canoe with all our stuff inside and dragged 
it over the ice as far as we could. The ice was 
so thin in places that we had to run to keep 
from breaking through. When we reached the 
open water we paddled until we came to the 
ice again, and finally managed by running the 
canoe over the ice and jumping in when it gave 
under us, then breaking ice until we found it 
strong enough to bear us to reach the portage 
between Albert Hoffman and Wa-ka-bush-ka 
lakes and camped on the end of the portage 
Before night overtook us on Thursday we had 
carried our stuff over the portage, crossed the 
small lake between Wa-ka-bush-ka and Dismal 
Lakes on the ice, and managed to get the canoe 
to the shore of Dismal Lake. Another day we 
made the portage to Bisco River, crossing t e 
height of land, and were in great glee at finding 
the river open. Our joy was short lived. Wher¬ 
ever the river was broad and sluggish, it was 
frozen clear across, and we would have to either 
break ice or carry along the bank until we came 
to another open stretch. Night found us in 
camp in a swamp, the water and moss of which 
was frozen solid enough to support us. Another 
day of paddling and breaking ice found us at 
Flying Post Bay, which was frozen over foi 
about two miles, beyond which the water ap¬ 
peared to be open. We tested the ice, and find¬ 
ing it fairly solid, strapped our packs on our 
backs and started to walk over it. After break¬ 
ing through about fifteen times we reached the 
edge of the ice, and leaving our stuff, started 
back for the canoe. Each took an end of the 
canoe. Sometimes one would go through and 
sometimes both, but we finally reached the tree 
where we had left our stuff. Putting this into 
.the canoe we broke ice for fifty yards to open 
water crossed this, broke ice to an island, car¬ 
ried across this to another stretch of open water, 
and there, except for a strip 500 yards wide m 
front of us, the water was open as far as we 
could see. As our clothes were freezing to us, 
we ran the canoe across rather than to break 
ice. By quick work we got within fifty yar s 
of the other side of the strip, then Al. disap¬ 
peared. Fortunately the ice held me, and I held 
the canoe as AL, when he came up, was too 
chilled to think of caution and clambered in 
over the side. He had no sooner gotten in than 
the ice gave under me, too. 
Al. stayed in the boat, his teeth going like 
castanets, while I managed, between breaking 
ice and pulling over it, to reach open water. \\ e 
paddled for all we were worth for a point on 
the western shore, where Al. peeled off his wet 
clothes, after thawing them out before the fiie 
and rolled up in the blankets, almost frozen. I 
dried his clothes, then he dried mine, and we 
had supper. 
In the morning the bay was frozen as tar as 
we could see. We determined to’stay there until 
it opened, and as it was Sunday we straightened 
things up, greasing boots and moccasins, sharp¬ 
ening knives and axes, pitching the canoe, be¬ 
sides getting three square meals. 
On Monday there was no change for the bet¬ 
ter, and as about six inches of snow had fallen, 
we went hunting. Although there were plenty 
of deer sign all around 11s, between the crust 
under the new snow and the thick bush, we 
were unable to get a shot, although I jumpe 
two. While climbing the hill back of camp Al. 
saw a wolf about 800 yards away on the ice. 
We opened on him, but missed. A stiff breeze 
from the south had opened the bay in places 
and we decided to make what headway we could. 
By breaking ice from one opening to another, 
we reached a large island beyond which there 
was no ice. We paddled until dark, then 
camped. 
About half way down the lake next morning 
we were joined by a trapper named Philips and 
his cousin, who were on their way to Bisco. On 
account of Al.’s lame arm we were unable to 
keep up with them, but finally managed, after 
breaking another paddle, to reach Bisco about 
2 o’clock. . 
No human beings ever welcomed the sight ot 
civilization as we did. We danced around like 
Indians, and made a rush for the boarding 
house. We looked like a couple of wild men, 
with two weeks’ growth of beard, dirty long 
hair, and our clothes burned in places and in 
tatters. It was All Saints day, and everybody 
was dressed in his best. After devouring a meal 
which made even those hearty eaters, the lum¬ 
bermen, open their eyes, we told them our ex¬ 
perience, and as we had as much provisions in 
our trunks as we had taken with us, we asked 
them whether it would pay us to wait for the 
weather to moderate and try it again, but they 
were all of the opinion that the winter had come 
to stay, and that we would be foolish to make 
another attempt. 
We sold the canoe back to the Hudson Bay 
Company, paid a visit to Philip Ward, and after 
saying good-bye to all, left for home on the 
night train. Edw. G. Lane. 
All the game lazvs of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and nozv in force, are 
■niven in the Game Lazvs in Brief. See adv. 
