The Lure of the Labrador Wild

. At last we had a real river to travel on, its average width being between 100 and 150 yards. None of us, of course, then knew that our real river was the Beaver,

p a big hill reared its barren summit above the black spruce trees at its base, standing there like a lonely sentinel among the little hills that bordered the widening river basin. Despit

bread ration was now cut down to one-third of a loaf a day for each man. As we had no lard, it was made simply of flour, baking powder, and water. It was baked in our frying pan, and a loaf was about eight inches in diameter and one inch thick, so that our daily ration was but a morsel. We al

the most beautiful. For a time Hubbard and I would claim the distinction each for himself, but it usually ended by our conceding the distinction to George. As a matter of fact, with our unkempt hair and beards and our ra

. Behind us the black spruce forest made our roaring fire seem more cheerful in contrast. A cold east wind had driven away the flies and the mosquitoes. Suppe

rador, a fancy struck me and I suggested to my compani

l you the Great Mogul. Of course you will be commander-in-chief of

politicians at home, to serve the country when duty calls-if there's enough in it. As the Great Mogul of Labrador

my ships?"

sent. But she's a good staunch one-eighteen feet long, with a beam of

driving, chilling rain. Reluctantly we broke camp, and began a day of back-breaking, disheartening work. The wind soughed dismally through the forests, and it was as though late autumn had overtaken us in a night. The spruce bou

the fight for the day, to make our Sunday camp and try to get fish. We were ravenously hungry, and ate even the heads of the dried trout we had for luncheon, these being the last of those w

ge and I took the rifles and started out in different directions to look for caribou. Neither of us found any fresh tracks. I returned at dusk, to find George already in camp and our supper of boiled fish ready to be eaten. Our sugar

was continually discussing the merits of various kinds of cake, candies, and sweet things generally. Our conversation too often turned to New York restaurants, and how he would visit vario

trout, which fell to me, while he and George ate thick pea meal porridge, of which they were very fond. We made several short portages during the morning, and, despite the dismal weather,

ain is killing, so we'll pitch camp now, and wait for the weather to clear and try to ge

Hubbard and I took our rods and fished the greater part of

other's birthday, and in honour of it we'll have an extra loaf of bread and so

at our camp, and at two in the afternoon started forward, all of us hungry and steadily growing hungrier. Hubbard whipped the water at the foot of every rapid and tried every

miles to the westward. Previous to Tuesday, these mountains had not been visible from the river valley, but on that day they suddenly came into view, and they made us stop and think, for they lay dir

August 12) the clouds broke, big patches of blue sky began to appear, and with a

ahead of us lay open water. Along it for five miles we gaily canoed before stopping for luncheon. Hungry? Yes, we were hungry even after devouring the fourteen trout and drinking the water they were

side was followed by a low ridge of drift, well wooded. We landed for luncheon on the south bank, at the foot of a wooded knoll, and there we made an interesting dis

perately on overland, but one by one they fell, until at last the gaunt fiend, Starvation, had claimed them all. Since that time no Indian has ever travelled that trail-the route to Michikamau upon which we had stumbled was thereupon abandoned. The

ian camp, and an additional reason for believing we were on the right trail, that was all. While we ate, the sun came out brilliantly, and we resumed our pa

ithout waiting for the canoe to stop, fired. The bullet went high. The caribou raised his head and looked at us inquisitively. Then Hubbard fired, and with the dying away of the report of his rifle, George and I shouted: "You hit 'im, Hubbard; you've got 'i

th a bullet through his body just back of the left shoulder. A trail of blood marked his path from the river to where he lay. As the animal floundered there in the moss, Hubbard, with the nervous impetuosity he frequently displayed, fire

not find a stone large enough to whet our knives. George made a stage for drying while Hubbard and I dressed the deer. Our work finished, we all sat down and roasted steaks on sticks and drank coffee. The

(Thursday, August 13) Hubbard and I paddled about three miles up the river to look for fish, but we got

addling upstream, "and make a little picnic of it.

"I have to make an extra ef

after our nerve-racking work of the last few weeks, while I hazarded the opinion

canoe on Friday morning (August 14), taking with us, in addition to our emergency kits, our cups, some tea, and enough caribou ribs for luncheon. We portaged around a few short rapids, and then, about eight

heir base. In sheltered places on their sides, patches of ice and snow glistened in the sunshine. Barren almost to their base, not a vestige of vegetation to be seen anywhere on their tops or sides, they presented a scene of desolate

and find it. Go and

the Ranges. Lost and

se ranges the K

eyond the point where the water flowed from it southeasterly into the river we had ascended, the lake at the foot of our hill seemed to extend directly eastward for four for five miles; but the thick wood of the valleys and low-lying hills made it difficult to see just where it ended, so that from where we stood

ar atmosphere. That was Hubbard's campfire-the only sign of life to be seen in all that wide wilderness. The scen

u ribs, and gathered some mildly acid berries of a variety neither of us had ever seen before, which we ate

me through those m

nting to one of the range, "I want to take a loo

led down through a rocky pass. George went up his mountain alone. During his absence, with my emergency kit, I caught ten six-inch trout to be divided between us for supper, as only two of o

a bed of boughs. But when we tried to sleep the icy wind that blew through the pass caused us to draw closer to the fire, before which we alternately sat and la

e, a piece of bread or a blanket?" G

tasted nothing but venison and fish since the day we killed

en the flies." And with this reflection he conti

ut to rise. In a somewhat despondent mood we turned back, and paddled for some distance into the lake expansions to the eastward of the point where our river flowed out. Although we were compelled to start for "home" before obtaining any definite knowledge

ngry as two wolves, and we astonished Hubbard with the amount of venison we

't come back last night, and I've been dead lonesome. I got thinking of my wife a

en mouthfuls. "Up there on the lakes we put in the toughest night yet,

eport of the uncertain course of the river, althoug

the caribou bones and boiled out the marrow grease. He stripped the fat from the entrails and tried out the tallow, preserving even the cracklings or scraps. "We'll be glad to eat 'em yet," sai

breakfast we had the caribou heart, which George thought at first he would roast but changed his mind and served stewed. For dinner we had the tongue, the tidbit of the animal, boiled with pieces of other parts. Hu

river. We discussed the matter thoroughly, and decided that the river George and I had seen coming from the eastward must take a turn

d the prospect was far from pleasing; but, ragged and almost barefooted though we were, not a man thought of turning back, and