The Lure of the Labrador Wild

llow lakes that lay to the northward, and in the teeth of a gale paddled to the northern shore of the farther lake. There w

hich was, that it was decided that for the present, at least, we should leave behind us our canoe and the bulk of our camp equipment, includ

over one's head when the wind blew, and where there were rocks there was danger of the carrier falling and breaking, not only the canoe, but his own bones. This meant that if our entire outfit were taken along, practically every bit of land we travelled would have to be covered twice. In leaving the canoe

a bit of flour, enough to serve bread at rare intervals as a great dainty. Nothing remained of our caribou tallow and marrow grease. It is true we held in reserve the "emergency ration"; but this consisted only of eighteen pounds of pea mea

ter with each sunset. If we could get to the Indians on the George, we should be safe; for they would give us warm skins for clothing and replenish our stock of food. But should we meet with more delays, and arrive on the George too late for the caribou migration, and fail to find the Indians, what then? Well, then, our fate would be sealed. Hubbard was the leader of the expedition and he felt himself responsible, not only for h

as a small lake extending east and west. It was not more than an eighth of a mile across it, but a long distance around it. Back we went for the canoe, and at the same time brought forward the whole camp outfit. Again we tried light marching order, and again a la

t on a couch of spruce boughs and ate tough boiled venison and drank the broth; and, feeling we had made some progress, we were happy

this cross-country work without any streams to guide us, it was George's custom to go ahead all the way from half a mile to two miles and blaze a trail, so that when we

of the small lakes this Sunday, five geese walked gravely down the bank and into the water ahead of the canoe. One of them we got with a pistol shot; the others flew away. In another lake we reached late in the day we came upon five or six ducks. They were not far away, but dived so frequently we were unable to shoot them with pistol o

rifle lower than the Kipling Mountains. Upon ascending the ridge we heard the rushing of water on the other side, which sound proved to come from a small fall on a stream expanding and stretching out, to the eastward in long, narrow lakes. Appar

ns on the north. Great boulders were piled in confusion behind us and in front of us. Portaging over them had been most difficult and dangerous.

ped near this pool. The hard work of the day had brought on Hubbard another attack of his old illness; apparently it was only by a great exertion of will-power that he kept

get his work done, and was convinced of the uselessness of any attempt to sway him from his purpose. Moreover, I myself was hopeful of our ability to reach the caribou grounds; I felt sure that Hubbard's grit would carry him

bit weak, and our stomachs were continually crying out for bread or some other grain food. As we reclined before the fire, Hubbard had George

lus?-I once threw away a

we bot

" said

," said Hubbard, "

t as good as I thought they ought to be, and I was so ashamed of 'em that I took the whole lot

ld would you do with

ll, I guess we'd find a w

f doughnuts, and cake, and pie, and Hubbard extolled the me

gth asked, "do you l

ied, "anything t

d to go there for them when I was on the old Daily News. They cook them just right, and serve a big plate of nice greas

talk of the good dinners he had eaten when a child and o

ust ahead. He and I planned to spend the day catching and drying fish. For some reason the fish refused to rise near the camp, and Hubbard, who was so weak he could hardly stand, returned to lie down, while I went fart

nish my work here and get home again! I've been wondering when that wi

e said, "and then we'll be glad we came here, and can laugh at the recollection of these terrible ridges, and the whole awful country, and the hard times we've been through. I'm dead glad I had just you

owling, there's no call for it. We've done the best we c

sophy. I was thinking that here it is the last of August, and we don't know where we are; and it

rent outlet. Everywhere I could see the trout jumping, and by sundown had as long a string of them as I could conveniently

e a river," and, some distance northwest of that, "big water" and a tolerably good route for portages. What he told us led

ponds with water so clear we could see the pebbles on the bottom. Between these ponds boulders were piled indiscriminately. In directing our course to the northwest we avoided the mountains that had lain just ah

es to its western end; and there, near a creek that flowed into it, we found the r

nd they broke every bone up and bo

mer or a winter ca

ey'd been fishing, too. There's

and from that time on we let no part of the fish we caught be thrown away. Everything now in the way of food George divided carefully into three equal parts, even the fish broth. By this time we had not enough flour on hand to make

. The air was filled with the perfume of the balsam and spruce, and it acted as a tonic on our spirits and drove away the

boughs, George looked

Indian story a

and I begged tha

that was very high, and he climbed it, and told his sister to climb it with him; and they climbed higher and higher, and as they climbed, the tree grew taller and taller; and after a while they reached the moon. And then the boy laid down to sleep, and after a while he wok

fter a pause, "and I'll tell it to you some time; b

eresting folklore stories about the milky way and different stars, and various other

course directly west, to reach the "big water" George had seen from his mountain. During the next four days we encountered bad weather. As evening came on the sky would clear and remain

hrough several ponds, upon the shore of one of which we camped early in order that George might climb a hill, view

but now there was no need of that, as the colder weather had practically killed them for th

pretty cold for bathin

p me if I weren't ashamed of my bones. To tell yo

r lack of food told upon Hubbard's appeara

mps and marshes, over rocky, barren hills, and through thick growths of willows and alders, and at the end of the day's journey it would apparently be as far off as ever. The explanati

way over some bluffs on the afternoon of the 6th, when George, who was carrying the canoe, became separated from Hubbard and me. The wind was blowing hard, and he had difficulty in keeping the boat

the wind, and if we get separated, I might strike the lake one place and you so

d George and I carried the canoe ahead until we reached the thick woods into which he had disappeared; then George went

been over his narrow escape from being permanently separated from the rest of the party, and at a time when such a happening would have had serious con

k while George and I brought down the canoe and outfit, making several short portages. That night we camped tw

iculty we were having in reaching the "big water," set Hubbard to worrying again. He was especially anxious about the sufficiency of the material he had gathered for a story

nd see the Indians yet. George and I will go with you

aren't sick of it, it's on to the caribou grounds, late or

open," I replied, "an

Windbound Lake. Forty miles we had portaged from Lake Disappointment. We were practically out of food of any kind. Looking over the great expanse of water stretching miles aw

e and view the country. Instinctively we felt that Michikamau lay on the other side. We launched our canoe after a light luncheon of trout and a small ptarmigan George had shot. Once in the course of the afternoon we stopped paddling

fore ten o'clock. Blueberries grew in abundance on the side of the mountain, which, together with the country near it, had been burned. One of us, it was decided, should

not a thing of life was to be seen. The lake, relieved here and there with green island-spots; the cold rocks of distant mountains to the northeast; the low, semi-barren ridges and hills that we had travelled over bounding the lake to the eastward, and a ridge of green hills west of the lake that exte

up and up to the top; and then to the westernmost side of the peak they went and looked-looked to the West; and there, only a few miles away, lay Michikamau with its nin