The Cairo bulletin., 1907-10-25
THE WAY
OF THE NORTH
by Anna Lyons.

gutteral 'mush on" started his
dogs bounding out over the trail.
lie was making his usual visit to
the traps that he had set few days
previous. 1t was good days jour
ney to their goal and he pulled the
dogs into a steady lope that carried
| them swiftly over the frozen snow.
| silence. He Travelled as fast as his
dogs could go. until, just as night
was closing in, they reached cabin
that he had built near the head of
! the line of traps.
| After fastening the team. he ate
| some supper and then curled up in
| his blankets and slept. The next
| morning he was up and away to the
traps early. Chuckling with salts
faction. he passed from one trap to
| another, for nearly all contained its
victim, dead and frozen.
When he had started there was
| hardly as much as breath of wind
to disturb the solitude, but before
he reached the last trap 1t suddenly
began TO snow. and by the time he
had everything well packed and had
started back over the trail it was
showing hard.
Brehouf swore softly to himself as
he went along, for he was new to
his territory and depended largely on
his knowledge Of the trail to enable
him to regain the post. For many
hours he fastened on through the
storm, which after time changed to
a light fall, so that he was able to
see a distance round about. and he
looked eagerly for some familiar
points in the landscape.
But 1t seemed all new; this great
barren range was strangely unfam-
liar. Thinking that he might have
got a little off the trail, he turned
more and more 10 the south. And as
he went along he strained his eyes for
glimpse OF some remembered OBJ
ject, but in vain.
Everywhere stretched the same
interminable line of white, broken
in few places by patches of forest
or small hills. Then a great fear
swept through him and clutched his
heart. a thought that obscured his
very mind and vision. He pulled
UP his dogs and tried to focus his
mind on what was before him.
He gazed. as II fascinated at the
great snowy waste. undulating on
and on into the distance. that seem
ed to hold in its motionless bosom |
the very spirit OF silence and death.
Everywhere the Wilderness. always |
the silence, that oppressed like
weight. 1t had stopped showing
now, but the strange, tense atmos-
phere filed him with fear and
vague alarm.
He shook himself as though to
throw off this feeling that seemed to
be crushing him. and with wild
cry started on again. turning more
and more to the south as he thought,
but in reality be was swinging
around, so that his course described
a huge circle that would soon point
almost due north.
And then suddenly 1t grew colder,
a fierce northeast wind came driv-
ing along, biting and singing into
his face. and his hands grew SO
numb that he had to stop the sledge
and pound his fingers until he got
the blood circulating again.
Then, with little renewed vigor.
be was off once more on his despair
Ing journey He cursed and dashed
The dogs until the blood oozed
through their fur. On and on they
vent, but 1t was always the same.
And slowly the conviction was fore
I'd upon him that he was hopelessly
ost.
Once he stumbled and fell. and the
logs who were nearly finished stop
ped as he went down. He had a
lard time to get on his feet. and
when this was accomplished he lean
ID against the sledge. exhausted.
rhe cold was frightful and soon his
,ody became almost numb. and NUT
ering and raving he stamped about
rying to keep the life in his freez-
ng limbs.
Then once more came the snow,
bowly at first as if regretfully. but |
With its usual quickness, changing ,
nto driving. bowling storm. In
lis blind rage he had wandered far {
her and farther away from his team
md when he turned to look for it, c
{ was nowhere to be seen. (
lie managed to struggle to his c
Get; the wind upset him. once more
ie arose. and once more he was
brown. This time be did not rise "
'ut lay quite still. while the voice
+ the storm whistled and moaned T
round him. first sinking TO a low
roning sound. then rising TO a cry T
i wild rejoicing. II was his re- T
uicm with relentless sway 1t
wcpt down. and the snow. drifting
nd eddying. soon covered his mo-
IOnless form.
Hour after hour it came down
.eadily. but with the dawn of an
Their day 1t stopped as suddenly as a
had begun. And as the sun peep b
. out from the east. its glance fell n
]