The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-08-05
CHAPTER v


ed and cached, the whitefish platform
grooming with the spoil of the nets
which would not be lifted until the
ice, Guthrie and Etienne sat in coun-
Gil of war.
How many Of our people are win
tering on the island?" asked Garth.
The half-breed closed his small
eyes, his face contracted into a net
work of lines as he counted the fam
ilieS which had, through the summer,
crossed the strait to hunt on the
great island, instead of taking the
of the Elkwan headwaters.
I'VE got tweIve-fifteen hunter
dere Attawapiskat and Kapiskau got
more dan dat"
THAT means a lot of fox pelts if
the mice and rabbits are plentiful, and
the filters came through the summer"
Etienne scOwled. 1--WE not get
mOOCh of eet," he muttered Dem
peOpP geeve de hunter beeg price"
1t was true. Cut off from the island
was, while the hunters could reach
the schooner wintering at Seal Cove
and get more for their fur, the outlook
was indeed gloomy. But Garth had
no idea of allowing these strangers to
come into his territory and take the
valuable fox trade of Akimiski away
from him without struggle. While
he remained in the employ of the
company, he would give the best that
he had of loyalty and service His
pride was involved; and as he
searched for solution of the problem
which the presence of this schooner
presented, the desire to beat this free
trader in his bold try for the priceless
silver and black fox of Akimiski OBJ
sessed his thoughts.
From Graham at Attawapiskat and
Boucher at Kapiskau, he anticipated
little aid or comfort. The former was
an inactive, oldiSh man with a large
up-river trade, and Boucher, accord
ing to Cameron at Albany, already in
a panic over the rumOr of the machine
guns aboard McDonald's schooner. So
Garth had decided that he would ig-
more his colleagues on the coast south
of him and play a lone hand.
For space the two men nursed
their pipes in silence; then the face
of the white man suddenly lighted.
Saul SOuci!' he cried. "Why didn't
we think of him before? Etienne.
We'll hunt up old Saul and SEMI him
TO winter on the island. He's got two
or three sons there and besides being
Treaty Chief of the Crees, is a sort
of medicine man, shaman, isn't hep"
Blowing a cloud of smoke through
his teeth, the half-breed grunted his
disapproval. "He winter on de Little
Elkwan-up cen de Winisk countree.
Eet weel TAX long tam to find heem."
"Oh, / know it will be difficult to
get him across the strait before the
ice, but We'll put him over some
how"
I'VE get frozen cen wild our cano'
up riviere," protested the hard-headed
bushman.
We'll take birch canoe ana leave
it-carry the little tobOggan to come
out with-the dogs can follow the
shore going up" urged the enthusi-
astic Guthrie.
knowing the country, Etienne real
ized only too well the difficulty of
travelling between seasons; breaking
the young ice in the quiet reaches of
the river until compelled to abandon
the canoe; then the wait for the clos
ing of the stream and the snow. For
weeks the thin ice of the Elkwan
would be a trap for the unwary dog
team. TO the trail-wise Etienne. it
was foolish venture; to the man
whose only thought was the salvage
of the fox trade, a necessity.
How you get heem to de island?"
If the channel and strait are open,
We'll take him in the York boat We
can wait for the wind and if there
isn't too much flow ice, we'll get him
across"
Etienne knocked out his pipe. His
bright eyes snapped as he looked at
Guthrie. "Eef you say so, / go. But
we are two dam fool"
But we've got to give these people
fight Tor that fur-it's worth thou
SAINTS TO u.s.
"All right, boss, We fight" But
when the veteran voyager told his
wife of the mad purpose of Guthrie