The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-03-23

ms is the conclusion of a
series of articles dealing with
travel in the far North as
experienced by the former
Wolf Point man, "Chick" Fer
guson, and associates, who
are on a trapping adventure
close to the Arctic Circle.
Our first view of this lake was
one long to be remembered. 1t
was just after sunset and not a
breath of air stirred to mar the
mirror-like appearance of the
lakes surface. Trees growing
along the shore. cast their shad-
ows far out into the water-an
island seemed to blend with the
shadowy opposite shore, giving
the appearance of a promontory
extending far out into the lake,
While in the distance, beyond the
lake, could be seen the long range
of Horn Mountains, rising abrupt
ly from the surrounding flat coun-
try, forming a fitting background
for the whole. The utter stiffness
of the evening was broken only
by the peculiar whistling-like call
of several flocks of wild swans
that were idly flying about in a
seemingly aimless sort of way,
probably just strengthening up
their wings for the long flight to
the sunny south which would start
a few days hence. The lake
which is about eight miles in
diameter is a noted breeding place
for these wonderful birds. The
geese had already moved south as
had most of the ducks, though we
had killed some of both on the
river. The Fall run of fish was S
on at this time, and n day the '
big dog chased a lynx into the
timber. t
Warning of Winter f
We crossed the lake and pad Q
died about three miles up Birch c
River to Hays end cabin on Oc- b
tober list and that evening saw a E
hugh bull moose within a quarter n
mile of the cabin, but unfortunate s.
ly we had only shotguns with us, fl
so the old boy went his way I'M
harmed. That same evening sew
eral flocks of swans were seen al
lying very high and headed W
,outh-a warning for us to make NJ
in getting all our supplies to eC
amp, so we lost no time but sc
tarted right back the next morn ne
ne in spite of a very high wind. N
he lake was a solid mass of ha
yhite caps-but we had to have m
hose things on this side before an
ne %freezeup. 1t proved to be the pr
0ughest ride | ever had in a can be
e, but aside from nearly freezing Su
lr hands off and being chilled tol
trough and through, we thorough no
enjoyed it, while shooting the att
Ipids going down stream was a TIL
Ire delight. wa
OrdeaIs by Frost and Fire thi
October 4th proved a very hard ids
". 1t had frozen hard during sol
e night and continued freezing -
day, with the result that the
noe became encrusted with ice,
e tarp covering was a solid
eet of ice, and ice continually
med on the paddles, making
I'm exceedingly heavy and diff
ult to handle, and we were
t. We again reached the lake
on crossing in the dark
h such a large load. We had
up a few minles from the
e and now had nearly a ton in
canoe. Imagine our chagrin
IN we found the lake almost
frozen over the next
and we had yet another
| down the river but too much
was running to go after it.
t to help matters along and
us a bit of announcement
camp fire sneaked over and
at up two pairs of perfectly
/ pants and as many shirts. A
e nothing on the outside, but
matter up here in the -
9veral days were spent shoot
what ducks we could and in
tructing a shelter. On the
Horn River again opened up
re dashed down to the cache
brought the last load as far
lie lake. On the 18th the lake +
AIRED to have a lane of open !,
+ extending across to the i
h of Birch River. Loading
the outfit in the canoe we
ed across but in less than two ffO,
met solid ice and were u
forced to unload and camp oo'
point of land extending out LII
the lake. lea
Met at Last mi,
ter in the evening while sit n
lround the campfire eating Jot'
er, we heard a hail from out the
e water, and recognizing the M
as that of the long overdue
fo,,