The Coolidge examiner., 1938-11-03
CHAPTER X

the camp. Certain that they had put
at least forty miles between them
selves and the hills where they had
seen the signal smoke, they felt
reasonably safe in separating to
hunt Leaving the spruce and TAM
arack scrub Of the sheltered valley
Alan, with Rough at heel, where he
had been trained to follow at COM
mand, came out on the shoulder OF
the barren. Here Alan hitched
Rough to tree by thong, for the
sight and scent of caribou would
make him too excited to control.
Taking a deeply worn caribou
path. Alan travelled inland. From a
depression some rock ptarmigan,
now in their mottled summer plum
age, rose with a cackle for their
short flight. A curious arctic fox
watched him for space from a
rise, shortly to disappear. From a
! lift in the barren he saw what he
had come for. Four caribou stood
in the breeze of a neighboring hill
Below them, feeding on low deer
| bush, were three others. Sweeping
the country with his glasses, Alan
saw scattered groups. They were
the last stragglers Of the migration
drifting north to spend the sum-
mer on the cool barrens away from
the fl pest.
Alan circled to bring his stalk Of
the feeding deer directly up wind
and made a careful approach be-
hind some ichen covered boulders.
He was within short rifle-shot, when
the deer became excited. They
punched, and two young bucks be-
| gan to dance and rear on their hind
legs.
Firing rapidly before they disap-
peared over the rise, the surprised
hunter brought down two of the
stampeded caribou. AS he ap-
preached the deer. his eyes swept
the tundra to windward but he saw
only an empty reach Of boulder
strewn barren, gray with caribou
moss.
He unwound the leather tump-line
from his waist, and rapidly skinned
the two deer. When the best of the
meat was rolled in a hide and
lashed with his line, Alan followed
the deer path over which he had
come, back into a small swale
where, sheltered from the wind,
stunted spruce and deer bush fought
for life.
AS he reached a huge lichen COW
cred boulder, he heard a noise be-
hind him. Pivoting, with a side
throw of his head, he freed his back
of the heavy load to take stunning
blow on the orehead-followed by
another. His gun slipped from
nerveless fingers as the light slowly
faded. He lurched forward, stum-
bled a few steps, then crumpled on
the deer path.
The chatter Of strange, high
pitched voices greeted his returning
consciousness. Somebody talking
Indians. The whining voices again
reached his ears as he lay dazed on
the moss. Not Montagnais but like
it-this talk. Who were they? What
was the matter. anyway?
Then to the partially stunned
hunter came the slow realization of
what had happened. He'd been
struck from behind. He was lying
on his arms. They ached and he
endeavored to move them, but they
were tied behind his back. His feet,
also, were fastened with deer
thongs. Rapidly, now, his senses
became more acute. He rolled on
| his side and squinted in the direc-
ton of the voices. Beside a fire
squatted four skin-clad figures. Mas
| kapil
He had been caught hunting in
their country The tales of the old
men of the Montag gnais flashed
through his consciousness. No man
had ever returned from the land of
the Naskapi.
In a surge of desperation, Alan
strained at the thongs binding his
wrists behind his back, but the pain
that split his head at the effort
stopped him. He managed to change
to a sitting position and somewhat
! lessen the torture from the mosqui-
toes which swarmed about him. The
eldest of the four Indians, roasting
meat on sticks, turned to him with
a Snarl:
Your head is hard, white mani"
he exclaimed, in a peculiar shrill
voice.
Alan, who spoke Montagnais flu
emily, thrilled to the realization that
he understood the Indian. for the
tongues are similar.
Where do you come from? No
strangers hunt in the land of the
Naskapi," the Indian continued,
while one Of the younger men rose
and picked up Alan's 30-30 which
lay almost within his reach. AS
he did so, he spat at the man who
sat on the moss with hands lashed
behind his back.
81 pass through your country"
Alan answered, in Montagnais. 81
was hungry and needed meat"
- fIA