Year: 1879




mind was diverted in that direction solely
While resting on the top of high blun overlooklpl
| the lakes heard q faint ''haloo, which seemed tt
come on the wind from an immense distance
called ''Sams" attention to it, and he Immediately
dropped behind rock. out of the wind, until 1t was
repeated several times, when, saying "lnut ky-ete


(somebody says come he started of down the steer
mountain side in the direction of the voice and the
boys and followed him. We walked nearly three
quarters of hour before finally saw the object
of our search and then he appeared perched on
rock against the clear blue sky. but still too far of


to be recognized even by my hawk-eyed guides. AT
last were near enough to see that 1t was ALEX;
Taylor" one of the lnuits from our camp, VINO had
left with the others for the hunting grounds he
had with him his wife and two children. one babe
in the hood. and two bags packed with tupic ana
| wife another big bundle. They seemed both sur sur
| prsed and pleased to me. "Alex told me that
no me aa seen ans no thst there we're ent
| further on. He RECALLED us with some raw meat anu
| honored with nice raw deer tongue whicn are
with great relish after he had skinned IL ana eaton
the skin. -


After luncheon and pipe we gathered up the
| bundles and trudged along until nearly sundown


when arrived at tupic under ciiff ana between
| two large lakes Two young married women and an
old palsied crone came out to meet u.s. Alex Taylor
told me that to stay there all night The next
morning, after walking about nine or ten miles with
out seeing thing in the way OF game except some
deer tracks, we assembled high bluff that had been
on our right since leaving camp. when. to my in
finite delight, saw large river which "Aex, trac-
ing the course with hislfnger indicated emptyng
into q large bay camp, opposite Depot
Island. Its course was nearly straight Tor ABOUT
three miles below and seven miles north of
where we stood. then, as my guide indicated with
q wave of his hand. flowed to the east and again to
the south. 1t extended much further to the west
and north and from what have since learned from
the natives. rises between the head OF the Invich
and Wager rivers and is about ninety-fivc miles in
length To the south and west of where we stood it
passed over broad stony portage and beyond that
sweed out do most OF the rivers in this country,
into series of broad lakes filed with islands.


This discovery appeared to me OF inestmable value
indicating an entirely new and feasible route
to King william Land and, since my return to
camp, Esquimau joe, who had been away with
the hunters tor about three weeks here for
few hours and told me that his hunting camp was
Oh the east bank OF this river and the inquiry
he has already made of the Inuits in his party
firms my Judgment of the feasibility OF this route.


We resumed walk, turning back along the
bank OF the river, which the east side is high
aud almost perpendicular. We reached the portage
about three miles to the south and crossed over to
the west side. which is low. rolling countr.,
cred with moss. which at distance looked like sun
burned grass. The portage was nearly quarter Of
where the current ran most swiftly through the
large rocks we got over without wetting our feet.
on a rockv em,nence "Aiex pointed vaguely
in the direction of some hills about two three
miles away and said he thought there were some
deer there, but as had been walking three days
now without seeing deer and was desperately tired
told him to go il he wanted to and take my rifle
and would wait till he back. He trotted
along and sat under the lee of a rock taking ad-
vantage of the opportunity to write up my
journal and trace the course OF the river.
and lower, but no signs of 'Alex Taylor
About three hours after he left me he reappeared
with his hat in his hand and heavy bundle over
his shoulder. trotting along 80 nmbly that envied
him. He. had shot two deer, "cOoney" and an
'.isaacer"-that is. doe and bnck-and he had
their warm bloody skins on his back He said that
there plenty OF deer over there, and tomorrow
would move the camp up to that spot. SO we
put the skins and some tenderloin III a cairn and
covered it up with heavy stones, and after eating
some Of the raw tenderloin started for home. 1t
was long after dark when we reached there. and
xunc ola IN ind m Ia
old father and young mother and my blankets and
a little package of salt, which l had missed very
much while eating SO much raw meat


The next day we broke camp at an early hour and
moved bag and baggage to the place where "Alex
noon. Notwithstanding my feet and tired
limbs took a load on my shoulders out of sheer
shame for without that would have been the only
one, old or young, biped or quadruped, without
something, so ! made martyr OF myself. just
after leaving the spot where "Aex" and / had
cached the skins yesterday afternoon Sam dropped
his bundle from his shoulders. grasped his rifle
and with the single word ''tukto. started over the
country on run. Three others joined him
and the rest of us kept on until We reached
the lake where our new camp was to be
located. The tents were soon put up aud
casses that 'Alex" had shot and buried under
stones. Presently the hunters who went off with


came BACK saying sney icy saa nan seen % hothns mo-
which he had shot. He Is quite young but one OF
the best and most interchangeable hunters in the tribe.
went out in the morning with ''Sam and 'Boxy''
to find some deer. After some wanderings, in which
'.Sam got separated from U.S. and after several
cessful shots at the game. "Boxy" and returned.
being too weary and footsore to find much interest
In the sport especially it began to rain and was
bitter cold. In fact. the first new ice have seen
this summer around the shores of the lake that
morning, and had to break it when went down to
bathe. On our way home we passed. on the top of q
high, barren hill, cairn which "Boxy" ut once
said had been built by the Kinnepatoos. tribe
which formerly occupied these lands. and the boys
soon threw aside the, the stones to iind the dried up
did not get back until dark. but he brought with
the skin of isaacer that he had killed since


RETURNING TO CAMP.


That night proposed to 'Sanl" to bring me down
to our tent at the salt water and though could
that he did not relish leaving the good hunting
grounds just as he had reached them he consented.
and finally seemed delighted when promised him
al old pair OF pantsloons for his trouble. "Alex
Taylor" also came to the tupic and said he would
accompany US, and this made the prospect moro
hard travelling. During the night we were visited
by thunder storm, which frightened my
tent mates because unused to it, and they lighted an
ikomer take the sharp edge of the lightning but
i slept peacefully while "Old Moasses" held n
stick that the shadow kept the light of the lamp
from my eyes. 1t stopped raining toward morning,
but it was still chilly and damp when we started.
shortly after daylight, on our long journey.


sam and "Alex" again got separated from US in
pursuit of deer and became chilly that we gave
up waiting for them to rejoin and moved on.
At last could see Picciulok as the natives call
Depot Island, but it was at considerable distance
and it getting late The was then below
the horizon, and we hastened along to get sight OF
some familiar ground; but alas at every hilltop
we could not 1t at all, 1t dark. My guides
knew they were lost and wanted to lie down until
morning. but kept them up for could the stars
and could keep the right but the walking
terrible. My feet were now so sensitive that could
feel every sharp stone through the soles Of my
mings. and the stony portages between the lakes and
the little linden tsons of the coast seemed to
crease in number all the time. 1t was dark that
could not where to step. and my ieet would slip
down and wedge in the angle between the sharp
stones. or the point Of rock would come right in
the hollow OF my foot, until l stumbled and
foundered and almost screamed with pain. And yet
no familiar landmarks. began to despair. rather
to doubt my physical ability to proceed. when the
sharp-eyed Netchuk called my attention to the light
from tupic at considerable distance and little to
our right This was indeed refreshing. so we kept
on as well as we could, though we often fell. aud
staggering with strained chord in one foot and the
skin of the sole Of the other. But there were
the lights ahead, and we kept right straight Tor
them fhouph no matter how far we walked they