Colonies of Lemmings, Voles, or Groundsquirrels are found
on every sunny slope; the Wolverine and the White Wolf find this
a land of plenty, for on every side, as I stood on that high hill,
were to be seen small groups of Caribou.
This was the land and these the creatures I had come to see. This
was my Farthest North and this was the culmination of years of
dreaming. How very good it seemed at the time, but how different
and how infinitely more delicate and satisfying was the realisation
than any of the day-dreams founded on my vision through the eyes
of other men.
CHAPTER XXXVII
FACING HOMEWARD
On this hill we divided, Preble and Billy going northward; Weeso
and I eastward, all intent on finding a herd of Musk-ox; for this
was the beginning of their range. There was one continual surprise
as we journeyed - the willows that were mere twigs on Aylmer Lake
increased in size and were now plentiful and as high as our heads,
with stems two or three inches thick. This was due partly to the
decreased altitude and partly to removal from the broad, cold sheet
of Aylmer, which, with its July ice, must tend to lower the summer
temperature.
For a long time we tramped eastward, among hills and meadows, with
Caribou. Then, at length, turned south again and, after a 20-mile
tramp, arrived in camp at 6.35, having seen no sign whatever of
Musk-ox, although this is the region where Pike found them common;
on July 1, 1890, at the little lake where we lunched, his party
killed seven out of a considerable band.
At 9.30 that night Preble and Billy returned. They had been over Icy
River, easily recognised by the thick ice still on its expansions,
and on to Musk-ox Lake, without seeing any fresh tracks of a Musk-ox.
As they came into camp a White Wolf sneaked away.
Rain began at 6 and continued a heavy storm all night. In the morning
it was still in full blast, so no one rose until 9.30, when Billy,
starved out of his warm bed, got up to make breakfast. Soon I
heard him calling: "Mr. Seton, here's a big Wolf in camp!" "Bring
him in here," I said. Then a rifle-shot was heard, another, and
Billy appeared, dragging a huge White Wolf. (He is now to be seen
in the American Museum.)
All that day and the next night the storm raged. Even the presence
of Caribou bands did not stimulate us enough to face the sleet.
Next day it was dry, but too windy to travel.
Billy now did something that illustrates at once the preciousness
of firewood, and the pluck, strength, and reliability of my cook.
During his recent tramp he found a low, rocky hollow full of large,
dead willows.
