This little
stream ran into the lake. Just near the lake I saw a caribou
coming along following this little river to where we were.
I told the boys, "There's a caribou coming along."
We all fell flat on the ground; but he was on the lee side of us
and soon found out we were there. He stood - behind some little
trees and had his head up looking towards where we were, and all of
a sudden he was gone, and we didn't have the chance to fire. I got
up. A swamp I knew of. I made for that swamp thinking I would cut
across him. I tried to run, yet I was so very, very weak. Oh! how
hard I tried to run. But when I got out there he was across on the
other side. I was away for some time, yet when I came to the boys,
they were still lain the same way, and their faces to the ground,
and did not move till I spoke to them. We were more than sorry
about the caribou, and each one said what he would do, and how much
we could eat if we killed that caribou and that we would stay right
there for a few days till we got a little stronger.
Though I was feeling so very weak myself, when we would have
nothing else but tea, as we often just had tea, nothing else, when
I would hand the boys a cup of tea each, I would ask them to pass
it back, as I would pretend I'd forgotten to put any sugar in.
They would pretend that they didn't care for sugar, and refuse to
have some. Then I would ask them if they would have some bread or
some pie.
Mr. Hubbard would say, "PIE! What is pie? What do they use it
for? Do they eat it?"
This I did often to encourage them and myself, that we might forget
the danger ahead; but it was something impossible to forget, as the
hunger and weakness pained us, and I thought we would not be able
to go many more days if we don't succeed in killing anything.
That evening we hadn't the strength of chopping our wood. Just
gathered the small, dry pieces we found near our camp. We also put
up our camp in an easy way we thought. Three little poles were
required to keep up our tent. They were quite handy; but it took
me some time before I could cut them down.
That day at noon, when I left my dunnage bag with lots of films in,
and hung the bag on a short stump, Mr. Hubbard told me, "If we get
out safe to Northwest River, I think you or I might stay there this
winter, and try and get out some of the things we are leaving,
especially the films.
