However The Women Prepared Their Sledges And Dogs With The Design Of Dismembering And Bringing Home The Carcass, A Proceeding To Which, In Their Necessitous Condition, I Could Have Had Neither Reasonable Nor Available Objections Without Giving Them A Substitute.

By much solicitation I obtained an audience and offered them our own provisions on condition of their suspending the work of destruction till the next day.

They agreed to the proposition and we set out with some Indians for the place where the animal was lying. The night advancing we were separated by a snowstorm and, not being skilful enough to follow tracks which were so speedily filled up, I was bewildered for several hours in the woods, when I met with an Indian who led me back at such a pace that I was always in the rear, to his infinite diversion. The Indians are vain of their local knowledge which is certainly very wonderful. Our companions had taken out the entrails and young of the moose, which they buried in the snow.

The Indians then returned to the tents and one of my men accompanied them; he was the person charged with the management of the trade at the hunting tent; and he observed that the opportunity of making a bargain with the Indians while they were drinking was too advantageous to be lost.

It remained for us to prevent the wolves from mangling the moose; for which purpose we wrapped ourselves in blankets between its feet and placed the hatchets within our reach.

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