He ran with head low and
tongue hanging out. From cover of a boulder Mr. M'Kenzie waited
for them to pass, and one after another he dropped four of the
wolves. The others taking the hint altered their course, and the
victim escaped.
CHAPTER XIII
ACROSS THE DIVIDE
The gale continued all night with passing showers, which threatened
to riddle the tent with their force, and it was not till ten the
following forenoon that we were able to proceed, hugging the shore
as we went. Deer were about in all directions, and as we rounded a
point near the head of the lake, George, standing in the bow of the
canoe, and looking across to the woods beyond the big marsh, which
stretched away northward, said: "The wood over there is just moving
with them."
Camp was pitched on the point among the spruce and tamarack,
preparatory to scouting for George River waters, and lunch over,
Job and Joe were off to the task, while George and Gilbert built a
stage and put the caribou meat over the fire to smoke and dry
again. It was my golden opportunity to air my camp stuff, and bags
were emptied and everything spread out in the sunshine and wind.
Later my washing, neglected on Sunday on account of the storm, was
added to the decorations.
How very much I wanted to go scouting with Job and Joe! Here I
expected difficulties in finding the way. The map I carried
indicated a number of detached lakes stretching miles northward
from Lake Michikamats, and to find among the lakes of this upper
plain the one which should prove the source of the George River,
promised to be interesting work. Inwardly impatient I waited for
the return of the men. Less than two hours later I saw them come
down across the marsh to where they had left the canoe. There
mounting a huge boulder they sat down to watch the caribou.
This was trying, when I had so eagerly waited for the news they
were to bring; but a little reflection convinced me that it meant
simply - nothing definite about the George River. Otherwise they
would have come immediately to camp. The conclusion proved
correct, and when towards evening they came in, the report was -
more streams and lakes leading northward up the slope of the
plateau. We had not yet reached the real head of the Nascaupee
River.
Thursday morning, August 10th, we began our portage across the
marsh. Before leaving, the men had a few careless, ineffectual
shots at a crow which had alighted near the camp, the first of its
kind we had seen on the trip. The marsh was one mile wide from
east to west, and reached almost two miles northward from the upper
end of the lake.
