Eleven thousand beaver pelts were
yearly brought down to the fort from the unknown river. How did the
Chipewyans obtain these pelts from the Eskimo? What was the real
reason of the Indian eagerness to conduct the white man to the
"Far-Off-Metal River"? The white man was not taken into the confidence
of the Indian council; but he could not fail to draw his own
conclusions.
Scouts were sent cautiously forward to trail the path of the aliens who
had lighted the far moss fire. Women and children were ordered to head
about for a rendezvous southwest on Lake Athabasca. Carrying only the
lightest supplies, the braves set out swiftly for the North on June 1.
Mist and rain hung so heavily over the desolate moors that the
travellers could not see twenty feet ahead. In places the rocks were
glazed with ice and scored with runnels of water. Half the warriors
here lost heart and turned back. The others led by Hearne and
Matonabbee crossed the iced precipices on hands and knees, with gun
stocks strapped to backs or held in teeth. On the 21st of June the sun
did not set. Hearne had crossed the Arctic Circle. The sun hung on
the southern horizon all night long. Henceforth the travellers marched
without tents. During rain or snow storm, they took refuge under rocks
or in caves. Provisions turned mouldy with wet. The moss was too
soaked for fire. Snow fell so heavily in drifting storms that Hearne
often awakened in the morning to find himself almost immured in the
cave where they had sought shelter.
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