o-koo-hoo of an experience some friends of
his once had with a black bear; and when we reached slack water he told
it to me.

The friends in question were a mother and her daughter, and late one
afternoon they were returning from berry picking. As they rounded a
bend in the river the daughter in the bow suddenly stopped paddling,
and--without turning her face toward her mother in the stern--excitedly
whispered: "_Muskwa_! _Muskwa_!"

Then as the older woman caught sight of a dark object fifty paces away,
she uttered a few hurried commands. Both fell to paddling with all
their might. With straining backs, stiffened arms, and bending blades,
they fairly lifted the canoe at every stroke; and the waters gave a
tearing sound as the slashing blades sent little whirlpools far behind.
Their hearts were fired with the spirit of the chase, and--though their
only weapons were their skinning knives--they felt no fear. On they
raced to head the bear, who was swimming desperately to gain the shore.
They overhauled him. He turned at bay. The daughter soused a blanket
in the water and threw it over his head. The mother in the stern
reached over as the canoe glided by, seized him by an ear as he
struggled blindly beneath the smothering mantle, and drove her knife
into his throat. A broad circle of crimson coloured the water round
the blanket. The canoe was quickly brought about; the mother slipped a
noose over his head, and in triumph they towed the carcass to their
camp.

On the last morning of our trip there was a flutter of pleasant
excitement among our little party; and by the time the sun appeared and
breakfast was over, everybody was laughing and talking, for we had made
such progress that we expected to reach Fort Consolation by ten o'clock
that forenoon. Quickly we loaded the canoes again, and away we
paddled. In a few hours the beautiful expanse of God's Lake appeared
before us. When we sighted the old fort, a joyous shout rang out;
paddles were waved overhead, and tears of joy rose to the eyes of the
women--and of some of the men.

Going ashore, we quickly made our toilets, donning our very finest in
order to make a good appearance on our arrival at the Fort--as is the
custom of the Northland. Bear's grease was employed with lavish
profusion, even Oo-koo-hoo and Amik and the boys using it on their
hair; while the women and girls greased and wove their tresses into a
single elongated braid which hung down beh