an arrow placed at right
angles to the bow, but pointing straight in the direction where the sun
had been at that precise moment.

THE BEAR'S DEDUCTION

Owing to their knowledge of wood-craft some Indians are very clever at
deduction.

On Great Slave Lake near Fort Rae an Indian cripple, named Simpson's
Brother, had joined a party of canoe-men for the purpose of hunting
eggs. After paddling toward a group of islands, the party separated,
finally landing on different isles. They had agreed, however, to meet
at sunset on a certain island and there eat and sleep together. While
at work several of the Indians saw Simpson's Brother alone on a little
rocky islet, busily engaged in gathering eggs. Toward evening, the
party met at their rendezvous and took supper together, but strange to
say, Simpson's Brother did not appear. After smoking and talking for a
while, some grew anxious about the cripple. The Bear began to fear
lest some mishap had befallen him; but The Caribou scoffed at the idea:
he was sure that Simpson's Brother was still working and that he would
soon return with more eggs than any of them. The Bear, however,
thought they ought to search for him, as his canoe might have drifted
away. But The Mink replied that if anything like that had happened,
the cripple would certainly have fired his gun. "But how could he fire
his gun if his canoe had drifted away?" asked The Bear, "for would not
his gun be in his canoe?" So they all paddled off to investigate the
mystery. On nearing the island, they saw the Brother's canoe adrift.
When they overhauled it, sure enough his gun was aboard. They then
landed on the little isle where the cripple had been at work and began
calling aloud for him. As they received no answer, some of the Indians
claimed that he must be asleep. The Bear replied that if he was asleep
their shouting would have awakened him and he would have answered, but
that now they had best search the island.

So they divided into two parties and searched the shore in different
directions until they finally met on the other side, then they
scattered and examined every nook and corner of the place--but all in
vain. Some now contended that the others were mistaken, and that that
could not be the island on which the Brother had been working; but The
Bear--though he had not seen the cripple there--insisted that it was.
They asked him to prove it.

"The wind has been blowing steadily from the north