meet
them.

This turned out to be a miserably poor family of Indians, consisting of
the father, mother, three girls, and a boy, and a few ill-looking dogs.
They all lived together in a little tent or wigwam, made partly of skins
and partly of birch-bark. This tent was shaped like a cone. The fire
was kindled inside, in the middle of the floor. A hole in the side
served for a door, and a hole in the top did duty for window and
chimney. The family kettle hung above the fire, and the family circle
sat around it. A dirtier family and filthier tent one could not wish to
see. The father was a poor weakly man and a bad hunter; the squaw was
thin, wrinkled, and very dirty, and the children were all
sickly-looking, except the boy before mentioned, who seemed to enjoy
more than his fair share of health and rotundity.

"Have ye got anything to eat?" inquired Jasper, when the canoe reached
the place.

They had not got much, only a few fish and an owl.

"Poor miserable critters," said Jasper, throwing them a goose and a lump
of venison; "see there--that'll keep the wolf out o' yer insides for
some time. Have ye got anything to smoke?"

No, they had nothing to smoke but a few dried leaves.

"Worse and worse," cried Jasper, pulling a large plug of tobacco from
the breast of his coat; "here, that'll keep you puffin' for a short bit,
anyhow."

Heywood, although no smoker himself, carried a small supply of tobacco
just to give away to Indians, so he added two or three plugs to Jasper's
gift, and Arrowhead gave the father a few charges of powder and shot.
They then stepped into their canoe, and pushed off with that feeling of
light hearted happiness which always follows the doing of a kind action.

"There's bears up the river," said the Indian, as they were leaving.

"Have ye seen them?" inquired Jasper.

"Ay, but could not shoot--no powder, no ball. Look out for them!"

"That will I," replied the hunter, and in another moment the canoe was
out among the rapids again, advancing slowly up the river.

In about an hour afterwards they came to a part of the river where the
banks were high and steep. Here Jasper landed to look for the tracks of
the bears. He soon found these, and as they appeared to be fresh, he
prepared to follow them up.

"We may as well encamp here," said he to Arrowhead; "you can go and look
for the bears. I will land the baggage, and haul up the canoe, and then
take my gun and follow you. I see