et are warm, the rest of the body will not suffer badly; but, on the
contrary, if the feet are allowed to get cold, no matter what state the
other parts be in, it is impossible to sleep with comfort.

Of course our young voyageurs followed the well-known practice of the
country, and lay with their feet to the fire in such a manner that, when
all were placed, their bodies formed four radii of a circle, of which
the fire was the centre. Marengo usually lay beside Basil, whom he
looked upon as his proper master.

Notwithstanding a bed of grass and leaves which they each night spread
for themselves, they were sadly in want of blankets, and therefore the
skin of the wapiti, which was a very fine one, would be a welcome
addition to their stock of bedding. They resolved, therefore, to remain
one day where they had killed it, so that the skin might be dried and
receive a partial dressing. Moreover, they intended to "jerk" some of
the meat--although elk-venison is not considered very palatable where
other meat can be had. It is without juice, and resembles dry
short-grained beef more than venison. For this reason it is looked upon
by both Indians and white hunters as inferior to buffalo, moose,
caribou, or even the common deer. One peculiarity of the flesh of this
animal is, that the fat becomes hard the moment it is taken off the
fire. It freezes upon the lips like suet, and clings around the teeth of
a person eating it, which is not the case with that of other species of
deer.

The skin of the wapiti, however, is held in high esteem among the
Indians. It is thinner than that of the moose, but makes a much better
article of leather. When dressed in the Indian fashion--that is to say,
soaked in a lather composed of the brains and fat of the animal itself,
and then washed, dried, scraped, and smoked--it becomes as soft and
pliable as a kid-glove, and will wash and dry without stiffening like
chamois leather. That is a great advantage which it has, in the eyes of
the Indians, over the skins of other species of deer, as the moose and
caribou--for the leather made from these, after a wetting, becomes harsh
and rigid and requires a great deal of rubbing to render it soft again.

Lucien knew how to dress the elk-hide, and could make leather out of it
as well as any Indian squaw in the country. But travelling as they were,
there was not a good opportunity for that; so they were content to give
it such a dressing as the circumstances