aning and moaning, which gradually increased in volume and
pitch until presently it became a high, penetrating, blood-curdling
screech. This continued for perhaps half an hour, the drum beats never
ceasing their monotonous rat-tat-tat.

The shaman, or medicine man, thus working himself into a frenzy, at
length believed he saw within the lodge the ghostly form of the
particular Matchi Manitu, or evil spirit, responsible for the
disappearance of the caribou and the resulting famine.

This spirit's wrath it was believed had for some reason unknown to the
Indians been aroused against them. Only the shaman could get into
communication with the spirit, and learn from it what course the
Indians would be required to pursue to placate its wrath, and remove
its curse.

When the appearance of the spirit was announced, the shaman began to
supplicate and implore the Matchi Manitu to withdraw from the people
the pursuit of Famine; to return the caribou to the land; and to
preserve the lives of the dying.

Presently in tones of joy the shaman announced that he had succeeded
in enlisting the services of the Matchi Manitu, and with the
announcement the din within the lodge ceased, and for several minutes
mysterious whisperings were heard.

Suddenly the shaman threw over the lodge, and in a state of exhaustion
tottered forward. Still under the influence of the paroxysms into
which he had worked himself, he delivered in a wandering, disconnected
jumble of meaningless sentences the demands of the Matchi Manitu.
These consisted of many unreasonable and impossible feats that the
people were required to accomplish before the Spirit of
Starvation--the Gaunt Gray Wolf--would cease to follow upon their
trail.

The Indians began at once to break camp. Sishetakushin had reported no
caribou to the southward. Their only remaining hope was to reach the
haven of Ungava post to the northward; and they were to begin the
life-and-death struggle northward at once--a struggle in which many
were to fall.

A sense of vast relief was experienced by Shad when Sishetakushin
resumed the march. Famished and weak as he was, this was inexpressibly
preferable to a continuance with the starving crowd, and he turned his
back upon the camp, little caring whence their trail led.

For a while they continued northward upon the frozen bed of a stream,
which they had been following for several days, then a sharp turn was
made to the eastward, and as the sun was s