CHAPTER XVIII.
CROSSING THE NELSON.
On the morning of the 11th of November our parties
arranged to separate. The route of Mr. Matheson's
party henceforth lay away to the eastward, while our
path still led to the south, toward the banks of the
Nelson River. A place was prepared on our own dog-sled
for crippled Michel; the team of six dogs was
harnessed, and the flat sleds, including one for Eli, the
son of old William the Indian, were loaded with all that
the dogs were unable to haul. Our supplies by this
time were diminished to the extent of about two hundred
and fifty pounds, so that, even with the additional weight
of a man, the loads were lighter than at the outset of the
journey.
Loads being thus readjusted, and our feet harnessed to snowshoes, we bade farewell to our friends from the Fort, as well as to those of the forest, and made a new start.
The weather was now unusually mild for the month of November, making the snow soft, and even wet in some places. This made travelling hard for the team, as it caused the ice glazing to melt from the sled, and the mud shoeing to wear and drag heavily upon the track. My brother and I still suffered much from our crippled
