--f To CARIBOO AND BACK }--

the ropes that held the craft together. This
was a doubly unfortunate accident, for the logs
flew apart at the very place where the pro-
visions were stored and before anything could
be done the half of their food store had dropped
into the water and disappeared.

It was a sad loss. Nothing remained now
but some smoked fish and a little mixed flour
and pemmican at the bottom of a sack. Jacques
steered for shore as quickly as possible, al-
though it was too late to begin work on repairs,
for darkness would soon follow the long sha-
dows already lying on the water.

It took all of the next day to mend the raft,
and even the day following they were late in
making a start.

A small party of Shuswap Indians were
camped in their neighborhood. Jacques and
the professor had spent some time trying to
persuade these men to do some trading, to
part with some pemmican, or with food of any
kind to help out the shortage. But they would
trade nothing except on exorbitant terms.
Hunting was bad, the older Indian said; for
a long time they’ had found neither deer nor
bear. His own family had not enough to eat.

[135]