ot go to Nelson River with dogs and Indians about two
moons ago?"

"Yes," I replied, "I did."

"Well, I was out hunting deer, but I did not have much luck. The snow
was deep, the deer were very shy, and I had no success. One day, when
very hungry, for I had only taken a little dried rabbit meat with me
from my wigwam, I came across your trail, and I found where your Indians
had made a _cache_, that is, a big bundle of provisions and other things
had been tied up in a blanket, and then a small tree had been bent down
by your men, and the bundle fastened on the top, and let spring up again
to keep it from the wolves. I saw your bundle hanging there, and as I
was very hungry I thought, `Now if the kind-hearted Missionary only knew
the poor Indian hunter was here looking at his bundle of food, he would
say, "Help yourself;"' and that was what I did. I bent down the tree,
and found the large piece of pemmican. I cut off a piece big enough to
make me a good dinner, then I tied up the bundle again, and let it swing
up as you had it. And now I have brought you this venison in place of
what I took."

I was pleased with his honesty, and had in the incident another example
of the Indian quickness to read much where the white man sees nothing.

The reason why we had made the _cache_ which the Indian had discovered
was, that we had taken a large quantity of pemmican for our food, as the
people we wore going to see were poor, and we did not wish to be a
burden to them; but we had been caught in a terrible storm, and as the
snow was very deep, making the travelling heavy, we were obliged to
lighten our loads as soon as possible. So we left a portion, as the
Indian has described, on the way.

When we returned to the _cache_, and my men pulled it down and opened
the bundle, one of them quickly cried out, "Somebody has been at our
_cache_."

"Nonsense," I replied; "nobody would disturb it. And then there were no
tracks around when we reached here to-night."

Looking at the largest piece of pemmican, the Indians said, "Missionary,
somebody has taken down our bundle and cut off a piece just here. That
there are no tracks, is because there have been so many snow-storms
lately. All tracks made a few days ago are covered up."

As I knew they were so much quicker along these lines of education than
white men, I did not argue any more with them. The coming of the old
hunter with the venison was the proof of the cleverness of