masters, was almost a martinet in his affairs, both in the home circle
and among those in his employ. This strict disciplinary method is
absolutely essential for comfort and success in such a land. If there
is a lax method of living and conducting business, soon everything is in
confusion and wretchedness.

Yet while everything went on with almost military precision in the home
life, there was nothing about it to make it otherwise than pleasant and
enjoyable. So the boys ever returned to this happy home with delight
from the excitements of their various hunting and fishing excursions.

One of the great deprivations of living in a land where the summer is so
short and the winter so long and cold is the lack of native fruit. No
apples, pears, cherries, or peaches grow in that northern land. These
fruits must be brought to it in a preserved or dried condition.

In some sections wild plums are to be found; in others, abundance of
cranberries grow most luxuriously. A few wild strawberries spring up in
the clearings where great fires have destroyed the forests. A sweet
bilberry also abounds in some parts of the country. This fruit is much
prized by the Indians, and frequently used, mixed with dried meat, in
the manufacture of their finest pemmican.

The Indian women in the neighbourhood of white settlements or trading
posts bring in large quantities of the cranberries, which they gather in
the marshes and forests, and sell to those who are able and willing to
purchase.

Sometimes cranberry parties were organised, and nearly all the members
of the post and families interested would join together and go off on an
excursion of several days to places where the berries were abundant, and
thus secure large quantities, which were an acceptable addition to their
rather meagre bill of fare.

This year, as the berries were reported by the Indian women to be very
abundant, Mr and Mrs Ross, at the urgent request of their own
children, as well as to give the boys the unique experience, decided to
have a cranberry outing on quite an extended scale, and one that would
last for several days. It turned out to be unique and memorable in
various ways.

It was decided that they should go into camp below Sea River Falls, on
the Nelson, and pick berries at their leisure in the great section of
country lying north-west from that point, as there they were to be found
in large quantities.

For the comfort and convenience of the fa