could find it; then continuing farther north we were to call
upon The Owl's sister to deliver her a present from the children of
Oo-koo-hoo. In the meantime, Amik had gone upon one of his trapping
paths, and the boys were off to a swampy region to examine deadfalls
set for mink and fisher. The boys had taken the dogs with them.

It was a fine, cold, sunny morning when Oo-koo-hoo and I set out upon
our hunt, and with every breath we seemed to be drinking aerial
champagne that made us fairly tingle with the joy of living--for such
is the northern air in winter time. As we snowshoed along I felt
thankful for the excellent socks with which the old hunter had provided
me. On the last hunt my snowshoe thongs had blistered my feet, but
now, thanks to Oo-koo-hoo, I was shod with the most perfect footgear
for winter travel I have ever known--a natural sock that was both
blister- and cold-proof. I had never heard of it before, but The Owl
assured me that it had been long in fashion among the Indians. On each
foot I was now wearing next my bare skin a rabbit pelt--minus legs and
ears--put on, hair side out, while the skin was still green and damp,
and then allowed to dry and shape itself to the foot. Over the rabbit
pelts I wore my regular woollen socks, duffel neaps, and caribou-skin
mitten moccasins. The pelts had been removed from the rabbits by
simply cutting them between the hind legs, and then peeling them off
inside out. With the inside of the skin next the foot blisters never
form, nor does the hair wear off and ball up under the foot in such a
way that it may hurt the wearer. Though the rabbit pelt is very tender
and tears easily, it can be worn for five or six days of hard travel.
For warmth and comfort it is unexcelled.

Early that afternoon we came upon many lynx tracks, evidently there had
been a "pass of lynxes" as the hunters call it, for lynxes have a way
of gathering in bands of about four to eight and passing through the
forest. Oo-koo-hoo stated that they migrated in that way from one
region to another, covering many miles in search of game, especially
during the years when the rabbit plague causes a great shortage of
food; and had he known of their presence in time, he would have cut big
heaps of poplar, birch, and willow branches to attract the rabbits, and
thus furnish more food for the lynxes. Hoping, however, that he was
not too late, he set what few snares he had; nevertheless, he regretted
th