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Their possil of the filmin Origin begini the lai sion, other first p sion. or illui The la shall c TINUE which Maps, -lifferc entirel beginr right a requin metho This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ilaire IS details ques du nt modifier -v ,>. / ^v/r-^ ^/V^^rc 7::' J>*- ,■. .'^ ,— «'^'«*«a»jt«i4V '^=^^: Alec Shoots the Bear. ■TT" *\- *-:''^ .t* a THREE BOYS IN THE WILD NORTH LAND SUMMER 4 BY Rt** EGERTON RYERSON YOUNG Author of "By Canoe and Dog- Train," "Stories from Indian Wigwams and NoRTHKKN Camp-Fires," "Oowikapun," etc. WITH TWENTY FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. E. LAUGHLIN s, 1 'Vi. AND VARIOUS PHOTOGRAPHS *' He lived in Wilds, and gems of Story found : These Fancy took, and hath this necklet bound." E. K. Y., Jr. THE ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright by EATON & MAINS. 1896 I T CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Welcome to Sagastaweekee— Mr. Ross, their host— The three boys — Frank, Alec, Sam— The rrince Arthur—The voyage— The Esquimaux— Arrival at York Factory 9 CHAPTER IL Hudson Bay Company — Frank's canoe mishap— Duck shooting — Clever Koona — Gioose hunting — Queer battles 17 CHAPTER IIL . Writing journals — Fur-laden brigades — Valuable furs — Hunting preparations —Big Tom, the famous guide — The start — First camp on the rocks. 29 CHAPTER IV. ' The early call — The picturesque route — The toilsome portages — Rival bri- gades — First bear — Alec's successful shot 38 CHAPTER V. Robinson's portage— Gunpowder transportation — Hole In the keg — The frightful explosion— Ensconced at headquarters— Delightful home in the wilderness — Sturgeon fishing — Involuntary plunges 46 CHAPTER VI. Indian implements — Canoeing excursion — Gunpowder veraiis jack fish — Loon shooting — Sam's successful shot 66 CHAPTER VII. The Old Fort camp— Sam's race with the bear— Indian comments 64 CHAPTER VIII. Prefcirving meat--rCunning partridges — Celestial phenomenon — The fearful hurricane — Caught in the storm — Disaster — The mischievous wolverine — Alec's shot 70 I ^ 4 Contents. CIIArTKIl IX. Montrciil Vomt — Tlie governor iiiul tlio Iroquois — Tlio lionl of doer — Oiniuoua nouiidrf — I'lii-k of wolves — Tlie fierce buttle — Welcome reinforcements— Tlio victory— riuying " possu i." 83 CHAPTER X. Romnntic courtship — Tlie happy family — A canoe picnic — Mustagan — A prowling bear — A woman's shot t>6 • CHAPTER XI. The wonderful story of Apetak, the grateful Indian, and the desciiptioii of the trip to and the view of the Silver Cave, as told by Mr. Ross at Sagastaweekce 104 CHAPTER XII. Novel fishing — Guns and gaff hooks — Frank's plunge — Light-hearted Sam and his story — Strange battle — Pugnacious jack fish Ill CHAPTER XIII. Mission village — Self-denying toilers — Pleasant visits — Flourishing school — Syllabic characters — Competitive sports — Archery — Foot races — Wres- tling — Swimming — Canoe races 118 CHAPTER XIV. Conjurers — Old Tapastamim — Boasting — Challenge accepted — Medicine man's tent — Bogus bullet — Detected — Conjurer's defeat and fall. . . 128 CHAPTER XV. Outing — Alec and Mustagan's shooting contest, or gun vcrtius bow and arrow — Shooting the swans — Was Sam cross-eyed V — The return trij) — The escape of the doc and fawn from the wolf 1.35 CHAPTER XVI. The Old Fort again — Aurora borealis — Unexpected ariivals — Fur tradeis — Head winds^Cauip annoyances — Camp-fire yarns 141 CHAPTER XVII. The story of Fukumakun — Unloosing his tongue — His early days — Excur- Bion for buffalo — Treacherous quicksands — Sinking mother — Sagacioiis horse — Sneaking wolves — Rattlesnake and prairie dog 147 ■i !!!SBnBn^ Contents. . 06 1 :1 CHArTKIi XVIII. T rukiimakiin^tt story continued — Soarcliiiig for friciuls — Patlilcsi* pniiric — Angry relations — Avengers of hUnnl unuppoascd — Kaee for life — Over- taken — First conflict — Arrow against toinaliawk — Opportuuo arrival. lf>4 CIIAITKU XIX. " Fair wind ! " — Fisli spearing by torcliliglit — Tlie shining eyes — Doath of tlic. deer — Abundance of game — Additional excursions — Tradition of Nanali- boo/.oo and the flood — Was Xanahboozoo Noah ? 100 CHAPTER XX. The call of the moose — Preparations for capture — Midnight march — Rival bulls — A royal battle — Frank's shot — Big Tom, the successful moose hunter — Young moose calves — Tlieir capture — Sam's awkward predica- ment 170 CHAPTER XXI. Excursion to Sea River Falls — The cranberry picking — The contest — " Where are the children ? " — Wenonah and Roderick lost in the forest — First night's unsuccessful search — The tracks in the sand — Mnstagai»'s star, tling discovery 183 CHAPTER XXII. Children's footsteps and bears' tracks — Children in the custody of the bears — The plan of rescue — Tlie boys' part — The bird call — Success 193 CHAPTER XXIII. Wenonah's story of their marvelous advcntiires with and deliverance from the bears — Roderick's comments 201 CHAPTER XXIV. Congratulations — Other incidents of lost children — Long excursion by the boys — Indian legend — " Wliy is the bear tailless V " — Oxford Lake — Black bears as fishermen — Tlie lookout from the trees — Fish-stealing bears — Tlio conflict — Bears vcrsm boys and Indians — Sam's successful thrust — Plenty of bear meat 201) CHAPTER XXV. A successful mission — Peculiar address — The visit to the beavers — Commo- dious houses — Well-constructed dams — The moonlight sight — Strange interruption — Stealthy wolverine — Crouching wolves— More cunning men ^A mixed-up battle — Delighted boys — Return to Sagastaweekee. . . 225 » 1 Contents. • CIIAPTEU XXVL The excunilon In the reindeer country— Numerous herds — ^The battle between reindeer and wulvea in tlie lake — Rencliing the lierds — The long stalk for tiio leader — Alec's successful »hot — Cunsternution of the herd— Abun- dance of venison 886 CHAPTER XXVII. Frank's adventures — The reindeer followed— Unwelcome interlopers- Cow» ardly wolves stalking the fawns — Kcpellod by the gallant bucks — Close (juarters — Successful shots — Different game than reindeer — Visions of splendor •. 246 CHAPTER XXVIII. Boys* adventure with reindeer in the lake — Gadflies and other deer pests'— . Peculiar weapons — Dangerous antagonists — Hoofs and horns— Frank's success — Attack on the leader — Canoe smashed — Alec and the Indians in the water — Sam's stratagem — Success at last — The return trip — Significant signs — Ducks and geese heading southward — Indians uneasy — Journey hastened — Sagastaweekeo reached — Summer ended- Winter begun. 251 r* ILLUSTRATIONS. rAQR Alko Shoots thk Bkar wiontispiw k Frank's Upset krom thk Canoe facino 17 Knookkd Out BY A GoosK. " 27 Bio Tom " ^'^ Making ▲ ToRTAOE * 88 Spearing Sturgeon " ^^ Young Dekr on the Shof.e 63 Sam's Race with a Bear facing 64 Alkc Shooting the Wolverine " '70 The FioHT with THE Wolves " 83 A Woman's Successful Shot " ^^ Sam Towed BT A Jack Fish " HI Thk Wrestling Match " 118 Defeat OF the Medicine Man " 128 Peculiar Net Fishing 134 Sinking in the Quicksands facing 147 The Avenger OF Blood " 154 Shooting Deer by Torchlight * " 160 A Royal Battle " 1*70 Centenarian Indian's Encampment 182 Young Moose 192 Children in the Custody of Bears facing 193 Roderick and Wenonah in the Bears' Cavk. " 201 Bears Against Boys and Indians 208 Indian Boy 224 A Painter's Vision, a Poet's Dream facing 236 Alec Shoots the Leader of the Reindeer " 246 Reindeer Attacks the Canoe ** 261 THREE BOYS IN THE WILD NORTH LAND. CIIAP-rKB I. "W WKLCOMB TO fiAGASTAWEEKEE — MR. ROSS, THEIR HOST— THE THREE BOYS — FRANK, ALEC, SAM — THE " PRIXCB ARTHUR " — THE VOYAGE — THE ESQUIMAUX — ARRIVAL AT YORK FACTORY. ELCOME to this Wild North Land! Welcome to our happy home in the Land of the North Wind I Welcome, thrice welcome, all and each one of you ! " Thus excitedly and rapidly did Mr. Ross address a trio of sunburnt, happy boys, who, with all the assurance of a joyous welcome, had burst in upon him in his comfort- able, well-built home, or " hunting lodge," as he preferred to call it, on the banks of the Nelson River. This cozy but isolated home was situated some hundreds of miles up in the interior of the country from York Factory, on the Hudson Bay. Mr. Ross had named liis house " Sa-gas-ta-wee-kee," a beautiful Indian word which literally means a house full of sunshine. Mr. Ross had spent many years as an official in the Hudson Bay Company's service, as had his father before him. A few years before this, being possessed of abundance of means, he had retired from active work in the great fur- trading company. He had tried to settle down in an older, civilized land, but had found it impossible to content him- self away from those regions where he had spent the best years of his life. His wife and family were of the same I ^ I '4 i>! 10 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. mind, and so, after 8orae years of travel in various lands, they returned to this northern country where they had spent 80 many happy years. Every year or so Mr. Ross with some members of his family was in the habit of visjting what he loved to call the motlier country. So full was his life of varied and star- tling adventures that he was often asked to give addresses on some of the fascinating experiences through which he had passed. Among the crowds who listened to him with intense in- terest, as he gave a series of addresses in one of the great historic schools in the home land, were the three boys who are to be the heroes of this book. Although they were from different families and nationalities, yet they were congenial spirits, and were equally filled with the love of sport and spirit of exciting adventure. For such boys Mr. Ross's addresses about the Indians, the wild animals, and the excitements of the hunt had the great- est fascination. With Mr. Ross they had become personally acquainted, and had induced him to visit their different towns, where he lectured, and to be the guest at their homes, where his delightful stories had charmed every member of their households. In some way or other they had persuaded their parents to consent to their spending a year or so in the wilds of the northern part of the great Dominion of Canada under the guidance of Mr. Ross, who most importunately pleaded for this arrangement on behalf of the boys. As it was impos- sible for them to return with Mr. Ross on account of their studies, several months passed away ere it was possible for them to begin their journey ; so he had returned alone to liis home, and had made all preparations for entertaining them as members of his household for an indefinite period. Letters had been sent on in advance notifying Mr. Ross of the probable time of the arrival of the boys. But, as often happened in that wild country, where there was no postal m Three Boys in the Wild North Land. u service, tlie letters never arrived, and so the first intimation Mr. Ross had of the coming of the boys was their bursting in upon him. Abrupt as was their coming, of course they were welcome. In all new lands there is an open-hearted hospitality that is very delightful, and this was emphatically so in the vast lonely region of the Hudson Bay Territory, where the white men in those days were so few and so widely scattered apart from each other. And now that they are snugly ensconced in the home of their good friend Mr. Ross and his hospitable family, ere we begin to describe their many sports and adventures let us find out something about our heroes, and have them describe some of the exciting incidents of the long trip which they had already made on their journey to this Wild North Land. Frank, the eldest of the three, was the son of a Liverpool banker. His friends had vainly tried to divert his mind from wild adventure and exciting sports, and persuade him to settle down to steady routine office work. Failing in this, they had listened to Mr. Rosses pleadings on his behalf, and had consented to let him have the year in the Wild North Land, hoping that its trials and hardships would effectually cure him of his love of adventure and cause him to cheer- fully settle down at his father^s business. Alec was from Scotland, a genuine son of " the mountain and the flood." While a good student when at school, yet, wlien ai home on his holidays, his highest joy had ever been under the guidance of the faithful old gillie to follow on the trail of the mountain deer. For a wider field than that of- fered by his native Highlands he had been so longing that his friends yielded to his importunities, and so now here he is with his comrades, full of eager anticipations. Sam was from what his mother used to call " dear, dirty Dublin." He was full of life and fun, a jolly Irish boy of the finest type. Storms and privations might at times de- press the spirits of the others, but Sam, true to his nation- ality, never lost his spirits or his good nature. So rapid had i 12 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. I ! I been his progress in liis studies that lie had pushed himself beyond his years, and so even his tutors had joined in his request that he sliould have the year off, which, spent in the invigorating air and healthful adventures in the Wild North Land, would doubtless be a blessing to both mind and body. In the good ship Prince Arthur^ of the Hudson Bay Com- pany, our three young adventurers set sail in the month of May from the London docks. They met with no adventures worth recording until after they had left the Orkney Islands, where they had called for their last consignment of sup- plies and the latest mails. Here they also shipped some hardy Orkney men and Highlanders, who were going out in the employment of the Hudson Bay Company. The Prince Arthur was a stanch sailing vessel, built espe- cially for the Hudson Bay Company's trade. She was em- ployed in carrying out to that country the outfit of goods required in the great fur trade. Her return cargoes were tlie valuable furs obtained in barter from the Indians. Her port was York Factory, on the western side of the Hudson Bay. Here her cargo was discharged and carried by scores of in- land boats and canoes to the various trading posts in the different parts of that great country, which is larger than the whole continent of Europe. So remote were some of those posts from the seaboard, and so difficult and slow were the methods of transporting tiie goods, that several years passed ere the fur secured from them reached the London markets, to which they were rJl consigned and where they were carried each year in the company's ships. Although the Prince Arthur was far from being a first- class passenger ship, yet she was a good, seaworthy vessel, with plenty of room for the few passengers who traveled by her each year. These were principally gentlemen of the Hudson Bay Company's service and their friends, or mis- sionaries going out or returning home. Letters from influential friends secured for our three boys Three Boys in the Wild North Land. 13 jo- in tlie the considerate attention of the captain and the ship's offi- cers, qnd their own briglit ways won the friendsliip of all the sailors on board. On the whole they had a glorious pas- sage. Some fogs at times perplexed them, and a few enor- mous icebergs were so near that careful tacking was required to prevent accidents. The boys were filled with admiration at these great mountains of ice; seme of them seemed like great islands, while others more closely resembled glorious cathedrals built in marble and emerald. At times, as the western sun shone upon them, they seemed to take on in parts every color of the rainbow. With intense interest were they watched as they slowly drifted beyond the south- ern horizon. One of the most exciting incidents of the journey was a battle between a great whale and a couple of swordfish. The unwieldy monster seemed to be no match for his nimble antagonists. His sole weapon seemed to be his enormous tail ; but vain were his efforts to strike his quicker enemies. As far as could be judged from the deck of the ship, the sword- fish were masters of the situation, and the blood-stained waters seemed to indicate that the battle would soon be over. In the southern part of Davis Strait they encountered great fields of floating ice on which were many herds of seals. The captain had the ship hove to and three boats lowered. In each one he permitted one of the boys to go with the sailors on this seal-hunting expedition. The seals, which are so very active in water, where they can swim with such grace and rapidity, aie very helpless on land or ice, and so large numbers were killed by the sailors. While the boys were excited with the sport, they could not but feel sorry for the poor, helpless creatures as they looked at them out of their great eyes that seemed almost human. Some hundreds of skins were secured, much to the delight of the captain and crew, as the profit coming to them from their sales would be no inconsiderable item. 14 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. At the mouth of Hudson Strait the captain again had the ship hove to for a day or so to trade with a number of Esquimaux, wlio had come in their curious canoes, called kayaks, from along the coasts of Labrador. Their insatiable curiosity and peculiar fur clothing very much interested the boys. These Esquimaux were shrewd hands at a bargain, but their principal desire seemed to be to obtain implements of iron in exchange for their furs. They cared nothing for flour, rice, tea, coffee, or sugar. They knew no other food than meat and oil, and so craved no other things than those that could be utilized in improving their weapons. Guns were unknown among them, but they were very skillful in tlie use of the harpoon and the spear. When they are able to secure iron from the white man they make their harpoon heads, spears, and knives out of this metal, but when unable to secure it they manufacture their weapons out of the horns of the reindeer or the tusks of the walrus or narwhal. They had among their other furs some splendid bear skins, and the boys were very much interested in hearing them tell through an interpreter how they, with their rude weapons, aided by their clever dogs, had been able to kill these fierce animals. All were very much delighted when told by these friendly Esquimaux how that with two well- trained dogs nipping at the hind legs of a great bear they could keep him turning round and round from one to the other and thus get him so wild and excited that in his efforts to catch hold of the nimble animals, which were able to keep out of his grasp, he did not notice the arrival of the hunters, who were able to approach so closely that they could easily kill him. The ship crossed the great Hudson Bay, which is about six hundred miles in width, without any mishap, and safely dropped anchor in what the Hudson Bay officers call " the six fathom hole," some distance out from the rude primitive wharf. The signal gun was fired, and soon a brigade of boats came out, and the work of unloading the cargo began. id. ain had the number of inoes, called ur inscitiable iterested the it a bargain, implements nothing for other food than those pons. Guns y skillful in hey are able leir harpoon when unable of the horns whal. id bear skins, learing them I their rude able to kill ighted when ith two well- Bat bear they m one to the that in his eh were able irrival of the at they could h is about six , and safely iers call " the ide primitive a brigade of cargo began. Three Boys in the Wild North Land. U Our boys, eager as they were to land, were sorry after all to leave their snug berths in the good ship, where they had had some very delightful times during the thirty days that had elapsed since they had left the docks in old Eng- land. A few gifts were bestowed among their particular sailor friends, and then, with the " God bless you " from all, they entered a small boat rowed by Indians, and were soon on the land that skirts this great inland sea. Great indeed was the change which they saw between the populous cities of the home land and this quiet, lonely region upon whose shores they had now landed. Here the only inhabitants were the fur traders, with their employees, and the dignified, stoical Indians. The only signs of habitations were the few civilized dwellings, called in courtesy the fort, where dwelt and traded the officers and their families and servants of the great fur-trading company, and not very far off was the Indian village of the natives, where the most conspicuous buildings were the church and parsonage of the missionary, who had been marvelously successful in planting the cross in these northern regions, and in winning from a degrading superstition, to the bless- ings of Christianity, some hundreds of these red men, whose consistent lives showed the genuineness of the work wrought among them. Tiiis great region, stretching from the Atlantic to t/lie Pacific, far north of the fertile prairie region where millions will yet find happy and prosperous homes, has well been called « The Wild North Land." The Indians call it Kee- watin, « The Land of the North Wind." It has not many attractions for the farmer or merchant- man, but it is the congenial home of the red man. On its innumerable lakes and broad rivers he glides along during the few bright summer months in his light canoe. Every waterfall i.>r cataract has associated with it some legend or tradition. Its dense forests are the haunts of the bear and 2 ff 16 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. wolf, of the moose aiul reindeer, and many other valuable animals, in the excitement of hunting which he finds his chief delight. To tluH land had come our three lads for sport and ad- venture, and we shall see how fully all their expectations were realized. valuable , and ad- ectations !!' I I Frank's Upset from the Canoe. Three Boys in the Wild North Land. 17 CHAPTER II. HUDSON BAY COMPANY — KIJANK S leased than otherwise at the contrast it thus presented in com- parison with the lands they liad left behind. The fact was, they were simply delighted with the absence of the multi- tude to whom they had been so accustomed, and were at once filled with high expectations. Sam's explanation seemed to be the sentiment of them all when he exclaimed, "Sure if there are so few people in the country, thei-e will be the more bears and wolves for us all to kill !" The work of unloading the ship was necessarily slow, and so some days would elapse ere a brigade of boats could be prepared to take the first cargo to Fort Garry, on the Red River. The boys had been most cordially welcomed by Mr. McTavish, the principal officer in charge at the fort, and by him they were all entertained most hospitably at his home. Mr. McTavish was an old sportsman himself, as nearly all the Hudson Bay Comimny's officials are; and so, as soon as the boys had made the acquaintance, as they call it, of their land legs, after the heaving and rolling of the vessel, lie had an old clever Indian hunter clean up some guns and take the boys out in the birch canoe on their first wild hunting expedition. This first excursion was not to be a very formi- dable one; it was only a canoe trip several miles up the coast, to a place where the wild ducks and geese were numerous. Like all white people, on their first introduction to the birch canoe, they thought it a frail, cranky boat, and were quite 18 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. disgusted with it, and some of tlie tricks it played upon them, on some of their first attempts to manage it. For example, Frank, who prided himself on his ability in pulling an oar, and in managing the ordinary small skiffs or punts on his native waters, seeing the light, buoyant canoe at the side of the little launch, boldly sprang into it, as ho would into an ordinary boat of its size in the Mersey. To his utter amazement, and the amusement of the others, he suddenly found himself overbalanced and struggling in the waves on the other side. Fortunately, the water was not more than four feet deep, and ho being a good swimmer was soon up and at once gave chase for the canoe, which had now floated out several yards from the shore. In this he was encouraged by the laughter and shouts of his comrades and others, who, seeing that no harm had come to him from his sudden spill out of the light boat, were eager to observe how he would ultimately succeed. Quickly did he catch up to the boat; but, instead of listen- ing to the Indian, who in broken English tried to tell him to get in over the end of the canoe, he seized it by the side, and there attempted to climb in. Vain were his efforts. Very skillful indeed is the Indian who can in this manner get into a birch bark canoe and of course it is out of the question to expect an inexperienced white person to accom- plish the feat. So light is the canoe, that when thus seized hold of it yields to the slightest pull, and often causes the person who thus takes hold of it to tumble over ignomini- ously in the water. Poor Frank was disgusted but not conquered, and so, amid the laughter of those on shore, he now listened to the advice and direction of the wise old Indian, who was the only one in the company who had not even smiled at the boy's mishap. At the Indian's advice he again caught hold of the canoe, but this time by the end, and carefully bearing his weight upon it he was at length enabled to work himself into it. Cautiously balancing himself, and seizing a paddle Three Boys in the Wild North Land. 19 that haitpfiiL'd tu liave been fastened in it, be |>a(ldled bini- Helf asbure amid the cheers o( the unloukers. " Well done, Frank 1" said the old Indian. He had done what some take months to accomplish. He had conquered the canoe in his first attempt, and never after in his many adventures was he afraid of that bonny craft, in which he si)ent many happy hours and in the paddling of which he became the equal of many a clever Indian. Of course, there was some delay in the departure of the hunting party, as Frank liad to return to his quarters at the Post and get on a dry suit of clothing. This is, however, an operation that does not take a boy full of eager excite- ment long to accomplish, and so it was not many minutes ere the party set off on their promised excursion. The Indian decided that they should first go where the ducks were numerous, and to interest these young English lads they adopted a method of hunting them that was most novel and successful. Indeed, it is a very rare method which was here successfully tried, on account of the difficulty of getting a dog so trained as to correctly act his part. But this old native, whose name was Ooseemeemou, had by great patience and kindness so drilled his clever dog that he acted his part with extraordinary cleverness and tact. He called the little fellow Koona, which is the Cree for " snow," and was very appropriate, as the animal was of the purest white. Taking the dog into the canoe with them, and giving all necessary directions, they soon were gliding along the coast of the great bay. Numerous flocks of ducks flew over their heads; and far awav in the distance the water seemed almost alive with the numbers of them on the dancing, sparkling waves. This latter sight seemed to be what the old hunter was looking for, and so the canoe was quickly paddled ashore and carried up on the beach. There he care- fully guided the party along. They had to cautiously creep behind some low, dense willow bushes that grew on the shore, 20 Three Boys in the Wild North Land. I I with only u brujul Iriiigc of white Band between them and the watei'H. Eauh boy, with hi» gun and an)inunition,was now asNigiied his jiost behind a chinip of buhiies and given his final in- Htructions. They were full of exeitenient and euriosity, and wondereiiig, fuxliku barking he sprang into tho waves. Tlio diickH, thus suddenly alarmed, iiiNtantly rorie up in Iiundreds, and the simultaneous reports of the guns rang out, and between thirty and forty dueks, dead and W(Minded, fell back into the waters. Our hunters, both the Indian and the three boys, sprang from their hiding j>Iaces, and with Koona's ai