No. 5

with their load as formerly. Little girls of 11 or 12 Years of age drag incredible loads; while the boy of nearly the same age will be sitting at his ease on his mother's Sledge. The men take their guns, and proceed straight to the place where they intend to stop for the night; as they very seldom remain long at one place. It is true the men have to undergo the fatigues of the chace; but still the women must carry the meat home. When the Indians arrive from hunting, they are not in a hurry to tell whether they have been successful or not;– nor does any one put the question to them:– when once they have smoked a pipe, (which is prepared by the woman) and have reposed themselves a little, they then begin to drop a few hints, which are well understood by the women. The women set off early next morning, which will probably be a day's journey from the Campment, in quest of the fruits of the chace, which they must carry either on their backs, or drag on a Sledge about eight or ten feet long, one in breadth, made of birch

[17]