George Tracy Marsh

“ Then in early afternoon when the sun hung low in the dim west, the men turned into the thick timber of the shores, where, sheltered from the wind, they shoveled out a camp ground with their snow-shoes and built a roaring fire while the puppies, ravenous for their supper, yelped and fretted until Jean threw them the frozen fish which they caught in the air and bolted. ”

“ Two weeks, “fourteen sleeps” on the trail, going and coming, is not held by many a hardy hunter and his family too high a price to pay for a few short days of trading and gossip and dancing. There are many who trap too far from the posts and in country too inaccessible to make the journey possible, but throughout the white desolation of the fur lands the spirit of Christmas is strong and yearly the frozen valleys echo to the tinkling of the bells of dog teams and the laughter of the children of the snows. ”

“ Not yet the equals of their mother in pulling strength, at eighteen months their wolf blood had already given the puppies her stamina. What a team to bring the Christmas mails up the coast from East Main he thought, idly whirling the whip of plaited caribou hide which had never flecked the ears of Fleur, but which he sometimes needed when the excitable Colin or Angus scented game and, puppylike, started to bolt. No dogs on the coast could take the trail from these sons of Fleur. No dog team he had ever seen could break out and trot away with a thousand pounds. ”