Winter Adventures of Three Boys in the Great Lone Land

by Egerton Ryerson Young

“Dinner is next,” said Mr Ross. And so away they hurried back to camp, and there, while eating their well-earned meal, they talked over the next attempt, and decided to go down where the ravine ended out on a level place and there begin tunnelling.

When they came back and examined the spot, and measured the drift, they found that in order to get low enough to reach the bears they would have to tunnel at least two hundred feet. This meant a lot of heavy work. But they were there to get those bears, and were bound to succeed. At first they dug away the snow like a deep trench, until they reached a place where it was too deep to be thrown out, and then the work of tunnelling really began. To their delight, they found when they had gone some way in, that the pressure of the immense mass of snow upon the lower portion had so packed it that it would not require supports, as has already been referred to.

They worked in relays with their big shovels, and cut the snow out in great pieces, which were dragged away by the dogs as fast as the sleds could be loaded.

That evening, when they stopped work, they estimated that they had cut about half the way into the bears’ den. Then they returned to the camp for supper and rest, and hoped to be able to finish their work on the morrow.

That night there was a most beautiful display of the aurora borealis. Their ever-changing glories delighted and so fascinated the boys that they were loth to cover up their heads in their camp beds. These wondrous visions in the North Land exceed in weird beauty anything else that this wide world can show.

Mr Ross was so anxious that they should get the bears to-day, so that the whole party could begin the return journey to-morrow, that he had them all up at such an early hour that they were eating breakfast by starlight. Just as the sun rose, and the Indians were calling, “Sagastao! Sagastao!” (“The sun rises!”) to each other, they were already at the tunnel, anxious to resume operations. They had to be careful now to so run the tunnel that they would directly strike the bears. So, while the men were digging, Mr Ross and Mustagan were constantly travelling on their snowshoes with a compass to try and help the diggers, who were rapidly pushing on their work.

The boys could hardly understand how it was that it could be so cozy and comfortable in the tunnel while outside the cold was so terrible. To their surprise, they here learned that there was warmth even in a snow tunnel. While thus digging away and dragging out the loads, all at once the dogs became very much excited, and began barking furiously. Suspecting that it was because of the scent of the bears, which passes a long distance through the snow, the guns and some axes were immediately sent for.

“Did you ever shoot a bear?” said Mustagan to Sam.

“I was chased by one once,” said Sam, with a laugh. “But I fancy I got even with him before the summer ended.”

“O yes,” said Mustagan, with a comical grin, “I do remember now a boy coming running into the camp with a bear at his heels. That’s why your hair stands up so straight ever since.”