the house of a half breed Indian called Louis Mercredi, who, very kindly, gave us lodging. A bed was luxury for me, as the Influenza had made the last 100 miles a trying trip. Our dogs were tired and our supply of dried fish had given out, necessitating a few days fishing for dog feed.
We had had to follow the shore line for the last 50 miles or so and there were many cracks in the ice which had cut the dogs' feet badly, even though we had shoes on them (shoes are made out of canvas) So, for various reasons, a rest was welcome, but we still wanted to reach our objective – Fort Smith – as soon as possible.
