Page:Across the sub-Arctics of Canada (1897).djvu/264

 CHAPTER XIX.

THROUGH THE FOREST AND HOME AGAIN.

Upon arriving at York we were kindly received by the officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr. Milne. Our men were given lodgings and rations in one of the many vacant houses in the Fort, while my brother and I were shown into the Doctor's bachelor quarters and allowed to occupy the room of Mr. Mowat, the assistant trader, who was absent at the time.

The first articles essential to comfort were tubs and warm water. With travellers in the north, particularly during the winter season, the practice of performing daily ablutions is quite unheard of. This is not due to neglect, but is rather an enforced custom due to the painful effects produced by the application of ice-cold water to the skin. During the previous summer and autumn my brother and I adhered to the habit of daily washing our hands and face, until our skin became so cracked and sore that we were forced to discontinue.

Besides Dr. Milne and an old-time servant, Macpherson, Mr. Mowat, now temporarily absent, was the only other white resident in York. He had, only a few days before our arrival, been sent off with two Indians as a relief party to look for the Company's autumn mail, which was now more than six weeks overdue. The