Lost In The Barrens

The next week the boys are busy preparing to wait out the winter in the Barrens. With Awasin directing the chores, they hunt and preserve food, work on the shelter and better clothing. Jamie makes a stone igloo and covers it in animal hide and willow thatch while Awasin makes moccasins and parkas from animal hides, sewing them using sinew. They improvise a net and string it across the river, catching many fish, some as long as five feet.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring Awasin working on a piece of deer hide.

The boys sense that winter is coming, and they have not yet gathered firewood to stay warm. They have fish frozen in the bog by the river, buried deer meat, and dried tea leaves. They have dried berries and pemmican. Soon the deer thin and are gone, with Awasin certain the bucks will follow before winter. One morning when the snows appear, they set off to the forest for wood and find remnants that prove long ago the whole area was underwater. Awasin confirms this discovery with a Cree legend. They find a hidden valley filled with trees.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring the boys in their hand-made parkas looking into the wilderness.