The Indian now told the trader that he wanted him to send the "Fur
Runners" to him with supplies in ten weeks' time; and that he must have
a "geese-wark," or measure of days, in order to know exactly when the
Fur Runners would arrive at his camp. So the Factor made out the
following calendar:

Fort Consolation 18 September 189-

LNE 1111X111111X1
NRU 11111X111111X111111X111111X1111
NVER 11X111111X111111X111111X111111

Hudson's Bay Company
per Donald Mackenzie, Factor

[Illustration: Oo-koo-hoo's calendar.]

The above characters to the left are syllabic--a method of writing
taught to the Indians by the missionaries. They spell the words
September, October, and November. The 1's represent week days, and the
X's Sundays. The calendar begins with the 18th of September, and the
crescent marks the 29th of November, the date of the arrival of the Fur
Runners. The Indian would keep track of the days by pricking a pin
hole every day above the proper figure.

Presently the Factor and I were alone for a few moments and he growled:

"Whit d'ye think o' the auld de'il?"

"Fine, I'll go with him, if he will take me."