Going Through The Ice

Cyril Michelin

Cyril Michelin is an old-time trapper and fisherman from Northwest River, Labrador. He has dozens of stories to tell about his Labrador life.

I WENT THROUGH the ice one morning. They said on the radio before I left my cabin it was twenty below zero. I had to go across the Churchill River. The ice was driving awful thick.

Father told us that when we go to cross the river, to be awful careful. There's only one place there you could get through. So I went across that morning.

I got over all right. I turned the canoe over. I was running up across the bight, a big cove. My dog Mooney was coming behind me with my sealskin. We used to take a sealskin in the country, for a dog to pull. You put all your stuff in that, and tied it up. Wherever you could walk with snowshoes, he could go, among the trees and everything.

I had my snowshoes hooked over my gun, across my shoulder. I was running as hard as I could. I didn't know a thing until I went right down to my neck. I thought I was done. I told Mooney to come to me. When he did, I grabbed hold of his sealskin and I told him to go. He went and hauled me right out.

Then I ran down to my canoe and turned her over and got across to my cabin. She was still warm, from when I had the fire on. The next day I stayed there. And the next day I went up to set some more traps on the river.

I'll be darned if I didn't fall in again! That morning I was going across a brook and the brook gave out. The ice broke off and down I went. I couldn't believe it.

I lost my gun, but I got it again the next day. I could see it through the clear water. I got a long stick and tied a snare onto it. I hooked the gun with the snare and hauled it up off the bottom.