Lost In The Barrens

When the dogs see the sled, they howl in excitement and Awasin knows that these huskies were indeed escapees from an Inuit camp. They decide to hunt for meat outside of Hidden Valley and keep the bucks for later. Out in the Barrens, Jamie takes the rifle while Awasin stays with the sled and dogs. From a great distance, Jamie hears Awasin yell and looks back to see a grizzly approaching his friend, who has nothing but the bow and arrow. Jamie runs with the rifle but passes out from exhaustion as he hands the weapon to Awasin.

Jamie awakens by a fire lying atop the dead bear. Awasin explains that running in extreme cold can freeze the lungs and that Jamie is lucky to be alive. He tells how he killed the bear. In the morning they return to the cabin in Hidden Valley and bandage Ayuskeemo’s injuries. Jamie is sent to bedrest while his lungs heal. A week later, they return to the Barrens for the grizzly meat and, looking at the paw, realize the tracks they saw at Stone Igloo Camp must have been human.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring Awasin with a bow and arrow aimed at a massive grizzly, Fang and Ayuskeemo barking nearby.

The boys are trapped inside the cabin for weeks while the blizzards rage outside. Boredom leads to depression, loneliness, and nostalgia for home. Jamie realizes that Uncle Angus probably thinks he is dead. When a lull in the cold arrives, the boys decide it is time to risk the three-week journey south. They quickly pack as little as they dare, knowing extra weight will mean more time in the Barrens, and with sadness, they leave their cabin, the bear hide, the caches of meat and fish, and depart Hidden Valley.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring Awasin and Jamie sitting by the fire, smiling.

Going is slow, and the boys stop at Stone Igloo Camp on the first night. The next day, they debate how many days the journey will take at this speed, with the overladen sled. That night, they are both in agony from eye strain, and Awasin realizes they are going snow blind. They cannot see and are trapped in their tent for three days. When they finally emerge from the tent, they find the dogs have eaten all of their food. Jamie announces that they should return to Hidden Valley, and never challenge the Barrens again. Awasin replies that this is something white men usually never understand, believing always in their superiority to nature rather than their part within it.

When the sun sets, they load the sled and head north, back toward their log cabin in Hidden Valley. As they traverse the Barrens, a wind picks up that soon turns into a wild blizzard.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring both boys with the sled and two huskies.

The boys find themselves in the middle of a blizzard, exposed on the Barrens with little food or hope. They keep walking, falling often, and finally, Jamie falls and is too tired to get up and face the cold. Awasin pulls Jamie onto the sled and keeps going. The huskies veer off their course and soon stop in front of an igloo. No longer as afraid as he is cold, Awasin pulls himself and Jamie into the igloo where he passed out, the dogs curled up atop them.

In the morning, he awakens in fear of the Inuit and looks around the empty igloo. They find food, eat, and go back to sleep. They are awakened by howling dogs. They hear a rustling in the igloo’s tunnel and level the rife. A face emerges and Jamie tackles Awasin before he can shoot. Jamie runs outside after the intruder and finds himself looking at a blue-eyed, red-haired boy with dark skin. The boy speaks to Jamie in English; his name is Peetyuk. He is the son of a white man and an Inuit woman, and he is heading south in search of white men so he can rejoin his tribe, which was his father’s dying wish. It was Peetyuk who scared off Denikazi and Peetyuk’s footprints they’d found at Stone Igloo Camp.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring an Inuit by an igloo.

Peetyuk leads Jamie and Awasin to his Inuit community where they are led into a massive igloo and fed deer tongue and tea. The igloo is warm, and the community is welcoming and full of smiles as Peetyuk tells of how he found the boys. They meet Peetyuk’s mother and grandfather, Kakut. After songs and chatting, the boys fall asleep, and Kakut covers them with furs.

Peetyuk’s father was the trapper revealed in Chapter 3 as missing from the cabin called Red-Head Post. Later, his name is revealed to be Frank Anderson, and he is Uncle Angus’s friend.

After a week, Kakut, Peetyuk, and one of his cousins lead the boys south across the frozen lake. They bypass Denikazi’s camp in order to keep the Inuit safe from a panic-fueled attack. At last, they come upon the abandoned cabin of Peetyuk’s father and lead Peetyuk inside. Kakut says farewell and, during the night, the Inuit vanish, leaving Peetyuk behind.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring an Inuit with open arms, several others smiling in the background.

From the Cree shore, Awasin’s mother, Marie, recognizes her son and scoops him and Jamie into a hug. Alphonse, Awasin’s father, welcomes Peetyuk as a son. By nightfall, Angus has been fetched from his cabin and arrives in a state. The boys learn that Denikazi launched several expeditions for them, as had Angus and Alphonse. Later, Angus told Peetyuk stories of his father, Frank Anderson, and through Angus, the boy learned about his father.

Angus invites Peetyuk to live with him and Jamie, and Peetyuk agrees. Further, Angus says they will return to the Inuit to thank them when the weather improves. The novel ends with the boys discussing the journey north.