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Rudolf Freiderich Kurz, in his journal, describes staying warm on cold nights. "We spread our apischimos on the ground out on the open prairie and covered ourselves with riding cloaks and buffalo robes.... We called to our dogs to lie on top of us, as usual, for the purposes of keeping guard and also of imparting warmth. But those canines were every instant scenting nearby wolves, bounding off with great outcry to fight the beasts or drive them away, then lying down on top of us again, scratching themselves and contesting one another's places. Under such restless, disquieting conditions, especially in our overexcited state, we were unable to sleep at all."
Charles
Larpenteur in Forty Years a Fur
Trader describes using a kind of snow shelter or snow cave (January
1840). "The
mules were soon harnessed up, and into the hard storm we started, with but
one Indian, who was my guide. It was an awful day; we could see no
distance in any direction, floundered in deep snowdrifts, and knew not
where to go for timber. But our guide was a good one, who brought us to a
small cluster of scrubby elms. The snow had drifted so deep that we could
find no dry wood and had to go to bed without a fire. We made ourselves as
comfortable as we could by digging holes in the snow for shelter."
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