In many places it ran wide open, with precarious rim-ice fringing it on either side.

In numerous places, where the water dashed against the steep-sided bluffs, rim-ice was unable to form.

They turned and twisted, now crossing the river, now coming back again, sometimes making half a dozen attempts before they found a way over a particularly bad stretch.

It was slow work.

The ice-bridges had to be tested, and either Daylight or Kama went in advance, snowshoes on their feet, and long poles carried crosswise in their hands.