Travels in Alaska 



seething silver light marvelously relieved in the jet 

 darkness. In the midst of the general auroral glow 

 and the specially vivid flashes made by the fright- 

 ened fish darting ahead and to right and left of the 

 canoe, our attention was suddenly fixed by a long, 

 steady, comet-like blaze that seemed to be made by 

 some frightful monster that was pursuing us. But 

 when the portentous object reached the canoe, it 

 proved to be only our little dog, Stickeen. 



After getting the canoe into a side eddy at the foot 

 of the rapids, Tyeen caught half a dozen salmon in a 

 few minutes by means of a large hook fastened to the 

 end of a pole. They were so abundant that he simply 

 groped for them in a random way, or aimed at them 

 by the light they themselves furnished. That food 

 to last a month or two may thus be procured in less 

 than an hour is a striking illustration of the fruitful- 

 ness of these Alaskan waters. 



Our Hoona neighbors were asleep in the morning 

 at sunrise, lying in a row, wet and limp like dead 

 salmon. A little boy about six years old, with no 

 other covering than a remnant of a shirt, was lying 

 peacefully on his back, like Tarn o' Shanter, despising 

 wind and rain and fire. He is up now, looking happy 

 and fresh, with no clothes to dry and no need of 

 washing while this weather lasts. The two babies 

 are firmly strapped on boards, leaving only their 

 heads and hands free. Their mothers are nursing 

 them, holding the boards on end, while they sit on 

 the ground with their breasts level with the little 

 prisoners' mouths. 



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