From Taku River to "Taylor Bay 



and whining as if trying to say, "Surely you are not 

 going down there." I said, "Yes, Stickeen, this is the 

 only way." He then began to cry and ran wildly 

 along the rim of the crevasse, searching for a better 

 way, then, returning baffled, of course, he came be- 

 hind me and lay down and cried louder and louder. 



After getting down one step I cautiously stooped 

 and cut another and another in succession until I 

 reached the point where the sliver was attached to the 

 wall. There, cautiously balancing, I chipped down the 

 upcurved end of the bridge until I had formed a small 

 level platform about a foot wide, then, bending for- 

 ward, got astride of the end of the sliver, steadied my- 

 self with my knees, then cut off the top of the sliver, 

 hitching myself forward an inch or two at a time, 

 leaving it about four inches wide for Stickeen. Ar- 

 rived at the farther end of the sliver, which was about 

 seventy-five feet long, I chipped another little plat- 

 form on its upcurved end, cautiously rose to my feet, 

 and with infinite pains cut narrow notch steps and 

 finger-holds in the wall and finally got safely across. 

 All this dreadful time poor little Stickeen was crying 

 as if his heart was broken, and when I called to him 

 in as reassuring a voice as I could muster, he only 

 cried the louder, as if trying to say that he never, 

 never could get down there the only time that the 

 brave little fellow appeared to know what danger was. 

 After going away as if I was leaving him, he still 

 howled and cried without venturing to try to follow 

 me. Returning to the edge of the crevasse, I told him 

 that I must go, that he could come if he only tried, 



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