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Travels in Alaska 



"How in the world," said he in astonishment, 

 could that tree have been plucked up by the roots, 

 carried high in the air, and dropped down head fore- 

 most into the ground. It must have been the work of 

 a tornado." 



Toward evening the hunters brought in a deer. 

 They had seen four others, and at the camp-fire talk 

 said that deer abounded on all the islands of consider- 

 able size and along the shores of the mainland. But 

 few were to be found in the interior on account of 

 wolves that ran them down where they could not 

 readily take refuge in the water. The Indians, they 

 said, hunted them on the islands with trained dogs 

 which went into the woods and drove them out, while 

 the hunters lay in wait in canoes at the points where 

 they were likely to take to the water. Beaver and 

 black bear also abounded on this large island. I saw 

 but few birds there, only ravens, jays, and wrens. 

 Ducks, gulls, bald eagles, and jays are the commonest 

 birds hereabouts. A flock of swans flew past, sound- 

 ing their startling human-like cry which seemed yet 

 more striking in this lonely wilderness. The Indians 

 said that geese, swans, cranes, etc., making their long 

 journeys in regular order thus called aloud to en- 

 courage each other and enable them to keep stroke 

 and time like men in rowing or marching (a sort of 

 "Row, brothers, row," or "Hip, hip" of marching 

 soldiers). 



October 18 was about half sunshine, half rain and 

 wet snow, but we paddled on through the midst of the 

 innumerable islands in more than half comfort, en- 



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