IN THE ALASKA-YUKON GAMELANDS 



pletely surprised when Jimmy produced the 

 cake, as he had no idea of such a thing being 

 sprung on him. A few impromptu presents were 

 produced, one being a hunting knife, and one 

 from Wilham, being a promise that he'd try to 

 emulate his father's good example in everything. 

 Harry simply gasped out his thanks, telling us 

 between quick breaths how much he thought of 

 us all, and that he never so thoroly enjoyed a 

 birthday in his life. The felicitations on both 

 sides flowed like water until bed time, about 

 10 o'clock. 



The return of the boys with the skins was the 

 occasion for a little jolt to me, as, when they 

 reached my goat they learned that it was not a 

 billy at all, but a nanny. Billy Wooden's *'billy" 

 also turned out to be a nanny, much to his 

 regret. 



When on the following morning we awoke to 

 find it still raining we began to think that our 

 trip had acted as a hoodoo on the weather. 

 This was our seventh day out from McCarthy, 

 and during that week there was not a day en- 

 tirely free from rain. The boys wrangled and 

 packed the horses in the rain and we mounted 

 our steeds and departed across the Nizina 

 Glacier in the rain. After crossing the ice we 

 entered a pretty, forested valley — the Skolai — 

 following it to Clark's roadhouse, which is no 

 roadhouse at all, but merely the scene of one. 

 We arrived at camp at 4 p. m.; distance traveled 



68 



