HOMEWARD BOUND 



to cool it, a little whiskey in it to warm it — and zen 

 he say, 'Here's to you,' but he drink it heeself." 



Strong, rugged hearts are found in Alaska, 

 and they belong to men who shrink not at the 

 sight of danger; men who would willingly give 

 up their lives, if necessary, to save another — 

 and who are doing this very thing every year. 



Soon the packs came up and we began to 

 ascend over the gulchy moraine to the bench of 

 the glacier, some 300 feet in elevation above the 

 bed of the White. Once on the glacier we became 

 inspired with a feverish desire to move fast, for 

 to camp on a glacier would be a most unpleasant 

 experience; and yet there were many delays, for 

 the packs would get bunched however careful 

 we might be in trying to distribute our riders 

 equidistant between them. We took a different 

 route from the one coming in, also a shorter one. 



We had been on the glacier about three hours, 

 and the tired horses had been lagging for some 

 time, when suddenly a stir showed up in the 

 ranks ahead. Packs jumped aside to allow a 

 frenzied rider to pass, coming our way at full 

 speed. Broken moraine rocks flipped off to 

 either side of the trail, sent hither and thither 

 by the clattering hoofs of a white horse, while 

 Shorty's Napoleonic figure agitated and vibrated 

 with excitement as he swung his arms in com- 

 manding gestures on passing the packs. "Some- 

 one hurt," said Harry, *'or Shorty wouldn't lose 

 his poise in that manner." I fully acquiesced, 



193 



