IN THE ALASKA-YUKON GAMELANDS 



his price was very reasonable, as ^2,500.0x5 was 

 the price charged by other outfitters for one 

 man, for a 40-day hunt. 



On the evening of our arrival in McCarthy, 

 after separating our belongings and packing up, 

 we repaired to McCarthy's only refreshment 

 parlor. The country being "dry" since the pre- 

 vious January, soft drinks only were dispensed, 

 but they came high enough to remind us that we 

 were in the Far North. Coca-Cola and other 

 5-cent drinks in the States sold here for 25 cents 

 — in fact, there is no drink sold over the bar at 

 McCarthy for less than 25 cents. As we sat at 

 a table imbibing one of these mixtures I noticed 

 seated at the same table, to my right, a big, 

 square-shouldered man of 225 pounds or more, 

 whose good nature soon gave expression to a re- 

 mark, which led to a very interesting conversa- 

 tion. He had been thru both the Klondike and 

 the Shushanna stampedes, and even at present 

 was engaged in pursuit of the elusive color. He 

 looked about 50, but said he was 66, and that he 

 could turn a handspring or swim a cold stream 

 as well as ever. And I believe him. His name is 

 T. W. P. Smith, and his home at that time was 

 Shushanna, Alaska. 



A most pleasant surprise of our return trip 

 was the extension by Superintendent Corser of 

 the Copper River & N. W. Railway, of the same 

 special railroad courtesies returning as we re- 

 ceived going up. This beautiful little private 



196 



