424 



CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



driving through the timber. We ploughed up a deep ditch as 

 we went along, and a horse which slipped on the trail almost 

 disappeared in the deep snow. Upon the whole it was a hard 

 drive, and we were glad when we reached Meyer's road-house 

 and met the stage from the coast. 



It kept on snowing throughout the night, and when we 



A VIEW OF THE UPPER COPPER RIVER. 



started on the Qth we had more than three feet of snow on the 

 trail. Three of the horses worked very hard, but the fourth 

 jibbed, and we could do nothing with him ; after five hours, in 

 which we had only made three miles, we gave it up and rode 

 on to the nearest road-house ahead. 



The bareback ride on an old thin mare was the worst I 

 ever experienced, and we were quite worn out when we reached 

 "Our Home," a dingy little road-house with a dirty "bunk- 

 room," and numbers of people who had been obliged to stop 

 there on account of the heavy snowfall. We all found room 

 somehow, but it became worse towards night, when a couple of 

 sledges with seven passengers coming from the opposite direc- 

 tion were likewise forced to seek shelter in the already over- 

 crowded road-house. We slept two men in a bunk, and were 

 glad when the day broke and we were able to turn out. All 

 that day we stayed in " Our Home," spending our time as best 



