CONCLUSION 431 



twisting along in rather a dangerous way. However, we reached 

 Ptarmigan Drop without any accident and began to climb the 

 mountains, the other side of which was washed by the waves of 

 the Pacific Ocean. 



It blew hard, but we reached the top, and our downward pro- 

 gress began. The trail which had been cut into the mountain 



HEADING SOUTH FROM VALDEZ. 



was narrow and steep, and we held ourselves in readiness to 

 jump out of the sledge in case it should come too near to the 

 edge. And down we went faster and faster, while through the 

 drifting snow we began to see the tops of the trees below ; they 

 became clearer and clearer, a twist of the trail, and we were 

 surrounded by them on all sides. But only for a mile ; then we 

 emerged into an open plain where a large road-house it called 

 itself an "hotel" was situated. A stage was waiting for us 

 there, and our last run commenced. How it blew ! The stage 

 sailed along like a ship in heavy seas, hit the sides of the trail, 

 lurched as if to throw us out, made straight for the other side 

 another lurch, and thus we went through the Keystone Canon, 

 down towards the coast. The Keystone Canon presented a 

 grand spectacle. On either side of the trail the mountains rose 

 to the height of 2,000 feet and were so steep that the snow 

 could find no resting-place ; large icicles hung everywhere, and 

 a huge belt of ice, a now silent waterfall, wound its way along 



