TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 63 



yards. Neither of the men washed, or ever thought 

 of washing. 



For ten days more we spoored in every direction 

 with the most disappointing results, and but for year- 

 old trails we found no signs of bears at all. We 

 appeared to have bagged the one and only specimen 

 of the Kodiak bear in the vicinity. Talking it over 

 together, Cecily and I decided to get back to the coast, 

 and try our luck there. Steve said he thought the 

 journey might be made in the bidarkas, as it was a 

 down-stream trip, and a lot of the stores could be 

 placed in the spare hatch-way, the rest must be piled 

 in with each individual. We struck camp on a pour- 

 ing wet day, and commenced the voyage, a gloriously 

 exciting affair, the men piloting the fragile craft over 

 swirling rapids, shallows, and currents with the most 

 surprising agility. We made the coast by late 

 afternoon, and bivouacked near the alders which 

 fringed the land-locked beach. Fortunately drift- 

 wood was plentiful, and we soon had a roaring fire 

 going, a fire large enough to defy the wetting mist 

 which continued to envelop the whole scene for some 

 twelve hours longer. 



On the pools of sea-water which intersected the 

 country for some way into the island hereabouts we 

 saw many kinds of wildfowl. One variety of wader 

 looked as though he walked on stilts, so tall were his 

 stick-like legs. Yet he was not inelegant, and strode 

 about in the shallow water with proud and lofty mien. 



Early next morning we put on gum-boots and wan- 

 dered in and out of the backwaters until we had 



