TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 103 



plain on which in places long patches of coarse grass 

 were growing, whilst here and there we crossed soft 

 boggy spots covered with dwarf moss and rushes, 

 typical tundra of barren Arctic lands. 



A mile or more ahead of us there rose a sandy hill 

 which domineered the whole country. So bidding 

 the men remain with the boat until we should return, 

 Agnes and I set out to reconnoitre from the distant 

 hillock. On arrival there we found that all the 

 ground between us and the foothills for at least a 

 mile was clearly visible from the summit. 



Outlined on the plain lay the snake-like windings 

 of the river, till it disappeared from view behind a 

 distant spur of the foothills. Dotted at intervals over 

 the open tundra were a few roving caribou, which 

 in this district are classified by American mammal- 

 ogists under the scientific name of Rangifer granti. 

 Knowing that the bulls' horns were still in velvet we 

 left them unmolested, contenting ourselves with a 

 careful scrutiny of the river banks on which we hoped 

 ere long to see our friends the ursine fishermen. 



All along the river banks well-worn bear trails 

 ran, signs that for generations these huge beasts had 

 wandered up and down the stream. Beside the shallow 

 places numerous fresh tracks, some of them gigantic 

 in size, showed that bears came daily down to fish. 

 In many spots we found partly-eaten bodies of dead 

 salmon, where the bears had hauled the fish out into 

 the high patches of grass, and there devoured their 

 bodies, leaving usually the head and tail parts only. 



Whilst walking up the stream, and even on the 



