u6 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



reaching the foot-hills we might calculate on wood for 

 fires. Here, on the desolate coast, timber was at a 

 premium, and the great white, wave-washed baulks, 

 which are so large a feature of the beaches fringing 

 the Pacific, were few and far between. 



A native settlement of three huts lay a mile to our 

 westward, and one of the inhabitants promptly arrived 

 to offer his services. Being rather short handed for 

 a tow up-stream we engaged our find after some diffi- 

 culty. He could not speak a word of English, and 

 everything we, said had to be arranged and translated 

 by Ned. 



We loaded up a dory, and with our new man in his 

 bidarka towing another, conveying more stores, we set 

 out up the banks of the river. This towing business 

 was very heavy work, as the water rushed very heavily 

 down stream, and frequently our men could make no 

 headway at all, and the only means of forward pro- 

 gression was to give the tow-rope a turn round a 

 rock some way ahead, and then pull up to it. On 

 the second day we reached quite dense alder scrub. 

 Here on the river sides, and in the marshy hollows 

 where an evil-smelling yellow plant grew, we dis- 

 covered fairly recent tracks of bears, and deciding that 

 this particular spot would do us very nicely, Cecily 

 and I suggested to the Leader and Ralph that they 

 should seek pastures new up the stream, and shoot 

 over the neighbourhood some miles farther on. This 

 plan was carried nem. con.; and Steve and Ned, 

 being allotted to us, set about halving the stores, and 

 setting up the tents. 



