TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 197 



berer of the ground, a useless, greedy creature of 

 uncertain temper, and new original swear-words. 

 There is no middle path. Angel of light or demon 

 of evil must you be. It all depends on the hunter's 

 point of view. The much-travelled one counselled 

 that some of the men of the settlement accepted the 

 offer made to them, and matters took a more en- 

 couraging turn. At first a dollar and a half per day 

 was demanded for each man, and they stated that 

 they were not moving up river for less. They were 

 not skilled in the type of hunting we were about to 

 engage in, and this seemed a stiff price. To our 

 astonishment the avaricious creatures finally con- 

 sented to take a dollar per diem each man. After 

 agreeing to pay something for the hire of extra 

 bidarkas we hied us back to the Lily to complete all 

 arrangements. 



I did wish we had a dug-out of Pacific Coast 

 variety, for they are so excellent for poling up rivers. 

 However, we had not, and a dory must be towed up 

 so far as practicable to aid in the store carrying. 

 Sorting the goods and chattels to be taken was a big 

 business. Ample supplies had to be left on board 

 the Lily for the men who were returning in her to 

 Cook's Inlet, where more stores could be obtained, 

 and ample supplies had to be taken for our big trek 

 to the Sushitna. We calculated it would take us 

 three weeks to get to the shooting-ground, and after 

 leaving the Kuskokwim all the transport available 

 would be the shoulders of our henchmen. 



That evening, a day but one before the start, as I 



