200 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



Up stream, away from the benign influence, 

 savagery came to hand grips with extreme punctili- 

 ousness of costume, ousted it, and fairly ran amok. 

 In some of the temporary residences of nomadic 

 natives we came on Innuits of all ages, more or less, 

 usually more, in " the altogether." 



The bidarkas which carried the stores naturally 

 made slower progress than the ones less encumbered, 

 and as for the manoeuvres of the men in charge of 

 the dory they were strenuous in the extreme. Very 

 often we settled on a spot for camp long before the 

 necessary camp kit hove in sight, meanwhile we 

 foraged around for anything we could get in the way 

 of waterfowl to fill the pot. Teal delighted us with 

 their unsuspicious ways. They so readily allowed 

 us the easiest of shots, and were so amiably willing to 

 fall into the snares of the fowler. No crouching or 

 grovelling is required here, just a straight walk to 

 the place where the birds settled, and with any luck 

 a right and left chance was the inevitable reward. 

 You need quick eyes and a ready finger, for the teal 

 quits the land or water with a springing dart, an 

 arrow-like movement, with no sort of a warning such 

 as an upraised head, or hurried quack of alarm. 



Wood was scarce at first, and all along the banks 

 for many days we came on small settlements whose 

 inhabitants fished and hunted the little world around 

 them, making it difficult for us to keep our larder 

 filled. Tobacco was the " open sesame " to most 

 things, and procured us the granting of our simple 

 desires much more expeditiously than the proffering 



