TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 221 



The ridge poles for the tents, one for ourselves and 

 another to shelter the men, took some procuring, and 

 we did not get them pitched until night fell. All our 

 wood had to be carried for a great distance, and the 

 two hunters spent most of the hours hauling it, and 

 the rest sitting practically in the glowing embers of 

 the fire. We could only permit ourselves a small one ; 

 hard lines this, as the snow lay patchily all about us 

 and at night the cold was painfully acute. The men 

 never gave over grumbling, and were the most 

 egotistical couple any sportsman was ever burdened 

 with. 



Ovis dalli feed in the early morning and late even- 

 ing, and spend the rest of the day lying down, spying 

 out the land. 



We got up on our first morning in this mountain 

 camp in blue-black darkness, a pair of miserable 

 feminines, in shivering distress. But the cup that 

 cheers, which we had to prepare for ourselves, even 

 to lighting the fire, as neither of our men were up 

 and about, soon helped us to a happier state of things. 

 Presently one of the men, a sad-eyed individual, with 

 never a smile for anything, condescended to put in an 

 appearance. Cecily and I christened him Mrs. Gum- 

 midge. He simply could not look on the bright side 

 of things, and admired nothing that anybody else 

 admired (Nil admirari, etc.) and wet-blanketed every- 

 thing. 



Gummidge knew the country, and had hunted it 

 once before with an American, who got some fine 

 rams hereabouts. Very likely, Gummidge said, all 



