16 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



at 10 P. M. The others had returned and reported that 

 by lightening the packs and making a double trip we 

 could pass on the slopes above the canon which was not 

 two miles long. 



Just after going under my blanket, short, thrush-like 

 notes pealed out in the sleeping woods, sweet and very 

 beautiful. They came from the varied thrush the first 

 and last time I heard it but the music lingered with me 

 all through the summer. 



July 13. We went to sleep with the elated feeling 

 that we were on the edge of the game country. The 

 next morning we found that the horses had crossed the 

 river, and some time was required to find and bring them 

 back. Each night two were hobbled and bells were 

 attached to two others. They seldom wandered far from 

 camp. They were now more hardened to the work and 

 very gentle, easy to catch, and, on the whole, a fairly 

 satisfactory lot for this kind of trip. We put half-packs 

 on the horses and led them around the steep slopes above 

 the canon without difficulties worth mentioning, and 

 finally descended abruptly to its head, where we made 

 camp. After eating, Spahr and Gage returned with the 

 horses to bring up the remainder of the outfit; Run- 

 gius set out to climb a mountain; Osgood stayed in camp 

 to prepare specimens of small mammals that he had 

 taken in his traps; and I started up river to look over 

 the country ahead and find the best route for the next 

 day. Old moose tracks were now abundant on the bars, 

 and those of the black bear were common. The travel- 

 ling had improved, and from the head of the canon to the 



