3 o THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



my blanket, but for some time could not sleep. The 

 experience of the night had deeply impressed me with 

 the wild enchantment of the wilderness, the finding of 

 the divide, the sublime mountains about it, the first 

 sight of sheep, the unexpected meeting and killing of 

 the bear, my experience with the cub; the charm of the 

 location while skinning the bear high up on the green 

 slope of the mountain in the midnight twilight; the 

 absence of sound save the murmur of the creek below 

 and the wailing of the cub pealing wildly through the 

 mists above; the dim outline of the summits of the 

 mountains to the west, their peaks tipped golden by the 

 sun low behind them; the mystery of all that unknown 

 country; the strange and beautiful lights and shadows 

 playing on the mountains encircling me; what more 

 could a lover of the wilderness and its wild life demand ? 

 July 17. We decided to move up the west branch 

 to the forks two miles above, and there make a perma- 

 nent camp at a point I had selected the day before, on a 

 high bank just at the junction, about a hundred feet 

 below timber-line. It was a beautiful spot; clear, open 

 pastures among the spruce trees were about us, numerous 

 dead trees for firewood were near and excellent grass for 

 the horses was everywhere. Mountains, with fantastic 

 pinnacles, peaks, and rock-turreted slopes surrounded 

 us, and the view down the creek was beautiful in the 

 extreme, as we looked along the timber frieze between the 

 high slopes to the massive ranges on the east. Above all, 

 we were close to the divide and in the heart of the best 

 hunting country. 



