174 THE WILDERNESS OF THE UPPER YUKON 



ingly difficult to surmount because of its steep slopes. 

 The goats remained near the green pastures all day, 

 alternately feeding and lying down; but now and then 

 one would climb a sheer precipice, apparently for no 

 other reason than sport, and soon return again to the 

 band. In no sense were they alert or watchful, like sheep, 

 and I seldom saw one raise its head to look about. 



During the whole day, only one old track of a black 

 bear was seen, and that was in the bottom of a canon. 

 The woods were exceedingly dense, filled with willow, 

 alder, and devils club. In places, the latter, so thick that 

 it was impenetrable, formed the most serious obstacle to 

 progress everywhere on the slopes below timber-line. In 

 no part of the northern coast country have I seen devils 

 club so dense. 



Johnson, after a long tramp, had seen nothing but 

 goats. The next day we started for the Meade Glacier, 

 which loomed up at the head of the valley, seamed, tur- 

 retted, and spired. It required two and a half hours to 

 cross the several channels of the river, since we were 

 obliged to walk back and forth to find fording places, and 

 the wading through the stiff current was attended with 

 much danger. 



Goats were scattered about high on the mountains to 

 the east, both singly and in small bands, many of them 

 feeding on the walls of cliffs, others browsing among the 

 second growth well down on the slopes. Now and then 

 one would appear apparently glued to the perpendicular 

 wall of a peak, which it would slowly climb, and on reach- 

 ing the top would loom up against the sky-line. Arriving 



