A CHROMATIC BEAR HUNT 



Day after day we bent to our towlines and 

 toiled onward, with the muddy water boiling 

 past, and still those glaciers retreated ahead 

 of us. Gradually the current became swifter 

 and the floating ice larger, until to avoid it be- 

 came a matter of importance. This rendered 

 the rear man's duties more difficult and required 

 the exercise of some skill and judgment, for 

 it is no infant's task to navigate a heavy-laden, 

 flat-bottom skiff up through a freshet clogged 

 with 40 h.p. bergs, every one of which is ex- 

 ceeding the speed limit. An insufficient drag 

 on the stern line and the craft may be ground 

 to splinters against the rocks; a pull too vio- 

 lent and the bow is thrown across the current 

 at such an angle that the vicious force of the 

 waters capsizes it. In either event the outfit 

 is lost. 



The banks were overhung with "sweepers" 

 and thick with brush, through which we 

 wormed our way and around which we passed 

 our ropes. When we undertook to make a 

 crossing, in spite of our most frantic efforts we 

 landed far below. And we were not in the 

 main river, by any means. We waded bars 

 waist-deep; we fell in up to our ears; we 

 tugged and hauled with aching arms and blis- 



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