V THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TRIP 79 



and light as possible, since the only means of transport 

 over the country is on your own and your men's backs, and 

 unless you are prepared to make a big outlay, in a country 

 where a native demands anything from a dollar to two and a 

 half dollars per diem, a large camp-following is likely to be 

 expensive. Small tents made of cotton or light drill will 

 be found best. A tent similar to those used by prospectors 

 in Alaska, which will accommodate two men, weighs less 

 than 10 lbs., and will answer the purpose well. A light 

 stove will be found a useful addition, especially when shooting 

 on the western part of the Alaska Peninsula, where timber 

 is scarce and the only fuel obtainable is driftwood and 

 scrub bushes. For the rest, a good pair of high "gum-boots," 

 which are often required when wading streams, and a rain- 

 proof coat, together with a complete change of clothes, 

 should suffice. Such tinned provisions as suit the taste 

 of the individual may be taken, but a good quantity of fresh 

 meat can generally be obtained where wild-fowl and ptarmigan 

 are abundant, as is the case in most places along the coast. 

 One great drawback to the pleasure of a trip in Alaska is the 

 incessant rain in the spring and the fall of the year. Another 

 is the pest of mosquitoes, and the myriads of vicious biting 

 flies or gnats, to guard against which the hunter should be 

 provided with a supply of mosquito netting and a pair of 

 long gauntlets. As already stated, the allowance of cooking- 

 pots, etc., should be cut down to the smallest and lightest 

 limit possible. 



It is impossible to name the exact date in the spring 

 when the snow will have sufficiently disappeared to commence 

 hunting operations in Alaska. It is, however, better to be 

 too early than too late, if bear-hunting is intended, since the 

 pelts are at their best when the bears first come out after 



