xiii ON THE HOMEWARD TRAIL 261 



in all the best countries on earth, he was satisfied with his 

 two big moose-heads, although taken individually, as com- 

 pared with the expense of his trip to Alaska, each head 

 represented a fairly expensive trophy. 



After Niedieck's trial a dull period intervened, and it was 

 not till six days later that the monotony was broken by the 

 arrival of the Tyonook, bringing down the final crowd of 

 people leaving Cook's Inlet for the winter. Hanbury, Glyn, 

 and Little were obliged to pitch a tent near our cabin, as no 

 available corner could by this time be found in any hut. 

 Their experiences were not very pleasant during the re- 

 mainder of their stay at Saldovia, as it snowed and blew hard 

 most nights, and the tent had an unpleasant habit of falling 

 on its occupants in the middle of the small hours. It was 

 generally quite easy to tell when this had happened without 

 looking out of the door of our cabin, since a chorus of muffled 

 remarks would arise, and the tones of well-known voices 

 would give vent to the feelings of their owners, as regarded 

 the snow, wind, the country of Alaska, and the nature of that 

 tent in particular. 



There was still a prospect of a little more excitement 

 before we left Saldovia, and this was the arrival of the 

 American hunter who was daily expected, and whose doings 

 in the way of slaughtering game were said to far exceed any- 

 thing done by any of the other offenders. The Marshal set 

 out once more on an attempt to find this man's camp in the 

 moose country. But he was again driven back by the severity 

 of the gale still raging. 



About noon, however, on the 23rd, the long-expected 

 hunter was seen making his way towards Saldovia in a dory. 

 The Marshal, who had been for days breathing vengeance 

 against this man, had been publicly stating that if they could 



