22 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



Once safe at the first lake over the mountains from 

 Skagway, the adventm^ers felled timber, cut planks with 

 a whipsaw and nailed together a rough boat for the rest 

 of the voyage. Not often was there at hand to advise 

 them anyone who had made the whole trip, and, as one 

 of the old rapids pilots put it, "They expected us to run 

 them through the tall water in every kind of vessel, 

 from rafts to cojSins." 



Pilots at the head of Miles Canyon steered the boats 

 to White Horse for sums of twenty-five to fifty dollars. 

 The distance from Skagway to White Horse was 111 

 miles. The rest of it, 460 miles to Klondike River, was 

 not so difficult. In fact the whole route presented no 

 terrors to a party properly outfitted and guided by 

 experience. 



But now we traveled this famous trail in luxury. A 

 train carried us twenty-two miles up to the summit and 

 thence by easy gradient past the dreaded rapids to White 

 Horse in one dayUght. Observation cars enabled the old- 

 timers to point out each historic spot to wife or stranger. 

 Lunch was served at Bennett, a halfway point. It was 

 told us that no one could buy a meal there unless 

 possessed of a railway ticket. 



The train halted at Caribou Crossing on Taku Arm, 

 whence steamers plied eastward and made connections 

 with the productive gold camps on Lake Atlin. In a 

 few minutes we had discovered Shorty Austin, a tall, 

 lank guide for the neighboring country, in which he 

 promised good hunting for sheep, goats, moose, caribou 

 and bear. 



No sooner were the details of a possible trip in this 

 locality noted down than we were shunted down a branch 

 line to an iron and copper mine at Pueblo belonging 



