250 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



light, round-bottom skiff to pull against the current up 

 river on our homeward journey, we allowed nearly a 

 week for it. It took us, in fact, five full days from the 

 time we left Cottonwoods Creek cabin until we reached 

 Cooper Creek Landing at the lower end of Kenai Lake, 

 or four days and a half to ascend eighteen miles of river 

 which we had run down in less than three hours. 



On the first day we crossed the lower lake and made 

 three miles up river, to Vaughn's cabin. Magpies, camp 

 robbers, rabbits, eagles and mergansers were the only 

 living things we saw, and we added to the cooking pot 

 one of the rabbits, which were rapidly turning white for 

 the winter. 



Most of the first three days Bill, Alex and Fritz towed 

 the boats one at a time, hauling one up several hundred 

 yards around or through the rapids, making it fast and 

 going back for the other. As we had plenty of time and 

 Bill was wearing my long rubber boots, I went dry shod 

 on the banks or through the woods, looking for little 

 game with the small rifle. Mallard ducks rose fairly 

 numerous as we toiled upstream. The second evening 

 showed we had done four miles more and we pitched 

 tents on an old camping ground beside the river. The 

 stars were very bright and it was a cold night. 



The third day was tedious. We covered hardly a mile 

 and a half in the forenoon and were towing both boats 

 together, when in the middle of the afternoon the current 

 caught them as we were crossing a shallow rift. It swept 

 the seal boat with its heavy load broadside to the stream 

 and rolled it over on its side upon the rocky bottom so 

 violently that a stone went through one of the planks. 

 As quickly as possible it was dragged ashore, all the 

 stuff taken out before much of it had got wet, small trees 



