CHAPTER XVI 



ADVENTURES IN THE KENAI PENINSULA 



ELTING had an interesting month in the interior, 

 his experience being briefly as follows: 

 Collins, Lovering and Elting went down Lake 

 Skilak to within about three miles of its lower end, where 

 they camped and made a cache for their provisions and 

 extra duffle at the terminus of the Iving County trail. 

 They then packed in along the King County trail about 

 fifteen miles to the Killey River, which was crossed in 

 a canvas canoe belonging to Col. ReveH. They then 

 proceeded about four miles beyond Killey River where 

 Elting established his main camp while Collins and 

 Lovering went on three or four miles farther. 



After placing their main camp, Elting and Ben, with 

 the assistance of Ed Crawford, the packer, and Gus 

 Kusche, the cook, made a side camp just at timber line, 

 from which Elting was to hunt sheep. Three days were 

 spent in hunting the sheep mountains, but no good rams 

 were seen and only a few ewes. On one of these days a 

 medium-sized black bear was seen feeding on blueberries 

 across a canyon and after a short stalk was killed. The 

 hide was in fine condition and the meat very toothsome. 



Deciding that satisfactory rams could not be found 

 from this camp, Elting and Ben returned to their main 

 camp, when, with the assistance of Ed Crawford, they 

 proceeded ten or twelve miles up the Killey River, 

 through swamps and over ridges, most of the way with- 



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