56 THE UPPER YUKON 



on frozen fish. On this trip quite a few ptar- 

 migan were captured or shot — I forget which 

 — and most of the birds were given to the dogs, 

 who ate them with great relish. 



A dense cloud came up during this day and 

 the temperature dropped 40 degrees, so that 

 we had our first frost at night. We passed 

 through an Indian village, but all the inhabit- 

 ants were away on a salmon fishing excursion. 

 At night-fall we reached a good stopping 

 place with plenty of grass and water. We 

 had made twenty-seven miles for the day. 



The eighteenth was a bright pleasant day 

 but very windy. A start was made at 5.15 

 A. M. as a hard day's trip was before us. I 

 rode Billie most of this forenoon. The pre- 

 vious days I had been walking more than rid- 

 ing. Now, overhearing the Chief telling Eu- 

 gene the cook to be sure to get me to dismount 

 before going down a steep incline to an Indian 

 village, I "took time by the forelock" and dis- 

 mounted before we came to the drop in the 

 road. Keeping a sharp lookout, I saw an old 

 Indian and his squaw sitting out in the open 

 before an outdoor fire of logs. They proved 

 to be the chief of the tribe and his wife; all 

 the rest of the bucks, squaws, and children had 

 gone off on a moose hunt some days previous. 



