i8o THE UPPER YUKON 



The Chief was taciturn and reticent all the 

 long way to camp. 



"A penny for your thoughts," said I. 



"I have none whatever," he replied. 



I tried to comfort him, but "from thai 

 spring where comfort seemed to come, discom- 

 fort swells," and he "would none of it." At 

 such a time it is best to be left alone. So we 

 silently went to supper and as silently crawled 

 into our sleeping bags, and slept. On the 

 morrow speech came back to him, and he can- 

 didly blamed himself for all of our bad for- 

 tune. But the incident was now ended, and 

 I told him "the less said, the easier mended." 



It's an old adage to "never count your 

 chickens until they are hatched." For over 

 an hour we had been supremely confident that 

 we would return to camp with four bears in 

 place of one, and I had imagined how proud I 

 would be to lay down on the parlor floor at 

 home four bear skins nicely tanned and lined 

 and all secured within one afternoon. 



