222 THE UPPER YUKON 



laxed for one night. The following morning 

 we discovered that the Indians had stolen 

 seven antelopes out of the thirteen, and all of 

 the wild ducks were taken, while the prairie 

 chickens had not been touched. The reason 

 for the chickens being unmolested was that 

 the braves could easily secure these for them- 

 selves as they rode over the prairies, while no 

 wild ducks were to be found nearer than 

 twenty miles away. After this wholesale 

 theft the dogs were kept on the watch every 

 night. 



It will be remembered that in a former 

 chapter describing our "going in," I said we 

 passed through an Indian village where all 

 of the tribe but the old chief and his wife had 

 left for a moose hunt. After breakfast the 

 morning that we discovered the loss of the 

 ram, my companion and I walked on ahead of 

 the wagon in order to stop at that same vil- 

 lage to see what the Indians might have for 

 sale in the way of furs. 



The members of the tribe were all there, 

 getting ready for the opening of the trapping 

 season. The village was bustling with activ- 

 ity, as much as Indians can bustle. I went 

 into a trading store, and met a white man 

 from New York state who had settled there. 



