238 THE UPPER YUKON 



"out" we arrived back on the evening of the 

 fourteenth of October. We had time to 

 change our clothes and get a good wash before 

 supper w^as announced at the hotel. We had 

 been accompanied back by our Chief, the sec- 

 ond guide, the cook, and his brother the wran- 

 gler. The Chief and Guide Number Two 

 took their meals at our caravansary, and we 

 had an opportunity to note w^hat appetites 

 these frontiersmen can cultivate when they 

 reach civilization. It may seem an incredible 

 story that I have to tell, but it is true. When 

 our Chief sat down to his first meal, which 

 was supper, he ordered two dozen raw eggs, 

 and after he had stowed these away in the ca- 

 pacious folds of his stomach he ordered his 

 regular supper. The next morning his first 

 order was three dozen of fried eggs, fried six 

 at a time, and then came his regular break- 

 fast. We were told that eggs were worth one 

 dollar and fifty cents per dozen and it is to 

 be presumed that the balance of the food or- 

 dered would be equally high, so it can be easily 

 seen that the high cost of living had no terrors 

 for the Chief. 



The next day was devoted to getting things 

 shaped up so as to leave the following morn- 

 ing on the train for Skagway. Our licenses 



