292 THE UPPER YUKON 



women in the town, which at best contains but 

 about five hundred souls during the summer 

 months and three hundred in winter. This 

 marriageless condition of the majority of the 

 men in the territory is producing the inevit- 

 able result of driving a number of them into 

 a morbid condition, which after gradually be- 

 coming more and more pronounced some- 

 times ends in insanity. Four men were taken 

 out to an asylum for the insane from this cause 

 the very week that we went in. 



Now to return to our Indian heroine. She 

 wore "no beauteous scarfs" or other fashion- 

 able finery, but she was neatly and plainly 

 dressed in a becoming black gown. Her feet 

 were incased in well-fitting leather shoes with 

 common sense heels. Her hair was nicely 

 and naturally done up, and it was clear of 

 *'rats" as far as we could judge. Moreover, 

 her house was clean and showed the earmarks 

 of an energetic housewife. 



Now, good reader, do you not think I do 

 right in giving this good woman a strong 

 mead of praise, even if she is the daughter of 

 Indian parents? Don't you now realize why 

 her husband is so proud of her as to have her 

 in mind every spare minute during his en- 

 forced absence from her? This red woman, 



