The White Sheep of Kenai Peninsula 



Spruce, alders, willows, and birch were the trees 

 growing along the banks, and we now passed 

 through the country where the moose range dur- 

 ing the summer months. Already the days had 

 become perceptibly shorter, and there was also a 

 feeling of fall in the air, for summer is not long 

 in this latitude. 



At this point in the river we encountered bad 

 water, and all hands were constantly wet, while 

 the natives were in the glacial stream up to their 

 waists for hours at a time. Therefore we made 

 but little progress. That night there was a heavy 

 frost, and the next morning dawned bright and 

 clear. The day was a repetition of the day be- 

 fore, and the natives were again obliged to wade 

 with the tow-line most of the way. But they were 

 a good-natured lot, and seemed to take their wet- 

 ting as a matter of course. About ten o'clock 

 the next morning we reached the Kenai Rapids, 

 where the stream narrows and the water is ex- 

 tremely bad, for the current is very swift and the 

 channel full of rocks. We navigated this place 

 safely and came out into the smooth water beyond. 

 Here we had tea and a good rest, for we felt that 

 the hardest part of this tiresome journey was over. 

 Above the rapids there are a few short stretches of 

 less troubled water where the oars can be used; 



179 



