CHAPTER XXIV 



AN ACCOMPLISHED MOUNTAIN CLIMBER 

 "Being a woman, I will play my part." 



WHEN we reached the foot of the big 

 lake on our way "in," while waiting 

 for the arrival of the pack horses, we were 

 joined by a man named Ed Benson, who had 

 traveled from the mouth of the White River, 

 which empties into the Yukon considerably 

 above Dawson. He is a bright man, a mining 

 prospector, and a good hunter. He is well 

 read, and is an interesting companion. 



While on the White River he had met Miss 

 Dora Keen, of Philadelphia, returning from 

 her famous climb of Mount Blackburn in 

 Alaska. She was held up for some six weeks 

 at the mouth of the White River waiting for 

 a boat to come along to take her and her out- 

 fit up to Dawson. The boat did not come, but 

 a man did. This man had a whip-saw, and 

 knew not only how to use it, but, when the 

 timber was sawed to the proper thickness, 

 length, and breadth, he was able to put it to- 

 gether in the form of a boat. 



