68 CKUISE OF THE HTEAAIEK CUliWlN. 



cahiinity could be averted the eauoe had whirled broadside to the (-urreut and (^apsize(l. Fort- 

 unately tile water was not deep, and so soon as our senses were reeoveivd we I'itcJited the erai't 

 and put into llir bank. A survi'y ol' tlie dania.i^'e revealrd mily a tlioi'(_)Ui;li wt-tting. and our 

 next iinpidse was to indulgt; in a hearty laugh, even though theix; was nothing particularly 

 ludicrous in the situation. The canoe had ])artly tilled with water, by whiidi everything was 

 more or less dauiaged. The only sei-i(.)us loss was tiiat of our footgear, which, by some unac- 

 countable nu-ans, had <lisa])peared in the e.xcileinent ()!' thenionient. ()thcrwisc llian an icy 

 bath, howevei', and the loss nuMitioned. we expei'ienced no ]ia.i-ticular ha.rdshi]). 



1 determined to go into caniii in or(li'i- that our i-lfects might be o\-erhaiiled before resuming 

 our work. After getting the tent in order. I directed Nelson to cut some of the spare seal-akin 

 into strips of suOicient length to be made into a rude moccasin which might at least serve as a 

 protection again.st the sharp rocks, and before nightfall we were agai n shod and ready to advance. 

 Indeed, the (lifficulties encountered only seemed to awaken the stvdiliorn elementsof our natures, 

 aii(l with a determination not to be batHed, we pre]iared ourselves to meet anything short of 

 utter annihilation. 



The n(\\t morning, J uly "v'-i, the weather having nioderatcil sulUcieidly. we again i)roceeded, 

 but ni ithiiig occuri-ed to vary the monotony of our ]al)ors. In the afternoon we entered a higher 

 and more rolling cinmtry, and in places the river widened into a stream of twice its ordinary 

 breadth. Here we found it so shallow that it was with great difficulty we succeeded in passing. 

 In several ]>laces of this kind we were obliged to lighten the canoe before advancing. Late in 

 the day we reached a deserted fishing village, the site of which was evidently selected with a 

 view to utilizing the salmon spawning beds in the vicinity. 



For a long distance here the river was marked by many dangerous rapids, none of which 

 were more than a half mile apart, and between which the river was smooth, deep, and admira- 

 bly adapted foi- spawning beds. The village is occupied only during tlie salmon run, which 

 occurs so(jn after the ice moves out in the spring. Large nund)ers of hsh enter the river at 

 that time, many of which penetrate the extreme headwaters before s}»awning. When the 

 young are sutKciently grown, usually about the middle of August, the retrcjgrade movement 

 begins, and, guided by the mysterious dictates of instinct, they start for the sea. The jjarent 

 salmon, whose duties cease when the spawn are deposited, seldom or never return. Late in 

 the season large numb(n-s of dead may be seen floating down the river and the supposition is 

 that all the parent fish perish before reaching the sea. In the meantime the migrating young 

 have many dangers t(j encounter before reaching tlie Ojien waters. Ujion gaining the lower 

 river they are met by large schools of seal {Phoca vitulina), and here, indeed, their troubled 

 existence begins. Before passing tliis ordeal their numbers are sadly decimated, and not more 

 than one-third of the original number ever reach the sea. Large cpiantities are also caught by 

 the natives and dried for winter use. Several native caches, mounted uijon trijjods, were 

 ixissed along this section, none of whicli, however, were examined. 



The weather being very stormy the next morning, I determined to remain in camj). The 

 constant exposure and hardship of the journey were beginning to tell upon our strength, and, 

 in addition to other things, I did not consider it prudent to break camp and expose ourselves 

 to the inclemencies of the weather. The heavy rains of the past few days had now swollen 

 the river to such an extent tliat we were obliged to remove to higher ground. We found great 

 difficulty in obtaining sufficient wood with wdiich to i)repare our scanty meals; willow branches 

 and dry grass were the only available articles of fuel, and oftentimes even this failed us. 



The next morning the storm liad subsided and we proceeded on our way. The river was 

 ycd very high, and the current, augmented by the flood, had nearly doubled in strength, so that 

 with dilhciilty we held our course. The Noiitak now entered a low section of country, through- 

 out which it was divided into a number of channels. A hirge niimber of lakes, each of which 

 has an outlet into the river, dot the entire region, a fact which made it evident we were 

 approaching the headwaters. 



We passed a cache of native sledges during the day. the significance of which we realized 

 a few days later, after reaching a point abcnit fifty miles above it. 



