414 AN EXPLOEATION TO MOUNT McKINLEY. 



While exploring- the route ahead I missed camp, which was hidden 

 in a broad, wooded flat, and spent a part of the night in the rain, 

 vainl}^ attempting to snatch a few hours' sleep in spite of the m3^riads 

 of mosquitoes, and my supperless plight. When 1 finally reached 

 camp, at 6 the next morning, we at once got under way. A day's 

 march ))rought us to the banks of the Keechatna, and a signal smoke 

 guided us to where the boat and men awaited us. My thirt3'-six hours 

 of almost continuous tramping made m}^ small tent seem very attractive. 



The Keechatna was a less turbulent stream than the Yentna, and 

 with the aid of the boat a crossing was eflected without difficulty. 



We now parted with Eberhardt and Anderson, who returned to 

 T3'onok, taking the last letters we should be able to send out. Thence- 

 forth until we reached the Yukon, about three months later, we were 

 to be entirel}" cut otf from the rest of the world. 



The outlook was not encouraging, for we had nearh' TOO miles of 

 practically' unknown territorv to traverse, and the incessant labor of 

 toiling through the swamp, added to the continual annoyance from 

 mosquitoes and horseflies, was having a serious effect upon the strength 

 of our horses. Night after night we Avould hear the tinkle of the bell 

 horse as he led the band of horses, maddened by the insects, back and 

 forth. Though we blanketed them and built large fires as smudges, 

 they seldom got relief for more than two or three hours of the twenty- 

 four. It was terrible to see their sufl'ia-ing and be powerless to help 

 them. They would frequently crowd into camp as if to implore us to 

 relieve them from their misery. 



The men, too, were becoming worn out by the mosquito pest, which 

 harassed them continually during the day, though they found relief 

 at night in the mosquito-proof tents. The soft blanket of moss, 

 usually saturated with moisture, which nearly ever}" where covers the 

 face of the countrj", offers a breeding-ground for myriads of the 

 insects. They are ever active, both day and night; on the mountain 

 tops, far above timber, as well as in the lowlands. Five years of 

 Alaskan travel have convinced me that there is no hardship so diffi- 

 cult to bear as this insect pest. I have seen horses, fairl}^ maddened 

 by the torment, blindly charge through the forest, oblivious to the 

 trees and branches encountered, until they wore themselves out, then, 

 in utter hopelessness, drop their heads and patiently endure the suf- 

 fering. I have seen strong men, after da3^s and nights of almost 

 incessant torment, when they were too weary to offer further resist- 

 ance to their relentless foes, weep with vexation. No part of an 

 Alaskan traveler's outfit is more important than his mosquito-proof 

 headdress and gloves. The former is made to fit closely around the rim 

 of his hat and to his shoulders, for the mosquitoes will find the smallest 

 opening. Unfortunately, the headdress has only too often to be dis- 

 carded. When pushing through the undergrowth, using a surveying 

 instnmient, sighting a rifle, or chopping a trail, the traveler is at the 



