AlSr EXPLOKATION TO MOUNT McKINLEY. 419 



careless rider would be unceremoniously dumped over the animal's 

 tail into the glacial water. 



Since leaving- the pass we had subsisted largely upon moose and 

 mountain sheep. Not a day was spent in hunting, but when the supply 

 of meat ran low an animal was shot near camp or on the march. Not 

 only was game plentiful, but so little did it know of man that it 

 regarded us rather with curiosity than mistrust. During our journey 

 across the piedmont plateau for days and weeks together we were 

 hardl}" out of sight of caribou. They had a curious wa}' of approach- 

 ing, either individualh" or in bands, to within .50 yards of the moving- 

 train, then galloping away to a distance and returning l>y a series of 

 large circles. Sometimes a lone buck would encircle our camp for 

 hours at a time, one minute standing erect gazing at us with rapt 

 attention, another flj'ing across the smooth sod at a breakneck pace, 

 onl}^ to approach again from a different direction. Their curiosity 

 was apparently never satisfied, their wonder ever increasing at the 

 unfamiliar sight of the pack train or tents. Even the sharp crack of 

 the rifle did not frighten them. There was no sport in hunting such 

 innocenth" tame creatures, and we never molested them except when 

 we needed meat. 



These were the happiest days of the summer. Cheered ])y the 

 thought that every day's march was bringing us visibly nearer to our 

 goal, we lent ourselves readily to the influence of the clear, invigorating 

 air and the inspiration of that majestic peak ever looming ])efore us, 

 the highest mountain of North America, whicli we were to be the first 

 to explore. 



Yet our task was never an easy one; for the very fact that the pack 

 train was enabled to cover longer distances rendered it all the harder 

 to overtake it after the side excursions which were necessary to fulfill 

 the purpose of the expedition, and it was often dusk of the long arctic 

 day before the geologists and topographer reached camp. 



George alone of the partv was low-spirited. His great ambition in 

 life — to cook — had too narrow a scope in this land above the limit of 

 spruce trees, where there were only stunted willow and alder for fuel. 

 His spirits registered inversely to the ])ar()meter, rising as we went 

 down toward tinilx-r, falling as we clinil.'ed above it. Two long jour- 

 neys in the barren grounds of the north h-ul not freed him from the 

 traditions of the Lake Superior woodsman, and he could never regard 

 anything as fuel that did not require splitting with an ax. Notwith- 

 standing, he cooked woiuUn-ful meals, as the following menu copied 

 from nn" diar}- will sliow: 



Wa Sonj). 



Moimlain Sheep Ti la George. 



Rice. Potatoes. 



INIiiu-e Pie. Stewed Apricots. 



Ji)linny Cake. ■ 



Tea. Cocoa. 



