424 AN EXPLORATION TO MOUNT McKINLEY. 



chief o-ravel}' stalked around, peering out from under the visor of a 

 policemairs hehnet, which was so large for him that is rested on his 

 ears. 



When the horses ari-ived their delight and somewhat childish terror 

 were laughable. Losing no time, we bargained with the Indians for 

 a boat and began the crossing. After one horse had been towed over, 

 the rest were driven in and swam across to join their mate. Thus by 

 nightfall we were camped on the north l)ank. 



It was now the 1st of September and we were still 100 miles or 

 more from our goal on the Yukon. The Indians implored us not to 

 attempt to make the journe}' by land, declaring the country impassa- 

 ble for horses. As my interpreter stated the case, "Plenty water; 

 plenty stick [thick timber]. No good! No good!" But we were not 

 to be deterred from completing the exploration we had planned, though 

 we could have shot the horses and easily reached the Yukon b}^ boat. 

 The next morning a delegation of our friends visited our camp to give 

 us a final warning: "No good! No good! By and by come back. 

 Maybe so." 



Here we abandoned all except the most necessary part of our outfit, 

 for the early frost was killing the grass and the stock was beginning 

 to show the effects of insuflficient nourishment. The light packs were 

 quickly adjusted, and without cutting a trail, to the astonishment of 

 the Indians, we let the horses crash their way through the underbrush. 

 For two days we followed a ridge leading to the north along the east- 

 ern edge of a broad timbered flat dotted with innumerable lakes and 

 crossed by many sluggish water courses. This it was that the Indians 

 had said was impassable. Finding that the route around it threatened 

 to protract our journey 100 miles or more, we boldly headed straight 

 across it. 



It was a route beset with difiiculties. Now we were chopping our 

 way through a dense tangle of small growth; now building corduroy 

 over swamps and streams; now rafting rivers too wide to bridge. All 

 worked with energy born of the consciousness that our provisions were 

 getting low and it was only a matter of days before our horses would 

 begin to play out. In one week we succeeded in rafting five rivers 

 and built bridges over six more. More than once our temporary 

 bridge gave way, and then we had the heartrending toil of dragging 

 the poor, weak animals up on the bank. The traveling was not all of 

 this character, for occasionally there would be a stretch of several 

 miles where we would thread our way through open forests of white 

 birches. The glistening white trunks and yellow autumnal foliage 

 presented a gayety of color which was in strong contrast to the somber 

 spruce forest we had been traversing for so man}^ miles. The small 

 lakes were covered with wild fowl congregating for their southward 

 migration. 



