Belated in. tlie Forest. 95 



mixed with stones and earth, might easily be mistaken for strati- 

 fied rock ; but the dirt discoloring the ice is almost entirely super- 

 ficial. The crest of the cliff is formed of debris, and is the edge 

 of the sheet of stones and earth covering the general surface of 

 the glacier. Owing to the constant melting, stones and bowlders 

 are continually loosened to rattle down the steep slope and plunge 

 into the water beneath. 



I followed down the bank of the stream, by springing from 

 bowlder to bowlder, for about a mile, and then came to a steep 

 bluff, the western side of which was swept by the roaring flood. 

 The banks above were clothed with spruce ti'ees and dense under- 

 brush ; but, there being no alternative, I entered the forest and 

 slowly worked my way in the direction of camp. To traverse 

 the unbroken forests of southern Alaska is always difficult, even 

 when one is fresh ; and, weary as I was with many hours of 

 laborious climbing, my progress was slow indeed. One of the 

 23rincipal obstacles encountered in threading these Arctic jungles 

 is the plant known as the " Devil's club " {Panax horridum), which 

 grows to a height of ten or fifteen feet, and has broad, palmate 

 leaves that are especially conspicuous in autumn, owing to their 

 bright yellow color. The stems of this plant run on the earth 

 for several feet and then curve upward. Every portion of its 

 surface, even to the ribs of the leaves, is thickly set with spines, 

 which inflict painful wounds, and, breaking off in the flesh, 

 cause festering sores. In forcing a way through the brush one 

 frequently triads on the prostrate jiortion of these thorny plants, 

 and not infrequently is made aware of the fact by a blow on the 

 head or in the face from the over-arching stems. 



I struggled on through the tangled vegetation until the sun 

 went down and the woods became dark and somber. Thick 

 moss, into which the foot sank as in a bed of sponge, covered 

 the ground everywhere to the depth of two or three feet ; each 

 fallen trunk was a rounded mound of green and brown, decked 

 with graceful equiseta and ferns, or brilliant with flowers, but 

 most treacherous and annoying to the belated traveler.* In the 

 gloom of the dim-lit woods, the trees, bearded with moss, as- 

 sumed strange, fantastic shapes, which every unfamiliar sound 

 seemed to start into life ; while the numerous trails made by the 

 bears in forcing their way through the" thick tangle were posi- 

 tive evidence that not all the inhabitants of the forest were crea- 

 tures of the imagination. My faithful companions, " Bud " and 



