24 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap, n 



As regards cooking pots, food-supplies, etc., I cannot do 

 better than quote the following words from Colonel Cane's 

 list: — "Two medium -sized axes, i small tomahawk, 2 

 frying-pans, 6 cooking-pots, fitting one inside the other to 

 make a ' nest,' i gridiron (an unusual luxury), a coil of 

 f-inch rope, 150 feet long, for towing, a ball of twine, and 

 a small amount of light cord, a cup, plate, knife, fork, and 

 spoon for each member of the party (with one or two spare 

 ones), a small bag of nails, several small whetstones (most 

 important) ; bacon, flour, baking-powder, beans, tea, coffee, 

 or cocoa (the latter for choice), sugar, salt, and a few cans 

 of preserved meat for emergencies. These articles are all 

 necessities." 



To this list I should add two or three good skinning 

 knives, and a number of small bags of fine salt for curing 

 skins. Most sportsmen buy an inferior form of coarse salt 

 for this purpose, but the fine table salt is not ruinously 

 expensive, and a small bag of it goes farther than one of 

 twice the size and weight of coarse salt, and is of course 

 much more convenient to carry. 



In the place of a small tomahawk I should substitute a 

 really good English bill-hook, or even two. This weapon 

 is unknown In Alaska, but for cutting trails through brush, 

 and for chopping up small wood like alder, it is far better 

 than any axe ; and the number of times, while watching our 

 men hopelessly chopping at small sticks with an axe, that we 

 exclaimed, " Oh for a good old bill-hook ! " was beyond all 

 counting. 



For reasons elsewhere stated, it is hopeless to offer any 

 advice on the subject of a sportsman's battery in Alaska. 

 Suffice it to say, that we found both the .256 and the 8 milli- 

 metre Mannlichers quite good enough. Glyn's Paradox was 



