LIFE ON A YUKON TRAIL 



389 



axman. John had made soup of some moose bones purchased 

 from the Indians, in an old lard can that " Calgary," the teamster, 

 had used the day before as a wash-boiler for his month's laun- 

 dry. Dan would eat no soup, remarking that " when a man 

 became too dirty to drive sheep he still had a chance of going 

 in to cook on a survey corps." This sinister reference to John's 

 former occupation broke the entente cordiale. John secretly dis- 

 posed of about $200 worth of our provisions to some gold-seekers 

 and departed for Glenora to start in business as a professional 

 poker player. His place was taken by a stranded gold-seeker 



CAMPING ON THE FIRST SUMMIT — ABOVE TELEGRAPH CHEEK 



called Ben, who approached the subject of cooking without any 

 preconceived opinions or errors in experience. 



On quitting the rivers we followed the roaring mountain tor- 

 rent that threads its way from the first summit nine miles to the 

 northward'. By noon of the second day we stood upon the first 

 divide, at an elevation of about 2,700 feet above Telegraph 

 Creek village. I-n this distance we had lifted and tugged the 

 sledges over a succession of benches that rose echelle-wise in for- 

 midable declivities from the river. A bitterly cold, ( searching 

 wind was encountered on the summit, and we could not halt for 



