LIFE ON A YUKON TRAIL 

 By Alfred Pearce Dennis, Ph. D. 



(Continued from the October number) 



On Saturday, April 9, 42 days after our departure from south- 

 ern British Columbia, actual work was begun on the railway 

 survey. The experience of snow-shoeing 10 or 12 miles, with a 

 day's work thrown in between, was trying at first. Any one 

 who has worked on snow-shoes can estimate the labor of moving 

 that distance over " rotten " snow. The crust yields at every 

 plunge, and many pounds of snow pour in upon the shoes like 

 loose gravel. The dead weight must be lifted when the shoe is 

 withdrawn above the crust for the next step. The strain tells 

 severely upon the back and the adductor muscles of the lower 

 limbs. About 5 p. m. actual work on the line ordinarily ceased, 

 but the return to camp would not infrequently require as much 



HALT FOR riiR.VilK 



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