LIFE ON A YUKON TRAIL 



459 



rancheria, these people seem to have turned the old Greek and 

 Roman religion of external cleanliness into a sin. But if the, 

 outward and visible signs of sanctity can ever take the form of. 

 uncleanness, certainly the " odor of sanctity " can never again 

 be considered a mere figure of speech. Three out of five of these 

 miserable creatures seemed to suffer from lung or throat diseases. 

 The Stikine opened on May 7, two weeks earlier than usual, 

 and a week later our mail, which had arrived in Glenora by steam- 

 boat, was sent in to us by a special messenger of the company. 



IN TESLIN TRAIL 



Must of the letters and papers were two months old. It was 

 noticeable that few of the men received any letters or evinced 

 any interest in the arrival of the mail. One man in the part} r 

 admitted that lie had not written to any of his home people in 

 the East for nine years, and others had allowed several years to 

 pass without writing. 



By May 20, small, light-laden parties wereslowly pushing along 

 the trail toward Teslin lake, with their entire outfits stowed upon 

 their dogs' backs and upon their own. They reported the daily 



