A WINTER'S DAY IN THE YUKON TERRITORY. 223 
kind, carrying two pear-shaped bunches of eggs, one 
on each side of the tail. We throw a double handful of 
snow into the hole to filter out these unbidden guests, and 
filling the teakettle return to the bivouac where the others 
are broiling pieces of dry salmon on sticks by the fire. As 
soon as the kettle boils we put in the tea and let it boil up 
once, and our meal is ready. ‘Tin cups in hand, we enjoy 
the grateful and refreshing beverage, which is worth more to 
the traveller in the north than any amount of whiskey. In- 
deed the latter is worse than worthless, and no old traveller 
would wish to have it along with him. After tea, biscuit 
and salmon are discussed, the one other luxury of voyageur 
life is enjoyed, namely, a cheerful pipe of tobacco, and re- 
placing our pipes in our "fire-bags" we continue on our way. 
By keeping a sharp lookout it is more than probable that we 
shall see a Marten (Mustela Americana) seeking refuge in 
some bushy spruce as we pass by. Their tracks are every- 
where, and they often disturb the traveller's cache of dr 
salmon used for dog feed, and left by the roadside until his 
return. 
We keep on our way through thick spruce groves where 
the trees may average eighteen inches in diameter and forty 
feet high. In the interior, on the Yukon, they grow much 
larger, but. all the trees diminish in size and abundance as 
we approach the coast, where there are none atall. The 
Aspen (Populus tremuloides), the Spruce (Abies alba), the 
Poplar (Populus balsamifera), and the Birch (Betula glan- 
dulosa), are the largest and most prominent trees. There 
are no true pines, though the settlers call the spruce “pine.” 
Leaving the bank as we reach the river we continue on our 
way upon the ice. Although the thermometer may have been 
as low as fifty below zero since August, yet you will always 
find open places in the ice. These are formed by the rapid 
current or by warm springs. At Ulokuk there are a number 
of the latter, which keep a large space in the river open all 
the year round. Over this water a cloud, like steam, arises 
