i 5 6 



RECREATION. 



fried bacon and hard tack we pre- 

 pared to break trail down to Or-ah- 

 pah-eu's lodge. Giving our guns to 

 the cutters (ordinary) bucks, we 

 tied our stirrups over our horse's 

 backs and took off their bridles so 

 they would not get tangled up when 

 floundering and wallowing in the 

 snow. Then we put on our snow-shoes 

 and broke the snow for a hundred 

 yards or so. Returning, we mounted 

 our horses, my grey leading. How 

 the snow flew, and how he puffed! 

 It had grown cold, and the steam 

 went up from our horses in a col- 

 umn. When the descent became 

 more marked, my horse would go 

 io or 15 feet at each jump. The 

 sensations were peculiar. He would 

 paw and wallow until he could get a 

 footing, then he would make a leap 

 and slide 20 or 30 feet, the snow 

 over his back. Sometimes he would 

 throw me on the snow in front of 

 him so that we would face each other; 

 then with a quick movement I would 

 pull myself up on his back again. 



Finally about dark we made the 

 lodge, dead beat, our horse's flanks 

 crusted with frozen sweat and snow, 

 and our moccasins in about the same 

 condition. How good it felt to lie 

 down in the lodge and watch the fire 

 burn. Not a sound is heard, for the 

 Indians are too tired to cook or talk. 

 It was one of the toughest days I 

 have ever experienced, snow-shoeing 

 in Alaska not excepted. 



About four a. m., Or-ah-pah-eu 

 awakened me, saying: "Not good 

 sleep too long after such hard tramp- 

 ing, legs get sore." 



Then the cooking began, accom- 

 panied with a few Indian stories of 

 hunts and fights. Each man cooked 

 his bit of grub on a stick before the 

 fire, telling his story meanwhile. 

 This kept the entire party moving, 

 at intervals, the rest of the night, 

 which is "good medicine" to keep 

 from getting sore muscles. 



Starting out next morning at e-lip- 

 sun(grey dawn), we made a bee-line 

 for the confluence of the two creeks, 

 which we reached about two hours 

 after sunrise. The creek bottom was 



covered with a thick chaparal, wkh 

 here and there a clear place. Or- 

 ah-pah-eu posted us along the creek, 

 one to each of these clearings, with 

 the warning "close nanich" (look 

 out). The banks were about 150 feet 

 high, anel the snow about three feet 

 deep. 



Above we could hear the Indian 

 boys as they came down the canyon 

 wading in the creek and driving the 

 deer our way. My hands were cold 

 from carrying my gun. I leaned it 

 against a tree and put my hands 

 under my buckskin shirt to warm 

 my fingers a bit. As I stood thus I 

 heard a splash in the creek, and be- 

 fore I could get my rifle to my 

 shoulder a big five-year-old buck 

 shot past. I squared myself and 

 here came two bucks lickety-split. 

 I nailed the leader in the head and 

 missed the second; then came five. 

 I got two of these and jammed a 

 cartridge in my gun. While thus dis- 

 abled seven or eight went by. By 

 this time we were all red hot. The 

 hunters below me made the woods 

 ring as they pumped the lead into 

 the fleeing deer; and the Indians 

 above, hearing the fusilade, howled, 

 yelled, and came wallowing 

 through the deep snow as fast as 

 they could. The perspiration ran 

 from my face in streams, and the 

 smoke hung in front of me in a 

 cloud. This kept up for 15 min- 

 utes, and that drive was over. 



The Indians came into the clearing, 

 steaming in the cold morning air, 

 wet to the arm-pits, the upper por- 

 tion of their shirts covered with 

 ice. As soon as they had inspected 

 the 14 deer I had killed they 

 started for camp to dry off, while 

 the squaws, who had followed 

 with pack horses, began to skin and 

 cut up the carcasses. I dropped 

 down to see what luck the others 

 had, and counted 37 mule deer in 

 and along the creek as a result 

 of the drive, none of which 

 would weigh less than 150 pounds. 



Slaughter? Well, yes; but this 

 was the way the Indians got their 

 meat in those days, and I was only 



