A TALE OF ALASKAN HARDSHIPS. 
and Billneau, who, like ourselves, had 
decided to try the extreme headwaters. 
We prospected all summer, but found 
no gold; I believe there is no pay dirt 
on the headwaters of the Porcupine. 
During the summer there was plenty 
of game and we got along well. It 
was not until both flour and tobacco 
had given out that things began to 
look blue; yet we were making good 
progress toward the Yukon, and all 
would have got out of the country had 
not Holmes frozen his feet.” 
Mr. Ritchie told in detail the story 
of the trip out by McPhee and himself; 
that their food gave out in 4 or 5 days; 
that they were threatened by a band 
of wolves, which were finally driven 
off ; that bad luck followed 2 efforts to 
shoot game they saw, and that they 
were finally reduced to the necessity 
173 
of eating in succession 5 beaver 
hides. 
“How did we manage to eat them? 
Oh, we singed off-all the hair, 
then toasted pieces of the hide to a 
crisp and chewed.” 
Both McPhee and Ritchie had little 
doubt that Moffatt, Billneau and 
Holmes were able to reach La Pierre 
house, though it was a long, hard trip 
to make inside the Arctic circle, in 
midwinter, on short rations. | 
It was not the case, however. The 3 
men were never again seen alive. The 
next summer Indians found 2 skele- 
tons on the Porcupine, 80 miles from 
Belle river, and showed them to the 
N. W. mounted police. The bones 
were supposed to be those of 2 of the 
missing men. Where the third one met 
his death is unknown. 

AMATEUR PHOTO BY ©, C. SPEIGH1. 
SCREECH OWL. 
One of the 20th Prize Winners in Recreation’s 7th Annual Photo Competition, 
