114 



RECREATION 



time they board the steamer at Seattle 

 until they have been at least six months 

 in the country, whenever there are 

 enough old settlers about to tell it. This 

 is the weather story : 



A tourist on one of the excursions 



"I've a new story," said he; "went 

 down in the steerage for 'recreation' ; 

 found an old miner down there who 

 told me a good one on this weather." 



I heard him through, and found that 

 his new mining friend had heard the 



IN JUNEAU HABROR 



who was unfortunate enough to travel 

 through four days of steady rain, said 

 to an Indian boy who stood on the 

 wharf at old Wrangel : "Does it always 

 rain in this country?" 



"Nope. Sometimes snows." 



The copyright ran out on this about 

 ten years ago, so that every one who 

 tells it to you now claims to have per- 

 sonally heard the conversation between 

 the woman and the Indian. I believe I 

 heard it first of our party, and with 

 such a good piece of news to break the 

 monotony, I hurried to find my old 

 chum Jimmie Huston, who dearly loves 

 a good story or joke, to spread these 

 good tidings before him. I met him 

 'midship, by the purser's cabin, looking 

 for me. 



"Say," said he. 



"Say," said I, both in nearly the same 

 breath. 



conversation between the woman and 

 the Indian boy at Sitka last June. Jim- 

 mie and I agreed to see it through 

 without flinching for the rest of the trip, 

 after two others had backed us up 

 against the smokestack and related the 

 adventure ; and before that famous day 

 of rain was over, one after the other 

 of our party, and four other "old set- 

 tlers" had told the wonderful tale. 



The following day was bright, and so 

 was the next — clear, crisp air of that 

 northern land — and everywhere we 

 looked were those great, beautifully 

 rugged mountains, white-sheeted from 

 base to summit. Oh, these peaks are 

 superb in their winter dress ! And over 

 them on those clear days there comes 

 briefly before the darkness that glorious 

 halo of a northern sunset. 



It all made me feel so light-hearted 

 and fond of every one that when we 



