TBEEB BY A MOOSE. 27 
had rather the appearance of a decision than a suggestion, 
he wisely refrained from opposing it. 
"You shall certainly go, my dear, if you wish to," said 
this exemplary husband. And she did. 
Certain modifications of the original route had also been 
made. The " itinerary " w^as finally laid out as follows : — 
The "military section," as Flossie laughingly called 
the lieutenant's party, were to meet at Sitka, and "pack " 
over the mountains to the headwaters of the Yukon 
River, moving down-stream until they should reach Fort 
Selkirk, wliere they would await the eastern party, 
instead of at Fort Yukon. Mr. Button and the boys 
decided to follow the regular traders' route from Ottawa, 
northward and westward to Fort Churchill, on Hudson's 
Bay. From there a nearly westerly course, bearing a 
little to the north, above Athabasca Lake and below (on 
the map) the Great Slave, would bring them to Fort 
Simpson ; thence over a lofty pass in the Chippeway 
division of the Eocky Mountains into New Columbia, and 
to Fort Selkirk, which is situated exactly 62° 45' north, 
137° 22' west from Greenwich. 
There ! We've done with figures and theoretical geog- 
raphy for a while ; practical geography we must study in 
spite of ourselves. Once in Alaska territory, we must 
examine our surroundings, and pick our way, almost inch 
by inch, for we have no reliable guide to the interior of 
this great, desolate region. If we want a map, we must 
make one. 
