20 
THE BED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA. 
at work among his traps, he had accidentally run onto 
the line set by a wandering party of Tak-heesh natives 
from the interior, and had ignorantly — so he assured us 
again and again — taken several pelts from their traps. 
" A dozen Tak-heesh had come suddenly upon him, 
taken him prisoner, and vowed he should die for the 
offence. Poor Peeschee in vain asserted his innocence. 
To the stake he should go. On the second day of his 
captivity, he had escaped by gnawing his thongs while 
his captors were dozing after a hearty meal of bear meat, 
and had been running all the afternoon, he said. 
" We felt a little nervous about the pursuers, but those 
Tak-heesh are cowards unless they are terribly roused, and, 
sure enough, when they turned up the next morning, a 
rifle volley into the air put the entire crowd to flight. 
The Fox was as grateful as a dog, and, the day after 
we reached Fort Wrangel, he did me the good turn I 
referred to. 
" He came quietly to the barracks, inquired for my 
room, found me alone, and then and there told me the 
wonderful story which set me to writing this long letter 
— an offence, John, which I seldom commit, you'll 
acknowledge. 
" What the Fox had to say was substantially this : Last 
autumn he made one of his solitary expeditions over the 
mountains, in search of furs. He penetrated far into the 
interior, reaching a district absolutely unknown to him 
before that trip. He describes it as abounding in game, 
