THE CHILKOOT PASS. 135 
On the second Monday morning, the twenty-eighth of 
June, the voyage down the river began. All the Indians 
except Peeschee and half a dozen of the most trusted Chil- 
kats were paid, discharged, and sent home across the pass. 
For two weeks the raft sailed, bumped, floated its 
way down-stream. Just below Lindeman was another 
lake, thirty miles long. Its shores were low and boggy, 
but the hills in the background gave a liveliness to the 
landscape, which was increased by the abundance of little 
streams that came leaping down from the far-away glaciers, 
to pour their ice-cold waters into the larger river. 
Now and then, but rarely, large game appeared on 
shore. Solomon and Flossie became firm friends, and 
had many a long talk together as they sat on the raised 
deck, looking out over lake or stream. 
What do you do in the winter ? " the girl asked, on 
one of these occasions. 
Oh, I jest hang raound, pretty much. Sometimes I 
hev a line o' traps to tend." 
" What do you do with the poor little creatures after 
you catch them ? " 
" Sell their pelts," said Baronov, laconically. 
" Why, how much are they worth ? " 
" Oh, a good beaver skin '11 bring abaout two dollars 
an' a half. They're the commonest fur animal in Alasky 
that's wuth ketchin'. Mush-rat pelts air wuth five cents. 
A sea-otter's skin kin be sold anywheres for seventy-five 
dollars and up'ards." 
