FOREST AND STREAM 
689 
Oct. 31, 1908.] 
arrived, he took me up to his log house and 
had his squaw prepare a meal. He showed 
much hospitality and I sat down to some fresh 
salmon, tea and sour dough bread; quite an im¬ 
provement on hardtack. It is customary to fill 
one up on food the first thing when he arrives 
from a distance before they do any talking to 
you. After breakfast, the other brothers had 
come in and they all appeared to be as much 
pleased to see me as though I was a distant 
relative. They insisted on my sleeping in their 
house, but I told them I slept better in my tent 
during the summer time; so I did. They sewed 
the poor places on my kyack and gave it a 
good oiling, as it needed it very much. Though 
I had a pillow and blankets with me, they in¬ 
sisted on my using a feather tick and a larger 
pillow, besides a bear 
skin to sleep on. I 
was desirous of getting 
some rock ptarmigan 
{Lag opus rupestris ), 
and he promised to 
send his brothers with 
me, but rain prevented 
us from climbing the 
mountains. The five 
brothers went with me 
to show me a certain 
kind of blind eel that 
was found in a small 
lake a short distance 
from their house, but 
we did not see any.' 
The next day we all 
went for a bear hunt 
up the river a few 
miles. Bear signs were 
very plentiful; along 
; the river was a well- 
worn path they had 
formed in walking 
along watching for sal¬ 
mon that were fre¬ 
quently stranded along 
the shore and bars. In 
September the salmon . 
turn a bright red color, 
and the once rounded 
I nose of the fish now 
has a well defined hook 
in appearance. They 
I keep struggling to make headway up the stream 
intil they at last die of exhaustion. I have often 
seen them with just enough life to move their 
ails when punched with a stick. At this period 
hey are usually covered with a species of fungus 
I ln d their beautiful red color by this time has 
| juite disappeared. I have often seen tons of 
j lead salmon that have been gathered in some 
| :ddy while attempting to ascend the rapid river 
hat flows from the upper mountain lakes. Bears 
nay be seen along these streams at nearly all 
lours. We saw several at some distance. The rain 
ictually poured in torrents, though we were 
luite dry, having on rain coats made from the 
ntestines of seal or bear. Bear makes the 
inest ones. We waited some time, sitting in 
; )ur kyak, but saw no more, and as it was grow- 
ng dark, the brothers said we had better return 
md try another time. 
Rain fell all the next day and we saw a 
leautiful rainbow, something seldom seen in 
Alaska and as rare as thunder in those regions. 
The rain was over on the sixth, and I thought 
best to make a start on our return home. One 
of my men was taken sick. I gave him some 
cure all, Epsom salts. I gave it to him warm 
so it would have a quick effect, so that we 
would not be detained. He no sooner got it 
down than it came up. I prepared another dose 
in cold water, but I could not get near him; he 
said, no, he had enough, but I insisted, and he 
tried it again with better results. The weather 
looked favorable and I concluded to break 
camp. When I was ready to take my leave, the 
brothers all gave me something; one a fine 
skin of the barren ground bear, another a very 
ancient charm that was an heirloom in the 
family. It was always worn about the neck 
when they went to sea, hunting for sea otter. 
IN A NEWFOUNDLAND HUNTERS'" CAMP. 
From Millais’ “Newfoundland and Its Untrodden Ways.” 
It was a round piece of very hard metal of some 
kind. I could not make any impression on it 
with my knife. Another present was a round 
dish cut out of hard, solid stone and used as a 
lamp. Also a stone breastplate, used they did 
not know for what, but they said it was very 
old; also a rare stone of a green shade set in 
a piece of wood for a fire kindler, and other 
presents, the skin of a fine hair seal, etc. The 
oldest brother accompanied me some ten or 
fifteen miles. Rain set in again and he wanted 
me to take a fine rain coat, an extra one he had, 
as it was better than the one I wore. I told 
him no with many thanks, and wanted to pay 
him for the presents and for living with him 
during the time I was there, but he would not 
listen to it at all. All of the brothers treated 
me as though I was too good to do anything 
for myself. At about noon, I parted with the 
oldest brother. He said that he was going 
up a river to hunt bears, that where he was 
going they were very thick, and that he shot 
them from his kyack, never going on land to 
hunt them, as he says it is safer to hunt from 
his boat, as there is but little danger. 
We traveled all day, wind cold, the rain hav¬ 
ing ceased. At last we reached the place on the 
west shore of the lake where we were to make 
the portage across to the Noghelin River, which 
is fed by Lake Kechic—later called Lake Clark 
—and empties into Lake Iliamna. We found a 
good place, made camp and got things ready to 
commence the portage in the morning. It was 
quite dark when we reached our stopping place 
with a cold wind off the lake, and the shrill cry 
of the great northern diver came from the lake 
as they answered each other. 
The morning was pleasant, so we broke camp 
and commenced our trip overland. Two of the 
natives—for I had two 
extra ones sent with 
me to help on the por¬ 
tage — took the kyak 
bottom side up, put 
their heads in the 
round holes and let 
the hoop or rim of 
the boat rest on their 
shoulders with their 
fur coats underneath 
and started off. The 
boat was twenty-seven 
feet in length and quite 
heavy from being in 
• the water so long, but 
they carried it half a 
mile or more before 
resting. 
We reached the 
Noghelin River and 
camped that night, 
and in the morning I 
sent the natives' back 
for some of the lug¬ 
gage that had been left 
behind. The river is 
deep and rapid, and we 
had to keep near the 
edges in order to make 
any headway. 
Sept. 9 was pleasant, 
with no wind and a 
bright sun. We got off- 
early and reached the 
Lake of the Mountains, or Kechic Lake, about 
9 A. M. 
The lake is surrounded by mountains on the 
east, north and northwest; on the south and 
southwest are comparatively low hills ranging 
along the lake nearly to the bay, where the 
Chulitna River flows into it from the west. At 
the foot of the lake on the eastern side there 
is a series of four or five mountains, pyramidal 
in shape, encroaching to the water’s edge. 
After dinner I wanted to stop at the first 
island we reached in traveling north on the 
lake, but could not find a suitable place to land, 
as the island is covered with a dense growth of 
spruce trees, so passed on to the second one, 
stopped and went ashore, as the sides of the 
island sloped to the water’s edge, and were 
covered with a light growth of willows. The 
sun shone brightly on the water, causing it to 
reflect myriads of ripples that looked like silver 
dollars, which, sad to relate, were not. At the 
mouth of the river we camped for the night. 
/ 
