Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-19

NY LIZ NaSO w Az ~
still kept up in isolated places, and
cases where it has been followed were
we'll known as late as 1876.
"Some of the Indian tribes, notably
the Kanaitze, travelling from place to
place hunting or fishing, have the very
excellent habit of leaving behind them
when they break camp a quantity of
kindling material at each fireplace for
the use of the next travellers who come
along, and who may possibly not be
oversupplied with this very necessary
item in their outfit. This kindling con-
sists of some pine pitch and some dry
moss and sticks all wrapped up in a
curl of birch bark. The traveller who
uses this and does not leave. some for
the next one who comes along is sadly
deficient in the etiquette of Alaskan
travel.
''That is a curious country, truly. In
one days trip | was treated to three OF
the rarest sights | ever saw. One of
these was the watching from behind a
rock of a family of beavers at workfell-
ing timber and building dams. I say
a family, but there must have been two
hundred of them. every one working
away like mad. | had been making a
trip to see some Of the country back
from the sea, and was surprised to see
how heavily wooded, comparatively, it
was. Twas guided by a Kanaitze In
dian, and long before we reached the
lake where / saw the beavers l was
puzzled at the crashing of timbcrs to
the ground, as if some greatwhirlwind
We're at play among the trees. could
hardly believe the Indian when
he said the trees were being felled
by beavers. When we came in
sight of the lake and the hills about
it l no longer doubted. Scores Of the
busy animals were gnawing down the
trees; others We're trimming the
branches off as neatly as it could have
been done with an axe; others were
chopping the timber into the proper
lengths Tor use; others rolled the pieces
into the water and 1loated them to the
d~am-workers, who were rapidly laying
up a wooden structure of which the
most expert of human workmen might
well have been proud. l watched the
beavers at work for an hour and then
left the spot reluctantly. That night,
by the way, | had beaver meat for sup
per, went to bed on beaver skins and
covered myself with beaver furs, and
had beaver again for breakfast. 1 had
never eaten beaver meat before, and 1
found it good. My guide told me that
the lake where we had seen the beavers
was one of a chain of seven, and that
it was the great Indian trapping place.
They trapped in one lake one year. in
another theneXt, and SO on, thus giving
the beaver an opportunity to increase
in the waters which were not dis
turbed.
Zone Of the other curious sights 1
saw that day was a grizzly bear fish
ing for salmon. That was a funny
sight. They have the common brown
bear and the grizzly in Alaska. and the
Alaska grizzly is bigger than his broth
er of the Rocky Mountains and just as
tough. Long before we came to the
spot where we saw the grizzly fishing
we saw his tracks in the soft margin Of
the lake. The marks of his feet meas
ured sixteen inches across and were
nearly twice as long. Suddenly my
guide made me a sign and dropped
down behind a rock. / did the same,
and looking ahead not more than
three rods, l saw the largest wild ami
NAL l had ever seen in my life outside
OF a mcnagerie. | knew it was a griz>
Fly. The great brute was living on the
top of a bank in which he had scooped
out a chute down to the waters edge,
at a sharp angle. The BEARS eyes
were fixed intently on the water, and he
had not heard our approach. Pres
emily he slid down that chute with as
tonishlng velocity and plunged head
first in the water. When he arose and
backed out he had in one of his great
paws an enormous salmon which he
took to the top of the bank and
proceeded to make a meal of. He
never finished it, for both my guide
and myself sent two rife balls into his
gigantic carcass. He arose to his feet
with a roar like a lion, turned two or
three times as if to see whence the
deadly fire had come, and then fell to
the ground and was soon dead. This
fishing Tor salmon is common method
of securing choice morsels of food by
both the common bear and the grizzly.
''The third strange sight I saw that
day was toward evening. 1t was sum-
mer, and we came to the mouth of a
mountain torrent, near where we were
to camp. AS we stopped by the shore
of the stream. a herd of reindeer, at
least twentyof them. came out to drink.
They were 10 thirty feet from us. and
raised their great a%ntlers, and stood
looking at us with such apparent con-
tidencc of our good intentions that l
would not permit the guide to abuse it,
as he was on the point of doing, al
though it was a bitter task for him to
keep his rifle from his shoulder. The
deer finally stopped and drank, and
then disappeared in the woods as quiet
ly as they had come upon us.
''You would hardly think that there
were mosquitoes in Alaska, l suppose.
from the idea you have probably formed
OF the nature of the country, but of all
the vivid memories l have of the Terri
tory, those | retain of the Alaskan mos
quito arc the most vivid. Icampedfor
some days II umlner on the Kenai
River, ear Lake Skcloka, of which it
is the outlet, and of all the poisonous,
persistent, Unsuitable pests that evel
lived ] found there in the form of mos
quitoes and black flies. The mosqui.
toes resemble those we have East, but
to correspond with everything else in