The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-04-22

travelled by the Indians, as the fur
bearing country it taps Is given up
wholly to the Chilkats, who reach it by
another trail. The weather was yet
heavy and threatening the morning OF
the 9th, as we got away. The white
men had been obliged to repair the
pole bridge the evening before, the
rains having brought down driftwood
that damaged it IL was a good
morning for dusly grouse on the
trail and a number were secured
with the Winchester shotgun by menu
bers Of the party. The junction of the
two trails proved to be on a wide
stretch of broken, angular gravel. The
proper trail for us-the northeastern
here led sharply up the mountain slope,
the northern path being much the
palmer of the two; hence our packers
mistake. These numerous gravel
slides were exasperating to travel over.
The gravel was of an uniform angular
character as if 1t had come from rock
breaker and intended for railway
ballasting or the macadsmizing of
road. Here was enough to have
Canadian Pacific railway, the longest
road in the world, and plenty to spare
for constructing all the county roads
that could be made in Ysvapai county,
Arizona, the largest county in the
United States. If railroad ever cuts
through this country-which think
not unlikely for reasons l will give
later-it certainly viii be well supplied
with this necessary and usually expen-
sive material of construction
As we rapidly assembled the noun
tain slope by a well defined trail
after the gravel cones were left behind
we had the best view of the country
that the route bad yet presented.
Between the two trails lay great bald
mountain, with rounded top crowned
with two conspicuous black ohjectS
looking not unlike two houses, and
these could be seen for miles on either
side. think they were huge erEatic
boulders even at this high altitude. I
named this butte the The Trail Split
ter" from its position with regard to
tho two trails already described That
night we camped on the high slope,
1850 feet above the river, and whereft
was not easy work to find enough fat
space to even make our beds, so as not
TO roll down the hill.
Sure enough Robert" joined us as he
had promised, and which had hardly
expected from the great distance he
had had to travel. At this camp the
Indians found small pine squirrel In
the stunted spruce, and the way they
turned out en- masse after it would
have led one to believe that they were
on the verge of starvation After
an exciting chase of ten minutes
or so they secured the two-ounce affair
and proceeded to cook it I knew a
native, at another time, to shoot one
with a 1o-guage Winchester shotgun,
the cartridge used weighing more than
the carcass. There were great many
snowbanEs on the trail the next fore
noon 9th which still led upward until
the aneroids showed 1863 feet above
river level. They were not very bad
in the early forenoon but later, when
it is warmer, they are very exasperating
to encounter. Despite the melting
snow through which we foun-
dered we. found no drinking water
anywhere. the gravelly and loose
soil absorbing it all as rapidly as it was
formed. As we descended the slope,
however, the springs reappeared and by
the time the valley was reached it was
quite swampy in many places Old
moose signs were seen everywhere
but not a hair of the animals them