Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1892-03-30


a scant two; still, thought to myself.
as l wiped the perspiration OH my face,
| might have deemed il q good half
dozen if had carried 100 pounds over
it instead of a camera and a tin cup.
The first part of the trail led through
groves of ''jack-pine." 1t is a flexible
confer. if ever there was one. as in
many places the Indians had tied trees
and branches together to mark the trail.
This had been done years before, but
the pines had grown right along. just
the same, and these knots in the bodies
of the now large trees, or two dashed
together. looked curious enough.
Where we found the first packs there
was also camped Tahku family fro m
the interior, bringing out furs to trade
at Juneau. The principal furs of South
grizzly bear, mink, beaver, land and sea-
martin, lynx, wolverine. silver, cross
and red fox, and occasionally white
and blue fox from the lower Yukon.
When the skin of any fur-bcaring ami
NAL is dark-colored the fur is poor; the
lighter the color the better the pe1t.
Many Indians, in moments Of forget
fulness, will glue loose hairs on long
killed animals just to brighten up the
pelts little bit.
All day we were crossing beautiful
mountain rills, with water cold MS ice.
In the warm dusty day my eyeglasses
blurred badly with perspiration. In
the Arctic the frozen breath was as bad,
and in general the near-sighted ex-
plorer Is short-sighted for going on a
rough trip.
Camp 8 was but four mile. from
No. Z, but no doubt the packers
That night learned new s'wrinkle'
on roughing it. had selected a nice
spot in slight hollow, full of leaves,
for making down my bed. 1t was cut
off just right at one end by log, half
buried in the turf, that formed IN ex-
cellcnt pillow. The next morning the
Indians were up by 8, and they be-
gan cutting drewood from the part OF
my tree that projected from til slope.
There were nine thousand \ hun
dred and forty-two other L. $ in the
immediate vicinity, all of them dry,
solid and reeking with pitch, while
mine was water-soaked, rotten and
heavy, but they kept beating a tattoo
on it with axes until o'clock, when
they got away with the first packs,
every mothers son Of them stumbling
over the only part Of the trunk they had
not yet cut up. For the first mile or
two the trail that day was strewn with
fallen timber. The natives are quite
pecially the signal smokes they often
sead up when travelling, to convey intel
ligence to others far away, and this
burnt-out timber soon falls, formir q an
almost impossible network of PROSTATE
trees. How the packers got along SO
we'll over this labyrinth of logs sur
Prised me more than my own constant
falling off of them. had reserved my
hob-nailed shoes for any serious noun
fny l. hat s~.l,< "a
slipping off of half the logs, slximming
over the slick pine needles in the path.
sliding all over the wet moss of the hill
sides and essentially skating the whole
hive miles into camp on the smoothest
bottomcd shoes l ever wore in my life,
! came to the conclusion the serious
work had arrived.
Again that day a number of interior
fur traders passed us on their way to
Juneau. We camped in the evening at
the deserted Indian village OF Ah-kah-
tee That was one of the toughe t days OF
the trip, the Indians being on the trail
from very early in the II orning until
at night. OF course they took long and
frequent rests, but think they were
needed ones. That evening several
complained of strained tendons, and
one of them adopted the heroic treat
ment OF standing half an hour nearly
knee-deep in the ice water of the noun
tain stream.
Next morning it could be noticed that
the Indians We're getting sore where
the pack-straps cut, and some of tn EN-
were seen to tear up great broad strips
of blanketing to make new shoulder
straps for packing.
Lunch time, on the 4th, saw us but
two miles on the trail, coming up to
the first packs at the village OF Kick
{da0arksldl irrct oh Ill,
is beautiful waterfall ON the river.
That night we camped at a place
the Indians call 1.-The pole bridge
where number of pine poles had been
thrown from either shore to meet a
high rock in the center Of foaming
cataract. These pole bridges are not
uncommon on trails, and as the trunks
are usually free of bark and slippery
with the water that has dashed over
them, they are not the ,pleasantest
ways, possible, of crossing a dangerous
stream.
That evening the packers did not ar
rive In a body as usual, but were
strung out, according to their strength
and endurance, from until o'clock.
1t was getting clear that some would
fail me if the road ahead got any worse
or the slightest addition should happen
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