The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-06-27

not by precept. but through bitter ex
perience.
Never travel alone" is a precept OF
the north. He had heard II many
times and laughed. for he was a strap
ping young fellow. big boned and Zig
muscled, with faith In himself and in
the strength Of his head and hands.
II was on a bleak January day when
the experience came that taught him
respect for the frost and for the wis.
dom OF the men who had battled with H.
He had left Calumet Camp Oh the
Yukon with a light pack on his back,
to go up Paul Greek TO the divide be-
tween II and Cherry Greek, where his
party was prospecting and hunting
moose.
The frost was sixty degrees below
zero, and he had thirty miles of lonely
trail TO cover. but he did not mind. In
fact he enjoyed IL, swinging along
through the silence, his blood pounding
warmly through his veins and his mind
care free and happy. For he and his
comrades were certain they had struck
"pay" up there on the Cherry Greek
Divide, and, further he was returning
TO them from Dawson with checry
home letters from the States.
At O'Clock, when he turned the
heels OF his moccasins toward Calumet
Camp IL was still black night And
when day broke at $50 he had made
the four-mile cutoff across the fats
and was six miles up Paul Creek The
trail, which had seen little travel. fol-
lowed the bed OF the creek. and there
was 10 possibility OF his getting los.
He had gone 10 Dawson 10y way OF
Cherry Greek and Indian River, so
Paul Creek was new and strange. by
11.30 he was at the forks. which bad
been described 10 him. and he knew he
had covered fifteen miles, half the dis
tance.
He knew that in the nature of things
the trail was bound TO grow worse
from there on, and thought that, con
sidering the good time he had made he |
merited lunch. Casting off his pack |
and taking a seat on a fallen tree he |
unmittened his right hand. reached in |
side his shirt next to the skin and |
fshed out couple OF biscuits sand |
wiched with sliced bacon and wrapped |
In n handkerchief-the only way they
could be carried without freezing cold. |
He had barely chewcd his first
nouthful when his numbing fingers
warned him TO put his mltten on again
This he did, not without surprise at the
a
bit in. Undoubtedly II was the coldcst
snap he had ever experienced, he
thought
He spat upon the snow-a favOrite
northland trick-and the sharp crackle
Of the instantly CONCEALED spittlc star
tied him. The spirit thermometer at
Calumet had registered sixty below |
when he left, but he was certain II had
grown much colder. how much colder.
he could not imagine.
Half OF the first biscuit was yet nm
touched, but he could feel himself be-
ginning to chill-a thing most unusual
for him. This would never do, he de-
cided, and slipping the pack straps
across his shoulders he leaped TO his
feet and ran briskly up the trail.
A few minutes of this made him
warm again, and he settled down TO n
steady stride. munching the biscuits rs
be went along. The moisture that ex-
haled with his breath crusted his lips
and mustache with pendant ice and
formed n miniature glacier on his chin.
Now and again sensation fOrsook his
nose and cheeks, and he rubbed them
till they burned with the returning
blood.
Most men wore nose straps; his part
ners did. but he scorned such feminine
contraptions," and till now lie had
never felt the need of them. Now he
did feel the need. for he was rubbing
constantly.
Nevertheless he was aware of n
thrill of joy, of exultation. He was
doing something, achieving something.
mastering the elements. Once he
laughed aloud In sheer strength OF life
and with his clenched fist defied the
frost. He was its master. What he
did he did in spite OF IT, 1t could not
stop him. lie was going to the Cherry
Creek Divide.
Strong as were the elements, he was
stronger. At such times animals
crawled away into their holes and ne.
mained in hiding. But he did not hide. |
He was out in it, facing it. fighting IL. |
He was a man. n master of things.
In such fashion. rejoicing proudly, he |
tramped on. After half an hour he
rounded n bend. where the creek ran
close 10 the mountainsde. and came
upon one of the most insignificant ap-
pearing but most formidable dangers
IN northern travel.
The creek itself was frozen solid TO |
its rock bottom, but from the mountain |
came the outflow OF several springs. |
These springs never froze, and the only
effect of the severest cold snaps was
20 lessen their discharge. Protected
from the frost by the blanket of snow,
the water of these springs seeped down
into the creek. and, on top of the creek
ice. formed shallow pools.
The surface OF these pools, in turn,
took on skin OF ice which grew thick.
er and thicker. until the water overran.
and so formed a second ice-skimmed
pool above the first.
Thus at the bottom was the solid
creek Ice, then probably six 10 eight
inches Of water. then a thin ice skim.
then another six inches Of water and
another ice skim. And on top OF this
last skin was about an inch OF recent