The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1903-04-09
A STRANGE. LAND OF MYSTERY.

hht" ht souh''s 10 'oi uS thS ~"
gap In the mountains. whi,h named
Simpson Pass but nothing OF what lay
beyond, whether rire!s. volcanoes,
glaciers or what not.
Our preparations consisted In, first
OF all. instructing our Indians as to the
uses and nature Of the horse We did
not succeed In teaching them how to
pack the horses, and the mysteries OF
the diamond hitch" and double
cinch" proved too much for them.
They were exceedingly timii when
about our pack animals, reminding Ine
OF city children among pigc and cattle
on their first trip to the country. After
/ We started the Indians learned 20 un-
pack the animals when we struck
camp. taking good care to stand clear
OF the horses heads. They seemed tc
think they were some variety Of carni
vori. and while utterly reckless In
moving about the heels of our live
stock. they were careful TO keep away
from their heads for fear of being bit
ten.
On the way up the Yentna river to
the divide, the Indians told us early
and often of frightful glacier at the
head Of the stream, and OF the interior
being a terrible land OF ghosts. cold
and snow. 50 that when within few
miles Of the continental watershed and
near the boundary dividing the hunt
Ing area OF the interior tribes from
that OF the coast Indians. they became
so worked up and frightened over the
dangers which they imagined lay In
the unknown land beyond, that one
night they deserted us.
I'VE had a great many amusing
things happen during the trip. The
surgeon OF my party was young Nir.
ginian. who was about the greenest
tenderfoot ever saw. One day one of
the men shot a female bear that had n
cub The little fellow took to tree
when his mother fell mortally wound
ed. This gave the doctor his cue. lie
wanted the youngster for pet His
heart was so set upon having the cub
that soon realized IL would be useless
to try to talk him out OF It, Before
went to Alaska had seen several
years service in the Southwest, where
every post and garrison has from one
to several cub bears. and knew from
experience what an outrageous
nuisance these animals are even under
favorable circumstances But all
said to the uoCtor failed to change his
purpose In the least
After a deal of botheratiUa. the
bear was secured and rope was put
about its neck. The doctor tried first
TO lead him, but he ran around trees,
pulled back and behaved so badly that
our surgeon decided to carry him in
his arms. This resulted in his being
bitten. Then ! turned to and tried
TO help the doctor as much as possible,
confident that he would soon learn
from dear experience to let bears
alone in future.
There is on,y one way Of teaching
a tendcrfoot anything. and that is let
him learn from bitter personal ex-
perience. So took the bear. | had
not carried him long before he tried
to get away. and In the struggle was
bitten aud had to release him. lie ran
away as fast as he could gallop. with
the doctor yelnng at the ton OF his
voice. Catch him. Don't let him get
away. We started IN pursuit, and
after chasing him some distance, the
little rascal lost his nerve. tumblci
over on his back and stuck his feet up
In the air in the most ludicrous atti-
'uu' VI uNNcl uuHllllly anu COWhfhlte
imaginable. had as much bear for
that day as cared for, and, leaving
tho doctor 10 wrestle with the little
as best he knew how. rejoined the
pack train, and. pushing forward. We
gained the summit OF the pass at noon,
striking camp In order to give the
horses and men rest | saw nothing
more Of the doctor and his bear until
about sunset. when he tottered into
camp minus his trousers, the most dis
heartened, dlsgusted. utterly fatlgued
and forlorn specimen of humanity
exer gazed upon
The mosquitoes had peppered his
bare legs right royalty. and they look
ed like strawberry patch in picking
time, reddened from the number Of
bites and punctures OF insects larger
than the rest and warranted to draw
blood. He was carrying something
slung across his right shoulder, which
soon recognized as the bear. II ap-
pears when the doctor tried TO lead