The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-01-31

Halnes Mission by the sea, and every
inch OF it snowshoe work. Give me the
pick OF your dogs and the best of your
grub, and l will go. And with me shall
go Passuk.
ITO this they were agreed But there
arose one, Long Jen, a Yankee man, big
boned and big-muscled. Also his talk
was big. He, too, was a mighty traveller.
he said, born to the snowshoe and bred
w on buffalo milk He would go with
me- in case l fell by the trail, that he
might carry the word on to the Mission.
How was l to know that big talk be-
tokened the streak of fat, or that Yankee
ren who did great things kept their teeth
together? So we took the pick of the
dogs and the best of the grub, and struck
the trail, we three--Passuk, Long JEFF
and 1.
81 will talk little of the toll, save that
on some days we made ten miles, ana
on others thirty, but more often ten.
And the best of the grub was not good,
while we went on stint from the start.
Likewise the pick of the dogs was poor,
and we were hard put to keep them on
their legs. At the White River our three
sleds became two sleds, and we had only
come two hundred miles. But we lost
lAe Jugs lilol ltlG the lIdCcS
went into the bellies of those that re-
manned.
Not a greeting, not a curl of smoke
till we made Pelly. Here l had counted
OH grub; and here l had counted on
leaving Long Jeff, who was whining ana
trail-sorc. But the factors lungs were
wheeling, his eyes bright, his cache nigga
empty; and he showed us the empty
&c
with the rocks piled high to keep off
the dogs. There was a bunch OF indians
there, put babies and Old men there were
meme, and it was clear that few would
sse the spring.
| 80 we pulled on, lght-stomached and
heavy-hearted, with half a thousand
miles OF snow and silence between Us
and Haines Mission by the sea. The
darkness was at its worst, and at mid
| day the sun could not clear the skyline
| to the south. But the ice-jans were
smaller, the going better so l pushed the
dogs hard and travelled late and early.
las 1 said at Forty Mile, every inch
OF it was snowshoe work. And the shoes
made great sores on our feet, which
cracked and scabbed but would not heal.
| And every day these sores grew more
grevous, till in the morning, when We
girded on the shoes, Long JEFF cried like
child. l put him at the fore of the
| light sled to break trail, but he slipped
off the shoes for comfort. Because CT
this the trail was not packed, his moe
| caSins made great holes, and into these
holes the dogs wallowed. The bones of
/ the dogs were ready to break through
| their hides and this was not good tor
them So / spoke hard words to the man.
and he promised, and broke his word.
Then | beat him with the dog whip,
and after that the dogs wallowed no
more. He was a child, what of the pam
and the streak of fat.
But Passuk. While the man lay by
the fire and wept, she cooked, and in the
morning helped lash the sleds and in
! the evening to unlash them. And she
saved the dogs. Ever was she to the
| FORE lifting the webbed shoes aud making
the way easy.
"Passuk-how shall l say?-I took it
| for granted that she would do these
| things, and thought no more about it.
For my mind was busy with other mat
] tiers, and besides, l was young in years
and knew little of woman. 1t was only
on looking back that ! came to under
stand.
| And the man became worthless. The
dogs had little strength III them, bur
| he stole rides on the sled when he
Jagged behind. Passuk said she would
take the one sled, so the man had moth
| ing to do IN the morning l gave him his
| fair share of grub and started him "a
the trail alone. Then the woman and
broke camp, packed the sleds and harm
essed the dogs. By midday, when the
sun Knocked us, we would overtake the
man. with the tears frozen on his cheeks,
and pass him. In the night we made
camp, set aside his fair share OF grub
and spread his furs. Also we made
| big fire that he might see. And hours
afterward he would come limping in and
eat his grub with means and groans
, and sleep. He was not sick, this man.
He was only trail-sore and tired, and weak
with hunger. But Passuk and L We're
trail-sore and tired, and weak with huh
| ger; and we did all the work and ne
| did none. But he had the streak OF lat
of which our brother BEETLES has spoken,
Further, we gave the man always his
| fair share of grub.
| Then one day we met two ghosts jour
neying through the Silence. They were
man and boy, and they were white.
L ne Ice ndu opened on LAM Lie APaiSoS
and through it had gone their main out
| fit. One blanket each carried about his
shoulders. At night they built fire and
crouched over it till morning. They had
a little flour This they stirred in warm
water and drank. The man showed me
eight cups of four-all they had, and
PeIly, stricken with famine, two hun
dred miles away. They said, also, that
there was an Indian behind; that they
had whacked fair, but that he could no.
keep me. | did not believe they had
whacked fair, else would the Indian have
kept up. But l could give them no grub
They strovc to steal dog-the fattesr,
| which was very thin-but l showed my
pistol in their faces and told them be-
gone. And they went away, like drunken
men, through the Stance toward Pelly.
Il had three dogs now and one sled,
and the dogs were only bones and hair.
When there is little wood the fire burns
/ low and the cabin grows cold. So with
us. With little grub the frost bites sharp
and our faces were black and frozen till
our own mothers would not have known
us. And our feet were very sore. In the