The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1908-02-06

| hunter OF these was ltiRa, the Seco,,
chief He could follow moose till II
| fell exhausted IN the snow. and lie FAC
many belts made from the claws " &c
! brown bear. which is deadly Vickc'.
and. as every one knows, inhabited hy
the spirits Of -yabla men, or devils.
One winter terrible famine sctt.ei
over the Tanana valley. The moose
dcnartcd from the :: ::lches. and tie cur
| ibou melted from the hills Ike mist.
! The .la-S grew mauut and hoWlcu al.
, night. the babies c!:Cd. the wJ"!eA be
! came hollow eyed and peeviSh.
/ Then il WAS that Itika decided to
90 hunting over the saw tooth rang
which formed the edge Of the WorlC
! The tried 10 diSSuade him. saying II
l~;a> certain death because pack o'
Nus white wolves taller than the
:. and Switter than the eagle was
! k .wn 10 range these mountains. run
nin. n.A,,l" in ci!;,S2. AlWayS Oh clear.
! cold nj n,S C,ul ir seen the flashing
of the llJonJea.-.S from thcr CLEAN
in. hrm.:ry :iG"s. and. although many
hul: egs had cruSScl Ike passes iii other
years. they never returned. fof the pacN
slew them.
"%othing could deter Itika. however.
s. lie threaded his WAY UP through the
| range and, night coming. burrowed into
a drif. 10 sleep in his caribou skin
| Pce"ins out into the darkness. he saw
the tl:,s,,.:u. lights thousand times
brighter than ever before. The whole
| hearers were ablaEe with shifting
stvcamers that raced and writhed back
ard forth in wild revcl. Listening, ne
heard the hiss and whine Of dry SHOW
under the feet OF the pack and a dis
taut noise as Of rushing winds, al
Though the air was deathly still.
Witt daylight he proceeded through
the range till he came out above a
ma ciificent valley. Descending the
slt ne. he entered a forest Of towering
spruce. while or all sides the Snow
was trampled with tracks as vide AZ
snowshoe. There came to him a
noise which as he proceeded increased
till II filed the woods. 1t was fright
full din, as though a thousand wolves
were bowling with the madness Of the
kill. Cautiously creeping nearer, he
found a monstrous white animal strng-
Cling beneath a spruce which had fallen
upon 1t In such fashion IS to pinion It
securely.
"All brave men are tender hearted,
80 Itika set to work with his Ak and
cleared away the burden. regardless Of
the peril to himself When he bad
released it tie beast arose and, In
stead Of running away, addressed him
in the most polite and polished Indian.
without u trace of accent.
".You have saved my life. Now.
what can | do for YOU?
81 want to hunt in this valley. Ny
people are starving said ltika. at
which the wolf was greatly pleased
and rounded up the rest OF the pack
to help in the kill.
Always thereafter when ltika came
to the valley of the Yukon the giant
drove hunted with him. To this day
they run through the mountains on
cold. clear night in multitude, While
the light Of the moon tlickers from
their white sides, flashing up into the
sky in weird, fantastic figures. Some
people call 1t northern lights, but old
Isaac assured me earnestly, toothless-
" and with the light Of ancient truth
as lay snow blind in his lodge that
il is nothing more remarkable than
the spirit of Itika and the great White
wolves"
What queer legend" she said.
There must he many of them in this
country. feel that | am going 70
like the north
Perhaps you will Glcnister re-
uied. although It Is no. woman's
land
"Tell me what led you out here ID
the first place You are an eastern
man. You have had advantages. edu'
cation. and yet you choose this. You
must love the north
'lnlfeeu uo. IL SuliS W q ie''o"
In some strange way that gentler
country never could. When once You
have lived the long, lazy Junsfdays
that never end and heard geese honk'
inc under a warm. suniit midnight, or
when once you've hit the trail on
winter morning 50 sharp and clear
that the air stings your lungs and the
whole white. silent world glistens IKE
a jewel; yes, and when you've seen the
dogs romping in harness till the sleo
runners ring and the distant mountain
ranges come out like beautiful cary
ings, 20 close you can reach them
we'll. there's something In It that
brings YOU back-that's all. no matter
where you've lost yourself. 1t means
health and equality and unrestraint'
That's what l like best l dare say
the utter unrestraint.
"When ! was a sehOOlboy l used 10
aaze at the map of Alaska for hours
I'd lose myself in 1t. 1t wasn't any
thing but big, blank corner IN inc