The San Francisco call., 1910-04-09
by KEITH McCULLAGH

contract with the Treadwell
mining company to furnish them ton
of fresh meat a month and moved
= across to Petersburg where game was
plentiful. Even so, it kept me busy to
keep up my shipments.
I camped with Carroll Barton. an
eastern chap, who, like myself was a
lover of the wilds, and Ed, an old
hunter who had only one lung, the
other having been shot out by accident;
but he had the constitution of horse.
Besides our cozy camp in the woods
we had 30 foot Columbia river boat
fitted with a gasoline engine. It had
sleeping and cooking quarters separate
from the engine room, and it was n
good, seaworthy little craft able to
show its heels to anything on the coast
not built expressly for speed
We used to make a couple of trips a
week out from camp, and with a full
complement of provisions we often COW
cred anywhere from so to 200 miles
one of these trips will always remain
distinct in my mind, because it Is the
only time | ever went in swimming
with the thermometer 10 degrees below
zero.
We pulled out from the slip at dawn,
with Carroll at the engine and ED AT
the wheel. while | busted myself MAX
ing things shipshape. With the ebb
tide running at 10 miles an hour and
our engine at full speed, we raced
through Wrangell narrows. THE salt
air was clear and singing as it drove
across the straits, and we were all in
fine glow of excitement. 1t warned me-
however, to get ready for heavy wealth
er, as there is always a lurking south
easter in this neighborhood and the sea
Is high when the tide is running out
Out in the straits w bapau to fool
the sea and had to look for handholds
as the boat got the full benefit of the
tiderip. With the water fairly boil
ing alongside and a mighty swirl at
the stern, we headed due west, past
Sukoi island where | had spent a year
on fox farm. AS passed the west
ern end Cal waved to US from his front
porch, but we soon lost him in the
driving frost which covered the water
A school of sportive whales kept up
with us for while, some of them
coming within few yards of the boat
and spouting streams of water 40 feet
In the air, doubling and playing in
big, numbering way. | put bullet
from a 80 rifle into a whale lying near
a halibut cruiser, which we were pass
ing at the time and it nearly wrecked
1t, for, as the whale plunged, the big
tai went up and over within a few
feet of the deck Had it struck. the
boat would have continued it's voyage
in several different directions For
tunately, no harm was done but the
halibut crew shouted their opinion of
me as far as they could see us
After while l took my trick at the
wheel and let Ed warm up in the cabin
where there was CHEEKY fire. Carroll
joined me on deck from time to time
for breath of air. for the racing en-
gine and odor of burning gasoline
Kept the engine room hot and thick
We were making good time and about
$3.50 reached Tudahl creek, 20 miles
from camp
Luckily we found stray canoe
Hoating in the creek, which helped us
in getting ashore, as there was a high
sea rolling and we could not run in
close with the boat
We wore light travelling rigs flannel
shirts open at the neck and woolen
trousers over the legs of which our
Nmoccasin thongs were laced on our
feet We're heavy wooden socks, then a
piece of blanket for additional
warmth, and outside of all good.
strong deerhide moccasins tightly
laced.
l had a Remington automatic 20 20
rifle, pocket spring knife and six or
eight cartridges, having long ago given
= up the habit Of carrying full box of
cartridges on account OF the unneces-
sary weight
Into the timber and up the ridge we
headed, keeping together until we had
gone perhaps two miles, almost straight
up, and then, as the country opened
and we came out on the gentle slope
Of table land where deer signs were
plentiful we separated.
Taking the left hunted up wind.
while Carroll and Ed went off in di
verging lines, cross sectioning the air
current The ground was covered with
moss almost a foot deep, which gave
excellent footing where there was no
snow and deadened every sound
After climbing and crawling about
over slippery drops Of hundreds of feet
and wading through several ice cold