The Alaska citizen., 1910-08-06

it Is absolutely necessary to have all parts of the body we'll protected from these minute pests. which are the only drawbacks 10 the lovely Alaska summer.
 Despite the general impression that Alaska is a land of perpetual ice and snow. and ever dominated. as Jack London would say, by the eternal silence of the North" il is safe to say that for the four months, May, June. July and August. Alaska has a climate second to none in the world During these months il is perpetual daylight; the days are warm and sunny. and the nights are cool and refreshing.
 Next morning | started off again. and was glad to Eet into the middle of the river. where the mosquitoes were not SO thick. was carried along a' the rate of five miles all hour This part of the river was very winding. in some cases making almost complete circle Looking toward the south | could see the snow-coyered mountains of the Alas ka range. while towering above all was Mt Mckinley, over 2U.0oo feet above sea level Comparatively few people have seen this peak. It stands conspicuous in lateral size as well as altitude, white, gleamiug, stern, and forbidding, seemingly throwing out a challenge to mankind.
 The banks of the river were lined with immense groves of spruce trees. which formed a pleasing contrast to the dark muddy water of the river. Game was fairly plentiful i shot several ducks, but was only able to secure two. owing to the difficulty had ill steering the ratt. About 9 o'clock in the afternoon I arrived at the camp of the Nenana Indians. landed, and managed to get several good pictures. chiefly snapshot, as found il impossible to gel the squaws 10 stand for time exposures Follow ing their usual custom the women were hard at work making birch bark canoes or tanning moose hides. while their lords and masters lay on their backs, endeayoriug 10 keep one eye open to see that their squaws were not lacking in diligence
 l must confess that an Indian camp in Alaska is not exactly conducive to mental rest, as every camp visited had a bunch of halr-staryed dogs which were maug2 and alto eether dfsreputablc. These dogs kept up a constant bowling chorus that has a good deal more of sound than harmony in it. The average Indian dog is the most energetic creature about the camp, as he pulls q sled all winter and howls all summer These dogs are terrible thieves, and Siwash dogs thieying propensitics are in exact proportion to the lack of flesh on his ribs The Indian seems to consider il a waste of food 10 feed dog that is not working and as the dog is resting for four months in the year it can easily be seen that he must either steal or starve To his credit let il be said he seldom staryes. The real Indian dog never barks, but expresses his feelings by bowling, like his fore father, the wolf.
 l camped that night on an immense gravel bar in the middle of the river in order to escape the mosquitoes. | threw out a net, and while the water was boiling for coffee caught enough fish for supper After sup per l took a gold pan and washed some of the gravel. IL contained a few fine flakes of gold Most of the gravel bars in the rivers of Alaska carry small quantities of gold, but in the majority of cases a man would starve to death if he had to depend on the wages he could extract from the average gravel bar.
 The current in this part of the river was very smooth. and the raft floated along laZily, and almost i'm perceptibly, although it was easy to see by the trees on the banks that the raft was floating down stream about four miles an hour. During the day l saw several ducks, geese and sandhill cranes, and once. on looking ahead, saw a large moose only a short distance away. The wind was blowing downstream. and catching the scent he scampered into the woods before l could get shot at him either with rife or camera.
 Later on in the day the river wid- ened considerably, making it resem- ble string of lakes. Sitting on my raft, a mile and a half from shore, with nothing between me and the bottom of the river but a few logs, l did not feel quite so import ant as if I had been on solid ground As the river Widened the current was DrODOrtiOnately slower