The Alaska socialist., 1914-12-21


 our wolf robe bed, on the dry, rigid poles of the novels only bunk and for the fourth time since we'd washed the supper things, fllde the big bowl ot his Alaska meershaum, He pufFed prodig- iously, and as he gazed up at the rings and other phantastical shapes in the maze of thick smoke, his face with it's strong. chin and nose, became reminis- cent. Ibid ever tell you bout my trip into the Artic, with Lucky Ole, huutin' the Dutchman' s Lost Rocker 7'' he began. As I piled wood into the stove and opened both draughts hast ened 10 answer, in the negative.
 Well sir. he continued, that WIS sure tn toughest prop sition wus ever up again an Pete's closest shave to freezin' an starvin to death to once. Yon see. twas like this, we started from Fort Yukon with corkin dog team a1 after about ten days fair goin we pitch cd camp away Up at the head . the Middle Fork O. til Kobuk. Next morn in, after chainin tn malamutes we took an axe an strnck out on snoeshoes. in- tendin' to sort o' reconnoiter like all see how H. lay q th land compared with the worn out old map dyin' old miner in the Forty Mile had given to Ole. Well sir, when we got to the sum init we hadn't gone over half q mile when tn fercest blizzard l ever seen in all niy travels came up on Us ill a jlffy. Now, that was real Arctic blizzard. alnt go,n' to describe it. ] couldn't. We'll sir. me an Ole turned right back prouto al made tracks for camp; there wusn't no sign q our tra1l we'd just made an ye couldn't see OUT hands 1n f1cnt ot us fer snow. When we got to where we thought we'd came up we started down the steep mountain. Well sir, o' course we didn't know it then, but lnsteab Q Us going back along th' nan divide I'll be danged if we hadn't took along high ridge, q spur that run between two biz cricks ou th Artic slope, an mind you, We thought ii was our malamutes 10wIin for Us when We started down, but o' course it was them timber wolves.
 Yess,r! Well sir, ssi==e- we'd wandered around on tn valley q the cricls and found out we was in wrong we'd lost all sense direction, an there wus we with out a gnn even. Ole all knew them Arctic blizzards wusn't over in day. Well sir, that howlin, blindin storm kept IS in our lean to, we'd built of big spruce trees, o' course We had matches an plenty o' wood so We had big fire allus roariu. wanted to go out an try an run down rabbit or soneth1n but Ole always pulled me back all called me crazy; guess must ben, no liyin' thing would be out in that ragin blIzz- ard, an b'leive me, we sure wus weak k from hunger, imagined ole WIS look ill at me like canniba1 when my back was turned to him, an suppose he thought the same about ne. Well sir, thin it WIS the leventh day we'd gone without a morsel food, the wind slackened and the snow let up some, Ole muttered to himself ill his own langwidge an ravin about havin a hunch which was the way back to our camp he. put OH his snow shoes, grabbed up til, age an struck out in bee line, still talkin to himself, an l tra1led behind. If it would only clear up we could see tn Old Man an Old Woman mourtaip and get our bearin. We'll sir, we pIodd- l ed along in that straipht line al Ne