Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-09-04
THE SALEM DAILY CAPITAL JOURNAL SALEM SATURDAY. SEPT 9

see. An be said himself he never seei
any white Indians That was Anton 4
warn. AN Anton kicked the DncKe
two years before you an me come u
Alaska. But I'll take look tomorro"
An mebbe might pick up moose
Smoke spent the morning In camI
sewing dog moccasins. At noon h'
cooked a meal for two and began t
look for shorty's return. An hour lat
er be strapped on bis snowshoes an'
went out on his partners trail.
The way led up the bed OF the streau
through narrow gorge that wideneC
suddenly into a moose pasture. But n'
moose had been there since the frs
snow Of the preceding fall The tracks
of Shorty's snowshoes crossed the pas
ture and went up the easy slope OF
low divide. At the crest Smoke halted
The tracks continued down the othel
slope. The first spruce trees, In thu
creek bed, were a mile away, and u
was evident that Shorty had passed
through them and gone on. Smoke
looked at his watch, remembered the
oncoming darkness, the dogs and the
camp and reluctantly decided against
going farther.
Until midnight Smoke maintained o
huge fire for the guidance of Shorty
And in the morning. waiting with
camp broken and dogs harnessed for
the first break of light, Smoke took up
the pursuit In the narrow pass OF
the canyon his lead dog pricked up his
ears and whined. Then Smoke came
upon the Indians, six Of them, coming
toward him. They were travelling light
without dogs. and on each mans back
was the smallest of outfits.
Surrounding Smoke, they immediate
ly gave him several matters for sur
prise. That they were looking for him
was clear. That they talked no Indian
tongue Of which he knew word was
also quickly made clear. They were
not white Indians, though they were
taller and heavier than the Indians of
the Yukon basin. Five of them carried
the old fashioned, long barreled Hud-
son Bay company musket. and In the
hands OF the sixth was a Winchester
rifle which Smoke knew to be Shorty's
Nor did they waste time In making
him prisoner. Unarmed himself,
Smoke could only submit. The contents
OF the sled were distributed among
their own packs. and he was given a
pack composed Of his and Shorty's
sleeping furs. The dogs were unhar.
messed, and when Smoke protested one
of the Indians By signs indicated a
trail too rough for sled travel. Smoke
bowed to the Inevitable, cached the
sled end on In the snow on the bank
above the stream and trudged on with
his captOrs.
The first night was spent in camp
which had been occupied for several
days. Here was cached quantity Of
dried salmon and sort Of pemmican.
which the Indians added to their packs.
From this camp a trail of many snow.
shoes led off-ShOrty's captors, was
Smokes conclusion-and before dark.
ness fell he succeeded In making out
the tracks Shorty's narrower snowshoes
had left
Always In the days that followed
they pointed north. and always the
trall, turning and twisting through a
)umble of outstanding peaks, trended
north.
In six days they gained and crossed
the central pass, low In comparison
WITH the mountains 1t threaded, vet
formidable In itself and not possible
tor loaded sleds. Five days more of
tortuous winding, from lower altitude
10 lower altitude, brought them to the
open, rolling and merely billy country
La Perle had found ten years before.
Smoke knew 1t with the first GLIMPSE
Far as he could see rolled the open
country. High in the east the Rockies
sui thrust their snowy ramparts heav.
enward To the south and west ex.
tended the broken ranges of the pro.
lecang spur system they had crossed
And In this vast pocket lay the conn.
Try La Perle had traversed-snow
olanketed, but assuredly fat with game
az some time in the year and In the
summer a smiling, forested and f,ow.
cred land.
BEFORE midday. travelling down
broad stream, they came upon the site
Vi large camp, recently abandoned
1lancing as he went by It. Smoke %.
timated 400 or 500 fires and guessed
the population to be in the thousands
80 fresh was the trail and 80 well
pacRed by the multitude that Smoke
ana his captors took of their snow.
snoes ana In their moccasins struck n
swlfter pace. 'eA
In the long twilight no sign was man
nested Of making camp. They bpld
steadily on through deepening gloom
mat vanished under a sky of light
great gllttering stars, half yelled by n
greenish vapor of pulsing aurora bore.
aus dis dogs first caught the noises
Ot the camp, pricking their ears ana
winning In low eagerness. Then II
came to the ears of the humans-o