The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-01-29


upon his womankind. at least not unth
deprived Of them. He has no concspII
ton OF the subtle atmosphere eSnateu
by the sex feminine SO long as ne oatnss
in It: but be It Withdrawn. ane an , Hsir
growing void begins to manifest l.sell
In his existence, and. he becomes nun
cry. in a vague sort OF way. for q so1ne-
thing so Unidentified that he cannot cnaI.
acterize it,. II his comrades nave no
more experience than himself. they VIII
shake their heads du biously. and dose
him with Strong phystc. but the hunseF
will continue and become stronger rs
will lost interest in tho things OF ms
everyday life and wax morbid. ana one
dav when the emptiness has become
nobea rable. a revelation will dawn upon
him.
In the Yukon country. when this comes
to pass. the man usually proFloeS q
polling boat. ii il be- summer. anu
winter. harnesses his cogs. and heais
for the Southland. y few months latec,
surprising him to be possessed or
faith in the country. he returns WIN q
wife 10 share with him IN that 1s1Ii.
and Incidentally in his hardshtps. inns
bur serves to- show the innate selfisn-
ness of man. 1t also brings US 70 tns
trouble OF ..Scrutf' Mackenzie. when
occurred in the old days. before tue
4 country was Stampedcd and staSeo oy
tidal wayr OF che -cha-quas. and when
the klon6ike's only claim was iIs e"'
mon fisheries.
Scruff Mackenzie bore the ear-marks
of frontier birth and frontier IL
His face was stamped with twenty Hse
years Of incessant struggle WIN na'use
in nor widest 1nouds-the last TWO. the
widest and hardest OF all. having oecn
spent In cropping for gold wnicn ICES
in the shadow OF the Arctlc CFSe
When the yearntng sickness came ~ ~
him he wa; not surprised. Tor ne was
q practical nlan and had seen other men
thus stricken. but he showed no sign
OF his r,alaay. SAFE that me- woEAeu Me-
er. All summer ne fought MOSQUITOES
and washed the Sure-thing bars OF inc
Stuart river for a double gruo-slahe
Then he tlatcd raft OF mousse uoSs
down the Yukon 10 Forty-Mi!e, ana pu.
together as comfortable q cabin rs any
the camp could boast Of: ,b IN many
mon elected 10 pc his partner anu ~
\ come ana live with him. hut he erusnsu
their aspirations with rough Speech ~
cul;ar for its strength ana oreFLIs' an
bourht double supply Of grub from
the trading post.
as had been noted. Scruf Mackenzie
\ Was 4 practical man. II nc wenu
\ising he usually got II: but IN aeIne 90
mt no farther out OF his way than Wa
cessarv Though SON or toit ano
r5Sh;n no was arerse to a journey OF
x hundred miles on the Ice. secon9
two thousand miles on the ocean. anu
still third thousand miles or SO " nus
last amDing-Srounds.-aii III ne e.
nuest OF q wife Life was too snort. %
he rounded his dogs. dashed curious
freight To his sled. and faced across tho
divide whose westward slope were orait4
ed BY the head-reacheS OF the 1ahana-
He was a sturdy traveller. ana ms
wolf-dogs could work hatoc1 ano osber
farther op less grub than any otneI
team in tbs Yukon. Three weeks later ne
strobe into l hunting-camp " the PIPER
Tauana Sticks. They marreled at tiS
temeritv: for they had a bad name anu
had been known 10 kill white men TOT as
trifltnr a hing as sharp axe or q
broken rife. But ne went among the hi
siusle-hantled. his bearing being oeil-
cious composite OF humility familiarity;
sGnG-froid. and insolsncs. IL TeQuiietS
a dcft mind .ftcctually to handle sucn
diverse weapons: but he was a past
master in the art. knowing when TO con-
cttlate and when TO threaten with JoVe-
like wrath.
He frs, made obeisanco 10 tho Chlet
ThlineTinneh. presenting him WITH
couple Of pounds OF black tca and tooac-
CO. and thereby winning his most cordia!
regard Then he mingled with the incn
and maidtns. and that night ga t.,
potlach. The snow was beaten down III
the form Of an obionS, perhaps nun
dred feet in length and quarter as many
across Down the centre a long fire was
built. while either side was carpcteo
8 with spruce bouyhs. The lodges were
4 1CrSakcu, ana the nNcSCoEs VI ~ i'ie''
bers OF tho tribe gave tongue to their
Netherlands in honor of their guest
n Scrutr Mackenzie's two years had
taught him the not many hundred WORDS
Of their vocabulary, and ne mao tlkc .His
conquered their deep Sutturals. their
Japanese idionS. constructions, anu
honoriAc I'D agglutninative PARTICLES. SO
he made Grafton after their manner. sat
isfying their instructive poetrE-iove with
crude flights of cloqucnce and meta
nh y
Tinneh and the Shaman had responded
: in kind, he made trifltng presents 70 the
menfolk Joined in their singing. and
proved expert in their htty-two-StlcR
And they smoked his tobacco and were
pleased But among the younger men
, there was defiant attitude. spirit OF
brageadocio. easily understood by the
and the giggling of the maidens: They
had known few white men. Sons OF
the Wolf" but from those few they had
learned strange lessons.
Nor had Scruff Mackenzie. for all his
seeming carelessness. failed to note
these phenomena In truth. rolled In his
Thought seriously. and emptied many
pipes in mapping out a campaign. One
maiden only had caught his fancy-none
other than Zarinska, daughter 20 me
chief In features. form and poise. an
swering more nearly to the white mans
type OF beauty. she was almost an anon,
ally among her tribal sisters. ne "out9
possess her make her his wife. and
narne her-ah, he would name her Ger,
trude. Having thus decided. no roNed
over on his sideand dropped OF to sleep
q true son OF his all-conouertng race.
II was slow work and stiff game;
but Scruft Mackenzie manourered Gun,
ningly. with an unconcern which served
to puzzle the Sticks. He took great caro-
to impress the men that he was sure
shot and a mighty hunter. and the camp
rang with his plaudits when he brought
down moose at SIX hundred yards. OK
4 night no visited In Chief Thling-Tin-
neh's lodge OF moose and cartboo skins.
talking big and dispensing tobacco with
a lavish hand. Nor did he fall to like
wise honor the Shanan: for he realized
tho medtctue-man's Influence with his
people, and was anxious to make Of him
an ally. But that worthy was high
and mighty. refused to be propttlated.
. and was unerrIngly marked down as
prospective enemy.
Though no opening presented for an
interview with Zarinska- Mackenzie stole
many a glance at her. giving fair warn-
ing Of his intent. And we'll she, knew:
With ring Of woms whenever the men
were away and he hal a chance, But he