The Cordova daily times., 1919-04-11

The days at that time Of the year near the arctic circle are very short, and, as we had to make camp before it became too dark to cut wood, we had to make the best possible use of our time. We camped out, with nothing overhead but the stars, and whoever felt cold first would replenish the camp fire, which we kept burning all night. In the morning after break fact, and before daylight, while my partners were loading the toboggans, would go on ahead and break trail until they caught up, when they would relieve me. At the end of a week Crisfield having left us, Terrell and I on the seventh day reached Mayo bridge after fourteen hours travel, and most of the time, while, crossing Mayo lake, we were in a blizzard. This lake is twenty miles long, and we had great difficulty in keeping to the trail. Needless to say, on reach ing the bridge, we were both greatly exhausted, but 1t was a matter of no small satisfaction to me to finish the day quite as strong as my companion, who was heavy man, and not so agile on snowshoes.
 On reaching Mayo bridge, which is the headquarters of small mining camp on the upper Stewart river, we looked up the mining recorder, MT. T. H. Hinton-whom we both knew. He recognized our dogs but failed to recognize me, as I was so changed.
 After enjoying MT. Hinton's hospi- tality to supper, we prepared to ex- perience once again the luxury of a comfortable bed. Ever since we left Lansing, we had been sleeping in a hole dug. in the snow wherever we happened to> camp overnight on our way, with Klondyke feathers Gin other words spruce boughs) for mattress, and the vast canopy of heaven for a roof, which is all very well in mild weather, but scarcely desirable with the thermometer ranging between forty and sixty degrees below zero. We remained there the. next day, rest ing and enjoying the Inequalities of MT. Hinton. On the third day we again hit the trail for Dawson, and at night camped at Minto bridge, twenty miles farther on. The weather sud- denly turned cold, and we were forced to lie over for two days, being hos pitably received by MT. and Mrs. Gun ningham who kept a store there, and also roadhouse to supply the needs of the miners. When the weather moderated we continued our journey without interruption to Dawson, where we arrived on the seventeenth day from Lansing-three hundred miles distant. When we reached Dawson I felt in the best of spirits, being nOpes full of getting proper surgical treat ment there, but I was doomed to dis appointment, for, on consulting sur geon who looked at my head and brok- en jaws, he informed me that he could do nothing for me, as had been too long without surgical aid. I was so disgusted that I did not mention to him my broken wrist and other wounds.
 Needless to say, this was great to me, but after hay ing struggled so long-when it would have been much easier to quit-I did not propose to give up. On the follow ing morning I got Dr. Thomson, of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who is a personal friend of mine, to look me over He told me that, whilst he would not care to operate on my jaws himself, not having the requisite mod ern surgical appliances beside him, he advised me to go on to Victoria, British Columbia, and there place n.y.