The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-03-18

the trail will not permit such extrav.
agance. And Of all deadening labors
that Of the Iforthland trail is the worst
Happy is the man who can weather q
days travel at the price Of silence
and that on beaten track.
And Of all heart breaking lsbors that
Of breaking trail is worst At every
step the great webbed shoe sinks till
the snow is level with the knee. Then
up, straight up, the deviation Of frac.
ton Of an inch being a certain pre-.
cursor Of disaster, the snowshoe must
be lifted till the surface is cleaned;
then forward, down, and u other foot
is raised perpendicularly for the mat.
ter Of half yard. He who tries this
for the first time, If haply he avoids
bringing his shoes in dangerous pro-
pinQuity and measures not his length
on the treacherous footing, will give
up exhausted at the end of. hundred
yards. He who can keep out Of the
way OF the dogs for whole day may
well crawl into his sleeping bag with
a clear conscience and a pride which
passeth all understanding, and he who
travels twenty sleeps on the long trail
Is a man whom the gods may envy.
The afternoon wore on, and with the
awe born Of the white silence the
voiceless travellers bent to their work.
Nature has many tricks wherewith
she convinces man Of his finity-the
ceaseless flow Of the tides, the fury of
the storm, the shock Of the earth
quake, the long roll Of heavens artil.
lery-but the most tremendous, the
most Supplying Of all, is the passive
phase Of the white silence. All move
ment ceases: the sky clears; the heav-
ems are as brass. The slightest whis-
per seems sacrilege, and man becomes
timid, affrighted at the sound Of his
own voice. Sole speck Of life Journey
ing across the ghostly wastes Of dead
world, he trembles at his audacity,
realizes that his is a maggot's life,
nothing more. Strange thoughts arise
unsummOned, and the mystery Of all
things strives for utterance. And the
fear Of death, Of God, of the universe,
comes over him-the hope of the res
direction and the life, the yearning for
immortality, the vain striving Of the
imprisoned essence. It is then, If ever,
man walks alone with God.
So wore the day away. The river
took great bend, and Mason headed
ais team for the cutoff across the
narrow neck Of land. But the dogs
baked at the high bank. Again and
again, though Ruth and Malemute Kid
were showing on the sled, they slipped
back. Then came the concerted effort.
The miserable creatures, weak from
hunger, exerted their last strength.
Up, up, the sled poised on the top Of
the bank, but the leader swung the
string Of dogs behind him to the right,
fouling MasOn's snowshoes. The re-
suit was grievous. Mason was whip
ped of his feet. One of the dogs fell
In the traces, and the sled toppled
back, dragging everything to the bot
tom again.
Slash! The whip fell among the
dogs savagely, especially upon the one
which had fallen.
Don't, Mason" entreated Malemute
Kid. 'The poor devils on its last
legs. Wait and well put my team on"
Mason deliberately withheld the whip
ill the last word had fallen, then out
dashed the long lash, completely curl
ng about the offending creatures body.
Carmen-fOr it was Carmen-cowered
in the snow, cried piteously, then roll
I'd over on her side.
1t was tragic moment, pitlful in
,ident Of the trail-a dying dog, two
comrades in anger. Ruth glanced So
icitously from man to man, but Male
Gute Kid restrained himself, though
here was world of reproach in his
Eyes, and, bending over the dog, cut
he traces. No word was spoken. The
cams ware double spanned and the
difficulty overcome; the sleds were I'M
Ter way again, the dying dog dragging
herself along in the rear. AS long as
IN animal can travel it is not shot,
md this last chance is accorded it
he crawling into camp, if it can, in
he hope of moose being killed.
Already penitent for his angry ac-
ion, but too stubborn to make amends,
Jason toiled on at the head of the
avalcade, little dreaming that danger
covered in the air. The timber clus-
cred thick in the sheltered bottom,
nd through this tLey threaded their
7ay. Fifty feet or more from thu Trail 1
owered lofty pine. For generals ms 1
; had stood there, and for generations
estiny had had this one end in view. {
'erhaps the same had been decreed Of
Jason.
He stopped to fasten the loosened &
long Of his moccasin. The sleds came I
halt, and the dogs lay down in the
1ow without a whimper. The still Y
ess was weird. Not breath rustled {
le frost encrusted forest. The cold 4
nd silence of outer space had chilled 9
le heart and smote the trembling O
ps of nature. A sigh pulsed through 4
10 orr SNhou 1;I soo,,, <, | {,