The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1923-01-23


NxxvI
The trail was long and steep Into
Rack There for Jeffery Nelson and
his men Day after day they trav-
sied with their train OF pack horses.
pushing deeper into tho wiida ford
ing mighty rivers traversing skent
and majestic mountain ranges. climb
ing slopes 30 steep that the packs had
70 be iightenod 10 half before the
gasping animals could rcaoh the
crest They could 50 only at snail
pace-evcn In the best days travel
emily 10 miles, and often single mile
was hard. exhaustlng days work.
or course thew was no kind Of a
trail for them TO follow. As far as
possible they followed the winding
pathways OF hiK game--as long as
these led them In their general d.
rccticn--hut often they were Obliged
20 cut their way thru tho underbrush.
Time after time they encountered Inn
passable cliffs or rivers from which
they were Obliged 20 turn back and
sex now routes: they found marshes
that they could not penetrate, rangra
they could not climb: wastes OF slide
rock whore they could make headway
only NJ n creeping pac. and With
hourly risk OF their lives
They had counted on allow travel.
but the weeks grew into the months
before they even nearcd the obscure
heart Of Back There where they
thought Hen and Beatrice might be
hidden The way was hard as they
had never dreamed Every day. 4,
serned 20 them. brought It's fresh
trssedy; long hack-trsiiing To avoid
some impossible place. fatiKuinw
depression. perhaps several hours Of
grinding work with the axe In order
to cut n trail Sometimes the har-
hess broke. requiring long stops on
the trail 10 repair n. the packs
slipped continually from the hard
roinE; and they found u increasing
~ difficult to secure horse feed for
the animals
Even Indian ponies cannot keep
Tat on such grass as grows IN the
deep shade OF tho spruce They need
the rich growths OF the open mark
'@>%t~-' ~ t~AAAth AlFfft EUF fnF KrtQ1s
ing ton: and even with good Feeding.
foreSters know that pack animals
must not he kept on the trail for
too many days IN succession. Jerrery
Nelson and his men disrcrard~d both
these facts. with the result that the
animals lost fie.h and strength. cut
Ing down the speed OF their advance.
Oefhs and shouts were unavniilng
now: only cruel blows could drive
them forward NJ all
They seemed 10 sense great hope
lessness In their undertaking. Usual
~ reil-trained pack horses win follow
fhfr leader without question. walk
almost In his tracks. and the rider In
mont only has 20 show the WY.
AMIR ths flrst few days sf grinding
tel ths morAis Of ths entirp csrtfit
began 10 break rhs horsss broke
sway into th3cksts "a each 80; ana
time afssr tina CO hour upun an
oeher. n hospsmen he'd 10 round
ehsm uD again whsn ny eams -
sAs grsaf rfvsrs-wsds Tributaries Of
ths YueA--<hsy had 10 follow up ne
streams fuv dnys n ssarch Of . p,acs
70 ford Then sAey WIZ Obliged 20
carly the packs acro~s IN small loads.
making trip AFTER trip with the ut
most patience and tofi. The horses.
broken IN spirit. took the Wild waters
fust ~ they climbed the steep slopes.
WITH little care whether they lived or
died
The days passed. June and Jufy.
Ever they moved at a slower pace.
One Of the horses. giving up on q
steep pitch ana rrenxied by Ray.
cruel. iashsng blows. fen Off the edge
Of the trail and shot down Hike
pIummet 200 feet into the canyon be-
low--end thereupon n became nec~--
ssry not only 20 spend the rest Of the
day IN retrieving and repairing the
supplies that had fallen with him.
but also TO heap bigger loads on the
backs Of the remaining horses. And
always they were faced by the cruel
possibility that this whole, mighty
labor was In vaiu--shas Ben and Pea
trfce might have gone 20 their deaths
In Tire rapids. weeks before.
The food stores brought for the
Journey were rapidly depleted. Tn.
result was that they had 20 depend
more and more upon diet OF meat
Men can hold up fairly wen on meat
alone. particularly n n has fair
amount Of fat. but the effort OF hunt
ing and drying the flesh into jorky
served 10 cut down their speed
The constant delays. the grinding.
blasting toll Of the DAYS march. and