The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-10-19
particular-they lacked breath for
anything except oaths.

Look out you dom broke you,
back" warned the other.
Here. too. as in the valley beneath
was another grea. depot Of pro-
vision piles. Near where Phillip.
had thrown himself down there wa.
one man whose bearing was in
marked contrast to that Of the others
lie sat astride a bullying canvas bae
in leather harness, and i'll spite
of the fact that the mark of
! tump-linc showed beneath his cap he
betrayed no signs of fatigue He
was not at all exhausted, and from
the interest he displayed it seemed
that he had chosen this spot as &.
vantaGc-point from which to study
the upcoming file rather than as
place in which to rest This he die
with quick. appreciative eye and
with a genial smile. In face, ir
dress. in manner, he was different
For one thing, he was Of foreign
birth. and yet he appeared to b.
more piece of the country thar
any man Pierce had seen. Hi.
clothes were of 4 pattern common
among the native packers, but he
wore them with free, unconscious
grace all his own. From the peak
of his Canadian toque there depend
ed a tassel which bobbed when he
talked; his boots were of Indian
make. and they were soft and ligh,
and waterproof; sash of several
colors was knotted about his waist
But it was not alone his dress which
challenged the eye--,here was some
thing in this fellows easy, open bear
ing which arrested attention. His
dark skin had been deepened by
windburn, his well-set, we'll shaped
head bore countenancc both eager
and intelligent, Countenance that
fairly glowed with confidence and
good humor.
Oddly enough. he sang as he sat
upon his pack. High up on this hill.
side. amid hlasphemous complaints,
he hummed gay little song:
"CH0nte. r0SSigHo!, chdnfer
Ioi Qm IL occur gai!
tn as lie occur rire
Mai jPdi-t-a tIewcr,"
ran his Chanson
Phillips had seen the fellow sew
eral times, and the circumstances Of
their first encounter had been suffi.
ciently unusual to impress themselves
upon his mind. Pierce had been rest.
ing here. at this very spot, when the
Canuck had come up into sight, bear
ing a UNDERGROUND pack without
apparent effort. Two flour sacks
upon a mans back was rare sight
on the roof of the Chilkoot. There
were not many who could master
that slope with more than one, but
this fellow had borne his burden
without apparent effort; and what
was even more remarkable, what had
caused Pierce Phillips to open his
eyes III genuine establishment, was
the fact that the man climbed with
pipe in his teeth and smoked it with
relish. On that occasion the French
man had not stopped at the crest to
breathe, but had merely paused
long enough to admire the scene out
spread beneath him; then he had
swung onward. OF all the sights
Young Phillips had beheld in this
new land. the vision Of that huge,
,1nhurried Canadian, smoking, had
impressed Kim deepest. 1t had awals-
ened his keen envy. too, for Pierce
was beginning to glory in his own
strength. A few days later they had
rested near each other on the Long
Lake portage. That is. Phillips had
rested; the Canadian. it seemed, had
a habit of pausing when and where
the fancy struck him. His reason
for stopping had been the antics OF
4 peculiarly fearless and imperti-
ncnt camp With crust
OF bread he had tolIed the bird al
most within his reach and was ac-
>rptng IFS scolding with intense
amusement Having both tcased and
made friends with the creature, he
finally gave it the crust and resumed
his journey.
From what Phillips lad seen OF
this French Canadian it was plain
that he, too, was an "old-timer," one
of that Jovian band of supermen
who lad dared the dark interior and
robbed the bars of Forty Mile in
the hard DAYS before the El Dorado
discovery. Since this was their first
opportunity of exchanging speech,
Phillips ventured to address the man.
Il thought / had load this morn
ing, but Id hate to swap packs with
you." he said.
The French,nan flashed him a
smile which exposed row of teeth
snow-white against his tan. "Ho!
You're stronger as me. l see you
plenty tams bitfore"
This was indeed agreeable praise.
and Pierce showed his pleasure. "'Oh
no" he modestly protested. I'm
just getting broken in"
Look out you don broke YOUR
back" warned the ether. dis Chill
koot she's bad bizness. She's keel a
lot of desc sof' fellers. Dew get
seeck in de back. You hear bout
it,"
Spinal meningitis. It's partly
from exposure"
'Dats him! Dom never carry s
too roch; dom be in soch hurry
Phillips laughed at this caution.
why, we have to hurry" said he.
New people are coming, all the
time and they'll beat us In If we
don't look out"