The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-10-19
CHAPTER II. (Continued)

~AAE hN IL. \NOntlnueO)
The approach from the sea was
easy. if twelve miles Of boulder and
bog, of swamp and niggerhead, Of
root and stump. can be called easy
under the best Of circumstances but
easy it was as compared with what
lay beyond and above it. Neverthe-
less, many ArGonauts had never pen
ctratcd even thus far, and Of those
who had. a considerable proportion
had turned back at the giant pit
three miles above. One look at the
towering barrier had been enough
for them. The Chilkoot was more
than a mountain, more than an OBJ
s,acle of nature; it was Presence,
a tremendous and terrifying Per-
sonality which overshadowed the
minds al men and could neither be
ignored at the time nor forgotten
later. No wonder. then, that Sheep
Camp, which was part Of the Chill
koo,. represented sort of acid test ::
no wonder that those who had
moved their outfits thus far were
OF the breed the Northland loves
the stout OF heart and of body.
Provisions were cached at fire.
qucnt intervals all the way up from
the sea. but in the open meadow
beneath the thousand foot wall an
immense supply depot had sprung
up. This pocket in the hills
had become an open-air commissary,
stocked with every sort of proven
der and gear. There were acres of
sacks and bundles. OF boxes and
bales, of lumber and hardware and
perishable stuffs. and all day long
men came and went in relays. One
relay staggered up and out of the
canon and dropped its packs, an
other picked up the bundles and as
cended skyward. Pound by pound,
ton by ton, this vast equipment OF
supplies Went forward, but slowly,
Oh. SO slowly! And at such effort
1t was indeed fit work for ants, for
il arrived nowhere and it never
ended. Antlike. these burdcr-bear-
crs possessed but one idea-t- fetch
and to carry; they travelled back
and forth along the trail until they
wore it into a bottomless bog, until
every rock. every tree, every land
mark along it became hatefully
familiar and their eyes grew sick
from seeing them.
The character of their labor and
Us monotony, even in this short
time, had changed the mems char
acterS--they had become pack-ani-
rails and they deported themselves
Is such. All labor-saving devices, all
M chanical aids, all short cuts to
comfort and to accomplishment. had
been left behind; here was the will
derness, primitive. hostile, merciless
Every foot they moved, every ounce
they carried, was at the cost of mus
cular excrtior. 1t was only natural
that they should take on the color
CT their SURROUNDINGS.
Money lost its value 4 mile above
Sheep Camp and became a thing Of
weight. thing to carry. The stand
ard Of value was The pound. and
men thought in hundredwciShts or
IN tons. Yet there was no relief, no
respite, for famine stalked in the
Yukon and the Northwest Mounted
were OH quart. hence these unfor-
trnates were claimed to their grub
piles as ral'ey-s saves are shackled to
their benches.
Toe to heel. like poems rising
from the bowels OF a mine. they
bent their backs and strained TIP that
rivcn rock wall Blasphemv and
rain, high hopes ard black despair,
hearts overtaxcd and eyes blind with
fatigue. that was what the Chilkoot
stood for. Permcating the entire p.
Of the place. so that cv,n
the dullest could feel it. was 4 few
crisll haste, an apprchcnsive demand
fer speed, more speed. to keep ahead
of the pressing thousands coming
on behind.
Pierce Phillips breasted the last
rise TO the Summit. slipped his pack
straps and flung himself full length
upon the ground. His lungs felt
as if they were bursting, the blood
surgcd through his veins until he
his body strcamed with
sweat. and his legs were as heavy
as ii nodded from solid iron. He
was pumped out, windcd; neverthe-
less, he felt his strength return with
magic swiftness, for he possessed
that marvellous recuperative power
of youth. and, like some tabled
warrior. new strength flowed into
him from the earth. Round about
him other men were sprawled; some
lay like corpses. others were propped
against their packs, few stirred and
sighed like the sorely wounded after
a charge. Those who had lain long
est rose. took up thei burdens, and
went groaning over the skyline and
out of sight. Every moment new
faces. purple with effort or white
with exhaustion. rose out of the
depths-all were bitten deep with
lines Of physical suffering. On
buckled knees their owners lurched
forward to find resting-pl ces; in
their eyes burned sullen rage; in
their mouths were foul curses at this
Devils Stairway. There were strip
lings and graybeards in the crowd,
strong men and weak men. but here
at the Summit all were alike in one