The Young Alaskans on the Trail

rest and offering a good landing for the canoes. They were glad enough to rest. Moise and Alex,

. "We can't sleep on these hard little roc

ain-the mosquitoes would drive you out. If you notice, the wind strikes this point whichever

ns, we could tie the ropes to big rocks. We can get plenty o

far down in the west. Alex, drawing his big buffalo knife, helped the tired boys get ready their tent and beds, but he sm

, "that Sir Alexander and h

the morning, and they kept going until about seven at night. Fifteen hours a day in and out of the water,

as busy making his fire and getting some long willow

for, Moise?

ing. Fine big trouts, three, four poun', an' fat. I'l

ay here two or thre

d camping place, and besides, it seems to me good c

e for beaver," said Rob, "if it we

so-bear or bighorns, I s

ling bears," said Rob, "but how about bigh

ourse, no one would want to kill beaver at this time of yea

along in here that they saw so much beaver work. There are plenty of dams e

John, "and the rocks and trees are bigger. I don't know just where

ones who told him about the carrying place, and about the big river and the salt water beyond it. They were the Indians who had iron spears, and knives, and things, so that he knew they had met white men off to the w

ntain-sheep-all the Injuns along the Rockies always have done that. It seems strange to me t

n here yourself, have

it out with you. I know this river must run north between those two ranges of mountains, and

esse, stepping to the point of the bar, and gazing down

er fear, we go through heem all right. To-morrow, two,

t-I don't like that myself. But just think how much worse it must have been for Sir Alexander and his men, who were coming up this river, and on the high water at that. Why,

an is hard to argue with, but he got them to

ter all were gathered again around the little fire

d John. "I've been wanting so

Moise gave him two large pieces of trout from the frying-pan.

remarked Jesse, approvingly. "I

the north," began Moise, "e

ough each night to last them the next day almost anywhere they stopped. You see, sometimes the buffalo or the carib

Moise, "but we'll not got dorè here. Maybe

up in Alaska when we were on Kadiak Island?" asked R

ht," Moise smiled. "Man an' d

a time, "but how about the hunt we were talking about

grizzlies?" ask

izz

t deny you may have killed a bear or so up in Alaska, but down he

r, he'll be bad," Mo

asked John, curiously, l

se are made by black bear. Injuns don't look for grizzlies very much. I don't suppose

, too, maybe. Those grizzly he'll be onkle of mine, maybe so. All Injun he'll not want for keel

b, "do you really thi

ith spirits, an' man, not often he can talk with spirits hi

e mean, Alex

y white people do. Among our people it was always thought that animals were wiser than white

x he'll get his mark on his bac

pose they were

ow thos

laska-reddish, with smoky black marks on the back and shoulders, and

story about how the fox got

said all the boys. "W

oll, "all fox that ron wild was red, like some fox is red to-day. But those tam was some good fox an' some bad fox

ed Rob. "What do

etly. "You know, the Injuns have a general belief in the Great Spirit. Wel

asked Jesse. "I thought y

ways. It's hard for me to understand it, about the old ways and the new ones both. But my mother and her people all believed in Wiesacajac, and thought he was aroun

dignity, as became an Indian teller

off north of this river. Wiesacajac, he'll been hongree, but he'll not be mad. He'll be laug

hes where he'll make his fire. He'll take this goose an' bury heem so, all cover' up with ashes an' coals-lik

watch goose he'll not get done. So bimeby Wiesacajac he'll walk off away in the wood for to let those goose get brown in the ashes. This'll be fine day-beau temps-an

hongree, too, for he'll ain't got no goose. He'll been thief, too, all same like every fox. So he'll see Wiesacajac walk off

all up, all 'cept the foots an' the leg-bones. Then the fox he'll sneak back to the fire once more, an' he'll push the dirt back in the hole, an' he'l

go sleep now.' So he'll go off in woods a littl

l come back to camp an' look for his goose. He'll take hol' of those foots that stick up there, an' pu

think. Then he'll see those track of fox in the sand. 'Ah, ha!' he'll

pen, so this fox he'll hear Wiesacajac an' see him come, an' he'll get up an' ron. But he'll be so full of goose

. 'You'll stole my goose. Don't you know that

son. So he'll poke up the fire an' put on some more wood, then he'll take the fox by the end of the tail an' the back of his neck, an' he'l

an' lie. But this mark will stay on you so all the people can tell you for a thief when they se

ll roll on the groun', but

ere Wiesacajac hold heem over the fire, with his back down, but the end of his tail will be white, because there is where Wiesacajac had hold of heem on one end, an' his fr

his young listeners to se

tory," said John. "If I had one mor

time it is?" ask

almost midnight," he added,

id Alex, "almost too long. We don

ome, Alex?" asked Jesse. "It

ke after we finished fishing. We've doubled on the portage, which made that something like a mile, and I suppose took about an hour. We fished about an hour, and it took us about an hour to

" said John, "and I can'