The Young Alaskans on the Trail
s. As the chill of the mountain night came on, the boys put on their blanket coats and pulled the bed-rolls close up to the fire, near which the men both sat smoking quietly. Already the boys
ething to-night, Moise," sai
ise. "In the camp my people eat when they tell
nd of the side of sheep ribs which lay at the meat pile. Finding a thong, he tied it to the middle of the stick, and making himself a tall tripod for
," said Moise, laughing pleasantly. "No use how
later, after Moise had cut for each of the boys a smoking hot rib of the delicious mounta
he woods. Now in the fur country east of the mountains is a lake where a rock is on the shore, split in two pi
ples here when you go hont. But these two peoples is little, one boy, one girl. The mens an' womens all go hont in the woods and there is no meat in camp at all. The children were
'Oh, Wiesacajac,' they'll say, 'we're ver' hongree. We have not eat for many days
news what you give me, ver' bad indeed. You'll make me cry on you, I'll been so sorry for y
an of meat. Then he'll look out on the lake, an' he'll see a large flock of swans stay there where no man
ren, why do you starve when ther
, 'what use is that meat to us? It's daylight. You
aid Wiesacajac. 'Let me s
se swanskin will show on the water. Wiesacajac, he'll be good honter, too. He'll sweem aroun' in the lake foolish, but all tam he'll come closer to those
among 'em. Then these two hongree boy an' girl on the camp they'll holler out to each other, for they'll see o
he'll got them all tied fast-the whole flock. But he'll can't hold so many swan down on the water. Those swan will all begin to trumpet an' fly off together, an' they'll carry Wiesacajac with them. Now he'll let them fly until they come ri
to those boy an' girl, 'you see, there's plen
he'll build it by those big rocks which always stood by that lake. Here they'll cook the swan an' eat all they want, same like we do the sheep meat here to-night. Those t
or believe unless I leave a sign. To show them an' the other people who has been here, an' to show all the people who hont that it i
ch taller than any mans. So he'll stoop just this way, one leg each side of those two rocks, right at this place. An' from his two han' he'll let fall
em the Split-Stone Lake all the tam. An' they all know Wiesacajac was ther
ve fi
ies you tell up here, for I've never heard any just like them. I
ly believe in all those stories about spirits-the Indian spi
he post we do. My mother was baptized, although she was an Indian woman. My father taught m