f the
Koyukuk River. There it was found that the labour and cost already
expended had exhausted the appropriation, whereupon the proceedings were
immediately stopped; not another stake was driven, and the whole party
returned to Tanana and mushed two hundred and fifty miles up the Yukon
to spend another little appropriation upon another trail. That is the
unbusinesslike system in which the money available for such work in
Alaska has been handled.

The first trail breaker goes ahead with a long stick, which he thrusts
continually down through the snow. The slightly harder surface over
which sleds and dogs have passed reveals itself by offering more
resistance to the penetration of the stick, and that is the only way the
trail can be found. Even with three feet of new snow upon it, it is well
worth while finding, or otherwise there is no bottom at all and way must
be made through all the snow of the winter. But all Alaskan trails are
serpentine, and it is very difficult to put the new trail right on top
of the old one. Back and forth the second trail breaker goes between his
leader and the sled, and at intervals the first man comes back and forth
also. And with it all is no path packed solid enough for the dogs to
draw the heavy sled without great difficulty. We should have had a
toboggan, but toboggans are little used on the Koyukuk, and we had only
our sled. In five hours we made five miles and were worn out. We decided
to pitch our tent and go ahead and break trail for the morrow's
journey. On the lakes interspersed amongst the brush we had to break an
entirely new trail, for we could find no trace of the old one.

If five miles in five hours be poor going, what is four miles in seven
and a half hours? That is all we made the next day despite the
snow-shoeing of the previous evening. The heavy sled was continually
getting off the trail, however wide we show-shoed it. The two of us
ahead went over every step of the distance four or five times, and
sometimes all of us had to go back and forth again and again before the
sled could be brought along at all. It was from 5 deg. to 10 deg. above zero all
day, and at intervals snow fell heavily. We got at last to the middle of
a little lake and were confronted by open water, the result of some warm
spring, one supposes. Here we must stop until a laborious journey was
made to the bank, trees were cut and carried, and the open place bridged
so that the sled might be passed over