er, and I was glad of it, for it gave me the chance to gaze my
fill upon the inspiring and fascinating scene in the pleasant warmth of
the mountain top, with the thermometer at 30 deg. in the shade and just 12 deg.
higher in the sunshine.

[Sidenote: A NOBLE VIEW]

How grateful I was for the clear bright day! What a disappointment it
has been again and again to reach such an eminence and see--nothing! It
was the most extensive view of the great Alaskan range I had ever
secured--that long line of sharp peaks that stretches and broadens from
the coast inland until it culminates in the highest point of the North
American continent and then curves its way back to the coast again. Of
course, what lay here within the vision was only a small part of one arm
of the range; it stopped far short of Denali on the one hand and Mount
Sanford on the other, though it included Mount Kimball and Mount Hayes;
yet it was the most impressive sight of a mountain chain I had ever
beheld. It was a sight to be glad and grateful for, to put high amongst
one's joyful remembrances; and with this notable sight we bade farewell
to the Tanana valley.

Down the hill we went into Fortymile water and into a rolling country
crossed by the military mule trail. If the morning had been glorious the
evening was full of penance. Long before night our feet were sore from
slipping and sliding into those wretched mule tracks. One cannot take
one's eyes from the trail for a moment, every footstep must be watched,
and even then one is continually stumbling.

We were able, however, to rig our team with the double hitch that is so
much more economical of power than the tandem hitch, whenever the width
of the trail permits it. We now carry a convertible rig, so that on
narrow trails or in deep snow we can string out the dogs one in front of
the other, and when the trail is wide enough can hitch them side by
side. "Seal," the Great Dane pup we got at the Salchaket, was a good and
strong puller, but he had no coat and no sense. It is bad enough to have
no coat in this country, but to have no coat and no sense is fatal--as
he found. His feet were continually sore and he had to be specially
provided for at night if it were at all cold--a dog utterly unsuited to
Alaska.

Thirty miles of such going as has been described is tiring in the
extreme, and when we reached the Lone Cabin, behold! fifteen Indians
camped about it, for whom, when supper was done, followed two ho