preferred camping, on several scores, when the day's work had not been
too arduous, chief amongst them being that it gave more opportunity and
privacy for Walter's schooling. He was reading _Treasure Island_ aloud,
and I was getting as great pleasure from renewing as he from beginning
an acquaintance with that prince of all pirate stories. Kokrines and
Mouse Point one day, the next The Birches; we passed these well-known
Yukon landmarks, camping, after a run of thirty-eight miles, some six
miles beyond the last-named place, with a run of forty-four miles before
us to Tanana. I judged it too much; but the trail was greatly improved
and we decided to attempt it in one stage. A misreading of the watch, so
that I roused myself and Walter at 3.30 A. M. instead of 5.15 A. M., and
did not realise the mistake until the fire was made and it was not worth
while returning to bed, gave us a fine start and we made good progress.
Gold Mountain (so called, one supposes, because there is no gold there;
there is no other reason), Grant Creek, "Old Station" were passed by,
and at length Tanana loomed before us while yet ten miles away. In just
eleven hours we ran the forty-four miles, making, with three additional
miles out to the mission, forty-seven altogether, by far the longest
journey of the winter. We reached Tanana on the 1st of April, just six
weeks since we left.

[Sidenote: AN UNTRAVELLED RIVER]

We spent eight days at Tanana, including two Sundays, Passion Sunday and
Palm Sunday, but I was under an old promise to spend Easter there also.
Now, Easter, 1911, fell on the 16th of April, and for the
three-hundred-mile journey to Fort Yukon a period of ten or twelve days
at the least would be necessary, that might easily stretch to two weeks.
Travelling on the Yukon ice so late in April as this would involve was
not only fraught with great difficulty and discomfort, but also with
actual danger, and I had to beg to be absolved of my promise. Some
considerable preparation was on foot for the festival, and I was loath
to leave, for Tanana was then without any resident minister, but it
seemed foolish to take the chances that would have to be taken if we
stayed.

Five days of almost ceaseless snow-storm during our stay at Tanana did
not give prospect of good travelling, and, indeed, when we pulled out
from the mission on the Monday in Holy Week there was no sign of any
trail. From Tanana up to Fort Yukon there is very little travel; s