ile others, fresh,
buoyant, and hopeful, came gliding in.

To those who came, the sullen and disappointed ones who were about to
go uttered approbrious cries: "See the damn fools come! What d'you
think you're doin'? On a fishin' excursion?"

We went into camp on the water front, and hour after hour men laden
with packs tramped ceaselessly to and fro along the pathway just
below our door. I was now chief cook and bottle washer, my partner,
who was entirely unaccustomed to work of this kind, having the status
of a boarder.

The lake was a constant joy to us. As the sun sank the glacial
mountains to the southwest became most royal in their robes of purple
and silver. The sky filled with crimson and saffron clouds which the
lake reflected like a mirror. The little rocky islands drowsed in the
mist like some strange monsters sleeping on the bosom of the water.
The men were filthy and profane for the most part, and made enjoyment
of nature almost impossible. Many of them were of the rudest and most
uninteresting types, nomads--almost tramps. They had nothing of the
epic qualities which belong to the mountaineers and natural miners of
the Rocky Mountains. Many of them were loafers and ne'er-do-wells
from Skagway and other towns of the coast.

We had a gold pan, a spade, and a pick. Therefore early the next
morning we flung a little pack of grub over our shoulders and set
forth to test the claims which were situated upon Pine Creek, a
stream which entered Lake Atlin near the camp. It was said to be
eighteen miles long and Discovery claim was some eight miles up.

We traced our way up the creek as far as Discovery and back, panning
dirt at various places with resulting colors in some cases. The trail
was full of men racking to and fro with heavy loads on their backs.
They moved in little trains of four or five or six men, some going
out of the country, others coming in--about an equal number each way.
Everything along the creek was staked, and our test work resulted in
nothing more than gaining information with regard to what was going
on.

The camps on the hills at night swarmed with men in hot debate. The
majority believed the camps to be a failure, and loud discussions
resounded from the trees as partner and I sat at supper. The
town-site men were very nervous. The camps were decreasing in
population, and the tone was one of general foreboding.

The campfires flamed all along the lake walk, and the talk of each
grou