twelve months had gone by since I left this
beautiful spot. For the Island of Afognak, with its giant cliffs and
deep bays, is to my mind one of the most picturesque regions I have ever
seen.

The next morning the wind was unfavorable, but in the afternoon we were
able to visit one of the salmon streams. The red salmon had come, but it
would be another week or more before the humpbacks would begin their
run. It was a bleak day, with the rain driving in our faces. We forced
our way up the banks of a stream for some miles, following well-defined
bear trails through the tall grass. Some large tracks were seen, but we
sighted no game. We returned to camp after ten o'clock that night, wet
to the skin and chilled through. The following day was a repetition of
this, only under worse weather conditions, if that were possible.

I now decided to push on to a large bay on the northeast side of the
island. This is locally known as Seal Bay, and is supposed to be without
question the best hunting ground on Afognak.

Unfortunately a heavy wind detained us in Paramonoff Bay for two
days. The morning after the storm broke we made a four o'clock start.
There was a strong favoring breeze, and we made a sail of one of the
blankets. The baidarka fairly flew, but it was rather ticklish work, as
the sea was quite rough. Early that afternoon we turned into the narrow
straits which lie between the islands of Afognak and Shuyak. Shuyak is
uninhabited, but some natives have hunting barabaras there. Formerly
this island contained great numbers of silver gray foxes. A few years
ago some white trappers visited it and put out poison. The result was
the extermination of all the foxes upon the island, for not only the
foxes that ate the poison died, but the others which ate the poisoned
carcasses. The hunters obtained but one skin, as the foxes died in
their holes or in the woods, and were not found until their pelts were
spoiled. This is a fair example of the great need for Alaskan game laws.

At the present time Shuyak is rich in bear and in land otter, and I can
imagine no better place for a national game preserve. It has lakes and
salmon streams, and would be an ideal place to stock.

The straits between Shuyak and Afognak are extremely dangerous, for the
great tides from Cook Inlet draw through this narrow passage. My nerve
was tested a bit as the baidarka swept by the shore, for had it once got
well started we should have been drawn into th