onday, July 21st._--Heavy going. Hard strain on all of
us. Think this would try the best sort of man if he had
heavy supplies along in his boat. We have to hurry or we
won't have enough to eat. Lunch at 2 P.M. Saw the mountains
far ahead. A great sight. They seem not more than
twenty-five miles. Indian boys very useful, quiet, and
patient. One says he paid twenty-five dollars for his hat at
the trading-post. It was worth about two dollars in the
States. Saw some blazed trees. This was written on one,
'Colin's rifle in tent here 25th.' Don't know what this
meant, but suppose a party had split and some gone ahead,
and left word. Gum had grown all over the writing. Saw some
more sled irons. Jesse got eight rabbits and two ptarmigan.
We make a stew and keep putting more things in it as we
travel along.

"_Tuesday, July 22d._--We started about 10 o'clock this
morning. Take turns on the line, each going as fast and as
far as he can, until he gets pretty tired. Saw a coal seam
in a cut rock wall on the bank. Mounted a series of heavy
rapids all day. At 7 P.M. hit a canyon and had hard work to
get up the rapids, for almost a mile. All worn out. Camp
8.30. Jesse plumb fagged out. Everybody wet. We dried our
clothes around the fire before we went to bed. Can see how
hard this would be for real tenderfeet. Found an old
Klondike shack, fallen in, this afternoon, apparently
deserted nearly twenty years. Caught some splendid Arctic
trout on the fly--the gamest fish we ever saw, and mighty
good to eat. They look like sea-trout, although they are a
hundred and fifty miles from the sea here. Our camp in a
round pocket to-night. The canyon bends sharp to the right.
Can see one mountain ahead, but not the big range. John
making a map all the time. Stories told us no use this far;
things don't check out.

"_Wednesday, July 23d._--Off at 10.30. Much to our joy, have
fine tracking nearly all day. Rapids less powerful, and
bends wider, and better beaches to walk on. At 6.30 passed a
small creek and explored it. Nowhere near summit yet. We
thought we logged twelve miles to-day. Probably haven't
averaged half that the other three days. It looks mighty
puzzling on ahead. They told us to look out for a sharp,
high peak which marked the portage.