and couldn't. It is a starving country and a starving march.
So is this a starving journey by water. When we went ashore
it was in a rousing gale of wind. Uncle Dick baked some
bannocks in our old way, leaning the frying-pan against a
stick driven down before the fire. We are so tired that
when we don't have to work we just fall asleep wherever we
are. We always have some one awake to watch things and to
tell the others when to wake up. We have been wet a great
deal of the time from rain and waves. Dried our bedding this
time, once more. Not much excitement and plenty of hard
work. I don't know whether any of us would come across here
again or not. Probably not.

"After a long wait the wind let up, and we started in the
late evening for the run to Old Crow, which we are anxious
to see. Head winds. Hard paddling. Kept on into the night,
but met an awful storm. Wind was almost a tornado, and for a
wonder snow fell in sheets. Our canoe got turned around two
or three times in the night, and we wouldn't know which way
to go, for the wind came up-stream and every other way. We
nearly swamped. Managed to get ashore, drenched to the skin
and very cold. It looks like winter. Andrew's children are
crying a great deal now. We haven't much to eat. It was
about the worst night we ever had. We pushed on down as
fast as we could as soon as we got warm enough to work.
Reached Old Crow trading-post 8 A.M., after the worst night
I ever spent.

"_Saturday, August 2d._--What luck! Old Crow post is
deserted--no one here at all--not even a native hanging
around! Uncle Dick thought it was right to break open a
window and go in. There was a stove, so we made a fire. The
trader had left his stock here. Of course it was burglary to
open the store. If an Indian did it they probably would
follow him a thousand miles and punish him. We left a note
telling them who we were and what we had taken--another
blanket or so, some pairs of mittens, and a little clothing
for the Indian children, who were almost frozen. The trader
lives at Fort Yukon, and we will pay him there.

"Andrew says the next stop is going to be at Rampart House,
sixty miles down the river. We have taken about fourteen
hours to make the last thirty-five miles, as near as we can
te