t of the work was done from the dry bed. At times the
mosquitos were very annoying; all of us wore netting. One night, when
about to encamp, almost dead to the world, these pests were the worst I
have ever encountered; the atmosphere was black with them. But, on the
whole, the mosquito feature of the trip had been much exaggerated; for,
as we proceeded, the netting was wholly dispensed with, and at Council
City, most appreciated of surprises, these insects were not at all! It
almost took the heart out of one to see returning prospectors or
freighters in their long, narrow skiffs, sometimes assisted by a sail,
come flying down the stream, who, when hailed as to the condition of the
river above, invariably shouted back that it became more difficult. And
it did become more difficult soon after turning into the Neukluk River;
and, furthermore, it began to storm, so that when our tent had been
finally erected, it was a question whether the wind would not tear out
the pegs, which had been driven into the loose gravel of the dry
river-bed, and land us somewhere down-stream. But all that is now an
interesting reminiscence. In spots the stream was black with salmon and
salmon-trout. We passed several camps of the river Eskimos, who were
drying fish, fastened in clothes-pin fashion upon an ingeniously
contrived rack. The Neukluk in places was broad and shallow, or broken
up into a number of streams by alternate gravel bars, or occasionally
the stream broke, forming an island, and it was a question which branch
to follow. Rain for a day added to the complications, but it was not
sufficient to raise the stream. As our destination was neared, the
country appeared bolder, more mountainous, and it was a pleasure to see
once in a while a little forest of spruce on the shore of the stream.
But now the tow-line was practically abandoned, and it was a case of
hauling and shoving the boat with hands and shoulders, one of us
frequently going on in advance to discover a route which would afford
the necessary passage, or to kick out a channel through the stones and
gravel. It was a wonder to me frequently that some of us were not bowled
over, tired as we were, by the strong, swift current. Sometimes it was
too much for poor human nature to stand, and the one would curse the
other liberally for not doing this or that, all to be forgotten and
forgiven after the inner man had been appeased and rest obtained.

At last, late in the day of July 19,