umberman's shanty.

We moved off towing a big scow laden with police supplies for Tagish
House. The wind was very high and pushed steadily behind, or we would
not have gone faster than a walk. We had some eight or ten
passengers, all bound for the new gold fields, and these together
with their baggage and tools filled the boat to the utmost corner.
The feeling of elation among these men reminded me of the great land
boom of Dakota in 1883, in which I took a part. There was something
fine and free and primitive in it all.

We cooked our supper on the boat's stove, furnishing our own food
from the supplies we were taking in with us. The ride promised to be
very fine. We made off down the narrow lake, which lies between two
walls of high bleak mountains, but far in the distance more alluring
ranges arose. There was no sign of mineral in the near-by peaks.

Late in the afternoon the wind became so high and the captain of our
boat so timid, we were forced to lay by for the night and so swung
around under a point, seeking shelter from the wind, which became
each moment more furious. I made my bed down on the roof of the boat
and went to sleep looking at the drifting clouds overhead. Once or
twice during the night when I awoke I heard the howling blast
sweeping by with increasing power.

All the next day we loitered on Bennett Lake--the wind roaring
without ceasing, and the white-caps running like hares. We drifted at
last into a cove and there lay in shelter till six o'clock at night.
The sky was clear and the few clouds were gloriously bright and cool
and fleecy.

We met several canoes of goldseekers on their return who shouted
doleful warnings at us and cursed the worthlessness of the district
to which we were bound. They all looked exceedingly dirty, ragged,
and sour of visage. At the same time, however, boat after boat went
sailing down past us on their way to Atlin and Dawson. They drove
straight before the wind, and for the most part experienced little
danger, all of which seemed to us to emphasize the unnecessary
timidity of our own captain.

There was a charm in this wild spot, but we were too impatient to
enjoy it. There were men on board who felt that they were being
cheated of a chance to get a gold mine, and when the wind began to
fall we fired up and started down the lake. As deep night came on I
made my bed on the roof again and went to sleep with the flying
sparks lining the sky overhead. I was in some