CHAP. XIX.] MEET A DESERTER. 207 CHAPTER XIX. CANOE JOURNEY (continued)—ASCENT OF THE YUKON. Meet a deserter Indian taste for "Nigger" minstrelsy - Tracking Lagoon Piles of drift-wood-Nuclukayette- Unsophisticated Indians Ceremony Leave the Russians - The Indian's head-Mountain Indian dogs - Canoe leak - The rapids - The "Ramparts"Moose-hunting- Islands - Overhanging banks - Shallows - Shortest night - First English Indians - Porcupine River - Fort Yukon. gorge -- - June 5th.-WE got off about 5 A.M., and travelled till the noonday heat compelled us to camp for a time. The evening and early morning are the only times for travelling in this country during the brief summer. Few would believe that here, almost in the latitude of Bering Straits, it was nearly 80° in the shade, and the effect was nearly doubled by the fact that this heat followed so closely on the intense cold of winter. We wished, as far as possible, to accompany the Russian traders, or we would long ere this have travelled exclusively by night; but they preferred the day, for reasons best known to themselves. After we left them we followed our own ideas in this matter. In the cooler afternoon we again started, and were proceeding steadily, when we were surprised to see a little way ahead—a large fire on the beach. Indians rarely make such, but prefer to sit even in winter-shivering over a few sticks, and we felt sure that it must be the camp of a white traveller or travellers. We landed, ran up to the place, and found standing there a deserter from the Hudson Bay Company's fort. He had, with one Indian, descended the river thus far, when his canoe had upset, and his few worldly possessions, including his gun, had gone to the bottom. He and his companion had managed to get ashore, clinging to the canoe, and were now calmly drying their clothes, waiting for something to "turn up." We of course fraternised, and supplied them with a few necessaries. The "white man” -very slightly the whiter of the two, by-the-bye-declared that our supper that night beat anything he had eaten for years. Ivan, who camped near us, immediately asked him to "chi peat," and gave him a blanket. We tried to induce him to return with us, which he would have done willingly enough, but for the fear of being treated as a deserter. fellow, he had experienced a hard life for many years, and some real or fancied grievance at Fort Yukon had caused him to take this step. He had been in the Company's service for a long period, and had entered it when quite a youth. Poor We learnt subsequently that he made his way to St. Michael's, and got away on a vessel touching there. As he had been through a large part of the Hudson Bay and Russian American Companies' posts from the Atlantic to the Pacific, he had certainly made the "North-west-passage" by land with a vengeance. 6th.-Bidding adieu to the stranger in the afternoon, we travelled steadily till 4 A. M. on the 7th. There was no darkness whatever-night was no night: a subdued twilight stood in its place, and the sunset glow never left the horizon till it merged in sunrise. The Indians worked steadily for Indians; we did our best to keep them in a good humour, and they were specially fond of harmony. I will guarantee CHAP. XIX.] TRACKING. 209 that any future traveller on the river, within the next few years, will hear snatches of "nigger" minstrelsy which we taught them. They readily acquired simple tunes; their great favourites were "Marching through Georgia," and "Excelsior." The latter, with its insane chorus of Upideeidee-ida! is well adapted for any nation, people, or tongue. The water had now fallen several feet, and we began to get a good deal of tracking. Our Indians were sometimes barefooted, but more commonly wore the water (or summer) boots of the country, i. e., boots made entirely from seal-skin well greased, and waterproof, and varying only in length. The work was no joke; now they were floundering in slimy mud, now climbing over logs or round small rocky bluffs, with the line fixed to their shoulders, and the current making the canoe drag on them. The steersman had enough to do to keep the boat off shore or out of too shallow water. again entered a lagoon of the river, running in a northerly direction for twenty-five miles, with high bluffs on the east side, and, as usual, full of islands. Rounding one of these appeared an interminable journey, and Dall seriously asked me to turn the canoe round; he considered we were in some tributary of the Yukon! We at last reached the main stream, however; the island was fifteen miles in length. We On the 7th we passed low swampy land, whose principal production appeared to be musquitoes, and early on the 8th reached the mouth of a large stream entering from the W., and known by the Indians as the Towshecargut River. At the confluence we found an immense pile of drift-wood, perhaps fifty feet high, the accumulation of ages. We lighted our fire near it, took our regular dose of tea, and then proceeded on our journey. We again got a favourable breeze for a short time. The river there was very wide, with many islands. In the evening we made the junction of the Tanana River and the Yukon, between which, on a tongue of land, Nuclukayette, an Indian trading ground of importance, is situated. We purposely passed it by nearly two miles, and then, with the Russians and a whole fleet of Indian canoes, crossed the river, so that with drifting down we should just make the village. On arrival the Russians fired their large gun, and we kept up a running volley from our miscellaneous collection of arms. This place is the furthest point ever reached by the Russian traders, and is about 240 miles above Nulato. Within the last two or three years some of the Hudson Bay Company's men have also come down with trading goods to this village. Hither come Indians from all quarters. Co-Yukons, Newicarguts, Tananas, and even the Kotch-ákutchins from Fort Yukon. On some occasions their gatherings have numbered 600 persons. The Tananas had not arrived, but we met a number afterwards. I believe them to be the most unsophisticated Indians to be met with at the present day. They were gay with painted faces, feathers in their long hair, patches of red clay at the back of their heads covered with small fluffy feathers, double-tailed coats and pantaloons of buckskin much adorned with fringes and beads, and elaborately-worked fire-bags and belts. They reminded me of the ideal North American Indian I had read of but never seen. On landing at this village a ceremony had to be gone through, possibly to test whether we had "strong hearts" or not. The Indians already there, advanced, whooping, yelling, and brandishing their guns till they reached us, and |