Thus up, straight up, twelve inches, each foot
must be raised every time and all the time, ere the forward swing
from the knee could begin.
On this partially packed surface followed the dogs, the man at
the gee-pole, and the sled. At the best, toiling as only picked
men could toil, they made no more than three miles an hour. This
meant longer hours of travel, and Daylight, for good measure and
for a margin against accidents, hit the trail for twelve hours a
day. Since three hours were consumed by making camp at night and
cooking beans, by getting breakfast in the morning and breaking
camp, and by thawing beans at the midday halt, nine hours were
left for sleep and recuperation, and neither men nor dogs wasted
many minutes of those nine hours.
At Selkirk, the trading post near Pelly River, Daylight suggested
that Kama lay over, rejoining him on the back trip from Dyea. A
strayed Indian from Lake Le Barge was willing to take his place;
but Kama was obdurate. He grunted with a slight intonation of
resentment, and that was all. The dogs, however, Daylight
changed, leaving his own exhausted team to rest up against his
return, while he went on with six fresh dogs.
Pages:
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90