C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

22 THE LADIES, THE GWICH'IN, AND THE RATWe felt that it was wonderful to meet such typically J ack-London tales, notpreserved in a book, but related, face to face, by living men.As we sat there sipping tea in the luxury hotel, we felt extremely romantic andwell satisfied. We were already living through real adventures by proxy.N ext day was Sunday and we went by tram into the country near Capital Hilland wandered about looking for wild flowers. These were the beginning of acollection that Gwen had promised to bring home for a friend of hers in the KewGardens Museum. We little guessed then how difficult it would be to pressflowers with bare hands, standing up on the edge of a river in a cloud of mosquitoes.We found a dwarf PolYgonum, leaves of the Linnaea borealis and of a Jyrola, andmany other treasures.On Monday we lived as in a nightmare, what with last moment shopping, sociableencounters that we could not avoid and the over-heated air of the hotel. Everyonewhom we met, when they heard the words "Rat River" in answer to their questions,would exclaim: "Why, you'll breathe mosquitoes!" or "My! but I guess you're makingsome trip!" Or they would repeat the old refrain: "You'll be eaten alive."As for the shopping, some instinct bade us ignore those reported provisions atLa Pierre House and Old Crow, so we bought food for the whole journey fromAklavik to Fort Yukon. We also bought beads, silk, bicarbonate of soda-whichwas to prove invaluable when rubbed on mosquito bites-Viscol, bandages, a tinbasin, a small axe, two pillows, soap, forks, matches, a tin of Flit, cold cream andmany other trifles. We sent off four suitcases of our civilized belongings toVancouver by rail. Why, we wondered, did we travel with so much luggage whenour one aim was simplicity? Our baggage for the northern journey consisted ofsix canvas bundles, the rifle, one despatch-case, one suitcase and a rucksack,weighing in all 175 pounds. Our food packages, three pounds a head for fourpersons for 21 days, weighed 252 pounds.Early next morning we left Edmonton by taxi for Dunvegan. At the railwaystation there was quite a crowd to see off the immensely long train. It was headingtowards "the end of steel" near Waterways; from that settlement we were to takethe first steamer to go down the Mackenzie River since the ice had frozen up inthe previous September.We bundled into the train with Mr Brabant and our new companions,mounted police, an archdeacon, a French-Canadian judge, nuns, trappers,traders. The train moved off in a leisurely fashion on its 24-hoursjourney. Inthe North there is never any need to hurry.