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

175c;:; Travellers Riversand MountainsWhile that steamer turned out from the bank and then went swiftlydown the Yukon River, we stood on the deck alone, feeling as if the Fates, inangry mood, had dropped us heavily there to face a life of captivity and noise.How those tourists did stare at us and how they did chatter! We were attackedfrom every side at once as they began firing questions at us like bullets. Only laterdid we learn that the Hudson's Bay Company had spread far and wide the newsthat two English women would be crossing the Divide by the Rat River route andcoming out on the Yukon steamer. The officers on board had, it appeared, beenexpecting us since April. No doubt they had found it impossible to believe thatwe would be so daft as to travel by the mosquito - haunted Rat in summer, but theykept such thoughts to themselves and were extremely kind and friendly duringour short cruise. Our journey by this unusual route had been a source of endlessgossip among the passengers, hence their curiosity when we actually did arrive intheir midst. We only learned this later and in those first moments we felt as if wewere rare migrant birds, caught and caged and surrounded by faces peering inbetween the bars.No doubt our appearance encouraged them to stare, for Gwen's face waspeeling and mine had become the colour of mahogany, and our water-loggedclothes had lost any freshness that they had ever had, but the curiosity of thosetourists was blatant. We felt inclined to turn and run for the shelter of our cabin,so humiliating was our feeling of "What-are-we-among-so many?" Had it beenso many trees, so many birds or flowers, or even waves, we would not haveminded, but these pop-eyed, siren-voiced human beings were a menace to our