As the days passed there was a noticeable change in temperature. The winter was just setting in, and winter in the northern regions means something very different from what it does in the United States.
When Fred and Jerry came on deck one morning there was a sharper tang than usual in the air.
"We'll sight ice to-day," remarked one of the sailors.
"Do you mean an iceberg?" asked Fred.
"That's what. I can tell by the smell. We'll sight a big one before night."
The sailor proved a good prophet, and that afternoon the steamer passed an immense berg, the glittering pinnacles of which towered high into the air. The presence of it added to the cold, which was becoming sharper every hour.
"Time to get out our fur garments, I guess," said Mr. Baxter that night, and from the baggage he had Johnson take out thick fur coats, caps and mittens, while heavy fur-lined boots were gotten in readiness for the journey on land, which would soon begin.
If there had been confusion on the dock in San Francisco over the sailing of the ship, there was more when she arrived at her destination and proceeded to land the passengers and stores. The Sea Lion went up the Yukon River as far as it was navigable for her and there docked.
There was a settlement on shore, but even in the wildest mining region of California there was nothing to equal it.
A fierce snowstorm the day before the ship arrived had covered everything with a coat of white. The cold was bitter, and even in their fur garments the little party of adventurers felt it keenly.