The Wanderer of the North

In this story from To Build a Fire and Other Stories, a mysterious stranger tells a few mushers about how he followed his wife’s kidnapper from his home in the Aleutian Islands to Tokyo Bay and finally to the Yukon Territory in Canada.

The Law of Life

In this story from To Build a Fire and Other Stories, an old and blind Alaskan Native man listens to the sounds of his tribe preparing to migrate to find food and thinks about the law of life: all things must die.

To the Man on Trail

In this story from To Build a Fire and Other Stories, a stranger seeking to get back the money that he lent to another man visits a group of revelers in their cabin. The stranger has been on the trail for 12 hours with no rest. The revelers take him in and listen to his story.

Love of Life

In this story from To Build a Fire and Other Stories, a man who was abandoned by his teammate struggles to survive in the wilderness and stave off hunger.

The Wit of Porportuk

In this story from To Build a Fire and Other Stories, an old and ill chief has a large debt and cannot find the means to pay it. The lender, Porportuk, offers to have the debt waived if the chief gives away his daughter.