North River Camp to Kootanie Plain.

Sunday, September 11th. - 'This being a very fine warm day we moved our camp, and, after making a short march, halted on the Worth River, opposite to a magnificent rock, resembling the bastion of some giant's castle. Two slopes proceeding from the debris at its foot were covered with small pines, those on the one flourishing and erect, those on the other mostly beaten down and broken: the whole scene suggested an assault on a fortress, up a practicable breach, - troops advancing steadily and in good order to the attack, and troops hurled backwards in ruin and confusion.'

* As we passed the foot of a glen, down which a little stream pursued its way, we observed an immense flight of "Painted Lady" butterflies; + they were hovering about in hundreds, or settling on the young firs that grew on the sandy ground in a sheltered sunny spot, their gay wings making a pretty contrast with the dark green colour of the trees. We noticed the tracks of a bear near the same place.

Not far off there was a larger brook, also running into the river, which had the peculiarity of tinting all the stones in its bed with a deep crimson stain. I picked up two of them as specimens; they have much lost colour in years.'

September 12th. - Before we started I began a sketch of the grand rock opposite our camp, but the heat of the sun was so intolerable that I had to content myself with little - more than a mere outline. We continued our march down the North River. The rocks were very fine; all of the same massive square-cut character. At dinner, we halted near a small shallow lake. A large bird of the crow species rose suddenly off the shore, I tried my rifle at it and knocked some feathers from its wing as it flew away. These birds, which were numerous in the district, had a very tuneful note, - not unlike distant melodious piping's on a reed.*

We now left the branch of the river we had been hitherto following, and took our course up one of its two more southern branches, choosing that which lay most to the middle, and after a long hard struggle through a stretch of burnt and fallen timber of the worst description, we camped on a sandy flat close beside the stream. The scenery had become exceedingly grand and beautiful. The valley was a mile in width; to the east and west sheer precipices, 3000 feet high, confined it on either hand with a majestic barrier. - 'That on the eastern side is of a most remarkable shape, resembling an immense square block of masonry, placed on the summit of a vast mound with gradual slopes, like an altar raised by giants of old to some of the extinct gods.

'It was very fine to behold the moon rising from behind this enormous mass, which remained in absolute blackness, while all things else were touched with silver light. Just before she emerged, a large, soft-looking meteor fell from the sky directly above us, and slowly floated away towards the south.

'The moon was full, and encircled by a ring of orange and yellow; she floated amid innumerable small fleecy clouds, which wandered across a sky of the intensest blue. This cloud-formed prevalence of mottled grey covered the southern heaven, and ended in an arch, exactly like the rainbow, passing through Corona Borealis and just enclosing Cygnus and Pegasus. Beyond this line, to the north, the clouds were dark, and only perceptible from the absence of the stars they obscured. As night advanced the region of white cloud grew less, and horizontal streaks of light, like the Aurora, appeared beneath the polar star.'

September 13th. - We crossed the river and for a short time ascended its course, then marched back the way we came, as Antoine fancied we should not be able to find an outlet at the end of the valley. When we had gone a long way downstream, it appeared that he was quite ignorant of this part of the country, and had no better reason for doubting our former track, than the discovery of certain marks on the trees, which seemed to denote that Indians had recently preceded us, and then turned back.

[There was a sudden halt; Antoine, Munroe, and McKay began to hold a council, and showed signs of doubt as to the proper road. It displeased me to find that our long counter-march was likely to prove fruitless, especially as everything that day had been done without reference to my opinion. Rightly or wrongly, I suspected an intention to leave the mountains by the easiest and plainest road, instead of exploring the finer and less-traversed routes, according to my frequently expressed desire. Perhaps there was no such deliberate intention, but various circumstances had lately indicated that influences opposed to my own were at work, particularly the constant discussions going on in Cree, of which, from knowing a few words here and there, I often guessed the purport.]

'I was very angry - things having been done without consulting me - so I instantly turned my horse, and rode back alone through the woods, till I came to the place where we had crossed the river. As there was no proper track, I had some difficulty in finding the way but got to my point all right, and after a while, the rest came up.'

[About this time I discovered, in conversation with McKay, that Munroe felt aggrieved, thinking that I had slighted him in the office of guide - which he then considered himself to be filling, though I had not so supposed it, - by once or twice refusing to camp at places designated by him for that purpose. I pointed out to McKay, that though in ordinary cases the guide was the proper person to settle camp arrangements, my sport and pleasure were the objects of the present journey, and that while fully believing in Munroe's competency to choose the best camping places, I sometimes preferred inferior sites, on account of the beauty of the scenery. McKay, who had been inclined to sympathize with his fellow guide, at once understood me, and doubtless satisfied Munroe, for cordiality seemed quite restored.]

'After dinner, we continued our march, and a weary one it was. The river was so flooded that we were obliged to keep a high line, over a succession of steep ridges with deep hollows between, the whole of which were covered with burnt and fallen pines lying about in the most obstructive manner. Nothing can exceed the discomfort of passing over such a country, especially when the ground is soft and miry.'

'The larger lying pines tear and wound the horses, and keep them perpetually jumping, for the obstacles are too great to be stepped over; the smaller ones meet you like chevaux- de-frises placed at every angle, some pointing towards your face, others at your legs or your horse's stomach; and, being dry, hard, and sharp, they pierce like spears when met directly, or tear your knees and hands if you merely rub against them.'

'Nothing but leather is a defense, I often felt as if in one of the tournaments of old, as these lances of the forest splintered against my buff jerkin and nearly drove me out of the saddle, or, artistically aimed at the head, lifted my "beaver" off, sometimes well-nigh treating me to Absalom's fate.'

'Yesterday "Mission Cendre," the large roan horse I bought from the missionaries at St. Ann, one of my best, got a severe stab under the thigh, and was hardly able to go on, and today one of the Edmonton horses came to his end in a very singular manner. At dinner time we observed him to be looking dull and not feeding, but there seemed so little the matter that when we started Lagrace rode him as usual. He went fairly enough till beginning to climb a steep hill, when he showed signs of sluggishness, as we thought it, and his rider urged him on; suddenly he stopped, sank, and lay to all appearance lifeless. In a little while he raised his head and gazed around with a perplexed and anxious air, then uttered three piercing neighs, the strangest I ever heard, turned heavily on his side, and died. McKay attempted to bleed him, but no blood would flow, and the death glaze came over his eyeballs. On opening him we found his lungs diseased and his kidneys inflamed; his blood was very thin, except about the heart, where it was thick and clotted. The other horses seemed scared; many of them would not pass near the dead body'.

'After another hour's struggling we halted, and camped on an island of the North River, not having made more than three miles' progress on this unlucky day'.

'Lightning was flashing in the heavens at nightfall, and dense clouds floated over all the sky; we prepared for a storm, but there only came a slight shower.'

September l4th. - Our start was delayed by a long search for two of the horses, which, being at last found, we pursued our way S.S.W. up the North River, and rode forward at a pretty good pace, though some parts of the track were full of obstructions. 'Late in the evening, while preparing to camp, we saw some white goats high up among the cliffs. (They are true goats, though often spoken of as sheep, and seem to frequent steeper precipices than the grey sheep.)

'Late as it was, Antoine and I went after them and climbed some places I should not have liked to venture on alone, though a tolerably practiced climber in my own country. Night came on as we reached the top of the ridge; the goats had moved out of sight; and nothing was left but to make our way down to the valley, - and hard work it was. There was just light enough to see a few yards in front, but not sufficient to discover where the descent was safe, except by actual experiment. We crept carefully along the face of the cliff, sometimes staggering in loose shingles, sometimes finding our footing as best we could in the steeper places.

'Several times we fancied we had hit on a good way to get down, but it always ended in what Antoine called "un Rocher couped" - otherwise, a precipice. Even he began to think we should have to pass the night there (like flies on a wall) - I had for long been expecting nothing better - but Providence directed us at last to a gentler slope, by which we descended in safety to the valley level, reaching camp barely in time to shelter from a heavy fall of rain. Melancholy and depressed, - from fatigue I suppose, and from having been so long in fear for my life while among the cliffs in the darkness.'

September 15th. - 'Bitterly cold night, rain till near dawn; then hard frost, tents and oil-cloths sheeted with ice. The sun takes very long to rise in these deep valleys, which are obstructed by the mountains, which stand like walls on either side. Till he shows himself there is a vault-like chill in the air, but as soon as his rays surmount the barrier the heat becomes oppressive.

'We continued our march up the valley, along a beautiful level track by the river-side, but, as afterwards appeared, we ought to have turned to the left up a creek which was hardly noticed at the time, none of the men knowing this part of the country. Lagrace had a general idea of the road, but he found himself at fault when we suddenly came to a mountain which stood right across our path, apparently forbidding further progress, for it was no better than a chaos of rocks and great broken stones, past which the stream, now very small, rushed by in a deep and impassable channel.

'Leaving the rest to wait for his return, Lagrace scrambled up the mountain to search for a pass, while, with the same object, I set out in another direction, followed by Whisky, - who has a mania for climbing, though he squeaks on coming to the difficult places; - and, taking my rifle with me, I was rewarded for a very hard walk by shooting a ptarmigan - or at least a bird exactly like one. There was a covey of them seated on the bare top of a rocky hill, and when disturbed they flew round the knob and alighted at a short distance. I missed my second shot, - which at dinner the next day I rather lamented, recognizing a true grouse flavour in the bird, which made it very superior to the tasteless "partridge," of the pine forests.*

'On returning, I found that McKay had got all the horses to the top of the hill by a path that seemed quite impracticable, for it was not only exceedingly steep, but composed of very sharp many-cornered blocks, much the size of a cart, lying at different levels, - near one another, but sufficiently apart to leave great deep holes between, where knife-like smaller stones did not fill the openings.

'At the summit was a nearly perpendicular wall of hard frozen snow, about twenty feet high. Steps were cut, and the horses dragged up with ropes. They ascended without accident, except Blond, who slipped on a sheet of ice just as he got to the top, and fell to the bottom, crushing our pots and kettles, but damaging himself very little, as his packs saved him. Rowland positively refused to go up, so he was taken a long way round, and the men carried his packs up the icy stair.' [I did not see the horses taken up, but was at the place immediately afterwards, while they were still there. It was an almost incredible feat, though perhaps less really wonderful than the previous ascent of the hill among the separated blocks of stone.

'We now saw before us a flat gravel-covered valley entirely enclosed by mountains, the sides of those farthest off bearing great masses of snow, among which the river took its rise, flowing onwards in several shallow channels. Near the snow on our left (that is, towards the eastern side) appeared a lower ridge, and this was our only hope, for unless fortunate enough to pass over it and arrive at some other valley, we had no choice but to go back, losing several days and all the heavy toil of men and horses.

'The ridge, though steep, was in time ascended, and to our great joy there was a practicable road down a watercourse on the other side; but we long remained in suspense, being only able to see our way step by step, and always dreading that "un Rocher coupe" might blight our prospects. No difficulties, however, existed, and by evening we found ourselves comfortably encamped at the side of a mountain stream which flowed towards the Saskatchewan, the direction in which we had intended to travel.

'There were several very old remains of an Indian encampment where we halted, but I doubt if any human being ever came to the place by our road; certainly no white man ever did.

'Going along the valley I shot three siffleurs, but two of them rolled into their holes and could not be recovered. We saw and heard numbers of the little marmots peculiar to these mountains. They are of the size of a rat and the shape of a guinea pig, their colour is grey-green, their cry a complaining whine.' *

[I was afterwards given at one of the Forts (I regret to have forgotten which) an Indian robe composed of the skins of a small animal of the marmot species. The robe measures 80 inches by 69, and contains 105 complete skins, besides twenty, which have been more or less cut to fill interstices in the pattern, - 125 distinct pieces in all.

The largest skins are 10 inches long, though a little shortened in squaring them into a convenient shape, so that, adding 3 inches for the head, the animal would seem to have been about 13 inches in length, exclusive of the tail. The tails measure about 4 inches, and hang loose upon the surface, combining with small strips of skin along the various seams to form a succession of curious ornamental fringes.

The skins vary in colour from brown to silver-grey along the back, which is mottled all over with little whitish spots. The stomach and lower parts are of a yellowish grey, sometimes almost approaching pale orange. In size and colouring the animal appears to correspond with an inhabitant of the northern part of the fur countries - "Arctomys (Spermophilus) Parryi". - Parry's Marmot. Seek-seek - Esquimaux. Thoe-thiny {Rock-badger) - Chipewyan's." Richardson, - Faun. Bor.-Am., vol. i. p. 158.]

September 16th. - The horses were very much fatigued with yesterday's work, for, besides their toil, they had had nothing to eat till evening, so we settled to give them half a day to rest and recruit.

Availing myself of the interval, I went out with Antoine to look for sheep. We almost immediately saw some fine old rams, but they discovered us, and made their escape to the opposite mountain, stringing up a vast and nearly perpendicular wall of glittering rock, along invisible paths where no human foot could follow. Soon afterwards, observing six ewes on the top of a detached crag, we climbed round the face of it till we got within shot, and were fortunate enough to kill all but one of the number - three falling to my rifle and two to Antoine's, - which furnished us with a welcome supply of fresh meat, for there was not a fortnight's dry provision in camp.

One of the sheep was struck by my shot while running from us in a direct line; on receiving the bullet she threw her hind legs straight into the air, and danced for half a minute on her forelegs, in what seemed a scarcely possible attitude.'

The men were busy today in mending their moccasins. These soft shoes [leather socks one might call them] are very comfortable in dry, hot weather, but moisture soaks through them in an instant, and, though they do admirably for level ground, I find them slippery on the hill, and no protection against stones and thorns. When the weather is cold they are bad wear for horseback, as one's feet get chilled in the stirrups. But for a pair of nailed shooting boots, I could not have got along at all in the mountains, which are more covered with sharp stones than any ground I have seen in Scotland. Even my men, accustomed to nothing but moccasins, are constantly bruising and cutting their feet; they sometimes wear out a new pair of soles in a few hours.

'The best moccasins are made of moose leather: red-deer {wapiti) is very soft, but too thin; buffalo is exceedingly poor both in look and quality. They are generally made in three pieces; one forming the slipper that encloses the foot; another covering the instep, running upwards in a tongue over the front of the ankle, and finished in a semi-oval at the lower end; the third wrapping around the ankle, concealing the upper part of the second piece, and tied sandal-fashion with a strip of thin leather passed through eyelets round the heel. The part that comes over the instep is usually covered with red, blue, or white cloth, and ornamented with embroidery in beads or dyed horse hair. In Red River this part is made much larger, and lower over the foot, than in Saskatchewan; generally, also, the toe is less pointed, and the ankle-covering less high.'

The embroidering of men's moccasins with flower patterns is not to be commended, it has a tawdry, effeminate appearance; but, indeed, I have seldom seen any bead-embroidery of good taste, except among the pure Indians, who, for such work, prefer geometrical devices to imitations of natural objects.

'It is singular how invariably the art-instinct of the primitive savage guides him to that correct judgment which civilized nations only attain (if they do attain it) after centuries of thought and experiment, - as youth loses the grace of childhood without for many years acquiring the stately comeliness of maturity. So in religion, also, the child instinctively knows those truths, which, lost amidst a lifetime of reasonings and controversy, old age sometimes regains; as in the case of John Wesley, who after trying Ritualism, Mysticism, and Moravianism, and devising a new system of his own, during all which processes he strenuously battled against those who did not accept his most recently adopted creed, yet in his old age saw the vanity and vexation of such jangling's, and thus expressed himself: - "I am sick of opinions - my soul loathes this frothy food." [The whole passage runs thus -"I am sick of opinions: I am weary to bear them: my soul loathes this frothy food. Give me some and substantial religion: give me a humble lover of God and man; a man full of mercy and good faith . . . laying himself out in the work of faith, the patience of hope, the labour of love. Let my soul be with these Christians, wheresoever they are, and of whatsoever opinion they are of" Southey, - Life of Wesley, vol. ii. p. 94. 3d 'edition.]

'Is Europe beginning to draw near this ripening of judgment? There are some signs of it. Were Christ to come again, would he not, as once before, take a little child and set him in our midst?'

September 17th. -The night was cruelly cold: it was almost impossible to sleep. Breakfasting early, we made our way down a wild and rugged glen, along which we toiled till evening without rest or food, confined mostly to the bed of a torrent so stony as to hurt the horses' feet: our direction tended always to the south-east. At length, we arrived at the valley's end, where the water escaped through a long, narrow, deep gorge of rock, then crossed the shoulder of a mountain covered with lying wood, and finally camped near the Saskatchewan, half a day from Kootenai Plain.*

'The valley we have left is enclosed on the east by a precipitous wall of mountains of a pearly grey colour, composed of a hard stone lying in layers like slates the diamond shape and placed flat side outwards so that the cliff is scored with parallel jagged lines. The length of this mountain barrier seems to be about ten miles, its height perhaps two thousand feet [above the stream]; in many places, it is nearly perpendicular, and the summit forms a continuous serrated line.

'Saw traces of bears all along, but the beasts keep themselves out of sight. The wind was excessively cold - I felt half dead with hunger besides, having eaten nothing all day. At supper I astonished myself, consuming at least three pounds of fried sheep: Toma could not cook the slices quickly enough. - 'Finished that noble play "The Merchant of Venice." Had there been a fair tribunal, and another "second Daniel" to take Shylock's part, I think the Jew would have come better out of it. It was mere quibbling to make him guilty of attempting the life of a citizen. You do not attempt a man's life by accusing him before a court of justice of a capital crime, in the same sense as by stabbing him with a dagger.

'Are we to understand that Shylock, Judas-like, committed suicide when he left the court? There is something peculiar in his exclamation, "I am not well." A man of his stern character would have scorned acknowledging any feeling of illness at such a time unless he intended to end illness and health alike by ending his life. Besides, he would never really have consented to become a Christian, and his ready acceptance of that condition showed that he meant to break it, - and for that, there was but one way.'

Sunday, September 18th. - We marched a few miles, in a southerly direction, up the course of the North Saskatchewan, and halted at Kootenai Plain. This so-called plain is merely an inconsiderable enlargement of the valley, - a space of some fifty acres, bare of trees, and covered with short prairie grasses.'