Kootenai Plain to Old Bow Fort.

September 19th. - The Saskatchewan River, though here not far from its source, is about forty yards in width, wherever it flows in a single channel, and so deep that we were obliged to cross it on rafts. While the ferrying went on, I ascended the mountains with Antoine in search of white goats; we saw none, however, but fell in with several female sheep, one of which I shot without much trouble; it was a very fine ewe, fat and well-conditioned, though in milk. The crossing safely effected, we travelled along a broad track up the river, but discovering, after having followed it a good many miles, that it was leading us out of our proper course, we returned, and camped in the dark near our place of departure. There was a high wind from the south, and towards nightfall, rain came on.

September 20th. - A cold showery day. We succeeded in finding the right Bow River road; it passed not far from the mountains that form the north side of the valley which runs eastward from opposite Kootenai Plain and proved to be an excellent track, leading over hard ground through a long extent of thick fir-woods. There were traces of recent travellers, whom we supposed to have been Americans going to the Columbia, - said to be not more than three days' march from this neighbourhood.

Matheson, who had lately had an attack of pains and sickness, was now quite recovered, some of my simple remedies perfectly meeting his case, but today another man was taken ill, - our interpreter, Piskan Munroe. He was seized with violent cramps in the stomach, a complaint he had suffered from before, and, without consulting anyone, was rash enough to prescribe for himself, swallowing a whole charge of gunpowder mixed with water, which he declared had formerly done him good. As he seemed in great agony, bending with groans over his horse's neck when the fits attacked him, I decided on an early halt, though only half our usual day's march had been accomplished.

Candles now becoming scarce, Toma manufactured one for me; it was composed of sheep fat run into a mould of stout cartridge paper, and burned remarkably well, nearly equaling wax in the clearness of its flame. A very high gale arose from the south, the quarter whence wind and rain generally appeared to come. Several tracks of moose were seen near the roadside.

September 21st. - 'Munroe better. Off early, and made a long march up the valley, at first through thick woods clear of fallen timber, then over a country scantily dotted with trees, till we arrived at the height-of-land which divides the watersheds of the Saskatchewan and Bow rivers. There was a small rain all morning, and when we got up to the high tableland, this drizzle turned into a regular snowstorm.

'It was very weary work crossing miles of bleak open moor, with not a tree in sight, and only enough of the surrounding rocks and mountains visible through the mist to show how much noble scenery was being lost to me forever. Forever! That is too strong a word; who can tell what powers of travel may be vouchsafed to the spirit after death?' ..... [A page or two continuing this subject are obliterated.]

'Camped for the night a short way down the course of a stream that runs into the Bow River. There were numerous traces of bears; the earth was ploughed up in large patches where they had been digging for roots. Shot two "partridges" with the rifle, and missed two. 'One of the Carlton horses failed, and was left on the road.'

September 22nd. - 'Snow and sleet all night, continuing all the morning. We are now reduced to very simple fare, as the whole of the flour is finished. Dried sheep meat (getting mouldy), pemmican, and tea, are all we have. Thank God! We have enough, and after the stomach is filled it matters little what has filled it, if only the food were wholesome.

'On coming to this side of the height-of-land, where the waters begin to flow east and south, I observe the larch again, a tree we have not seen since passing a few near Lake St. Ann. Here they grow on both sides of the valley, chiefly at a higher level than the spruce, which, in turn, grows higher up than the Scotch fir. These larches do not show the drooping habit of the kindred tree at home, but grow more in the cedar form, with branches that are horizontal or tending upwards. Their foliage is now of a bright pale yellow, which contrasts effectively with the dark green of the fir trees.'

September 23d. - After marching a few miles we arrived at an open spot by the river, and camped there early, as I wished to devote the rest of the day to hunting for white goats, being anxious to get some specimens of those scarce and very wary animals. The morning was unpromising when Antoine and I set out on our hunt; storms of sleet went drifting by, and a thick mist enveloped the snow-clad mountains; nevertheless, we persevered, climbed several steep hills, and explored many likely places, but all in vain.

'Towards evening we saw a band of grey sheep and resolved to go after them, as there was no further chance of goats. It cost us a hard climb to get within range, but they took the alarm and only offered us awkward running chances, of which we made nothing, though perhaps I ought to have killed with one of my shots. In the excitement of the moment, Antoine spoiled the Little chance I had, by hurrying me on, and making various signs and speeches, before it was possible for me to see the sheep.'

A stalker should remember two things - 1st, That, as he goes in front of the person he is guiding, he must generally (uphill always) see the animals before they are visible to the other man, and ought, therefore, to bear with some slowness on the part of his companion in seeing what he points out the moment it meets his own view.

'2ndly, most people are slightly nervous on coming in after a long stalk, and out of breath besides, so excited demonstrations at such times do the greatest harm.

'The best plan is quietly to beckon your companion forward- quickly or slowly according to circumstances, - and in one short sentence give him any directions that may be really necessary, such as - "The large beast on the left;" "The second from the front," - and so on.'

'Few things more show man's inherent conceit, than our habit of thinking that nothing can be done without our own valuable directions. As we marched through the plains I have often been amused to hear the whole party shouting together to anyone going after prairie fowl near the roadside: - That's the way! No, more to your left! There he goes behind the bush! Shoot him now! Not that one! No, the other, the other - while the unfortunate sportsman danced about like a Highlander in a wasp's nest.'

Except with an absolute greenhorn, it is better to leave a man to his own judgment when the decisive moment comes, - particularly in rifle shooting, where your own unaided choice of the animal to be shot greatly assists the aim, harmonizing the nerves and enabling you to shoot exactly at the right moment.'

After the sheep we had been firing at had moved away, Antoine observed a single ewe on a rock above us. I climbed to within fair distance, and wounded her severely, too low, however, and far back, so she had the strength to run a long way over some very rough and broken ground. Tracking her by the blood spots - clear red circles on the chalky stones, - I followed to the very summit of the height, where the hanging precipice, which gradual upward slope abruptly stopped at a tremendous over-formed the other side of the mountain. The sheep was not to be seen, but looking carefully over the brink, I discovered her standing on a narrow ledge a few yards beneath me; there was no way to approach nearer, so I gave her a finishing shot, on receiving which she rolled off the platform, and, falling many hundreds of feet, dropped upon the rocks and ice in the desolate abyss below.

Thinking all was over, I shouldered my rifle and returned to Antoine, little expecting to bring any of that wild mutton home for supper.

The stout old hunter, however, at once proposed to go for our sheep, and after a considerable round we managed to reach the place where it was lying, much cut and broken, but not spoilt for use; then putting it on his back, he carried it for more than a mile, till we found our horses again, - no mean performance, considering the roughness of the ground and the weight of this two-year-old ewe, a beast certainly larger than a common roe-deer.

September 24th. - 'After marching a few miles we observed four white goats, halfway up a rocky mountain, upon which I halted the brigade, and set out on foot, with Antoine, in pursuit of them. We had a very severe climb to the place where they had been seen, and then found they had gone on. Antoine followed on their track, and I kept a little higher, till we came to a deep ravine, when he suddenly stopped and beckoned to me. I came on, making all possible haste, but the rock unluckily was of broken shale, over which one cannot go fast, and I was only in time to see the white fleeces streaming off a long way below. We both fired in vain and then rushed off to intercept them, but they gained the ridge long before we did, though running with all our might.

'Never did I feel more utterly prostrated. From various causes - my long journey on horseback, bad sleep owing to the cold at night, indifferent food of late, no drink stronger than tea, sudden hard work on foot since we came to the mountains, perhaps also owing to the height, above the sea level, of the valleys among which we were; - I was now very weak, and only able to climb steep places slowly, and with constant rests.

'I had set my heart on getting some of these white goats; but we were not likely to see any of them farther on our journey, my last chance seemed gone; I lay there on the mountainside, weary, almost fainting with toil, and very sore at heart. These goats began to seem to me like the enchanted beasts in German stories, which lure men to destruction, and then mock at their misery. Once I had nearly broken my neck, and twice nearly burst a blood vessel, in following them, - and all in vain. A sort of frenzy came over me, and I vowed to pursue them to the death.

'We followed their track someway till it turned straight up the cliffs to the top of the mountain: Antoine then lighted his pipe and prepared to descend. I proposed to go up, and he at once cheerfully consented. We had hard and dangerous work. [The cliff, which rose abruptly from a narrow ledge of shingle slanting to tremendous precipices, was exceedingly steep, and the projections on its half-decomposed surface were but small, and so loosely attached that they constantly broke at a touch.] In many places, Antoine had to cut out steps with his knife in the brittle shale, and the melting snow from above rendered our footing slippery and unsteady, all the worse that our rifles left only one hand free. It was terrible to hear the dislodged stones falling down to unknown depths in the abyss beneath, but the only way to climb rocks is to shut the door on fancy, and rivet the eyes and mind on the spot where one's foot is to be next planted. The toil was severe; several times we were nearly defeated, but at length, the summit of the cliff was gained.

'We then made a long ascent over broken rocks to a higher ridge, which formed the actual top of that part of the mountain and rested there a while amidst ice and snow. Immediately beneath us, a most singular view presented itself - an immensely deep, oval, crater-like hollow, of the most verdant grass, embedded in the heart of the mountain. At the bottom of it, there was a beautiful lake, blue as a sapphire, and framed in with a narrow band of firs and larches.

'Alas! The goats were not to be seen, and after a long search we began descending some steep rocks in - a different direction - utterly in despair. 'When about halfway down, Antoine, who was continually climbing rocks and looking about him, signed to me that something was in sight. Coming to him, I observed two of the enchanted beasts feeding below. He proposed to ascend again and come down on them, but I was quite unable, - so we climbed along the face of the cliff on a very narrow ledge, and got within long range of the two goats, and within 120 yards of three others, which we had not seen before.

'We fired several shots, but without stopping any of them, and being so high above their level, as well as so far off, it was difficult to judge if any were wounded. At that moment the old ewe I had first shot at, confused by the echoes, came trotting back, but, having had time to reload, I rolled her over. At the same time, Antoine wounded a three-year-old male, who began to rush off at a great pace, but I stopped him with a really good shot, right in the centre of the backbone, at more than 150 yards. Both these goats unfortunately fell over some twenty feet of rock, breaking their horns and tearing great holes in their skins, but I was glad to get them on any terms.

'These animals belong to the goat tribe and are true goats in appearance. They are rather smaller than the grey sheep, much shorter in the leg, and larger in the feet. Their horns are straight, hard, and pointed, of a shining black, and about 6 inches long, resembling those of the chamois, only not hooked at the end. (Perhaps the old males may have longer horns. I never saw one near enough to make sure: they are certainly not very long-homed.) Their hair is long and white, and very soft; they have beards like common goats, and the males have a strong musky smell. It is generally said that they are not good to eat, but we carried parts of them home to try, and I could perceive little difference in taste from the sheep. * The old males no doubt would be uneatable.

'It was pitch dark before we got back to camp. On arriving at the river-side we found horses waiting, which the men had brought over in answer to our shouts. The crossing was almost amusing, there was such uncertainty as to the depths into which one's horse's next step might plunge one; we got through, however, without accident.'

Sunday, September 25th. - All night and morning there was a steady pour of rain. Our camping place was damp and confined, so we determined to leave it at once, and marched, accordingly, till we reached the Bow River, then travelled some distance down its course. Our road ran mostly through thick forest, and towards evening it became hilly and blocked with lying wood.

Darkness came on very suddenly, and McKay and Matheson, who had stayed behind to arrange some of the packs, were unable to join us and had to camp by themselves. They were better off than we were, having the tents and provision stores with them; but it signified little, for we managed to find sufficient food and covering, - Kline, indeed, raised me a shelter, by stretching the oilcloth over poles, which answered quite as well as my canvas tent.

Showery, cold weather; rain again at night. The Carlton Bichon, who had been ill for some time, got worse today and finally gave out.

September 28th. - After about four miles' march we met an Assiniboine walking along the track by himself; he turned back with us, and soon afterwards we came to four families of the same tribe.*

We halted and camped in their neighbourhood our hope being to get food and horses from the Indians, - theirs, to procure ammunition, clothes, and tobacco, in exchange.

'I have just made the unpleasant discovery that we have barely two days' provision in the camp. Our dried meat had become mouldy, and during my absences when hunting there had been a shameful waste of our pemmican, some of the men, I am told, eating it all day long. This evil began at a time when there was so much fresh meat that I took no notice of the constant cooking and feasting, and a general system of waste and gluttony thus crept in. Now that it was too late, I had found out our perilous situation. It was impossible to get to Edmonton under a fortnight, and, except some ducks, there was little chance of any game on the road.'

Great gloom overspread the camp. I did my best to seem cheerful. I divided all the pemmican into portions - there was only enough for two days and a half - and served the tea out in allowances: for my own part, I ate some of the leg of the larger white goat brought in on Saturday. The old ewe must have reared a dozen kids at least, - tougher and drier fare I never fed on. . . . Read "Romeo and Juliet."

'In hopes of getting assistance, we sent off the hunter we had first fallen in with to a larger camp of his tribe, a good distance away, to ask them to join us on the road. In the evening I heard the Indians singing hymns. They are Christians, having had some teaching from Protestant missionaries, and seem to be most religious, excellent people.'

During today's march, we passed the site of a camp. On one of the neighbouring trees was written - "Exploring Expedition. Aug. 23, 1859. Dr. Hector."

September 27th. - The Indians, who were absent when we arrived, had now returned from their hunt. They had killed three moose, two of which were very far off, but the other, which was nearer, they had gone to bring in for us. As further supplies were urgently required, I set out to look for sheep, though very unfit for much exertion and ascended the mountain directly at the back of our camp. 'It was a hard climb, but Duncan (who was my only companion) carried my rifle: I could hardly carry myself, I felt so weak. [A strange sort of illness had come over me, - I could walk easily on level ground, but if the least hill began, my knee sinews lost their strength, and every step was painful.]

'When we reached the summit nothing was to be seen but rock and precipice, the whole upland valley between us and the farther mountain tops being a great basin of hard smooth stone, broken here and there with fissures - much like a tract of rocky sea-coast left bare at low water. Great masses of snow covered some of the slopes, and the scene was one of utter desolation: so we went but a short distance, and returned another way, having some dangerous precipices to descend, and several miles of lying timber to cross.'

The Stonies duly brought in the moose. I paid them well, also buying at a liberal price two white goat skins and two moose skins, to their very evident gratification. McKay then began to deal with them for horses, - of which they had a pretty fair lot, but nothing really good, except a fine chestnut, which had formerly belonged to the Blackfeet.

'On asking the owner about it, he declared that he had many a time refused to part with this horse to his own people, and had even refused it to Dr. Hector, as it was his favourite, and the only buffalo runner they had; nevertheless, as he saw we were in want of horses, he would consult his wife, and consider if the sale were possible. He then talked very religiously, saying that they were "poor people living here in the - wilderness, thankful to God for the food He supplied them with in hunting, which was all they had for their families." What they most wanted, he added, was to hear about God and be more instructed in religion. McKay suggested to me that I should write out the Lord's Prayer, to be translated for them into Cree, which one of the women understood and could speak. I promised to do so, and, in regard to the chestnut, I told him that I would not take the poor man's best horse, but would buy from him another, which, though lame, might go as far as Edmonton.'

It was then settled that Lagrace should be added to McKay's mess, - partly to equalize the messes, partly to keep the old fellow's wasteful habits under control.'

September 28th.- To fulfil my promise, I wrote out a number of sentences from the New Testament, choosing those of a simple and encouraging character; I also wrote out the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed, as far as the words "judge the quick and the dead"

'McKay then read the whole, in Cree, to the Stonies, who were much interested; but afterwards told us that they had the Lord's Prayer and Creed already, though the rest was new. As none of them could read Cree, we did not translate the paper into writing, but they asked leave to keep it, as it was, "to remind them of the good things it contained."

'The man we had spoken with about the chestnut now said that he had determined I should have his best horse; that he would not sell me the bad one; that he would "willingly give me the horse for the sake of hearing these things about God."

'He absolutely insisted on my taking it, one way or other; therefore exchanged for it Lane (who would soon have failed, but will perfectly recover with rest), and I gave him, besides - gun, blankets, tobacco, ammunition for the - winter, a capot and some cloth, a knife, files, etc., everything, in short, that I could spare, considering the necessity of buying provisions and exchanging other horses on the way to Edmonton. The poor fellow was pleased and grateful, and thanked God for sending white men to him and his people.'

In all this, we see the hand of Providence. Had we not met these Indians we should have been reduced to great straits, and must soon have become very short of horses. They again had very little powder, and no lead - they were using bits of iron for bullets, - no tobacco, and only very ragged old leather clothing. Now, they were well supplied, and we were provisioned for a week, and had got two stout fresh horses; - for I also exchanged Spot, with a number of things, for a useful beast belonging to another of the Indians.

'While the men were settling about their horses, all the wives and children came to my tent door, so I gave them a was quantity of trinkets, besides a few more serviceable articles. It was amusing to see the delight with which one old woman received a "small-tooth" comb - certainly, it seemed needed. I am able to bestow one of these on each tent, having packed a few among my stores, hearing that the Indians fancied them. After this, I brought out some lengths of coloured gartering, and invited the women, beginning at the oldest, to take their choice of the pieces. The senior immediately fixed on the green, the next took the red, and the two yellow rolls remained for the other ladies.

It interested me to watch the children playing with the young horses, as roughly and familiarly as if amusing themselves with pet dogs or lambs. They climbed over them, sat on their backs, made them walk, waded them in the shallows of the river; they even tied lines to one of their gentle play- fellows' legs and tugged away till they fairly pulled Mm down. The horses seemed to enjoy it, and never showed the least signs of temper, nor tried to escape from their kindly little tyrants.

And my Indian, evidently far gone in consumption, came to the tent for medicine. Telling him that I had none quite suitable for his illness, I gave him a thick flannel shirt, advising him to wear it next to his skin under his own wretched leather coat. To my surprise, he seemed disappointed and earnestly repeated his request for medicine. Though painful to deceive the poor man, it seemed better to humour him in his weak condition, so I opened my travelling bag and presented him with a few mild pills of no very particular sort. He went away delighted, thanking me heartily for a gift which he probably believed to possess some magical virtue. About midday, we moved from our camping ground and travelled a good distance in the course of the afternoon.

September 29th. - It snowed a little during the night, and when we set out there was a high and bitterly cold north wind, which lasted the whole day. A band of eight white goats came into view, but we had not time to go after them; I shot, however, a half-dozen "partridges," among them one very pretty bird with a ruff, which Toma said was of a kind common about Lachine.*

*We encamped in a hollow sheltered by bushes, near the foot of "The Mountain where the Waterfalls," - an isolated rocky mountain in no way remarkable, except that a small stream runs down its face and loses itself in a hole in the earth.'

Our Stony messenger met us on the road, bringing me a letter from his people, written in the Cree syllabic characters. It was translated to me as follows - "We thank God for sending us such a great man: we send our compliments to him: we will receive him as a brother."

September 30th.- 'Slept better last night than any time since leaving Fort Garry. The morning was lovely, - sunny, but with a bracing chilliness in the air.

'Our progress was much interrupted by fallen timber at first, and afterwards by hilly stony ground, but we succeeded in turning the corner of the valley, at the end of which are the ruins of Old Bow Fort. It is a pretty vale. The river winds through it in a deep, still, dark blue current, and forms numerous shallow lakes alongside its course, which are separated from the stream, sometimes by reedy flats, sometimes by low wooded banks.'

Poplar brush is the principal growth in the lower grounds, and at this season the bright yellow of the dying leaves contrasts very beautifully with the dark pines that overspread the surrounding crags, often to their very top. The larch almost ceases in the Bow River valley, though a few are occasionally to be seen. From the neighbourhood of the Hill of the Waterfall to the extreme end of the mountains, we were constantly passing groups of really large pines - silver, spruce, and Scotch fir, - the greater number about ten to twelve feet in girth, one silver fir, however, must have been half as large again.'

Most of them bore traces of the fires which are the curse of this region, which have destroyed the beauty of these noble valleys, ruining the magnificent forests that ages had matured, and leaving in their stead endless tracts of charred and decaying remains, amidst which wretched seedlings struggle up as best they may. It grieves the heart of a lover of trees to travel through America. For hundreds and thousands of miles, his eyes behold nothing but wholesale destruction of those noblest ornaments of the earth. Fire everywhere, the axe everywhere, the barking-knife and the bill-hook, joint ravagers with the storm, the lightning, and the flood, - all busy in pulling down nature's forest handiwork - and who builds up anything in its stead?

'If the half-breed wishes to do honour to a friend, he chooses the most conspicuous tree, prunes off all its branches, and calls it Friend So-and-so's lobstick - thus he raises his monument.

The American strips the greenery from whole provinces, then builds sawmills and log-houses, and calmly offers the exchange to the universe - The knave who steals an Indian's horse and offers him a bottle of rum in its place: - thus he raises his monument.

'The mountains become perceptibly lower after one enters Bow Valley, and continue to lessen in height at each succeeding great bend of the river, but their rocky character remains unchanged. We were still among them when evening drew on, and such a gale of wind arose from the west that we hastened to camp ourselves in the heart of a thick young wood to escape its fury.'

Toma cooked me some moose-nose for dinner - 'cartilage and fat like beaver's tail - very good.'