Part 17 (1/2)

But Leo and George, well used to navigation on these saters, took the first boat across, loaded, without any difficulty, standing up and paddling vigorously, and e across the rapid strea-point With no serious difficulty the entire party was thus transported, and soon the heavier of the two boats, with on of Leo's other cousin, who now stood waiting for the cayuses that he had on

With this last addition to their party perched on top, and Leo and George walking alongside, the procession started off up the trail across the valley, headed for the low divide which lay beyond The re boat, manned by Moise and Uncle dick at bow and stern, was launched on the little river which caht packs on their shoulders, trudged along on foot, cutting off bends andthe boat every once in a while They had an early start after all, and, the wagon doubling back after depositing its load late in the afternoon to bring on the second boat, they all

XIX

ON THE CANOE RIVER

”John,” said Uncle dick, before they broke ca, ”you'll have soh as the Yellowhead Pass, but in a way it's al because it is the divide between the Fraser and the Coluet it on the ht was the Columbia, and the river which first took Sir Alexander Mackenzie to the Pacific

South of us runs the great Colu up as far as it can to reach this very spot South to the Columbia run these two rivers, the Canoe and the Wood Over yonder is the Albreda Pass, by which you reach the Thoh there to suit any one And over in that way, too, rises the Canoe River, which runs conveniently right toward us here, within aus to take its pathway to the Columbia

”Over that way on the left, as you know, lie the Rockies, and outside of two or three passes between the Kicking Horse Pass and the Yellowhead Pass no one really knows much about them You see, we've quite a little world of our own in here The whiteto corizzlies, Leo?” inquired Rob, after a tie with the canoe

Leo rose and pointed his hand first south, and then to the west and south

”Little creek coh mountain,” said he ”All valleys deep, plenty slides”

”Slides? What does he mean, Uncle dick?” inquired John

”Well, I'll tell you Leo hunts bear here in about the only practical hich is to say, on the slides which the avalanches have torn down the sides of the mountains You see, all these rowth, so dense that you could not find anything in theame will hear or see you before you coh up on the , however, the first thing a grizzly does is to hunt out sorass, or roots, orto eat Besides, he likes to look around over the country, just like a white goat, apparently So he will pick out a sort of feeding-ground or loafing-ground right in one of these slides--a place where the snow-slips have carried away the trees and rocks perhaps many years earlier and repeated it frorass and little bushes As this is the place where the bears are most apt to be, and as you could not see them anyhow if they were anywhere else, that is where the hunters look for therizzly on a slide You see, his fur is very hot for him, and he doesn't like the open sun, and stays in until the cooler hours of the day Evidently Leo has found some creeks down below in the Canoe Valley where the hunters have not yet got in, and that is why heIndeed, there are a number of creeks which co has ever been done, and where, very likely, one could ood bear-hunt any tireed that the prospects of getting a grizzly apiece seeood indeed, and so set to ith , on the rapid waters of the Canoe River, here a s stream, but ater sufficient to carry down the two bateaux Their ood-by, turned and went back to his village on the banks of the Fraser Thus in the course of a day, the young travelers found themselves in an entirely different country, bound upon a different route, and with a wholly differentform of travel took hold upon them, and Uncle dick and Moise, who handled the rear boat, in which all the boys were passengers, had all they could do to keep them still and to restrain their wish to help do soe, as has been stated, took the lead in the boat which the party christened the _Lizzie W_, in honor of Jesse's mother The rear boat they called the _Bronco_, because of her antics in some of the fast rapids which from time to time they encountered

For a tiress on their streaed with sweepers and driftwood in soo more than one bend ahead, so that in case of accident the boats would be in touch with each other Thus very often the rear boat ran up on the forward one, lying inshore, and held ready to line down some bad chute of the stream

In this work all bore a hand The lines to be used were made of rawhide, which would have been slippery except for the large knots tied every foot or so to give a good handhold Of course, in all this, as much in as out of the water, pretty ot soaked to the skin, but this was accepted as part of the day's work, and they all went steadily on down the strea up at every bend additional vistas of splendid mountain prospects

At noon they paused to boil the tea-kettle, but made only a short stop So steady had been their journey that when they pitched caht on a little beach they estiress had been ood day's travel That night they had for supper sorouse, or ”fool-hens,” which fell to Jesse's rifle out of a covey which perched in the bushes not far froht in this camp, well content alike with their advance and with the prospects which now they felt lay before them

XX

CARIBOU IN CAMP

”This weather,” said Uncle dick, walking toward an open place in the trees and looking up at the bright sky above, ”is entirely too fine to suit h ould have a warh water The rock walls in the canons below here don't stretch, and a foot of water on a flat like this may mean twenty feet rise in a canon And that is where this little band of travelers will all get out and walk”

Leo, who had been exa his boat, which he had drawn up on the beach to dry overnight, now asked a little time to calk a leak which he had discovered Meantiood plan to walk out a little way into an open place and try the sights of their rifles, which they kneould need to be exactly right if they were to engage in such dangerous sport as that of hunting the grizzly bear

”S'pose you see some small little bear,” said Moise, as they started out, ”you shoot 'um Shoot 'um caribou too, s'pose you see one--law says traveler can kil meat”

”Well, we're not apt to see one,” said John, ”for we'd scare thean to shoot our rifles”