Part 22 (1/2)
They had gone down the valley only about half a h the shallow fords of the ravelly floor of the valley, when they heard a shout and saw Moise advancing rapidly toward the to talk before he cae
”Hollo!” he cried ”Some more bear? Plenty bear now, this taround ”Welcoladder to see you in my life--this load is heavy”
”I'll take hee bear, hee bear”--and he lifted also the other pack which Leo had dropped down ”I hear you shoot when I come on the camp here, and I say to myself, 'Moise, those boy he kill et load down the hill George, he'scamp, on the boat
”Didn't I told you, Leo,” continued Moise, exultantly, ”those boy, she's the rizzly-hunter ever corinned his assent and approval
They now made their way back to the bivouac caht, and where they were much refreshed by a lunch and a cup of tea all around, after which they et back down to the valley of the Canoe as rapidly as possible All the men had particularly heavy loads to carry, and even the boys took on light packs of blankets or camp equipment
They made the journey around the point of the mountain and down into the Creek Valley which ran into the Canoe without e, carrying one of the bear-hides, slipped by reason of a broken foothold in the thawing snow, and had a considerable roll downhill with his load before he brought up against a little tree To the others this seeerous experience; but Leo, like any other Indian, found it only laughable, and he derided George for soe seerined, for no Indian likes to make a mistake or be humiliated in the presence of others
As reeted theht in the world
”Well, what luck!” exclaimed he ”Two et one, fellows?”
The three boys now shook hands all around, and for a long ti one another the reed that certainly they were the luckiest young hunters that ever had gone after grizzlies
”I don't kno you all feel about it now,” said Rob, finally, ”but for ht on down and not stop for anymy water-mark here, and this river has risen almost a foot in the last twenty-four hours That o on the upper snow-fields
We've had a big hunt, so let's take out the rest of it in a big run on the old Colurizzlies”
The others assented to this readily enough, for, wet, tired, and successful as they were, they welcoht's rest and a journey in the boats, which, taking one thing with another, they kneould be easier than clirizzlies in the ht in theirwerethe ca the boats, and early in the day they were once more off in their swift journey down the ed al ed o ashore and line down so, the paddlers were silent and eager, looking ahead for danger, and obliged constantly to use care with the paddles to dodge this rock or to avoid that stretch of roaring water There was no accident, however, to ress, and they kept on until in the afternoon they reached a place where the valley seemed to flatten and spread, a wide and beautifulout before the stretch of water, as both boats were running along side by side, they saw suddenly unfold before thereen flood, beyond which rose a wedgelike range of lofty mountains, the inner peaks of which were topped with snow
”_La Grande Riviere!_” exclaimed Moise; and Leo turned his head to shout: ”Ketch 'um Columby!”
”Yes, there's the Colu hunters in the boat waved their hats with a shout at seeing at last this great river of which they had heard so e a place in their youthful dreams
Steadily the boat swept on down the stained and tawny current of their sreen flood of the great Columbia, here broken into waves by the force of an up-stream wind Uncle dick called out an order to the lead-boat Soon they all were ashore on a little beach near the reat stage of their journey had been coreat still lay before them
XXIV
THE BOAT ENCAMPMENT
Our party of adventurers were now in one of the wildest and ions to be found in all the northern mountains, and one perhaps as little known as any to the average wilderness goer--the head of the Big Bend of the Colue, bent in a half circle, two hundred miles in extent, which separates the Selkirks from the Rockies There are few spots on this continent farther fros
To the left, up the great river, lay a series of hty rapids, impossible of ascent by any boat Nearly a hundred miles that ould have been the nearest railroad point, that on the Beaver Mouth River Down-stream to the southward erous lay before them Back of them lay the steep pitch of the Canoe River, dohich they had coe of the Selkirks, thrusting northward Any way they looked lay the wilderness, frowning and savage, and offering conditions of travel perhaps the most difficult to be found in any part of this continent
”I congratulate you, youngout over this treh men have made it So far as I know, there has never been a boy here before in the history of all this valley which we see here before us”
Rob and John began to bend over their ht with the out upon his piece of paper
”We can't be far from the Boat Encampment here,” said Rob, at last