UP THE S KEEN A RIVER. i 9 i 



mated. Even to-day in the neighboring village of Kispiyeoux the 

 dead are buried in shallow graves just in front of the house. 



Of the many charming spots about Hazelton which are well 

 worthy of a visit, we had time for only one — a horseback ride to 

 the Howgelgait Canon. The ride was most enjoyable in every re- 

 spect. The road leads from the town up over the plateau through 

 the burying ground, and then on through a partly cleared forest of 

 cottonwoods and maples. Then we plunge into a two-mile-long lane, 

 the trail scarcely wide enough to admit of the passing of a horse, 

 through a dense grove of hazel bushes, laden to their tips with unripe 

 nuts still protected by their green fuzzy envelopes; and now we 

 knew whence came the name " Hazelton." Suddenly the grove ter- 

 minates, and after dismounting and walking forward a few steps we 

 came to the face of the canon. "What a sight ! On the opposite cliff, 

 but on a higher level, stands the old deserted village of Howgelgait, 

 with its great empty houses and skeleton totem poles. At our feet, 

 down a sheer precipice almost a thousand feet below, the Bulkley 

 River, set on edge, rushes and roars and foams through the rocky 

 gorge to join the Skeena a mile away. Just by the mouth of the ' 

 canon, at the edge of the great whirlpool, and on a gravelly beach, 

 stands the present town of Howgelgait. Hearing shouts, we looked 

 closer, and far down we saw men moving about, their forms dwarfed 

 to almost spiderlike dimensions. They were building a swinging 

 bridge over the river, and the timbers already in place looked like 

 the meshes of a spider's web. 



Looking up the canon, we could see from the opposite wall near 

 the water's edge, and far below us, a rude scaffolding suspended by 

 bark ropes over the river, and from this Indians were lowering their 

 nets and drawing up salmon. One man after another would leave 

 for his home, his back bending under the weight of many fish, his 

 place to be taken by another, who begins casting his nets. And so 

 these rude scaffoldings here and all along the rivers are occupied by 

 busy fishermen throughout the summer, for salmon is chief of the 

 winter's food supply of these people. In one house we saw over a 

 thousand salmon hung up to dry for use during the winter months. 



We left the canon for the ride back to Hazelton with keen regret, 

 for no more fascinating spot did we find on our entire journey than 

 right here. On the way we encountered a woman of the Carrier tribe 

 of the Tinnehs from Frazer's Lake, who was returning from Hazelton 

 laden with provisions and cheap calicoes. 



"We had scarcely entered Hazelton when the tinkling of the bell 

 of the " lead horse " announced the arrival of the pack train. 

 Second only in importance to the arrival of the Caledonia to the 

 people of Hazelton is the arrival of the pack train, for it brings the 



