190 EOCK WHISTLER. 



4 



bighorn is also found on the middle and upper 

 ridges of the Cascades. 



THE HOARY MARMOT (Arctomys okanaganus), 

 or, as styled by the fur-traders, the ' Rock 

 Whistler,' lives on the very summit of the Rocky 

 Mountains. 



If there is a spot on the face of the globe 

 more dismal, solitary, inhospitable, and unin- 

 viting than another, that spot is where this most 

 accomplished siffleur resides; and it is not by 

 any means a matter to be wondered at, that 

 so very little is to be found, .in works on Natural 

 History, relating to this little anchorite's habits. 



My purpose being to climb the craggy ascent 

 that led up to the watershed not by any 

 means a dangerous thing to do; it was simply 

 leg-aching, tiresome, scrambling work. The 

 grass being dry, it polished the soles of my 

 mocassins, until they became like burnished 

 metal ; so that progression, up the long green 

 slopes, was much the same as it would have been 

 up an ice-slant, with skates on. I got up at last, 

 and, feeling somewhat fagged, seated myself on a 

 flat rock, unslung my gun, lighted my pipe, and 

 had a good look at everything round about me. 



The sun had crept steadily up unto the clear 

 sky, unflecked by a single cloud ; the mists, that 



