162 MAGNIFICENT SCENERY. 



on a desert, surrounded by thirst-famished In- 

 dians, and each arm a handle, they could not 

 have been more vigorously plied. Being rescued 

 at last by the combined efforts of trader and 

 captain, I was marched into the fort, the gates 

 shut with a heavy clang, and most thankful was 

 I to be safe from any further demonstrations of 

 friendship. The evening passed rapidly and 

 pleasantly ; mine host was a thorough sportsman, 

 full of anecdote, and hospitable to a fault. 



Awaking early, I wandered out, and up into 

 the bastion of the fort. The sun was creeping 

 from behind the ragged peaks of the Cascade 

 Mountains, tinting with rosy light their snow- 

 clad summits ; the wind had lulled, or gone off 

 to sea on some boisterous errand ; the harbour, 

 quite smooth, looked like burnished silver. 

 There was a wild grandeur about the scene, that 

 awoke feelings of awe rather than admiration ; 

 everywhere vast piles of craggy mountains, clad 

 from the snow-line to the sea with dense pine- 

 forests ; not an open grassy spot, or even a naked 

 mass of rock, peeped out to break the fearful 

 monotony of these interminable hills. 



The trading-post is a square, enclosed by im- 

 mense trees, one end sunk in the ground ; the 

 trees are lashed together. A platform, about the 



