139 



These are a few instances, taken somewhat at random, of what may 

 be seen by any one who will use ordinary powers of observation, and if 

 my hasty and imperfect account of them has interested any of you one 

 half as much as the observations themselves interested me, I think you 

 will be inclined to agree with me that, for some purpose at least, a bird 

 in the bush is worth two in the hand. 



:o:- 



A NATURALIST IN THE GOLD RANGE, B. C. 



By James M. Macoun. 



{Read March 7, 1890.) 



While the Gold Range proper includes the Selkirk, Purcell, and 

 several other ranges of the Rocky Mountains, the term " Gold Range" 

 is more freauently applied to that part of the system termed by geologists 

 the Columbia Range. Lying between the N. E. arm of Shuswap Lake 

 and the Canadian Pacific Railway is a group of mountains forming a 

 part of this range, but to which no distinguishing name has yet been 

 given ; one of the mountains in this group, however, is known as 

 Mount Queest, and I shall restrict myself to a brief account of an expe- 

 dition made to it last summer in search of Natural History specimens. 

 If my paper assume the form of a personal narrative it is only because 

 I have thought it the best means of conveying impressions of the moun- 

 tains and what is to be found on them, to those who have never been 

 among them. 



I was accompanied by one man, and late in July we left Sicamous, 

 at the mouth of Eagle River, and rowing up the N. E. arm of Shuswap 

 Lake camped, after a long day's pull, at the mouth of a small creek 

 which we were to ascend the following day. Before sunrise we had 

 packed a few pounds of bacon and flour in our blankets, and tying them 

 securely on our backs, set out, my companion carrying a repeating shot- 

 gun and I a plant press well filled with papers. It was our intention 

 to follow the creek to its source, and by doing so we hoped to reach a 

 mass of snow almost due south of where we had camped. A well- 

 defined path ran along the creek, and as we had heard that the plateau 



