FIRST VIEW OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 220 



up beyond. The snow which crowned the loftier 

 peaks, and still lingered in the hollows of the lower 

 hills, glittered in the brilliant sunlight through the 

 soft blue haze which mellowed the scene, and brought 

 the far-distant mountains seemingly close before us. 

 A cleft in the ridge, cut clean as if with a knife, 

 showed us what we supposed to be the opening of the 

 gorge through which we were to pass. The singular 

 rock on the left or eastern side of this gateway, some- 

 what like the half of a sponge-cake cut vertically, we 

 knew must be one of which we had heard as La Boche 

 a Myette, close to Jasper House. Following the river- 

 valley, we travelled through thick timber, marshes, 

 and boggy ground, pleasantly varied occasionally by 

 beautiful park-like oases of an acre or two in extent, 

 and crossed several small streams, swollen into muddy 

 torrents. 



In the evening we encamped on a tiny prairie, 

 rich with vetches in full bloom. The frost set in 

 keenly, so that w^ater left standing in the cups over- 

 night showed an incrustation of ice one-eighth of an 

 inch thick in the morning ; and Mr. O'B., w^ho 

 persisted in wearing boots in preference to moccasins, 

 found them frozen so hard that we were compelled to 

 delay our start until they were thoroughly thawed. 

 The next day, at noon, we reached a very picturesque 

 little lake, circular in shape, and shut in on every side 

 by lofty mountains, with rugged, precipitous sides. 

 A solitary loon, resting alone on the surface of the 

 lake, sent forth its melancholy wail, and added to the 

 wildness of the place. 



