382 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



We carried 170 pounds' weight of gold with us 

 in the express wagon, and the fact that this, worth 

 about £8,000, could be thus forwarded without any 

 escort, is the strongest possible testimony to the 

 orderly state of the country. In addition to the 

 driver, there was one other passenger and ourselves, 

 yet the former was the only one armed. He told us 

 that he frequently travelled in charge of the treasure 

 quite alone, and had made up his mind that he should 

 be attacked some time. The temptation would be too 

 great, and the opportunities plentiful enough along 

 the lonely 400 miles, where the houses were ten or 

 twenty miles apart, and passengers rare except at 

 certain seasons. He looked upon " The Chasm " as 

 the most suitable and probable place of attack ; its 

 yawning gulf, hidden from the road by bushes, and 

 its bottom covered by dihris and underwood, offering 

 every convenience for the disposal of his body. He 

 was by no means nervous, or in any way unhappy, 

 but laughed and talked about his anticipated fate 

 with careless indifference. 



Five days' driving brought us to the terrific road 

 between Lytton and Yale, and as we sat in the 

 wagon, within a few inches of the unguarded edge 

 of the precipice of 700 or 800 feet, running up and 

 down the steeps, and along the narrow portions, 

 winding round the face of the bluffs, we could not 

 help an uneasy consciousness that a very trifling acci- 

 dent might eject us from our lofty position into the 

 depths below. And what made matters look worse 

 was, that our carriage was gradually coming to pieces. 



