328 . THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



missing, but was afterwards discovered a few 

 liundred yards from the camp. The skull had 

 been cloven by an axe, and the clothes stripped 

 from the body, which was little decomposed. The 

 interpretation of these signs could hardly be 

 mistaken. The last survivor had killed his fellow- 

 murderer and eaten him, as shown by the gnawed 

 bones so carefully piled in a heap. He had in turn 

 probably been murdered by Indians, for the principal 

 part of the dead men's property w^as found in their 

 possession. 



The fourth band of emigrants — the party of three 

 who preceded us by a few days in the journey across 

 the mountains, and descended the Fraser in canoes 

 under the guidance of the two old Shushwaps from 

 The Cache — reached Fort George without any serious 

 misadventure. 



Whilst taking our ease at Kamloops it may be well 

 to consider the question of the practicability of a road 

 across the mountains by the Yellow Head, or Leather 

 Pass. The necessity for opening a communication 

 between the eastern and western sides of the Rocky 

 Mountains, and the advantages of a route across the 

 continent which passes through British territory, 

 will, we apprehend, appear clearly enough upon a 

 more intimate acquaintance with the resources and 

 requirements of British Columbia. At present we 

 wish merely to show that a road might be constructed 

 by the Yellow Head Pass vnthout any great diffi- 

 culty, and that this route is in many respects superior 

 to others hitherto more generally known. In the first 



