THE 



WATER CRAFT OF THE BACK-WOODS. 



Starting amid the volcanic precipices, eternal snows, 

 and arid deserts of the Rocky Mountains ; the Snake 

 River winds its sinuous way towards the Pacific ; at one 

 time, rushing headlong through the deep gorges of the 

 mountains, and at another, spreading itself out in still 

 lakes, as it sluggishly advances through ever-vary- 

 ing scenes of picturesque grandeur and of voluptuous 

 softness. 



In all this variety, ifce picture only changes from the 

 beautiful to the sublime ; while the eye of the civilized 

 intruder, as it speculates on the future, can see on the 

 Snake River, the city, the village, and the castle, in situ- 

 ations more interesting and more romantic than they 

 have ever yet presented themselves to the world. 



The solitary trapper and the wild Indian are now 

 the sole inhabitants of its beautiful shores ; the wigwams 

 of the aborigine, the temporary lodge of the hunter and 



