292 Sport and Life. 



would be sent up by the bi-weekly steamers in old gunny bags, 

 invalided flour sacks, ruins of biscuit boxes, or any other handy 

 receptacle. Navigation on the upper reaches of the Columbia, 

 as already described, was somewhat uncertain, entirely dependent 

 upon the state of the water. Under most favourable high-water 

 circumstances no steamer could get nearer than twenty or twenty- 

 five miles from us, and towards autumn, when the water fell, the 

 variable " head of navigation " was ten or fifteen miles further 

 down, till finally the head and the tail met at Golden, i.e., it stopped 

 altogether. Out of the 4dols. per month salary I had to pay 2dols. 

 twice a week to the Indians I employed to ride down to the 

 landing for the mail. They were quite trustworthy, and as horse- 

 flesh is of no consideration to them, they made the trip in half the 

 time which a more costly white messenger would have taken. 



Well, one October afternoon I sent Kootenay Pete on this 

 errand. The outgoing mail was small, tied up in a little bundle, .it 

 no more than filled his hat one of our "best" Sdols. "cowboys" 

 (cost laid down, 95 cents). It was the only pocket which that 

 stalwart native had about his nut-brown person. Pete was back 

 from the lower landing, thirty miles off, the next day at noon. 

 When he arrived I happened to be away, but instead of giving up 

 the mail bag to the B.B. storekeeper and getting his 2dols., which, 

 as a rule, was promptly spent in the store, Pete refused to 

 dismount, and declared he wanted to see the boss himself. I 

 was fetched, and Pete handed me a hastily scribbled note from 

 the captain of the steamer informing me that an accident had 

 happened to the Grohman mail bag in consequence of lying too 

 close to the boiler, but the contents had been saved. Not 

 having any spare box or sack, he had handed the letters and 

 papers loose to the Indian with instructions to tie them up as best 

 he could. In a postscript, he added that as the Indian wanted his 

 money he had paid him his usual 2dols. As soon as I had 

 read the note I held out my hand for the bag which the Indian 

 had tied to the off side of his saddle, where I could not see it. 

 Instead of handing it to me, he said : " Hello 2dols. 50 cents, 



