40 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN. 



the cattle kings ; passed Calgary ; were visited by 

 the North -West police as smart men, my dear, 

 and as soldierly, as any who carry sword or musket 

 and then began to climb the Rockies. It is just 

 as well that some parts of the journey are done 

 at night, for if there were any people with nerves 

 on board, the views, however picturesque, would 

 be too much for them. Trestle bridges over 

 canons of infinite depth sound very well, but it 

 makes your hair stand on end to look at them. 

 Railway trains which appear to curl round the 

 edge of precipices on one wheel, the other being 

 over an abyss, are interesting when you are not 

 in them. At first I was decidedly nervous. By- 

 and-by this wore off, and I enjoyed sitting on the 

 step behind the last compartment, one foot dang- 

 ling over the edge of a precipice, at the foot of 

 which a mighty river boiled along unheard, or 

 forests of great trees were dwarfed into insignifi- 

 cant larch plantations. Upwards, ever upwards, 

 we went, getting slower and slower until the top 

 was reached, and we were fairly in wonderland, 

 passing along a frozen plateau through an avenue 

 of snow-capped peaks. ' Surely these are not 

 the highest peaks we shall see ?' I asked, pointing 

 to Mount Stephen, a grand cluster of sharp peaks, 

 but not near enough to .heaven for my ideal 

 monarch of the Rockies. 



