68 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN. 



chase we had, along that bare river-bed, through 

 woodfalls and thick scrub, always thinking we 

 heard the bell just ahead of us, only to find that 

 it was nothing more than the tinkling of a brook 

 amongst the stones which had misled us. The 

 sun was a good half-way up the heavens before 

 Charlie's quick eyes descried the wanderers, 

 standing stock - still amongst gray logs and 

 boulders, looking sullenly in our direction, worn- 

 out, poor beasts ! in a night-long search for supper. 

 It was no easy work getting the horses out of 

 the maze of fallen timber in which they had 

 involved themselves ; but if you give him time 

 an unloaded cayouse will scramble over anything, 

 and once on the level track I drove them home 

 at a run which left the young half-breed panting 

 half a mile behind. That day we wound slowly 

 up and up by endless zigzags to the highest 

 point of the ridge, and had the infinite pleasure 

 of seeing the hills begin to fall away, until we 

 could almost fancy we looked down upon a level 

 sea of prairie and the broad, sparkling waters of 

 the Similkameen. But that was still a long day's 

 journey off, a day during which the trail wound 

 through wide park-like lands, clothed with excel- 

 lent grass, and thickly studded with handsome 

 groups of bull-pine, while huge log fences sug- 

 gested here and there that wild though the 



