THE CASCADES REACHED. 127 



This post was composed of a number of log-cabins 

 on the banks of a beautiful ice-cold stream which 

 dashed down from the snows of the Cascade range, 

 to which the early French voyageurs had given 

 the name " L'eau de coulee," or " water of the chasm." 

 The trappers and prospectors who followed at a later 

 day, however, corrupted this into "Toad Coulee," 

 by which name the stream is now known. The post 

 was patronised to the extent of fifty cents for a fine 

 supper, prepared by a good cook, and the horses were 

 regaled with alfalfa hay in the corral. 



During the moments of rest in their long and 

 wearisome day, Mac had exercised his ingenuity 

 in getting up new stories about the beautiful 

 fish which were to be caught in Palmer Lake. Now 

 that the body of water was so near, the doctor and 

 the judge wanted to hurry on and try a cast. Within 

 a mile of the lake the wagon stuck fast in the mud, 

 and they were compelled to pack the camp equipment 

 to the shore. Once there, the two fishermen could 

 not even wait for lunch, but soon had their lines out 

 and were whipping the water in vain effort to bring 

 a rise. In about two hours they succeeded in getting 

 a dozen of the worst specimens of fish to be found in 

 the whole country. They were little things called 

 " white fish" in that country and were so full of 

 bones as to be unfit for eating. There was not a 

 trout in the lake. 



Evening was now coming on, and the horses, which 

 had become frenzied from the attacks of the flies and 

 mosquitoes, were taken high up on the mountain, 

 where they could have relief during the night. It 



