THE TRIP TO THE OGILVIE ROCKIES 5 



horses and outfit on the boat, put on our hunting clothes, 

 and went aboard just before the Prospector pulled out from 

 the wharf on schedule time. We soon passed through pict- 

 uresque parts of the river where it narrows and runs be- 

 tween high cliffs, and farther down between high rolling 

 ridges on each side, until at 8.30 P. M. we reached Forty 

 Mile. Going ashore, we tried to get information from 

 some of the residents as to the abundance of game and the 

 possibility of travelling up Coal Creek. It was freely 

 given, but conflicting. After a short stop at Forty Mile we 

 left with a vague idea that it would be best to follow up 

 the main branch of the creek and push on till we found 

 the sheep country. We soon reached the mouth of Coal 

 Creek, six miles below, tied up to the bank, unloaded our 

 horses and outfit, and erected our tents on a high bank 

 close to the water. 



One of the North-west Mounted Police was located 

 there, living in a tent, doing his own cooking, and remaining 

 practically inactive until the fall, when the river is closed 

 to navigation. He was there to police the coal mines and 

 keep a check on all people passing down the river who had 

 not reported at Forty Mile. Though this practice stopped 

 soon after, during the first years of the rush into the coun- 

 try, the North-west Mounted Police, distributed at inter- 

 vals along the Yukon River, took the names and destina- 

 tions of all people passing in boats, summoning them to 

 the shore if necessary, and kept a fairly good record of all 

 who were travelling in the country. 



Coal had been discovered a few years before, twelve 

 miles up the South Branch of Coal Creek; and two years 



