THE TRIP TO THE OGILVIE ROCKIES 15 



mountain ahead through my field-glasses and saw a 

 grizzly bear passing along the slope high above timber- 

 line. That was my first sight of game in the northern 

 wilderness. The attention of the others was called to it 

 and we watched it for fifteen minutes as it travelled 

 steadily until lost to sight in a canon. We made camp at 

 the foot of the canon, and after supper Rungius, Spahr, 

 and Gage went to locate a route around the canon and, 

 if necessary, to cut out and prepare a trail. I waded 

 the river, passed through the woods to the mountain 

 where I had seen the bear, and ascended to the point 

 where it had disappeared. Moose and old caribou 

 tracks were abundant; the ground, covered with lichens 

 (commonly called caribou-moss), was very soft in places, 

 and high up in the poplars was a grouse. Mounting 

 this slope I realized for the first time the seriousness of 

 the mosquito pest of the far North. They swarmed and 

 buzzed and completely covered my clothes so that large 

 spaces of my coat and trousers quickly became black 

 with them. I covered my neck with a handkerchief and 

 smeared my face and hands with gun grease, but this 

 afforded no relief. 



I saw no sign of the bear and, unable to find its trail 

 on the hard ground, I came at last to the peak of the 

 mountain. From there the main ranges in the distance 

 were revealed, all snow-capped and striped with irregu- 

 lar bands of snow, extending east and west as far as the 

 eye could see, thrilling me with eager anticipation to be 

 among them. I descended, fighting the mosquitoes, 

 which followed me nearly to the river, and reached camp 



