ON THE KOOTENAY 171 



tea-kettle, kerosene can and everything else that 

 was not nailed down, while the dishes flew from 

 their resting-places and smashed to pieces on the 

 floor. Who cares? Certain members of the party 

 did not, at any rate, for they had lost all interest 

 in the food supply, and were in retirement. Huge 

 joke, to be sea-sick on a house-boat ! The captain 

 yells from the tug that we must abandon the 

 thought of making Midge Creek that night, and 

 heads for Pilot Bay, across the lake. Blessed 

 haven ! In a landlocked harbour anchor is dropped 

 and in a short time order is brought out of chaos, 

 and the discouraged members of the party regain 

 their appetites. 



At four o'clock the next morning we are awak- 

 ened by the chugging of the tug. Day is just 

 breaking, and the lake is as smooth as the floor 

 of a bowling alley. Three hours later we are tied 

 up to a sandy beach on the west shore of the lake, 

 and vacation has really begun. Not a house is to 

 be seen except two or three in the distance on the 

 opposite shore. Ten rods away, to the north, a 

 mountain stream comes rushing down the canon 

 and goes billowing far out into the lake. At the 

 south end of the beach a giant mass of bare rock 

 lifts itself into the air, while the mountains are all 

 about us. Here and there a snowy peak looms 

 into the blue. The lake dimples and smiles under 

 a cloudless sky, and murmurs a gentle welcome as 

 it laps upon the gravelly beach. This is a beautiful 



