THE STORY OF A STRANGE LAND. 26 1 



worked at his dams. The thriftless porcupine de- 

 stroyed a tree for every morning meal. The gray 

 jay, the " camp-robber," followed the Indians about 

 in hope that some forgotten piece of meat or of 

 boiled root might fall to his share ; while the buf- 

 falo, the bear, and the elk each carried on his 

 affairs in his own way, as did a host of lesser 

 animals, all of whom rejoiced when this snow- 

 bound region was at last opened for settlement. 

 Time went on. The water and the fire were every 

 day in mortal struggle, and always, when the water 

 was thrown back repulsed, it renewed the contest 

 as vigorously as before. The fire retreated, leaving 

 great stretches of land to its enemy, that it might 

 concentrate its strength where its strength was 

 greatest. And the water steadily gained, for the 

 great ocean ever lay behind it. So for century 

 after century they wrestled with each other, 

 the water, the fire, the snow, the animals, and 

 the plants. But the fishes that had once lived 

 in the mountain torrents were no longer there. 

 They had been boiled and frozen, and in one way 

 or another destroyed or driven away. Now they 

 could not get back. Every stream had its canon, 

 and in each canon was a waterfall so high that no 

 trout could leap up. Although they used to try it 

 every day, not one ever succeeded. 



So it went on. A great many things happened 

 in other parts of the world. America had been 

 discovered, and the colonies were feeling their way 

 toward the Pacific Ocean. And in the vanguard 

 was the famous expedition of Lewis and Clark, 

 which went overland to the mouth of the river 



