THE CAKIBOO. 39 



for see, Billy lias settled down on his track, and is in 

 chase. 



" ' On with your snow-shoes, and away ! : the track 

 with the blood will be plain as a van wagon if you 

 come up with the Cariboo, do not fire unless you are 

 sure to kill. I must stop and see if the Indian is much 

 hurt, and swab out my rifle but I will soon overtake 

 you away now !' 



" So urged, I started off, and found large drops of 

 blood on the track the prime little dog had taken. As I 

 proceeded, I saw the strides of the Cariboo were shorter, 

 and he had been down several times. As I pressed on, 

 in great hopes of overtaking the game before Howard 

 came up, I observed the Cariboo had made for the valley, 

 and after a sharp walk of an hour, I came to the stream, 

 which was open. Here I lost the track, but saw the 

 marks of the dog down the stream these I followed, 

 and soon heard the baying of the dog. As I proceeded, 

 the river was every moment more rapid. After a sharp 

 turn the stream was compressed between two huge cliffs, 

 and rushed down a water-gap, forming a cascade of nearly 

 one hundred feet. To the very verge of the fall the 

 river was open ; but over the fall itself there was a thin 

 coating of transparent ice, which clung to the perpen- 

 dicular cliffs on each side of the narrow gap, forming a 

 gauze-like veil. The towering cliffs around were covered 

 with a frosting of ice ; and from the stunted pines which 

 clung to the barren rock, hung myriads of fantastic 



