OFF FOR THE WILDS 191 



to side. This evidently pleased the little papoose, as it 

 would soon stop crying. 



At " One-hundred-and-fifty-mile House " the road 

 turns almost due west, the objective point being Soda 

 Creek, a famous landing point on the Frazer River. 



We left " One-hundred-and-fifty-mile House " at about 

 5 : 30 p. M., and had the most enjoyable ride of the trip. 



The scenery is grand, and at a few miles from Soda 

 Creek the road commences to drop down some 

 1,100 feet to the level of the Frazer River. The moon 

 was at the full, and such a moon I never, never saw ! 

 It appeared to be as large again as it does to us in the 

 East ; it was really like a second sun. 



By its light we rushed on behind six splendid horses 

 up mountains, along the edges of canyons yawning 

 hundreds of feet below us, down into the valley, around 

 sharp bends, through dense groves of poplar trees and 

 Douglas firs, and over bridges crossing swift-running 

 streams. Then, with brakes on, we would plunge down 

 at such a rate as to make us hold our breath. But that 

 wonderful moon lighted up our way most of the dis- 

 tance, and we arrived safe and sound at the river's 

 edge, happy that we had had such a unique experience. 



At Soda Creek the stern-wheel steamer Charlotte 

 was awaiting us. And here we found Howard W. 

 Dubois, a famous mining engineer in these parts, who 

 lives in the winter time in Philadelphia. He is un- 

 doubtedly one of the best-known and most frequently 



