CHAPTER II. 



Winnipeg to Nelson. 



The last night of our journey before we reached 

 Nelson was spent in the Crows' Nest Pass of the 

 Rocky Mountains. The finest part of the pass was 

 unfortunately traversed in the middle of the night 

 while we were all asleep. And even if we had not 

 been asleep, the pass is, I am told, so narrow that 

 you can see but little of its grandeur from the window 

 of a passenger car. The scenery is remarkably fine, 

 and the route presents several engineering feats 

 worthy of attention. At one place the railway line 

 describes a complete loop, the upper end of which 

 lies almost vertically above the lower end. The finest 

 scenery in this part of the Rocky Mountains — scenery 

 that is truly entitled to be described as magnificent — 

 occurs in the Kicking Horse Pass, by which the main 

 line of the C.P.R. pierces the range on its way from 

 Winnipeg to Vancouver. 



The name of the Crows' Nest Pass is in no way 

 connected with the familiar bird. The Crows are, 

 or were, Indians, and the word " nest" is a rough 

 translation of an Indian word for " encampment." 

 This particular " nest " of the Crow Indians is one 

 of ensanguined omen in the annals of Redskin war- 



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