152 THROUGH CANADA 



and pursues its course along a narrow creek, between 

 Macdonald and Tupper mountains. So close is the 

 line that they rise in a sheer wall a mile high. 

 Shelters are constructed at intervals to break the fall 

 of the snow. They are comprised of huge blocks 

 of timber, roofed over sufficiently to break up 

 and divert the avalanche. Without some such pro- 

 vision these slips would prove a serious obstacle 

 to locomotion, and trains would be constantly 

 snowed up. 



The river which the line skirts, divides and 

 unites as obstacles intervene or are removed. The 

 milky colour formed by the glacial silt sediment 

 shows how much of its volume comes from the ice 

 regions. Picturesque cascades are formed on the 

 way, and foam-crested rapids, and now and again 

 the roar of the pent-up river amongst the rocks 

 echoes from height to height. The Eagle River 

 divides into a number of branches, like the many 

 pinions of the bird's wings, until through the wide- 

 spreading valley it reaches Shuswap Lake. The 

 Thompson similarly grows into the Kamloops. 



The moon was rising over the water as we 

 approached, and in the evening light gave an added 

 touch of romance to the peaceful scene. The 

 Thompson River finds a new setting in the famous 

 caiion through which it flows. The mountains 

 mass closer together, and their intimate features 

 can be marked as the train passes along the ledge. 



