72 DOUGLAS' JOURNAL 



or left-hand side. The height from its apparent base exceeds 6000 feet, 

 17,000 feet above the level of the sea. 



After passing over the lower ridge of about 200 feet, by far the most 

 difficult and fatiguing part, on snow-shoes, there was a crust on the 

 snow, over which I walked with the greatest ease. A few mosses and 

 lichens, Andreae and Jungermanniae, were seen. At the elevation of 4800 

 feet vegetation no longer exists — ^not so much as a lichen of any kind to be 

 seen, 1200 feet of eternal ice. The view from the summit is of that cast 

 too awful to afiord pleasure — nothing as far as the eye can reach in 

 every direction but mountains towering above each other, rugged beyond 

 all description ; the dazzling reflection from the snow, the heavenly 

 arena of the solid glacier, and the rainbow-like tints of its shattered 

 fragments, together with the enormous icicles suspended from the per- 

 pendicular rocks ; the majestic but terrible avalanche hurtling down from 

 the southerly exposed rocks producing a crash, and groans through the 

 distant valleys, only equalled by an earthquake. Such gives us a sense 

 of the stupendous and wondrous works of the Almighty. This peak, 

 the highest yet known in the northern continent of America, I felt a 

 sincere pleasure in naming Mount Brown, in honour of R. Brown, Esq., 

 the illustrious botanist, no less distinguished by the amiable qualities 

 of his refined mind. A little to the south is one nearly of the same height, 

 rising more into a sharp point, which I named Mount Hooker, ia honour 

 of my early patron the enlightened and learned Professor of Botany in the 

 University of Glasgow, Dr. Hooker, to whose kindness I, in a great measure, 

 owe my success hitherto in life, and I feel exceedingly glad of an oppor- 

 tunity of recording a simple but sincere token of my kindest regard for 

 him and respect for his profoimd talents. I was not on this mountain. 

 Menziesia, Andromeda hypnoides,^ Gentiana, Lycofodium alpinum, Salix 

 herbacea, Empetrum, and Juncus higlumis and triglumis were among the 

 last of Phanerogamous plants observed. 



Wednesday, 2nd. — At three o'clock I felt the cold so much, the thermo- 

 meter stood at only 2° below zero, that I was obliged to rise and enliven 

 the fire and have myself comfortably warmed before starting. Through 

 300 yards of gradually rising open low pine wood we passed, and about 

 the same distance of open ground took us to the basin of this mighty 

 river, a circular small lake, 20 yards in diameter, in the centre of the valley, 

 with a small ovilet at the west end — namely, the Columbia ; and a small 

 outlet at the east end — namely, one of the branches of the Athabasca which 

 must be considered one of the tributaries of the McKenzie River. This is 

 not the only fact of two opposite streams flowing from the same lake. 



This, ' The Committee Punchbowl,' is considered the halfway house. 

 We were glad the more laborious and arduous part of the journey was 

 done. The little stream Athabasca, over which we conveniently stepped, 

 soon assumed a considerable size, and Was dashed over cascades and 

 formed cauldrons of limestone and basalt seven miles below the pass ; like 

 the tributaries of the Columbia on the west side, the Athabasca widens 

 to a narrow lake and has a much greater descent than the Columbia. 

 ^ Caasiope hypnoides, A. Gray, Syn. M. N. Am. ii. I. p. 36. 



