THE STORY OF A STRANGE LAND. 261 
worked at his dams. The thriftless porcupine de- 
stroyed a tree forevery morning meal. The gray 
jay, the ‘ camp-robber,” followed the Indians about 
in hope that some forgotten piece of meat or of 
boiled root might fall to his share; while the buf- 
falo, the bear, and the elk each carried on his 
affairs in his own way, as did a host of lesser 
animals, all of whom rejoiced when this snow- 
bound region was at last opened for settlement. 
Time went on. The water and the fire were every 
day in mortal struggle, and always, when the water 
was thrown back repulsed, it renewed the contest 
as vigorously as before. ‘The fire retreated, leaving 
great stretches of land to its enemy, that it might 
concentrate its strength where its strength was 
greatest. And the water steadily gained, for the 
great ocean ever lay behind it. So for century 
after century they wrestled with each other, — 
the water, the fire, the snow, the animals, and 
the plants. But the fishes that had once lived 
in the mountain torrents were no longer there. 
They had been boiled and frozen, and in one way 
or another destroyed or driven away. Now they 
could not get back. Every stream had its cafion, 
and in each cafion was a waterfall so high that no 
trout could leap up. Although they used to try it 
every day, not one ever succeeded. 
So it went on. A great many things happened 
in other parts of the world. America had been 
discovered, and the colonies were feeling their way 
toward the Pacific Ocean. And in the vanguard 
was the famous expedition of Lewis and Clark, 
which went overland to the mouth of the river 
