Exploration in the Canadian Rockies 155 



Photo by Wilcox 



Approaching a Rough Country 



near this pass is that there is no appar- 

 ent outlet into either valley. The nar- 

 row canyon, now partly fiiled with large 

 masses of rock from its own walls, gives 

 without doubt an underground passage 

 for the water, but it would be hard to 

 explain how the water first cut through 

 a high ridge when the drainage seems 

 more natural in the other direction. 



We continued our march up the main 

 valley next day. An early start was 

 made on account of the "bulldogs," a 

 kind of horsefly, which were remarkably 

 numerous in this picturesque and inter- 

 esting valley. They are most numerous 

 on hot, sunshiny days, but fortunately 

 do not appear till several hours after 

 sunrise. Their bite is like a fiery spark , 

 which drives horses frantic, so that it is 

 almost impossible to pack them after 

 these ferocious pests have made their 

 appearance in force. 



An Indian trail ascends the main val- 

 ley through a quite level country with 



.sharp peaks on ever}' side. The most 

 imposing lies to the southeast, and ap- 

 pears nearly 11,000 feet high. Toward 

 this we marched at three miles an hour, 

 the maximum rate for a heavy pack- 

 train. A sudden termination to easy 

 progress and pleasant surroundings 

 came at length near the valley end, 

 where a sharp ascent through burned 

 timber brought us, at n o'clock, to the 

 pass summit, 6,690 feet above sea-level. 

 The summit is nearly level for about 

 two miles, and dotted with several shal- 

 low lakes of marvelous colors. The 

 encircling mountains, with their glaciers 

 and waterfalls, made the scenery inter- 

 esting, but we were disappointed to catch 

 glimpses of a desolate, burned valley 

 ahead which looked very rough. We 

 were forced to make several exceedingly 

 steep descents into this new valley, which 

 runs southeast, and which we thought 

 was the Kananaskis. Our pack animals 

 showed great skill in jumping logs and 



