290 



R EC RE A TION 



east of his place. This information is 

 really what led us to his ranch, at which 

 we remained nearly three weeks. 



McLaughlin and I made a trip some 

 50 miles to the northeast to " Bald 

 mountain," where the Indians said the 

 caribou spent the summer. We went 

 on foot, with our blankets on our backs. 

 We found some old caribou tracks, but 

 the snow continued to fall until it was 

 two feet deep on the top of the moun- 

 tains. We returned to the rancheria, 

 where the snow was only six inches 

 deep. We were out just a week. 



It was December, now. Snow was 

 burying the mountains deeper and 

 deeper every day, and ice was closing 

 up the rivers. We made haste to get 

 out of the country with our 13 pack 

 horses. The ice on the river and 

 divide made the task a trying one. 

 However, we reached the Loomis trad- 

 ing post, without serious mishap, and 

 with a fine collection of deer, some 

 wolves, wolverines, martens, lynxes, 

 fishers, etc. 



A year later, in the fall of '90, Mc- 

 Laughlin followed my old trail, up 

 the west branch of Kettle river and 



killed caribou in the very locality I had 

 visited. His camp accidently caught 

 fire and all the specimens burned, ex- 

 cept the skin of one old bull, which he 

 brought out and sent to me. It was 

 mounted and helped fill out my collec- 

 tion of large mammals in the Kansas 

 building at the World's Fair. 



At some future date, perhaps, even 

 this coming summer, I expect to return 

 to the Kettle river country and get satis- 

 faction, if possible, out of the country 

 at the headwaters of the forests and 

 swamps which surround Island lake. 



If there is any spot on this conti- 

 nent where a sportsman can go and kill 

 a mule deer, 50 years hence, I believe it 

 will be on the head waters of Kettle 

 river. There, if anywhere, he will 

 find a great wilderness of rough country. 

 There are no trees of value to attract 

 lumber-men. The grass is too scat- 

 tering and hard of approach to ever 

 attract stockmen ; and unless mines 

 are discovered and opened up, I see no 

 reason why this may not remain a 

 wilderness of rough waste land, — a 

 natural home for many of our indige- 

 nous animals for many years to come. 



