i, isali The MIIe LoWbccou ' •■ ■ ! ■"■■■ 



rounded, and are everywhere dot I himj 



greens. The most im] ' - as w l&e Sofid W '■ 



; Spokan, and these are the principal snipping 



from the farms Lying hack from the railroad. Tbc 



region is a fertile one. the inhabitant? industrious and ihriv- 



and the day is not far distant when emigrants will sec 



■vs of this section and flock into it in great 



numbers, T know of no part of the West (lest seems to offer 



i inducements to farmers than this part of Washington 



'territory, 



Wo reached Spokan at 6:00 P. 31'. and found it thronged 

 with country people, court toeing in session — so that we had 

 I difficulty in securing rooms. The Falls of the Spokan 

 River are very beautiful The stream is divided into f.uir 

 branches toy three islands of basalt, and the effect produced 

 by the water falling over the different steps of the rock is 

 really lovely. The rock weathers most easily on top, and the 



. i r thus makes the descent in a series of smooth, hut 

 sharply inclined riffles. The last fall is below the islands, and 

 therefore carries all the water of the river, and is very beauti- 

 ful. It consists of two steps, the upper one smoothly sloping 

 and t lie lower a narrow channel through which the water 

 plunges iti a mass of white foam, throwing jets of spray high 

 into the air and sending up clouds of white mist. 



The town site of Spokan is a beautiful one, and there arc 

 many pretty houses there. The soil is a fine gravel, which, 

 however, is said to produce excellent crops. 



With letters from one of the officials of the railroad, we 

 left Spokan before light next morning for Lake Pend 

 d'Oreille, Thirty-five miles of railroad travel brought us to 

 Westwood, the end of the track, and there we took stage for 

 the lake. The ride was long and dusty, yet was not without 

 many features of interest. At Dry Lake there is a remark- 

 able trestle being built, which consists of no less than 133 

 bents. Just beyond this point was one of the enormous rail- 

 road camps which always precede the iron of a new road. 

 It was a veritable canvas city, audits inhabitants white men. 

 Chinamen, horses, mules and dogs. Everything here is on 

 an enormous scale. The eating tents cover an area equal to 

 that of a large hotel, the sleeping tents are numbered by hun- 

 dreds; there are great forges, and watering troughs at which 

 twenty-five horses could drink at one time; the bread pan in 

 the cook tent was large enough to serve a full grown man for 

 a bal h tub. 



As we approached the lake, the road became more and 

 more rough. We passed frequent railroad camps; first the 

 carpenters and bridge-builders,, next the graders and then the 

 "right of way men,'" whose business it is to chop their way 

 through the forest, and clear off all the timber along the line 

 of the track, for a width of fifty feet. Having felled it they 

 leave it to dry, when it is fired. Too often the fire spreads, 

 and large tracts of country are burned over and much valu- 

 able timber destroyed. This is, of course, the fault of the 

 contractor, and there should certainly be some steps taken 

 toward putting a stop to such a wanton destruction of valu- 

 able timber. As we approached the lake the woods were on 

 fire everywhere. Tiiis had been going on for some time, and 

 on Several occasions, recently, the fires had been so extensive 

 that the stages had been obliged, to abandon all hope of get- 

 ting through. We were not stopped by the fire, although on 

 several occasions we were obliged to drive between great piles 

 of blazing logs, which made it unpleasantly warm for us. 

 I noticed here much hackmatack timber, some of it of great 

 size, and white and yellow birch are also found, the latter 

 in small quantities. At 'the end of the stage route is the 

 beautiful Lake Pend d'Oreille, surrounded on all sides by the 

 towering hills, a lovely sheet of water. Here at the engineer 

 camp w r e found two friends wdiom we had known years ago 

 in the East, and little expected to find in this far off spot, 

 The meeting was to us a most delightful one, and we shall 

 not soon forget the cordiality of their welcome nor the hearti- 

 ness of their hospitality, 



Fifteen miles down the Pend d'Oreille Paver, or as it is 

 sometimes called, Clark's Fork of the Columbia, is Sinia- 

 queateen. Here is the Northern Pacific Commissary 

 depot for the. Supply of the. engineer parties which are 

 laying out the line of the road over the Cceur D'Alene 

 mountains. It is a small settlement consisting only of a 

 trading store, trader's house, and two or three storehouses 

 aodofiices belonging to Ike railroad. I had a letter to Mr. 

 Calbraii.il, the Commissioner of (he company, who very 

 kindly promised to provide us with the necessary outfit for 

 our journey over the mountains. 



Siniaqurateen is in the Kallispelm language, -'the place 



where Ave cross," and from time immemorial has been the 



place for the Indians traveling north and south 



through this country. The trail to Kootanay, distant over 



two hundred miles, passes, here. 



We saw many Kallispelm Indians about the ferry. This 

 tribe, erroneously called Flatheads, hunt, all through this 

 on". They are Well to do, and own many horses. It is in 

 July and August that they arc most numerous about the lake, 

 when they come down to h I he waters fall to dig 



the camas (KiumtmiQ Qui t '. which forms a considerable 

 portion of their vegetable food. As soon as the waters have 

 fallen so as to expose the extensive meadows about tin 1 hike's 

 shore, the eamas springs up, and the Indians prepare to 

 gather it. The root, which is a small bulb shaped like a tulip. 

 IS dug by the squaws in great quantities, and is prepared for 

 eating in the following way; A pit is dug in the ground and 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



im lined with hoi tones oyer which tie fa 



hena rg» ouantityof the roots, from 40 to GO 

 bushels, are emptied into it, covered with grass, and this 

 with other hot stones, Earth is placed on tills, and the pit 

 is left undisturbed for three or four days. When opened, the 



: i , i turned dark brown iu color and are ready for use, 

 They taste somcAvhat like a very sweet chestnut, and bread 



ttde od he pressed bulbs is excellent eating. There is much 

 saccharine matter in the juice of this plant, and the steam 

 from the cooked tubers, condensing on the stones when the 

 Oven is opened, forms a sweet syrup which is eagerly eaten 

 by the small Indian children 



Another root used for making bread by the Kootanays is 

 called by them house. I have not been able to identify it, 

 but think that it may be the root of a species of wild sun- 

 flower. It has a sweet aromatic flavor, and when dried and 

 pounded to powder makes a most excellent bread. Ml these 

 Indians dry berries for winter use, and the "sawice berry," 

 which grows very abundantly all through the mountains 

 here, forms a large proportion of their food of this descrip- 

 tion. On some islands in Lake Pend d'Oreille I found sev- 

 eral small log-houses filled with reed sacks, each of which 

 contained a bushel of dried berries. 



On leaving the Siniaqueateen for the lake, the river gradu- 

 ally becomes more and more wide, and the scenery is very 

 attractive. The valley of the stream is broad, and smooth 

 grassy meadows, dotted here and there with willows, and 

 ether small trees, slope gently down to the water's edge. The , 

 shrubbery and small timber is rounded and gives a park-like 

 aspect to the landscape. Farther back there is a heavy 

 growth of pine timber, and beyond the mountains rise, 

 sparsely wooded nearly to their rounded bald summits. 



On our way from "The Crossing" to the lake Ave saAV a 

 number of Indians in their canoes. These are curious 

 structures, made of the bark of the wTiite pine, and sharply 

 pointed at both ends. The outside of the bark is on the in- 

 side of the canoe. The Pend d'Oreifles, or Kallispelms, take 

 the bark from the trees in very large sheets, and make rolls 

 of it which they sIoav away. When it is needed for use they 

 steep it in water until it becomes soft and easy to handle. A 

 frame is made of small poles lashed together Avith strips of 

 cedar bark, and this frame is covered with the sheets of pine 

 bark, which are sewed together with tamarack roots and 

 pitched with resin from the fir tree. The canoes are closed 

 above from each end for some distance, and the Indians pad- 

 dle on both sides. As might be imagined, these canoes are 

 extremely cranky and upset very easily, for they are really 

 almost cylindrical in shape, and there is nothing to keep 

 them steady. Sails are not used, and the Indians creep along- 

 close to the shore, scarcely crossing from point to point. . 



Our journey from Siniaqueateen to the camp on the lake 

 was made in one of the company's boats, and with a free 

 wind. . The uext day. partin* rt— retfully from our friends, 

 we crossed the lake and reac- ' the N. P. R, R. camp at the 

 mouth of Clark's Fork. A ony or two was spent here in 

 getting the animals shod, the saddles together and our mess 

 outfit ready, and then one bright morning a little train of 

 seven animals- filed out of the camp and took the trail for 

 Missoula. Two packs carried cur baggage and provisions, 

 and these were in charge of a couple of men, one of whom 

 Avas also our cook. 



The journey to Missoula occupied about seven days. The 

 trail follows up Clark's Fork, AA r hichis crossed but once near 

 the mouth of the Jocks. From here a wagon road follows 

 up the valley of that stream for a considerable distance, and 

 then turns off to Missoula Mills. Nothing of special interest 

 occurred on the trip. .We traveled fast, not stopping to 

 hunt or fish, though game and trout were abundant, We 

 saw a feAV deer and plenty of bear sign, but this was not a 

 hunting excursion. We were trying to make time. Much 

 of the country through which we passed is of great value. 

 The timber of these mountains is very fine, and from these 

 foresfs the Northern Pacific Railroad Avill ultimately derive 

 great revenues. Along Clark's Fork there is much fine 

 farming laud, and the crops groAvn at the only ranch we 

 passed on Horse Plains were a sight to see. Then, too, 

 this is a grand horse and cattle country, The snows of 

 winter are not deep nor do they lie on the ground for any 

 length of time. Cattle require no shelter in winter, nor is it 

 necessary, except in seasons of exceptional severity, Avhich 

 only occur at long intervals, to cut any hay for them. With 

 the completion of the railroad this country will fill up with 

 settlers even more rapidly than did that along the line of the 

 Union Pa cilie. 



From Missoula, two days' staging carried us to Melrose, 

 ib on the terminus of the Utah and Northern Railroad, and 

 from here six days of continuous travel by rail brought us to 

 New York. 



The completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad Avill be of 

 incalculable benefit to the country at large by opening up to 

 settlement an enormous area of most valuable farming, 

 timber and mineral laud to settlement and improvement, 



: i ill of Montana and Idaho haA-e never yet been ap- 



preciated, but I venture to predict that with the advance of 

 the railroad there Avill be such a rush of settlers to tifi 

 country as is not now deemed possible. I believe Montana 

 tob !l .'chest of our Territories, and look for great things 

 when she shall be accessible throughout her entire breadth by 

 rail. That lime is. if we may judge from current events, uot 

 far distant. The Northern Pacific is being pushed fonvard 

 both from the east and from the west with great em 



two or 'i: rill bring the two en- 1 i ■'•■ road to- 



jethej 



And here the note book is closed, and the chart is laid 

 away in the portfolio with many another, on each of which 

 is plotted a trail. Yo is about to lay aside his pen, and to hold 

 his peace for another year. He has written many a column 

 for "our paper," and his signature is not unfamiliar to h 

 older readers, Who have journeyed with him for many a day 

 over the plains, through the mountains and along the sea- 

 coast, and have been present with him on many a glorious 

 hunt. To-night he sits alone in his room. The labors of the 

 day are over, and his last letter for the year is drawing to its 

 close. As he easts his eyes about him the objects which meet 

 his gaze cause him to give a lingering retrospectiA-e glance 

 over the many happy days spent in his well loved West, 



How well does he recall that warm September afternoon 

 when he slew on the Upper Missouri the grand bull elk whose 

 mounted head now looks gravely down upon him. That big- 

 horn skull with its enormous curving horns is a reminder of 

 the Miuaytw Tenrn of Montana. The superbly regular 

 antlers of the white-tail deer's head call to mind the Diy Lakes 

 of Nebraska, and the careful huntiug that at last, after many 

 efforts, brought down the great gray buck of the Dismal 

 range. Graceful antelope heads Avith shining black horns, 

 stare at him as he Avrites and tell tales of the sage plains of 

 the Rocky Mountains, the deserts of Dakota and the. parks of 

 Colorado. A beautiful mule deer with its A r eh r ety horns 

 speaks of Crazy Woman's Mountains, and the grizzly bear's 

 skin at his feet of the Freeze-out range. Half a dozen rifles 

 and shot guns, Avell tried weapons all of them, stand in the 

 corners of the room or lean against the bookcases. Elk horns 

 hold cartridge belts Avith sheath-knives, salmon spears from 

 the Northwest coast, hair rkitos from Southern California, 

 and broad-brimmed, battered felt hats, once white, but now 

 gray Avith the soil of travel. On the walls hang bows and 

 arrows from many an Indian tribe, pipes of Sioux, Pawnee, 

 Ute, Mandan, Ree, and Gros Ventre manufacture, moccasins 

 made by the Snakes, buckskin leggings beaded by the Senor- 

 itas of New Mexico, rattles and masks from Alaska, tobacco 

 pouches from southern Wyoming, Indian hat from Queen 

 Charlotte's Sound, a couple of Cheyenne scalps from Powder 

 River. All around the room are cases filled with stuffed 

 birds, and each specimen brings with it a reminiscence of the 

 days that are gone. 



I like to look back— the memories of my journeyings are 

 now all pleasant ones, though at the time the work was often 

 hard and dangerous, and I many an hour wished myself well 

 back in the East. But now that it is all OA'er, I feel that I 

 should like to -pass through those experiences again. 



My trip for next year is already planned. If it is made as 

 niw intended, it will be through a country little knoAvn, and 

 which is said to abound in game. Perhaps Avhen I return I 

 shall tell the readers of Foeest and Stream about it. Yo. 



Our Rifle Tournament. — In order to give the off-hand 

 shooters an opportunity to test their skill, Ave have arranged 

 for a series of matches between the several clubs of the city 

 and vicinity. There should be a lively competition, and with 

 a dozen club teams in the field, there is no reason why the 

 excellent average which the last tournament shoAved should 

 not be beaten. The occasion will be one for those who ad- 

 vocate the real off-hand position without the hip or body rest 

 t) bring it into fair trial with the advocates of the hugging 

 p jsition. In our next and subsequent issues we shall give all 

 information concerning the match, and in the meantime it 

 would be well for the teams to make up their lists of names 

 and secure early entries. 



SuooTiNtt TrjRKEvs Oyer Points. — Mr. Edward Odell, of 

 New Orleans, writes tts that Avhile out shooting January 22, 

 his pointer bitch Queen (formerly Munson's) drew to one of 

 h?r magnificent points. As Mr. Odell had been shooting a 

 good deal, he handed the gun to his companion, and just 

 after doing so he saw on the ground, not twenty feet off, a 

 fine large gobbler. Mr. Odell called to his companion to 

 shoot, and he did so, but the gobbler made his escape. This 

 reminds us of some experience of our own, years ago in 

 Iowa, where we have frequently shot turkeys over points. 

 It takes some time to get the birds to lie, but after following 

 them for a while they will usually do so. 



Apropos of the Park Roav Fire— some brilliant genius 

 writes to the daily papers that archers should be on hand in 

 such emergencies to shoot a string into the upper windows of 

 the burning building, that the occupants may thereby pull 

 up ropes with which to lower themselves to the ground. 

 There are only two trivial objections to this scheme. One is, 

 that the skillful archers would never be on hand; and the 

 oilier, that there is not one archer on Manhattan Island who 

 could shoot an arroAV into a Aviudow r iu the upper story of a 

 burning building. 



Thanks.— Complimentary notices are showered in upon 

 us from every point of the compass. We quote elsewhere 

 some of these commendatory expressions. For all these kind 

 words the Forest and Stream begs to express its acknowl- 

 edgments. 



John Cornelius, well known to scores of sportsmen aa 

 the proprietor of the SaAvkill House, at Milford. Penu., died 

 last Friday night, February 5, aged about 68 year.. 



