114 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aua. 10, 1895. 



Just for a cruise. It is not all of life to hunt and fish, 

 though both of us are good at either sport upon occasion. 

 In fact, I have been huDting lions a good deal since we 

 made this camp. Ant-lions, understand. There is here 

 a large colony of them. I do not hunt to injure them, 

 but to observe their habits, and, like the Indians — of 

 whom there are many in this region — they understand 

 their business better than any one else can teach it them. 

 This reminds me that I this morning found on a pile of 

 drift lumber on the beach a braided rope of basswood 

 bark some twenty or more feet long. The Indians make 

 frequent use of it, and not far from us are two camps 

 where they have landed, and with their squaws are 

 scouring the woods for birch bark to be bleached this 

 summer and made up later into baskets, mococks and 

 other notions, to sell at the summer resorts. 



The stores at Cross Village buy a good deal of bark 

 work— mats of scented grass and rushes, etc. — and send 

 it to Mackinaw or Potoskey. 



"Indians, ant-lions and bark ropes; 

 Are these the attractions of your camp?" 



My dear sir, if you had not interrupted me and, so to 

 speak, sort o' jumbled me up, I was going on to relate 

 how many points of interest have already claimed my at- 

 tention at this place, all barren as it seemed when we 

 came in in some haste before a nor'wester and beached 

 our boat stern foremost in order to avoid wetting our dun- 

 nage. 



The habitations of the ant-lion indicate the presence of 

 ants, and the ant is a very interesting creature. N. B. 

 You are of course aware that if you pitch your tent over 

 his nest, he becomes quite too entertaining at times, so that 

 you will do well to hold him at a safe distance. 



Then I had intended to speak of the vegetation, but the 

 subject is too extensive for me to tackle on this occasion, 

 and needs a better botanist then I to do it even small 

 justice. There are near the camp Norway pines, arbor 

 vitae and white spruce, all dwarfed by the fierce lake 

 winds. Then there is plenty of shintangle, which makes 

 a bang-up bed if you have leather gloves to handle it, and 

 a rubber or canvas sheet atop. 



I have counted nearly twenty plants in blossom, the 

 more conspicuous being the wild rose, the campanula, 

 various of the composita?, beach peas, etc. There are 

 huckleberries, raspberries, beach cherries, juniper berries, 

 cornel, and other fruits. By the by, I wonder if the 

 juniper berry is utilized in any way. There are quantities 

 along the shore. 



It just occurred to me that some ignorant person may 

 wish to know what "shintangle" is, and be disposed to 

 confound it with rye whisky. To such I would say that 

 there is no whisky in this camp, and that I will further 

 enlighten his understanding if he will tell me what are 

 the constituent elements of "El Gomancho's" "singgamble 

 fire." 



"But if you don't fish or shoot, how do you live?" 



If you hadn't interrupted me, I was going to say some- 

 thing on that head; but I detest interruptions. I may say, 

 however, that the tea and coffee are above praise; that the 

 cow is not quite dry as yet — or, in common parlance, the 

 condensed milk holds out; the butter is only just a little 

 rancid; the bacon — corn-cob smoked — is prime; the salt 

 pork is bully, the potted ham is good, the tongue ditto, 

 the hardtack excellent, the soft tommy not very dry, the 

 beans choice, the butter crackers fresh, the— yes, oh! yes, 

 we are doing very well, I thank you. Did you think we 

 came up here among the Chippewas to starve? "What d'ye 

 take us for, anyhow? Kelpie. 



P. 8.— Cross Village, July 22.— Just heard from Old 

 Hickory. The Kingfishers are booked for a good time 

 this summer, as I think, and I am sorry that I shall not 

 be able to be with them. 



NORTHWARD TO THE FAR WEST— VI. 



[Concluded from page 92.] 



The reader who has followed our erratic wanderings 

 will remember we left the main line of the Canadian 

 Pacific road at Revelstoke, to take our trip down the 

 Columbia, and now we take the main line westward 

 again, with Vancouver as our destination. 



We cross the Columbia on a long wooden bridge, as 

 soon as we leave Revelstoke, and enter the Gold range, 

 whose snow-capped hills seem to bar the way, by Eagle 

 pass. We now commence to climb again, but do not 

 reach any great altitude above the Columbia, as the pass 

 seems to avoid any of the higher peaks and is a natural 

 road pass. Four beautiful mountain lakes are passed and 

 the road winds around the mountain side above their 

 shores. 



Twenty-eight miles from Revelstoke is a small station 

 named Craigellachine, which had the honor of being the 

 meeting point of the eastern and western construction 

 parties of the Canadian Pacific, and here was driven the 

 last spike in this stupendous work. 



The road lies along the shores of the great Shuswap 

 Lakes, named for the tribe of Indians who live about it. 

 The lakes extend in different directions into the moun- 

 tains which rise about, and are a great resort for wild 

 fowls. 



A canoe trip over the numerous arms of these lakes 

 would give one a great summer outing, and plenty of 

 sport of all kinds. 



Four miles below North Bend, we get into the great 

 oafion of the Fraser River, and here we feel like drop- 

 ping the pen and saying it is no use, we have exhausted 

 all our poor descriptive powers, thinking we were 

 through with the best scenery, and now we find some 

 more that requires new vocabulary. The great river 

 rolls below us through bare and rocky walls, and we ex- 

 claim with the poet: 



"Against what great obstructions hast thou won ; 



Thine august way. The rock-formed mountain plain 

 Has opened at thy bidding, and the steep 



Bars noc thy passage, for the ledge in vain 

 Stretches across the channel. Thou dost leap 



Sublimely down the height, and urge again 



Thy rock-embattled course on to the distant main." 



In the famous coast country it rains "too easy," and 

 during the rainy season it is liable to rain at any time 

 So we were not surprised to see rain at Mission Junction' 

 where rail connection can be made for the South into 

 Washington. It grows mistier and damper as we get 

 nearer the coast, and evidences of the great timber in- 



dustry of the country are on every hand, also signs of the 

 great '94 spring flood are seen in two old and stranded 

 rivers left high and dry upon the sandy bars, as if taking 

 anew "route over land." Westminster Junction, where 

 connection is made with the new Great Northern line of 

 railway for Seattle, Tacoma, etc. , is only eighteen miles 

 from Vancouver, and five miles further we strike the 

 straits, or an inlet from it — Burrow Inlet. The saw mills 

 and timber docks are the principal objects near by, while 

 through the mist and clouds the distant hills and moun- 

 tains across the inlet peek forth, and on their tops we see 

 that what is rain with us is snow with them. It rained 

 when we arrived at Vancouver, but no one minds such 

 a trifle as that in the Sound region. You don your rub- 

 ber boots and a mackintosh and off you go. Of course it 

 don't rain all the time, and any one who is fortunate 

 enough to get there during the dry season of summer 

 will find it a delightful and pretty place to visit. The 

 Hudson's Bay Company have one of their ever present 

 establishments here, and in it we saw one of the finest 

 wood buffalo or bison heads that is in existence. It is 

 not for sale. 



One of the oddest sights to one from the East is the 

 crow as he appears on the streets of Vancouver. Mr. 

 Crow, just as black as his Eastern brother, is cock of the 

 walk out here, and he knows it. Flocks of them are all 

 over town sitting on the housetops, squatting in the gut- 

 ters, hopping on the lawns, cawing to his mate or scold- 

 ing at some mean crow who tries to rob him of some 

 dainty he has stolen from some other crow. The crow is 

 a very smart bird, and if you don't believe it go to Van- 

 couver and see for yourself. 



I knew they were too smart for me when a youngster 

 ever to let me get very close to them, and here" they are 

 so smart they don't care how close you are, because the 

 rascals know that it costs $25 to kill one of them, and 

 they know they are not worth it. Two of them flew 

 down into the street near by, and I stopped to watch 

 them. One evidently had something to eat and was en- 

 joying his lunch; the other sat by as sober as a judge. 

 Then came along crow No. 3, and spying the tidbit made 

 a dive for it. Off went No. 1 with No. 3 after him, and 

 evidently he was the "better crow," as the first one tried 

 to get away; but what does No. 2 do (who had sat patiently 

 by and seen its mate eating) but up and after crow No. 3, 

 pitching into him and driving him away so his mate could 

 alight on a roof tree and finish his lunch. Then they 

 cawed a nice song and went their way. Oh, there is lotB 

 of fun in Vancouver, among the crows, and for the in^ 

 habitants on whose house some quiet Sunday morning a 

 crow congress assembles. 



It does not take long to get into the woods from Van- 

 couver, and such woods! they are so dense and thick and 

 the trees are of such immense size that the stories we 

 have heard of the tremendous size of the sound timber 

 seem tame. An electric railway runs through the woods 

 to Westminster, which is a great salmon canning center 

 and has more saw mills. 



A visit to Vancouver would not be complete with- 

 out seeing one of the great Canadian Pacific steamships; 

 and we are in luck, for the Empress of Japan was just in 

 and we got a permit and boarded her. Of course, any- 

 one who has been aboard of the great Atlantic liners 

 would not see much to interest him (unless it was the 

 hordes of Chinese servants), but the steamers are about 

 the finest plying to the Orient from the Pacific Coast, and 

 compare very favorably with the great ones on the Atlan- 

 tic that we have Been— though not as large as some of the 

 latest "flyers." The arrival of one of the Empresses 

 means lots of business for a few days on the C. P., as 

 they bring great cargoes of tea, rice and other Oriental 

 products, and trains are loaded and sent East. These 

 steamers are built under the supervision of the English 

 Admiralty, and in case of war can be quickly turned into 

 fast cruisers, having an arrangement of rapid-fire guns, 

 the carriages for which are in place. England does not 

 propose to be caught napping even on the Pacific. 



We concluded that it might not rain so hard in Vic- 

 toria, so made up our minds to run over there. 



To encourage us, it really did clear up a little about 

 noon, and at 2 P. M., when we boarded the Charmer, the 

 sun showed his face and smiled at us. It was a miser- 

 able, sickly smile, however, and the fog and mist soon 

 made him look glum again, but that little glimpse of sun- 

 light gave us an opportunity to see what a really pretty 

 place Vancouver is, and what fine scenery there is 

 about it. It cannot help being picturesque when the Cas- 

 cade Mountains, the mountains on Vancouver Island, the 

 Olympic Mountains and great Mt. Baker are all in sight. 

 Then near by are the dense green forest and sparkling 

 waters of the inlet, to add to the charming landscape. 



Passing out of a narrow entrance to the inlet we came 

 into a broad stretch of water and then into the Strait of 

 Georgia. Here, if the wind is right, a nasty choppy sea 

 will sometimes get up. Where the waters of the Fraser 

 and the Strait unite is a very strange sight>— they seem 

 not to mingle and the line of demarkation can be traced 

 for miles. After a long stretch across the Strait we get 

 among numerous islands, and the channel twists and 

 turns so that at times we seem to be in a cul de sac, 

 but suddenly rounding some precipitous rocky island, 

 we find an outlet and steam on to repeat the same expe- 

 rience. Flocks of ducks fly up on both sides and Indians 

 in great dugout canoes with high, curiously carved 

 prows paddle out from behind the islands. It is dark be- 

 fore we get to Victoria and raining again, so we are glad 

 to get into the cabin, but feel satisfied that the trip is 

 worth taking. 



The location of the Navy Yard at Esquimalt by the 

 British Government makes it the chief naval station of the 

 North Pacific. The seal fishing fleet makes that place its 

 headquarters; the factories and its commercial trade have 

 been long established. 



The climate is likened to that of southern England, and 

 an Englishman from Liverpool, who was doing Victoria 

 with us, said it was the only place he had seen that 

 seemed like home, and he would like "to stay there a bit, 

 ye know." 



The dry dock at Esquimalt is a massive stone structure 

 and worth a visit. There is also a large Chinese quarter 

 in Victoria, but to anyone who has been in San Francisco 

 it seems "tame." The street car service is good and takes 

 one all over the city and into the suburbs. One can get 

 on an electric car and get to Oak Bay in fifteen minutes, 

 where he will find flocks of wild ducks in the fall, but a 

 large number of them are not worth shooting. The 

 sportsman can get plenty of game on the Island of Van- 



couver by going inland, small deer being abundant, and 

 the hunting grounds are quite accessible. 



In July and August the trout fishing in Cowichan Lake 

 and river is superb, and one can easily fill a large creel in 

 a couple of hours. The route is by rail to Duncan, where 

 a canoe can be taken up the river. Of course the further 

 one goes up the island the wilder the country becomes 

 and the better sport can be found, but the extent of the 

 island and the denseness of the forests make it a fine pre- 

 serve. 



A very fine and commodious steamer, the City of King- 

 ston, plies between Victoria, Seattle and Tacoma down 

 the great far-famed Puget Sound, that lovely body of 

 water of which so much has been and still will be written. 



After seeing Tacoma, the Flyer, a swift little steamer, 

 was taken for Seattle, where we made a pleasant stop, and 

 one rather windy morning again boarded the City of 

 Kingston for our return trip to Victoria. The City of 

 Kingston was built East and ran on the Hudson, I believe, 

 and was taken round the Horn. She is a fine comfortable 

 boat and makes the trip on the Sound a pleasure. 



The sail up was fine, though a little sea was rolling. It 

 was the day of the great launch at Everette of a new 

 "whale-back," and as we left Seattle we eaw several large 

 excursions on steamers going up. Flags were flying and 

 it was a gala day. 



After looking over Victoria again, we took the Charmer 

 one evening and the next morning arrived in Vancouver. 

 October was fast slipping away, and turning our faces 

 eastward we started for Sicamous. We got out of the 

 rainy belt before the afternoon was gone, and the next 

 morning at Sicamous found a cool, frosty morning, and a 

 clear sky. There is a very pleasant little hotel at this 

 point, where they set a good table and the angler can 

 stop very comfortably. It is only a short distance from 

 the station, and is kept by an old bachelor, whom every 

 one calls "the Colonel." Leaving Sicamous, we follow 

 the shores of Mara Lake and then along the Spallumcheen 

 River. The country is quite level and is settling up fast; 

 there are plenty of wildfowl along the waterways and 

 good shooting in season. 



Sicamous is called the gateway of the Osooyos division 

 of Yale, in which is included the famous Okanagan dis- 

 trict, probably the finest farming or ranching district in 

 British Columbia. 



Forty-six miles from Sicamous is Vernon, a pretty good 

 place to outfit for a hunting trip into the country lying 

 east, and a good trail and wagon road leads up to Cherry 

 Creek mining camp and then over into Fire Valley, which 

 opens up into Lower Arrow Lake, the country described 

 before. 



It is not wise if one goes into this country to hunt to 

 make too much noise over the game killed, as it may cost 

 the shooter $50 for a license. There are a great many 

 English parties that go in hunting from here, and there 

 are several kinds of game still very abundant, of which 

 more later. At Vernon, there is one store in the place 

 that will attract the sportsman, and that is the establish- 

 ment of a taxidermist who has a very fine lot of heads. 

 This party got up the specimens which were shown at 

 Chicago, at the Columbian Exposition, in the British Col- 

 umbia exhibit; and has heads of caribou, goat, sheep, elk, 

 moose, and about everything else in the way of animal or 

 bird life that can be found in the West. 



It is only five miles from Vernon to Okanagan land- 

 ing. Here we found the steamer Aberdeen with all colors 

 flying. We were much gratified as well as surprised to 

 find "Old Glory" spreading the beautiful Stars and Stripes 

 to the wind at the bow, much more prominent than the 

 Union Jack at the stern. But those British Columbia 

 chaps are about half Yankee anyway. Okanagan Lake is 

 about eighty miles long and averages about three miles in 

 width. There are several small steamers plying on it, but 

 the Aberdeen, built, owned and run by the Canadian 

 Pacific, is the only real passenger steamer, and she is a 

 very commodious and comfortable craft. She is a stern- 

 wheeler, like all Western lake or river boats. The round 

 trip can be made from Vernon to Penticton in two days, 

 going one day, returning the next. 



A person need not go off the boat, as it has very fair 

 staterooms. The sail down to Kelowna, about thirty-five 

 miles, is a charming one, as the high hills and mountains 

 rise on both sides of the lake and stretch away into the 

 blue distance. 



Kelowna is a good point for a start into the caribou 

 country back of it, and we were convinced of this, as we 

 were out walking in the afternoon, by meeting two half- 

 breeds coming in with a fine caribou head on their pack 

 pony. A little later, when heavy snows come, one can go 

 right across the lake up into bear valley and shoot deer. 

 Ducks are in the marshes within sight of the hotel, and 

 the ruffed grouse are in the bush right back of it. 



The chief trouble at Kelowna is, to find the proper 

 guides and get the right kind of an outfit. Everything in 

 the way of supplies however can be purchased there, 

 excepting tents, and any one going into a country hunt- 

 ing ought to take his tents with him, as at very few points 

 can they be secured of the right style and size. 



Several days were spent about Kelowna in looking over 

 the country and arranging for a trip into the caribou 

 country; but this had to be abandoned, on account of a 

 snowstorm in the mountains, which we could see from 

 Kelowna, but which did not get to our level, and also on 

 account of the actions of the half-breeds, their extortionate 

 demands and their getting drunk. Getting disgusted 

 with the whole outfit, I packed up and took the boat 

 down the lake to Trout Creek, only five miles from the end 

 of the lake and about nine from Penticton by land. 



The sail down is even more charming than from 

 Okanagan landing to Kelowna, as the mountains grow in 

 size and height as you proceed south. There are some 

 very charming bits of scenery just before one reaches 

 Trout Creek, where the rocks rise precipitously from the 

 lake into great cliffs, and then the country rolls back into 

 high hills, covered with the dark-green firs, and still 

 further rise the snow-covered mountains. 



At Penticton, the end of the steamboat travel, there is a 

 hotel where the sportsman can stop, and if he will stay 

 until in December he can hunt right from the hotel and 

 stand a. good chance of getting a goat or a sheep, and be 

 sure of deer. Prairie chickens and blue grouse are 

 abundant in the mountains. South of Penticton a stage 

 line takes one into the United States, and connection can 

 be made for Spokane via Marcus. In the country south 

 of Penticton are a number of mines and about Dog Lake 

 and further on to Osooyos Lake is probably as good a 

 place to get a big horn as anywhere^m the country. 



