482 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 12, 1888. 



THE BOCK CLIMBERS. 

 ni.— A WHISKY trader's oamp. 

 TF any one had put his head into the tent of the Rock 

 Climbers one morning early in October, he would 

 have been surprised to see it all so quiet. Outside it was 

 full daylight, and a westerly wind was whirling great 

 clouds of snow hither and thither over the hills. The 

 lake was not visible, and the figures of horses and mules 

 were hidden, except now and then when there was a lull 

 in the gale and the eddying drifts for a moment fell to the 

 ground. In its sheltered position the tent was loaded with 

 snow and the light within was dim, as if the dawn was 

 just breaking. Motionless within their warm blankets 

 the occupants were waiting for daylight, but as it did not 

 come they began to stir, and at length from one end of a 

 pile of blankets a hand was stretched forth, which fum- 

 bled about for a moment among the clothing which 

 served for a pillow, and then drew forth a watch. Then 

 came the cry: 



"Hullo, boys, it's eight o'clock. Levez, levezt It must 

 be snowing." 



Five minutes later, all hands were astir, and the state 

 of the weather was being discussed. It seemed rather an 

 inhospitable welcome to the lakes. The snowfall would 

 have been an advantage had they been nearer their hunt- 

 ing ground, but as it was it meant mud and difficult pull- 

 *ing over the few remaining miles which lay between 

 their present camp and the upper end of the lower 

 lake. 



All the morning the storm continued; but by noon the 

 snow had ceased falling, and before long all haads had 

 started out to see whether there was any prospect of 

 finding game in the vicinity. A long round was made 

 and the pure white mantle which covered the ground 

 carefully scrutinized, but no tracks were seen except 

 those of a single bay lynx and a ruffed grouse. The day 

 was warm and pleasant, and the snow, which was only 

 two or three inches deep, melted rapidly. Toward 

 evening the animals were transferred to a wide flat across 

 the creek where the grass was thick and sweet, and here 

 picket pins were driven and the horses staked out. 



By the next morning the snow had almost disappeared. 

 The tramp of the day before had made it evident to those 

 who had followed the trail up the shore, that with then- 

 light team it would be impracticable to haul the wagon 

 to the head of the lake. But if power to move it could 

 be supplied, the boat, which was cached in the brush at 

 the outlet of the lower lake, was large enough to carry 

 all their goods. Appekunny is stalwart and well able to 

 tug the laboring oar, but the Rhymer is an invalid and 

 Yo is unused to rowing, and besides is troubled with a 

 certain chronic laziness. Talking the matter over the 

 night before, it had been decided that another man must 

 be had, and it was whispered that the right one might be 

 found at a whisky trader's camp at Pike Lake, about 

 ten miles distant. It was decided that Yo, who had the 

 toughest horse, should ride over to this camp and try to 

 secure the man; and so the horses were brought across 

 the creek in order that, while he was gone, the boat 

 might be brought from its hiding place to the water's 

 edge and so up to camp. 



Now Yo's horse was, or at that time seemed to be, a 

 wild horse. As a matter of fact, he was not so, and 

 when the rider was once fast in the saddle, no more 

 gentle animal could be found; but he had been badly 

 treated by his previous rider, was hard to catch, much 

 given to pulling away if he was not watched, and to 

 snorting when he was approached in a manner terrifying 

 to one unaccustomed to horses. Sometimes, too, if he 

 got frightened he would rear and strike savagely with his 

 forefeet, but all this was the result of bad treatment and 

 not of any viciousness in the horse's disposition. It so 

 happened that on this unlucky morning, Caribou, as this 

 horse was named, got away, and for two or three horns it 

 was impossible to catch him. Once or twice he let one of 

 the men come close enough to grasp the end of the rope 

 with the tips of his fingers, and then he would toss his 

 head, snatch the coveted object from their clutch, and 

 gallop off a short distance. Presently the Rhymer sad- 

 dled up Tingle, his riding animal, and after an hour's 

 chase, during which the loose horses crossed the river 

 and raced all over the flat between Swift Current and the 

 lake, he returned with the truant, who was promptly tied 

 up to a tree. Meantime the team had been harnessed 

 and driven down to where the boat lay, a rope lashed to 

 it and to the double-tree, and presently, with Appekunny 

 at the reins and the Rhymer and Yo guiding the boat, 

 the latter was snaked out of the brush, over the hillside, 

 down the bank to the water's edge. Then while one man 

 drove the team back to camp the other two slowly rowed 

 the heavy craft up the river and into a little sheltered 

 bay only a short distance from the tent. 



Then Yo's horse was saddled, an overcoat, in the pocket 

 of which was a bit of bread and cheese, tied behind the 

 saddle, and Yd mounted and rode off down the river 

 along the narrow trail, plunged down the steep bank and 

 into the water, at first shallow and splashed high by the 

 horse's hoofs, then into swifter water, which gradually 

 deepened until it reached halfway up the animal's sides, 

 so that the rider had to tuck his feet almost up behind 

 the saddle to keep them from getting wet. Appekunny 



had pointed out to Yo a gap in the distant bluff down the 

 river, and had told him that behind the hill which stood 

 on the left hand side of this gap lay Pike Lake. A month 

 or two before a party had gone there with a wagon, and 

 the tracks of this could be seen every now and then, and 

 would serve as a guide when it became necessary to leave 

 the river and turn in toward the hills. At a swinging gal- 

 lop the good horse was started down the bottom, which, 

 though flat, was covered with hump grass, which is very 

 hard and tiresome for a horse to travel over, but soon he 

 struck into an Indian trail, where the going was easy. 

 He crossed Swift Current, picking his way slowly through 

 the tumultuous waters that rushed and swirled by the 

 great boulders in the stream's bed, paused a moment on 

 the farther side to drink, and then at a touch of his rider's 

 heel was off again. Mile after mile was left behind, and 

 yet the gap toward which the rider was heading scarcely 

 seemed to grow nearer. Slowly doubts as to the accuracy 

 of his directions began to force themselves into Yo's mind. 

 Pike Lake was said to be at the very foot of Chief Moun- 

 tain, and yet his course was leading him away from that 

 peak. Something was evidently wrong. 



He turned his horse diagonally toward the mountain 

 and began to look for the wagon tracks. It was not long 

 before he found them, and for a while followed them as 

 fast as the nature of the ground would permit. And 

 what an eccentric course that wagon took, winding about 

 in all directions and seeming to pick out the worst and 

 most miry spots that could be found. Mile after mile he 

 passed on over the hills, for the flat river bottom had now 

 been left far behind. Several times he saw before him 

 the shimmer of water, and his hopes rose, but as he came 

 to each little prairie lake it was easy to see it was not the 

 one sought. Following the wagon tracks began to be 

 tiresome, and as the sun was sinking toward the west, he 

 determined to cut loose from them, trust to his own in- 

 stinct, and look for the lake in the place where he thought 

 it ought to be. If it was not to be found, he would look 

 up some sheltered nook in the hills, gather a big pile of 

 wood before dark, and lie out all night by the fire to re- 

 sume his search in the morning, It is not pleasant to 

 sleep out without blankets, but it is something that one 

 has to do now and then. 



Turning sharply to the right, Yo rode straight for the 

 majestic buttress of Chief Mountain, which towered sky- 

 ward almost above him. The faithful horse kept up his 

 easy swinging lope, down sharp slopes, across little val- 

 leys, where he splashed the water high from the stand- 

 ing pools, where the mallards and teal were feeding, and 

 then up the gentler slopes, never pausing except when a 

 slight pressure on the reins warned him to take matters 

 more easily on the steeper hills. Yo had ridden in this way 

 perhaps ten minutes, when he came to a mesa , beyond 

 which it seemed that the foothills of Chief Mountain be- 

 gan to rise sharply. Galloping across this four or five 

 hundred yards, he saw in a basin at his feet a pretty prairie 

 lake, at one end of which was a clump of willows, near 

 which were three or four horses feeding. In the reeds 

 near the other end of the lake was a boat with a man in 

 it and on the shore knelt another man, and just as the 

 rider's eye took in all this, a shot rang out sharply on the 

 still air and a little flock of ducks rose from the water 

 and swiftly flapped their way down the lake. A moment 

 later the men at the lake caught sight of the horseman 

 on the lull and started toward the camp, while the rider 

 slowly descended the steep hill, galloped across the level 

 valley at the lower end of the lake, and in a few moments 

 was exchanging salutations with Steve. 



Having reached the camp, Yo requested its hospitality 

 for the night, as he had neither blankets nor provisions. 

 Jack, whom he wished to see, was out hunting and would 

 not be back until dark, so that to return to the lakes that 

 night would be impossible. Steve was cordial in his in- 

 vitation to stay, apologizing for the lack of accommoda- 

 tions,, but explaining that he had been out so long that 

 supplies were running a little low. As soon as the horse 

 had been turned out, Steve asked Yo if he would not like 

 to go fishing, and the suggestion was gladly accepted. 



Pike Lake is, as its name suggests, full of these fish. It 

 is a warm and muddy prairie lake surrounded by reeds, 

 and its bottom is overgrown with weeds. Pike are oc- 

 casionally taken in the St. Mary's River, and even in the 

 lakes of that name, but they are not abundant there, 

 probably because the water is too cold. Here in Pike 

 Lake, however, they can be caught in goodly numbers, 

 and run from 3 up to 121bs. As they walked down to 

 the point where the boat lay, a superb white pelican was 

 seen slowly fanning his way from the northwest, and at 

 length, after making several majestic circles over the 

 water, it alighted near the further shore. Steve sug- 

 gested that they should try to kill him, but when Yo 

 asked why, was at a loss for an answer, realizing that 

 the bird was not eatable and that he had no means of 

 preserving him even if he had known how to take off its 

 skin. The opportunity to read a little lecture on useless 

 slaughter was too strong to be resisted, and Yo briefly 

 gave his views on this subject, but they were probably 

 wasted on Steve, who had been a buffalo hunter in the 

 last days of that animal in the northern country, and 

 could hardly be expected to experience a change of heart 

 all at once. 



A cracky, leaky, flat-bottomed skiff, built years ago by 

 Appe unny, was the only boat here, and stepping on 

 board, Steve kindly took the oars and insisted that Yo 

 should do the fishing. The bait used was meat or a piece 

 cut out of the belly of a fish, and in a few minutes the 

 simple tackle, which consisted of a hand line and a home- 

 made gang of hooks, was overboard, and the boat was 

 moving along with slow strokes just outside the fringe of 

 reeds. This did not appear to be the fishes' day for biting, 

 and the circuit of the lake was made without any event 

 more exciting than catching a bit of weed or some of the 

 rushes which grew in the deeper water. Steve was a 

 pleasant talker, however, and discoursed fluently on a 

 variety of topics. It was easy for his companion to see 

 that he was a little curious to know just what had 

 brought him to Pike Lake. As they rowed slowly along 

 the shore a couple of large piles of stone came into view 

 on top of a ridge only a quarter of a mile away, and these 

 were pointed out by Steve as the monuments which 

 marked the boundary line between the United States and 

 Canada. In reply to this piece of information Yo casually 

 remarked that the proximity of this line was handy for 

 them in case they should be disturbed by the Indian 

 police, at which Steve for a moment or two looked rather 

 sheepish, and then with a laugh tacitly acknowledged 

 his business, but earnestly averred that he never had and 

 never would sell whisky to Indians, but said that if the 

 Canadians came across the line to purchase whisky of 

 him he did not see that he was doing anything especially 

 out of the way in selling it to them. 



The laws of the Canadian Northwest Territories 

 absolutely prohibit the sale or having in possession of 

 ardent spiritB, except by permit issued by the Governor 

 of these Territories. Permits to have two gallons for 

 one's own use are issued, but not indiscriminately, and 

 as there is a great demand for liquor, the business of 

 running whisky across the boundary line into Canada is 

 a profitable one. Only two years ago whisky that could 

 be bought in Montana for $2 per gallon brought $20 in 

 Alberta, but such profits of course induced a great many 

 people to go into the whisky trade, and the result has 

 been a fall in the prices to $6 or $7 at the present time. 

 The business is not without its risks, the penalty being 

 confiscation of cargo, horses, wagon and other property, 

 and a fine of from one to six hundred dollars, or imprison- 

 ment of from one to six months, or both fine and impiison- 

 ment. The Northwest mounted police are constantly on 

 the lookout for the whisky traders, and capture a great 

 many of them, but still the trade prospers. Of course 

 the number of men who are competent to carry it on is 

 limited, for, since they must travel chiefly by night, they 

 must be perfectly familiar with the country, able almost 

 to travel through it with then eyes shut. There are a 

 good many men, however, who do not expose themselves 

 to the risk of capture by crossing the line, but who 

 venture as close to the border as they dare, and then, 

 leaving their contraband property on United States soil, 

 proceed to notify possible customers of the proximity of 

 the desired beverage. This was Steve's present position , 

 and the Canadians were coming to him for their liquor, 

 and had taken almost all that he had. 



The boat had been almost twice round the lake, twice 

 disturbing the great white bird that floated so lightly on 

 the water, when, as they were passing the mouth of a 

 little creek which flowed into its upper end, Yo felt a tug 

 at Ms fine. He let the fish have it for a moment or two, 

 and then, striking sharply, began to haul in. The long 

 nose of the pike soon showed above the water as it came 

 in with little resistance, and when it was swung over the 

 side and lay flapping in the bottom of the boat it was 

 seen to be a fish of about three pounds weight. A little 

 further on another more vigorous bite was followed by 

 the capture of a six-pound fish, which dropped from the 

 hook just as he was being lifted in, and luckily fell into 

 the boat. , One or two more bites were had, but the fish 

 took the bait so gingerly that they could not be hooked. 

 These pike were sluggish fish, making little or no fight 

 for their liberty, but coming in like logs. It was now 

 nearly dark and becoming quite cold, and as they had 

 enough fish for breakfast and supper, the boat was pulled 

 to shore and the men returned to camp. 



Sitting by the fire was a round-faced, tow-headed boy, 

 about 18 years of age, whom Steve addressed as Silvertip, 

 and who replied to him in English, which, though correct 

 enough, was marred by an accent which seemed to show 

 that he was a foreigner. His countenance and coloring 

 were those of a Swede, and Yo, who nodded to him as he 

 stepped up to the fire, took him for a Scandinavian. His 

 garb was the ordinary canvas clothing of the country, 

 but he wore moccasins instead of boots or shoes. As Yo 

 was filling his pipe the boy said to him, ''Where you 

 come from?" "From New York," was the answer. "Ah! 

 New York, New York; I have heard of that New York, 

 but I don't know where it is." This remark rather 

 startled Yo, who now considered his interlocutor more 

 attentively. It was true that his face and hair and figure 

 were those of a Swede, but his gait and manner were 

 those of an Indian. Later, inquiry developed that the boy 

 supposed himself a half-breed, that he had been raised in 

 the Crow camp, but that neither he nor any one else 

 knew much of his parentage. Just such a fair-b aired 



