HARMON 5 S JOURNAL. 



191 



which they find in the mountains, and which bare- 

 ly enable them to sustain life ; and their emaci- 

 ated bodies frequently bear witness, to the scan- 

 tiness of their fare. 



We here begin to see lofty mountains at a dis- 

 tance. This place is in the 56°of North Latitude, 

 and 121° of West Longitude. 



Monday, 22. It has snowed and rained, dur- 

 ing the whole of this day. — We are now in the 

 heart of the Rocky Mountain, the lofty summits of 

 which, on each side of the river, tower majestical- 

 ly toward the heavens, and are perpetually whit- 

 ened by snows, that are never dissolved, by 

 solar heat. They are by far the highest moun- 

 tains that I have ever seen. The timber, which 

 grows upon them, is chiefly spruce fir, birch and 

 poplar. It is a curious fact, in the geography of 

 North America, that so many of the lakes and riv- 

 ers, on the west side of this lofty range of moun- 

 tains, discharge their waters through one narrow 

 passage, in this great barrier, and eventually enter 

 the North Sea. 



Wednesday, 22. Although we have found 

 the current in this river very strong, ever 

 since we left the Rocky Mountain Portage, yet, 

 until this day, we have found no place where we 

 were under the necessity of unloading our canoes, 

 in order to stem the current. This afternoon, 



