April 20, 1901.J -FOREST 'AND « STREAM; Bd^ 
passengers out. We were a very cosmopolitan crowd — 
miners, prospectors, capitalists, a minister and some lady 
tourists, a mining promoter and his two boys, who were 
enjoying the novelty of the trip irito this wild Western 
country, and last but not least, the Yankee tourist. What 
a ride it was up this swift flowing stream! The river here 
comes down through the great ranges of the Rockies and 
the Selkirks, over which hang low great banks of clouds, 
while the bare and jagged peaks of the well-named 
Rockies rear their heads into the sky above us. 
Twisting and turning through the rocks and the low- 
lying thickly wooded shores, the steamer struggles up the 
swift current. Now and again it seems as if all further 
progress is barred, but our skillful pilot gives the wheel a 
quick turn and we run into some little channel nearly 
hidden by the thick underbrush that grows to the water's 
edge. Then we come into quiet reaches, where the smooth 
water reflects baclc the mountains, clouds, trees and bush 
LAKE AGNES. 
in marvelous distinctness. Next we pass high straight 
cBffs of a peculiar formation thai take the^ form of spires, 
monuments and pillars. The rolling table lands stretch 
away until they blend with the mo^ntains beyond. On 
wide sand bars flocks of geese are seen, as we come 
quickly round some bend and go off with a great flapping 
of wings. Ducks are startled from their hiding places 
-by the pufiing steamer and sometimes, fly along with her 
for some di'?tance. A great trip for the sportsman would 
be to ship a boat or boats upon the steamer and then 
lazily drift down with the current. I^arge game can be 
found back in the- mountains, and one or two points are 
pointed out as being. the home of the white goat. As we 
get up the ' river, beautiful park-like expanses are seen, 
dotted here and there by clumps of piiieS and other tim- 
ber. The- evening shades are- with us before we get into 
Columbia lakes, and we run on to a gravel bar, but by 
twisting, backing, turning and steaming ahead again, we 
work Ovefs C '. i; 
At the mouth of the river proper we pass over the sal- 
mon beds. Here before the days of the net, the fish 
wheel and the canneries the salmon used to come in 
VIEW FROM SADDLEBACK TRAIL. 
schools and vvork the gravel up into ridges, where they 
would deposit their eggs. Here ended the great struggle 
of the game fish. For 1,200 or 1,300 miles this noble fish 
of the sea would fight its way up one falls, through rapids 
and whirlpools, through shallows and cascades, up, up, un- 
til worn, weary and spent it reached this haven of rest and 
after depositing its eggs, probably gave up its life. It 
literally gave its life that the species might live. These 
beds are yet plainly to be seen, though the countless num- 
bers of fish are no more. So perish before the advance of 
civilization all wild things; as the old Indian said, "White 
tnan he comes, kill all the deer, catch all the fish, cut 
down all the trees and then Avear plug hat." 
A very short, concise way of expressing the ambition of 
the white man to make way with everything in his pur- 
suit of wealth. 
It is dark when the Duchess ties up alongside her dock 
at Windemere, the town of the Columbia lakes. But 
early the next day we are out sight-seeing. Here we 
are at the headwaters of the great Columbia, that is the 
main source. The real source, it is claimed, where the 
first water that starts , the ball rolling, as it were, is a 
spring at the head of the lakes. Just above the Fiftieth 
Parallel lie the two Columbia lakes, and from these the 
river _ flows northward between the Selkirks and the 
Rockies, until it can get round the Selkirks; it then 
turns to the south, and with a sharp bend starts down 
IjetAveen the Gold Range and the Selkirks. It comes back 
to the Forty-ninth Parallel and goes into the United 
States, and then down through Washington into Oregon 
and then westward into the Pacific. The first discovery 
of this river was in 1792, and it was first called the Origon 
or Oregon by the natives and old fur hunters. Captain 
Robert Gray, of Boston, was the first real discoverer, and 
he named it the Columbia, for his ship, the Columbia 
Rediviva. The river has only been navigated about 100 
years. It is now navigated in spots, there being many 
falls and dalles which are insurmountable, and which 
make the river unnavigable through its entire length. The 
first stretch is from the lakes to Golden, 100 miles; then 
from Rcvelstoke to Northport, 200 miles. After the river 
get? into the United States there are other stretches of 
good water. It drains a great extent of territory, about 
245,000 square miles, or, to make it plainer, a territory 
larger than New England, the Middle States, Maryland 
with Virginia and West Virginia thrown in. The lakes 
at Windemere are very beautiful, the immediate shore be- 
ing a high rolling table land, and this runs back into, the 
mountains. When the; lakes are calm the reflections from 
the crystal-hke surface are marvelous. The water is 
clear and remains so after it flows into the river, until 
some of the creeks that come down from the mountains 
join it. 
^ A freak of nafure;:is to be found in this part of British 
Columbia in the .Columbia and Kootenay rivers. The 
Kootenay rises a,way up near Papallel Fifty-one and flows 
to the south. At the Columbia lakes it is only a mile 
away from them, and a canal has been cut through con- 
necting the two bodies of water. But the Kootenay flows 
on to, the south, entering the State of Montana. It then 
turns to the north and flows back into British Columbia, 
forming with other feeders what is known as the Kootenay 
Lake. From this lake the river flows westward, and 350 
miles from where it passed the Columbia on its journey 
south it pours its flood into its mightier brother, so that 
nian with his little pickaxe comes along and by cutting a 
ditch of a mile can save some of the water of the 
Kootenay a journey of 350 miles on its trip to join its 
brother. Frank F. Frisbie. 
The Sand Dunes of Long Island. 
For miles and miles they stretch along the coast — those 
lonely sand dunes, cut oft" from the mainland by the broad 
waters of the Great South Bay. To the casual observer 
they have but one aspect, that of barren and drear 
monotony, but to him who observes closely and has withal 
a little imagination they present variety enough. 
Rising in their highest part to not more than fifty or 
sixty feet, they, run along generally in a single row, but 
sometimes in rows of two or three. Among these latter 
the wind makes a tremendous commotion — rushing and 
whirling and eddying — the result being that their out- 
liiies are constantly changing. After a severe storm you 
will often see one-half blown away, while its neighbors 
have grown perceptibly higher. For the most part they 
are covered with spear grass, thick in the more sheltered 
spots, but sparse and ragged in the exposed. On the 
inner side there is an occasional growth of bayberry 
bushes or other scrub, and more rarely a stunted cedar; 
beyond this wide sedgy marshes stretch down to the bay. 
On . the outer side a shelving strand runs along, very 
sniooth and clean, but with blackened timbers of ships 
sticking out of it at irregular intervals, gruesome re- 
minders of the tragic fury of the ocean. 
The best season in which to visit the dunes is the spring. 
Then there is a charm about them that is very potent. 
The grass has taken on its vernal tint, as have the con- 
tiguous marshes. Here and there, even amid the sand, 
little wild flowers bloom, or a marsh mallow puts forth 
its passionate emblem. The redwings and the wrens 
and the meadow larks have returned and the air is musical 
with their chorusing. Old Ocean has changed his murky 
coinplexion for one of azure, and is now wreathed in 
smiles. And the south wind blows, laden with ozone, and 
happy he who can be there to taste of the exhilaration 
of it all. - 
The spring melts into summer and Old Sol takes com- 
plete possession of the scene. The grasses begin to 
droop and the sand grows white in the fervid heat. Red- 
wing and wren and meadow lark have lapsed into silence 
and nothing is now audible but the drowsj^ murmur of 
the waves on the beach. Overhead the gulls hover more 
lazily than is their wont, and a ship on the horizon seems 
to stand still. The air is bathed in peace and sunshine 
and the long day is like a lotus eater's dream. 
Then comes autumn with its mists and wailing winds, or 
its long spells of amber sunshine. The dunes and the 
marshes grow graj^er day by day, hardly relieved by the 
flaming of a leaf or a weed here and there, and a melan- 
choly atmosphere broods upon them. Instead of tlie soifgs 
of the spring visitants, now is heard the honk of the wild 
goose or the quack of the wild duck frequenting the 
waters of the bay. But the cricket lifts up its cheery 
voice and tries to dissipate the gathering gloom. In -vain. 
The march of the season is inexorable. At length the 
cricket falls silent and then the tide takes a moaning 
note, full of fearpul presage of what is at hand. ' 
Winter! Now indeed can it be said truly that the 
dunes present a picture of barren and drear rnonotony.- 
But there is variety still. It is, however, in the way of a 
further accentuation of the chilling aspect of the scene. 
For when the blizzard has swept over it all is cold and 
somber desolation. Like great marble tombs the dunes 
stretch along, while the hungry ocean seems to be de- 
manding of them to give up their dead — now in hoarse 
and sullen tones, and again in wild and thundering ac- 
cents. No conception of the terror of this, especially at 
night, can be formed by one who has not been there to 
see and hear. * 
It will hardly excite wonder that around these dunes, so 
invested with solitude and an air of mystery, as it were, 
legends should have gathered by the score. Some of 
these date back to the aboriginal Indians, but for the 
most part they are connected with Capt. Kidd or other 
congenerous sea rovers. It is not so very loitg 3ince the 
legends found a ready credence among the good people 
who inhabit the adjacent mainland, and indeed there are 
not a few there still, at least among the older generation, 
who have more than a lingering faith 'in the bizarre or 
uncanny legends. Let two or mor6 graybeards be 
gathered together, with their pipes going and the weather 
at all suggestive, and the chances are ten to one that some 
allusion will be made to the traditional associations of 
the dunes. And at such times it is most interesting to 
note the lowering of the. speaker's voice, or the manifesta- 
tion of awe which steals over him. 
Perhaps the legend which most appeals to the popu 
lar fancy is that of the old sea captain, the treasure seeker. 
This worthy, so the legend, goes, was of the belief that the 
beach was a veritable gold mine, and despite years of 
fruitless search and keen disappointment he did not lose 
his faith. It does. not appear that he placed any reliance 
on the mineral or sounding rod, an instrument held in 
such favor by others of his ilk. His method was to walk 
the beach after every storm, when,- owing to the washing 
away or displacement of the sand, he hoped to discover 
some clue to the dear object of his search. At length 
fate relented in his regard, or perhaps it would be more 
correct to say seemed to relent. 
It was in the fall of the year, and the first equinoctial 
storm had come up. The old captain, all excitement; lay 
awake through the night listening to the whistling of 
the wind and the booming of the surf on the distant 
beach, .speculating the while on Avhat the morrow would 
bring him. The morrow came at length and the captain 
lost no time in reaching liis boat, and having trimmed his 
sail he shot across the bay. Arrived at the beach he 
shouldered his old flintlock (without which he never ven- 
tured thither, and, indeed, always carried a few silver 
bullets for special emergencies) and set out on his patrol. 
The storm had completely passed, and the sea, subsided 
to a long, even swell, was shimmering in the bright sun- 
light. Along the beach our gold seeker pursued his way, 
observing closely the base of the dunes, where the fury 
of the tide had left its greatest mark. Albeit so eager in 
his search, the captain had a way of falling into a revery 
anent what he should do after he had made his find, and 
he now fell to planning his ship and fitting her out for 
sea, that being his favorite scheme. So intent wa.s he 
on this that he only half observed something bright or 
glistening which stuck out of the sand at a certain point, 
biit he remembered it, and hadn't gone very far before he 
came to a halt and turning romrd said: "I b'lieve I'll 
go back and just see what that was." As he approached 
the object he could plainly see that it was part of a jar, 
and immediately his heart began to thump against his side 
at a fearful rate, while a feeling of superstitions dread 
took possession of him. For some moments he stx>od 
transfixed, gazing at the object and then up and down the 
beach. The supreme moment had come — he felt " it— he 
knew it— and yet after all perliaps that piece of earthen- 
ware was only — —.. .The doubt nerved him, and- calling 
himself a "Darn old fool!" he stooped down and hegan 
to dig away the sand from the jar with a trowel which 
he had taken from his hip pocket. Suddenly he stopped; 
fearing he might be surprised, and- pulling off his coat he 
threw it over the jar and rushed to the top of the dunes. 
Up and doAvn the beach and then across the marshes and- 
the bay he peered, but no! human shape was visible. Draw- 
ing a sigh of relief he returned to; his find. . In a little 
while he had exposed the jar* completely: to view.' It lay 
on its . side and its- openiilg appeared to ^be corked : and 
sealed.. Taking it up with trembling hands the captain 
found it was heavy-^heavy as gold. Such was his' agrta- 
tion that he let it fall from his hands involuntarily. ■ Once 
more fearing surprise he: rushed to the top of the dunes, 
peered about afe before, but finding ' the coast clear, ' re- 
turned to his work. Then sitting down he took the jar 
upon his Icnees and producing a jackknife proceeded to 
cut away the seal. But suddenly he stopped, and throw- 
ing the jar from him with an exclamation of' fear, sprang 
to his feet. What if it contained a genie such as he 
had read about when a boy in "The Arabian Nights" ! 
With eyes bulging from his head he gazed about him in a 
.genuine panic of superstitious fear and awe. The day 
seemed to him unnaturally still and bright and this added 
to his panic. He was on 'the point of picking up his 
gun and taking to his heels when — his intense desire to 
have the wherewithal to build the ship sobered him. For 
the second time he apostrophized himself, only in some- 
what more emphatic terms than before, and sitting down 
resumed his labor of opening the jar. The seal being cut 
away he attacked^the cork, and in this attack his knife 
broke, which he took for a bad omen, and his panic was 
about to return. But conjuring up the vision of that 
ship he was able to resume his attack on the cork with' 
all of the blade that remained. Presently the cork was 
cut away and the captain, putting his eye to the opening 
of the' jar, saw something white, which for the moment 
he took to be smoke about to issue forth, preparatory to 
the appearance of the genie, and gave himself up for lost; 
but no smoke appeared, and the captain taking heart in- 
serted his finger and found that the white substance was 
nothing more harmful than cotton. Seizing it between his 
fingers, he pulled it out, and then applying his eye again to 
the opening of the jar, lo ! there was the glitter of gold! 
Oh, the ecstacy of that moment! Our old salt jumped 
up and danced and cut capers about the beach in such a 
manner as must have convinced' any one observing him 
that he had gone stark mad. But in the middle of his 
antics he stopped short and flew back to the jar. Turning 
it upside down he shook it and out poured a stream of 
golden coins. They had an odd, foreign look, with 
strange inscriptions upon them, but what of that since 
they were gold? Gloatinglj'- the captain took some of 
them up, one by one, and examined them. All he could 
make out was "Hispan-et-Ind," and this, of course, was 
Greek to him; but he concluded that the coins were 
Spanish doubloons, and he was right. From examining 
them singly he took to lifting a handful at a time and 
allowing it to fall back among the glittering heap — the 
jingle being to his ears the sweetest music he ever heard. 
While thus engaged the sun passed behind a cloud, cast- 
ing a shadow over the captain. He started as if shot, and 
excitedly pulled his coat over the gold. Then observing 
the cause of his alarm, he dealt himself an uppercut with 
his clenched fist, while apostrophizing himself for the 
third time that day. 
"But I'll take no more chances," he added. "This 'ere 
dust has got to be carted away, and that pretty quick!" 
Suiting the action to the word, he proceeded feverishly 
to refill the jar, and this done he wrapped his coat about 
it, tucked it under his arm, and picking up his gun flew 
rather than ran for his boat. He reached home in safety 
and deposited his find under the floor of his cabin. In 
course of time the ship was built and then upon a day 
when the wind was fair the captain sailed proudly out of 
Fire Island Inlet — and never came back ! 
