September, 1920 
Forest and stream 
487 
Photographed by E. Mallinckrodt, Jr. 
A young Stone ram high among the ramparts of the lonely Klappan 
the hoofs of the caribou, so well adapted 
to travel over the soft, deep moss and wet 
places, would scarcely make a dent. 
There being no prospect for rams in 
this locality we moved on, arriving at 
the next camp about noon. The In- 
dians, chagrined at their failure of the 
day before, scattered out over the moun- 
tains to locate game. 
The Indian can travel much faster 
than the ordinary white man, indeed, he 
walks faster than does the horse and as 
steadily. When three or four of them set 
out in different directions to investigate 
a game range the work will be well done. 
They returned late in the evening with 
the report that they had found nothing. 
I T was necessary to move camp again 
and this time we came over an un- 
usually difficult trail. The muskegs 
were frequent so the horses mired many 
times and the guides were kept busy 
chopping out the brush. The softness 
of the muskegs was attributed to the 
unprecedented deep snow of the winter 
which left an excessive quantity of water 
in the soil. The guides felt a way 
through the muskegs by pushing their 
axe handles through the mud ; if the han- 
dle did not show a tendency, upon slight 
pressure, to drop out of sight the trail 
was pronounced to be reasonably safe. 
We have all been told that when in 
Rome we should do as the 'Romans do, 
but when hunting in Cassair we cannot 
do as the Indians of Cassair do; they 
travel all day, up the mountains and 
down and never seem weary. Regardless 
of the cold, they wade deep in icy streams. 
With only moccasins for footwear, they 
climb over sharp, jagged rocks and along 
knife edges that seem possible only for 
the mountain goat. 
As a hunter the Indian has no superior, 
but as a shot he is quite inferior. His 
success in hunting is the result of his 
ability to creep so close to game that 
to miss the quarry would be about as 
difficult as to hit it. The moccasin, that 
symbol of silence, enables him to creep 
close to any wild animal. The white man, 
who has not made it a practice, cannot 
wear moccasins. The game sight of the 
Indian is very £harp, and to it the hunt- 
er in Cassiar owes much of his success. 
As the Indian obtains his food and 
clothing by hunting, it is only natural 
that he should be more adept at that art 
than at anything else. The ordinary 
white man is likewise more adept at the 
occupation that furnishes his living. 
While moving to the new location we 
saw goat, caribou and moose. The goat 
was travelling along a mountain side as 
fast as a goat can. He was just above 
timber line and gave the appearance of 
being alarmed, but he continued his 
course as far as we could see and was 
evidently seeking a new location. 
The mountain goats of Cassiar do not 
range as high in the mountains as do the 
goats of Montana and Idaho. We re- 
peatedly saw their tracks down in the 
trails of the pack trains. The reason 
for this is that the Indian seldom hunts 
them, as he can make no use of their 
hides; they have no value and the horns 
are no longer made into spoons and small 
implements, as was done many years ago. 
The flesh, especially of the old ones, is’ 
very tough and strong in flavor; the In- 
dians call it “poison meat.” In Cassiar 
it is a very simple matter to kill a goat. 
Although they are poor trophies, they 
are one of our most interesting animals. 
(continued of page 513 ) 
