EXPLOEATIONS IN WESTERN CANADA, ETC. 
105 
places. The icy water of the Kicking Horse is milky iu appearance and full of a tough, 
clayey substance. But two species of fishes were obtained here, Coreijonus coulteri 
and Cottm ph Uonips, both new to science. 
At the mouth of the Kicking Horse, at Golden, other collections were made. The 
Columbia River above this place is navigable for small steamers. Below Golden it 
becomes a narrow torrent. Collections tvere made in a meadow overllowed by back 
\vmter from the Columbia, and in the Columbia at the mouth of one of the branches 
of the Kicking Horse. The valley of the Columbia here slopes up to a range of low 
pine-clad mountains extending i)arallel with the stream. Salmon (Oncorhynchus) 
ascend to this ])oint. 
At Eevelstoke the Columbia is a much larger stream and very swift. To the west 
a series of high mountains are seen which form the watershed between the Columbia 
and the Fraser. On the east the ascent is more gradual. 
Griffin Lake is the last of a series of small lakes beginning just beyond the divide 
between the Columbia and the Fraser. It is a very clear lake, shallow near the 
shores. It is about a mile wide and about 2 miles long. All sticks lying in it are 
covered with a bright green sponge. Great clusters of the same sponge, a foot high 
and about the same width, are seen on the bottom in shallow water. Fish life is not 
abundant. From its banks low mountains rise. The stream flowing from it is swift 
and full of young Sahno. A rudimentary dam has been constructed at its outlet to 
keep timber from floating down against the railway bridge. As a consequence tlie 
lake is full of snags. The outlet of Griffin Lake empties into Eagle River, which iu 
its turn empties into Shushwa]) Lake. 
Sicamous is a statioii on an arm of Shushwap Lake near the mouth of the Eagle 
River. Low mountains covered with i)ines ascend from all the shores of the lake. 
Tlie water of the lake is much warmer than that of the Eagle River. The bottom 
is overgrown with water weeds which seem in some places to be 20 feet or more in 
height. Fish are very abundant and schools of them swim below the surface, fre- 
quently a whole school poking their heads up together, like schools of frightened 
anchovies. 
At Kamloops the Korth Thompson River empties into Thompson River, forming 
together a stream nearly a mile wide. The current is moderate, and formerly steam, 
boats plied on the river. The margins of the stream are full of waterweeds, through 
wdiich it is impossible to draw a net. Salmon are takeii here by the Shushwap Indians. 
The valley is skirted by rounded hills which, with the exception of scattered pines, 
are devoid of trees. The water is much warmer than in the mountain streams, though 
the exact tenqierature was not obtained. 
Soon after leaving Kamloops the descent again becomes very steep and continues 
so along the Fraser to Mission, where the river is affected by high tides. The country 
south of Mission is marshy, a few hills rising on the north. The Fraser is here a slow, 
broad stream, and salmon and sturgeon abound in it. 
