266 
WILD NOE WAY. 
exaggeration, but I will not hesitate to say that almost 
daily we had here to take our lives in our hands while 
crossing those terrible torrents. It is no child’s play 
to ford a stream that is only knee-deep, when the bed 
is all loose boulders, rocking and slippery, full of holes, 
and with a tumultuous current swirling by. But when 
the depth reaches to one’s waist—necessitating the 
transfer of cartridges to breast-pockets—then the power 
of the torrent and the increased resistance remove such 
feats from mere sporting perseverance that enjoys an 
obstacle, to the borders of reckless and foolhardy risk. 
When one’s utmost strength can barely secure each new 
hold for the ten-foot pole, when the intercepted flood 
rises in a hissing wave to within a foot of one’s ear, and 
it takes some thirty minutes in ice-cold water to make 
good a short twenty yards, then a single false foothold, 
one rolling stone, or slip on slimy water-weed may mean 
death, or, at the least, involve a degree of danger that 
should not be incurred for any sporting ambition—that 
is, always presuming that your life is of some value to 
others besides yourself. 
Several of these streams which, in themselves, were 
impassable, we turned in flank by crossing their lake¬ 
like portions on rafts. This, of course, presupposes the 
existence of lake-like stretches ; and also involves carry¬ 
ing a heavy axe capable of cutting down trees of 
sufficient size to bear the weight of two men. Other 
streams were utterly impassable, whether by rafts or 
recklessness, and the woods beyond these formed secure 
refuge for our hunted elks. 
So much for our environment and its difficulties, 
physical and accidental. I have already related sufficient 
