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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. arrata to pelure. in A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 5S I OUT OF THE WHITE BLANKNESS STARTED LETTERS RED AS BLOOD" Sec page 293. .; DAYLIGHT LAND ; 'J'iic Kxpcricnccs, IiniJrnis, tvul Aili'rntiircs, Ifiimoroits aiul Otiur 7i'is(\ which bcft'I yitih^c ]<^>\\\ i)()i;, Tourist, of San Fraiicisio ; Mr. Ckimias I'ki'I'I.rij.i., i'af'italisl^ of Boston ; CoioncI (lOi-'i'K, thr A/a/I fro/11 .\>?i' I{ompshir,\ ami itivcrs others, ill thl>rt TTON 'I'm Mr.KTixc; At IJkiakiast A Vkky lIoi'Kin. Man . TiiK I'jir. Ni-,iM(i<)N 'I'koct . TnK Man in tuk Vki.vktkkn Ja( kkt TlIK Cai'italist A JoLi.Y Cami' at Ursii Lakf, I)iG (Jamk A Strange jMidmght Ride . Banff Namki.kss Mottntains . SaHHATH among TIIK Moi'NTAlNS Pagr 17 *.i'.t i'J , r>;\ tiS , *».") . i;v,» IC.T ISli 211 . '2'Jl 1(1 c'oxrKNrs. <'ii\p. XIII. 'I'm (;i!i;.\T (ii.Acti TAOI! Xl\'. Tim IlniMiT oi Fit \si u ("anon 'J7» XV. ImsII ANIt I'iSIIINi; IN KlMTISH CuiIMItlA m \VI. V A.NCorVIK :«>■ XVII. Tin; l*Ai:ii.\(; at \'|( iokia ;l»i i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Fia>.M DKSKiN'S ItV.I. I). W()()|)\VAi;i>. .1. ('. Dl l;AM), ('. KKOICII- 'i'(>\. ('. COl'KLAND, J. CAllTEll IJKAKD, C. 11. JOHNSON. AND OI'llKK.S. rA(.i. "Oct ok thk whitk ui,a.vk\i;ss stautkd lkttkks i!i;it as lil.doi*" Fruiifts/jii'rr Vkrmii.iox Lakks ........ \) TlIK ,Iui)(lK ........ TiiK TnKKK SisTi:i{s. Can.mokk ..... " A srilol.AULV LOOKING .MAX " .... A \'t)irK i.'KO.Ai TIlK DOOUWAV ..... "1 (;0 AS A rilJJlMM " ...... "'PlIOl' SHALT WlilTK us" ....... TlIK l>n\V HiVKK, XKAU CaujAKV .... I.MTIAl. LkTTKU ........ "Ol'U HANDS Miyr MKi: A I'LASir' .... ()\ I'lli; Iv(iAI) lO Tin: (Jl.Ai IKll '• IIoW riiKSH THK I.AI>Ii:s ]J)(»k" .... Jackkish Cu()ssiN(i, Laki: Sri'i:i{iou .... Initial Lkttku ........ 10 11 17 IS 'j;; L.M '_'S lL> lASV OK II.IJ STKATIONS "Coi-NT Tin: < i,i( Ks "... Tin: W.\rii:it 'I'm l-'iKsr liiuixii: .... Till Uoi'i: Mitiiiiii: .... ('\i;ii;i'i |{(i\i> MiMiM.i . |''iiA>i:ii I{i\ii; A l{i:.M, (Ji:m ..... I{i:i» IJni K AM) Ni:i'Hio\ \\\\ 'l'inM>i:i{ C.vi'i:. liAKK Si i-i imoi: I Mil A I, liiriTKi; .... CkoWImoI' I'At A.MI'MKNI' Till'; .li iKii; (AT mi;t " . A Minkk's [Ii r . . . . IMr. IMA( KAV. NKAK PoKT AUTHirR Im'I'iai, I.i;tti:i! . . . . •• I \y\ i»i;M(iirn;i> to .>. > *■ t > *». t .VI .'">7 i;:; ('.7 r.s <;.s 71 7'.> .S7 1»1 •r. 97 1(»L' lo;; 10.-. 107 lo«) 111 \]ry no I LIST Ol" II,MsTI:aI"|()NS. Ki ;;() •• Ifi -iTin < K iiii: MAN <»i- srii;\M; " . Ni'Ait Ui:vi:i,sinKr. .... I\l I 1 \1, Ll.l'IKIf .1 \( K Ostiooi) . I'uiMiTivr, '"hansi'oki'ai niN Imhan (JiiM, . Tiir. Man I'|{i»\i Ni:\v IIa.mi>mii;i Kananaskis Kai,i,s Tin; .MniNiAiN |j(i\ I Mil A I, Li;iri:i; ..... (il!AV NN'oM' ..... W II I'll: 'I'Aiii l)i;i;i; ..... lillTALn ...... AViii;i: K(i.\ ...... iVIrsK Ox l'i;uN(; II()i;n Anti;i,(iI'i: .... ('Ai;ii;nf ...... liiM KV MolNTAIN < JoAl .... l{n( KV Moi'NTAIN SlIKKF . 'I'm: iiuv/./.LX Hi: A I! .... M(M)SK ..... Si:a Ottkh ........ I'xiW UlVKK AND ('.\S( ai»i: .Mol' VrA I NS. M:\I! IlwiK Imiiai, Li;i"n;K ....... I\ I'lii: Sklkiiiks ....... Kl( KiNd IluKSK Pass ...... .*■ .M'OMAXiroW. CniKi' OK Hl.Ai KKKKT . . . . Falls ok tiik How. Hanki' ..... Initial Lkttkh ....... Tim: How Hivki:, Banki- ..... Mt. SikI'HKN. and (JlACIKH. AXI) ('A'I'IIKDItAI. MoiNT Fi;\sKi{ ('a\on. i:i;low Nouth Hknk ^'KItMILIO\ LakKS ....... Ox tiik 'loTK KoAK ...... Van Hoi;ni: HAX(ii: ....... Initial Lkttkk ....... ALi',Ki;r Canox . AIN •-'I I'JI \'S.\ I'J.-i I.). I i;5s i:i"t I |i> I II I II I It; IIS 1 1'.> i.-.'j 1.-.4 1." Kit ic:; ICiCi ic: Km I(')<> ITC. 171) 1 s;! is;; is: I'.ii l!t7 L'OS L'(M.» 211 LM1 14 Msr OF ILI.rsTKAriONS. Catiikdrai, I'kak yw. FiKM. . Ri'1'.v ("kkkk IlKltMIT R\\ '_'.')S 2(;() L'Cm L'71 L'7;5 L'74 L'74 'J7(; L'77 2S2 L'S.-) 'iSS L'97 L".)S L".».S ;;o(> ;}02 :i04 ;',(),". .",07 .".07 :\\~> LIST OK ILIAJSTRATIDNS. 15 Tin; Bam Indian Cuikk's (Jl-avk . Pi'lT lllVKIt Jnh'iai. Lktiki; SlWASIl Canoks . An ()i,I) Squaw Mkdk INK Mas . Jnkian Hi;k.mit .S(.UiA\V OK TIIK IMkDK INK MaN At Nkw Wkst,aii\sji;k . Flatiikad Imjiaxs 'Vm: Pautinc; . , . . At TiiK Station • »«»■- .1.)] • »•>»' •>'>U ^^\^: fit "4^^^^^ ■J I INTRODUCTION. J J :; Speed the yoiiig' guest. '• Whither art thou going', wanderer, this siuii- mor ? " said a i)leasant voice from the doorway, as I came up the gravel walk. " Are }'()U going to tlie North and the home of ice, or to the East and the gates of the morning? Or do you long for the odor of trop- ical Howers and the Hash of colored win<»s ? Or shall you voyau'e to the West, that land of old-time fahle, in which the blessed lived ? Tell me, thou ranger of woods, with thy whitened head and the heart of a hoy, whither goest thou this sunnuer ? " " I am going, fair princess," I said, imitating the lightness of her phrasing, — ''I am go- ing to the West, to that heaven of the old-time folk, where tlie colors on the clouds are as golden as thy hair, and the sky as hlue as thine eyes. I am going to the West, fair princess, where the plains are of emerald, the mountains snow-crowned, and the streams How yellow with gold." 18 JNTIiODlCTIOX. " How o'oest thou, wanderer ? " continued the voice l)anterin<4ly from the (h)oiw{iy. " Has Phcebus loaned you his car and taught you the <»;overinnent of his steeds ? Beware ! Keniend)er the fate of Phaeton ! Or has the sea sent you word that tlie Dolphins are waiting", all harnessed to the (, bowl of the pink pearl shell ? Or do you go like a true i)il- giini, with san(hdled foot and scall()i)ed slioon ? Is it by the poetry or prose of power that you are to be drawn ? " '' ]5y both," I responded. " The fate of Phaeton has warned me, and the i)early shell car of the Dolphins is small. I go as a pilgrim, but a pilgrim favored by the gods. I have sandals, and I shall walk when I choose. I have Avings, — wiuii's like an eai>le's, and I shall Hy where I will. And whether I fly or walk, I shall go with eyes ()i)en." " ' I ! ' You surely go not alone ! " " Ay, alone," I responded, — " alone with my thoughts and my fancies, an endless train of com- panicnis." '' Bnt surely thou shouldst take one friend at least for the night, one comrade for the trail ? " " Sweet spirit," I rejoined, " the cheerful face, the courteous tongue, the open hand, the honest heart, find INTllOnrCTION. 1^ frioiuls wliere'er thev <;•(). All camp-fires shine lor such, all doors fly oi)en at their eomiiio-. The listen- ino- ear tiiitls voice of knowledge, and for the seeinjr eye Gt)d paints his pictures everywhere. He who takes humor with him has princely entertainment with a crust, and mirthfulness laughs the long- road short. The voung need comi)any beyond themselves, hut with the whitened head come thoughts which make com- panionship." " wise phil()soi)her ! " exckiimed the voice more soberly, " hast thou a charm against danger and an amulet for ill ? Dost thou not fear to leave the loved behind? " " He who loves takes all his loved ones with him where'er he goes," I answered. " Even their cares and wants abide with him, and the air which is forever roiuid him on all sides is as a polished mirror to re- flect their faces. Love owns imagination, and in it as a constant sky she sees forever all her stars fast fixed." " H' we may not go with thee, dear one," she an- swered, " then our conspiracy must be uncovered. Each year thon leavest us — it is thy habit, and for weeks we have mistrusted thee. Hence we have coun- selled — we of thy hearth and heart — and plotted lovingly, and I am spokeswoman of the plot. We have decided we will not let you go unless you give us solemn promise." " Promise ? I will promise anything — on such an altar swear at random. Bring out the household. You are all rogues alike, for they come (puckly at your signal, — too quickly to be honest. Now see I such 20 INTKODICTIOX. sweet tviannies tis never blessed u kiii«»{loiii. Who could resist ? I promise to ol)ey." [She reads.] •■' We of thy house do herel)y {ii»ree to let thee <>() a-journeyin<»' aj^ain, and <»rant thee lib- erty to be «>one for many weeks or months, as seemetli to thee i;oo(l, — i)rovided, that of all lovely sights, of all beautiful thin<;s and i)laees that thou seest, of all strani»e people and uncouth objects, of all lia])py days and farcical conceits, ah)n<»- with all humorous incidents and mirthful experiences, thou shalt write us u full and faithful account. And if in journeying thou meetest with clever folk, Avitli men and women lifted with mother-wit to make thee laui>li, what they say shall be writ down for us, that we Avho bide here while thou farest on may not be lonely, but share with thee the profit and entertainment thou dost meet with. So shall this journey of thine be a happy one in truth, to all of us, and all the days be winged until we meet again. Dost thou j)romise ? " " Ay, ay," 1 answered briskly. " The yoke that Love lays on us is easy and the burden light. My pen shall keep pace with my feet. For your delight I will be tourist and scribbler both. You shall see what I see, — rivers and plains, mountains and snow^y peaks, sunrises and sunsets, with all their glow, and starry nights, the works of men, and the nobler works of God. And what I heai' to stir my mirth I will send you fairly written out ; so shall your laughter be as echo to my own. And now the stirrup-cu}). I drain it to safe-keeping of the house. We '11 have sweet meeting after many days." n. WI lO L'l>y ai»ree tlioe lil)- s soeinotli sights, of ?st, of all })|)y (lays iiu'ideiits full and I nieetest "ted with shall be lile tliou thee the th. 80 :riitli, to ve meet ke that My pen 'lioht I i3e what peaks, starry )i'ks of II send be as drain sweet THOU SHALT WRITE US. DAVLKUrr LAND. CHAITER I. THE :mkktin(;, Wek'oinc. old fiiciid I A IuiikIiimI tliKUsiiiid wclcciiiics. IIOU art the man !" cried a voice Ix'lniid mc, as I stepped out of tlie hatlu'oom, ])re])aied for the jdeas- uies of the day as only a man can he hy a hath, — "thou art tlie man, or my eyes are hlind, or the man that trailed that dreadful trail of the Staked Plains Avith me has a douhle." " Judi>e Doe ! " T cried, and our hands nu't like a flash. " Not a man on the earth Avould I sooner see at this minute than yourself. This n?ai>nificent room " — and I <»lanced at the ele«»'ant car — " is not much like the spot where we made our first meetino." And I thoug'ht of that harren Avaste of sand where I ran across him, without i»uide or water, as he wandered half hlinded 24 IN'rifODrCTION. under the awful lioiit. " Do you rcniciulx'i' tlio cjin- tetm 1 j»'Jiv(^ you, and how you swoio tliat tlic halt' ])oil- niir water in it wan as cold as icud shorhct And I hiuirlu'd at the nicniorv. " And so it was," returned tlie .)udj»e stoutly " At least, so it seeniec t ii a t I at m o- ment, and o tl f o n e nuir I am roni vour certain, that that drink f old canteen saved my life. »> (.Y^y "I should n't won- der," I re- -plied. "For " ' .._- •' it' you had not had it when yon did you would probably have been wan- derino" a madman over the sands in half an liour. Hut a ii«>' to the Staked Plains and the (dd memories ! We are here in this car, with })lenty to eat and driidv ; and so tell me, where are you j;'oin<>' ? ' " I am j»'oino- home to the Golden Gate," he rej^ied, '' and I have come clean up from \Vashin<»ton to take this route. I wanted to escape the dust and the heat I I" fJ»p onn- lialf l),„|. And \ h' ''At ■sf, so it 'JHt'd at at nio- "t, iiud o II e »«• I am aiji, fli;it (liinlv your canteen hI my sJionld Av () n - I re- "F„r II had lad it wan- iiour. >nes ! link; )lied, take ijeat Tin: MKKTFXC;. 2/5 ,ij4 ^T\ of more southern ones, tlie al- kaU |»lains, and the hot hiokiiiH- ochred eanons and the JJuttes, whieh are all ri^iit in winter, 1)ut wliieli in niidsununer make ^ . . _„ , . me feel, as the train ''^ rolls down into them, as if I were bein^ pushed into the mouth of an oven. An old f'iend told me in Washinirton that I could reach San Fran- cisco this way without the 20 DAYLKMIT LAND. alkali dust, tho infernal licat, and tlio j»larin<»- red colors, lidu I'our luindrcd miles hetween «»la(aers, and see Hueli .scenery as I never saw on t\u\ ('ontinent, and so I am here. Hut where are you j;'oin«;', (»ld comrade of hot Texan trails and arid Arizona? Are you, too, hound for the IMessed isles lyin<»" uiuler the sunset?" '" Ay, uy," 1 returned lau«»hinj»ly, and in the same liiiht strain that the .ludye had taken. " I too am "O- inj»- to the West ; not the West of ekissie fahle, hut of modern fact. 1 <»'o, not to reach home, nor escape dust and heat, hut to see the <»reat mountains hetween the })rairies and the sea. 1 met John Carrol at I'arker's, in Boston, last week, — you remend)er Carrol, the man we met amonj;' the Nevadas that summer ? — and he told me that the Canadian scenery was beyond descri[)tion ; that 1 could ride three hundred miles alon«»" «»lacial streams, with the <»laciers from which they How in full si<»lit, with hundreds of mountains, that have not even been named, risinj^ ten thousand feet above the level of the track ; and knowini;" him to be care- ful of statement, I packed my valise, and here I am. " Here I am, too, for about the same reason," said a quiet voice behind me, and a hand stole slyly into mine ; and lookinji^ around, there was Colonel Gofl'e, or, as we facetiously called him durin<^ the journey, " the Man from New Hampshire." " You see," lie continued, after I had presented him to the Judi»e, " I own a ranch somewhere amonj;' the foot-hills beyond Calgary, and. my oldest boy is making his start in life on it. He has been out there two years, < I rilK MKKTINO. 27 I.llllln- ,.^.^1 aciVis, jind '"('lit, und ' eomnidi* .Y"", too, unset ? " tlio am oo- '•', l)ut oF <*'i|)o (hist ^vct'ii the ikei's, in ) man we he tohl •iiptlon ; r glacial flow in at Jiave >t a hove l)e eare- aml I th()iii»'ht T would luii over and s«'«» how he is get- tiiii:- ah)iiu-. He is to meet me at some station near tlie ranch, and is to ^o throu«»h with me to the eoast, for h<5 wrote tliat he did not wisli me to see even the ranch until 1 had seen tlie mountains, the «;hieiers, and tlie great forests." How (h'hghtrul, often, are tlie sur])rises of travel ! To think tliat, comin;^' from (hlferent parts of tlie world, after years of wanderin<>', without knowledoe of each other's movements or purposes, we two, who had parted years hefore in Arizona, should meet face to face in this palace car, travellin«;' for almost the same junjiose, and with the same ohject in view, and that we old trailers, who had so often hivouacked together, and shared the same hlanket, should have sle[)t all nii;ht within a few feet of eacli other, not knowin<»' ! Are the meetin<»s of life acci(h'ntal, or is there a l\)wer ahove us which arran«»es and compels the meetings and partings of our lives ? " This is going" to he a liappy journey," said the Judge pleasantly, as he h)oked at the passengers gr()uj)ed here and there. " I can see it in their faces. Bless me, how fresh the hidies h)ok ! There is not a tired face in the car." Dear old happy-hearted Judg-e ! I wonder if the prophecies of men are not horn of their moods, after all ? For with all thy nice taste and delicate sense of the fit and the needful, never did I meet a lighter heart or a iiappier disposition than thine. But indeed it was a rare company, for it was wholly composed of intelligent and refined people, accustomed 28 DAYLirniT LAND. to travel, and travel-wise. And best of all, we were filled with euriosity and some of ns with incredulity touching the wonders it had been foretold us we should see, — such marvels and majesties of nature as in truth make the ride from Calgary to Vancouver like a joiu'- ney through fairy and giant land. Thus, with old friends unexpectedly met ; with a throng of bright and courteous people around us, and feeling that we were a " goodly companie going to seek goodly things," our happy journey, as the dear old Judge had prophetically called it, began. 'j we were int'iedulitv we should i« ill tnitli ^^ «i joiir- ; witli a fl lis, and S'oing- to tJie dear CHAPTER II. AT 15KEAKFAST. A feast of reason and a How of soul. " AKE another cup of this delicious cott'ee, Judi>e," I said to my coni- ])anion at the table. We are travel- lini»" like the g'ods, and it is tit that we should fare like the gods. " Your conceit is a happy one," re- plied the Judge, as he inspected his cream. " This is the true nectar of Olympus, if it was drawn from the udder of a cow. The ancients hit it exactly. Their heaven was only the sublimating of the earth. Their goddesses were their best-looking women, their gods crowned athletes, and their Parnassus nothing but an ■'li 30 DAYLIGHT LAND. nil ■'I idealized summit of a liill in Attica. We moderns sep- arate our heaven from the earth, Jind so h)se the beauti- ful sequence of the divine plan. If in the place of the- ologians we had the old sages again, our children Avould be taught the sweet lesson that the heavenly is only the earthly in bloom, and that angels are but men and women who have been educated a little higher up than the schooling of this life carries them." " And you might add," I suggested, " that this manner of travel which we are now en- joying is only a modern method of Hying." " Certainly," said the Judge, as he buttered his roll, " we are flying. Count the clicks," — and he held up his watch, — " forty in twenty sec- onds ; that gives us the number of miles to the hour. Forty miles an hour and at breakfast ! Could an angel keep her stroke with a cup of coffee in her hand? See ! the li(juid does n't sway in the cup. I wonder if the navvies that made this road-bed appreciated their work ? " " The passengers do, if they did n't," I responded, " and that is the important thing, perhaps. The bee may not know the sweetness of its own honey nor the mathematical perfection of its cell. But the man gifted with the delicacy of taste and the artistic senee appre- ciates both. The lower order does the work and the :# AT liKEAKFAST. 131 )flerii,s sep- tJie heiniti- tce of tlie- len Avould fy is only and tJiut k1 women «fl a little sclioolinir 11." add," I inanner now en- I method 3 Jndo-e, >Ii, "we clicks," '»ty sec- le hour, n ano-el hand ? wonder !cl their onded, he bee lor the gifted appre- 1(1 the ^^ higher one gives the ai)})laiise. That seems to be the Avay of it." At this moment we went roaring over a bridge whose mighty span stretched in majesty a hundred feet al)()ve the mad water that poured whirling downward below us. We glanced from the window as the run\- blinsr "rave us its siaiial, and our inind received this photographic impression : A mountain to the right, mounded like a loaf, and wooded perfectly from base to dome ; to the left a preci- pice, lifting sheer half a \ . ,, .^, thousiind feet from the dark pool lying sullen and black in its shadow ; through this gorge and beyond, in the distance, a space of sky shone like a mirror, and un- der us, the white angry wa- ter, — a picture Hashed on us in a second and indeli- bly impressed on the mem- ory ; a picture which I keep to this day, and shall keep till the gallery in which it hangs, with a thousand other perfect ones, crumbles to the foundations. " The history of bridges is the history of civiliz^ition," remarked the Judge. " Waiter, this steak is a trifle underdone. Tell the cook to give it a brief turn on the iron. The cooking is excellent on this line," he remarked, evidently forgetting what he was going to ,-*;v. 32 DAYLIGHT LAND. say about bridges, " but it is not up to the level of the Hofl'nuui or of Young's ; not quite up," he continued, as if he would, with line judicial sense, discriminate to a nicety between degrees of excellence in a matter of such supreme importance. " One would not expect, Judge," I remarked, " to find so old a traveller as yourself so particular touch- ins* the cookinir of a lillet." " There is where you mistake," responded the Judge. " He who travels should be an ei)icure, for his taste must be cosmopolitan. He becomes accpiainted with the fruits and vegetables of every zone, the fish of all seas, and the meats of every country. He ac- quires knowledge not only of the habits but of the beverages of all peoples, and of the culshie of each nation. The knowledge of what he should have causes him to insist on his rights, and the cook who sends me an underdone steak wrongs me as wofully as a government which should supi)ress the luibeas corpu)^. The equities of the stomach should not be trifled with, sir." " But what about the bridges ? " I inquired laugli- ingl^y, " for I must confess I am more interested in your ideas touching bridges than I am touching steaks." " I am not responsible for your obtuseness in non- discrimiuiition between relative values. But bridges are a hobby with me," retorted the Judge. " I studied civil enirineerino; before I did law, and at that time the great bridges of the world had not been built. I can remember when Stephenson laid the foundation of his |li AT BREAKFAST. 153 level of the e continued, jriniinate to a matter of larked, " to L'ular toueli- fame with his first bridge, and tlie poetry of his great endeavors impressed me profoundly. For a bridge, sir, is a poem put into structure, — an imaginatlw ■■ <»f the mind materialized. It stands for an idea, the idea of human brotherhood and the necessity of friendly ex- chans>es, — that the man on the one side of the river (onded the :iure, for his acquainted lie, the fish y. He ac- but of the nt of each lould have I cook who as w(jfully he lidbeds dd not be Led lauo-li- erested in touchiuii' iS in non- it bridjies I studied t time the t. I can on of his cannot get along without hell) from the man on the other side." " Who built the first bridge, Judge ? " inquired the Man from New Hampshire. " Who built the first bridge ? " " It was n't built," replied the Judge ; " it was a gift of nature in the form of a tree, which the winds over- turned, so that it stretched its trunk of solid wood u DAYI.KillT LAND. f'roiu bunk to bank of* tbe stieuni, or from edge to e(l<»e of the ehtism, — u bridj^e for the panther and bear as well as for the hunter, over the buttresses of Avliieh leaves waved, and vhies twhied their foliage, and under which the torrent thundered and wlurled. Man never built a bridge so lovely to look upon as those 1 have seen in the woods, wind-blown to their jjlaees, — the wind-blown bridge of the forest." " Bravo ! bravo ! " I exclaimed, and I fluttered the napkin gaUantly. " Bravo, Judge ! The poetry of the theme has found its poet." And I passed him a section of a delicious French omelet. " A reminiscence of Paris," remarked the Judge, smilinsf as he received it. " More substantial than the pleasures of memory," added the New Hampshire man quietly j and he told the waiter to duplicate the Judge's order. " There is a characteristic among you New Hamp- shire men that I admire," remarked the Judge. " You know a good thing when you see it, and you see it mighty (piick." " I see an omelet mighty (piick when it 's as good as yours," Avas the retort. " The gentlemen are out of order," I exclaimed, rap- ping on the table. " The question before the house is one of bridges." " Bridge number two," said the Judge, " is that of the settler : two ropes, often woven from roots, with wooden slats intermediate. Then comes the bridge with wooden stringers, planked for heavier travel ; then the long enclosed bridge. Mounting still higher AT HKKAKl AST. 35 Ige to ecl<»e 111(1 bear ;is s of wliicli , and under Man never ose 1 have ■ices, — tlie Littered tlie poetry of ssed liiin a the Judg-e, memory," id he told ew Hamp- »e. " You you see it as o()od as imed, rap- the house is that of oots, with le hridg-e r travel ; ill higher in the rising; scale is Ste})hens.)n's great work, the Vi('t(?ii;i IJiidge, old style now, l)ut nevertheless a great acliicvement in engineering, with its monstrous ahut- ments and its thirty acres of painted surface. Rising still higher, we come to the Suspension Bridge at Ni- agara, and the magniticent cantilever structure of this road on which we are riding, at Lachine ; and crown- ing all, the g-reat Brooklyn Bridge, over which half a million human beings pass each day. I tell you, gen- tlemen," exclahned the Judge earnestly, " the histcjry of bridge-building, from that Avind-ldown tree-trunk in the woods to the latest achievement in en"ineerin": skill, is the history of the human race not only in .naterial progress, but in the apprehension of man's need of his fellow-man and the brotherhood of the race. Every achievement of man is communal. Every embellishment in this car makes companionship more entertaining, and draws us closer together by the bond of common refinement." And the Judge proceeded m DAVIJdllT l.ANU. to full oiir Mttcntioii, with ciitieai a[)|)i't'ciiition, to tlic eaivi'd, thf bronzed, and tlic onanielli'd ek'ii'ant't' ol' tlio ear, a Tliat })ietnre reminds nie," said tlie New J lamp- shire man, pointinj^' to one of the endjelhslunents, a beantit'nl hit ot* .Japanese enamelling, — "■ of a little hit of 1> d K'rsonal exnerienee j> "Waiter," said the .Jud<>e, " bring us another pot of eolfee and a jug of eream. Thank heaven," he ejaeuhited, " that 1 have lived to see the day when one railroad management is so intelliuent as to reeounize the fact that a man who is rieh enough to pay ten dollars a day to travel in a palaee ear is aeeustomed to have real eream in his eolfee. Now, Coh)nel/' he eontinued, after he had poured the rieh eream slowly in his eup and as slowly ])oured the hot fragrant eolfee u})on it, " I am ready for your story. I hope it will have the flavor of true humor in it as this eolfee has the flavor of real Java," and he si})ped the delieious beverage with the delieaey of one gifted to enjoy the good things of this world. " Oh, it isn't nuudi of a story," replied the Colonel pleasantly, — " merely a little ineident." And he filled his own eu[) contentedly. " It was in 18(38, or tliere- alxmts," (piietly continued the Colonel, " when the Orient began to ] •)ur the treasures of her art produc- tions, via New Jersey, into Boston, where alone the culture to discriminate between the false and the true in art is to be found, you know, that I was suddenly seized, as were many others, with the ' Japanese craze.' It was a pretty bad attack," he continued reflectively. '^ itioii, to the L;';mc(' ol tlu* New lliiuij)- lislmu'iits, a )f ii little hit anotlier i)()t lieaveii," he ly when one to recoii'nize to pay ten eiistonied to Jolonel," he ream slowly LO'nint collee hope it ^vilI 4 eolt'ee has he delicious o enjoy the the Colonel 11(1 he filled 8, or tlieie- Avhen the lit j)i'o(lue- alone the id the true s suddenly lese craze.' eflectivelv. 41 ■St .'4 CARIBOU ROAD BRIDGE, FRASER. 'Ill III, 1 f I I! AT H UK A K FAST. 30 — " .1 protty Imd Jittjick. Tlu' papers wcic full of it. Kvt'ryl)()(ly was tallviii^- and writing- ahout .lapaiu-se art. Now when I l)«iy aiiytliinn I want it to he lirst- class, soiiu'thinj;' to ha proud of, and fccliii;;' mistrust- ful of n»y own knowledge, I went to one of the lead- ers in Boston art circles, and lu'<;<;('d him to uive nit» the henetit of his edu- cated taste. lie kindly consented to do so, and advised me to allow him to purchase a .Japa- nese screen, as that would he a very heautiful and at- tractive addition to the furniture of my parlor. 1 oave him the money which he said would he needed to purchase a tirst-class article. It was a [)retty steep sum for a screen, I tliouj^ht, but 1 knew I could not expect to <»'et a real <>em without payin«»' for it. Well, the <>'entleman, after several days of hd)or exclu- sively devoted, as he assured me, to visitinj»- the vari- ous ' Eastern Bazaars,' durino- which he exhausted the focalizino' power of several eyeglasses, succeeded in findin«»- what he was after, a real, <»enuine, first-class specimen of Japanese art, and the hu<»e screen was 10 DAYLKiin LAM). sent down t(» my oHic*'. It u'jis ccitMliily a wondnful ri'cation. Tlu'ic was a lar^c-sizcd Diirliaiii row in llu* centre oi' tlie screen, witii an almond-eyed milUmaid, in a vei'V low-necl\ed dress and lii^li-lieeled Fn-ncli shoes, milkinii her. Tlie ri<>ht eve oF the cow was fixecl intently on tlie ri^ht-hand corner of the screen, whik» the h'f't lilared strai}>ht at vou. One ev«' was consiih-r- al)ly lar<;('r tlian tlie other, and of a dilVerent color. 1 natnrally conclnded that this was a characteristic of .lapanese cows, and mentally made a note of it for nse if I should ever he called upon to discuss the pecu- liarities of Oriental art. 1 made a memorandum also of the fact that there was only half of the cow's tail in the jncture, hut as the artist liud for«»<)tten to j)aint in ji fly for her to practice at, that did not nuu'h matter. To the front and at the U'ft of tlu^ cow sat a Gordon setter, ahout half the size of the cow and twice as tall as the oirl. The picture all'ected me so strongly that after 1 studied it closely, o<)t a photo«»Ta})h of it on my mind, as it were, 1 (piietly shipped it uj) to my farm in New Hampshire, where I felt tlune would be room enou<»li for it, aid it could add some warmth to the landscape. 1 h()[)ed also that amon«»' my old country neiu'hhors who had nevtn- studied liiah art in Boston it would find plenty of admirers, be a kind of surprise, so to s[)eak. This would have been all ri<»ht and safe enouob if niy housekeei)er had been a woman of sense and had acted with any jud«>'ment ; but while cleanino^ the house one day, she thoughtlessly set tlie screen out i>n the lawn, and a series of terrible results followed. In the first pkice, a herd of cows that a neighbor was A'l' nUKAKI'AST. II H W()||(l(>|f'||f I COW in (ho iiilkin.iid, in '■•'ncli sliocs, ^vas fixed nevu, while !»H consich'i- 'ivnt nAov. laractciistic B of it foi- ls the |)('cii- •H'lnin also fow's tail " to paint (•!» matter. «i Gordon i<*t' Hs tall >noly th;,t it on my my farm 1)0 room til to the t'onntrv IJoston it surprise, iind safe of sense eleaninc* leen out bl lowed. il>or was innoct'iitly milking' for the family W(>nt out and studied the milkmaid on the screen for several minutes, and Lioini;' hack into the house, promptly a|>plied for her wa^cs " — "That will do, (Jolonel," interru|»ted the .lu(li;(', lis- in^', '" that will do for your lirst one." And we all started for the smokin<;-room. I Id ' "*^^M|PMWhite»V'- ■ ^"^w^yrrapw* rtrfclmitaifci ^'j^yjfljjgi''^ CHAPTER III. A VERY HOrEFl^L MAN. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. HE ancients dreamed of monstrous be- inc^s, possessed of* monstrous power. The Christian Scriptures tell of a time when there were oiants on the earth, and the sons of God married the dauo^hters of men, namely, of a time when the supernal forces were in alliance with the natural, and the hidden energies of the up})er rein- forced those of the lower sphere. Mytholooy is full of the same lofty ima<»inino's. Creatures of gij^an- tic size are projected upon her canvas : Cyclops, vast, lii' % A VERY HOPEFUL MAN. 415 "1 p^^^-^ trous })e- s power. i)f d tiin« lu' earth, lied the F a time ntli tlie •er reiii- y is full ' gij^an- )s, vast, ■S .-■'i' abnormal in stren<»tli, one-eyed like the headlight of our eniiine. Had the man who invented the Cyeloi)s invented an engine also, I wonder? Certainly, an old- fashioned Cych)ps would seem no more grotescjue or appalling to modern scholars than a Mogul engine to a native on the banks of the And)esi or the shores of the Nyanza. Then there was Vulcan, that mighty armorer for the gods ; and Atlas, on whose broad shoulders rested the world ; and jMinerva, Hashing" courier of the Empyrean ; and later on came Thor with his lianmier, pulverizer of mountains, and the whole body of folk-lore threaded through and through with the puissance of dwarf and gnome, of fairy and s[»rite. All these and other fashionings of the human mind, purely fanciful or semi-real, have come down to us from that nuirmuring past of which nothing re- mains save its nuirmurings, all sugi»estive of measure- less energies, gigantic forms, and mighty forces. The old-time world at least dreamed of almost infinite power and the works of it, in connection with human forms, or forms sugg-ested by the human." Something like this was said l)y a scholarly-looking" man, who stood with the rest of us on the platform of the rear car of the train, as it whirled round the cliff which brought us in sii»ht of the blue waters of Lake Superior, as they sparkled and flashed brightly under the light of the morning. He who has rolled for fifty miles along" the shore of this majestic bodv of inland water, who has seen the summer sky archino- the blue dome above it, its forest-covered islands, the hundreds of islets that dot its surface, its curving beaches of J I »if .1 44 DAYLKillT LAND. brown and yellow sand, its deep, secluded bays and rocky promontories, has looked upon one of the most entertaining and charminj^ pictures of the continent, — a picture Avhicli delights the beholder as he gazes, and remains fixed, with all its changeful colors, in his memory ever after. " What the ancients dreamed," remarked the Judge, referring to what the scholarly-looking man had said^ " we moderns see realized. Our telegraph is swifter than Minerva ; and that common laborer, who is guard- ing that bridge yonder, can for a shilling send a mes- sage faster than they ever dreamed Jupiter could do it. Atlas is no longer a myth. We to-day know the })()wer that holds up the world : it is the same that keeps this car on the track — gravitation. Cyclops is no longer a terror. He is ahead of us, and our engi- neer has him in perfect control. Thor is our servant, and he pulverizes mountains at so much a cubic foot ; while the gnome that bored its way through this spur of quartz, tunnelling it for our passage, is the diamond drill." And as the .ludge concluded the sentence, we all retired into the car, to escape the smoke and the ^-inders. " It seems to me," continued the scholarly-looking man, after we were seated, 'that the thinkers of the world get more credit than they should, as compared with the doers. My life has been spent in the i)ur- suit of letters," he continued, " and my thoughts have been favored with a kindly reception by the world ; my writings have brought me both money and fame. But as I have seen the excavations along this line ; as I (I bays and ^f the most i continent, ^ lie gazes, ylors, in liis the Judw 1 had saifl^ • is SM'if'ter is guard- end a mes- ould do it. know tlie same tliat Cych)ps is our engi- ir servant, uhie foot ; til is spur J diamond itence, we ) and tlie y-looking fs of the •ompared the ])ur- hts have )rld; my But ; as I > o n z o € 1,1 4 ill. Ill 111. |. 1 ■9. A VERY HOPEFUL MAN. 47 have been rolled over its bridges, and noted that the fairy-like iron structure beneath nie gave no tremor ; as I have seen that the solid sides of clift's had been cut out for our path as if they were made of chalk, 1 have felt that the words, and even the thou<»Iits, of men, however eloquently expressed, were as nothing' when compared with their deeds. I know not who built this road, whose imagination audaciously con- ceived it, or whose courage constructed it ; but who- ever did do it has in it erected an imperishable monu- ment." " It is indeed a magnificent result," said a gentle- man, an old, gray-headed engineer from Nebraska, who surveyed the route for the Union Pacific, and made for himself a name in that and other trans-continental enterprises, — "a magnificent work indeed." And he gazed thoughtfully through the open door at the level road-bed and gleaming rails. " It cost not only mil- lions of money, but human lives as well," he continued. " On this very section, within a space of twenty miles, over two millions of dollars' worth of dynamite was used, and some men, I am told, were wounded or bloAvn to pieces." '^ Dreadful 1 " exclaimed the scholarly-looking man. '• What more horrible death could a man die ? " " I do not regard death by dynamite as the worst of accidents," said a voice. " The devil ! " exclaimed the Judffe. " What 's that, sir ? " and every eye in the compartment was sud- denly fixed upon the man. He was not a large man, he was even a small one, .4 1 I ' •< I f: 2' 48 DAYLKJIIT LAND. and there was iiotliino- fierce or reckless in his appear- ance, nor would one pick him out as a man specially endowed with coura«»e, or even gifted with extraordi- nary persistence. He was not a man of full hahit, but spare in Hesh. His complexion was sallow and leath- ery. He had large gray eyes, weakly prominent, and '"% ..jT somewhat faded. His hair was thin, not positive in color, and his neck had but little base to it. Not one of us had even noticed him before. Indeed, we might have ridden with him for days, and not one of us would have noticed him, had he not given utter- ance to such a horrible sentiment, an expression which sounded all the more horrible because of the mildness of the tone which accompanied it. " I said," repeated the little man, looking- benevo- lently at the Judge, — "I said I did not regard death by dynamite as the worst of accidents." {< A VERY IIOPKFUL MAN. 49 his uppear- 11 .specially extraoi'di- [ habit, but and leath- iiiiieiit, and lositive in it. Not iideed, we lot one of veil utter- ion whieli 3 iiiildneFS benevo- ird death The Judire ""hired at the Httle man for a moment thi'ou<»li his eye«j;lasses. He removed the "lasses from his nose, .viped them carefully, and rei)hicin<>' them, took another savage look at the man, who sat (piietly in the corner. " Gad, sir ! " he exclaimed, at length. " / can't con- ceive a worse death than being blown to pieces, cpiick as a Hash, without any warning, — think of it, sir, — by dynamite ! " " No doubt," returned the little man, mildly, " such a death is somewhat sudden, and, i)liysically considered, is liable to make a total wreck of a man. The con- ductor told me a few minutes a<>o that one of the gentlemen wh" was dynamited was actually distributed — that 's the word, as I recall it, that he used — so much so that there was never anything found of him, only a thumb or some such thing ; not enough, it was decided by the authorities, to make a funeral of. Never- theless, I still respectfully maintain that worse things can happen to a man than death by dynamite." I will confess that I was never more shocked in my life than at the horrible account which the little man in the corner had givf n of one of the sad accidents which had occurred during the building of the road, and it was made all the more horrible from his manner of telling it ; for he had told the dreadfid tale in the cab ^est and most placid of tones, his miid, large gray eyes fixed calmly on the face of the Judge, and with- out the least movement whatever of any feature of his face. I think I may safely say that every other gentle- man of the party felt in the same way, and that the "■ti ' f] m n ' I 50 DAYLICillT LAND. ill: t eyes of all of us were directed upon him in amazement, not to say indi<»i)ation. " What could a man meet that would be more dread- ful ? " exclaimed the Judge, excitedly, and he f^lared at the inoffensive stranoer through his eyeghisses as if he would i)erforate him. The stranger never winced under the stare of the Judge. He did not even a[)})ear nettled in the least, for his eyes, without a shade of change in their expres- sion, fixed their gaze placidly upon him, level with his own. " We judge of these things probably from the stand- point of experience," he mildly remarked, " and I have personally experienced many thing's worse than dyna- mite." " We should be pleased, sir, to hear of your expe- riences," sneeringly remarked the Judge, and his hjok was one calculated to burst his eyeglasses from their frames. " It is not worth your attention, gentlemen," he replied pleasantly, bowing. " It is not worth your attention, I am (piite sure, for I have in one sense had nothing remarkable happen to me, and I v/ill detain you but a moment, and that because you pleasantly in- sist upon it," — a hit which must have made the Judge wince. And resuming, he gave us the following vindi- cation of his judgment : — " I have been slii})wrecked, been baked in a railroad accident, and fired out of a foundry window by a boiler explosion. I was Jiot in the neck at Gettysburg, suf- fered starvation b. Libby Prison, fell overboard from a ■'^f A VERY HOl'KKri. MAN. rA aiiiazenient, more dreud- I lie <»lare(l ^hisses as if tare of the in the least, heir expres- *el witli his 1 the stand- and I have than dyna- yoiir expe- id his hjok from their lemen," he vorth your sense had v.'ill detain asantly in- the Judo'e A'ing' vindi- a raih'oad by a boiler diuro', suf- ird from a trans])ort oil' Charleston, and left four of my fin«;ers in the mouth of a shark. 1 had my ri<»ht arm broken in two i)laees in a New York riot, and stood on a bar- rel with a halter round my neck in a Southern town, at tlie outbreak of the ••reat Rebellion, from sunrise to sunset. I was buried under the ruins of a buildini;' in San Francisco durino- an eartlupiake, and (hi<»()ut after Hftvliours of imprisonment. I have been siu)t at three times, twice by lunatics and once by a hii»hwayman. 1 was buried two (hiys by a <»'as explosion in a mine, and narrowly escaped lynchino" last year in Arizona throuL"!! mistaken identity. And th()u«»h I am over fifty, and have nearly lost the use of my ri<»ht le*;' ; have just had, as I understand, all my pro))erty, on which tiiere was no insurance, destroyed by hre in a Western town ; and the doctor in New York to Avhom I went last week for an examination assures me that I will soon be bedridden from rheumatism, nevertheless," he added cheerfully, " while I undoubtedly have met some obstacles in the past, I still refuse to believe that luck is against me." It was not a question of propriety — none of us thought of that. Had we done so our action mi<»ht have been dilferent. But at the conclusion of the little man's narration of his experiences, of the his- tory of his life, there went up a roar of laughter that might have lifted the truck from the rails. In- deed, it broke up the party. One after another, we went forward to the main compartment of the car, and took our usual seats. Several of the gentlemen appar- ently began to read, but I noticed that they held their '4\ M ■^. II i I n I:' I'l 52 DAYLKJIIT LAM). |>ji|H'rs as if they were near-sighted, and that the pa[)('rs sliook till they ratth'd. The ,lu(l«»e sat directly ahead of me. In one liand he iu'ld his eyeglasses, and with the other he wi[M'd his eyes with his jjandkeichief. At hist he tnined halfway ronnd in his chair, and hendinii' toward nie, while his face was convnlsed and the water stood in his eyes, said, — " Dynamite ! Gad. ! dynamite is n't so had, after all 1 " a :i: f' ': i ,1 '"%, (I tliiit tho sat tlirt'ctly <»lass('s, and lIKllvClt'llicf. cliaii', and iivulsi'd and l)ad, after i -■■\ :l CHAITKII IV. THK ni(J iNEPKJON TROUT. W'c niMv say of iin^lin^' as Dr. Ijotc^lci' said i>( strawhorrips : " DoiihflcsH (i(i(l rituhl liavc made a lu'tter Imutv. but doubtless (lod iifviT did." And ho, it' I iiii^lit jiidf-o, God never did make a more calm, quiet, imioccut re( nsitioii ib.m aii>-lin{?. Ihaak Walton. V N •3; t I 'TVTLTZATION means Inxnrv," said tlie Judoe sententiously, as ho looked C(mi- plaeently over the dinner-tal)le, witli its snowy hnen, its delicate china, its hurnished plate, its cnt-j»lass ware, and its vase of woodland flowers. " It is that fine arraiij^^enient by which matter is made to minister to mind, the lower eomi)elled to assist the higher. The provision made for travel is the best measure of American progress." " Analyze tiie matter, Judge," I said, as I passed ,f 54 DAYIJdHT LAND. iiiiii the UK /IK. " AiiJiIyz*' tlu' iiiiittcr, uiid tell us what ('is ili/ntioii lias to do with you and niu at this nio- lUCMlt." " Hoiiilloii," said the .Iud<;(> to the waiter. " MoeU-turtle," J added. " Mock-turtle is too heavy for summer," said the Jud<>e peremptorily to me. " Like the majority of Americans, you have lived in spite of yourself. You have the senses of a Greek and the appetite of a bar- barian. The man who eats mock-turtle soup in sum mer is a proof that the principle of divine preservation is still active." ^1 tin: mk; xiirKiox tkoit .j;> and tell us IIU lit tilis IIKI- LT. said the iiajority of* self. You i of a l)ar- ^ip in sum reservation i " 'I'lu'ie 's iiotliin^' to lioiiillon," I rctortt'd. "It's only water with a hint of a tlavor in it, and tlie liint isn't always very plain, either." "Tliiit's the beauty of it," returned the .Ind^c. " Tliat 's tlie beauty of it," lie exclaimed, as he iixed a daintv hon/oiuilrrr of ehoieo flowers stolen from tlie vase to the lapel of his coat. " The eivili/ed man ab- hors «»rossness. 'IMie barbarian feeds at a trouj»h. Edu- cate him, and he erects a table. Knife and fork replace his Hn^'ers, and as you retine him the nund)er of his dishes increases, adornnu'iits multiply, until at last he is lifted to that level upon which you and I live, where the nose and the eye eat with the mouth, and the fur- niture of the table, in the ele<»'ance of its ap[>ointments, mauiiili s tlm feast." Jiy this t'uie, the soup had been brought, and for a moment the conversation ceased. We were running' between sonu; lofty hills. Here and there Ave passed a small clearino', with its little loj»-house in the centre. Each narrow field was a nuiss of woodland flowers, scarlet, purj)h', and white, standing;- as if jdanted in sej)- arate beds, characterizing- the field with color. The cabins here and there were covered with ehnnberin**' vines, and on their sodden roofs the birds and winds, those planters of the air, had sow^n the seeds for How- erino-, fruitful <»rowth. Outside, the world was warm and odorous. The wild-Howers sweetened it, and the wind which blew the scented air thi'ou«;h our open win- dows and into our nostrils bron<'lit from the loftv hills wild, oamy scents, and pungencies of fir and pine. The Judj^e sipped his bouillon delicately, as if every % 'jl !l ' .1 I V r>G DAYLIGHT LAND. drop were a separate mini^.cratioii to his palate. His eyes contemplated with pleased satisfaction, not only the glorious color of the flowers, the green of the hills, and the blue sky, hut also the amber-tinted liipiid in his spoon ; while his nostrils expanded as if they would inhale more abundantly the perfume that drifted through the window. It was impossible not to see in him the incarnation of relined physical enjoyment, a man who honored his appetite by gratifying it, but who 'e. " He 's a twenty-pounder ! " Dear old Judge, thou hadst the true angler's eye — that eye which enlarges and multii)lies by a hai)py trick of vision, not merely the size of the fish, but the enjoyment of the soul. Ay, ay, it was a twenty- pounder to both of us old sports for the instant, and if the envious scales did shrink the noble form to shorter and thinner proportions, it could not rob us of the ecstasy of our first estimate, thank heaven ! And the fight that followed — what words may set 'W i' i 1 i , aiul which ill ot* u vet- ^'. -Gad! le ! " The > which it >f l)lue sky iiid-uir, tlie every plat- iigler hi ,1- iit; I jw, >cly of the >(l, — what the rod mt. The Hit of the Glided, tail 'He s a r s eye — a happy 1, but the I twenty- it, and if () shorter IS of the may set ,'■■.: I ' i ,'t i 1 m 'JERUSALEM! H 5. ' b A TWENTY-POUNDER' It J ^ .•' * ., TIIK IWn NKPKKIN TKOl'T. <).1 it forth? anglers, shut your evt's, and sec ainl h<'ar it from holiind vour t'h)S{'(l lids, (/ull nuMuorv to your aid — th(3 mouiorv of the stcriu'st fij;ht you ever fouu'lit, of the swiftest torrent, of tht; wihh'st pool, of that fa- vorite rod smashed to spHnters, of paddle broken, of the " hi<><>est fish that ever swam" h)st or won. Slop, I say, and fnmi behind closed lids see all this, and you will see what we saw under the <»reat bridii'c! over the Ne]»i<;on on that bright June day. Whoever the Man in the Velveteen Jaeket mi<»ht be, he was of the right sort, an angler of whom angiers need never be ashamed ; for as he fought that fish he ofave us such an exhibition of an"ler's fence as rai\ed him one of the best that ever fingered reel. An ei<»ht- ounce rod against an eiglit-i)oun(l lish, a strong, deep current, and a Nepigon canoe : grant anglers such conditions, and how many shall make a winning figlit? Twice the huge fish broke water, and twice the long train cheered him to the echo. The Judge was wild. Each time the fish broke the surface, he fairly jumped. He leaned far over the rail. He swung his hat, and when the monstrous trout broke the surface the second time, he yelled, — " Save him, save him, and I'll nominate you for the Presidency ! " Once the great fish for an instant burst through his opponent's guard. Once I must confess my heart sank within me, as a stone sinks to the bottom of a well. When he was a hundred feet from the canoe, the rod nearly tip and butt, and the silk line stretched through the air like a wire, the fish doubled and lanced back- I I t t . 11' m 1 1 * m D.WF K.iri" I, AND. l ■: 1 1^ \#i Ji I wani liUc a Hash. Wu saw his wake, — tliat sltarpciicd wcdoe of Wiitv.i- which ai»<»h'rs (head, — and as lie went iiiKhii the canoe, and ni the stilhiess tliat liad come to ns we heard the line latth' on tlie hark, a <»roan escaped tlie .Tud<»'e. lie rolled his eyes upward, and roared as if stricken with pahi, — '• Great Scott ! he 's lost him ! " But the fish was not lost. The an«>ler recovered his advanta<»e, and f( u<»ht the hoht to the end, skilfully and coolly. The fish was deftly "ailed hy one of the Indians, and (piickly lay on the hottoin of the canoe. The Indians seized their paddles, and the lioht craft glanced toward the western hank, the man unjointing' his rod as the hoat shot ah)ng', and in a moment they came pantiii<»' u|) the emhankment with a hu«»e ham[)er in their hands, in which, amid flowers and j»'rasses, lay six other trout, nearly as large as the one we had seen ca[»tured. Seldom is such a recei>tion granted to a mortal as was given to the Man in the Velveteen Jacket. The engineer cheered and swung his hat ; the hreman, sooted and hegrimed, capered and danced on the coal- hox like an electrified imp ; the passeng'ers yelled ; the ladies fluttered their handkerchiefs ; while we anglers of the party fairly took him in our arms and lifted hhu on to the jdatform, where the Judge enfolded him in an emhrace which the stranger will never forget, — a hug such as an old ang'ler gives a younger one to whom he is indebted for an exhibition of skill which has brouo-it back to his memory all his own former victories, and proved to his anxious soul that the gentle art is not beiu;"' nei»lected. I t f; TIIK HK; NKPKION TUOIT. u7 N«'v<'i' fVi!!', lU'VLT fear, dear old .ludj^c, tliat the art (»F all arts will hv lost, or the skill of trained Hii^fr and eve l)e t'or<>'ott('n. We shall pass ; but still the streanis ill How on, the pools will «»'o round, md the trout w >f love the coolness or s]»rni<»s and the rus I th >h of SWI It waters. The hoys will <;row u[> like their sires, lovinj;' water and sun, lovinj;' forest and rapids. W'.th hrown faces and hands, and with eyes keen as ours, they will stand where we stood, they will hoat where we hoated, they will camp where we canned, and the dead ashes f fires that we kindled they will kindk' to new life o auaui. nature and man Th I le iientle art wul live on 11 li w hil e nature is ikind IS man. I ^1 IB •' I ii: r J' V I "1 I. !■ i I :i I ii !] CHAPTER V. THE MAN IN THK VELVETEEN JAf'KET. A iiiiTritM' man Witliiii till- limit nf hocoiiiiii^ inirtti . 1 never spent an lionr's talk witlial. HE chiet'est charm of travel is ioiuul, perhaps, in the novel and enteitain- in<»* characters that we meet, and the pleasant renvonlnx which occur. The sweetest flowers will not come to us ; we must go to them. They Jl^row in the nooks and corners of fences, in cracks and cran- nies of the rocks, in crevices of the cliffs, in stranoe out-of-the-way places, where only the eye and the nose of the trailer may find them. In respect to human companionship it is the same ; the quaint, the intelli- <»ent, the charming", the original and piquant person- alities of the race are not horn in groups ; they are not TIIK MAN IN rilK VKLVKTKKN .lACKKT. ()1) found in clustors, nor can W(> call tli(>in to onr lionu's. To lind them we must travel; \\v must look tlicm up; \vc must j;<) wlicn* they are ; we must put ourselves upon currents which <'ross theii' currents, and ho, like hirds tlyin*;' at raniU)m, he hlown to^ctlu'r. The Hnest delight of travel is that of the casual companionshij)s it hrin<;s us, the sndles and the hrij»ht faces that we see, the kindly hands that we clasp, or the warm hearts that we uu'et in our need. These make the charm of jouriu'yiu*;', and cause the recollec- tions of vovaiiin<»" to he so (leli«»htfid. And this man — this Man in the Velveteen Jacket — was such a <»ift to our party. It is true, lu; had C(mie to us reccmuuended as no other man miuht he. His introduction accredited him to our fellowship as the word of a kin<^ mi<;ht not do, and from the mo- ment he entered our circle it was as one who helonoed there, as one who filled a ])lace that had waited for him and remained unfilled until he canu' ; and into it he dro])])ed without undue familiarity, on the one hand, and without the least awkwardness or end)arrassment, on the other. His manners were simply chai'min<>', hecause of a hap})y min<»lin<»' of modesty and self-possession. He was a natural hmnorist. His humor was so (piaint that it an\use(l, and so jvi'avely expressed that it puzzled. As you looked at his face and listened to the tones of his voice, you were divided in feelino' as to whether you were listenin<»' to fiction or to fact ; and even amid vour lauo'hter at the ludicrousness of the creation, vou found yourself (pieryino- whether the source of the • U ;M r '■ f *■ 70 DAYLKillT LAND. fun at which you were laughing was not found in some serious oceurrence. " You (lid it well," said the Judge, lefening' to his contest with the trout. " You never made a miss with eye or finger. You handled the rod as only a man can who has handW it from boyhood." The Man in the Velveteen Jacket looked at the .ludiie for a moment, with the most mirthful of liuhts in liis eyes, as one who found in his positive assertion a suggestion of fun, which all of us appreciated at the Judge's ex})ense when he remarked, — "• I am hapi)y to think that my manner of fighting the iish met the api)rol)ation of an old angler like yourself, but as measured by time I would scarcely be regarded as an expert, for I never touched a rod till 1 was twenty-five." " Incredible ! " exclaimed the Judge. " Why, sir, I have always maintained that no man could become an expert witli the rod \: less he began practice with it as a bov, — grew uj) with it, as it were." " Nevertheless," continued the stranger pleasantly, " the fact is as I have stated it. Until I was twenty- five I used the gun. Shooting was a passion with me. It was my favorite pastime, and I presume I should never have used the rod at all — which I have done exclusively since a certain event — unless I had met with a great misfortune, caused by a dog, — a misfor- tune which made me lose all taste for shooting and the sight of a bird dog absolutely disagreeable to me. Yes, gentlemen," continued the Man in the Velveteen Jacket, earnestly, " my last experience with a dog was I ■' 'I'll* MT. CARROLL, FROM THE WEST. ! ^^m 1 ^ ' ' ^^^^B ■ ^B i ^H ■ 1 ^M 111 1 ■ H H , 1 ; 1 H lit ^1 m i 1 H ■ 1 H i *'^'^^ 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 I ■■ 1 ^^^1 i THK MAN IN THE VELVETEEN JACKET. 73 a most unfortunate one, and alth(>ii<>'li years luive elapsed since I met it, I cannot recall it, even at this distance of time, without an involuntary shudder. Strange that a man's life can he seriously affected hy what seems at the start a trivial event ! But I as- sure you that my profession, the location of my resi- dence, and my domestic connection, are all to-day dilierent from what they would have been had I never met that dog\" It is needless to say tiiat the astonishing statement of our companion excited our curiosity to a degree, and our looks doubtless plainly apprised him of the fact ; for after a moment's pause, he took his pipe from his mouth, and having emptied the ashes into the cuspidor as carefully as if he were smoking in a friend's parlor, with his friend's wife sitting in the next room, in exact range of the door which com- manded his position, he continued, — " Perhaps it is only fair that I should satisfy your curiosity, Avliich I see I have awakened by what may seem to you an extraordinary statement ; and if it will entertain you to hear a story which has little to rec- ommend it save its novelty and its sadness, I will, at the cost of painful reminiscence, tell it to you." Upon this the Judge, who, because of the dignity of his official position as well as of his years, and, I may add, the urbanity of his manners, was by mutual assent of us all regarded as the natural spokesman of the party, replied, — " I must confess that I am curious to hear the his- tory of the dog, or of your ex])eriences with the dog ; ; i''-. :i)i I! mu m mil m\ I .:lf 74 DAYLIGHT LAND. i ir I I and I doubt not that all the jrentlemen here share this senthnent with nie ; and if your feelings will allow you to satisfy our curiosity, I be'in my practice under her father, the old doctor, whose business would thus naturally, in the course of time, fall into my hands. I submit, gentlemen, if any young- man ever stood face to face with a more auspicious future. I was soon to be united to a beautiful girl, with an ample fortune, and be thereby admitted to i 11 »-, *^L_: ■i^i THE MAN IN THE VELVETEEN JACKET. 75 a professional connection which was both j^Tatityinj^ to my vanity and satisfactory to my ambition. And even now, after years have passed, 1 cannot recall without emotion that I lost wife and fortune, and that a most l)eautiful arrangement of Providence was disturbed, broken up, smashed, so to speak, by a miserable doo." By this time, as can well be imagined, we were all of us intensely interested in the gentleman's narrative. We felt that his had been no connuon experience, but that in the life of the Man in the \'elveteen Jacket there was embodied n series of startling mishaps, and tliat, however he might strive to disguise it by forced calm- ness of voice or restraint of feature, we were neverthe- less about to listen to the recital of a lifelong bereave- ment — perhaps of a tragedy. We therefore drew our circle tlie more closely around him, that we might not lose a single word that came from his lips. And 1 could see that the Judge, who was endowed with acute sensi- bilities, had prophetically sensed what was coming, for his eyes glistened appreciatively behind his glasses, and his large checked silk handkerchief was spread care- fully over his plump knees, ready to his hand. " It all happened in this way," he continued, after a moment's silence, devoted doubtless by him to sad recollections. " It all happened in this way. A few days after Connnencement, when I had everything packed, and was ready to go to the doctor's to make the preliminary arrangements for the wedding, a club of fellow-sportsmen invited me to dinner. I had, of course, a most enjoyable evening. I believe there was not a man at the table over whose dog I had not shot ; Hf: ? ^^'i m i •♦ ■if' 76 DAYLKJHT LAND. and between the speeelies, the songs, the anecdotes, and the reminiscences of flood and field, our niiitht'ul- ness was unbounded. All knew of the good fortune ahead of nie, and each and every one, I verily believe, heartily rejoiced at it. Amid all the cha ages of life," said the Man in the Velveteen Jacket reflectively, " amid all the changes of life, and the passage of years wliich have obliterated much, I have never forgotten that happy evening, or the features of a single face around those tables." " Amen ! " exclaimed the Judge, who was hhnself a noted sportsman. " Amen to the noble sentiment. There is no conu'adeship like that of the woods and waters, no friendship like that of out-door mei>." And the old sportsman's eulogy was greeted by the applause of us all. " The next morning T was at my l)ank, getting a check cashed, en route for the depot, and being pressed for time, was getting hurriedly into a coupe at the door, when two friends — a conunittee appointed by the club — rushed up to the carriage, having a large pointer dog and a speech to deliver to me. I hastily explained my position to them : that I had n't a minute to spare, and that I must reach the train ; that the coupe was full of parcels and baskets ; that I was truly grateful, but I did not see how I could make room — " I am not sure that my friends heard me clearly, for there was a great noise in the street, and the driver, who knew that there Avas n't an instant to lose, had started his horse. Be that as it may, the dog was ■1' THE MAN IN THE VELVETEEN JA(JKEr. 77 delivered to me. For, unfortuimtely, the window of the coupe was open, and my two friends, seizinj^- the doo- in their hands, pushed him with great merriment through the aperture, tlirowing u huge j>arehment pedigree into my hip at the same time. " As might be expected, the tU)g was considerably distributed when he landed in the carriage. One muddy forefoot went in between my shirt-front and white vest, and the other lanced along the back side of my neck. His right hind foot was buried in a basket of grapes, and his left had ploughed through a huge and costly bou(|uet of flowers, bursting the band which held them together. Still, 1 reflected that the dog wasn't to blame for being so unceremoniously thrust through a window, and the motive on the ])art of my friends which prom])ted the gift was touching. So I collected the different parts of the dog as much as I could, brought him to one centre, as it were, and pressing him down between my legs, tied him by a neck-rope to a big telescoj)e valise on the seat beside me. " I had just got the dog safely fixed in this manner, and was collecting the scattered flowers, when tho coupe thundered up to the depot. The .leliu jum])e(l from his box and threw open the door, crying, ' Hurry up, zur, uot a minit to spare.' " I gTab])<^d the basket of grapes in one hand, my hat-box in the other, and jumped to the pavement. But the dog was as anxious to get out as 1 was. For as I was making my exit he bolted between my legs, my big valise was yanked from the seat, and striking IT Wi\ ' • <• ■t I : ♦ 1 - . 7S DAYLKIHT LAM). .,. I i ^i .! * iiK' l)etwi't'ii tlio sliouldcrs, knocked mo on ^op of tlie (loj»'. Tliinkin«»- I luid done it on [)ui'|)ose, he whipped his tail between liis le<»s and rusht'd into the depot, yelhn«»' at every jump, with the vaUse tiiumpin<»- alon^' after him, while 1 phni«»ed for it in order to reeai)tiire the iUyj:. " Now there liapjiened to he a hi«;', eor[)ulent liaek- nuin ' arrvin^- a liu«»e trnnk on iiis shoulders across the |)l»!iu!n>, ind my do*;', like an infernal idiot, fetched a tnvli lean round his legs, ami then started to jump tl; ' trarl The man's feet were jerked from under him, the \r.11 ii[> into V'ciinont, tii(> train stctppcd at a small station for wood and water, and 1 strolled forward to see if iny doj,'" was all rij»lit and mak<' his aLM|naintanee a little. To my horror, 1 diseovered that a new haj»- ga«»'e-inan had conu? ahoard, anshire. There was only one thino' to do, and that was to ^o hack after him. For- tunately t\w down tvain was due in a few moments, and when it came in 1 hoarded it. I reached the town ahout seven in the eveiiinj;', aiul not a hit too soon, for my aper. The station-master had received him from the l)a<;«»a«»'e-maii, and not knowino- to whom he should deliver Inm, jiad very properly tied him to a trunk in the ba<»«»a<»t'-room, locked him in, and <;-one hcmie. In two or three hours he became tired of wait- and <»nawino; his rope in two went out through the mil p>' window, takiii<>' half the sash with him. No sooner hi d he touched the oround than the station-master's do<>' pitched upon him, and after a short experience he started up the ])riiicipal street of the villaj»e, Jis near the centre as a do"- in a hurrv could estimate with my dog- in exact line and only one jump behind him. The two had jvoiie into the stati()n-a<;ent's house, as near the same instant as they could have done if they had prac- 1»' -ifl I . / '•*n?iiri • • fi r^?j! ' ™r,i * ■■ ii ii* 82 DAYJ.KillT LAND. :: ,.< 1 a ■ I ti(!('(l a luiudnMl years. The man was at siH)])or Avltli liis family, in the act oF sayiiij;' «»ract', and wlicii tlic two (lo<»s went under i\w. taMe they lifted it as nuieli as tlin-o feet straight uj) in tlie air. T\h^ a<»'ent's wife went into hysterics, his ohh'st dan<»liter fainted where she sat, and tlie man, witliont waiting- to eoMect his own (loo-, eliased mine into the street witli a shot-«»nn in his hand, yeUin*;' 'Mad (h>«;' ! mad (h>«»' ! ' at the top of his voice. He wonhl nn(h)nhtedly have kiUed my (h>« h' had he not stopped to take aim, and it was owin<»' to this sH«»ht mistake, probably, that my dog' escaped with his life. " 1 never knew how 1 <»()t out of that town alive, for I insulted every man that s[)oke to nu', and got into two iiohts while the light lasted. J5ut I i'staii, and I hccaine an an<»U»r. "1 •;()t th(( (h)«»' hoiiH! at hist, and put Iiiiii into the lios[>ital, tor ho iiad hcen Lonsi(hMal>iy r.'tth'd and was ont of i('[»aii*s, so to spuak. So I wrote to ni\ lianeee that 1 was unexpectedly detained from my anticijKited visit hy a s[)raine(l aidvle, hut tiiat 1 had the ankle imch'r treatment, and wouhl surely he with her the next week. I also told her that I had heen i>resented with a heautiful pointer (h)«»', one of the liveliest and hri^ht- est animals 1 had ever met, and that I would hrinjj^ my pet over when 1 came, and I pleasantly added the foUowinj;- : — "*P. S. How deli<];litful it is, niy darlinj^, that hoth of us have a pet, — you a favorite eat, I an amiahle doji", — with which to heoin our married life antl en- liven our domestic circle.' " Alas ! how little," exclainu'd the Man in the Wd- veteeu Jacket plauitively, — " how little can we mortals anticipate what is ahead of us ! " The d()<4' was one of those irrepressible specimens of canine exuberance that you could but admire," he continued. " He was a born hunter, if there ever was one. He was nobly free from partiality, and hunted one class of objects as readily as another. All scents in his nose meant j»"ame. An old hen was a deli<»ht to his soul, and a calf kept his spirits from dej)ression. A stray pi<^ was a j^odsend, and a timid, ludf-broken colt threw liim into ecstacies. But it there was one It' flW' « '. i< 3 ' iiii 84 I)AYLi<;lir LAND. \ I't 5 ? thiiiii' oil the earth that he vcarncd for more than an- other, it was a cat. A lar<;(', well-huih, positive-nuiKh'd, inascuHiie eat represented a whoki heniispliere of j;anie to him. He was a hird-doj;- nominally, hnt practically his ])e(lii>ree starred him with universal adaptations. Nevertheless, at the si<»ht of a cat he became super- sensitive. At that moment there was no hesitation in him. He acted spont.meously and in a strai<»ht line. At such an opportunity he was always at full cock and Avent olf himsilf. Then it was that he seemed ])os- sessed of a human soul, and to realize that beautiful moral maxim that ' he who hesitates is h)st.' " "Oh, Lord!" said the Jud^e, and reachin««' up to his linen duster he extracted a fresh handkerchief. It was not because there was any remarkable humor in llie story that the Man in the Velveteen Jacket was tellini;" that we were all'eited so strongly, but because of his ha[)py mannerism in U'llin<»- it, and the lightness of our own dispositions. For he told it with a (piaint- ness of expression and a li<»htness of touch that left nothin*;' to be desired by the hearer, and all of us were in a mind to be tickled, and hence we received the reflections of his humor as the water receives the skv, and I have often noted that the humor of the humorist and that of the audience ecpudly contribute to the lauoliter that ensues. Be this as it may, we all kiui»hed with the abandoinnent of children at the nar- rative he was tellino". And an hen he began again he did so with even a (piicker movement and a livelier manner of expression. If it were fiction he was nar- rating, he had evidently begun to enjoy it as if it were lU rilK iMAN IN TIIK VKI.VKTKEN .lACKKT 85 Mil 11- le er li- re real ; Jind if it were faci, the ()iii»inal saecome attaclied, shared the huoyancy of my spirits. He fastened him- self joyfully on to every calf that he met, and al>hre- viated the tail of every chicken he iMicoimtered. Tlie whole country orew profane in his wake, and I knew that every shot-oun was heini;' l(»aded for his return. Ilappv in the excitement he created, lie dis- trihuted his favors on either side of the road with ini>"enuous impartiality, and hunted with ecpial zest the ])ii>s in the meadows and the cats in the porches. The do<»s that limped int(> their kennels after he had ])asse(l were dazed with the (piickness of their experi- ence, and 1 douht not that the religious element of that section rememhers to this day his advent as a visitation. " I sliall never he ahle, gentlemen, to make you uiKh'istand what happened. Even to me, after years ^ It' It/ III* 8(3 DAYLICHT LAND. of loHoctioii, it remains a iiinhtinare of wild siiilit^ 5 * 7 J; it! li and .sava<»o sounds ; a kaleidoscopic nnxtiire oi colors and forms ; a vision of a dreadful meetin<»" and a more awful parting, — a meetino- and a partino- which, from the circumstances of the case, could never be repeated. " With fond anticii)ati()iis 1 turned a corner hi the road and suddenly stood within a few rods of the house ; and there, <>eiitlemen, oh, there was my liancce waving' her handkerchief to me, while the old doctor, seated in his j»ii;-, was proudly sliowinj;- olf the pices of a half- broken four-year-old colt he had recently purchased. Impelled by feelinos too strono' to be restrained, I swiino- my hat joyfully over my head, «»'ave a cheerful halloo, and rushed forward. That infernal idiot of a do*;-, hearin<»' my cry, seein<>' me swinoin«»' my hat and rush- ini>- down the road, went for that prancin*;- colt like a freckled mete(n'. The colt saw him c(miini»" and aave a tremendous bound, and as the dog- went under him in a cloud of dust, he opened two holes as bii;' as a hat through the dashboard of the gig, and then })()lted down the road. "" Never did 1 see a horse and a dog hiy themselves lower down to the oround. Each was runnin<:' from a motive, and each had an o])iect in view. Under such favorable conditions their pace was terrific and both attended strictly to business. The old doctor was standing up hi the gig, his stubbly gray hair })ointing toward the home he was leaving, ])iillhig like a wind- lass at the reins, hi^ linen duster Hying behind him, and a stream of small bottles pouring out of each ])ocket ! S > ^f I I ^ I i«'i i 1 ^ a SWl'ill lite, tciirsi l)('ti( look worl rise (I a CO n tlio WOlll tinos! at !M( a tiai a v treml knelt vows head a Hi»' hope my \ oF e SI ami that he ' tixe( TlIK MAN IN TlIK VKLVKTKKX .lACKKI' SI) "I stood liat in hand ai>l»ast at the sii»ht, bnt — I swear to von, i»t'ntl(Miu'n, had 1 died for it the next min- ute, I eouhl not have hel[)ed it — lani»hini;- until the tears stood in my eyes. Su(hk'idy 1 h)oked at uiy hetrothed, and then 1 nearly dropped. I saw hy the look in her face that it was all up with me, that my world had sto|)ped, and that the sun would nevernu)re rise on the hills of my love. " NAr f/toiKj/tf I luid s(f Ihdl iiiisirdh/r (lotj oil Ihc CO II ! "She never opened her mouth, hut silently went into the house. I folkiwed. I spoke as a man naturallv wo uld in such circumstances. There was no hauiih- tiness in my voice. She simply turned and looked at nu'. Gentlemen, there was no k)ve in her eves, not a trace Then she said, — " ' Sir ! ! ! " Still I fou<;ht for my life. Wife and fortune were tremhlhig- in the halanee. 1 saw it. I ])leaded. 1 knelt, — yes, T knelt at her feet; I poured out my vows; I seized her unwillin<»' hand; I saw I was makinjj' headway. She he^-an to relent. There was a <*han('<', a fi<»htin«>- chance, as it were. INIv heart hounded with hope. Gentlemen, I should li • won, — 1 i»ive Vi> ' niv word, I should have Avon. cl ose calcn lat 10"l of chances, you can see I slu d have won. When. — suddenly I heard a sound, —a sound 1 recooiii/ed, and «»laiu'in<>' toward the " ai somethini»' ! jookino* steadilv and fixedly at sontethino-, with that eoppeiv and unearthly «, r'' iffii!:!* < ..s-< m n" <> . <) :n.."' 90 DAVLKiHT LAM). - ( t . i! 1' f ■ look in liis eyes I liad <>t()wh to know so well. Invol- untarily 1 followed the direction ot* his «»aze, and, Great Ciesar's Ghost ! there un bedlam let loose in that beautiful home ! My betrothed <>'ave one scream as the (lo«»- and cat met, then fainted. I map.a<»ed to jjet her out of the ynnn and into the hands of a servant at the other end of the house, and then I went back and looked into the apartment. There was nothing" to be seen but revolvino- remnants of furniture and an atmosphere of yellow and brown which occasionally condensed itself in the centre and then broke a<>ain into concentric rinos. But 1 knew Avliat was there nevertheless. I knew that in that yellow and brown atmosphere there were two sepaiate, individual entities, and that they were ctnat(miically hostile and chemically opposite ; that sooner or later those two entities would be resolved into their elements or wcmld lie on that flooi' side by side, dead ; and that there would be woe ir. ^hat horse ; and that it was no place for me to be i nmd in aft(>r the old doctor had returned. " Under such awful circumstances 1 left the house. 1 never went back to it, for the next morning I heard that the doctor had been brouo-ht home in a cart, and that distributed resend)lances to a cat had been collected and buried in the i»arden. No tidino-s reached me of my doi»- and 1 believed hhn to be dead. But I was mistaken. 1 packed my valise ; T started for the train [ M , \\.\\ \t\\ \ The dog and CA7 ME.T. ■ « rilK MAN IN rilK VKLVKTKKN -JACKKT. IKi with the IWlinj;' of u iimii Nvlio has lost all and to whom thorefoii; no venture has the terioi' of ii risk. I detei- inined to leave the country forever and come West. For there, I reflected, it' anywhere ou the earth, amid new scenes, ])ursiiits, and conn)anionship, I should he ahle to t'or«»et the miseries of the past or school myself to endurance. '" With these thoughts in my mind I hurried to the depot, for the whistle of the ex[)ress had already sounded, and hastily puyinj;- for my ticket started for the i>latform. When, — (hvat Heavens', what should I see hut that irrej)ressihlt' do<;', jauntily trottino- across the viUa<»'e Connnon with his eye open for adventine, and evidently seeking' his unfortunate master. " And this is the reason, j»entlemen, why 1 j^ave up shootino' and hecame un an<>ler." At the closin*;' word the si<»'nal sounded, the train stopned, under a stroni»' application of the hrakes, on the haidcs of a mai;niti('ent stream, which tundded down from the mountains in a succession of jumjis. into wide, 90 DAYLKillT LAND. ward to the prairies, the mountains, and the sliores of the mild ocean. " I think just as you (h)," said a i>entleman near us ; " I think just as you (h), sir ; and," he a(Uled tirmly, " I have put up money on my faith." The voice sounded familiar, very familiar. I glanced at him, hut I could not })lace him for an instant ; and then — why, certainly, — the years do change us, — d(m't they? Gray? of course he should he i»'ray, and I thoui»ht of my own head, and, advancinjj;' a ste}), reached out my hand. " Mr. Pepperell," I said, '' I am delighted to <;reet you ; I did not recognize you at first ; your hair is wliiter than it once was. Every strong- stalk flowers at hist, eh ? " " I did not recoonize you, either," replied Mr. Pep- perell, returnino- my oreetino- with cordiality. " I did n't recoi>nize you, either, at first, hut it was n't hecause of your wliiter head, hut hecause of the hronze on your face. You look like an Indian from the plains." '' 1 feel like an Indian at least tliree times a day," T replied ; " and the .ludjie here is niakino- an epicure of me. Mr. Pepperell, allow me to ])resent you to Jud«>e Jolm Doe, of San Francisco," I added. " Judoe, this is Mr. Pepperell of Boston, a capitalist of the Huh, and, better than all, a oentleman. I am hap])y to he the means of hrino'inii" vou two tooether." I said it heart- ily, for I knew them both to he <»"entlemen of standing', amiahility, and wit. " May I ask, Mr. Pepperell," I said, after he had I ■ i !♦ ■ ■ THE CAl'lTAIJST. !)7 heeii presented to tlic otlier lueiiibeis oF the party, "limy I ask on what oTounds you expeet a eity to he hiiilt liere in this <»reat openinj;' l)etween the mountains, on the shores of* Thunder Bay ? " '• The site of great cities," answered Mr. Pe[)pereil, — and he spoke with that ])ositiveness of expression and hreadth of knowk'dge whieh characterizes the suc- cessful American, — " the site of oreat cities is a mat- ter of o'eooraphy. When God formed the continent, he designated where every city on it shouhl he h)cated. Granted a popuhition north and west of jNIanhattan S5Si S ^^' M', iiiitfiir>aiijrtii"TTrTi 98 DAYLKIHT LAND. fM' ;> ' ■{ ; Island, Jiiul New York must bo built. P()j)uliite New Kniiland, and Boston is the inevitable result. The Lachine Rapids and an iidiabited Canada necessitate Montieal. The prairies of the West must have a eom- mercial centre, and hence Clnca<>(). Now h)ok at this site. These mountains, hills, even the ishmds in front of us, are full of ])recious ores, — iron, co])per (and cojtper, too, free from sulphur), silver, i^'old, nickel. Ijook at tins harbor, fenced on all sides fr(nn i>ales, deep, rooniy, freed from ice each s|)rini»" earlier than any other on the lake. Into it empties that river, the Keministitpiia, yonder, up whose cpiiet channel a steamer with a drau<>ht of twenty-six feet can steam for four miles. Was there ever such natural wliarfai»e i>iven for c(nnmerce, made ready, so to speak, for the hand of man to use, as those eii>ht miles of level river banks? Look at that elevator there. It holds one million, three hundred thousand bushels of wheat. Within sixty days two more of the same size will stand beside it. Four millions of ])ushels acconnuodated where two years aiiO connnerce had not laid down a sino'lc orain. How many elevators do you thiidv, f)udi»e, Avill be on that bank ten years fr(mi to-day? Last year those prairies to the west produced thirteen million bushels of wheat. This yeai' they will yield twenty millions. Four years ai»'o scientitic men were disputino' whether wheat would orow on that soil or not ! The wheat area west of us is larger than the whole wheat area of the United States. The soil of this vast belt is virgin soil, rich, inexhaustible. 1 am talkino- horn knowledge, oentlemen. I have been there Tlir<: ("AI'ITALIST, 1)0 and looked into tliis thiiiii', and T know tliat inidci decent cultivation every acre will yield forty bushels of liner (jnality than the wheat of dalifornia or Russia. How much wheat do you tliink will he raised in tliat vast wheat helt yonder twenty-live years hence? And how is it to reacli the markets of the world ? It must o'o south to the States, or it is cou)in<»' here to Thunder ] >av Th dv t lese are the only two directions it can \V in its exit. And so I sav aiK 11 ve l)a( ked mv tal faith with my money, that here on this heautiful site will sprin<»' up one ot the <>reat cities or the continent f th Mr. J^ ennereH's i)resentation o 1>P 1 f tl le siio ject was lis- tened to with the oravest attention hy all the oroup, in which, if the fact must he stated, there was more money seekini»' investment than is often found on any l)articular wharf. The Yankee can look up a Ion*;' perspective with a <>()()(1 dollar at the other end of it, and this northwestern section of ^\w continent is al- ready attractini;' a deal of attention in the States, from shrewd, far-sit>hted men. "Mr. Pej)perell," remarked the .Iudi»e, "iny own judgment, based u])on careful forecast, sustains your o[)ini()ii fully. Illinois is a oreat State. It is larocr in arable acres than England and Wales with their l)oi)u- lation of twenty-six millions. The State of Illinois can sii])))ort twenty millions of p()])ulation easily. But the productive area of this western Canada is ten times larger than the State of Illinois. Two hundred millions of ])eople can be siip])()rted, richly su])ported, north of the f(n'ty-ninth ])arallel. Five hundred miles north of the international boundary you can sow wheat three i r 100 DAYLKliri' LAND. W. ■I \ ill f i \v('<'ks cai'lier tlian you can in Dakota. Tlio climate is milder in the valley of tlu; Peace Jliver than it is in Manitoba. Tliest; i»reat facts of Nature are simiificant and imj)iessive ; none the less so l)ecause up to this time they have had little advertisement and are known to a comparative few. Yes, sir, you are right ; there must he a <»reat city here." " The fact is," resumed Mr. Pe])perell, and he spoke with t]w enthusiasm which characterizes the American when speakino- of his country, " the people of this con- tiiuMit have only just <»'ot started. On our side of the line we are sixty millions, which are only the seed of the six hundred millions that are to he. People talk a deal ahout the capacity of this continent to produce bushels and pounds, orain and meat. Why don't they houre on that higher problem, — the cai)acity to pro- duce men ? Granted a good clunate, a productive soil, cheap fuel, absence of war, popularized knowledge, and the ennobling- influences of liberty, and what Hmit can you put to the devek)pment of such a people, not in resources alone but in numbers? Why should they not multiply and increase and possess the land ? Un- less we go to cutting each other's throats, half the pres- ent poi)ulation of the globe will be living on this con- tinent within three hundred years." " Gad ! " said the Judge, " I was born too early ! " "I have a friend," I remarked, 'Svho predicts — and he is n't a Vennor either — that Chicaao will ulti- mately have a population of fifteen millions." " I have n't a doubt of it," said one of the grou]), calmly. i •■ ?, f til TIIK (AIMTALIST 101 " Ell ! Wliut ! " cxclainu'd the .Iiidoe, " Iiow is it you arc so positive? " "It is ji iiKittur of knowk'diiX'," returned the man. " jibsolute kiiowled<4e." " Kii()wledi»e ! " exeluinied the .ludi>'e, " lu)\v is that?" " Tlie <>eutleuiau looked at the Ju(li>'e eonteni|)la- tively for a few nunuents, then said, " / trt/s horn then' ! " "0 Lord!" exelainu'd the .Iud<>e, " wliere 's tlu; train?" And l)reakini>" up with laughter we started for our ear. No sooner were we on hoard the train and collected in the smoking room — that most companionahle sjjot for smokers on the earth — than the spirit of the oroup underwent a eharaeteristie clian<»e. With one or two exee[)ti()ns it hap])ened that we represented the jrieat prooressive Reiiuhlic; and that lar^e class of travelers, whose number is legion, that are to-day with lavish expenditures ransacking the globe — a class who po armed with more stories and more cash than the Avorld ever had carried round it before. On the whaif Mr. Pei)perell Avas the impersonation of business ability and foresight ; sharp, incisive, edged like a razor, a man whose forecast was that of a statesman and whose language was that of a i)rince among financiers. With millions to hivest, he had on the one hand a full sense of financial responsibility, and on the other, the C(uir- age of his iud«»'ment. For he had examined the field of his investments for hhnself, not trustino- to the eves or the words of another, and hence he knew the almost I j ■ i 102 DAVI.KIIIT i.AM). Louiidlcss rcsoiu'ccs ol' tlic (MMiiitrv and liad full t'ait'i ill its d('V('l()|»iiM'iit. Hill oiico in tlir car he was no l()iio('r a linancicr, no longer llic Inisincss inan. no loiii'cr the speculator, hut an American traveler, jo- vial, (|iiaint, liiimoroiis, vivacious ol' s|»eecli. and loaded to the muzzle with anecdote (C 'Jii won hi never sns |K .'t. itl ii'entlemeii. P >ernai»s said Ml'. I'epperell, as he took his cij^ar Irom his mouth aiui l)icw a (h)zeii iiiii;s ol' hliie smoke into the ail' ; '' vou would ever suspect that ted was once ous n 1 — eom[)letelv, over- Avhelmino'ly husted. In '4S I crossed th 1 le niains J was youn<»'. 1 liad an attack of the i»'ohl fever — had it had. I made s(nne monev am of I iiot I 2(>0( ex[)erience Ideal lint on the wjiole, luck was a<»ainst me. After ten years of 1 k ?^ii()cKini»" ahont, durinii' whi( h 1 was the rolliiii*' stone of tlie proverl), with hnndreds of otlier old time Califor- nians 1 started for the Fraser. My iirst experience in British Colund)ia was at American Bar. hel(>w the '».v f (• niK ("AIMTAlJsr. lo;; IJIjick Ciiridii. ;iii(l I sliarcd tliat ma^nilicciit Itit of luck with niv counti'viiicii. I'lisliiiiin' lartlu'r up into the eountiv — after tlie Bar had played out — I struck one of the tril)utaries of the Tlioui])sou. ])ay oravel of the richest sort. I Avas ah)ue and 1 decided to work it alone ; I had a mule aiul a l)illy o()at that liad followed nie "svheu the i;reat cauip 5 -ir ii ^ I ' iii'^ . I f ■ ' I rl I.- :'. *1 •■: ;( !'|l m^ 101 DAVLKillT LAM). it , it ■1 !■ U 6 V li Itroko U|) at AMU>i'ic;iii Hiir, u liap-lia/anl ini])iils(> on his part jH'ol>al)ly, for iu^ was the loia^cr ol" the cam]) and not a man claimed tho least o\vn(>rslii[) in him. He had [H'ohahly hccn lost and won more; times at poker than any other hit of ])roperty on the fae(3 of the earth. Indeed, he was the nniversal resort of all of lis when hanUrn[>ted at that lively and faseinatiiii;' oame ; for two reasons, — Hist, heeanse he was no one's property, and second, his valne was tlexihle ; it had an elastic (piality ahont it which accomniochiled the necessities of the man who liad lost, and iiiinis- ti^red to the amnsenient of the man who had won. The lunnher of men Avhom that «;'oat had started on the road to fortune will never he ascertained, and the multitu(h' who, when they had recklessly <;and)led their last article of >'ahie away, with oaths or with hiujihter claimed one more deal on the streniith of that yoat as a personal chattel helonoinj;' exclusively to themselves, was probahly e{pial to the census of the camp. lie had heccmie, therefore, both the hispiration and the consolation of us all ; a piece of communal proi)erty of acconnnodating- value, which every man, at one time or another, had conteuiplated with hope or with <»Tati- tude ; an ohject of universal solicitude, and of which American Bar was justly proiul. His temperament and his habits were such as belonoed to his oenus. If his animatin<»- i)rinciple was ever any other than curiosity, surely no one discovered it, and if he ever lost an op- portunity to hit a man when a favorable one ottered, it never was known. He followed me as my mule ambled out of the camp as he might any other of the six bun- I I. l;ir iu. IIIK (' AlMT\I,I.S'r. 10.1 .\|>lainahh> only to tlie mind of ii <;-oat. His iiaino was Pcicussion, a name whicli, witli facH'tions approjuiateness, had heen «»iven to him l»y a tall Ala- ^ hamian one mornin«;' innnedi- ately after u personal experi- ence by which the iiumo was suddenly su<»'<»'ested, * if ' and whicli caused the <*hristenin«»' to !)«' accompanir iIk! iiii;lit lu'vrr .ilVcctcd in tlw Ic.isl the Ii.iImIs of lilt! fl.iy. '• \in\ ('Mil well ini;ii;iii('," coiitiniicil Mi. IN'|>|km('II, as lit' li^lilcd a licsli cii^ar, " that I worked \\\ilv spot tor iicarlv a iiioiitli, aiK il ic • Intel I, Ih>iiii;' altsoliitelv without provisions. I was driven to leave; I was the more williiii;' to do so lieeanse, as nearlv as I eonld estimate, I was in possession of lifty tlionsand dollars worth ol dust and nnj»i»'('l^. "The last evenini;' I spent in tlu^ camp I devoted to arraniiinji' for transportation and t(» pietnriiii;' the delights of the future. Percussion had not lacked entertain- meiit, for while I was acciimiilatin<^' wealth, he was actively eni;ai»'ed in eol- lectino- data for reminiscence. 'IMie white o'oats of the mountain, so rare south of the na- tional line, were plentiful in the crab's around my camp, and more than once had I he(>ii amused in coiitemplatini*' a contest he- tween Percussion and some fac-simile of his of the hills ; a contest which I am hound to say invariahly terminated in favor of the champion of the camp. It was plainly a case in which civilized trainint*' liad achled to the ])i'owess of nature, and steady |)ractice witli a variety of subjects made him master of liis art. i \ ^L ') I II 'ON A CLIFF, STOOD PERCUSSION. ! «■ \ ft •1 i 1 TIIK CAl'ITALlsr. 10!) /' W^ S,;,; i'" \ W1' " I was lip Avitli the dawn on the inoriiiiii;' set for my departure, and started at once for the Uttle intervale a niih3 or more distant, wliere my mule was i«razini;'. 1 eai)tured it without diffieulty, and was in the act of nu)untin<»' when I lieard a noise as of a worhl rushini*' to ruin. The eartli shook beneath my feet, and the mule trembled with terror. I knew what it meant. I spran<^ to his back, and s[)iirred him recklessly up the trail. I reached the brow of the declivity that overlooked the <>ulcli where 1 had labored. 1 need not describe what 1 saw. The face of the mountain to the west had disappeared, and in the place of a mighty forest was a broad tract of bare rock. The Slide had oono down throuoh the <>ulch, and scoured it to the founda- tion ledaes. The transformation was complete. Not a familiar object was left, save one. On a cliff fifty feet above the si)ot where my fortune had been found and lost stood Percussion, his tail trend)lino- with excitement and his horns lowered. It was the only o})p()rtunity of his life that had ])assed unimproved. I called to him to follow me, but he re- fused to budoe. Perhaps he thou<»'ht another Slide would occur, or had a duel in mind for the morrow. 15e that as it may, I left him to his reflections and his en- «>a<>e)nents, and little thinkino* that 1 should ever see him again, I reined my mule down the trail, an utterly despondent man." i^' no DAYLKJUT LAXI). it< 5 'i : » Tn s])ite of tlie fact that wo were listeniiio- to tlie story of a misfortune that inii»ht well overwhelm witli (les])aii' any ])erson on whom it had fallen, there was not a sober face in the crowd w^hen Mr. Pej)i)erell had l)roui»ht us to that point of his narration which pre- sented him to us in the most ])itial)le condition. The awful ruin which the savage Slide had wroui;ht, Per- cussion on the clilf in the attitude of dehance, the trend)lin<>' nude and the woe-l)e<;()ne rider thus bereft of his fortune in a minute, — all these Ave saw as if l)ainted in striking' colors on a canvas. Aiul yet, not a face in our oroup showed the least evidence that we felt ourselves in the presence of disaster. '" I can see," said Mr. Pei)perell, as he h)oked at our faces, " I can see, gentlemen, that you soberly realize the extent of my misfortunes, and a})preciate the seri- ousness of my position. I was huxied, I tell you, for I started down that trail without a doUar in my pocket or a crust in my saddle-bai»s. And yet fortune was niii'li. For 1 had not <»()ne a mile down the trail when I came to a small cam]) in which 1 found not only needed refreshment but a sjjeculation which brouoht to me the bei'innino; of my fortune. " The party into whose cam]) I had thus fortunately stmubled was one of ex])l()ration in the interest of science, and was headed by a >cientitic man of extraor- dinary zeal, enormous vanity, vast ])retensious, and devoid of common sense. " Now if there is one class of men I venerate more than others, it is the scientiiic class. It is true T am not given over much to veiu'ration, for as it ha])pens, iff .-•••s^lSlSl,. t if; mi 1 ! w THE PATH OF THE AVALANCHE. 1 li I •; i ^ i V ' THE CAl'ITALIS'l'. nii l)V somo armii<>'oineiit for which I have nevor hccn ahle to feel mysell' responsihle, in that seetioii of my eraniiuu where l)y ri<»hts tliere shoiihl he an emineiiee, is a kind of prairie Hatntss, — a dead level as it were. It is eonsolini»" to think that 1 am not answerahle for this defeet, and I have derived i»reat satisfaction in my lite hy shnfHini*' it olf npon my ancestors, when at times conscience rel)nked me at some hreacli of decornm, or most inappropriate hnrst of lani»hter. " I am happy to reflect that pre-natal intlnences are answerahle for the major part of my weaknesses, and, as I devontly hope, for the majority of my sins. 1 sin- cerely trnst that they will he pnnished as they deserve. The more they catch it, the hetter my chances ajtju'ar. I am ready to accept withont reserve the harshest dogmas of theology so long' as they have no applica- tion to myself. " Nevertheless, in spite of this natnral defect in my make-np, I have peculiar feelings toward the average devotee of science. 1 recognize in him a superior crea- tion, lie is the only heing I have ever met whose mind seems ahle to work wholly inde])endent of facts. The facility with which he invents his needed theories tills me with admiration, and the audacity of his imagi- nation in supplying himself with the necessary data for his conclusions is a soiuce of pleasant surprise. It delights me to recall that the most noted leaders of science were certain, a few centuries ago, that the glohe was as Hat as a shingle ; that the Avhirling earth on which we live had no motion ; that the sun, moon, and stars revolved around it as a centre and sum of the I t 114 DAYLKillT LAND. Itl 1 I'l "';• i f ■i liiviit iiiiivcM'se ; tliat tlic hlood in the lunnan Ixxlv stood still ; and that the worthy sncfossors of those teac'licis of accurate kno\vk'(l«»(s these men who supplant reli- gion, and substitute knowledge for faith and reason for [)ietv, are now convinced that all the sui)erlicial ])henoinena of the «»lol)e, iiududin*;', of course, the live Great Lakes of this continent, are accounted for hy the almost imperceptible and trivial movement of ^' i- ciers. Any class of men Avitli such a record receive from uu' the sanu' overwhelmiuii' deference ^vhich 1 involuntarily <>ive to DeFoe, and the author of the ' Arabian Nights.' I yield them the respect and ad- miration due the chiefest romancers of the race. " I had no sooner reached his camp than the man of science approached me and made known his mission. It was to ca])ture a sj)ecimen of the oenuine Rocky Mountain Goat. "" ' I am anxious,' he explained, ' to obtain possessicm, in the interest of science, of a real (Japer Jlorridi'Sy in order that I may not only actpiire indis])utable knowledoe of his anat(miical structure, but fix beyond peradventure, — and u])on this, sir, learned bodies have most differed, — Avhat are his characteristic habits. If you can assist me to obtain a s[)ecimen, you will not only be a humble instrument of extending" the boun- daries of scientific research, but I will remunerate you Avitli the sum which has been i)ut at my disposal by the learned body of men whose president I am, namely, two huiulred and fifty dollars in i»()ld.' "• I trust," ex])lained Mr. Pepperell, humbly, " that Heaven has foroiven me for the du})licity of my con- if :' If' rilK CAPITALIST. 115 at 11- (hict jit that jiinfturo of my t'ortuiu's. It was a dread- ful toinptatioii. You can sue, i;ontk'nu>ii, that it was. 1 was buf^ti'd. Tliu geiitleiiiaii wanted a dijtcr llorrl- (hfs. 1 kiie^" where he was. He was a genuine Cdjxr, that I knew, and as for tlie Ilorrifhfs part, I felt I could safely leave it for the man of sci- ence to discover for liimself. Had 1 reflect- ed I mii>ht have aitted with oreater innocence. But as it was, without an instant's hesitation, T assured the man of science that I knew where there was a o'eiiuine (^apcr ; a veritahle J/orridus of the erases, and that 1 could lead him directly to his hahitat. But I distinctly declared 1 would have n()th- in<»' to do with the capture of the terrihle creature, and that I must he paid inv money in advance. " The man of science was (Udii>hted. He paid me the money without an instant's delay, fearino- douhtless that T would withdraw my oifer or lift my price. He \h '■ .1 ', ^.. IK) DAVI.ICirr LAND. i'fif M assured nu» that lie needed no assistance; tliat seieneo liad already ascertained that, wliile excessively curious, the ( *(i/n'r llnrridns hy nature was hannh'ss, and that no hands l)ut his own shoidd make the ('a])ture, the lame of which would carry his name round the world. " Vou can see, «»'enth'men, that in the case of two per- sons animated hy motives which inspired hoth of us, there was no reason for delay. 1 hitched my nuilo therefore in position to facilitate niountinj;', if, as I anticipated, I should return in a hurry, and with the man of science at my heels, proceeded directly up the trail. 1 did not k n o w e X a c 1 1 y where I should lind my former c(mipan- ion, hut I made no (h)uht that the old reprohate was still near the path of the Land Slide, and that we should find him in a l)el- li<»'erent mood. And sure enouoh, we had not o<)ne more than two thirds the distance, when lookino' care- fully over the top of a boulder, standing' in an attitude of listenino- as if anticipating- another Slide, there stood Percussion ! " iVow as you know, oentlemen, there is a good deal of ^ dynamite ' in a billy g()jit. It won't do to drop \\ ;' h j|' TiiK cArrrALisT. 117 on to Olio suddciilv unless you wish to be lifted. Any man ^vllo runs against a <»()at suddenly >\itlioiit tele- <;Tapliin<»' him beforehand, aets as it' his l>usiness educa- tion had been ne«»leeted. For a ^oat is the eiubodi- meiit of a terrific; enei'oy Avlien aroused, and nothiii*;' starts him ((uieker tiian a sudden appearaiiee. Any man \vlio a[)[)roaehes him without eireunis|)e('tion is liable to lose some part of himself, as it were. More than (me man has lost his bahmee and his self-respect by such carelessness. B th these essentials of staiid- iiii»' and eharaeter are apt to remam absent durini*' the entire interyiew. " A o()at is endowed "vvith <»Teat (|uiekness of appre- hension and he aets on his impulses. When a i»()at of the masculine <«ender stands and <»azes at you with a look of curious delii)eration in his eyes, you will, if you are a rational beini;', proin[)tly i)ick the nearest tree and <»et behind it. This is the only wise course to ado])t. Nor shoidd you be slow in doini>" this. It is not safe to take any chances with a billy j»'oat if he is within fifty feet of you and has ui his own mhid decicU'd to act. You cannot rely on his remainini»' where he is any considerable leiii»tli of tune. He is ai)t to moye suddenly, and when he moves he always moves in a straight line, and with his objective point clearly in view. " To know a ooat thorou<»hly, <>-entlemen, I am coii- vuiced that a man should be<»in his investi'»atioiis in .childhood. The knowledge needed is not accpiired readily by an adult. A man can pilot a steamboat bet- ter than a boy, but to steer a i»()at successfully into a t ( lis DAYI.Kilir I.AM). H' n ,t i ■I ( I I *' ♦'* 'i i. ': piuldoclv without iiuy hack action ol' the paddles is a f'ciit ;it wiiicli a hoy will hciit his tatiicr every tinio. Tile innocent s|)i'ii;htliness of (Nirly iil'e is an essential element of success in such .in innlertakiui;'. A deacon ot mature a«;"e and dij^nity of character mii;ht do it, hut he would lu'ver he fit to hold his office after he had linished the joh. His record would he hrokeii, as it were. What he had i;aiin'(l in lluency of expression he would have lost in resit;nation of spirit and the sweet placidness of his vocahulary. A deacon should always leave the mana«»'enu'nt of a hilly ««()at to his hired hoy, and keep out of heariui;- when the hoy and the «»<)at are in close connuiniication, too. Any ma- terial hly organized creation. He learns evil fast and foroets it slowly. He is a crea- ture of vanity, and relishes success. After he has learned a man's anatomy by experhnent, the kn()wledi;e is fixed in his mind forever. Time may ohliterate the impression he has made on you, l)ut it never obliterates the im])ression y(m have made on him. Years may pass ; your hairs may he whiter and his coarser, hut if he ever i»ets a chance to hit you a<»ain, your years and venerable appearance will not save you. The old rep- robate will hit you in the same spot. I have never been able to satisfactorily explain this to my own mind, but the fact remains. I have seen it demonstrated. " Yes, there stood Percussion. 1 ducked my head I )' ■ t. i aiK iMiK ('ArrrAi,isi' I Ih>('I\<)IU'(I to the lUMii ol' science Hi) He I tOIIIK led t (I iiiy side, and .shakiiij;' witli excitement, [»eered over tlie l)o\vl(ler iit liiiii. 'eiiiiiiu> •1' .s, iiK/ri ; conn, cwviih ; vnjtnl, corniihis ; tu- nas. urs iiliit hnh'il II X, (ll/l/lS 7; A lotiinin iniiK'iis. a i And Fmnl>lin;4' in his pocket lor liis note-lfooU, lu» daslied aronnd tlio bowlder and starte(l lor IVrcnssion. " I cannot describe what roilowed. I'ercussion was at his host or his worst tliat nioinini*'. He had missed om) i»reat ()p[)ortnnity, and was in no mood to ho triihid with. Ilo strnck the man oF science at tiie pro- cise s|)ot selectod in his own mind, and with the I'orco ol' a catapult. Hi howled him past the point ol' icxtk hehind which 1 was crouched as it' ho had heen a j)ack- hasket. His im|)otus l)roni»ht him within si«>ht and he came Jit nio as it' I was a land slide. You niiseraldi^ cuss,' 1 exclaimed, * don't vou know your benot'actor ? ' And 1 went uj) ji tioe. [ yelled to the man of scieneo to li<»ht out. Ho recov- ered his hreath and his le«»s nt the same tinu' and lico- chottod down the trail as if fired out of a colund)tad, yellin<»', ' Caper I[orridus ! ' ' Caper Horridus ! ' at every jump. " After him houiKh'd Percussion. Without an instant of hesitation 1 foUowed. I had a loni»in<>' to yot on to my nude. The man of science reached the ed<»e of the cam}) and fell fiat, and Percussion struck a Chinook Indian in a way to increase his vocabulary. The last jump 1 made carried me to the back of my . • i ' 4 rji) DAYIJiill'l' I, AM). mull', and 1 ton* down tin- trail with my liccis in licr ilanlvs. 1 I't'aclicd i\w lianle(l from the ears at WiniiipCL;', and as we struck the platt'orni we found our- selves in front of a heaj) of <>r(Mise, — a hundred in nuud)er, it uiay he, — hi<;', fat hirds^ such as make man thankful he was horn with a stom- ach. The Judii'e looked at the hirds. There was a wistful look ill his eyes. His lips moved as if the L»amey flavor were already in his mouth. He rolled his eyes toward me h)niL»'in<;ly, and (jueried, — " Where did those birds come from ? " iiii; I '■" ' V22 DAVLKillT LAND. 1 . i:' '■ ■>.' I > ■ ' ''I From Soutlu'in Manitoba," I answoicd pi'<)in])tly. Tlu'Y Alii as thick V as <»rassiio|)]»('i's tiu'i'e th Tlio Man From New Ilainpshiiv had hvvn t'nmhHn<»- at the hii'ds, as if cxaminini"' tlicir condition, and wlicn no lilted one lo ! tUeiv Avas a tan' tied to its I'oot, and on the ta«>' was iK'Hciled, '" Colonel (Joll'e, New Jlamp- snne One of my birds, by «>'osIi ! " said the Colonel. Clean from yonr farm, eh. Colonel?" exclaimed Mr. r epoere 'PI "Certainly," retnrned the Colonel; "flew straight to this platform and dropped dead. Knew 1 was to be here. 1 '11 eat him to-ni<>lit," and he passed the bird in under his arm between his coat and his vest. My conscience \ r>^^ My ith conscience I ii'i'oanec <>e, as II wrestliiiii" AVith an internal enemy d Jnd iiods have burdened me with a conscience i tl My bird ! My bird ! " returned the New Ham]) hire man, <>T()anini>- in imitation of the Jiidii'c a ■' ?-> Tl je i»<)(ls have burdened me with a bird," and he started for the car. "" Halloo, old boy!" screamed a voice, and a Hat hand smote me on the back. "■ Do you remember the turkeys in 1 exas : "■ Yes," 1 answered, as 1 wheeled, "• and that the best snap shot in the New York Gun Club, Jack Os- o-ood by name, couhl n't hit a turkey cobbler at fifty feet as he went throui>h the live oaks." And we shook hands, laughed, and roared, as two sportsmen will when they suddenly meet, with years between them and some hul icroiis appe iimii', \ It 1 r f A .lOLLY CAMP AT Kl'SH LAKK Il\*{ ''.lack Osgood, — Jiidoe Doe, — Mr. lV[)})or('ll," I said, hi'it'Hy introducing' tlicin. " \Vc sliot tnikcvs togctlicr in Texas," I added. •• lie shot tlieni, and I sliot at tlieni," replied Jack. "1 never shall i'oro(>t how I felt when the first i>(>l)l)ler j^ot n[) ahead of my i^'un. 1 shook till my hones rattled ; it took me two days t«> soher (h)wn and i;et steady." "Did you shoot those hirds there, j\lr. Osgood ?" asked tlu a Certainly ; every one inswered Jack. a 1 (1 ro four 1 jaiis. Tl lere are n told. If you Avant anv selves, oentienien ^> h tk on or the hreast of a chicken, ; one he had so well, he t( '•I'm not mean enoui»h to look a iiift horse in tl mouth, Judoe," said Mr. ]\'|)i)vrell, and he carelessly ]»icked u|) f/ircc chickens. le Wl lere are you J»<)nii»', . lack I (jueriec 1. '' I am j»'oin<»' to Rush Lake, after eanvas-l)a(;ks," re- plied ()s<»()od. "What did you say, ^^r. ()so()()dV" exckiimed the oe. " What was the iffniir you <»ave to the Jud duel IvS " Canvas-hacks, sir," answered Jack. ■4 (t '• i. m \ ■, If VM 124 l»AYLKilIT LAND. \i "Gentlemen," exelaiined tlie .Iiidoe, "I don't know how yon feel, bnt I 'in tired of travelini»". This steady rollini>" shakes np a man of my a<>e terril)ly. If jNIr. Osi»()0(l will permit, I will <;•() to Ilnsh Lake with him. 1 feel that my system reqnires several days of absolnte rest. '' I dare not leave yon to t»() alone, Jnd<>e," ^-ried the Man from New Hann)sliire, who was leanino- from the platform of the ear, listenini;' to what the Jndi;e said. " Yonr eonseienee ! think of your eonseience. W/arc did ijau (jtl those tiro chic/i'cus ^ ^^ and he olared at the .Ju(li>e enviously. And so it was arranged that we should all drop olf at Rush Lake, and have a few days with the eanvas- haeks and the white })elieans, and Ave started out luider the guidance of Osgood to get together our supplies. " Ten years ago," remarked j\Ir. Pepperell, " there were not a hundred white peo[)le here. At the forks of the river was Old Fort Garry, a Hudson Bay Com- ])any's post, and that was all. To-day there is a city solidly built of briek and stone, with a po])ulati()n of thirty thousand. It is necessary to see such changes with our eyes to appreciate them." '" It h)()ks to me as if it had a future," said the Judge ; "' a great future." " Decidedly," answered Mr. Pe])])erell. " This is to be the Prairie City, as Vancouver is to be the Coast City of the country. The one will be built up l)y the inland trade ; the other by its foreign connnerce." "• Wiuni[)eg will have rivals to the \vest, Mr. Pep- perell, and don't you forget it in your figuring," ob- served the Man from New Hampshire. 1 I Kff 1*^1 lO '«ij * i»' i.f I i;» J iO :|t 4. Hi 1 ? ■ .*' I ! f •i i SI <) !■( \V \\ h it <)i c; !•• c; ])( fi tl St s^ e^i tl e; t< f S' A .lOLLY CAMP AT lU'SlI LAKE. J 27 " I don't f()i'<»('t it," returned Mr. Pe])])erell, prompt- ly. " I have counted on it. But Winnipeo- Jims the start, a <>ood stron<»' start, over every rival to the west or east. Her th()r()u<»lit'ares are eonstrueted ; her svs- teni of li<»htin<;' in operation ; her Mater-works pro- vided ; her public huildini»s erected ; her ^vholesale and retail houses estahlished, and her trade connections Avitli the East and the South made, Colonel Goll'e. A tiiiancier knows the value of such a start. Winnijieu^ has o'ot her «»Tip on the countrv round about her, and it will take an eartlupiake or a cyclone to loosen it." And so, like active-minded Americans, wliile buvinir our supplies and <;ettino' together our outfit for tlie camp at Rush Lake, we talked of the future of Winni- pe<>' and figured on its changes. If there are prettier bits of water anywhere than can be found in these Western prairies, they have not been discovered. A few are allvaline, but many are fresh, and tlie prairies roll down in billows of grass to their beaches or flatten to the water through acres of sedge. Rush Lake is well named, and yet it is not swampy nor sluggish ; for miles of its shore line are embanked, and its waters are lively. From these baidvs the prairie rolls away in waves of fine verdure, and tlie eye sweeps unimpeded to the rim of the horizon. Our tent was pitched on a bank wliicli brought the lake in full view, and over it the air moved in cool, easy cur- rents. It was an ideal camp for a sportsman, for the free water was speckled with ducks, and the vast reedy spaces Avere alive with their movements. Canvas-backs, mallards, teal, l)lac]v ducks, wood ^ 'i \i ' 128 DAYLKillT LAND. 11 il-l' i. ; % (lucks, t'lii'lew, the l)i«»' plover, und those wonders of the western hind, the hu«»e snow-white pelicans, wliose winos have the stretch of a white-headed eagle's, and wliich float on the water with the slow, stately move- ment of swans, — all were here, and in nund)ers heyond counting. On the j)rairie were coyotes, gray wolves, and antelopes. What more could a sportsman desire than such a camp and such game ? " Heavens ! " cried the Judge, '^ was there ever ruicli music ? " and he tundded olf his cot. " A chorus for the saints," replied the New Hamp- shire man, as he emerged from the folds of a hull'alo rohe in which he had hestowed himself near the tent- pins ; and in less than a minute we were all standing outside of the tent completing our toilet, the Judge with one hoot in his hand, and Mr. Pei)perell discreetly wrapped in a blanket. What a morning ! The sun had not yet risen. One gi'eat star, a globe of li(piid limiinance, hung in the eas^tern sky. Along tlie horizon's edjje ran a line of rose. Above it were the shifting splendors of an oriental ruby. The west- ern heavens were still blue black. I'he prairie grasses were wet with dew, and every drooping point sparkled like a gem. The air was motionless, and the lake from shore to shore was blanketed with white fleece. And out of this fleece, what noises came ! The flutter of plumes ; the spatter of playful ducks ; the pipe of cur- lew and plover ; the whiz of passing wings ; the voice of pelican ; the honk of geese ; the low soft sound of feathery life, seeking, feeding, greeting, filled all the air with murmurous musical sounds. I ■** A .lOl.LY CAMP AT lU'SlI LAKK. Il2<) "Oh, the j./ory of tlio world! — the j;'loi'y of tiie world ! " cried the Judge, as he «>"iized at the beauty and breathed the pure air in. " Oh, the glory of the dueks ! — the glory of the ducks ! " said the Man from New llanipshire, as he listened to the sounds hi the fog and thoui»ht of the broiled grouse that he ate for his sui)[)er. " Osgood," I said, " did a sportsman ever hear sweeter music ? " " Never," he responded, " unless it was the gobble of a wild turkey as he strutted in front of his harem in some little ulade anion"' the ceihir <»roves of the O O o Guadaloupe." " Is that coll'ee I smell ? " (pieried Mr. Pepperell, suddenly. " It is, by the powers ! " exclaimed the Judge, and he dove through the door of the tent to complete his toilet. " That Judge of ours," said the Man from New Hampshire, pointing to the door of the tent as he dis- appeared, — " that J udge of ours is a good deal of a poet, but he has a well-balanced mind not \vitlistan ding." "Cook," called the Judge, as he thrust his head out of the tent in the direction of the kitchen. " Cook, how soon will breakfast be ready?" " In a few niinits, Marse Jiulge, in a few niinits," responded the darkey. " Julius Caisar Bismarck ! " thundered the Judi>e. " At what liour, I say, will you have breakfast ready ? " " Fo' de Lawd, ?tlarse Judge," promptly rei)lie(l the ebony cross between ancient and modern greatness, " how d' you s'pose dis nigger knows ? '* i! ♦ '•'■' !!'• I ' fi • 1 h. ! iu IH WP' W-t' I, t i' VM) 1)AVLI(;HT LAND. "Oh Lord!" jj^ioiint'd the .liidi'C, and his voice; soun(hMl us if it caino From an eni[)ty celhir. " Why do yon move so caiofnlly ? " asked Mr. Pc])- jxM'cll ol' the Now Ilaiupsliire man, as ready tor break- fast we went ont of the tent. '• Sh ! " retnrned the Man from New llampsliire. "If i (h)n't move earefnily tlie .Indge will liear me rattU'." \V ith the (hiwn the kdve shore near ns liad l)een em- hellished with a most romantie arrival. A trihe of the Blaekfeet Nation had eome in from the pkiins and j»()ne into eam[). Twenty-six kiri>e, 1ine-h)okin<>' Te- pees were stretched in a row to the east and north of onr tent, and some hnndred and fifty Indian ihen, women, and children were o'ronped round their camp- kettles or moving' ahout at their work. Here and there stood knots of men pictnres(]nely drajjcd in their hiankets of liii>h colors. These Indians were not vaii'a- honds, nor sots ; they ^vere not bloat^'d with liipior, nor broken down with disease; they were not dirty or re[)n]- sive to the eye ; they were fine, healtliy-h)okin<>- people. The men were tall and well formed, the boys spriirls were finely formed and inimistakibly handsome. There was not a half-breed amon**' them. It was a camp of full-blooded Indians of the })lains. " Gentlemen," said the Judoe, " if 1 ever lose my appetite I shall come to Rush Lake." Hi 1 a > ! • I } :n ■ r . 4f the look i'k'V;i a I'lMii; stoo< iuii spc IK ;i incii, ai>i'('( ncd t luittc and i - 1 cans can 1 ''] Hani in tl stai't( tlie t V iin«»t has 1 The hhus \w n ii.ti i«ii»- 1, ft A .lOM.V CAMP A'l' lilMI I.AKK ];;:{ '• It' (/'aiiadii ever loses Rush Lake, tlicii," rctortrd (lie Man ironi New ilain[»sliir(', *• I shall know wlu'it- to look for it ;" and lie nicasinvd with his oye the lionl elevation of the .liidi;('. " Uentleinen," exclaimed the . Indue, iiiniMinu' the remark of the New Hampshire man, '* I wish it under- stood that this is a eamp of sportsiuen, and not pot- hunters. We are not here to make money, hut to s[)end it ; not to supply the market, hut ourselves with oame, and therefore I move that we act like tine s|KMts- nien, and lix the size of our l»ai;s each day l>v mutual ai;reement. Friends should he rememhered," contin- ued the .ludi;(', "and 1 snnj;('st that each man he per- mitted to kill a certain nund)er of ducks for himself, and a certain nundier to send to his friends." " 1 move," suj;L;('ste(l Mr. I'epperell, '• that every man he permitted to shoot twelve ducks and two peli- cans (lurniii' tlie wee th 'k f or iiimsi If, a What ahout plover and curlew?" (pu-ried Osgood, They don't count," decided the .lu(l<;e. '' Voii can l)a o- all yon can ?» u Don't count ! " exclaimed the Man from New Hi nnpsluri a That (h'cision would n't stand a minute ?5 in the highest court. I know a nian in Texas who started in to eat lifty-six curlew, and when he <;'ot to the forty-socond he dr()p])ed "Stop rio'ht there, sir," said the .Indue, shakini;' his finder at the Ccdonel. " Stop rii>ht there ! The conrt hasn't forgotten your story of the .Ia[)anese screen. The nmuher l)ein<»' settlL'd that each man may shoot for hhnself, it only remains for us to decide how many he may he aUowed to shoot for his friends." ;» lit, ■ I i F,» '•! j:ji D.WLKillT LAM). ! \ 1 ii I f '\k !t r T would \i\iii tosiioot ii«lo/(>ii a day For my rii(>iid> ai I Ml. I*('|I|M'I(' Tlic station is n't a milt! awav and wo can start tlu'in cast tivcrv cvcninu' M "That will d(» lor nic," atldcd Osgood, clu'crrid I v II' it u'cts a little tlnll, i Ml try niv hand at the ante h th OIK'S and tnc wolves a I Ml not a shot-^un man, and will live on yoni )onntv I I'cmai k(>(l. ( iK'lican (>a( h (L IV, aiK "It I full yon Ml ii'ivc my Winchcstci swinii" at tl ic wolves aiK coyotes, 1 shall have a royal time." " Well, sir," ([ueried the .Ind^e ol' the Colonel, " how many shire, " and hy the last census " — "Colonel (iolVe ! " interru|)ted the .lndi»'o, sternly, "the court will not he trilled with. How many do yo uiy do y{ »u It f want Tor your rrien( t'l ds? >> '' Well, as 1 was sayin<»'," said the Colonel, " I have n't an cneniy in the State of New Hampshire, and tnc hist census fixed the ])0|)idati()n at three hundred and fifty thousand. Of this lunnher only seventy thousand are voters. I would n't i;'ive a duck to a Democrat if I died for it, so we can '^ dk olf ' — "(yolonel Goil'e," thundered the .1 ud<;e, " the court does not |>ro])ose to sit on this camp-stool all day, and if you don't come (h)wn " — " Oh, very well, very well," cric^l the Colonel, " it is not <;<)od politics to leave out New Hampshire in any close election, hut let her i»<). Outside of New Hamp- shire 1 've only v>ue friend. I picked him up this morning- ; he 's herding- the Indian ponies out there, 1' ' ' •> A .M)l,l-V (AMI' AT Ul Nil hAKI! i:r» shovel, NvliiU' tlie pan was as larj^c a.; an iron spoon. lliG DAYLKIHT LAND. • 11 ! i <1 U'. I' I, T i". ! , 'i i' It wiis a venorahle relic ot' f'oriuer days and iiicii ; a imink'i'oiis old j»un, if you had shot and powder enough to charge it i)roperly, and you could ever get it oil* ; hut most eccentric and unieliahle in its hahits. The gun was apparently strong as ever, and as to its ])arrel, in good re})air, hut the lock was lashed to its place hy stout leather thongs, and unless the powder was coarse, the grains would leak through hetween the l)arrel and the i>an into the recess Avhere the sjjrings and tund)ler were located. The spectacle which the Colonel presented when he stood ecpiipped for the day, — a hig powder horn with a wooden st(>pple under his elhow, one [)<)cket sagging with shot, the otiu'r stiilTed full of oakum and jjaper for his wadding, the old gun in his hand, and a white hell-crowned hat on his head, which he had found hy the same luck that got him his gun, was of so funny a sort that the camp roared with laughter. But the Colonel took the jokes that we fired at him with imperturl)ahle gravity, and we knew that if ever he did get that ohl gun olf, and there were any ducks in the kuulscape Avithin range, the Indian encampment would he fed full to feasting. In less than an Ikuu- each of us had his hag except the Colonel. '' For some unex})lainal)le reason," as he stated, he had heen '' unahle to oet the old tliino- oit." But he assured us he had conhdence in his j)i"ce, and that sooner or later the world would hear from him. There was not one of us that did not admire hoth his courage and perseverance, for he stood hravely up he- hind the old mortar arxd pulled the trigger at every duck that camo hy. II :■ t. A JOLLY CAM!' AT KL'SII LAKE. i:;7 ^ Lord ! " said tlio Judoe, " wliat would heconie of the Colonel if the old tliiiio- should <••() olf ? " So we patiently trailed in the rear of his canoe in response to the Colonel's exhortation, '" to stand by the institution of the fathers." Advice and interrogations were rained upon him. The .Jud<>e wanted to know "if he had loaded every time he sua})ped, and if he knew how many charges there were in the piece ? " Mr. Pep- perell incpiired " if he had powder enough to keej) on i)rimino- for the rest of the dav ? " And Osgood suu- oested that we each '" take our turn and spell him at |)ullin<»' the trii»i>er." Meanwhile, as we had stopped shootino-, the ducks had settled thicker and thicker, till tlie water was hkick and the sedoe was full of feathers, and the Colo- nel worked away at the ancient hit of machinery with redouhled vi<»or. lie who savs that the ai>e of miracles has passed is an idiot, for that old i>un fina.llv went oil' — went off at an opjxntune moment too, for the canoe was wedded into the sed<>e, tlie Colonel well braced, and the air filled with ducks. Granted the air black with birds : an old kind's arm charoed with a o'ill or more of coarse shot, and a man from New Hampshire scpiintino- orindy over the breech-pin, and there could be but one result, or rather three results. The o'un jimiped out of his hands, the Colonel sat down in the boat with a crash, and ducks fell by the dozen. It was a monstrous ba<»' in truth, and the Coh)nel took the honors of the day and week, for while he averaged less than five shots a day, still the totals beat every uun in the crowd. One tliiuii' is sure, the Indians who !:N :f>f .11 , '. I 1:58 DAYLKiHT LAND. II" ('jiin])e(l with us on Rush Luke that week will never foi'uet that old flintlock i>iin or the iNIan from New Hampshire, nor shall we who were there ever forget the sport and the fun. i • '! I : r- i'. ^ ''^^^ '♦ '" i! A^ t CHAPTER VIII. BIG (JAMJ]. HAVE luintod every kind of i»aine l)e- tweeii tlie Soiitlieni (iuU* and (rieat Slave Lake," replied Mr. Osoood, in arswer to an interrogation from Colo- nel Goife, as we were sitting', one even- ing-, in front of onr tent at Ilnsli Lake, "and 1 can i»ive you as much or as little information as you wish on the subject of l)ii>' or little i»ame, hird or beast. T>venty years aj>'() the bio- oame of the con- tinent could be found north or south of the interna- tional line, and even ten years })ack good huntiui;' could be had in several of our States aiul Territories, but to-day he who wishes to find game of the larger sort, Ilia;,' I ''. ) 140 DAYLKillT LAND. inaiiy kinds and plenty of it, must conio over on this side of the line and hunt noitlnvaid." '^ What do you mean hy northward, Jack? " I asked. " How far north have you hunted ? " " Six hundred miles at least, perhaps eij^ht," he an- swered. '• Last sunnner I started from Calvary with a ♦ ; I il: eouu'ade, and fetched a trail on horseback well down into the oreat ]\Iackenzie Basin. The Mackenzie, you know, is a mighty river, biooev than the Mississippi, they say, and the country it drains is an empire in it- self." '^ That is a long- way to i>'o for a hunt. Jack," I said, interru[)tino- hhn. " You and 1 trailed farther than tlhit south and west," he retorted pleasantly. " But you nuist re- member, gentlemen, that frt)m the hour you leave Cal- 4\^ j > ! tJ Urih ill ll 'm m WHI I £ I A,l. [tLK Ill' '1^1 i iki k i I iUG (iAMK. m;} oiii'V vou are in jiood sixntiiiii' coiinti'v. We liuiiuod tlio foot-hills from tlu» start, and we had bij^horn, i»()ats, hear, antelo[)es, and wolves with wliieh to amuse our- selves. Then you must iemeud)er that we were in the saddle, and trailiiii;- through a most lovely countrv, without weariness and at no hurdensome expense, [)ush- inu' up into a strange reiiion known only to the Indians and the Hudson JJay Post folk, through an atmosphere pure and braein<»' as men ever rode in. 1 assure you that had I not fired my rifle from be^innini*' to <'n(l of it, that two months' trail would have been most enjoy- able." "■ What is the eliaraeter of the soil and elimate in this North Land of yours, Mr. Os<»ood ? " queried the .) u(li;e. '' The soil is as rieh as any on the eontinent," an- swered Jaek, " and the climate simply perfect. It is milder than it is here, or even in Dakota or Minnesota. Wheat can be sown earlier — three weeks earlier, I shouhl thiidv — than at the national line. The days are lon<»'er, and the cereal <>'rowths i>et the benelit of the prolonged solar lii>ht ; a i^'reat benefit, 1 can assure you, it is in brin<>int»' a crop alonq; fast. At the north- ern part of my trail I could read a newspaper at mid- niii'ht without the aid of candle or moon. It is Day- li<»lit Land up there, and so it mii»ht, in truth as well as in poetry, be called." " That is a bea'^tiful name," cried the Judj^e enthu- siastically. " A beautiful name ! Daylis>ht Land ! That is n't much like the popular conception of Canada, Avhicli j)ictures it as the home of Ice and of Night. I 1 i; 1 . iin 'I^ ■ ^ u . y. I ' '^-'i' 144 DAYLKIIIT LAND. vciily Ix'licvc that half the world thinks of Cana(hi as a cold, (U'solato coimtiy the year round." " The woild knows nothin*;' ahont Canada as a whole," ,'ac'k i'e[)liud warndy. " Nor do Canadians in <>vneral know anythinj;' of tlioir own country. They arc not travellers, as we Yankees are. The old French li stock were oreat wanderers and explorers, but their descendants are stay-at-homes. The old-thne French (Canadians Avent everywhere. The «»Tandsire was a rot/f/f/ci/r ; his descendauts to-day are only luibHonx. He fed his sinews on the uame of the whole continent. These eat pease and <»arlic at home. The fact is Can- ada knows less of herself than she did a century and a half aii'o. She is absolutely en<>'a<>ed in rediscover- in<>' hci' own geography. The same tliinj>' is happening .! IJKi GAMK. H.I in Caiuida, touclnn<»' her «»Teiit rivers, lakes, and fertile plains, as liai>|)ene(l in Italy in respect to Pompeii and Herenlaneuni. They are l)ein<»' uncovered and l)roiii>lit to tlie li<»lit. They have lain huried under a hui»'e de- posit of ignorance, and are now l)ein«>' exhumed. There are a dozen American sportsmen 1 could mention who know more ahout Canada than the Geo()vernment ou<»ht to put you on a salary to write their advertishig' literature and make innnigratiou speeches." " You can lau<»h as much as you like," returned Jack ^vith good-natured earnestness, " hut you know I am right, for you know as much of this great country as I do, and perhai)s more. I wish our countrymen would learn the facts about this huge enii)ire of o[)portunity to the north of them, or that the Canadians had know- ledge of it themselves, faith in it, and the right con- nections with us. Then you Avould see this western land jump to the front of continental observation." " 1 don't see where the unmigration is to be found to people this vast country," said Colonel Goll'e. " The United States have thus far preempted the immigra- tion possibilities of the world, and stand intermediate between the great western movement of })opukition which signalizes our age, and this country, and I can't see how this Canada of the west and northwest is ever to be peopled. A goodly nund)er of English and Scotch are already here, but it will take many years of such slow additions to peo})le these vast areas which stretch west and north from this spot." 1|: t 1^ Ui'> DAYLKill'l' I. AND. a . '' The pcoplr to |K)|mlatt' this coimtrv," said .lack, are ('(Hiiin<;" tVoiii (neat Britain, (lie north of Kiiropc, and ]u'iiia|)s tVoui the States. Americans as wcii as Kni'opcans shonld jiossess this hind. 'IMiis countrv is aj»Ticultural, and in a few years a <»reat a<»ricnltnral movement from the States northward is likely to take if '■4 jtlace. Our tent is pitched at tlie centre of the wheat area of tlie continent. Five hundred miks to tlie north and as far to the south from where we sit, and a thou- sand miles east and west, measure what I call the lit dollars and fifty cents per acre. It i)ays to he a theorist in an a<>'e and country like this." " Mr. ()so()od," said the Man frcmi New riam|)shire, " 1 am convinced that you and I are adapted to do husiness as partners. If you can select twenty thou- sand acres anywhere around here that look as those twenty thousand you houoht in Texas did, I will «;'() halves with you, and we will sttilie out a city near the centre of the section at once." " Come, c(mie," 1 said when the laujijliter had snh- sided, " have done with this enthusiastic Forecast and your s])eculative talk, and tell :ne ahout the hi^' i»ame, as you promised to do at the start. How far north did you go, Jack, and what did you fiiul in the way of 9" t': ,1 \l game ;.! I si Si .1 . i i {. ;| ifv' IJiiiii ill: MS DAYMCIir I, AM). " T wont as Far as i\n> (licat Slave liako. Tlie shores of this hik(f artt the tiiv(»rite hiiiiiit of the musk o\, and 1 wanted to oct some of the stranlit feet h)n«»' and four hioli, and have a dark and)er-eoh)red coat. In the fall of the year tliey j»tow a very fine wool. They have a flat frontal, and the horns, which are very lar«»e at the base, orow out of the top of the skull close to each other, and curve downward on either side of the head, but turn sharply upward some six inches from the ends, and are finely pointed. They seem to me to resemble a sheep more than an ox, but they do ii'^' f' PRONG HORN ANTELOPF.. ( ' ? I < ' BIG GAME. 151 not have the cry of a sheep or ^oat, l)ut make a noise Uke to the snort of a walrus. They signal danoer by stamping' like a buck, or by striking their horns ao'ainst the horns of others standin<>" near. Thev are courageous, and hs>ht savagely. Even bears are killed by them. The calf is a feeble thing, and can't follow the mother for a month or more after birth. The mothers hide their calves very cunningly, and i)r()tect them with the utmost affection. They feed on grasses, mosses, and browse, and their flesh tastes very like moose-meat or venison, only it is of a coarser grain. They are shy, and keep sentinels well out from the herd when feeding, and hence it is good sport to stalk them. I spent a week hunting them, and had good success ; but I had .nore enjoyment in watching them and studying their habits than in killing them, for after 1 had collected a few specimen skins 1 had no motive to kill farther." "• That 's right," said the Judge. " Boys are mur- derous chaps with the gun, but when a man has shot a few years he begins to shoot less and study more, and finds more pleasure in learning than in killing. A true sportsman becomes, as he grows in years and skill, more and more a naturalist, and receives more pleasure from the living knowledge he acquires than the dead game he bags." " The caribou are very plenty in the north," re- sumed Jack. " There are two varieties, the woodland and the barren-ground caribou. They are found in large herds around Athabaska Lake and southward of Hudson's Bay to Lake Superior. I need not describe 1 ? 1 ^t > ' Mf iii U; 152 DAYLKJIIT LAND. tlieni to you, for you have all, doubtless, seen them. In summer they come from the far north, and feed around James's Bay. The caribou are good game, for it takes skill, patience, and physical endurance to stalk one successfully. When he finds himself hunted, he travels with a low head, his antlers well back, and ;5 -' ■ kee])s his body clo.t! lo tiie ground. I followed one on tlie Nelson River four days before I captured him, and lie came near bagging me instead of I him, for I only wounded him, and he charged at me like an eleidiant. The barren-ground caribou is not much known, I fancy, among the sportsmen of the States. They are much smaller than the woodland species, weighing only about one hundred pounds when dressed. They are very plenty in the Great Slave and Athabaska Lake regi( n. Small as they are, their antlers are much larger than ll; BIG GAME. 153 those of the larj^er si)ec'ies. They have more brunches on them, and are far handsomer. In sunnuev they are a reddish brown, but in winter ahnost snov/ white. The skin tans finely, becoming very soft and white, and is used for tents and oarments. Their Hesh is excellent, and the fat on the rump is hij^hly prized as a oreat delicacy by the Indians and French rod sliot at one. 1 have two skins at Innue, and I j)rize thenj as troplucs oj' the chase heyond any others that twenty years of luintinji- all over the continent have u'iven J? me. ■.l,v,jv|l^-- ,'0l *"• Are there many Rocky Monntain goats hi this Canadian country?" I asked. '" Plenty of them everywhere in the mountains," he answered. " South of the national line they are not very plenty, but as you travel northward they become more and more numerous. You will, I presume, see them from the car window as you ride alono", once you get into the mountain section to the west of us. I see they have been rei)resented as very shy and difficult to E BIG (iAMK. ir>/) stalk, l)y ;i i)r()niinont sportsman of tlio States. I have not found this to bo the case after I luid studied tlicir hal)its anil character a little. The lirst thiui*- to reniend)er in stalking- a white ^oat is that he is hy nature a most curious animal. His hump of iiKjuisi- tiveness is excessively larj^e. You must not attem[»t to stalk him too much. You nuist let him stalk you. If you move he will see you, and away he goes at a hound ; hut if you don't move, hut remain hidden and exi)ose something' to his sight that he does not under- stand, and exercise patience, it is ten to one that in half an hour you have drawn him within range. In- deed, the true rule in any form of hunting' is to move very little and very slowly, or not at all. The adage that ' luck comes to tin; man who won't go after it,' is cs[)ecially verified in stalking. I have killed more ganu^ hy sitting still than hy tramping or riding ; tter it. " In the second place I made a very interesting dis- covery, and I made it hy accident, one day. I was stalking a fine old hilly goat in the mountains north of Bow lliver with a comrade, a green man, \vho did n't seem to have an eye in his head. The game was ahove me, half a mile away, perhaps, and I was moving up with the utmost circumspection, when to my dismay I saw my comrade suddenly emerge from the scruh five hundred feet ahove the old fellow, and walk care- lessly along in full view. I was not surprised that my friend did not see tlie goat, for I douht if he would have seen an elephant twenty rods in front of him, hut I was surprised that the goat did n't see him, for he r :tfi .::< ir)0 DAYLIGHT LAND. If was a foxy old chap, and kept his eyes open. And then it was that I su(Ulenly made a discovery, — a <) with stionj*- emphasis. " If I liad u hoy uiul I wantLMl to make a true naturalist of him, 1 would huy him a sportsman's outfit and «»ive him to you for five years to edueate." " Well, 1 eould teach Inm a <»()od many valuahle thin<»s, 1 don't doubt, or any other true sjiortsman eouhl who has trailed the eontinent as widely as 1 have," .lack responded. " For he wouhl see not only its physical oeography and its old races, now almost extinct, hut I'W its vegetable and arboreal growths, and above all learn how to use his eyes and his ears and his reasonini;- fac- ulties more sharply and carefully than he could in the recitation room of a collciic. Mr. Murrav aiul 1 were graduated from Yale, and we renuMuher our Alma Mater with scholarly gratitude, but the Great University of Men and Things, as represented by our studentship of the continent, has given us a more valuable knowledge than our study of books ever did." " Never mind that now, Jack," 1 said ; " you and I can't graduate from the big Outdoor University until we have saddled across the Mackenzie Basin and boated down its current a thousand miles, or two thousand, for that matter." " 1 will do that with you any sunnner." he said. "• Three months will be all the time we need, and from the day we leave Calgary till our return we shall be in the best hunting region of the continent — the section where big game in abundance and all its vaiieties, ex- cepting the jdain buffalo, can now be found. All through this area north of us the wa])iti, or l)ig elk, are found jdentifully, both aumng the foot-hills and in V, t. Wi-'f ■. 4 -;«ff::r.-i-^-Xv, < I 'I' -U\) J GO DAYLKilir LAND. the woody ('liiun)s and liinlxT wliicli patcli tlic [»lains ol' tlio ('*)untr\ luMc ami tluMi. Tlic \\aj)iti aw noMc oainc, and tlic stalkiiii;' of them a most manlv recrea- tion. As to j»rizzlies, 1 iicmt luiiit tliem. I do not admit tli.it a spoitsmaii lias sncii a motivi; in liis spoit- ini«' adventures as to justify liini in riskini;' liis lite, as he must do in stalkin^' tor <;ri//iies. Mr. Miiiiay saw iiic run from a i»rizzly once, and I am confident tliat he never saw a man of my inelies malce hetter tnnt;. I have Ivilie 1 two, l)ut in hotii instances I was so placed tliat I could n't run, and had to Idll or i»('t killed, so 1 stood stoutly in for the chances, and won. 'JMiere are two animals I never seek, and always shun if 1 can : the -»riz/ly f)ear and the panther. The latter is the kinj; of the American forest and motintains. lie is the oiily heast tlu^ <>rizzly fears. The lithe cat is more than a match for tiu' juonstrous bear. The Indians will tell vou that th"y have found miny grizzlies that were certainly killed hy panthers, but no one has ever seen the body of a panther that was killed by a «>rizzly or any other animal. The panther is kin<»' of tl woods. '" INIoose are numerous in the Peace River country, amonji" the mountains and on the west side of the )untains. It has been said that no white man can le UK unit a moose as well as an Ind lan. A s a ri de tl le say ini>" holds i»()od. To it I have known a few exce])tions, but only a few. The influence of heredity is in the Indian's favor. His eyesioht is a derived faculty. It is a birthmark. The Indian's oye has ancestors back of it. A thousand years of practiced, develoi)ed vision [i I.! •1 » -I. \ THE GRIZZLY BEAR. !> .IT:;, iH f«^ W 1. 1 r; . I ' t li il^ ^i^ IW(i (iAMi;. IGii is concent liitrd, ,\iu\ peers Ironi under liis Inows. 'J'lie alM>ri*;iniil eye is the l>est in tiie world. It is litcndlv inici()sc(»|>ic. In nioose-stiilkin;; tliis cunnlH. The stiillvcr wiio can stall; without noise, and whose eve is as «»()od or hettcr than tlu; moose's, ^c-ts him every time. Tlie eye wins in moose-hunt in;;-. " Antelopes are not j;am(.'. Jhey are too pretty to ^ii;ii!l hhyi] 1" ih i' shoot, and too simph'. Their curiosity is so enormous that it (h)minates them. It ])luces them entirely at tlu^ mercy <>t the spoitsmun, and hence every true sports- man spares the h)vely creatures, unless ahsolutely c(mi- pelled to kill to a]>pease his hunger. ]}ut the hi<»- j^ray wolf is leoitimate n'anu', and the i>reat, <»aunt, hulkiui;' brute )nakes a ^ood tar<>et ; and his pelt is not to be de- spised, for when full furred it looks well, and a dozen •H i 1G4 DAYLKillT LAND. iilir of them make a warm robe, or overcoat even. These wolves are everywhere to the north of us, and often make <><)0(l sport as you trail onward. " The reason why the great area north of us is to be eonunended to the American sp(;vtsman," said Jack in conclusion, " is because it is the i-vesent hcmie of the bi<:' iiame of the continent, and is accessible. The rails bring- you to your saddle, and the saddle takvs you to the end of your trail. And after my way of thinking there is no method of locomotion so healthy, so stimulating, and so thoroughly enjoyable, as you have with a good, tough, easy-gaited, well-trained l)ony under you, trailing over the great plains. Pushing down toward the north from Calgary you have the })rairie land to the east and the Kooky JMountains to the \vest in full view ; grasses and flowers, running streams and groves of trees, pure air and lovely cmuij) grounds ; a climate of even temperature, long', linger- ing twilights and early dawns, and th\t most delightful of all sensations to a trailer, — the feeling that you are visitini>' an unknown section without danger or excessive toil, and in which game is abundant. Even if you cared nothing for game, and were only seeking a glorious outing, 1 can imagine no excursion likely to yield more health or j)leasur(^ to a l)arty of refined and intelligent lovers of the outdoor Avorld and life than one pushed down toward the north into the Peace River country from Calgary, keeping the snowy sununits of the Rocky Mountains in sight on the left as you jour- ney along. Granted a good-sized ' prairie schooner,' a good cook, a good teamster, and a good party, and BIG GAME. 105 •I I aftor my way of thinking- you liuve all the conditions of a good thne." " So say I," cried the Judge, as he rose to his feet and extracted a small package from his coat pocket, " and I wish we hoys could all start on such a journey to- morrow. But one thing, Colonel Goll'e, you could not do. The court would not allow it ; you should never he permitted to take that old cond>ination musket of vours alonji'. It is nnu'e dani>erous than a ' sui»ar trust,' " and the Judge proceeded to o})en the package in his hand, which proved to contain nothing hut small ohlong pieces of pastehoard with grotestpie pictures upon them. " Judjie John Doe, what are those thiims you have in your hands?" exckiimed the Colonel, in a seven; voice. " They look to me like a ])agan cryptogram, and if Mr. Ignatius Dcmnelly gets nold of you " — " That will do," interrui)ted the Judge coolly, as he hegan to nu)ve his fingers up and down over tlie pack- age in a manner to make the slips of paper come and go in a strange fashion, " that will do. Colonel Goife," he added as he prej)ared to sit down on his camp-stool. lese are car'.ts, su*. spite of Th lis IS a iioKcr pack, and in your innocence i ])ro])ose I 1' that •k d on aiK 11 SllOU Id Have a i>ame a Sit d own, Jud ge, aid the Colonel kindly, as he moved the Judii'e's stool a little ch)ser to him. " Thank you, Coh)nel," rei)licd the Jiulge, in ;i molli- fied voice, eyidently touched hy the Colonel's courtesy. a I will sit down," and he did — on the i>rass ! •\ ^ !()() DAYLKillT LANi). " Von viJJffinf" screamed the Jiuloe, and jumi)iiio- to his feet he grabbed the camp-stool and pursued the Man from New Hampsliire around the corner of tlie tent, folhmed by our voHeyin<^ hiu^^hter, wliih* even tlie Indians standing around grinned broadly. I '!*!, B< /• i »-i- ■r^^rr^%-:- •!f' CHAPTER IX. A STKAN(;E MIDNKMIT lilDK. Is there not A tonpuo in every star, that talks willi man, And wooes him to he wise '.' Nor wooes in vain. This (le.ad o£ miihii^ht is the noon ot" thoui;lit, And wisdom mounts her zenith with tlie stars. . ■ i • '1 ■ ' 1 iH i n\ ^'^ RIDE, — and such a ride as no ancient ever took, although he were a <;()d ; a ride upon a steed without feet or winj^s, and yet a steed which swept us throu<»h sunlit space and starht gloom faster than hoof of speed or Hight of wing. To the south, the prairie land stretched green and fragrant with sunnner growth and hlooni to the far southern Gulf. To the north, tlie same lovely level sw^ept to the lower edge of the great Mackenzie hasin, — that far river of the north of wliich few know but little, and most know notliiug. Its length, longer than the Mississippi's; its climate, although ujion the edge and within the rim of tlie Arctic circle, still warmer than Dakota's ; its plains, within whose vast h- :i ' ft . . . 108 DAVLKillT LAM). > 1 1 boiiiidai'ii'S Eastern States and Provinces inii;lit l)e ])la('e(i and lost ; tlie n'rowtli of its rich soils, harlev, wheat, peas, and all life- Feed ini;- vei;etal)les, tonctliei- with those hardy flowers which ^raco onr Northern tables: these and other marvels horn of isothermal lines which, cnrvini;' hither and yon, laui»h at lines of latitnde, — are not these things scolled at hy the stay-at-homes as myths and idle tales? Why, then, tell of the «;reat possibilities for healthy men and lia[>|)y homes Ivino- far to the north of ])resent settle- ments; of millions on millions of acres that only wait for the ])loni;h and the seed, the sower's hand and the harvester's sickle, to yield the hnnory world the hread it needs, if it will not helieve the trnth ? Yet the world will read th;' ]>oetry of this far-stretchini»' land, and, readini>' it, will hy and hy come to the know- led^'e of its economic facts, — perhaps. To Lhe sonth,then, the j)lains stretched to the Gulf ; to the north, half as far. To the east, the i»Teat lawn extended nii»h three hundred lea<>iu's. To the west, in the i;loiv of sunset, its sa[)i)hire splendors sjuead over the fixed hlue of heaven and the lloatini;' fleece of clouds, arose the harrier of a ^reat mountain wall which readied to the south and north as far as eye miii'ht see. Never all mv iournevini>s had 1 seen such a siuht. The n Jiills, in the distance and ii'atherinii' u'loom, were i! > tened out of view, and the i;reen ])rairie land sprea- with almighty power the limit of man's wander- in^' and discoveries. Toward this monstrous harricade, this base oi' <»;loom that stretched far as the eye mi«>ht see to the north and south, we drove in silence. Behind this wall the red sun slowly sank. I saw its (|uiverin<»' orb of flame rest on a peak of snow that at its touch kindled to the l)rii»htness of a burnin<>' star. On either hand a hun- dred other peaks flashed like newly lighted beacons. Is it for warnino- or for guidance, I cpu'ried to myself, — for the weird siolit stirred my ima«»ination unwont- ediv, — that those hundred beacon fires, stretcliini»- in front of me on either hand a hundred miles, are kindled hi<>h in heaven ? Thus, then, was I hurried onward fast as set winp^s might carry me, with my gaze on the ])eaks, the fading* fire in the sky, and the growing gloom. Slowly the crimson faded ; slowly the sapphire colors lost their splendors ; slowly the orange lights were blanched, and the warm tones that tilled the heavens chilled into gray, and then in the far distance my eye saw only a blue sky pointed here and there with starry fire, and between it and me, sharply edged, cleanly cut. strongly defined, stood forth domes of snow and pinnacles of ice. Many sights of splendor have I seen in wandering by day and night ; many pictures such as man's hand could never paint have I gazed at, both at noontide and at midnight, when for my entertainment, as it seemetl, i tt > t i. ifl .1 ni!l m 172 DAYLKIHT LAND. — for bcliio- there Jilono T only smav, — Nature kindlv sliifted I'' . etelied or painted scrolls. Many weird si«»lits lui.'. I j»azed at Hoatinj;- on northern waters in the ni<;ht time, when all the woods were silent with lo- cal stillness, and round the Pok', hy hands unnamed hy science, unknown to superstition even, were lij»hted the mystic fires which illuminate with awful and shiftino- sj)lendors the end of th(' world. But never in wander- ing" hy day i n' , i, oh plain or mountain slope, or surface of for* . i.tk' ;, have my eyes heheld a spectacle so strange and urtlii or an exhihition so maaniii- cent, as 1 saw, gazing westward through the gloom at the sunnnits of the Kocky Mountains, with the world around me darkened into gloaming and the dead sun- set lyhio- on the hier of Nii»ht heyond. Between the dark earth and the hlue sky, the hhick Hatness and tlie star-lighted dome, the whiteness of the })eaks drew a line of startling eil'ects from north to south, held in mys- terious sus])ensi()n hetween earth and heaven us far us eye might range. Steadily we rolled onward. Behind, the roar and rund)!e of the train ; ahead, the stillness of nature's un- disturhed repose when man sleeps and animals walk velvet-footed. The sun had set. The moon had not risen ; yet it was not dark. A strange half-light filled the world. The train I could not see, for I was riding- ahead of it. The i)Ower that drew it, Avliose mighty throhhings I could feel as though within me, pushed me through the air as an arrow is pushed from the how. I was beino' whirled alono- as a bird is whirled when it rides the tem])est. The dusk was fragrant with A STHAN(;i-: MIDXKJIT KIDK nii U11S(»(M1 1)1 ooin. Tl 10 ('ill th ()(1( ors were blown into my nostrils. I hreatlied the str()ii<«' life of the worhl, and felt its streii«»'tli eoiue to nie as I hreatlied. Siuhleiily, on my left, 1 saw a snowy owl sailing' with set wiiiiis westward. Was it the «»host of the dav that had just died that had hecn foreed at last to leave the world it h)ved so well ? The sftectral vision raced us a raee and won, and far ahead I saw its snowy pluiiia<»e fade and lose itself in the distanee. A tloek of dueks, startled from the sedges of the lake we skirted, whirred upward out of si<»lit. I thou«»ht it stranire that I couhl hear their feathered stn .> \v a way. hlazed lik f; J»lit A eoyote spran<»' upo^i ti. ■ tiaek, Above me the great round eye of th ne;? u I sun. stood for a moment <^azin«»- at us, its eyes tw(; 'taiiiond sparks, its dirty j^'ray eoat «»'leamini»' whit and beauti- ful as silk, then slunk away, and the <;loii.iiin<»' hid it from si<>"ht. Suddenly, above us and ahead, a Hock of mi«>hty birds swept into view, — their bodies wliite, their le<»'s half the length of a man's, their h)iii»-, broad bills crooked like a spoon, yellow as j^old, their wii": shadiiii*" from their white bodies into raven blac , stretched wider than a man's hands could reach. They were pelicans, those mii»'hty birds that float upon the ])rairie Ldves as lari»e as swans, whose vans beat the air with stro):es stron«>er than an eagle's. One such bird might make a trophy for a hunter more noble than horns of elk or head of moose. They «i'ave no crv, lait circled like spectres into sight, and like a ghostly visita- tion disappeared. Thus into the night I glided, hold- ing converse with the night, — a wingless bird myself, flying with birds. 'o:, i. ? W:^ 174 DAYLKiirr LAND. Tlioso wlio know Nature only hy day know only half of her, and the least interesting' half at that. Natui«' has two faees. Both are heaiilifid, hut one is su])ieuiei\ so. The one is as ji human face, ••lowinj;', sunli«;hted, tanned, searied, it nuiy he, ju'ifeet or lui[)erfect, as the (hiy is. Her nij^ht-tinie face is as an an«»('rs, the face of one tiiat has heen translated from Hesh to spirit, and hy the translation h)st its «»rossness and heeome ethe- realized. Its heauty is that heauty whieh is veiled, which liains froiii luivini'' its loveUness snuutsted rather than reveaU'd. Tlie nude is always unsatisfactory, for loveli- ness is ever ti thinj»' of sui»t»('stion rather than revehi- tion. He Avho sees all plainly sees too much. As sii»ht would roh religion of the olory <>f faith, so it rohs loveliness of the henelits of imauination. One may tire of Nature hv (hiv, — the sun makes her connnon. When niornini;' hits fully ecnne, we may go within-(h)()rs and eat ; we may <»'o to our toil : we may strike our tents and move on, weary of the dnsty road. For not until the j'lare is ])asse(l an.i the hot sun dimmed hy ccmiino* shadows and cooled hy falling" dew, need W(! halt on the march or come forth from our doors to look ahont us. Verily to the lover of Nature, whether on plain or amid hills, or shore of sea, the nii»ht is the time to wake. Then should eyes he o])ened as stars and oihed for vision, as is the moon when it rolls in rounded jjerfeetion through the lighted skies. And oh, the voices of the night ! The day is tune- less. Man monopolizes it with his noises ; with the murmurs of his trade, the roar and rumhle of his com- il A STKANdK MIDNKill'l' KII>K IT. nicrre ; with the stridj'iit calls of his slil'.t<'d v. ith soherness and tinth. For they, as well as I, have camped upon the shores of lakes amid the circlini;' woods ; hav(^ stood alone at ni«>ht on Ixmndless prairies, and thrown themselves down amid the trasses and flowers, nnahle to sleep he- canse of the lilorv that was ahove tiieni, the odors that they hreathed, and the sweet sonnds which, came to their charmed ears from nii»h or far. And others yet have stood npon the top of iMtuntains when the sun went down, and with gladness seen the shadows darken and the stars come out, watchini*' for them as for loved faces not seen for years, and have sat on the hare rocks, hour after hour, and watched them draw their i»()lden circles thn us>h the blue ahove, and in the silence heard all the tones of memory and the pro|)hecies of hope. And when at last they sle[)t they found the <»ranite softer than a downy bed shut in with walls and doors. These, reading', know what I mean, and that I say the truth and lie not when I say that he who has seen Na- ture only by day has seen only the lesser half of her. ,. •»( , 'I » M" no DAVI.KIHT I. AND. ;iii(l ill one souse, and Ji true oiic too, lias not st't'ii licr at all. Still on- .?*''*^-»«*~ ward we * drove. Here '. and the r (« z the j;i'ade sloped down- |. ward, a n d t li e n t h e luijihtv train ilew like a meteor. Tt was not rld- i n <»• ; w e were hciiii;' projeeted into space, we were l)einh the air. The atmos- ])here was cool, dewy, fra i>rant. the ])ialrie, fields of white fo envelo])ed the track. Into and through these soft layers of Heece onr faces dashed. Ont of tlieni they rose as from a hath of si)ray, drip- A SilfANdi; MIDNKim KII>K, 17' Hiiij»' with itcrt'iimcd water. How (hlicioiiH tlu» hvuhv of life Ijccamr ! Tlicrc was not a sl< »w vein III us. We llowi'd t'lill to the l)riiii witli vitality. 'I'lu- con- >t' 1 1 scioiisness ol happy, hiioyaiit hit' was in us as ncvci t lit'( )>(-i ore r\ ic wild i'oi CCS o f tl W W(M Id were round us and wo were of tlicm. We were of the atoms «d' the 11 nivcrsc, of wliicli i-acli atinii is superlatively vital. We were all alive. We tlirol)l)ed and panted on the risinii" jirades like the en^iine. Down the lonu' deelen- sioiis we reeled and rollieUed like a frolicsome meteor. W»' whirled ahuiii' throui»li the uloom like the hirds of iiiliht which we startled from the scdu'cs. We rolled liillowinii' onward like the <»rcat herds of cattle which our shriekiii<;' llii;ht stampeded. We thundered around the hends of the river furiously, and the snortini;' horses in mi«;hty hands hurst wildly away from the hiaze of our headlight as vfo dashed into the ranches, heads tossini*' from side to side, eyes hla/iui;" like diamonds, ancs and tails streaniino; their [)omp and pride of III th I owinii' hair atai fj Thus through the short summer nii;ht we rode or flew. Twice tlie monster that hore us so steadily and swiftly sto])ped at water and stood ])antini»'. Around it crowded a nioh of wild -h)okiiii;" creatures, — the Indians of the i)kiins ; Blackfeet, who rank with the Sioux for coura<»e ; Crees, wliose kindred wi<»'wams stretched to the coast of Lahrador ; the Assinnihoins or " Si >nies," wliose toni»iie connects them dimly with the trihes which traj) upon the shores of far Mistas- siniii ; tlh se and the scattered remnants of other trihes tlir()n<»'ed around, wrapped within blankets, sih utiy ,. I 178 DAVLKillT LAXU. n iil <»azin_i»" at us as we sat ujxm the engine. A wilder- lookimr sot of Ix'iiiirs no man ever saw. Tl U'll" lOUii coarse, raven-black hair hun<»' low upon their hosonis and" shoulders. The wind at times hlew the hlaek tani»le of it over their faces. These were ]>ainted with red and yellow ochres, which heii»ht( ned indescrihahly their wild, lierce asj)ect. Their hhmkets were of hii»h colors, s(nne of a solid red, some red with hlack striju's, while others were checkered in hlazino- s(|uares. The plumes of eaole, raven, and pelican were knotted in (heir coarse locks. They said nothing-. They asked no alms. The hrakemen, oilers, and wheel-testers flashed their kuiteiiis into their faces, and joked them ])leas- tb antiv Th U'v made no answer and thev never stnre( 1 th d. What were their thon<>iits ? I will stir them up, 1 said. I stepped to the side of an old chief. — a tall, wrinkled, and withered Uhickfoot. — and said, "('hief, are you thirdvin<»" that this prairie land was the land of your fathers for a thousaiid years? thai their hones are under its flowers to-nii»ht, and that their s])irits are hnntinii' the deer and the hulfalo this mhuite on the mighty sand-hills there to the east ? that this fiery monster I am ridino* is the Evil Power that has ban- ished y(mr i»ame, rol)])ed you of your huntini»-i»r()unds, and destroyed the stren«»th and olory of your race? Do von not hate it and us who manai»"e and use it ? " He listened witli his oaze full on nu». 1 knew hy the flash that came into the hlack eyes that he undi'rstood, but his face i»ave no sijni and he si)ake not a word. But I had t(>ld him the truth, and he knew it. The Indians you nu'ct on the liiu^ of this Canadian •n L »^At'' ■h. i > I 'I li i^l.f SAPOMaXICOW or CRiiWFOOl, faiHif^':!;! V: A STUAN(;K MIDNKiHT uiDi; 181 road are finer spcciiuens of the red raee tlian those met with on the lines that run tlironji'li tlie States. Tlie early French treated the Indians with humanity, the English \\\0\ harharity. The Hudson's Hay Company's connnereial instincts i)rom|)ted wisdom, — the wisdom of justice and mercy ; and so its factors and agents continued on in the line of humane French precedence. T!ie Canadian government naturally fell heir to this policy of wis(h)m, and in the main has striven honestly to live up to it. The heneficial effect of this treatnu'nt is apparent to the most casual ohserver. The Indians of the Canadian west and northwest are not like the tlehauched and degraded vagaijonds we find hanging iround the stations of oui f West ern rai Iroadf Tl ley are well-clothed, cleanlv, healthy-lookino; and m manv Th w cases fine specnnens of the red race. I he women are (11 dressed and of decent appearance. The Ixjvs look vigorous and the u'irls healthv, and not a few (d" them handsonu'. They look as if they were still ca|tal)le of taking cave of themselves, still had a right to live, and a place reserved for them hy the hond of honorai)le eni»ai»ement in the land of their fathers. Instead of heing a painful spectacle to the (continental tourist, the Indians of the [)lains between Winnipeg and the Uockv Mountains, a stretch of nearly a thousand miles, are objects of interest and ])leasant surpris(>. At last we noticed a change in the air ahead of us. The darkness began to change to gi'ay. The stars above us shone with shorter beams. A pale light spread over the vast plain. A Hock of geese wedged thei lab ir way lahoriousiy nortnward tnro th (I th )U<' h tl U' asUen i." i ffh'l 182 DAYLKJHT LAND. oloom. To tlie left, in the bend of Bow River, a herd of cattle stood in the fo«»', their heads and hueks show- in"' above the white Heeee, their bodies invisible — a strange effect. The old, old tight, older than the world, was being waged around us, — the tight of light witli darkness. The attack and defence were eijually stubborn. There were no charges, no sudden dashes, no (j[uick recoil or recoveries of position. The move- ments were vast, slow-motioned, innnense. The stars from pole to i)ole telegraphed the result. The horizon line of the whole world showed us, as we gazed, the victory and the defeat. Suddenly, high in heaven, the sunnuits of the mountains, an endless line, shone i)early white. Below the gleaming s])ires tlieir monstrous bulks were black as niglit. It was a sight to see witli lifted hands. Then all the world grew rosy. The low- lying fog Helds crimsoned. The foothills sprang into view. The ch)U(ls blushed. The sun without warninii' had kissed t^M'm. The icy ])eaks flashessession of the world. And thus, witli faces wet witli dew, our nostrils tilled witli forest odors, our eves bri<>ht as the eves of those who had discovered a new world, we dashed into the ani])hitliea- tre of the everlasting hills, and stopjied at last, oui* glorious ride ended, and stood, in the red light of the morninp;. gazing bewildered, astonished, at that mar- vellous expression of Nature's beauty and majesty known to tlie tourist of this western world as B-est personalities he continent. The once poor hoy at HanlV has since hecome one of the chief forces of this western world. No higher (•(mipliment could be paid him than to give tiiis mao- lcS4 DAVI.HIIIT LAND. iiificcnt location tlic luunc oF liis l)iitli})Iii('e. Hut no one wlio knows tlu> modesty iind <;i't'atnt'ss of the man, and tlu' services he has (h)no this eountry, will say that tli ie eomi>Iiment is excessive '1 riieie is no reward too j^reat," exclaimed Mr. I\'|)- perell, " there is no reward too <>reat for a man whose faith and eonra<»e have o|»ened np such a country as this to civilization. Such a man has enlar«»ed the opjjortunity of human elfort, and made hap[)y and prosjK'rous homes possihle to millions." We were standini;' at the eelehrati.^ Sul})hur Sprini;- at the time, one of the many natural curiosities which make this h)cation famous. There were only four of ns left, — the Jud»»e, Mr. Pe|)perell, the Man fnmi New llam])shire, and myself. We were all old travellers, and saw that in Banlf alone we had a uood week's entertainment, without i>()in«»' hevond it a rod. " This Avater sjuells had enoni»h to cure a man, tliat if 1 IS, ir lie was very sick, sai( d tl le V ew II; tmitsnu'e man (|uietly, as h lifted a cup of the heavily-tint tured water to 1 lis nose 1 k now insi', a man who left his lai aid the .lud<;"e, reHectivt'ly. neness m that si)r " It may he Jiat is wnat T smell," added the Man from New Ila ipshire, laconically. By this time we had ))asse(l through the tunnel th;»t has heeii hored into the ledi»e, in the centre of Avhicli Nature liad hollowed that strange cavern from whose bottom hoil the waters of healinir. "At that time," continued the Judire, is»iH r>^' )rini>" as not worthy his attention the facetious remark of our HANFK IS/ t'oiupaiiioii, "ut tliat time, this passage liad not Ix'cn excavated, uiid the only way to reach tliis curative pool was to he lowered hy a rope throui^h that aperture, up there," and he; pointed to tiie hole at the centre ol" tiie cavern's dome, some two feet in diameter, through which we could see the skv, and which originally i^ave vent to the heated atmosphere of the warm sprini;' within. "They say," said Mr. IN'pperell, " that the Indians used to hrin«i' their sick to this mountain side, and lower them throuj»h that hole into the warm sulj>hurous wa- ter ; and they declare that not a sin<;le man ever sj)ent a day and a ni<»ht in this cavern that was n't lifted out well.'" " It wouhl n't have taken a day and a nii;ht to have cured me," said the Man from New Hampshire, as he stoj>j)ed his nose and started for tin S' nnel. " Any man woidd he a fool not to swear he was cured after ore this ])assan(' hein<»" ten minutes in this oven ; for hef was cut, which L»ives its chimney a draft, it must have heen cl(>se, ndohty ch)se, in here ! " "It doesn't smell like a rose," lauL;hini;ly returned the .Iudi;e, as lie shufHed on after us. " hut a man will stand sul[)hur pretty stroni*" to <»et rid of rheumatism." " They s;iy that this whole mountain has a suh- stratum of sulphur," remarked Mr. I'epju'rell, after he had taken two or three whilVs of pure air, heyond the mouth of the ]>assa 0'i> " The Indians are ])0()r theologians," sai DAYIJCIIIT LAN!). " I liavc always tli(mi»Iit it stian«»('," rcinarkcd the .Iiid^c, " that a man witli the kno\vh''overnn»ent liad construct- ed, windinii- in and out alon<>' the hends of tlu' How li uver, runnnii"' alon<»' the oase or the <>'i«»'antic moun- tains and through the cool forests of the iirs. We explored, with the curiosity and ea<»erness of hoys, the sechuL'd places, and followed the dim by-paths, not knowini*' or carino* whither they led us, happy, whether they conducted us to some nohh' prospect or termi- nated suddeidy at some (lrip])ini'' led<>e. We searclied for curious minerals in the sides of the mountains, translated the i>-eolo<;ical records of the cliffs, and col- lected ])olished jU'hhles from the bed of the foamin<»' S])rav. We slept at noonday under the pines, lulled to sleep by the Falls of the Bow, and lishe' of the veraiula which overlooked the Falls five luuidred m --•*■.' y i ■.■^'i^' MM' i; s f M S c c BANFF, 1.SJ) f(M»t l)('l(>w IIS, and saw tlic round moon roll nj) above the Fairiioiinc ran«;v, and wliitcn tin* vallcv of the How witii its silvory li<»'ht. We admired the ample desi;;n ot" liie commodious house, — a veiitai>le palace, with interior finish ot* native woods |)olished to a f;leam ; its wide stairwavs and ii'alleries ; the nohle diniim-room, with its lofty ceilin*;', which tlu .lud*;e pnnioiniced " lit to he a hancpiet-hall for the i;(kIs ; " and the lar«;'e verandas that encin led tl le en tire I louse, as i ft o invi te tl le Li'iU'st to enjov, to their lill, the majestic scenery which stood H'rouneu arouni d it. '' Here," exclaimed Mr. Honneville, "here, is a con- tinental enter[)rise of which, as a continental man, I am |>roud. A year a«;'o and what was there liere ? A forest, a solitude. And out of that forest and soli- tude, at the touch of coura«»eous enter|)rise, this nohle structure has risen with all its a|)purtenances of com- fort and luxury, as in the mind of the dreamer a vision arises in the darkness of nii»ht." "The only vision," said the Man from New Ilamj)- sliire, " that while it deliuhts the eve, ever f'ullv satis- tied the stomach." " The climax of civilization," remarked the .Indue contentedly, as he accepted a ( ij»ar from Mr. Pejjpereirs case. " A ])erfect climax of civilization. The dessert at dinner to-day made me profoundly <»Tateful that I was not I )orn a harl )arian. Had you ])een, you would have civilized the trihe and imported a French c//r/', .ludne," retorted the New Hampshire man lauuhinLilv. At the appointed day the scattered members of the 'ly i ' ' I % IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) s of old Enoland, of France, and of the Great llepuhlic were fraternally in- tertwined. Science and art, poetry and letters, ninsie, heauty, and wit were joined in hright conipanionshij). A progranune for the eveninj^'s entertainment had heen piepared and the Ju(l<»e ai)[)ointed master of ceremo- nies. The stars lighted the world outside, and within the electric glohes Hooded the house with their white radiance. " Ladies and gentlemen," hegan the Judge, " this is not, I will honestly confess, my maiden speech, and yet I find myself alfected as if it w^ere. I am emoarrassed, not at the courtesy of your suffrage, hut at the nov- elty of my position. A citizen of tlie Golden Gate, 1 find myself in tlie Dominion of the Queen, surrounded hy an audience representing almost every section of that Empire on Avhich tlie sun never sets, every State and Territory of the Great Rejiuhlic, and almost every civilized nation on the face of the Ci'itli. We, the citizens of the Kepuhlic, moved by love of country and of institutions which are precious to every lover of liberty wherever he is found, wish to hold a social re- union. With that modesty for which we Americans are noted the world around, we proceeded jiromptly to a})])ropriate this hotel and all the resources for enter- tainment in the establishment, including yourselves, surreptitiously inveigled under the name of guests, that < ^ I i ^ti ''■^Hii I ii J "S!y"=S«!S5^, Ilis is d yet issed, iiov- itc, 1 ided 1 of State very tlie and • of re- cans y to iter- Ives, that m T m z M r:; .1. ■Hi' ! i .'I iff il ■ ., '' i 111'."- (♦*: 'J' ii? ■; f !*. ;• t-1 iRii r ■ i; «j? N BANFF. id;} your elegance, your wit, and your beauty nii«;lit add eclat to tlie occasion. This piratical proceeding we pro- ceeded to legalize by a process invented by us Yankees known as the ' Town Meeting ; ' a process which has been wittily described as enabling the original New Englander to steal his lands from the Indians, become a rebel to his king, and change the commandments without doing violence to his conscience. At this meet- ing of my fellow-countrymen 1 was elected master of ceremonies, a dignity which I did not obtain, accord- ing to a quaint national custom prevalent among us, without being <)[)enly charged by my competitors with having reached the lofty elevation by a scandalous stuffing of the ballot-box. Here andd these everlast- ing hills, in this })alace of modern luxury, with the flags of all nations intertwined, emblematic of that peace which not only now prevails in the Republic and its relations, but through the Empire oF the English- si)eaking race., and with an audience more truly cos- mopolitan than I have ever seen outside of the official halls of government, we hold our hai)py reunion. We Americans are not formal. We are not exclusive. The liberties of refinement will rule the evening. Lit- erature will be honored. Music will be applauded. Beauty will be admired, genius receive its acchdm, the banquet table be spread, and then Terpsichore shall dance to the music of the hours, till the flush of morn- ing shall turn the icy pinnacles of the mountains above us to the color of the rose." There was just that Fourth of July swing to the eloquence of the Judge, that rhetorical abandon, which ' 4 M 1 t 9 ■ ' i 1 It it ■ ♦ 4 -it ' ^ i ■ ! : r >}■ I'll !' Ufjl j;! j 1 K i\ 104 DAYLKillT LAND. suited exactly the mood of liis fellow-countrymen, and we all cheered Imn us none of us have ever been cheered since our Class Day oration, when we electri- fied our sisters, our cousins, and our aunts with the Hiohts of our eloquence. We all cheered him im- mensely. The Man from New Hampshire, who had been a self-n(miinated rival to the Judg'e in his strug- gle for the chairmanship, prolonged his applause as if, like a true American when defeated, he would triumph over his hated rival by the exhibition of his generosity. " Ladies and gentlemen," resumed the Judge, when the Man from New Hampshire had subsided, feeling that he was the true victor, " ladies and gentlemen, I will first present to you Professor Blaniiton, of the Continental College, an Institution not yet erected, but which nevertheless stands completed to the eye of faith, on the subscription paper — not largely sub- scribed to as yet — • which he carries in his pocket. Professor Blankton will give us a recitation of an original composition prepared expressly for this occa- sion, called The Two Flags." " That you may understand, ladies and gentlemen," began the Professor, as with a graceful bow he ac- knowledged the generous reception we gave him, " that you may understand the location and natm-al surround- ings of this little episode of American-Canadian life, which I am to render, I will briefly describe them to you. " Below the Fraser Caiion, the savage sublimity of which cannot perhaps be equaled on the continent, the HANFF 195 len ?5 if'e, to of the Fraser curves to the rig) it, and sends its deep, stronjjj^, down-rushino; current with a sullen roar against the base of a mountain. And he who stands in the curve below Yale, and looks up that wide reach of water to where it rushes out of the glooiuy pass, from be- tween walls of rocks which rise six thousand feet above it, sees as g'rand a spectacle and as sublime a vision of river and mountain as he may find on the continent. Opposite this curve, on which you will ima<;ine your- self standing, stretches a })lain, acres in extent, lying enclosed in the curve of the great stream, under the rounded banks of which, when the water is lowest in summer, stretches a bar of brown sand. From that bar a crowd of Americans, Avho had broken through the vast mountains from California, in 18G8, took in a few days more than a million of dollars of granulated gold. From this fact it received the name of American Bar, a name which it retains to this day. On the plain above the bar, directly in front of the monstrous mouth of the Fraser Caiion, were camped more than six hun- dred of our fellow-countrymen. " It is doubtful, ladies and gentlemen, if a rougher, braver, more reckless crowd were ever seen in British Columbia. They represented the frontier of our country ; that frontier which stands for exploration, mad ventures, audacious enterprises, personal courage, coarse bravado, manhood wrecked, recklessness of life, and generous impulses. In it, every State and Territory of the Union had its spokesman. The dialect, the per- sonal characteristics, the humor, even the profanity of each section was represented by its true type. Many i!'i' v.m DAVI.Kiiir I. AND. iVh % wore old toi'tv-iiiiicrs, nicii wlio had ciosslmI tlic plains ojj toot, lillc in hand, wiicn tlio Kast went wild at the mnvs that <;()ld could he had for the di,i;i;'in<;' hi'vond tho Novadas. Youth and ai»o and iniddlo lii'c wcro there. Ex-anny nu'i JJlue and Gray, Ueh and \'anlv, worked as partneis, a. I starved, feasted, or i»and»le(l to- ii'cther as luck smiled or frowned. Sonu' siii'iied their name with that sii;u which stands with e(|ual facility for piety or ignorance ; and others in the hush of eveniuii' sani»' the soni>s of their Alma Mater to the listenino' pines and silent stars. Many were ii>norant of any grammar, and others nHL;ht have seived as Queen's jMesseni;ers, not oidy in Kuro|)ean hut in Asi- atic courts. Many were scarred with wounds received in hattle or private tights. All were armed, and ate and sle])t with a })istol at their hips. And while they i>aiid)ied or het heavily when in nu)ney or licpior, nevertheless drunkenness ^vas exce])tional and tights nnconnnon. A crude hut ellectively administered jus- tice guarded ])roperty and life. Thievini*' was nidvnown at Anu'rican Bar. ' It does n't ])ay,' said Li<;ht-tin- <>ered Dick to his partner, wdio had learned a useful trade under the direction of his native State : ' it does n't })ay in a connuunity so damned ignorant that the court has only one classification for crimes and in- flicts hut one penalty.' Still it cannot he said that this crowed of <»old-seekers were precisely the kind of nuMi one would select for church-mend)ership, and cer- tainly more reckless dare-deviltry was camped that sum- mer at American Bar than could he easily gi-ouped in any other spot on the face of the earth. You now t'li Ct" ;l;l FRASER CANON, BELOW NORTH BEND. f ; i; I m '% , 1* ;:i ■ ■'|i; *!■: m 'I, i i ! , .( ■li \i ■ ,; f -I • I 1 i i|'- ■ 1 tis ij ! 1- f.J! i 1 1 ". 1- i 1 k HAN'FF. 101) have the kn()\vlLMl«»'o of tliu locjition and charactciistics of tlio occiu'it'iice, and I will procct'd to j»iv(( you tl>e story of — TIIK TWO KI-A(}S. " Let tlicsc t\v(t Hays j;() on like twin Stars ill ('(iiial cimrsfs iiidviiij;'." *• It was the Fourth of 'Inly. The sun stood etpiidis- tant })etween the monstrous elilfs that niath^ the walls of the IMack Canon, poui'in<>' its rays strai<»ht downward upon the foaiu-whitened surface of the racin*;' water. On the plain in the elhow of the river stood the canij), and on the hush-eahins and old, soiled tents the r.iys fell l)ri<;'htly and hot ; all the hotter they seemed to the revelers on the sand, hecause ahove and around them, as they looked thr()u«»li the heated air, they eould see the cold <»leam of <»laeiers and the «»lint of ice against the blue sky. The camp was in holiday mood ; not a man was at work at the Bar. To have lifted pick or pan would have started Ju(l<>'e Lynch that day. They had struck luck at the Bar and their mood was exuber- ant. Some were pitchin<>' (juoits, usino' small ba<;s of o'old dust for tlu'ir (j[Uoits, eacli caster riskin<>' the bajjf that he cast ; others were en<^ao;ed in pistol practice, the bull's-eye bein<^ a ^old eaole at fifty yards. The bullet that hit won the eaule. Some were Avliirlinu' knives at bank notes. In every tent poker was bein<;' [)layed with a recklessness that would frioliten a rail- road magnate. Two men were ])ron()uncini»' an oration on Liberty at either end of the camj), while a scholarly lookino- man, considerablv exhilarated with somethino; .1 in li I m •} t J 1-, V] liOO DAVIJCIIT LAND. stroii^i'or tliiiii tlu» Insjnratlou of tin* poet, was vainly ciidcavorin;;' to proiioiiiicc tlic measures of a patrintK* ode lie had e()in[)()sed to u throng' of uproarious au- ditors. '"Suddeidy at the mountain end of th(» central street, u thron«»' of men appeared, heiirin*"' on their shoidders a flaii'-stalV with the halyards all iij»-", stonucd u|>\vard lilxo tlio roar oi" a t('in|t('st, startliiij;' tlio «»'<)ats on t'lc crai;' and the llsli-liawUs at tlui inoiitli ot* tlio Canuii, ami liaii<»<)r Ham, cliiMltiii^' to tln' top of some crackcr-hoxcs with his six shooter for liis hatoii, ('oiistitiit('(l hiinsclt' Icaih'r ot the iniisi(; of the occasion, aii«l in his cl(>ar tcnoi* voice, resonant as a hu^lei's call at snnrise, hei;an, — ' Yes, wo '11 rally round the ting, hoys, Wo '11 v.Jly once iij;ain, Shoaling" tho hattle-cry of Freedom ; Wo "11 rally from the hillside, Wo "11 j;:ither from the pliiin, Shontin_i>' the l):ittle-ery of Freedom. (J/iorus : Tho Union forever I Ilmrah ! hoys, hnrrah! Down with the traitor, np with tho star, While we rally ronnd the tlaj;, hoys. Rally onc(; again, Shonting the hattle-ory of Freedom.' " Whether i' was the cxhihiration of the occasion, the swinp^ and sweep of tlu^ verse, or the thrill of pride that the symbol above their heads was theirs once more, or the ma(»'ical memories of the old days before the war, we cannot say? but we simply record the fact that when the singer had readied the chorus, and the ji'reat crowd of rouoh, !,ronze(l, stroni>' men took up the refrain, Arkansas Keb and Mississippi Pete, who had ' bored the old fia<»- ' in twenty battles, joined in as vio-orously as if they had been born under the slope of Bunker Hill. Ji: ^ '?T7 i . . i(..^ 202 DAYLIGHT LAND. "■ The sonjif closed in a loar of souiid which niiirht not be designated by Thomas or Zenahn as niusiu, but which fully answered the demands of the occasion, and at a word from Bangor Harry, every revolver left its owner's hip, and six hundred polished muzzles gleamed in the sun. Six volleys followed the signal of the leader with a precision which demonstrated that they were more i)ractieed in the use of the '' iron " than in the chromatic scale. " ' You fellows,' said Bangor Harry, as he crawled carefully down from the top of his cracker-boxes, ' you fellowo ain't much at singing, but you have all ii'ot the classicid touch on the trioger.' " It was in fact an exuberant and exciting crowd, a crowd which the least touch would have exploded for fun, patriotism, or deviltry. And it was at this lui- fortunate junctuie — luifortunate for him — that out of his bush shanty crawled Bloody Edwards, a big, aggressive, red-faced London cockney, who had come through the mountains Avith the crowd from no imagi- nable reason save sheer accident, and still remained with them because of tolerance on their part and exces- sive indolence on his ; for there certainly was nothing in common between this lofty-aeting, boastful cockney from London and the free and easy, reckless men among whom he was staying. A m »re boastful, swag- gering braggart never breathed. The most oifensive Briton was in him typed most ott'ensively. His favor- ite superlative was ' bloody ! ' It answered even the l)uri)ose of his loyalty, which was so excessive as to tax language to express, and gave him his name. •li , .1 r BANFK. 203 ! I!: " At the very moineiit when the vast crowd was fairly boihiii;' over with excitement and ready for any mischief, came Bloody Edwards upon the scene, swai><>'eiiiio- of- fensively and waving' a small, red, British Hag- in his hand. Planting himself in the centre of the street in front of the six hundred exhilarated Americans, he waved the little banner llauntingiy over his head, and howled — " ' Urrah for the Flag of Hold Hingland ! ' " For an instant the crowd never moved ; each man stood silently in his tracks, and then with a roar came the rush. It struck Bloody Edwards like a land slide, and swept him, as if he were a bit of ilfhrls, to the bank of the river. Then out of the roar lanced a voice, ' Naturalize him ! naturalize him ! JNIake a Yankee out of the cockney ! ' and six hundred voices took up the cry — for the humor of the idea [)leased them — ' Aye, aye ! Naturalize him ; he shall take the oath of allegiance. Make him swear by the Stars and Strii)es ! ' " But the cockney refused to become a Yaidvce ; refused point blank, and garnished his refusal by ex- pletives known only to the slums of London. " * Curse the cockney,' exclaimed Cand)ridge Jack, ' the fool acts as if he had a choice in the matter ; ' and then he screamed, ' Dip him ! Dip him ! Cool him down in the Eraser! Pie shall swear by the Stars and Stripes, or drown ! ' And the crowd took u}) the words of Cambridge Jack, for the cockney had no friends ; he had not acted to make any, and surely no Hag up to this thue had ever had a less manly rei)re- r»' •!', ■ I 'I; 1) ■ i 'th V , . *; j h ! ! : i '» '.' il ■ 1 . r J mn m will- ;} I I] 204 DAYLKJIIT LAND. sontative tliaii tlic huiintT of Eiii>ljiiid had found in tlie j)oison of this hoastino', swai»'i»erini>', insolent cockney, IMoody Edwards. And so tlie crowd took up tlie cry of Cand)iidi>e Jack, prompted thereto hy the sense of liunior and the dishke of the cockney, and yelled, ' Into the Fraser witl. him ! Cool him down ! Teach him manners ! lie shall swear hy the Stars and Stripes, or drown ! ' And then the crowd iiave one snri»e, and u[»war(l the cockney was swung', and down to the river they rushed him, and into the dei)tli of the cold, icy river, that river that never was warm and never will warm until the elements melt, they plung'ed him. " ]3ut underneath and within the punk of his cock- neyism, untouched hy the rot of the surface, was a sound streak of old English oak. For as the hia', red face came out of the ice-cold tide, he hlew like a por- poise and yelled again, — " ' Urrah for the tlao- of Hold Ilinoland ! ' " ' Down with him ! Down with him again ! ' yelled the crowd to Blarney Pat and Confederate Dick who had hini in hand. And downward they plunged lum ; down into the coldness of death, that glacial cold in that river of glaciers which chills and whitens (piick and sure for the grave. Downward they sent him and again, as he came to the surface, he feehly sputtered, — " ' Urrah — for — the — flag — of — Hold — Hin — gland ! ' " By this tune it was evident that Bloody Edwards was soher, sober as a man who from birthday had never touched ale, and that it was not the reckless bra- vado born of lijpior, but the bull-dog grit which made i liANFF. •205 Poietiers, Cressy, and Waterloo wliat tlicy stand for, which hidd him to the hno whose uhastlv ^vhite men (h'ead, so stiffly — tlie indomitable English grit that was in him. " And this it was wliieh won on the crowd and even on the two men who had twice plnnged liin\ into that deatli-C(dd cnrrent, that current which never yet gave hack to light of day a hody that once touched its bot- tom. For Confederate Dick, as he looked into the big, red English face that now^ lay drooping weakly on the bull-like neck, exclaimed in sheer disgust, — " "^ Curse the En<>lisli fool, he won't give in ! ' Then up s})oke Bangor Harry, as he thrust himself to the front of the surging crowd. "• •• Boys, the darned fool is of the same 1)1()()(1 with us if he is beefy built ; for his grit proves it. The red flag he 'd die for owned the continent belori' the Stars and Stripes split it. And the two own the con- tinent still betwixt them, and shall own it forever, by Heaven ! Three cheers for the red ifag of England, the old mother-land of us all.' And suddenly out of the throats of the six hundred men who had swarmed over the border searching for oold, above whose heads floated the little, cheap fifteen by twenty bunting with its stars bleached and its stripes all faded, there burst as hearty a cheer foi- the cross of St. George as ever Enolish gunners sei;t from bloody Eni>lish decks when through the snu)ke t!iey saw their foeman's flag come floating down. " Then out of the water they lifted the cockney, they rolled him and rubbed him, and twenty flasks were <«* It! • m ■''m 20G DAYLKJIIT LAND. [1 1 f! 'i f ■;! ■t • tossed tlii()iii»li the air to the men who had hun in hand. Then they took the ilag-, — Camhrid*»e Jack was the man, — and bent it to the halyards, side hy side with the Stars and Stripes, and they hoisted the two with loud cheers. " ' Divil take the rag- ! ' said Bhirney Pat as lie pulled lustily away at the halyards. ' Divil take the rag, but the b'y that won Waterloo was born nigh KiUarney ! ' " But this was not all, for a strange thing happened, strange enough at any time, but doubly so happeninj^ at that very moment. Scarcely had the cheering died than along the river's farther bank there came a cir- cling wind, marking" its progress with dust, dead leaves, and withered grasses, Avhicli at its touch sprang upward into air. Across the rushing river, across the Bar, it ran its circling course, jumped the dry bank and rushed across the bend, and in its career struck full and fair the staff from which the kindred banners waved ; out of their fastenings tore them, and, twined together, blent as one, sent them soaring upward through the sunshine toward the blue sky and the white summits of the Canon, eight thousand feet above the throng of swarthy, scarred, and startled faces gazing' at them. " Thus in silence stood the camp. Not a sound was heard save the rush of water as it whirled around the Bar or fretted along the shifting edges of the golden beach below. Spellbound and marveling at such strange hap, their jests all checked, their rude talk silenced, they stood at gaze, their eyes fixed on the flags as they went up and onward, lifted higher and higher into the L I ■!' f IJANKF. 207 3ed, liey the blue. Still upward and omvaid they soared ; and not until they were to tlie eye hut a Heck of* eoh)!', not until that Heck ol color had touched the level of the icy peaks and the sununit line of snow, not until the winds which pour forever over them had cau<»ht the flag's and they were about to disappear, borne on by winds which flow forever round the world, was that solemn silence broken. But as the blended flai»s, now but a speck of color, were about to fade forever from their gazing eyes, the voice of Bangor Harry rose strong and clear, with the genuine Yankee nasal struck clean through the words : — "'/7/?>r darned if God AhnUjJittj hfiHii't joined thviii two fl(i(js to(jetJier ! ' " The Man from New Hampshire Avas mightily stirred by the recitation, and when he lifted himself from his chair, and standing erect, swung his white beaver over his head and cried, " Hurrah for the fla"" of Old Eng- land, the mother-land of us all ! " the great veranda trembled to the roar of the applause which burst from the laughing, cheering throng. Then " Music arose with its vohiptuous swell. Soft eyes looked love tf) eyes that sjiake a<»:iin. And all went merry as a marriage hell." The long, wide piazzas made such an ideal ball-room as is seldom seen " When youth and pk^isure meet To eliase the glowinj;' hours with flying feet," 1 *Mi *. It. ■!l ;M'h; 1|-i I ^'W'' p J ,. '■ ULI8 DAYLIGHT LAND. m:: m tor above thcin tlic hluc star-rrcltcd lioavoii was for a roof, and tlio free, odor-lillcd l)i('('/(' ol' t\\o inouiitains ii'ave to tlio AvaltzL'is sucli air as eaijfk's hroatlio. Be- iicatli their feet the polished lh)or, under tlie elec- tric rn;hts, shoni^ like i;roimd of i;lass ; upon the hills and into the valley the moon poured its soft lii;ht, while to the nuisie of the hand the Falls far below added its steady roar — a heavy monotone of power sol'tened hy distanee. Into the solenni solitude of na- ture, into the undisturbed silenee of a<;('s, within the enclosure of mountains old as the world, whose sum- mits were white with snow that fell in the morniui;' of Time and had never nu'lted, man — the social man — had burst, erected his palace, s[)read a table of ban(juet, and suuHuoned nuisic and ])leasure to the feast. Tlie strength and _i>raee of form, the i>leam of silks, the How of soft-toned draperies, the Hash of i>enis, the loveliness of snowy necks and arms, the i»loAvini»' cheek, the laui»liin<;' lip, the buzz of ha})py talk, the harmonies of music — all were here, makini>' a rare, sweet, bri<;ht picture of human liapphiess. So passed the hours until the dawn oave rosy simial for retirini'' and the first " American Nit>ht" at ]5anlf ended, as it should, in a lovely mornhii»". IU\ •-!t s for a intniiis '. Bc- u elcc- lio liills : lii;lit, ■ 1)('1()\V j)()\vt'r of iia- liin tlie H! Slllll- iiiii*;' of man — aiKpU't, :. The ho flow [Voliiu'ss t'k, tlu' )iiii's of biit;Jit llOlll'S lul t\\v lioiild, I ! t I u 1 1 ««tS*J>rt' ON THE TOTE ROAD. tJ' i:i im V 'A' CIIAPTEU XI. NAMELKSS MOUNTAINS. " Hills piled on hills, on mmiiitaius inoiiiitains lie." rllOiVr the Ga[), but a little Avay lievond j^f" the heautit'ul Kananaskis Falls, to Yale at the outlet of the celebrated Fraser Caiioii is nearly five hundred miles, and ^ ,r it is a very moderate statement to say that nowhere else on this continent or in Europe can the tourist see from his parlor car such a ma<>nilicent exhibition of mountain scenery. Here is a section of the transcontinental journey in respect to which the traveler can experience no (lisaj)point- ment. It is not only that he is constantly runnin<»' alonji' the base of mountains of oiwintic size and im- mense altitude by which he is stinuilated and impressed, but these mountains are of every shape and color, ill ^ 1 ■ 1 is . -• ♦ 1 i , i \ .' ■ 1 ' i '%,"' ,f 'vi;" ; 111 I H.,i \' '■! 1 ,1 f : til 1 Ml i:h - \ rI - . , ■ ¥ < ■ ■> it Q i^I't < 'I !i a am y 21-2 DAYI.KillT LAM). !»l prt'st'iit tlicmst'lvcs to the eye in :in inliiiitc variety «»t' ai>|K'Ui'iiiici', and aic iiidividiiali/ctl l>y stroni;, novel, and ini|)()sin«»' eliaraeteiisties. Here stands one of sneli immense l»nlk and l»eii;lit, holdini;' such u relation to the line oi' travel, that it dominates the landscape and tills the <;azer's hori/on from edi;(! to e(l«»'e. Passing;' this monstrous ohstruction to the vision, the eye sud- denly heholds a rann'e pinnacled with eternal snow and flashing.*' crests of ice, whose hrilliancv is the reflection of a<»'es. Anon, he is whirled around a curve, on a track so cut into the heetlinj;' clill's that at a distance it looks lik(; a dark thread s[)un in the air and drifted hy the wind a«»ainst the |)erpendicular wall, and lo, he is in the midst of a hundred mountains, tund)led promis- cuously toi»'ether, a vast jund)le of chaotic; misplace- ment. At one moment he is r(>llini»' swiftly down a valley, as o'reen with s])rinj;ino' verdure, as odorous with flowers, as peaceful and lonely, as the Ifappy Valley of Uasselas ; ahove it the hluest of skies and the l)ri«»htest of suns, with a Hashhij;' river rnnninj»- with nnisical rip])lin<»s throu<»li its centre ; and at the next, the train is <»ropin«»' its way alonj;* a narrow g()ri>e cut sheer throui»h a mountain ranoe at the level of its base, with the black, rocky sides risinjj^ abruptly thou- sands of feet on either hand, a river of vast volume, outracino- the train at his side, here rnnning" in white flights, there whirlinj^ in dark pools, while all the black air is filled with its hoarse complainin<»' and explosions of thunderons ra<;v. Now it is a lonely lake, with its beaches and its sed';izos outraiiccd, Jima/od, lircathlcss, ut a «»la('i('r liaiiL»iii«;' in Avliito, j;r('('ii, Hasliin*;' lovi'lincss, ton tlioiisand t'ect above liim, or looks with awo upon a valley Ix'twccn two lanaes filled for miles and nnles with snow to tin? very |)eaks, as he rcnienduTs that th(« human race is not so old as that thawless field hefore him. Sueh another five hundred miles of travel ini;- is not to he had on the face of the earth. If this strikes the reader as an ex- •looeration, as it may many — I can only say that it is not. It is a sim[)l(! statement of an extraordinary fact — a statement which every traveler whose knowledoe of the <>h))te is adecjuate for (•oni[)arison, who has heen over the'ie tive hnndred miles, will confirm. He who journeys from Kananaskis Falls to Fraser CaTion will experience sensations — however />/r/.s'r with world- wide travel he may he — a«»ainst which his indiuated nerves are not ])ro(;f. We four — the Inseparables, as the Man from New Hampshire facetiously called us — left Banff with hri<»ht {"iticipations. Onr eyesAvere as open to see and our spirits as buoyant as if we Avere boys. We had had a AA'eek of pleasure at the " Palace of Delioht," as the Jud<>\^ poetically named the hu«»'e hostelry amonjj^ the mountains, and (mr last ni<;lit had been one of rol- lickino' enjoyment. In our dis])()sitions Ave tv])ed the best habit of Americans when traveliui;' — the habit of self-surrender to the enjoyment of the hour. There can be no question on one point concernin<»" our coun- trymen. They are the best travelers in the Avorld, not because they travel the most and sjjend money the ?%.1.' 1} i. l! • 1 I- Mi i Ijrt 'J.- I: 21 1 DAVLKilir LAND. « t I'ltrst wlu'ii joiinu'vint;', Imt hrcauso tlicy i^ct iiioro l\ii(>Nvl(>(l^'C) and liappiiicss out of travel than anv otliui* hcopic T\ 10 Niconvcnicnces and (Icpi i\ations uliirli roiio'luMi tlio tcniiicr of the avciau'c Mnulislniian only ([uickcii tlut liiinior of the Vanlvco and s(iii|>lv hiiu with cntcrtainnu'nt. lie travels as a hird Hies, ntili/in-; to is enjovnient the opposition of adverse* enrn-nts, feeds li eontentecllv on the win<>', and sleeps resttnllv on anv peieh to which tlu! flaws or whirlwinds iiai;e and that indilVer- ently well, ..e hohnohs cheerfully with all nations, uses with the couraii'e of ionoraiUH! all lani>uai»es, and makes fast friends wherever he i iioes. We started from Banlf in the hest of s])irits. Had "we heen in sond)re mood, even, the extraordinary vision of heauty and suhlimity we helield would have s[)eedily brij;htened it, for the sun was just risino' a])ove the eastern mountains, and the freshness of morninj;' was on the world and in the air around us. Our course lay ah)n<>- the pehhly hanks of the sparklino* Bow and u]) u forest valley. We skirted the Vermilion Lakes and ran ah)n<»' in full view of Mount Massive and the snowy peaks above Simpson's Pass. We whirled around a curve, and the eastern view of Pilot Mountain flashed XAMKLKSS M(HNTAINS. •J 1.1 wliitciv iipnii IIS, ;in(l tiicii in ,i inuinciit tlic (\'istl(> iutiipcd into sii;'lit, mikI \\i' stii(lit'<| with (!»'- Iii;lit«'(| eves its inii;lity |H('('i|>i(U'. its ('mli;ittl«M| 1 W .^i' 1 i < 1 II \ ■::r iJ 21() DAVLKIHT I. AM). ■ ' V ;, » «'" m tain ill ii small lako-liko itool Iviiio- waveloss at its base, " Jii(l<»e, how old are voii this inoiiiiiii>' ? " "Sixteen, — only sixteen, thank God ! " he cried. " This is my hist vacation ont ot Darmouth/' ex- claimed Colonel Gotl'e ; and he s\vuni>" his hat and yelled like a freshman after miraculously passini;- liis first term examination. We were all looking- for the fii'st glacier. " There it is ! " 1 cried suddenly ; and I j)ointed through the <»ap towards the lofty peak of Mount Hec- tor. Like a river it lay, — a river at full How, which had been frozen solid as it rolled omvard and downward ; frozen solid and broken off, leaving- oidy a crystallized section exposed to the eye. It was white, with green lights shot through its frac- tured and curved extremity, crescent sha})ed at the end ; a monstrous motion suddenly solidified as it ])lung'ed downward, and fixed forever in the spot Avhere it liung- suspended high up and far off in the air. Above the forest, above the great bulk of the moun- tain, from the very peak, hung that strange, monunjeu- tal a})])earance, a miracle of nature, a mystery of the elements, a wonder to the tourist, like the vision of a j)oet or a dream of uneasy slumber. Glacier after gla- cier Ave saw after that as we rolled onward through this region of marvelous a])pearances, this land of enchant- ment, many larger, many higher, many more lovely, more imposing, but nime of the hundreds we looked upon Liter impressed us more powerfully or fixed them- selves with deeper impression upon the memory than li '1- i»-la- [h this •liaiit- ovely, ooked Itliein- tlian CATHEDRAL PEAK. -, I •■* h ■I t 1 * ■ ' Mil '.ill :. ■ « !!■ : ■! • r*. I;-" ^t! i#.; * 1 NAMELESS MOUNTAINS. 211) this first one we saw eliuined to the crest of Mount Hector. We were now nearing the siinimit. The j^rade rose steeply. The huge en<»ine clonil) lahoriously upward. It hreathed heavily^ like a cho})per in prolonged eilort, when his axe cuts to the centre of the tree and with (piickening- hlood and persistent strokes he delivers each successive hlow more fiercely. The dill's panted hack to it. Now and then its circular feet slipped, hut it clung desperately to the rails. " That engine has good grit," said Mr. Pepperell. " How it hano's to it." " I feel as if I would like to get out and push," re- plied the Judge. " Do it. Judge," said the Man from New Hampshire. " I '11 sit on this camp stool and hold your coat." "Colonel Gofii'e," returned the Judge sternly, "the Court fines you a Reina Victoria for that contenn)tu- ous remark." " All the sentences of this Court end in smoke, I notice," retorted the Colonel, as he handed the Judge his cigar case. " Here we are at Summit Lake," T exclaimed ; and even as I spoke the engine ceased to pant, and the train hegan to ease itself along swiftly. How beautiful is a pool among the mountains ! Small as it may he, how it can collect and refiect the great world above and around it ! It may not be as big as a cliff, and yet a hundred cliffs are in it. A s'ngle pine may bridge it, nevertheless it acconnnodates miles up(m miles of forest. Small as it is, the great ■ 1 ■ ' ( 220 DAVl.KiHT LAND. II sun comes Jind bathes in its (lei)th. Acres of clouds float through it. The sky, the numberless hills with all their countless trees, the mountains so vast, their innumerable })eaks, — Avithin its scant space all are oronped and none are crowded. Sweet miracle of the woods, placid mirror of the hills and skies, gentle eye of the forest upon whose clear retina is focused the sublimities of heaven and the beauties of surrounding earth, how often hast thou lost me game and sport because thy loveliness held me pensive at thy grassy rim ! " I wish," cried the Judge, " I wish I could stay a week here and do nothing but sit on the shore of that little lake and gaze into its dei)tlis." " And I ^Msh I could be the artist to sketch you in that position," said Colonel Gott'e dryly. " If I should put you in the foreground you would hide the whole lake." Downward we rolled. We glided smoothly onward as a wino- in easv fliiiht cleaves the air. " This is the poetry of motion," cried the Judge. " We are floating around this mountain's verge as if we were in a balloon." " Look at this ! " Mr. Pepperell exclaimed. " Here is a picture that money can't buy." We Avere crossing the gorge of the Wapta River and the sublime scenery Avliich characterizes this section Avas opening up ahead of us. The train was running very slowly, creeping firmly but carefully along. It seemed to be conscious, and to be clinging tightly and safely to the mountain around whose aAvtul curvature ■ <e Avildly downward ! How it fascinates you to iniai^ine the terrible when you are safe ! To the north a valley, wide, far-reachino-, inunense, a landscai)e in itself, luiexplored, stretched away in ma<;nificent perspective to distant peaks, white with snow that will never melt. Far up this vjiiley, lifted hi<>'li among- nameless summits standing- like grouj)ed spear })()ints, was a glacier, wide as a frozen sea, deep as an ocean, unvisited as yet by man, half of it in black shadow, half flashing with blinding whiteness under the sun, a mute challenge to the courage, the skill, and the science of the continent to come and measure and name it. Ahead of us Mount Field reared high its black sum- mit. Then rose Cathedral Mount upon us, faded from sight, and came again into view as we glided onward. A majestic, solemn, suggestive presentation of massive bulk and altitude it made, standing out in clear, sharply edged outlines against the blue sky. While above all, loftier, nobler, more varied and impressive, rose the vast mass known as Mount 8te])hen. , .}, H :>' MmU- |fr| ; I I i 4.. , ■ 1 I,' ft; I 111 ^^ ^ 'f-! *>»>•> DAYLKiirr LAM). None may (leseril)o this iiioimtaiii. It is not liko its fellows round about it. It is not like eonnuon moun- tains. It has an individuality all its own. Our artist has caui»ht its spirit and oiven a resend)lanee — hut at what a remove t'lom the real Mount Stephen itself. It is not a mountain to ])e put in a hook, to l)e printed on a pai>'e, to he huno- on a Avail. S(mie mountains lend themselves kindly to such patronizino- treatment, hut Mount Stephen is not of this sort. It cannot ])e trans- lated from the wilderness and the sky on to canvas. It cannot be snatched from its envelopment of clouds and NAMKLKSS MolNTAIXS. 22:] liuiiL," fi'(nu u |)('«»' on ;i parlor wall. It cannot l>o coaxed from its native sunshine and slii[)|)ed to Hoston per express, it is u mountain to «>o to, to visit, to see brilliantly revealed in the sunlii»ht, to ^aze at dindy outlined in the dark, to beliohl in the li^'lit of dawn, in the red of sunset, under the stars of ni«;ht, Avhen the njoon clothes it in Avhite splendor from sumnut to base line. Go and see Mount Stephen so and you shall find in the vision the memory of a lifetime. r » Mr ;i f 1: I H i T 1 'If-: ri CHAPTER XII. SAJJr.ATH AM()N(; TlIK .MOl'NTAINS. T Avas tlie Sal)l)iitli day and wo wore ^itl^ at Fit'ld. Witli us were a company, tourists like ourselves, who had de- cided to spend our Sahhath anion<( the mountains, makinj;" of it a day of rest in truth. And if anion"* the mountains, where better than at Field, under the shadow of Mount Stephen, and with a multitude of majestic altitudes all around us. The afternoon was well advanced, and all of us, ([uite an audience in luunhers, were <>r()uped on the ])iazza, when we saw a "entleman strolliMU" down the track to- ward the liotel. Pie was tall, bronzed, and had an Al[)ine knapsack at his back and a note-book in his hand. " There ! there comes the cleravman we have been LI \u at with ([iiite hiazza, •k to- l an a( liii Ills h f I V t^l' li. • lit''." * 111^ 'if- bet' n f: fK f ;t :-^r :; ) SAIiUATII AM(>N(i rilK MOl'MAIN'S. 0»J7 praying' ^<»i' :ill <'ii>') ' cried a yoimj;- lady to her com- panion, at my oll>o\v. " Tlu'io coniL's our (•k'r<;yman, and now wo ran have a i'('«»ular service; won't that l)e nice!" And her pink pahns met in a way to express tlie fervor of her rehj;ious enthusiasm. '* Jennie, dear," said her com[)anion, a motherly lookinj^" lady, " you are always junipino- to your con- clusions. How do vou know the iientlciuan is a clei'u'V- man at all ? " " Ah, 1 know he is," she reiterated with emphasis. '* Hut how do you know ? " the other insisted. *' Well, hecause — hecause — he don't look a hit like one ! " she re}>lied. Nevertheless, in spite of the youni»" lady's assertion, the j^entlenian who was slowly approaehin<»' us did look scmiewhat like a cler^jj-yman. And when he had joined us and we had eno-aoed him in conversation, our im- ])ressi()n as to his clerical status was ^torv." •• I thini< a stositive service. I can ])i'omlse yon, sir, an attentiv* andience." " Tlu! story I Avonld read \on is soher enoni;'h for the dav." resjtonded the man, " and sn^n'csts a theme lit to he meditated on within the shadow of these awfnl snrronndini;s even ; nor will it he of less valne hecanse it is of the natnic of a personal exjterience. If y( ' will arrange! yoinselves to easily hear me, 1 will ii'ladlv ri ad you the story." In a moiKent some lifty of us were oronped around the stranger, tMid certainly no preacher or author ever ••♦! M uiir not it vtm," ■iurclv, tunc, it th.'it t is n't read it lid liU«> ivs, lor voimi;' uitt n(»t not ol' I feci n( V'A can h I or ,1 tlicnu' I' tl U'SC ^s value 'licnce. , I will iroiuHl lor cvt'i' * < '»< ROSS PEAK. ' f I m \m SAl'.l'.A'I'II AM()X(i TlIK MOIN TAIN'S. L>:n lijul a nioro attentive aiidiciice tlian we <;ave him as lie read tlu; straii<;e tale ; and sniely it would take a lono" search to hnd a sermon weiyhted with a morci startlini*- thouoht. At least, so many of us said at the end ot* it. TIIK TWO (IKAVKS. It was in the autumn of JS7S, that 1 found myself ridini;- throu<»h that j)ortion of ('anachi which horders th(^ nortluuii shore of the Ottawa, some hundred miles ahove its junction with the St. Lawrence. The d;iy was one of a series peculiar to that time of the year and that section of the country. The heat of sunniier had departed, chilled southward hy the advancing- frost which the arctic cold had posted in advance to <»ive warnino- of its ap])roach. ]5ut in the valleys and alono- the hedgerows which skirted the southern ex])osure of the mountains, the delicious warmth still lingered, as if loth to leave the ])leasant haunts where it had so lon<»- tarried, ha])py in the music; of the run- nino- brooks and the birds that sanu' in the odorous bushes. Indeed, it seemed as if here and there it had deter- mined to resist its sava<»(^ foe ; for in nooks where the russet leaves lay thickest and in the wedi>e-like crevices of ledo-es it kept almost its Auoust warmth, as if it felt safe to await a fiercer attack behind such formidable barricades. I had ridden already a <>oodly distance, and neither T nor my horse was in a mood to hurry ; the reins lay loosely on his neck, and he picked his way along" the *ff> M < .1 l<» ' '•t f ' U I i: ll it ; J' M I ' ' I.; If V. 1' .11 2:52 DAYLKillT LAND. oTiiss-oTowii ])iitli with the leisurely stop ])eculiar to his species when neitlier tiieir iiieliiiation nor that of their riders uri»e tlieiii to a faster «»ait. Perhaps he as well as 1 enjoyed not merely the slowness of the ])aee, but the nature of the surroundings also ; for his lari>e, observant eyes studied the fianiini»' l)ushes as closely as mine, and to his senses the mingled odors of the dvinii' grasses and withered leaves, blended with the fraiirance of the everj>Teens that live on tlir()U<»h win- ter and summer alike, may have been as grateful as they were to mine as 1 breathed them in. I had just turned a curve in the road and was de- scendino- a gentle sl()})e — a mountain on my left and a stretch of level woodland on my right — when 1 sud- denly came upon a clearing, of some three acres in ex- tent, enclosed by a fence. Age had weakened the settings of the ])osts, and it no longer kept the trueness of the orio'inal lines, but saojved and swaved at dif- ferent ])()ints, while here and there the winds of winter had blown sections of it prone to the ground. The grasses had grown through the ])ahngs, and masses of running vines formed over them, whose leaves were now aflame witu color. I instinctively checked my liorse to more closely in- spect this unexpected o])ening in the wo(/ds, involun- tarily looking, as I did so, for the house or the ruins of the house that one day stood, as I naturally su])- posed, in the clearing ; and it was not until I had quite reined my horse into the cleared space, passing through a gap which the winds had made in the enclosure, and looked the field over more closely, that ( -S lit SAHHATII AMOXC TIIK MOIXTAIXS. I (liscenied that it luul iicvor Ix'cn intended for liumaii hpl)itati()n, at least not for tlic lial)itatioii of the liviiijj;-, but had ratlier Imcii set apart for the re])()se of tlie dead. Tlie s])a('e, in short, into ^^hieh 1 had ri(hh'n, ■Nvas a eeuietery. No sooner had I nuide tliis diseoverv than, ini])elh'd by curiosity ii> part, and in part by reverence, 1 (Hs- iiiounted, and tiivowin«»' th(^ reins over a post whicli had once been one of th )f tl IV: piHars of the niani entnince, 1 strolled further into the solenni field, Avitli emotions siu'h as Avould be natural to a man enterin<>' a t»rave- yard thas suddenly discovered in the de])ths of the woods. "■ Here," 1 said to myself, " the former settlers of this once inhabited but now deserted region lie buried. A majestic ])lace for a buiial oround, truly ; " and I o'lanced uinvard at the surroundinii' mountains which lifted their vast sides round about the vale. " Truly," I continued, " here is a tittino- place for the weary to rest after the trials and fatigues of life. The a^cd who had hr o- borne the heat and burden of the (hiy and they Avho were suddenly checked in maidiood's swift career, husband and wife. ])arent and child, all could here find the ])eace which comes after strife, and that sweet rest which waits on human toil. It is pleasant to think that nature, after the fret and fever of life were over, so kindly provided them, amid the here they toiled and doubtless suifered, a place to repose." idizinti', I cast mv eves about to discover very scenes w Tl ms mor tl le numoer ani dtl le i»r( )U1 )in()odly dimensions as this, I doubt if there be another on the face or the whole earth so s[)arsely populated : the tenantry of kindred fields is generally crowded enoui»h, and he who has the fortune to occupy a place therein never lacks for neighbors. 1 will approach the graves and see what memorial aifectionate custom has traced upon these lonely slabs." So saying, I drew near to the two graves and proceeded to inspect them more closely. They were placed some eight feet ajjart, both facing to the south. It was evident from the size of the mounds that they had been buikled for adult bodies, and ai)parently near the same time. The grasses had matted thickly over both, and a running vine whose main root had sprung from the earth etpudistant be- : :■ i H SAHHATII AM()N(J TIIK MOl'N TAINs: ri-. 12:5; tween the two liad sent u branch out impartially to- ward each. It had grown so luxuriantly that it had end)raced either mound, and sent its creeping tendrils even to the toj) of the two short and narrow slabs of plainly-wrought stone, such as rude skill might easily have (piarried from the ledge in the neigld)oring ravine. It seemed as if nature had, by the growth of her vine, tenderly united in suggestive unity tlie two mounds, which, standing farther apart and without con- nection, would have been lonely indeed. " Surely," I said to myself, " this is a ([uaint and touching spec- tacle. Only two graves in all this Held, and they lying- side by side on this little eminence and so aifectingly connected. Is there some sweet conscience in nature which forbids her to decorate the one and leave the other unadorned ? " And I remend)ered the sayiiig that the rain falleth alike on the just and unjust. " I doubt not," I continued, " that these two who sleep here were brothers, wlio had nursed at one maternal breast ; who had labored in this vale and on these hills side by side, and who, struck down by death, ])erhaps simultaneously, were brought by reverential hands in the slow and s(demn fashion of the country and with priestly benediction laid side by side. Or perlia|)s they were two friends strongly attached, sonu? David and Jonathan of this forest lilade, who, beint»' so closely united in life as to fiunish a proverl) of loving compan- ionship, in death were not divided." Filled with such pleasant imaginings, I kneeled on one of the mounds and with mv hand uentlv moved aside the viney tracery that garnished its white surface I! 1: if !> .•,"* ''U: ' 111 ■'^ li Hi,' •jil ,■■'■ 1 % \l 1 1 il 1 '■ * i rt i Hff ■ 'Ml : aB*^WB!*^KWWW M w 'lii u wyn 2:U) DAYLIGHT LAND. ' f ■ if I witli ruddy ornanuMit, in order to rend what miiilit be car/ed lu'iicatli. ' James Flynii, a<>ed (JO years, 8 luos. and 1) days. Born April lOtli, 17—. Died Nov. 14th, IS—." I then turned toward the other nu)und, and kneehnj^ on it hf'ted the vine from the face of the other shib and read, — "John Peters, a«>ed 01 years. Born May 19th, 17—. Died Nov. 1-lth, 18—." " Buried the same day," I said, risinii^ to my feet. " Buried the same day, and for these thirty years their dust has niouhlered side hy side. Ohl men too, honest and honored, I doubt not : brotliers thev certainlv ^vere not, but friends they must have been, or surely they would iu)t have found such elose vicinai»;e in death. Old men, who had lived their lives out until the eres- cent of their youth had come to the full rounded orb of its perfecc sphere. Happy in having- outlived their passions and tlie frailties and bitternesses that eome therefrom, ha])py indeed were they," I added, '' in having entered, before they came to their tomb, that j)eace and ])le;{santness of uu)od which give to the a<»ed the chiefest beautv of their earthlv life and the perfect pre])arati()n for the life to come." While 1 had thus been jdeasantly musing I had al- most unconsciously been walking toward my horse, and with my mind still filled with the tlioui»ht of the two graves I had so suddenly found, and was so soon to leave, I i)laced my reins on the neck of the animal and my foot in the stirrup, saying as I did so, " I would that I knew the history of the two graves thus so \m 'II De slab '' 111 that to the dtl le a( lal- l le, aiK le two 1)011 to 1 and ihl wov us so ll ■:* 1.1 SAHHATII AMONd TIIK MOUNTAINS. 2:]i) stnin<^oly })l{U'e(l in this (jiiiet Hold, and of the two men Avlio have sk'j)t and are destined to sleej) so Iont»' in them side hv side." " 1 can tell you the histoi'v of the two men " — I turned so suddenly at the unexpected sound of a human voice that the speaker was checked in the midst of the sentence he was utterinj;". He was a man, old and white headed and howed with years, for he carried a stall' in one hand and was even then leanin<»; heavily upon it. I noticed also that the hand that "•rasped the stick trend)le(l and shook with that j)ecu- liar tremulousness which so often accom[)anies the weakenini»- of muscidar power. Was it somethinj;' in the fit and color of his oarments, was it soniethin<»" in the dignity of his mien, or was it hecause of the peaceful expression of his countenance ? From which- ever one of these causes, perhaj)s from them all com- bined, 1 conceived that he bcdono'ed to the cleroy. " Keverend sir," said I, releasing' my foot from the stirrup and turning" toward him, " reverend sir," said 1, and 1 uncovered my head, " 1 am journeying through the country with a companion who is now on the road some miles behind me, and coming suddenly upon this opening, I observed the two graves yonder and judged that this was a graveyard. Moved by that impulse common to human hearts in so solenni u ])lace, 1 en- tered the enclosure to discover what memorials affec- tion had reared above those who slee]). But to my astonishment 1 have been able to find only two graves in all the field, and I was marvelling, as you inter- ru})ted me, at the strange spectacle ; so strange that **t «i« l': Sl|| '. ^"i! I (•{, ! vj;.;:,| i! ' f: . M^h'' ! r- r( ^ W' 240 DAYMCIIT I. AND. 1 (loiiht it' its LMiUiil can Itc t'ound in all the world, th(» spcotat'lo oF a j»ravt'yai(l with only two oraves." "1 (l(nil)t not," I't'spoiidcd the (»ld man, '' that yonr ohscrvation is ('oiro(;t, t'oi- thonj;h I lia\'o seen nianv <;rav{'yards niyst'H', and helped to lay many to sleep therein, I know no other allotted to men's tinal repose in which the nundjcr of those who sleep is so small; " and li(^ added, '' 1 would that these were not here, for •d sadder lesson than they teach has luver heen mv lot to learn, and the recollection they recall, as I hehold them lvin<>" here alone, Forms one of the saddest mem- ories of my life." " You speak, reverend sir — for I jnd.i'c you to be a clergyman — as if you had knowledi;e of them." The old man iiaused a moment before ho rej)lied. His eyes were turned toward the two graves, and in them was a far-iiway look as if they ran;;'ed backward across the dim distance of mauy years ; then he added, " I officiated at the service when those two oraves were made. " Indeed," I exclaimed, '' indeed ! then may I ho])e to learn sometliin«»' of their history, and how it comes a])out that only two sleep in this .-sacred field and they sleep side by side. I should like to know of the lives of those who are its only occu])ants. Surely there nuist have been some peculiar history attached to them, — some tender ])assai>'e in their lives, a life-long sym])a- tliy of a notable and noble scu't, — to acc(mnt for the fact that two, who by their names, it would seem, were not akin, should thus be lyino- in then* last sleej) like brothers, inse})arable even in death." 'l-^ 'V I, tlu' ; your UKIHV slt't'l) l'('|)(»S(i will ; " re, tor my lot behold t im'in- to be a i-eplled. and ill ckwai'd added, es were I ho])e comes id they lie lives ire must liem, — isymi)a- ifor the 111, were |ep like s.\nn.\Tii AMoxc riiK MorxTAixs. 211 *' Your surmises are far from coirect, ' i('|>!ie(l (lie veiierahle man. " 'I'iicv weir not itrotiieis, as vou have su«»«»('sted, they weie not even friends, tiiev were hitter enemies. a iUemies exclaniMM I I. eiiemit's ! orcat heavens \ How eame thev tiieii to lie hnried side hy side*^ a swer, Your astonislimeiit is hut natural," was the a " It was stranjie, it was unnatural, it was eve u- 'rt^' n V WIS h,— irreverent, hut it was in aecordance with thei I may say their express eommaiid." "1 pray you," said J, ichitchino- my horse at the post, " 1 jiray you, if your leisure permits, tell me the tale, for certain it is that my mind cannot conceive why two enemies should desire to he huried side hy side. Surely hiiiiian life is louj;- enough to exhaust the force of liumaii hatred; oris it a jiart of that fierce tire which is never (pienched, not even hy the waters of death, or the sinotherin<»' dampness of the j»Tave ? " " I will comply with your recpiest," res|)on(led the (1 liied man, u for 1 itl am weary witu waiKini;' and won lid willinoly rest a little space before 1 i)ursue my way. You must know, then," he continued, as he seated himscdf on a stone opposite me, " you must know that I visited this place partly that I mij;ht see once more the beauties of nature in this secluded sj)ot, and partly that my eyes mioht behold ai»aiu the scenes that were once ■o familiar and, I may a(ul, so <>Tateful to them. a T riiirty years a<;"o this little vale, now so reposeful, resounded with the hum of human activity. In yonder mountain side you can find a shaft sunk by tlie miners' skill, ill search of the rich ores which were then be- ^f,. t '♦ ' "i* ^ i u I • I J I 'i: ; I'- ' . ! iB :,i ♦ » h !.:m: ' 1 V ;i ' I 1 ii r ■.i!! ill ]m Hi 242 DAYLKilir LAND. 'I licvcd to lie hiiiiiMl witliiii its si(l(>s. Ilore, In tho depths ol' tlic I'orrst, a villaj;*' spiiiii^' up, as it wore in ii (iav, iiiid iiicii of iiiany iiation:iliti('s caiiic poiirin*;' into tliis secluded i;len in what proved to he a vain seai'cli for ^'old. I'rovich'nee ^^nich'd nie to this spot, even witli tlie first \va«»()n train that penetrated liere, and liere I staved and ministered the hest I nii<>ht to theii' eternal <»(>od, initil th(! last waj^on left the olcn forever. All, those were stirriniL>' and noisv times," mused the old man, as if he once more saw the husth^ and heard the noise of tht; husy eneampment. *' A hundred axes swept the mi«;hty trees from vonder slo[)e, and half a hundred cahins rose as hy ma<;ie on the hanks of yonder hrawlin*;' stream. 'IMie «>iant pines that tlien stood where is m)W this elearino- furnished the walls of their hahitations, and from yonder rock, hy which that a<>('d heech-tree stands, I pleached the hest I mi<>ht, to those who came seeking- earthly wealth, of that other treasure whicii neither moth nor rust can corrn|)t, in)r thieves hreak throu«»h and steal." " I (h) not donht, " I said, as the venerahle man paused a moment in the recital of his early ell'orts to lead men to he wise, " that your emleavors were as suceessfid as I feel they were earnest." " They were not wholly in vain," replied the other reverently, " for I had the everlasting- word and the spirit that (juickeneth to assist me, and even the fool- ishness; of preaching' did not wholly fail. For with two exce])tions the toilers in the mines and they who tilled the open sj)aces, where nature made tilla iiiiin llYoi-ts to >vei'e 1 IS 10 o JllU tlier I tl le [lie i'ool- 10 |liey ^v aoe pos- Itwardly, *' I said all l»iit two; tlicsc two wrrc iiicii ot' .iiiotlu'r coiiiiti'v and anotlu'i* cliiiu'. liotli were dark ol' i'aco and mood, and scaircd in induiown tiu'lits. It waH wliis[»('i('d tliat they had met in deadly eonllict years iiet'ore, ;ind that the sears of each were oF wounds made hy the other. Hut none knew, perhaps, I'or certain, tor they were of a sort little <;iven to speech and told their hist ory to noiH'. *' That they liated each otlicr they did not eonceal, and their hatred was of that (piiet and deadly sort most painlul to see. Tiiey were n(»t loved hy any. 'I'hey were even sliunned hy thosc^ with whom they toiled. Indited, they were the dark s])irits of the camp, for it mii;lit scarce he called a settlement, and their ju'cseiice was universally re<»Tetted ; and yet they made no disturbance ; but whether from the |)eculiar order- liness of their surroundings or because each with the ])atienee of deadly (running' bided his time, there was no outbreak between them. " For t>vo years they worked side by side. By a stranp^e fortune, for the cabins were built in common and then drawn for by lot, the one drew No. 20, and the other 21, and so they lived side by side in silent hatred." " It was a terrible way to live." I ic-iuarked, f( >r the stran<2^e tale interested me deeply, " and certainly a stran«;er fortune never befell two foes, than to thus meet m a foreio-n land, scarred by each other's blows, and toil side by side by day and live in houses that almost touched, hatin<»' each other with terribh^ hatred, and yet 'ha never excnani>in<»' word (u* 1 or bl ow ,iv lllll I '}\ .1 H I I : •, ^* ' ! ' :■ ! i ■; " ( ■ , • { • 1 ^ •M ail it !• '" 244 DAYLKIIIT LAND. T . I I •?r " It was, indeed," returned tlie old man, "a terri1)lo Avay indeed, and I did wliat I eould to l)rin<^ them to u better uiind. God knows I lal)ored witli them and strove in })rayer in tlieir helialt ; hut my labor was in vain, and my })ravers, for some Avise i)ur))ose, were never answered, for tlieir hearts remained hardened, and I could make no salutary impression on their wicked souls. " The mines, which at hrst had been j, jductive, sud- deidy gave out and no longer paid the ex})enses oF working them. And at the end of two years they were abandoned and the settlement prepared to dis- perse. When scarcely a dozen rema'^^ed and these, myself among the number, were preparing to follow those who were already gone, the two men, who had made no j)reparations to go and Avere evidently intend- ing to remajn, for the j)ur})()se, I doubt not, of meet- in"" once more in savai»e conflict with none near to thwart tlieir deadly intent, were suddenly taken sick. Humanity forbade that we should desert them, and we tarried until the end should appear, l)ut their sickness was nnto death, and Ave had not long to Avait. " Thcv died the same niolit. Tlie one but a few moments before the other. I attended at their death beds, but had no other rcAvard than the consciousness of duty done. The one that died first shoAved no concern saA^e for one thing ; asked but (me question, Would the other die ? A brother miner standing by his side ansAvered, ' He a\ ill not live an hour.' " For an instant the light of a Avild, fierce satisfaction blazed balefully from the eyes that Avere already half I iStIt .!■ H u- ,1 tl » *.i;t!: ^, Hi i i 1: (,i .^^: '^ M' I. 1 ' !' '¥1 EAST OTTERTAIL. t . • It. ft l' 1 1 1 '. , 1 1 > j ; » fl 1 ^ 1. :f.». SAHBATH AM()X(r THE MOUNTAINS. 247 ill eclipsed behind the shiidow of death, uiul in ^y\u^t seemed to us to be an imprecation breathed in an un- known tongue, the wretched man strai«;litened himsell: in his bed, and with tlie deadly scowl still on his face, and the passin<»; curse still (piiverhi«>' on his lii)s, died. It was a terrible scene, sir." '' It nuist have been," I exclaimed, " it nuist have been ; but did the other show no repentance ? " " None whatever," was the mournful reply. " From the presence of the dead 1 went to the presence of the dyino". A miner who had Avorked by his side in the shaft, and was in some sort a conu-ade, was standiu^- by his cot as I drew near. Life was fast ebbin<>- away, and what mi<>ht be done must be doiu^ (piickly. I be<»<>ed that I mi«»ht pi"iy with him. lie refused. I gently urged him to re})entan('e. He smiled in mock- ery. Suddenly starting from the deadly stui)or settling on him, he asked the miner if his enemy were living. He was told that the man had even then died. A look of fiendish satisfaction flashed throujih the olooni of his swarthface, and lifting his clenched fists he brought them down, smiting the couch wdth dying energy, as if it were the head of his foe. " ' Have you any wish to leave behind you ? ' asked his comrade. " ^ Yes,' he answered, and the words were hissed from between his teeth with indescribable fierceness. * Yes. Make my grave close beside his, damn him.' " It w'as a terrible scene, a terrible scene," exclaimed the old man, and for a moment he hid his face in his hands as if the distance of thirty years were not enough to shut it from his eyes. At length he resumed, — '-4 j tk-.V. i f ^•' H H'f: i t ! I ■ i s 1 14 f sli 248 DAYLKJIIT LAND. " Unnatural and terrible as it was, we felt con- strained, at least the miners did, to obey the dying' be- hest ; and so on the morrow the men who had hated each other in life, and hated each otlier in death, were buried side by side." The old man paused at this point a moment, evi- dently oppressed by the memory of human passion and wickedness he had been narratin<»'. At lenoth his eves wandered toward the two graves which nature had so impartially adorned, and upon which nature's sun was now shining- so kindly, and he added, — " There have they slept these thirty years, side by side, unknown and unnoted, save by some chance traveler like yourself. And there will they sleep until the resurrection trump shall sound and they shall rise at its commanding summons." " Surely," I exclaimed, '' surely that morn Aviil not find them in their hatred. Surely, reverend sir, you cannot believe that when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and men come forth in obedience to its call, these two sliall rise with the old hatred in their souls ? " " I cannot tell as one who speaks from knowledge," answered the old man, " but I liave studied the cliarac- ters of men these sixty years, and noted the laws that seemed to underlie their changes, but have seen notli- ing to warrant the belief that character, once settled and confirmed, ever changes. Habits change, men actjuire new expression for their powers, but the char- acter itself remains permanent and solidly fixed as the everlasting hills, unless previous to death a change is wrought by the Spirit through repentance." SAHHATII AMOXd THE MOUNTAINS. '249 li But, sir," I exclaimed, " does death, then, do noth- ing for us, and does the <»Tave not brino- a coolinj;- to the heree heat of human passion ? Surely one mi<>ht judo-e by the Avay in which men of your profession speak at funeral scenes, that at the close of life, even in the act of its closing-, there comes to men a needed and a blessed correction. Certainly 1 have lieard tliem so express themselves, and I myself have found conifort in the faith that amid the darkest clouds of death the mourner's eye could always see a star." " I know that under the pressure of the scene, and of that humane desire, strong- in every sympathetic heart, to speak some word that can console the present grief," answered the old man, " that my brethren do thus speak at funerals. And 1 myself have o/'ten been prompted to do the same and have often done it, but I am confident that the impulse of the moment Avas not born of reason and had no warrant in the Scrip- ture, for the Scripture saith, ' As the tree falls so shall it lie,' and again, ' Let him who is filthy be filtliy still.' And in these sayings, God does not, as I con- ceive, speak judgments on men, but simply asserts the permanence of human character, which, amid whatever of ruin may have come to it, retains at least the dignity of being true unto itself." " What hope is there for man, then ? " I cried out ; " for if no blessed change may come and all nuist be in the hereafter even as they are here, if not swift mercy matches the swiftness of the fatal stroke, how can the eternal Father adjust tlie feelings of his bosom to mortal circumstance ? Venerable man, it is not for >-i f» ;; f % i l! ,..f)' •'■it liJ. (i ij > j:.i;li! I P'! i ) ! ♦ 250 DAYLKillT LAND. Ui i : me, who am untiui<»lit in doetriiR', to {ii'oue with one like yon, clerically triiined and wise witli \cais, hnt eternity is h)ng' and life is short. The cradle and the «»rave are ever in sight, and short the s»)ace and swift the })assa<»e from the one to the other. Mnst there not be at the end s(miethino- to matcli the h)ve tliat watched over ns in tlie l)e<»innin«>', some sweet for<^iveness to hover on tireless win**' above onr <;rowini>' fanlts, some wis(h)ni to constantly point ont and some love to per- snade ns nnto j»'oo(l, and in the end, if necessary, some almiohty mercy to wipe, with one brave <»estnre of atonin<»' l)ity, the stains of all onr fanlts and sins away ? Say, reverend man, does no snch divine provision exist .'' It is bnt just to say that the old man was i)rofonn(lly affected by the appeal, which, in the de[)th of my h)no- in«^ for Iniman kind thns stirred, I had ponred forth with unconscious earnestness. He actually <»r()aned aloud, as if on Ms spirit, which it needed but a <>lance at his benevolent face to see was full of sweetest pity for all the errino-, there rested the Atlas-like load of human destiny. He groaned aloud, and rising from the rock on which he had been resting, he lifted his aged face to the skies and with tears marking their course down his Avrinkled cheeks, he said : — " The heavens are full of mercy, that I know, and nu)tlierhood without sex divides, at least, with sterner elements the throne. But man is a mighty being ; he is too great to change or be changed, save by his own volition, and when once the character is formed, when the tree has firmly rooted itself and claspetl the move- f ■ ' m :!; 1'^ indly loiio- foi'th med pity 1(1 ot* iroiu 1 his tlieir and eriier ; he own hvhen Inove- SAHHATll AM()N(i TIIK MOUNTAINS. 251 less rock Ijencath, — how shall it ('hani;'e ? Whence shall come the wish to ('lian<»e ? How out of conceii- trated evil shall he l)oi'n tlie lioly ])iir|)ose ? But younj;- man," he added, as he took my hand, '• you are youn«»", and I would not dim a sin<;le ho[)e that li<»lits tlie world ahead of* you, nor would 1 dis[)el any ha})|)y iUu- sion, even, that may solace your <»riet' when oriel' shall come. For even illusions, if they he comfortini;", may serve a divine purpose. No, no, live ]ia[)[)ily, in hope- ful thoughts of men, for hope is often truer than loj^ic. But these men were matured. Their minds fully made up, they died im[)enitent ; aye, resistin<»" over- tures of mercy, they went into the orave nuitually resistino- each other. What is there in that silence yonder ? " and he pointed his lon<»- linger toward the little eminence on vhich the two <>Taves were, " what is there in the silence of their long' sleep there to change them ? Do men change their natures in slum- ber ? Do they not rise as they lie down ? The trump will sound. Those graves will open. Those sleepers there will wake — wake from their long sleep, and I fear they will wake hating each other still. For hatred lives with the innnortality of all ill ; " and with these words the old clergyman hade me good-by and turned away. For a moment his eyes studied the surrounding mountains as if they Avere taking their long and ail'ec- tionate farewell ; for a moment he stood and listened to the soft, musical lapsing of the stream that mur- mured through the glade, and then, su])])orted hy the staff he held, with feet that brushed the ruddv ani .' 1 > M ^ ( i^^ 1 if: ■ ^ 'I M ■ H > ft •• i •» * !■ i^.» tif DAYLKiliT LAM). rustling' leavos asido as tliev walked on, lio passed slowly up the lam' and disappcaicd from view. My conversation with the old ('ler«»yman had <>iveii me ample food for meditation. Tlu; strange history he had toKl and the fearful supposition he had advanced possessed my mind to the exclusion of any other suh- ject. The loneliness of the secluded sjiot, when he had retired, seemed lonelier than before he had joined me. The two graves seemed to deepen the solitude. Tiiey no longer suggested human eompan' Miship, but alien- ation, and between the two I seemed to see a grent gulf fixed, deep and wide, such as relentless and in- terminable enmity digs between two souls. Wonhl Heaven's mercy ever bridge a gulf like that, or Avould it yawn unbridged forever? Was the old man right? Is human hatred innnortal ? Is there no solvent in the grave to check its eating corrosion or wash its dee[)('n- ing stain nway ? Thus I, })ondering, (pu^stioned destiny, and pushed my thoughts out into the eternities. How many have (piestioned thus. But has any human eye ever seen the stony li|'S of this dreadful s})liinx oi)en in answer, or has any human ear ever heard a sure response ? The sun shone warmlv alono- the mountain side and showered the lonely opening with its beams. The leaves Avere vellow and thick a mv feet, and my faith- ful horse dozed at his post. " I will wait for the com- ing of my companion," I said, and casting myself amid the warm leaves I leaned back against a moss-covered stone, and thus, half reclining, fell asleep. What are dreams? Are they prophecies? Were the .-T)', 'M ' ^ J| 1 1 SU18 e aiul The faith- coiu- ►vercid • «. i THE CHANCELLOR. re tlie hAHHATll AM()N(i TlIK MOl NTAIXS. old proplu't , only (Ircaincrs ? Arc tlu-y sonsclcss niovo- nu'iits ot" tlio tliinkint'' I'aciiltv? What lu'comos of the niind when we sleep? Docs it sl('('[) too, oi is it al>le to receive impressions, whicl' tlic slumlicrinj;' senses are then nnalile to report? Arc the visions thai conic to it mere fantasies, void of trnth or reason? Who can teP ? I only know that I slept, and sK'cpinn- dreamed. And in that dream I was chan«»-ed niysclf, and saw snch clianj;('S in earth and men that I seek in vain for words with which to descrihe them. I said I was chanj^cd. I was. I was <»Town ont of and ahove my old self and had hecome a new hein*;-. New si<»ht was nunc, new hearin<»' ; 1 conhl see every- where : I conld hear everythino-. 1 rnled si>ace. No sonnd, no motion esca])ed me. It was marvellous. This is the best I can do to descrihe the chanu'c in me. I said I saw chan<];'es. I did. There was no horizon to my vision. My sioht was circnlar, and my eyes flashed oreat zones of observation ronnd the olobe in- stantly. How active men were, and how idle ! How sad, and how merry ! I saw them beinjj^ born, I saw them dying'. Some were praying, some were carons- ing', some were dancing, some were fighting ; and the mighty mnrmur of all their noises, their sobbing and their langhing, their groaning and their cheering, their i)raying and their cnrsing, as it swelled np from the earth and rolled its waves of sonnd aronnd the globe, came collectively and individnally into my ears, even as ordinary sonnd is heard by ns in waking mo- ments. What a capacity I was, while like a god I lay, .!.,■ I 5 II: 't , 1i ill »t t • * •l m I.' ' ■h\[ s- H' 1 ! i * . i h r . H ;iMk If! I' l» ♦ i I- ! » *j:)(i hAVIJCIII" I AND. st't'iii^" tlic \vli<)l(! woiM mihI lnMiiii^' all its varied iKiiscs. Docs tin- l)o(ly r limitation as the IMiilistiiies did Saiusoii ; and is death hut the sua[)|>in^' ol' the eoids in the s(»v- eraui-e o t' which there eonu-s liaeU to us tiiu mi and original strength ? I wonder. Suddenly, even as I was looking;' with this ail-per- ceivniii" vision, aiu d" 1 sense or lieann«;', silence I list l( eiiinii' wi U on t!« tl tl lis al receiviiiir le w orld. Not a noise; not a voice; not a whisper. The «;uns of war were dumh. Men were duiuh. Volcanoes were smoth- ered l)V their last exph)sioii and their craters yawned silentlv. The waves stilVeiied and stood ri^'id. Uirds, checked in mid llii;ht, hiinL»' li\ed, as it' nailed to the sky. All livin<»' thiims stood still. The hush ol' an awful expectation tell on the world. Next, darkness! Darkness dense, instant, im|)eno- trahle. No sun, no moon, no star, no ta|)er, no spark. 'J'he 7 that captiiit'd tlic imivtMSf ami iillcd it so that its vcrv horch'i's ran;;! 77/r Inst Iniinp ! The held in \vlii( li I lav shook. A thrill as of awful tciror ran tliroiij;h tho sod. 'i'hc tiiif scciucd t and shrivel with fear, 'riic t o (reel) W(» <;rav('s ojicnc* il. Tl two www rosL', and each standing- in his coniu looked at the other, the same — ^reat (iod ! — the very same as when they died ! They had slept a thousand years, ten thousand, hut ail the )ears had not changed them a whit, for t|io same hatred j;lared in their faces as they st«)0(l in the resurre(;tion as when thev died, enrs- iny each other in the ealiins that stood hv the azed in horror at the spectacle. '' I will ^o and plead with them," and 1 was on the ])oint of starting- ui) when I felt a shock — Ji terrihie shock — as if the solid earth had exploded, ul then another more terrihie than the former. 1 ai sereanu'd, my eyes sj)ran<;- open. u Wak e ui) wlu) was s hal wake up l» It was my compainon IvHiii' me. '" Wake up; what are you dreamini;- ahout, old hoy ? " Tliaidv God, it was a dream ! Thank God, nothin*^ but a dream. Perhaj)s the old pastor was wrong", per- iDS men ( 4 h> el lano-e, — ])erl la ps. • » M r.t inf ,i^'- i \ii ^ l; CHAPTER XIII. TilH (JHKAT (iLAOIKK. .• 4 i ■■ i ? i ? ■■ I will lift 111) iniiie t-ycs unto tlic liills." WEEPING uroiiiid tlie point of a name- less iiiountain, v elided into the diiu, narrow vista of a snow-slied, iive linn- dred yards, ])eiliaps, in leng'tli. Here and tlieie its i»l()oni was crossed witli shafts of lii>ht and checkered with oh'aniini>' rays, which made of the h)ni>' vista a kaleido- scope of jet-hhick blocks bordered by bri<;ht, many- coh)red lines, chani»('ful and lively, presentini;' to the <»'azer's eye a lovely j)icture to look upon ; while far iR'Vond, the a])ertnre stared at us like a oreat white, expressionless eye, at which we rnslied with rattle and roar and burst of thunderous sound fnmi wheel and truck, hissing' brakes and belchino- funnel, but which, 1 I .1 : iKinie- (lini, L> liuii- lU'ie ll with with laleido- iiumy- Ito tho lile far white, lie aiul tel iiiid which, THE (aiEAT GLACIEK. 2r)9 uiitrigliteiied, stared steadily at us without shiinkiii<»; as we eanie hiU'tHng ou. In a moment we were shot out of the monstrous tunnel, framed with <>i<»anti(' tim- hers, strongly hraced as is the curvature of the world, on which the avalanche falls harndess, and over whose roof, angled truly to the mountain slope and riveted into its side, the awful landshde, wide and long with the width and length of acres, its trees all standing and its huge howlders undisturhed, pours its vast mass into the ravine helow, leaving this magnilicent device of man's invention unshaken and unstirred. Onward we whirled, the majestic forest trees on either side. U[)on our left a mountain slope, witle, high lifted, an inunense stretch of sylvan surface ; on our right a dark, deep ravine, down whose hlack hot- torn a glacial torrent drc its foaming line ; Avhen sud- denly our engine curved sharply to the right, and lo, a spectacle of spectacles stood full before our wondering eyes. '" Heavens ! " exclaimed the Judge excitedly, " was there ever such a si<»ht ? " Those who have traveled, who have wandered far and seen much, will tell you that out of the mass of things, places and faces they have seen, a few alone re- main fixed and clearly outlineetty, colorless words : — A little plat rescued from chaos by man's love of order ; a level space of scant size, made by ironing out the corrugation of the hills ; on this little platform, or [)lateau of level space, a cottage, uni(pie in style, neither house nor chalet, but fittin«r harmoniously to the landscape ; in front, a space graveled and ])latted for Howers, — a summer garden in miniature. In the centre of it a fanciful fountain jetted its glacial spray upward, where the wind caught it, and blew it at ran- dom through the bright sunlight, so that in flying and falling it filled all the air with broken pearls, frag- ments of silver, and sparklings of prismatic hre. Far below this scant level space, with its graveled walks, flashing fountain, and widely verandahed miniature mansion, dropped a gorge through which a glacial tor- 4 . ' * %'* » • 111 i . : i ■m 'J n [.III , t 1! f 'thl^ I f ' > I 2i\\ DAYMCIIT I. AND. rent wliirlcd its wliitc lint' of lioiirso noise. Sliccr np- wjiid lifted the o})posito nionntain, a Full ten thousand feet, its bold summit of steel i;'iay roek well named Eaii'le Peak, for only an eaMe's wiui"' mi^iit reicli it. Down its imj)osini;' front a toiient foanu'd fiom t(.p to base. Slowly tluouuli the lon«i', lofty distance oi idmiiini;' eves swi \)t tl leii' iiaze un til tl ley re sted ir noon the buttressed battlements of Sir Donald, whieh, i)ointed like a pyramid, interrogates the mysteries of star and sky, the ^olden course of wheelini»" orbs, and the mean- in<»- of that blue depth and distance which lie level, serene, and still, above the storms which vex the lower atmospheres, "That monstrous shaft," said the fluazini»' at Sir Donald, '* is a solemn interroaation of what is above and beyond." '' Ijook at this," said Mr. Pepperell eahnly, as lie faced about. in the rear of the chalet a m.ii»infic(>nt forest growth swelled loftily upward, symmetrical, projjortionate, a lovely, harmonious whole, — a sylvan ]»icture, vast of height, framed by the sky in massive blue, and fretted alouii' its cdii'cs with scuds of mist and ehanii'efnl drifts of cloud. Never had the eye of oiu' of us Avood wan- derers seen a lovelier exhibition of forest <>Towth ; abundant, dense, soft-toned, untouched l)y fire, un- ci 1 scarred oy violence o )f slid e or ava land le land scape P scene of unmatched jierfection. 8h)wly our eyes Avandered down the nass and clomb the Hermit Ivan«>-e, ])eak by peak, stole aloni»- its slopes of ice, and crej)t beneath the glaciers, lilliiii;- every DWth (', ;i ist of iliit'ts waii- .th ; ', uii- scape •lonib siopi's every • • ( MT HERMIT, ROGERS PASb. H: i i 1 Till-: (IKKAT (il.ACIKK. L>() u ^■oi'oc, lijm<»iii<^ ]M>ls('(l iTjidy to drop, or licld, jaiiiincd ill tilt' vast iuiij)liitli('ati'('s wlicic tliey have lu'cii held beyond the count of years, and where they will remain, unmoved, unmelted, until time is ended or the present order of creation [»asses away. So we stood steadfastly <»a/in<»' at the vast vision, en- raptured, when an exclamation from a man hehind ns faced us around, and there, to the north and east, we saw a sioht which may not, perha|»s, ])e matched in its oraiideur and surroundini»s on this earth of ours. A <»lacier, vast, lofty, immense, huttresse ' hssured, crev- iced, — a section of the Mississippi tihvd ) ohlicjuely and frozen solid; the St. Lawrence p 'n:ij^ .)odily over a mountain ran«»e ten thousand ' o. ; >ove you and turned on the instant into ice, stilfened solid at its mad- dest phino'e ; a creation of ten thou vs years; a monu- ment ahove those past, dead years, which all the rain and shine of other ecpial years to come will not elface ; standin<»' cold, monstrous, motionless, silent, sublime, Avithin a distance so short frcmi our ])arlor ear t' t even the weakest woman or smallest child in it mi« l)v an easy stroll, stand under its ponderous front. Heavens ! how small, how feeble, how insio'nihcant seemed tha en<»ine of our heavy train, with its sobs, and pantini»s, and puny pulfs of power, beside that monstrous crea- tion of ages, that landscape of frozen force, that over- hanains: world of chained enerjiv which, should Nature ever loosen the chilled links which chained it to that mountain pass, would sweep our enoine, train, and yonder house away like chips; ay, crush, grind and pulverize them all to finest dust, so fine that, were it -r ■ ♦ "^i n ' .:i *4 r H n 'l"\ \'\' '-I '•"' •"''-'" J^ ••*-"*-*' 208 DAYLKMIT I.AND. (h'V, tlio winds mii;lit lift it as thcv lift ashes and Idow it thnuitih the air, invisi 1)1(3 to mortal cvt'. '' NcnxT shall it l)u said," fxclaiincd the .lii(l<»i', " that 1 cauu' to such an t'livironnicnt of nia jcsty us this and passed heedkssly on. llcic we \vill sto[) a day and a ni<;iit, and see the sunset si)len(h)r and the sunrise j;lory on these [)eaks, and the nioonli<»ht \vluten the surface of that fro/en field. There is not ice enough in Swit- zerhtnd ro make that single glacier yonder. Let the train move on. We four have wandered on the earth too widely and seen too uianv of its wonders not to reco^^nize the extraordinary and do homa«;e to it." And so the train rolled down the <»Tade, around the swell of the mountain heyond, and left us four j»Tay- lieaded hoys standin<»' ahove the ""lacial torrent, i»azin<»' d uul wonderniii That afternoon we took the trail — > 6' [ui easy way, Avhich led us to the Glacier's front. Slowly we drew our line of ])ro^ress toward it. The tit mood was on us all. We were alone, we four. We an ere intellij»ent en()Uj»h to appreciate the awful ]>henomenon. We saw it with the eyes of many years. We could measure it by European comparison. We C(udd wei«;h it in the scales of world-wide knowledge. wo o f us had footed the Alpine passes. One had seen the Ilinui- kiyas. Another had wintered within the Arctic Circle. tSlov.'ly we moved forward. A few rods of motion onward, and we Avould pause. We were all eyes, all feelino'. We felt we were apj)roachin<»' a fragment of eternity. We were drawin<»' nii»h to, and «»azin<»' at, a bit of the everlastinii'. ]iefore us was the work of rili: CKKAT CLACIKI! 2()1) a«»('s. I lore tlio L't'iitiiiics had st()|)|)(>(l. IJi'twuoii these luoiistroiis iiKMintains, 'I'iine had coinc to a full halt, powerless to j;(» one foot farther. Here hefoie us, ith folded wliius, Avhite-faeed, hoaiv-headed, his w 'r.'"' scythe held in his stillened hands, we saw hini stand, a statue of ice. " Older than Rome, older than Ki'Tpt, older than Man !" nuuiHured the .Iud«»e soleiuidy, as he «.';azed. In front (d' the (llaeier was a «»reat round wall of sand, of cohhles, of howlders. Its j>ressure drove downward to the hed roek of the world, and ploughed the surface earth. "■ This plough ])loughs slowly, hut it ploughs deep," remarked Colonel (Joile, as he ran his eye along the hi i<»e ri(li»( h a Think who steadies it ! " said the Judge, The sun sank from si<»ht hehind the western ridi»e. The urav shaft of Sir Donald Hushed, reddened, then blazed as with fire. From amid the dark firs a])ove us Night softly shook her raven plumage, and feathered us >vlth gloom. Th d U'u she snre ad li dd ler saDle >vnij>s. SI le soared up war* d. and the world (hirkened. Anon she sailed, a vast for- mation of hlackness above the peaks. The skies saw her coming and welcomed her with every window lighted. The Indian myth was realized. The Haven brooded tlu^ world. But the iiieat Glacier amid the olocmi still showed whitely. Fnmi between the piUars of darkness, from the cavernous bku-kness of night, it looked forth like the face of a dead man from the mouth of a i»rave. 1!l ! . ' I I. * ") ... I i * > ."I 270 DAVLKllll l-AM». '* Oldri' tliiiii Ni;;lil, iiiid liciicc stioii^rr ! " \vliis|M'r('(l tlic .lii«lj;e. 'I'liiis we lour Sill in tlic (liirlviicss watcliiii^ mimI |miii- «l('iiiii;', wliili' tlinmi;li (lie i;l<)om mid llic stilliicsN tlu> j^hiciid tonciit at our tVct toic its line ol lioarsc noise. "Seel" I ('.\(liiiin('(l. " 'I'lic (Jlacici' is j»i(»\\iiier cres iee ! And see — see that Hash ol' white !" "The moon ! 'I'he iiio(»n I" cried the .Indue. '" 'I'he niooii is risinj;'. Now we shall see the spectacle of u liretime I " Kxcns(» nie, reader, I cannot wiite it down. I know the limitation ol' letters. Kxcn coidd I tint them with all the colors ol' the pah'tte, it were in vain. Imau'ine our position, standini; in that i;()ri;(', dee|i, incli»sure of their awl'nl environment ; the stillness, which the roar ol' the torrent divided, hnt did not dis- tnrh ; the whole world hiack with the hiackness ol' nit;ht >vhen it smothers tin- woods out ol' sii;ht Teat Glacier, bathed in soft white radianee from sid(» to side, from base to sunnnit, and above it the donu* of the sky, and suspended from it the round moon ! " Day unto ecta<-le before us, and started to pick our way carefully down the trail. ir(? had seen tlu (ihn-'nr ! It was enouL»h. i \ '.r W 1 » > 'V: CHAPTER XIV. THE HEliMIT OF FHASKR CANON. '■ W<> .-in' not ourselves, Wlieii iiati'.rc, l)eiiiL;' oppressed, cDiiiiiiiimls the iiiiiid To suin.T with tlie l)()(Iy."" K \vli() atteiu])ts to dcscrilx' in words tliis majostic fxliihitioii of iiatuic. ad- vertises liis ignorance of tlie limitation of letters and his lack of artistic dis- cernment. Even the tonone of Peri- cles, with its perfect connnand of the Grecian vocahnlary, wonld have faltered and orown dnmb had he stood where Ave stand, and attempted to describe what we see." \l ad- itioii (lis- V li- the TlIK IIKHMIT OF KUASKU CANON. 275 It was tlio .lu(l«»e who spoke, as wo stood grouped at a point midway between the extremities of the Great Canon. " Nevertheless, there are tliose who expect me to do it," I remarked, " and will hold me at fanlt if 1 fail." "Never you mind that," responded the Jud<;e, speak- ini»' with emphati", earnestness. '' He true to your knowledge of hini»ua<>e and your own sense of the tit and the modest. Here is a work of God whose wild- ness and awful sublimity is not only beyond verbal description, but so far beyond it that only scribblers would attempt it. Here is one of the rare exhibitions of the world. Niagara matches it in nature. The Halls of Karnac and the Great Pyramid are to be classed with it amono- the works of men. T have walked through the one, and camped a week at the base of the other. This exhibition makes nu' hold my breath. H' the world would learn what is here, let them come and see it. How can you describe tliat mad turnu/il of water ? How picture, with your pen, this awful environment of mountains? Gan you ))ortray this terrible ok)()m, or put u])on your pages that far-(>lf ii'lcam of ice on those smnmits, or send throuiih the leaves of your book the hoarse roar of yonder whirl- ing, thundering Hood ? Let your artist attempt it if he must. His failure will demonstrate the ])o\verless- ness of the pen. Victor Hugo himself would close his note-book were !ie here. Lay down your portfolio, and we will sit on this rock, and see the day shrink out of this fearful gorge, and the night ])ush her black columns into it." ■/:\ 1 ■\\l i t I i< i I I .J-1 270 UAYLItllir LAM). We four were t()i;otlu'i'. Wo had left the car at old » W II iitcii- in;iassengers, forever and ever." Nothing hevond this for a lonu* time was said. We sat in silence, — we four, — all eyes, all ears, all feel- iuii". We heard the roar of the river rise miIoom we saw the heavens uiake revelation of iilorious 5»lohes, of Hashing orhs and shining worlds. — proof that ahove '* ^K i< ^ 280 DAYLKJIIT J.AND. and hcyoiul this awful j:;<)ro*e, this cliasm of* Cliaos, this cave of Ni^iit, tlio universe of hiw and h^ht still held its hrilliant course aiid kept its benignant move- ments wheeling steadily on. " I trust," said Mr. lV[)|)erell, as he arose from the rock, '^ that 1 am not unmindful of these august sui-- roundings, and 1 shrink from rudely disturbing your rellections, hut 1 confess that 1 am as hnni»rv as a hear, aiul if Colonel Golfe will hel[> me lind some cones I will start a lire, and we will see what we have in the hamper for sup|>er." What a rei)ast we four old campers had that night ! Our lire was kindled on a wide, Hat ledge, which pro- jected slightly over the river. Above us, two giant firs rose loftily. IJelow us, the river seethed and Hashed. Across the whirling current our campfire built its shiftiiiii', trenudous shaft of red blood color. We broiled a ten-pound salmon which an Jndian had speared for us, as we strolled u[) the road that aft niioon. Our provisions were ample, and we feasted our iiunger full. And when the meal was made we sat and fed th<' lire with fresh cones and sticks, and talked, — talked gravely, as men of sense so circum- stanced might. " I met with a strange ex])erienee here a year ago," said Mr. lVp])erell, suddenly, '' and one of my motives for taking this journey was to visit this canon and this very s pot wl lere we are. As strange an experience as ever befell a man," he added nuisingly. " Tell us of it," cried the Judge, earnestly ; " tell ns your tale of the canon. We ert'', ''strange and wild enoiij;li to suit this spot and hour, and which you can all share with me it you cho(;se. It will he an encore to me, hut a novelty to you." " What do you mean ?" interro<»ated the .Iudi;e, in a surprised tone. " I don't understand you, sir." In [)laee of direct reply, Mr. IVpperell said : — " Do you know. Colonel Goil'e, that you are sittings on as strange a tahlet as the hand of man ever traced hefore he died, to trouhle the world after he died ? " ^'.lupiter ('rickets ! " cried the Colonel, as he jumped to his feet, "■ what (h) you mean, Mr. Pepperell ? " " I will show you what 1 nu'an," he replied. '" And I will show you what I foui.d here a year a«»'o. Yes, we will oo throuj^h the s;uue experience together that I went throuiih alone, and you shall tell me what vou think o£ it ; whether he was mad, and how he died, and where he lies buried ? " "Of whom are you talkini»-," cried the Jud<»e, ex- citedly, for the suddenness with which Colonel GolVe had risen and Mr. Pepperell's mysterious words had excited all of us. " Man alive ! of whom are you talk- " Of the I/ii'iinf of Frascr CtnVt}),'' resj)()nde(l Mr. Pepperell ; " that is what I call him, heeause that is what he calls himself. Look here," and he began to brush the leaves and moss from the stone upon which ( I * 282 DAYLKMIT LAND. (loloiH'l GoHV liiul Im'cii sittiim-, " wliat do voii make of tliat? You are a trailer,' and lie looked up at me. "Can you translate that sij^n ? " And l)eli(»ld, as we l(»<)ked, we saw chiseled into the le(li»e the follow! um* svni i>oh d 1 s and liiiures. M " Easily enoui»h," T responded, as my eye cauolit the tracino" clearly in the li^ht of a torch I lield over it. " It means, oo one hundred and fifty feet in a straight line from this s])ot towards yonder clilV. Then two hundred feet at nearly ri<»]it angles to the left ; then eighty feet ohlicjuely, and yon will e(nne to a eahin. The curved lines are only intended to deceive and bcAvilder. He converted his straight lines into Ji lahyrinth to deceive." " Well done," exclaimed Mr. Pe])])erell, " you have read at sight what it took me a week to deci[)her. IJy iiiK iiKKMrr OF i'Kam;k anon. 2s:$ liy cliimro 1 luiilt imv tire here, aiid in tlic li<>ht of it 1 saw that nult; tracin*;' in tiu> l(Mli>'L>. It |iii//1(mI inc. It tornicnti'd nic. It threw nic into a Fever of enriositv. 1 stndied it for (hivs and nights, and at hist I u'ot tlio ene. (ienth'nien, we v 111 now do what I did one ni^ht, hist vear. I want von to see this ' <(i(ti/i ' and what • * is in it. Will yon come? " " ('ertaiidy," 1 answered. '" Hnt, Mr. l*e|»i)erell," I contiiMU'd, a year hrin^s avalanehes in this eonntry, and 1 wanant yonr "(•(thin' won't look as when you saw it." "The eahin which that '(V stands for was hnilt l>y a Huihicr whose l»nil(lini;s never fall. .Indi»(', take those two eandlos. Colonel (loll'e, yon carry the lantern. Mr. Murray, you and 1 will take a torch. Here, U't me t»() ahead. 1 have nieasiued this line hefore." And with this he started carefnllv on, we following-. Slcjwlv, with the aid of our lii;hted torches, we worked our way toward the clilV for the one hinidicd and lifty allotted feet. Then Mr. l*e|>|)erell ran the line two hundred feet to the left. I lis memory had evidently retained a vivid remeud)rance of the trail, for he hesitated at no ])oint of it. At the end of the two hundred feet he turned ol)li(|uely to the hd't, and the eiiihtv feet hrouuht us to the very front of the <>i<»auti(! ciiir. " Where is your cdh'ni 'f " 1 cried exultantly, not douhtinj;" hut that a snow slide had swej)t it into the Fraser. " Where is the eahin that the ' C ' stands for on the diagram, Mr. I'e])))ereU ? " " Here it is," he res])onded ])rom))tlv. " Look ! " »ri 1 «% :; i ■■\ ■■•i ■ \ ■■I .,.1 i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 Sf" I.I 1.25 If 1^ III 1 2.0 12.2 1.8 1.4 11!^ ^/w/// w. w ^l ■^1 s "^ o^ y /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ■t^ #? ^ A ^o i/.. ■■■ 284 DAYLIGHT LANJ). ,t; .,' and he lifted his torch to the face of the cliff and, lo ! there, painted on the front of the vock was a letter " C " ! An exclamation escaped us as we crowded close up to the led«»e to inspect it. It was a monstrous letter, at least three feet in its perpendicular length and fully two feet across. It was painted in some j^ray mixture which nearly matched the color of the rock, and was not discernahle save upon close inspection. It was enlarged at the back of it, and united at the cmved extremities so that it rudely resembled the shell of a clam even as our artist has drawn it. " What in the world does this mean, sir ? " I ex- claimed, looking" at Mr. Pepperell. His response to this interrogation was singularly di- rect and instructive. He took a chisel-shaped instru- ment from one pocket, and a hammer from another, and placing the edge of the sharp steel at the central point of the letter, where the lines connected the ex- tremities, struck it sharply with the hammer, and a sec- tion of the rock coincident with the painted form of the letter stirred, and we saw that it was only a cun- ningly devised door fitted to an aperture in the ledge. " Great heavens ! " I cried, " the C of the diagram by the river does not mean cdbiu at all, but a cave ! " " Precisely," returned Mr. Pepperell complacently. " It took me a long time, but I guessed the trick at last. Gentlemen, will you enter the hermit's cave ? " And he stepped through the strange door while we followed. , ii THE IIEIIMIT OF FKASER CANOX. 285 The sensation we experienced as we passed thr()nL»h tliat stianoely-contrived entrance and stood in the niys- terious apartment can better he imagined than (h'- scrihed. We were too astonished at wliat we saw to n say a w(n'd. We stood and o'azed in sih'nt ama/enient at what we l)ehehl revealed by the Roht of lantern, candle, and torch. The cave was of laroe size, lar<>('r than an oidlnary chamber. Tn the centre stood a table stronulv con- 2S() DAYLKJIIT LAND. l'> i t Mi ::|i ?■ : ■r ]' sti'ucted, the le<»'s of wliicli were <»Totesqnely carved. Skill, patience, and artistic cleverness had wrought out its sti'anj»e and ludicrous designs. On the smooth sur- face of it a clown's head was curiously traced, the face of which was indescribahly luunorous. It was jMirth's own countenance in the act of lau<»hin<»'. The wall of one side was literally covered with portraits of men, animals, and strange pictures bcnn of mad con- ceit. Here a death's head «>Tinned at us. Below it a culprit was hanging; from the oallows-har, the face brutal, contorted, and the dangling' body horribly flexed, — a dreadful bit of realistic work to haunt the memory and terrify sleep. In juxtaposition to it was a foundering shij), in the act of going down, the stern already under water, the prow lifted, and men clinging to the riogiuii', " This is horrible ! " said the Judg-e as he stood gaz- ing. '' The man was mad." " Perhaps," answered Mr. Pepperell. " But look on this side. Hold up your lights, all of you. I want you to get the full effect." We turned with hands uplifted, holding the lights high. A canvas. And on the canvas the portrait f)f a woman. A woman in the full bhxmi of her loveliness. A brunette. The ''' Queen of the Creoles " she miuht have been when living, so rich, so ripe, so perfect was she. A visi(>n of female possibility such as floats in the air before the eyes of the o])ium eater, as he lies half asleep in his sensuous heaven. Her head was small, shapely, and crowned with braids of glossy black- '■ f THE IIKRMITOF FHASKH CANOX. 1>87 ■ I oaz- c5 itilits If iiess. Her eves v,'ere lar<»e, 1<)iil>-, softly blaek, like the star-lii»lite(l dusk of a ti'oj)ieal nii^lit. Her lips were full, curved, sliohtly parted. The rounded lu'ck and shoulders were modestly revealed, and the hare, ])er- fectly modeled arms were lifted as to a loved one eom- in<»' to their end)raee. The face was full of fire, of ])as- sion, of expectancy. But, oh, horrihle, horrihle sight ! A (ffif/fje}' wfis driceu to vV.s hl/f ht her hred.sf ! " My God ! " exclaimed the Judne. " This is too dreadful ! " and he turned his back to the picture shud- deringly. " What do you make of it ? " I asked, as I turned away from the same impulse. '' Judg'e, what do you make of it ? " " Make of it ? " he responded. " It is perfectly clear that that lovely woman Avas his wife, his love, or his mistress, and she was nuirdered in the very act of embracing Inm, and his awful punishment or fate drove him mad. This cave of his is an artistic bedkun, a mad painter's hell." " I think," said Colonel Goft'e, " he murdered her himself. He cau<»ht her in the act of unfaithfulness, and his hand drove that dao'ii'er home. The reniem- brance of it made him mad." " Gentlemen," said Mr. Pe])perell, " seat yourselves around this table. I wish to show you something. 1 spent a night in this cave, and I discovered scniie of its secrets." " Why did you not stay and find them all out ? " I asked. " You certainly had made a good start." " Simply because I was afraid to stay longer — afi-aid »' * r I : i » r I '' i> 2S8 DAYr.KJlIT LAND. I slioiild jvo mad mysolf if T did," lio answorod. "Loolc •».i . | . i^i;ii n if^wi;l)y y)W i lW il LI^ » | ilip|||;y p i,l in ijjia||P)iy^y|j| | | ||^ i j^^ | j j n i ln |l M ill>nw le said, and drawint;' out a leaf of the manuscript, he handed it to me. It Avas a beautiful bit of artistic end)ellishinent. Tirn HKIJ.MIT 1)1" FI5ASKR CANON. 'JS9 Tlic text was delicately ]»iiiiteiit none were there. I knew no Ans^el face. Tiuiy wiio had j^one Ix'fore, yea even theses A\'ho with love's di-ead of ])artin<>' from the loved Were torn from out my arms, liad found new loves, And now were fixed forever in new li\('s. They had forgotten me. And there I stood At Heaven's gate, and saw that I nmst take Tlie old search nj) to find some faithful one To serve and love me as 1 had been loved. I eonld not do it. Nay, I was too faint, Too tired, from the old seeking, out of which I liad jnst come. I turned, and from the gate Called Beautiful I downward wcmt nnto Those other gates, within which lies a land All cold and dim, to whicli those go at wish Who have lost all, and iind — forgetf ulncss. Into this land, cold, dim, and dark, I went, That being- thus forgot I might forget. " That 's a strange thini>%" said the Judg-e. " Here 's another," remarked Mr. Pe])])erell, and he lianded me the second sheet. '' Head that." I did as re(j[uested, and read : — ■•i : V 21)0 UAYLKJIir LAND ■|» A VISIT. Hcyond tlio j^lorious <;iitcs I met a soul I'liat on tlic t'artli had been bctrotlied to inc. Sli(! lovrd '. with tho h)vo of tune and sense, rh(( love \ eh women give to mortal men. And out ot* whieh eonie births, and latei', <;raves. In joy I ran to Ium' with arms outstretched — Outstit'tehed to told her in my fond cmhracc, And with warm lips press kisses on licr mouth As I had (hme in the dear days helow. lint she with staitled eyes stared full at me, And s])eeehless stood, us if struck dund) with frii^ht At sijiht so stranye she knew not what it meant. I ,:i)oke her name. Tliat name wiiich was to me As sweet as cry of ncw-hoin l)ahc to her AViio in her ])ain hears that sun^ sii»n of life. And panting feels the joy of motherhood. I)ut she stood coldly still, nor gave a "ign That slu^ remembered either name or me. A new name had been given her above. In (l((ath she lost one life, another found. And what she found was not as MJiat she lost. She knew not me nor any thing that was. And so I turned and gladly journeyed down To earth and human life and its warm loves. " This is uiicanny business, this rendiiio" a dead injin's private ])apers without legal ])erniissi()ii," re- marked the Judoe, after we had sat in silence a mo- ment. " 1 feel as if I were one of a i)arty enoaged in robbino" a o-rave." ■^1 :| TIIK IIKItMl'l' OF I UASKil CANON. 21 >1 I detul re- hI in '"Here it is ! licic it is!" suddenly <'xclaiiiu'd Mr. l\'[)[)ei'('ll, as lie lil'ti'd a small pacUai;!' neatly folded from the l)ottom of the recess. '" Read this, Mr. Miir- rav, and then 1 w'U show >-oii somethiuii" that will startle you," and he [»assed a [)ortion of the j»a('ka<>o over to me. I took it from his hand, and, smoothini;' it out care- fully on the tahle, proceeded to read the following stranue eounnunication. TiiK Last Will and Tkstamext OF ONK WHOSE NAME IS HIDDEN, WHO ALONH KNOWS HIMSELF, AND WHO IS KNOWN ONLY UNTO God AS The Hermit of Fraser Canon. / A.U MAD. " The proof of it is on these walls. What (hove me mad is also on these wuUs. 1 killed her. Guilt is on us both. Her portrait. Love. Conscience. Here have I lived ei<»hteen hundred years with her in tor- ment. The ecstasies of heaven and the auoiiies of hell have been mine. Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! "" Yes. I am mad, hut I am cunning. My mind never stops. It s])ins like a huzz-wheel. 1 have more than mortal power. I can live without food. I have clairvovant sight. 1 can see the bottom of the Fraser. It is solid gold. I can hear through a mountain. " I leave my body and visit worlds. I come back and enter it again. I can become incorporeal at will. I '• i 1 M t 4 p. s . .1 f v)( I'J DAVMdiri" LAND. iiin an unit ol' [miic conscioiisiu'ss, a i'ci'cptivc t'ssonct', an atom «)l iniiv(>i'sal apprcluMision. Amen. '" Let liini wlio would know a ni\ story read. Lei liini wlio would solve it olicv. l-.('t iiini wlio daiv, put his ear to the lucast ol' tlic woman und listen."' ".Iud«;(' Doe,' said Mr. l^eppereli, '" H'o to tlie can- vas. l*ut vour ear to it and listen. What (h> v(ui near / "Water," answered the .Iudi;'e in astonishment. '" The sound ol runniiiL;' water as it pliinu'es over a dis- tant fall and pours sol'tiy (h)wn amono' stones," and he returned to his seat on the heneh. I read on. "Have you listeneohl. He who finds me nn<;ht purchase the world. He will have all that man craves hut one thiui*-. Ife will not have love. Hue ! hue ! " ' He is mad,' " you who read say. So I am. 1 know it. But I am cunning'. The hidden I found, and what 1 found I have hidden. 1 mock y(m. 1 laui»h fnmi where 1 am hidden. My eves are on you. I am near, a foot away, a yard distant, a span off. Wliy don't von find me ? I am orinnino- -it you at this moment. llo! hc)!" !|: ■•I Tin; iii:i!.Mri' or i'i;asi;i: canox. 2! 1:5 • This is the rjiviiii; itl' ihimIiicss," I ('X(;l;inu('(l. " 1 will read no moic ol' the trash/' and I thii'W tho slurt on tlu^ tal)l(>. •' lu-ad (o thr end," cried Mr. IVpperell. " Head to the end ol" it, then 1 will show ^oii soniethin;;'.'' Thus iir«i'ed I read on. "Are yon wis((? Aic yon hravt;? Are you enii- niui;? (an you read ;i riihile that is j)lain ? Then read the riddle that I writer on the [»aj»e that conies next. s "Here it is," <'ried Mv. l*e])])erell. "Hero is tho ])ai;'e that comes next, and on it the uiadnian's riddle. Who can icad it ? " A white sheet oF [)a|)er, hianUly white, tliat was all ! "What can you make of it?" It was Mr. I'ep- perell that put the f tl one or rue candles undei ll( (h ing- the hlank sheet he held it a moment, and out of the Avhite blankness started this sentence in letters red as blood. " J/c tr/fo culls thcHc Iclhrx forfli cdlls iiic from t " mfj f/race ! I (nn here trifh //otf And he drop])ed the sheet, acr(>ss Avhose Avhite sur- face stretched the i-ed lines, u]nm the tahle. We were on our feet like a Hash — we three who had been sittinj*' — on our feet, starin<»- at the red let- ters, and at Mr. Pepperell, and at each other. t (. I , * 1>!I1 DAYI.KIIir LAND. II " (li'iitlcnu'ii," he sjiid, " I <;(»t tlms f'jir n vcar a'»() and st<>|»|»»'(l. I Wits aldiic, rniM'iiilK'r, and 1 went out <»l' this cave liki' a scarol Itoy. Hut i am not idonc to- nij^lit, and I stay it tluou^li, wlu'tlu-r livino- op dead (•((UM'. Will/ ! " Was it a sound? Yt's. It was a sound, 'riio sound of one niovinj;-. Or was it the wind oulsidu? Which? We licld our lucaths, listening;'. iMy lu-art sounded, as it heat in my l)r<'ast, hko a hrll. '• Tiu' rii/irns ! tin; cniinis ! 7'/ir trituifni is imn'' iiiij J'roiii I hi' irn///^ wliispt'i'L'd th(! .ludj^c luiai'sclv, and his face w hitcni'd to the coU)i' of cliallv. "This is nonst'uso," I said, pullinu;' uiysidF tooctlicr stoutly, hut my veins shriveled lioriihiy, and the roots of my hair iniclded in my sealp. '* 'I'liis is nonsense. It was tlie wind tliat did it," and I took a (piick stej) forward and phieked the canvas witli a jerk from tho wall. '•' Ml/ (f'lxJ ! " It was the Judoc's voice, and I lieard him drop heavily on to tlu' hench. liack of the canvas stood a man ! The madman himself ! Fie was orinnino- insanely at us. And then, with a yell, he jumped full at me. The tahle was overturned and every li«»ht extin- iiiiished. We w(»re not cowards, nor were we ])ro()f ag'ainst such a shock. We acted, I presume, as any four men would naturally act whose senses had heen thus sud- (h'nly and fri'. S(!e. There is l)h)0(I on the le<»' of the tahle. He hit it head on. The Hermit of Fraser Canon is not dead. He is some eseaj)ed maniac. There is neither truth nor reason in ins words or acts. That portrait is a lie. I (h)n't helieve he ever killed a ^voman 'm knew one that was killed. It is all a mad fancy of his, an insane delusion. What do you say, Cohuiel Golfe ? " "I — I don't helieve he ever saw a woman in his life," said the Man from New Hampshire, dryly. Strang'e that a sin<;le sentence neither wise nor very witty eonld affe^'t us so happily, but tiiat light remark of the Colonel acted as a sedative to our excited nerves. It hrouiiht us to our senses and normal coiulition. ',1 I ■i| I W e were all ourselves auain. t il ft 2!)0 DAYI.ICIIT LAND. ■■'I'll: " Conic," said tlic^ Jiidoe. " Take tlio paiR'is, Mr. Mm ray, and let us ^vt out of this. Now that we know wliat this liole in the mountain is, I feel as it* I were in the cell of some lunatic asylum. 1 will roll uj) the canvas and hriiig it alonj^'. It may help us dis- cover who he is, or where his friends are. We nuist find the poor fellow if we rally the country and hunt him a month. It is pkdnly a case of insanity. He is a scholar and an artist, hut overwork or some accident lias driven him mad. It is a inty that the hlow he re- ceived Avhen he fell did n't stun him. It would have saved us much searcliin«>'." We did as the .)udi»e suooested, and left the cave much I'elieved in our feelings and well content with the outcome of our strani»e adventure. IJut we had not come to the end of it. It was to he a ni<»ht of sur- prises in fact, and the hiooest one yet awaited ns. For, as we drt w near the iiat le(li»'e hy the river, our camp- fire was hurnini;' hrii»litly and a man was sittini*' hy it hathini»- his face in some water. If iras flic mdihitdn of tlic care ! " Gentlemen," he said, addressino- us as we ap- proached, " 1 am an artist. 1 was sketching' the Canon hy moonlight, and slipping, fell from a ledi>e. I <»()t here with i>reat diificidty. I do not rememher how, for I struck my head against a sharp rock as I fell, and was partially stunned. T snw your camp-fire and crawled to it, and have taken the liherty of using- one of your napkins to free my face from hlood." This was spoken in a feehle voice, hut accurately and ration- ally, and we instantly realized fhat the bio to he had 4 ■ "i u A •Ml TlIK IIHILMIT OF FKASKi: CANON. 21)' rccc'ind OH li'iK /i('i(f (IS III' JKiHjnil from f/ic U'lill in f/ic cure IkkI lUs/o/ud Inni thv use of liis fncii/tii s^ hut lifl the tihic Inlirit It /lis dccii/citt iiiid his rcvoccril a bidtik " 1 am soiuethlno' of a sur<>c'()n," I said pleasantly, " and with yonr porniission I avIII assist you to dress your wound," and 1 stc'j)[)e(l to his side. '" You are very kind," he returned I'eehly, '^ very kind. 1 am <;rateful to God that the aeeident happened where it did, so near vour eanip P for I :nn feeling' \ery weak, and 1 eould not have crawled far. It was very foolish of nu' to sj)end a ni^ht alone in this Gori»e, hut its suh- limities attracted me irresistihly. I feel it is destined to he noted the worhl over and I longed to he the lirst to ])ut on canvas a moonlight and sunrise view of it. If this Idow shouhl prove serious," he continued more feehly, h)okin<»' np into my face as 1 was carefully re- m ovino' the hair from the ediies of the uash, iC njy studio is in New Orlea ns. 1 1 lave no i( lati ves m tnis th coun.try hut my hetrothed," and here a slight flush came to his face. " My hetrothed is a lady of that city, a Miss De Fcmtaine " — " He has fainted," I said (piietlv onful from your hranc Colonel Goll'e, pour me a spo } dy riask i J'.-^i'VtsW" ! i CHAPTER XV. FISH AM) FIHHIN(J IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. ■ Till' wealth of waters." E were all aiiglers, and our journey through British Colunihia from the Shuswaj) Lake region to Vancouver was full of the keenest interest to us. We crossed the Columhia three hun- dred and seventy miles from Van- couver and entered Eagle Pass, which opens a way tluough the Gold Range, amid magnificent scenery. The valley is crowded with forest trees of giant size and of many varieties, which enrich the landscape with a spleiided arhoreous appearance. The train rolls past lovely lakes, as liose limpid waters stretch from base to base of the opposite mountains, and suggest to the KISII AND FISIIIN(^ IX HRITISII COLl'MHIA. 1>*M) tourist the beautiful lochs of Scothiiid. Beyond, are the great Shuswaj) Lakes, to wliicli sportsmen from all parts of the continent are destined to con e. At Sica- mous, huntino- parties can find acconnnodation and make their arrangements to enjoy the sport easily ac- cessible frcmi it as a starting point. Tlie nortlnvard- o()ing trails will conduct them to the caribou grounds, and to the south deer are found in abundance. Geese and ducks in their season abound in these lakes, whose great extent, beautiful shores, and accessibility com- mend them to the great fraternity of rod and g'un. These bodies of inland water are fed by torrents and mountain streams, but are themselves tranquil, s})read- ing out in placid reaches of great extent between the surrounding; hills. Hundreds of miles of deliuhtful boating' can be found on these sheets of Avater, and the reii'ion around them is sufKcientlv settled and cultivated to easily furnish supplies. But the vast region around about these lakes is wholly unexplored or essentially so, and he Avho loves adventure in an unknown country can be accommodated to any extent. I hope these words will prompt many young' and vig'orous sportsmen to visit this charming and most attractive section of the continent, now made so easy of approach to them, and that from them I may, with all who love the outdoor life, receive spirited descriptions of this now almost wholly un visited region. The fish supply in the rivers and the coast waters of British ColuKibia is simply beyond estimate. No one who has not visited the country and seen with his own eves can credit the most conservative statement of it. t * ; I !'♦ ■ 'i i 111 n I ?i I :}0(i DAViJdirr hAxi). Ill the Fiascr IJivcr tlic toiiiist Ix'liolds a plu iioniciial condition to wliich there is no parallel in any other ii-**«S»/-ti'*^"5^' ■'■■'m lt„:s»»^'~ '*'»»»•«»*.«* ^^■ section of the continent or in any other land. Only in the Columbia River does the Fraser iind a rival. F'ive species of salmon frecpient this river, and in in- credible numbers. In many of the tributaries of it they literally pack the water solid from bank to bank. f FISH AND I'lSlIIXd IX i!i:il"ISlI COM MIMA. IJOl Tlic ])()()1s i'(>s('in1>l('(l ])m'S(' nets when iill<'(l to tlic Hoats. Ill tlic (/aiioii of tlic Ki-iscr in siinuiicr iiioiitlis millions ol' tlicsc lisli can Ix; seen From tlic car windows, })ack('(l ii ;^v) the eddies of the torrent stream or rest inf- ill the lec! of rocks and [)rojections, oatherini;- stren<;th for another riisli u[)ward throui;h the tremulons water. It is a novel {iiid |Mctin('S(|ne sij^lit foi- the tonrist to oaze at. All aloni*' the l)anlvs, and on the pioject- ino- rocks stands the Jndian, s])ear in hand ; he snd- denly rises to his full height, liis sinewy arms, haicd to the shoulder, i;leamino- in the sun, and from his nervous <>rasp is launched his salmon s[)ear. Well aimed, surely sent ! A stru<»'i>le, a splashing', and a i»lis- tenini»" iish is lifted from the water and lies, silvery white, on the brown le(li;e at the sjjearman's feet. First of all in the spring" comes u]) the silver salmon, a beautiful Hsli to look upon ;uid often of ma<»nilicent size, varyinn' from five to seventy i)ounds. Their run beii'ins in March and Lists until the last of .June. Then come a small s[)ecies, but greatly prized, aver- a<»in<»; about five pounds in weight. Their flesh is brightly pink. This is the kind that is most sought for canning' purposes. They run from June until August. Next in order is an excellent variety, nuicli esteemed, averaging some seven pounds in weight. Then c(mies an anomaly among salmon, the '' noan " or "humpbacked," whose run lasts fr(mi August into winter, but which visits the river but once in two years. And hist of all, in 8e})tend)er the " hook- bill " ai)pears, a fisli that weighs as high as twenty-hve poiuids, and disappears at Christmas. Such is the list i H ;j()'2 DAVI.KiHT LAND. of till! Fiasoi* llivei' sjilmon and their cliaiaetciistics, ^:| I '"'Wit i^Sm'' viim,^ ^^ FISH AND KISIIIXd IN IM5ITISH COLL'MI'.IA. UK iiiir the siiiid on the bars, and tlic Indians are siu'arlii"' salmon in the whirlpools and rapids of the Canon. It' a j)arty canqK'd amid sncli scenery and novel snrronnd- in<»'s did not lind rare enjoyment, it wonld l)e heeanse •tl ot sonietlnnii' mneren itly dep (1 >rave(l or cross-iiianied ni I their constitntions. I speak with deiiheration when 1 sav that 1 know not one loeality on the continent 1 would so ([iiiekly seleet for a party of intellii^cnt and eouiienia peoi lie to »l» f cami) a lew weeks as the C ;(ii(>n o f the Fraser. It is the one spot of all others tor tl i(i d it amateur ph()to<>Tapher and tlie artist to visit, an( would be a real l)eiu'fit to the h)vers of nature in its sublime and stranj^e aspects to have put within their reach pictorial presentations of this awful chasm. In addition to the salmon, the fresh-water streams and lakes abound with i>anje lish. Whitelish, salmon trout, brook trout, and big lake trout are found in abundance everywhere. A rodsman can iind ])rime sDor n t Avl h lerever lie jioos tl irouti \i tl U3 pr ovuice, u hetl ler amoiiii' the inland lakes aiul rivers or alonii' the coast waters. There is no other stretch of coast on the fflobe alonii" which, and in the rivers floAvini»' into it, so many varieties of edible fish are caught as off the shore and in the streauis of British (Jobunbia. Beside the salmon and trout are the halibut, the cod, the mackerel, the haddock, the rock cod, the flounders, and that delicious tidl)it of marine delicacy, the o(»la- han or candle fish. This little fish is of the size of a sardine and has a flavor ])eculiarly its own, so ])i(piant and delicate as to justify its ckiim of beino-, par e.rcc/- I<)i('<\ an epicurean nu)rsel. Pre) tared for the ])late fresh from the water, it is exceedinolv delicious, while if i- i I 1 ;[; ^i i ^1 i J! ,-1 'M)4 |)AVIJ(ilir LAND. its oil is said to Ix' prcFcraldc t<» cod-livci' oil I'or iiicdi- fiiial |mr|)<»s('s. Tlu'sc lisli arc sii|»|m»simI to coiiic I'lom far iiorllicni waters, and tlicv come in nninln'rlcss (|nantiti('s. Tlicy enter the Fraser ahout tlie lirst ol" May, and swarm np its current as Ix'cs swarni in a liive. The hcrrinL»s of the coast are e<[ually nund»ei- less. Tiicse are somewliat sniaik'r tlian tliose found ahmi;' the siiores of Lal>rador and tlie Hritish Isles, hut as food are fully as ^ood as those caui;ht in the waters of the Atlantic. It is only when one adds to the lish su|)|dv of eastern Canada the even lar<>'er one of IJrit- isli Cohnuhia, that the value of the Canadian fisheries to herself and the world can be realized. i: $' ■«l' '•', ''M,"!' DRYING CANDLE FIbH 1 fi. i i: CllAl'TER XVI. VANCOTTVKK. HAT Sun Frjincisco was onco, Van- couver is now, — an oak witliin an aeorn, a vital root Avell placed, but only just sprouted; but all tbe condi- tions of a great city are bere, and liere a great city is to be. Coloiud Goll'e, I will buy tliis corner lot if you will take tbe opposite one, or I will toss for tbe cboice. Wbat say you?" It was Mr. Pepperell wbo s])oke. " Judge, you pitcb for us," replied tbe INIan from New IIanij)sbire, laconically. Up went tbe cent, and as it came down and rolled curving tbrougli tbe dust, I f! 'MM DAVhKilir LAM). tlu' two spi'ciiliilois cliiiscd it, l;iM;;liiii^- lilv(> Ixjys, to sco who li.'id won tlic lot on wliicli W(; were staiidiiiu'. '* Well, well," t'xcliiiiih'd the .Iu(|j;(', as tlic two iiicii Kciinicd over tlu? pt'imy, '"you arc; «;('miiiu' V'aidxccs, iiiid you typo hoth tlic slncwdiit'ss and ri-cUlcssiicss of our count lyiucii, who huy hits of the continent as hrokcrs do stocks, and purcliasi; locations as oamhlcrs do chips. i){w nii^'ht fancy that you think vou ar(> standin*;' on the site of a future Chicago hy the way you are a(!tin^." '' You old Areopa<»ite," exclainu'd Mr. I'epperell, as he wrestl(Ml with tln^ Colonel for tlu; token. " We don't think any sucrh thinj;', hut we know that lifty thousand jK'oph! will have their honu's hen; on this ]H'niiisida within twenty years, and we know that two \)i*j; huild- in^s will stand on these corner h)ts inside of ii year, for we will huild them ourselves." " How do you Hiiure that out?" retorted tlu; .ludtic. "Tl.iS isn't Yankee huid, reinend)er, iind Canadians move slowly." ".Iudi»e Doe," res])onded Mr. I'(;pj)erell, as he let «»() his hold on the ('olonel, and sohered down, " we have been in this city two days. The Colonel and J have l)een canvassing* this place, and we have sized up the outlook to a shavinj;'. The conditions which nuike for suc(!ess are all here. In the hrst place the uu'U who have founded this city have the rij>ht stulf in them. There is n't a slow drop of hlood in their veins. They are not a j»an<>' of nu»re specuhitors. They are o'entlemen of substance and character, and they have come to stay. They have i)ut in their money, thou- il: TOSSING FOR CORNER LOTS. I' i. I ' ! VANCOUVKK. • > 11 sjiiids and thousands oF it. Look at these soHd hh)eks of stone and hriek, at tliat opera house, at tliat liotel which nnist have cost ni<»li on to a (|uaiter of a mil- lion ; h)ok at their nas works and water works, their steam lire - eni«,ines, their miles ot paved streets and sidewalks, that ma<;'nilicent drivini»' ])ark, with its splendid houlevard clear ar>)und it, tlu'ir l)oatin«>" cluh and athletic i;roun(ls, those lines ot" wharves and yon- der hui;e steamships loading' and unloading' at them. ' Boomers ' and land i>and)lers don't do such worl these mfii have (h)ne here. They are Americanized Canadians, sir, the best city huihlers on the continent, for they build Avitli the solidity of the English and the celerity of the Yankee. Colonel Coil'e, you villain you, Avhich lot am I to take? If there was the dill'er- ence of a dollar between them, I would have you up before the peripatetic court that travels arcmnd with IS lis and com I ipel y ■on to (1 iso'orue. Vancouver — the city, 1 mean, not the hu<»e island of that name lyin«»' thirty miles out in the Pacific, and stretchinii" three hundred miles northward like a areat natural breakwater, as it is, alono* the coast — Van- coiiver is a city site, literally hewn (mt of the solid forest, which, with its <>ii»antic tind)er trees, makes the sea front of British Cohnnbia. And what a forest it is! An Eastern born Juan knows nothing* of it unless he has crossed the continent and actually seen it, nor can he conceive of it, for the woods of the East su])ply him with no standard of com])aris()n ; even the largest pines of ]\Iichii»an oive him only a hint of what this miohty forest of the Pacilic coast really is. The trees 312 DAYLIGHT LAND. M || , . ._^ !;•■«?, iSK *: le )ly c*e he lind 11 e- eat ith possibilities of inland commerce, and steel pathways connect them Avith Lake Superior, or straig'ht eastward, south of James's Bay, with the Saguenay, at Chicou- timi. Place the minerals, the fish, the coal, and the forests of British Columbia in the one scale, and how many millions of dollars, do you fancy, you will have to pile into the opposite scale to bring the bar level? No intelligent American ever visited this Pacific jirov- iiice of Canada, and saw what it contains, and did not grind his teeth as he recalled how the miserable, blun- dering, ])artisan politics of the Polk rfghiie, lost it to the Great Republic. Let any statesman who loves his country and is proud of its vast geographical extent and future greatness, take a map of the Pacific coiist and see what a gaj) this one province of the Dominion 13 U DAYLKiiri" LAND. makes in its western se;i line, — lonoer hy far tlian the Atlantic coast from the Floiida Keys to Cape JJretoii. And, verily, what did the Polk administration do to make amends to the American [)eople for this crhninal hlnnder? Had I\)lk's secretary of state secured I>rit- i:;!i ('olnml)ia for us as Seward secured Alaska, — well, things would now be a "ood deal dill'erent fiom what they are, wouldn't they? The llepuhlic has Ikm li taxed pretty heavily to su])port her petty politicians and miserable partisan politics, truly. Out oF such a forest, as we said, a site for Van- couver City has been hewn. It cost three hundred doUars [)er acre to merely fell and burn the gigantic oTowth. When we arrived, only two trees were still staiuling, and they were l)urning like u blast furnace inside their hollow trunks. They were nearlv three hundred feet in heii»ht and measured between thirty and forty feet in circumference. For one hundred and fifty feet thev rose like mannnoth pillars of wood, straight as a phuub line, bare of branch or knot. Our artist sketched them on the spot only an hour before they fell with a sweep, a rush, and a roar of sound as if the columns which uphold the sky had slij)ped from their bases and a section of heaven had dropj)ed snddeidy — a vast ruin — to the earth. The earth trend )led to the shock of their overthrow, the air groaned, and as the roar of their fall rolled across the k'vel water of Burrard's Iidet, through the still air, the mountains l)eyond sent back the nuirmurs of their re- gret. Alas, that life nuist forever feed its growth on death, and hunuui })rogTess advance only over the ruins oF the ])erfect ! r ; iv r ■I r r"'U CEDAR, VANCOUVER PARK 5 J FEET IN CIRCUMFERENCE, VANCOL'VKIJ. :j17 I I I They fell, and the saws went at them. How their senseless, hungi'v, cruel teeth ate into and destroyed the majesty of their suhlinie pro- portions ! We turned away, from a sense of pain and sheer vexation. In the even- ing- the Judge and I crept up through the dehris and heavy semi-tropical undergrowth to the crown of the hill on which they had stood. The warm evening air was tilled with a ruddy glow, for a hundred giant stumps were still feehly gasping forth fire. We lighted two resinous torches and c o u n t e d the rmgs which would give us the measure of their age. " Six hundred and iicren- ■t... ' ¥^ ty-foiii' ijtars old ! " gasped the Judge, and he dropped his torch to the ground. " My God ! these trees were 18 DAVIJOnr I, AM). older lli.in \\\v laiidiiii;' of ('oliiiiilms, older tliaii M,i«;iiji ('liarta, older than the lirst translation ol' the I>il)le into Knj»lisli, and last week they stood with a tlionsand years ol' lite ahead oi' them, and these men of Vanconver have levelled them to tin; earth with as little sense of what they were doini»" as the Vandals had when thev overtnrned the immoi tal sen ipt ures o f I iom(> an( trampled the triumphs (d' art under the hoofs of their eharo'ers ! It is simply hrutul. But the trees will have lonii' and sure reveni>"e." " I low is that?" I (pieried,as I Hun*;' my torch away in raii'e at what liud heen done, for I shared the indii»- nation of my companion. "• How will these thou<;ht- less peoples he punished for this wanton dei'd ? " "Mr. iMiuniy," cried the .ludge in reply, "Bos- ton would <>ive n million of dollars to have two such trees, <>ro\vthful and strono- with six centuries of orowth V r> iU 11 1(1 ten centuries of life uhead of them on her Coiii- lon. What would Loiidon oive for two such monu- ments ? What Paris? Had these Vancouver men had the reverence or wit to have set apart a spac(^ six hun- dred feet across for a small park on this knoll, — the very centre and crown of their city, that is to be, — they would have made it the Mecca of thousands ujion thousands of visitors each year. That railroad there could have afforded to pay a million of dollars to have ke[)t these two oioantic ^'•ees, these majestic monu- ments of [last centuries, liuilt up from the soil, the air, and the sunshine, by the Lord, standini;' here. There IS not a scuhiture, s Ipti shaft, or f resco in lionie 1{ that can comjiare Avith these trees as they stood but yesterday lU- m- lU! 1)11 'I'e live Inu- lir, lore an C/1 TJ c ( ) r'l J3 m < < 33 30 7^ m m o ly VANCOrVKU. :V2\ in tlicir iittractivciu'ss to tlic eves and tlic iniaiiination of mm. Tlu'sc trct's thus prcscrvi'd wonM liavr made tlicir fitv one nt at tlieir disposal conld not hny for them sncli an advertisement as tliese two trees liavt^ tliem fret' of cost. And now they lie in tiiese hot ashes lost to the worhl forever, hnrnin«»' as if they were an oifense to the eye, a stench to the senses, ii collec- tion of oiVal. What a pity, what a h)ss ! Come, let ns «»et away from this sj)ot. The air is filled with the reproach of the centnries that look Jijton their hii;hest artistic resnlt as (h'sj)ise(l and rejected of men. I shall always think of Vancouver as 1 should of lionu; if St. Peter's were destroyed hy a moh." It was not until we had returned to tlu; hotel, and the Jud<;e had seated himself at a tahle in the supj)er room, that he reu^ained his wonted spirits. The vast and eleji^ant hostelry was filled with hajjpy noises, for a band of strln<»ed instrunu'nts was playin«»" and fifty couples were whirling" thr()u<»'h the mazes of a waltz, while the h)w buzz of conversation in the wide corridors, and now and then a i)eal of merry lau<>hter minoled pleasantly with the strains of musi(!. It was in truth a bri<;ht and animated scene, and one most sugj^estive withal. " This is a most astonisliin<;' spectacle," remarked tlie Judge, as we sat on one of the wide verandas of DAVI.KillT LAND. tlu' «;n'at lioiisc, «»;i/.iii;;" tlii()ii!j;ii tlic wide (t|u>ii win- dows at the iiicrrv '(; liall Nvitliiii. " 'I'wo years a«»'o this city site was covered with a ini^^lity Forest, so dense tliat even a l»ear coidd scarcely thread a way tlir(ni<;li it, and now hehohl what is here, — hlocivs oF hrick and stone, wi(h' streets, pave- ments eclioinn' to thi; tread of a thonsand I'eet, ojis, electric lij;lits, <;reen sw'ar depot yonder has two coaches in it filled with liostonians. • Massachnsetts Hay sends its nrcetin<»- to Hnrrard's lidot. What would not San Francisco have j»iven For rail con- nection with the Atlantic, Avhen her census counted oidy seven thousand. Aiul what an imjx'tus such a connection would have <»iven to her development. Mr. Pepperell, this is an a<;(' oF enchantment, as you say. The wand oF measureless power is hein<»- waved over this c(>ntinent, and no man (tan predict tlm rare oF its j)roj;ress in civilization. This in truth is the day when old men can dream dreams and our y<)iin<»' men he- liold visions. We Americans and our Canadian nei<;h- bors must join hands and keep them joined in strong fraternal clas[). We are ' jthren. The continent geo- i>raphically is a unit, and we who shape its deveh)p- ment in wealth and ])o])ulation must sha})e it ah)n Gentlomen, I wish you <»()()(l ni<;ht, restful slccj), and j)leasant droanis." And wo strolled away to our rooms. Dear old, courteous, wise, ha])py-hearted .Tu(l<»e — a hty biji' swell, for she sits as lii»htly on the water as if made of l)and)oo." " Look there," cried Mr. Pepi)erell, pointing to a boat just coming into sight from under the bridge. " That is the Medicine Man of the tribe, and his wife." " Well," said the Colonel, " I am a great admirer of the ladies, but 1 must confess that Mrs. ]\Iedicine Man does n't impress me as being a great beauty. What do you say. Judge ? " " This is a very strange spectacle," responded the Judge ; " a very strange spectacle, indeed. I have seen many queer looking peo[)le, but I have never seen a more singular looking folk than these Siwasli Indians. Ethnologically, I don't know where to place them." It was a strange spectacle in truth. The river was covered with their long, light, narrow craft. Some were shooting rapidly along in straight courses, some drifting with the tide, others grouped side by side. The tribe were preparing to move off on a fishing ex- cursion, and the low soft murnuu' of many voices filled the air. All was activity, but there was no bustle, no confusion, no sharp word of command or loud calls. A pretty sight they made as they moved away, a long procession of strange looking boats, each trailing ex- actly in line of the one ahead of it, the paddles rising and f idling in concert, the blue water beneath them and thei.v high-colored blankets showing brightly in the sun. " Bon voyage ! Bon rof/ar/e ! " cried the Judge to them as the last canoe passed from under the bridge on which we stood, and glided away. 330 DAYLKillT LAND. Tlie steersman, an old wrinkled 8iwasli, who was staiidini»' in the stern of the eraft, looked np at the Jndo'e and smiled ; at least his leathery face was snd- denly cnt up into wrinkles, and his toothless <>iims showed hetween his parted lips. " That was n't a had J»'rin, Judge," said the Man from New Hampshire. " Ethnoloj^ically I should place that old specimen of Siwash anti(piity halfway between a low-bred Monjjolian and a hio-li- bred ape. Darwin should have come to Victoria for his ' connectinii- link.' " Victoria is well worth seeing. The tourist can find entertainment there. He can pick up a (piantity of in- teresting^ curios and not be swindled in so doing'. We four spent the day, happy-hearted as boys in their first journey from home. Life brings many losses to us, as we live, but none greater than the loss of the boyish eye and heart. He who keeps these, long- after his head is white, has prolonged the finest pleasures of life. What a day we four gray- headed boys had at this most western city of our race, thrust out from the continent like a picket in front of an encamped army. We visited the fish market and saw how royally the city was fed by the sea, — salmon, trout, halibut, had- dock, cod, the delicious oolahan or candle fish, and a I THE PAKTlNd. i>oi dozen sorts, some of them new to us. In one murket we found a huge octopus or devil-fish suspended for advertisement, a ghastly creature, with tentacled arms nine fi-et in stretch. The Italians and Chinese eat them. And the marktitman assured us that " octoj)us steak was n't had eating." " Let me get out of this place," cried the Judge, shudderingly, " or I shall not eat a mouthful of dinner to-day." " That devil-fish," said the Man from New PIami)shire, " does make a man feel a little creepy insitle, does n't it. Judge ? " We visited stores where furs and skins are bought of the Indians, and the warehouses where thev arc^ packed. What a collection of furs we saw ! And there all, save one of us, saw for the first time that finest, rarest fur of the world, the magnificent sea otter. Did you ever see one, madame ? No ? What pleasure you have awaiting you ahead. Wait until your white fingers can feel their wav through the fur of a sea otter ! Ah, me, beaver will never content you after that. We /isited all the pawnshops, and in them discovered many curious bits brouuht from the four corners of the earth, — Ja])an, China, Australia, New Zealand, the two In- dies, the Arctic Ocean, Mexico, and Palestine, all had 'S,V2 DAYI.KillT LAND. coutiibutwl to the iiiii(iiie eolleetions. 8tian<;t' pipes, aiiti(iiio arms, mii»«»ots of gold, pearls, nido coins, In- dian armor deftly (|uilted. Grotesque masks, flamino- 4 ^tt i i •»-. s^g 1 i •^' . ' head-dresses, and skins from every furred animal of the continent. In one shop we were shown an Oriental ruby, the iridescent splendors of which were beyond all conception. I THE I'ARTING. ;j;3;i " A stone," said the ,Iii'e Doe," answered Colonel Goffe, " when the j»-olden sands of California call, the rich soil of New Plampshire will respond. I will buy a railroad ticket to any spot in this world, or the next, you may suggest, })rovi(led it gives me your company. Only let us have ".»^'^ :v^iJi.»,-A^^ .'-V THE PARTING. I'lIK I'AIM'INC. u JiU'k ()s<>()(hI aloiio- witli us, lor lie and I arc lioiiiid to |>icl< ii|) a littlo paying" iiiscstiiu'iit, occasionally, wlici- uvcr we j;'o, unless dillcrciit anaiii;cinciits prevail tlicic troiii what wo iiave in New llaiiipsliirc," and then, lilting* his heaver, tiie tall, ^ray-headed Yankee, horn trader and traveller, typt^ «>l that i-ner^y and ronra^c which have threaded tlu'ir strength and color into the warp and woof ot the continent, and whosi; shrewd remarks and quaint, rippling' humor had heen hall' th(> lite of the partv, led us oil' in that roval old hit (d' loviu<»' sentiment, — "Should auld iicquaintani'L' he forgot And never hiou^ht to mind ? Should auld atMiuaintance he forgot And (lays of aukl Lang Synu? " We sanjif it hravely, we lour ^ray-headed men, stand- ino' on the deck of the steamer with the [»ur)>le lii;ht of the early j^loaming* upon us. iS'or did we sin^ it far as a (piartette ; for on the deck were other wanderers like ourselves, far from friends and honu'. and amono- them a <»Toup of Scottish innnij^rants, red-haired, ronj;h- bearded, and who were as res])onsive to the lirst note of the <»Tand old stave as powder is to the s])ark, and whose stronj*' voices, with their hroad accent, joined in with such a rush and roar of sound as the (yam]>- bells brouii'lit with them win n thev chariicd into Lucknow. At the clovse ? Well, there were tears in our ev<'s. You need n't kiuj^h, youno- man. Wait till you <»et on toward your eveninj^', and know what home, country, liliS DAYLKJIIT LAND. and j)iiitiii<^s mean. You will never |;':i<;ii then at the nohle nioisteninj;' of eyes. As I eanu; oil' the boat 1 ran aj^ainst a l)i<;" Australian who had just parted at the gate with his wife. " Bei»- pardon," lu; said, " I did n't see you connn«»-." " 1 l)e<»' your pardon," 1 returned, " 1 did n't see you eitlier. " Then we looked at eaeh other, and we both saw why we had iiut seen ! Vv'ORKS BY. VV. H. H. MURRAY. DAYLIGHT LAND. The ILxprriiiicrs^ Jiuid.-iits, and AtiTc/ifiiirs, I luniorcus and Otlur- wisc, 7iihiih Ih-fcll yti(li;r joilN I )y\\. W. II. Murray. Superbly illustrated with 150 cuts in various colors by the best artists. ( !()Nri:.\i's : Intnidiiction — Tlic Meeting — A r.ronkf;isl — A Very Ilnpf- fill Man — 'I'lu' l«ig XcpiLjon Trout — 'I'lic Man in tiit Vclvclcin Jac kti — 'I lie Capitalist — ('amp at Rush I,akc — ISij; (Janic — A Strange Midniuhl Kide — Uanff — Sahliatii among the Mountains — Nameless Moimtains — 'V\\c (Iieat (ilaeier — The Hermit of Kra/iT Canon — i'ish and I'ishing in Urilisii Cohmi l)ia — Vancouver — I'arting at N'icloria. Svo. 33.S ]);i!i;cs. Unique ])apcr hoards, 52.50; ilotli, 53So; clotli. liMI ,i;ilt, 54-00. Mr. Murray lias ciiDsen tlic iioitli western side of the coniiiient for (lie scene of tiiis book ; a region of country wiiii h is little know In tin; avcraije reader, hut which in its scenery, its i^anie, and its vast mateiial and undeveloped resources su|)plies the author with a i-uhicMt which has not been trenciied ujion even by the matja/ines,aiid whii h he has treated in t' at lively and spirited nianner foi' \vlii( h he is cspecialh' ;;ifted. The result is a volume full of novel information of the country, hnnioious and jiathetic incidents, vivid descriptions of its mafinifuent si enerv, shrewd ibrecasts of its future wealth and greatness when developed, il- lustrated and embellished with su( h lavishness and ;;rtisti( eleganci' as has never before been attempted in any similar work in this i (uintry. 77i(- ('ri//<,'m a rceeiil issue, receiving the illustrated edition of l)aii(ht's " Kolierl llelmont," savs, " \Vc wonder if the time will ever come wlun the creations of our own writers will he interiueled with e(|ual syni|iatiiy," and, in view thereof, \\v would respectfulh submit the above hook to tlu- c rities and the i)ubiic at large in evidence that the long-desirecl time has now arrived. CUPPLliS AND IIURD, PUBLISHliUS, BOSTON, MASS. Por otlicr />oot:s, M'r n