tRUISINGS iH^"' CSASCADES AND OTHER Hunting -Adventures «^^ ^,. r., rilt: ^m'! m ■O'SHIELDS I (coquina) Q|atneU Untneraitg SItbrarg Jltl;aia, S^em ^ock BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE FISKE ENDOWMENT FUND THE BEQUESTOF WILLARD FISKE LIBRARIAN OF THE UNIVERSITY 1868-ia83 1905 Cornell University Library SK 45.S55 Cruising In the Cascades; a narrative of 3 1924 016 410 551 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 641 0551 Cruisings in the Cascades. A NARRATIVE OP Travel, Exploration, Amateur Pliotograpliy, Hunting, and Fishing, WITH SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON rnjNTING THE GRIZZLY BEAR, THE EHPFALO, ELK, ANTELOPE, ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT, AND DEER; ALSO ON TKOUTIKG IN THE ROCKY MOrXTAIXS; ON A MONTANA ROUNDTI?; LIFE AMONG THE COWBOYS, ETC. By G. O. shields, ("roQviNA") AUTHOR OP " RUSTLINGS IN THE ROCKIES," " HUNTING IN THE GREAT WEST," "THE BATTLE OF THE BIG HOLE," ETC. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON Limited St. JDmtstnn's Xjousc Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E. C. 1889 |\A<^M 6\ PBINTED ET KAND, McKALLY & COMPAI^Y, CHICAGO, U. S. A. The articles herein on Elk, Bear, and Antelope Hunting are reprinted by the courtesy of Messrs. Earper & Brothers, in whose Magazine they were first published; and those on Buffalo Hunting and Trouting are reproduced from "Outing" Magazine, in which they first appeared. ' Come live with me nnd be my love. And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, Woods or steepy mountains, yield." — Marlowe. "Earth has built the great watch-towers of the mountaics, and they lift their heads far up into the sky, and gaze ever up- ward and around to see if the Judge of the World comes not." — Longfellow, PREFACE. And now, how can I suitably apologize for having inhicted another book on the reading public? I would not attempt it but that it is the custom among authors. And, come to think of it, I guess I won't attempt it anyway. I will merely say, by way of excuse, that my former literar3' efforts, especially my " Rirstlings in the Rocldes," have brought me in sundry dollars, in good and lawful monej^ which I have found very useful things to have about the house. If this volume shall meet with an equally kind reception at the hands of book buyers, I shall feel that, after all, I am not to blame for having written it. THE AUTHOR. Chicago, March, ISyij. (7) COISTTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Benefits, Mental and Physical, of ilountaln Climbing — A Never-failing Means of Obtaining Sound Sleep and a Good Appetite — The Work to be in Proportion to the Strength of the Climber— People Who "Would Like to See, but are Too Lazy to Climb^How the Photograph Camera May Enchance the Pleasures and Benefits of Mountain Climbing — Valuable Souvenirsof Each Ascent — How "These Things are Doaein Europe " — An Effeciive Cure for Egotism. IT CHAPTER n. The Cascade Mountains Compared with the Rockies — Character- istics and Landmarks of the Former — The Proper Season for Cruising in the Cascades — Grand Scenery of the Columbia — Viewing Mount Tacoma from the City of Tacoma — Men VTho Have Ascended this Mysterious Peak — Indinn Legends Con- cerning the Mountain — ^Evil Spirits, WTio Dwellin Yawning CaTems— The View from the Mountain — Crater Lake and the Glaciers — Xine "Water-falls in Sight from One Point. io CHAPTER in. The City of Seatt!e— A Booming "Western Town— Lumbering and Salmon Canning — ^Extensive Hop Ranches — Rich Coal and Iron Klines — Timber Resources of Puget Sound — Giant Firs and Cedars — A Hollow Tree for a House— Big Timber Shipped to England — A Million Feet of Lumber from an Acre of Land — Xovel ^Method of Loggiag — No Snow in Theirs — A "World's Supply of Timber for a Thousand Tears. . 35 (0) 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Length, Breadth, and Depth of Puget Sound — Natural Re- sources of the Surrounding Country — Flora and Fauna of the Region — Great Variety of Game Birds and Animals — Large Variety of Game and Food Fishes— A Paradise for Sports- man or Naturalist — A Sail Through the Sound — Grand Mountains in Every Direction — The Home of the Elk, Bear, Deer, and Salmon — Sea Gulls as Fellow Passengers — Photo- graphed on the Wing — Wild Cattle on Whidby Island — Deception Pass; its Fierce Current and Wierd Surroundings — Victoria, B. C. — A Quaint Old, English-looking Town. 43 CHAPTER V. Through English Bay— Water Fowls that Seem Never to Have Been Hunted— Rifle Practice that was Soon Interrupted — Peculiarities of Burrard Inlet — Vancouver and Port Moody — A Stage Ride to Westminster — A Stranger in a Strange Land — Huntingfora Guide — " Douglass Bill " Found and , Employed — An Indian Funeral Delays the Expedition. . 53 CHAPTER VI. The Voyage uptheFrazier — Delicious Peaches Growing in S'ght of Glaciers — The Detective Camera Again to the Fx'ont — Good Views from the Moving Steamer — A Night in an Indian Hut — The Sleeping Bag a Refuge from Vermin — The Indian as a Stamping Ground for Insects — He Heeds Not Their Ravages. 59 CHAPTER VII. A Breakfast with the Bachelor — Up Harrison River in a Canoe — Dead Salmon Everywhere — Their Stench Nauseating — The Water Poisoned with Carrion — A Good Goose Spoiled with an Express Bullet — Lively Salmon on the Falls — Strange In- stinct of this Noble Fish — Life Sacrificed in the Effort to Reach its Spawning Grounds — Ranchmen Fishing with Pitch- forks, and Indians with Sharp Sticks — Salmon Fed to Hogs, and Used as Fertilizers; the Prey of Bears, Cougars, Wild Cats, Lynxes, Minks, Martins, Hawks, and Eagles. C6 COXTEXTS. 11 CHAPTER VIII. The River Above the Bapids — A Lake 'SVitlim Ba-altic Walls — Many Beautiful Waterfalls — ilount Douglas and ils Glaciers — A Trading Post of the Hudson Bay Fur Company — The Hot Springs; an Ancient Indian Sanitarium — Anxiously Waiting for "DousLiss Bill"— Xovcl Method of Photo- graphing Big Trees. . 75 CHAPTER IX. An Early Morning Climb — A Thousand Feet Above the Lake — Fresh Deer Signs in Sight of the Hotel — Three Indians Bring in Three Deer — " Douglass Bill " Proves as Big a Liar as Other Indians — Heading off a Flock of Canvas Backs — A Goodly Bag of these Toothsome Birds — A Siwash Hut — A Revoltiug Picture of Dirt, Filth, Xakedness, and Decoyed Fish — Another Guide Employed — Re idy on Sh^rt Xoticc — Off for the Mountain'. . . . S2 CHAPTER X. Characteristics of the Flathead Indian^ — Canoeists and Pack- ers by Birth and Education — A Skillful Canoe Builder — Freighting Canoes — Fihini: Canoes — Traveling Canoes- Two Cords of Wood for a Cargo, and Four Tons of Mer- chandise for Another — Dress of the Coast Indians. . '~9 CHAPTER XI. Climbing the Mountain in a Rainstorm— Pean's Dirty Blmkets — His Careful Treatment of His Old ilusket — A Xovel Charge for Big Game — The Chatter of the Pine Squirrel — A Shot Through the Brush — Venison for Supper — A Lame Con- versation: English on the One Side, Chinook on the Other — The Winchester Express Staggers the Xatives — Peculiarities of the Columbia Black Tail Deer 97 CHAPTER XII. The Chinook Jargon; an Odd Conglomeration of Words; the Court Language of the Northwest; a Sjn eimen Conversa- tion — A Camp on the Mountain Side — How the Indian Tried 12 CONTENTS. to Sleep Warm — The Importance of a Good Bed when Camping — Pean is talsen 111 — His Fall Down a Mountain — Unable to go Further, We Turn Back — Bitter Disappoint- ment. . ... . .103 CHAPTER XIII. The Return to the Village^Two New Guides Employed — OfE lor the Mountains Once More — The Tramp up Ski-lk-kul Creek Through Jungles, Gulches, and Caiions — And Still it Rains — Ravages of Forest Fires — A Bed of Mountain Feathers — Description of a Sleeping Bag; an Indispensable Lux- ury in Camp Life; an Indian Opinion of It. . . 107 CHAPTER XIV. Meditations by a Camp Fire — Suspicions as to the Honesty of My Guides; at Their Mercy in Case of Stealthy Attack — A Frightful Fall — Broken Bones and Intense Suffering — A Painful and Tedious Journey Home — A Painful Surgical Operation — A JIappy Denouement. . . 113 CHAPTER XV. The Beauties of Ski-ikkul Creek; a Raging Mountain Torrent; Rapids and Waterfalls Everywhere; Picturesque Tribu- taries — Above the Tree Tops — The Pleasure of Quenching Thirst — A Novel Spear — A Fifteen-Pound Salmon for Sup- per — The Indians' Midnight Lunch — A Grand Camp Fire — At Peace with All Men. . . . . 118 CHAPTER XVI. Seymour Advises a Late Start for Goat Hunting; but His Council is Disregarded — We Start at Sunrise — A Queer Craft — Navi- pating, Ski-ik-kul Lake — A " Straight-up " Shot at a Goat — Both Horns Broken OfE in the Fall — More Rain and Less Pun — A Doe and Kid — Successful Trout Fishing — Peculiar- ities of the Skowlitz Tongue; Grunts, Groans and Whistles — John has Traveled — Seymour's Pretended Ignorance of English ... 125 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER XVII. •En Route to the Tillage Again — A Water-Soaked Country — "Oh, What a Fall was There.My Countrymen!" — Walking on Slip- pery Logs — More Rain — Wet Indians — " Seme He Spile de Grouse" — A Frugal Breakfast — High Living at Home — A Bear He did a Fishing Go; but He was Caught Instead of the Fish, and His Skin is Bartered to the Unwashed Siwashes. 132 CHAPTER XVm. John and His Fanuly 'At Home" — Aa Interesting Picture of Domestic Economy — Rifle Practice on Gulls and Grebes — Puzzled Xatives — " Phwat Kind of Burds is Them ?" — A day on the Columbia — The Pallisades from a Steamer — Photo- graphing Bad Lands from a Moving Train. 142 CH.VPTER XIX. Deer Hunting at Spokane Falls — Ruin Wrought by an Over- loaded Shotgun: A Tattered Vest and a Wrecked Watch — Billy's Bear Story— The Poorest Hunter Makes the Biggest Score — A Claw in Evidence — A Disgusted Party. 146 CHAPTER XX. A Fusilade on the itule Deer — Two Do s as the Result—.^ Good Shot Spoiled— View from the Top of Blue Grouse ^lountain— A Grand Panorama; Lakes, Mountains, Prairies and Forests —.Johnston's Sto-y— Rounding Up Wild Hogs— A Trick on the Dutchman— A Bucking Mule and a Balky Cayuse— Falls of the Spokane River. 153 CHAPTER XXI. Hunting the Grizzly Bear — Habitat and Characteristics — A Camp Kettle as a Weapon of Defense— To the Rescue with a Win- chester-Best Localities for Hunting the Grizzly— Baiting and Still-Hunting— A Surprise Party in the Trail— Two Bull- eyes and a 3Iiss— Fresh Meat and Revelry in Camp. 164 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. Elk Hunting in the Rocky Mountains — Characteristics of the Elk— His Mode of Travel— A Stampede in a Thicket— Tlie "Whist'eofthe Elk, the Hunter's Sweetest Music— Measure- ments of a Pair of Antlers — Saved by Following an Elk Trail— The Work of Exterminators— The Elk Doomed. . 181 CHAPTER XXIII, Antelope Hunting in Montana — A Red Letter Day on Flat Wil- low — Initiating a Pilgrim — Sample Shots — Flagging and Fanning — Catching Wounded Antelopes on Horseback — Pour Mule-Loads of Meat 194 CHAPTER XXIV. Buffalo Hunting on the Texas Plains — A " Bull Train " Loaded with Skins — A Sensation in Fort Worth — En Route to the Range — Red River Frank's Mission — A Stand on the Herd — Deluged with Buffalo Blood — A Wild Run by Indians — Tossed into the Air and Trampled into the Earth. . 313 CHAPTER XXV. Hunting the Rooky Mountain Goat — Technical Description of the Animal — Its Limited Range— Dangers Incurred in Hunt- iug It — An Army Officer's Experience — A Perilous Shot — A Long and Dan^rous Pursuit — Successful at Last — Carry- ing the Trophies to Camp — Wading up Lost Horse Creek — Numerous Baths in Icy Water — An Indian's Fatal Fall — Horses Stampeded by a Bear — Seven Days on Foot and Alone — Home at Last 336 CHAPTER XXVI. Trouting in the Mountains — Gameness of the Mountain Trout — A Red Letter Day on the Bitter Root — Frontier Tackle and Orthodox Bait — How a Private Soldier Gets to the Front as an Angler— A Coot Interrupts the Sport, and a Rock Inter- rupts the Coot — Colonel Gibson takes a Nine-Pounder — A Native Fly Fisherman — Grand Sport on Big Spring Creek — How Captain Hathaway does the Honors — Where Grand Sport may be Found 257 CONTEiSTTS. 15 CHAPTER XXVII. Deer Hunting in Nortliern Wisconsin— On the Eange at Day- liglit— Tlae Woods Full of Game— Missing a Standing "Broadside " at Thirty Yards— Several Easy Shots in Rapid Succession; the only Fruils Shame and Chagrin— Nervous- ness and Excitement Finally Give "Way to Coolness and Deliberation— A Big Buck at Long Range— A Steady Aim and a Ruptured Throat— A Blind Run Through Brush and Fallen Trees— Down at Last— A JSToble Specimen— His Head as a Trophy. . . . 280 CHAPTER XXVIII. Among the Pines— A Picture of Autumnal Loveliness— Cor- dial Welcome to a Logging Camp — A Successful Shot — The Music of the Dinner Horn — A Throat Cut and a Leg Broken — A Stump for a Watch-Tower — The Baven Homeward Bound — A Suspicious Buck — A Jlysterious Presence — Dead Beside His Mate— Three Shots and Three Deer. 388 CHAPTER XXIX. A Typical Woodsman — Model Home iu the Great Pine Forest — A Lifetime in the Wilderness — A Deer in a Natural Trap — Disappointment and Despondency — "What, You Killed a Buck! " — Sunrise in the Woods — An Unexpected Shot — A Free Circus and a Small Audience — A Buck as a Buck' r — Slore Venison. . . . 296 CHAPTER XXX. Cowboy Life — The Boys that Become Good Range Riders — Peculiar Tastes and Talents Required for the Ranch — AVages Paid to Cowboys — Abuse and Misrepresentation to which They are Subjected — The " Fresh Kid," and the L>ng-Haired " Greaser" — The Stranger Always Welcome at the Ranch— A Dude Insul'ed — A Plaid Ulster, a Green Umbrella, and a Cranky Disposition — Making a Train Crew Dance — Au Uncomplimentary Concert— No Sneak Thieves on the Plains — Leather Breeches, Big Spurs, and a Six Shooter in a Sleep- ing Car — Fear Gives Way to Admiration — The Slang of the 16 CONTENTS. Range — The ' ' Bucker," and the ' ' Buster " — The Good Cow- Horse — Roping for Prizes — Snaklcg a Bear with a Lariat— A Good School for Boys — Communion with Nature Mak' s Honest Men. . . . . 304 CHAPTER XXXI. A ilcntana Roundup — Ranges and Ranches on Powder River ; Once the Home of the Buffalo, the Elk, the Antelope; now the Home of the Texas Steer and the Cowboy — The Great Pl.TJns in Spring Attire — A Gathering of Rustlers — " Chuck Outfits "to the Front — Early Risers- -Taming an " Alecky " Steer — A Red-Hot Device — Branding and Slitting — The Run on the Mess Wagon — "Cutting Out" and "Throwing Over " — A Cruel Process. . . 337 CRUISIKGS IX THE CASCADES. CHAPTER I. ■ ' Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery. " c^S;-^ — RrsKix. Z^T^ JB, anyone who has the courage, the " hardihood, and the physical strength to endoie the exercise, there is no form of recreation or amusement knowTi to mankind that can yiekl such grand results as mountain climbing. I mean from a mental as well as from a phys- ical standpoint ; and, in fact, it is the mind that receives the greater Iwuefit. The r^ exertion of the muscular forces in climbing a high mountain is necessarily severe: in fact, it is I more than most x^ersons unused to it can readily (emluie: and. were it not for the inspiration which the mind derives from the experience when the ascent is made it would be better that the subject should, essay some milder form of exercise. But if one" s strength be sivfficient to endure the labor of ascending a grand mountain peak, that extends to or above timber line, to the regions of perpetual snow andice, or even to a height tbat gives a general view of the surrounding country, the compensation 2 (IT) 18 CRUISINGS IKT THE CASCADES A>fD OTHER HCXTIXO ADTENTUEE-. 19 mi;st be ample if one Lea e an eve for the beauries of nature, or any appreciation of the grandeur of the CreaTorsgreatesr works. A ain, self-loving man is wont to consider himself the noblest work of Grod, bat let him go to the top of one of these lofty mountains, surrounded by other towering peaks, and if he be a ^ane man he ^ill soon be convinced that his place in the scale of creation is far fiom the top. Let him stand, for instance, on the summit of Mount Hood, Mount Tacoma. or Mount Ba- ker, thousands of feet above all surrounding peaks. hills, and valleys, where he may gaze into space hun- dreds of miles in every direction, with naught to ob- struct his view, face to face with his Creator, and if he have aught of the love of nature in his soul, or of appreciation of the suMime in Lis mental composi- tion, he will be moved to exclaim with the Apostl'-. ■What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou vi^ittr-^t him '." He will feel his littleness, his insignificance, his utter lack of im- portance, more forcibly perhaps than ever before. It seems almost incredible that there should 1 e men in the world who could care so little for the grandest, the sublimest sights their native land affords, as to be unwilling to perform the labor necessary to see them to the liest possible advantage : and yet it is so. for I have frequently heard them r^ay : '"I sliould like very much to see these grand sights you describe, but I never could afford to climb those high mountains for that iilea-ure : it is too hard work for me." And, after all, the benetits to be derived from mountain climbing are not wholly of an intellectual 20 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES AND OTHER HUNTING ADVENTURES. 21 character ; the physical srstem may be benefited by ir as well. It is a kind of exercise that in turn brings into n>e almost every muscle in the body, those of the legs being of course taxed most se- verely. liut those of the back do their full share of the work, while the arms are called into action almost constantly, as the climber grasps luishes or rocks by which to aid himself in the ascent. The lungs ex- pand and contract like bellows as tliey inhale and exhale the rarified atnio-phere, and the heart beats like a trip-hammer as it puni}is the inHgorated blood through the system. The liver is shaken loose from the ril.\s to which it has perchance gi-own fast, and the stomach is urou-^eil to smh a state of aTURES. 31 and its crown is almost lost in the limitless regions of the deep blue sky. From the verandas of the Taooma House one may view Mount Tacoma until wearied with gazing. The Xorthem Pacific Bailwav runs within fifteen miles of the l)a>e of it. and from the neaie-t point a trail has been made, at a co-t of si mi^- thousands of dollars, by which tourists may ascend the mountain on horr-H-back. to an altitude of aliout IO.Wm) feet, with comparative comfoiT: but he who goes aliove that height voji-x work his passage. Tlieie are sev^-ml men who claim the distinction of being the only white man that has ever been to the top of this mountain. ( Jthers declare that it has been ascended only twice; but we have authentic information of at least three ^iid>-ssfid and complete asc<^nTs having been made. Indian legends j^eople the mountain with evil spirits, which -are said to dwell in boiling caldrons and yawning caverns — "Calling shapes, and beck'nicg shadows dire. And aii^" tongues that syllable men's names." Tradition say- their wild shrieks and grv M m ;., A irt-' i' VIEW ON GEEEN EIVEK NEAR MOUNT TACOMA. CHAPTER III. V "HE Oregon Railway & ^ a\ i^ation Company's steam- > eis leave Tacoma, for Seattle, at fciur o'clock in the morn- ing, and at six-thirty in the e^Hning. so we were unable to Thi- portion of the sound until our return ti ip. Seattle is another ' if those rushing. }uishing. thriTing, West- ^■ni towns, whose >-nergj" and dash always surprise Eastern people. The population of the city is 15,000 souls: it has gas-works, water-works, and a street railway, and does more business, and han- dles more money each year than many an Eastern city of ."iO.OOO or more. The annual lumber shipments alone aggregate orer a million dollars, from ten saw-miUs that cost over four millions, and the ralue of the salmon-can- ning product is nearly a million more. The soU of the valleys adjacent to Seattle is peculiarly adapted to hop-raising, and that industiy is extensively car- ried on by a large number of farmers. Some of the largest and finest hop-ranches in the world are loca- ted in the vicinity, and their product is shipped to (33) 36 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES various American and European ports, over 100,000 tons having been shipped in 1888, bringing tlie growers tlie liandsome sum of $560,327. During the fifteen years since the beginning of this important cultivation, the hop crop is said never to have failed, nor has it been attacked by disease, nor deteriorated by reason of the roots being kept on the same land without replanting. It is believed that the Dwamish, the White River, and the Puyallup Yalleys could easily produce as many hops as are now raised in the United States, if labor could be obtained to pick them. Indians have been mainly relied upon to do the picking, and they have flocked to the Sound from nearly all parts of the Territory, even from beyond the mountains. Many have come in canoes from regions near the outlet of the Sound, from British Columbia, and even from far off Alaska, to engage temporarily in this occupa- tion; then to purchase goods and return to their wigwams. They excel the whites in their skill as pickers, and, as a rule, conduct themselves peace- ably. Elliot Bay, on which Seattle is built, affords a fine harbor and good anchorage, while Lakes Union and Washington, large bodies of fresh water — the former eleven and the latter eighteen feet above tide level — lie just outside the city limits, opposite. There are rich coal mines at hand, which produce nearly a million dollars, worth each year. Large fertile tracts of agricultural lands, in the near vicinity, produce grain, vegetables, and fruits of many varieties, and- in great luxuriance. Iron ore of an excellent quality abounds in the hills and AND OTHER HUXTIXU ADVEXTURES. 37 mountains back of the city, and with, all these natur;\l resources and advantages at her command, Seattle is sure to become a great metropolis in the near future. The climate of the Puget Sound coun- ter is temperate; snow seldom falls before Christ- mas, never to a greater depth than a few inches in the valleys and lowlands, and seldom lies more than a few days at a time. My friend, Mr. "\Y. A. Perry, of Seattle, in a letter dated December 6, says: • ■ The weather, since your departure, has been very beautiful. The morning of your arrival ^^ as the coldest day we have had this autumn. Flowers are now blooming in the gardens, and yesterdaj" a friend who lives at Lake Washington sent me a box of delicious strawberries, picked from the vines in his garden in the open air on December 4, while you, poor fellow, were shivering, -wrapped up in numberless coats and furs, in the arctic regions of Chicago. AVhy don't you emigrate? There's lots of room for you on the Sumas, where the flowers are ever blooming, where the summer never dies, where the good Lord sends the tyee (great) salmon to your very door; and where, if you want to shoot, you have your choice from the tiny jacksnipe to the cultus bear or the lordly elk."' There are thousands of acres of natural cranberry marshes on the shores of the sound, where this fruit grows wild, of good quality, and in great abundance. It has not been cultivated there yet, but fortunes will be made in that industry in the near future. But the crowning glory of Puget Sound, and its greatest source of wealth, are the vast forests of (38) AXD OTHER IirXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 39 timber. It is scarcely advisable to tell the truth, concerniag the size to which some of the giant firs and cedars grow in this country, lest I be accused of exaggeration; but, for proof of what I say, it will only be necessary to inquire of any resident of tlie Sound country. There are hundreds of fir and cedar trees ia these woods twenty to twenty-five feet in ■diameter, above the spur roots, and over three hundred feet high. A cube was cut from a fir tree, near Vancouver, and shipped to the Colonial Exhi- bition in. London in 1886, that measured nine feet and eight inches in tliickness each way. The bark of this tree was fourteen inches thick. Another tree was cut, trimmed to a length of three hundred and two feet, and sent to the same destination, but this one, I am told, was only six feet through at the butt. From one tree cut near Seattle six saw-logs were taken, five of which were thirty feet long, each, and the other was twenty-four feet in length. This tree was only five feet in diameter at the liase, and the first limb grew at a height of two feet above where the last log was cut off, or over one hundred and seventy feet from the ground. A red cedar was cut in the same neighborhood that measured eighteen feet in diameter six feet above the ground ; and there is a well-authenticated case of a man, named Hepburn, having lived in one of these cedars for over a year, while clearing up a farm. The tree was hollow at the ground, the cavity measuring twenty-two feet in the clear and running up to a knot hole about forty feet above. The homesteader laid a fioor in the hollow, seven or eight feet above the ground, and 40 CRUISINGS IK THE CASCADES placed a ladder against the wall by wliicli to go up and down. On the floor he built a stone flreplace, and from it to the knot hole above a stick and clay chimney. He lived ups' airs and kept his horse and cow downstairs. It may be well to explain that he v/as a bachelor, and thus save the reader any anxiety as to how his wife and children liked the situation. The ' ' Sumas Sapling ' ' stands near Sumas Lake, northeast of Seattle. It is a hollow cedar, twenty- three feet in the clear, on the ground, and is esti- mated to be fifteen feet in diameter twenty feet above the ground. I have, in several instances, counted more than a hundred of these mammoth, trees on an acre of land, and am informed that one tract has been cut oflE that yielded over 1,000,000' feet of lumber per acre. In" this case tlie trees stood so close together that many of the stumps had to be dug out, after the trees had been felled, before the logs could be gotten out. The system of logging in vogue here differs widely from that practiced in Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, and elsewhere. No- snow or ice are required here, and, in fact, if snow falls to any considerable depth while crews are in the woods a halt is called until it goes off. Corduroy roads are built into the timber as fast, as required, on which the teams travel, so that it is not necessary that the ground should be even frozen. Skids, twelve to eighteen inches thick, are laid across- these roads, about nine feet apart, and sunk into the ground so as to project about six inches above the surface ; the bark is peeled off the top, they are kept greased, and the logs are " snaked" over them with four to seven yoke of cattle, as may be required^ AXD OTHER IirXTIXG ADTE>'TT-RES. 41 The wealthier opei-ators use steam locomotives and cars, building tracks into the timber as fast and as far as needed. TMs great timber belt is co-extensive with Paget Sonnd, the Straits of Georaia. and the Cascade Mountains. I believe that at the present rate at which lumber is being consumed, there is fir, pine, and cedar enough in AVashington Territory and British Columbia to last the world a thousand vears. :U]^ ^^^2K CHAPTER TV. UGET SOUND is a great inland ))) sea, extending nearly 200 miles from the ocean, having a sur- face of about 2,000 square miles, and a shore line of 1,594 miles, indented with numerous bays, harbors, and inlets, each with its peculiar name ; and it contains numer- ous islands inhabited by farmers, lumbermen, herds- men, and those engaged in quarrying lime and build- ing stone. Nothing can surpass the beauty of these waters and their safety. Not a slioal exists within the Sound, tlje Straits of Juan de Faca, Admiralty Bay, Hood's Canal, or the Straits of Georgia, that would in any way interrupt their navigation by a seventy- four-gun ship. There is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these. The shores of all the inlets and bays are remarkab'ybold, so much so that a ship's side would touch the shore before her keel would touch the ground. The •country by which these waters are surrounded has a remarkably salubrious climate. The region affords every advantage for the accom- modation of a vast commercial and military marine, with conveniences for docks, and there are a great many sites for towns and cities, which at all times would be well supplied with water, and the sur- rounding country, which is well adapted to agricult- ■ m a:s'd othek hcxtixg advextukes. 43 Tire, would supply all the wants of a large population. No part of the world affords finer islands, sounds, or a greater number of harbors than are found within these waters. They are capable of receiving the largest class of vessels, and are without a single hid- den danger. From the rise and faU of the tide (18 feet), every facility is afforded for the erection of works for a great maritime nation. The rivers also furnish hundreds of sites for water-power for manu- facturing purposes. On this Sound are already situ- ated many thriving towns and cities, besides those already mentioned, bidding for the commerce of the world. The flora of the Sound region is varied and inter- esting. A saturated atmosphere, constantly in con- tact with the Coast Range system of ux)heaval, to- gether ^vith the warm temperature, induces a growth of vegetation almost tropical in its luxuriance. On the better soils, the shot-clay hills and uplands, and on the alluvial plains and river bottoms, grow the great trees, already mentioned, and many other species of almost equal beauty, though of no commer- cial value. "The characteristic shrubs are the cornels and the spiraeas, many species. These, mth the low thickets oisalal (GaiiUheria shallon ). Oregon grape (berries), and fern (chiefly pteris, which is the most abundant), and the tangle of the trailing blackberry {Riihus pedatus) make the forests almost impenetrable save where the ax or the wild beast or the wilder fire have left their trails. "The dense shade of the forest gives little oppor- tunity for the growth of the more lowly herbs. AXD OTHER HUXTIXa ADVEXTCRES. 45 Where the fire has opened these shades to the light the almost universal fireweed (epilobiuni) and the lovely brown fire-moss ifvnaria) abound. In swamps and lowlands tlie combustion of decay, almost as quick and effective as fire itself, opens large spaces to the light ; and liere abound chiefly the skunk cabbage of the Pacific coast (?^s«c7hYo» ) and many forms of the lovliest mosses, grown beyond belief save by those who have looked upon their tropical congeners. Hypnums audi Miliums make the great mass which meet the eye : and among the many less obvious foiTus a careful search will reveal many species characteristic of this coast alone. The lower forms of the cryptogams, the Echens and the fungi, abound in gi'eatest profusion as might lie expected. The chief interest in these, in the present state of our knowledge of them, springs from their disposition to invade the more valuable forms of vegetation which follow advancing civilization." I measured one fungus, which I found growing upon the decaying trunk of a mammoth fir, that was thir- teen inches thick and thirty-four inches wide. I have frequently seen mosses growing on rotten logs, in the deep shades of these lonely forests, that were twelve to sixteen inches deep, and others hanging from branches overhead three feet or more in length. There are j)laces in these dense forests where the trees stand so close and their branches are so intertwined that the sun's rays never reach the ground, and have not, perhaps for centuries ; and it is but natural that these shade and moisture loving plants should grow to great size in such places. The fauna of this Territory includes the elk, black- 46 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES tailed deer, Cervus columbianus ; the mule-deer, Cervus macrotus ; the Yirgiiiia deer, Cervus virgin- ianns ; the caribou, the Rocky Mountain goat, Rocky Mountain sheep, the grizzly and black bear. Among the smaller mammals there are the raccoon, the cougar, wild cat, gray wolf, black wolf, prairie wolf or coyote, gray and red fox, fisher, mink, martin, oeaver, otter, sea otter, red squirrel, ermine,, muskrat, sea lion, fur and hair seals, wolverine,, skunk, badger, porciipine, marmot, swamp hare, jack-rabbit, etc. Of birds and wild fowls there is. a long list, among which may be mentioned several varieties of geese and brant, including the rare and toothsome black brant, which in season hovers in black clouds about the sand spits ; the canvas back, red head, blue bill, teal, widgeon, shoveler, and vari- ous other ducks ; ruifed, pinnated,-and blue grouse > various snipes and plovers ; eagles, hawks, owls, woodpeckers, jays, magpies, nuthatches, warblers, sparrows, etc. There are many varieties of game and food fishes in the Sound and its tributaries, in ad- dition to the salmon and trout already mentioned. In short, this whole country is a paradise for the sportsman and the naturalist, whatever the specialty of either. We left Seattle, en route for Victoria, at seven o' clock on a bright, crisp November morning. The air was still, the bay was like a sheet of glass, and only long, low swells were running outside. We had a charming view of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympics to the west, all day. The higher peaks were covered with snow, and the sun- light glinted and shimmered across them in playful. AXD OTHEK HCXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 47 cheery mood. Deep shadows fell athwart dark canons, in whose gloomy depths we felt sure herds of elk and deer were nipping the tender herbage, and along whose raging rivers sundry bears were doubtless breakfasting on salmon straight. Old Mount Baker s majestic head, rising 10,Si >0 feet above lis and only tif ty miles away, was the most prom- inent object iu the gorgeous landscape, and one on which we never tired of gazing. AVe had only to cast our eyes from the grand scene ashore to that at our feet, and vice versa, to — ■ ■ See tbe mountains kiss high heaven. And the waves clasp one another." A large colony of gulls followed the steamer, with ceaseless beat of downy wings, from daylight till dark, and after the lirst hour they seemed to regard us as old friends. They hovered about the deck like winged spirits around a lost child. Strange bird thus to poise with tireless wing over this watery waste day after clayl Xear the route of the vessel one of the poor creatures lay dead, drifting sadly and alone on the cold waves. Mysterious creature. ^vith — " Lack lustre eye, ami idle wing. And smirched breast that skims no more, Hast thou not ^ven a grave Upon tbe dreary shoie, Forlorn, forsaken thing?" Our feathered fellow-passengers greeted us with plaintive cries whenever we stepped out of the cabin, dropping into the water in pursuit of every stray bit of food that was thrown overboard from the cook- room. My wife begged several plates of stale bread. 48 CEUISINGS IN" THE CASCADES from the steward, and, breaking it into small pieces, threw handf uls at a time into the water. Twenty or thirty of the birds would drop in a bunch where the bread fell, and a lively scramble would ensue for the coveted food. The lucky ones would quickly corral it, however, when the whole flight, OITK FEATHERED FELLOW-PASSENGERS. rising again, would follow and soon overtake the vessel. Then they would cluster around their patron, cooing, and coaxing for more of the welcome bounty. I took out my detective camera and made a number of exposures on the gulls, which resulted very satis- factorily. Many of the prints show them sadly out of focus, but this was unavoidable, as I focused at AXD OTHKR ^T7^*TI^'G ADVEXTUEES. 49 twenty feet, and of course all that were nearer or farther away, at the instant of exposure, are not sharp. Many, however, that were on wing at the time of making the exposure, and at the j)roper dis- tance from the lens, are clearly and sharjily cut. These pictures form a most interesting study for artists, anatomists, naturalists, and others, the wings being shown in every position assumed hj the birds in flight. The shutter worked at so high a pressure that only one or two birds in the entire series show any movement at all, and they are but very slightly blurred. When we consider that the steamer, as well as the gulls, was in motion — ^run- ning ten miles an hour — ^trembling ami vibrating from stem to stem, and that, in many cases, the birds were going in an opposite direction from that of the vessel, the results obtained are certainly mar- velous. It may interest some of my readers to know that I used an Anthony detective camera, making a four-by-five-tnch picture, to which is fitted a roll holder, and in all the work done on this trip, I used negative paper. I also obtained, en route, several good views of various islands, and points of interest on the mainland, while the boat was in motion. There are many beautiful scenes in and about the Sound; many charming islands, clothed in evergreen foliage, from whose interiors issue clear, sparkling brooks of fresh water; while the mainland shores rise abruptly, in places, to several hundreds of feet, bearing their burdens of giant trees. There are per- pendicular cut banks on many of the islands and the mainland shores, thirty, forty, or fifty feet high, AXD iiTHEK UrXTIXG ADVEXTCKE--. 51 almost perpendicular, made -o by the hungry waves having eaten away their foundations, and the earth having fallen into the brine, leaving exijo^ed bare walls of -and and gravel. On Whidby Inland, one of the largest in the Sound, there was. up to a few years ago. a herd of wild cattle, to which no one made claim of ownership, and which were, conse- quently, considered legitimate game for anyone who cared to hunt them. They were wary and cun- ning in the extreme. The elk or deer, native and to the manor bom, could not be more so. But. alas, these cattle were not to be the prey of true, consci- entious sportsmen: for the greed of the market htinter and the skin hunter exceeded the natural cunning of the noble animals, and they have been nearly exterminated: only ten or twelve remain, and they will soon have to yield up their lives to the insatiable greed of those infamous butchers. One of the most curious and interesting points in the sound is Deception Pass. This is a narrow chan- nel or passage between two islamls. only fifty yards wide, and about two hundred yards long. On either side rise abrupt and towering columns of basaltic rock, and during both ebb and flow the tide runs through it. between Padilla and Dugalla Bays, with all the wild fury and bewildering speed of the maelstrom. This jiass takes its name from the fact of there being three coves near — on the west coast of Whidby Island — that look so much like Deception that they are often mistaken for it at night or dur- ing foggy weather, even by experienced navigators. AU the skill and care of the Ijest pUots are required to make the pass in safety, and the bravest of them 52 CEUISIiXGS IN THE CASCADES. heave a sigh, of relief when once its beetling cliflEs and seething abysses are far astern. Gulls hover about this weird place, and eagles soar above it at all hours, as if admiring its pristine beauties, yet in superstitious awe of the dark depths. Mount Erie, two miles away, rising to a height of 1,300 feet, casting its deep shadows across the pass and surrounding waters, completes a picture of rare beauty and grandeur. We reached Victoria, that quaint, old, aristocratic, ultra-English town, just as ttie sun was sinking beneath the waves, that rolled restlessly on the surface of Juan de Fuca Strait. We were surprised to see so substantial and well-built a town as this, and one possessing so much of the air of age and inde- pendence, so far north and west. One might readily imagine, from the exterior appearance of the city and its surroundings, that he were in the province of Quebec instead of that of British Columbia. My wife felt that she must not remain longer away from home at present, and we were to part here; there- fore, in the early morning she embarked for home, while I transferred my effects and self to the steamer Princess Louise, bound for Burrard Inlet. CHAPTEB, Y. daylight in the morning we entered English Bay, having crossed the strait during the night. The sun climbed up over the snow- mantled mountains into a cloudless sky. and his rays were reflected from the limpid, tranquil surface of the bay: "Blue, dirkly, deeply, beautifully blue," as if from the face of a mirror. A few mUes to the east, the triple-mouthed Frazer empties its great volume of fresh, cold, glacier^ tinted fluid into the briny inland sea. and its delta, level as a floor, stretches back many miles on either side of the river to the foot-hills of the Cascades. Thousands of ducks sat idly and lazily in the water, sunning themselves, pruning their feathers, and eyeing us curiously but fearlessly, as we passed, sometimes within twenty-five or thirty yards of them. A few o-eese crossed hither and thither, in low, long, dark lines, uttering their familiar honli, lionk; but they were more wary than theu- lesser cousins, and kept well out of range. I asked the purser if there was any rule against shooting on board, and he said no; to go down on the after main deck, and shoot until I was tired. I took my Winchester express from the case, went below and opened on the dncks. They at once found (53) 54 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES it necessary to get out of the country, and their motion, and that of the vessel combined, caused me to score several close misses, but I finally found the bull' s-eye, so to speak, and killed three in rapid suc- cession. Then the mate came down and said: "We don't allow no one to be firin' off guns on board." '•I have the purser's permission," I said. "Well," he replied, "the captain's better author- ity than the purser on this here boat," whereupon he returned to the cabin deck, and so did I. I was not seriously disappointed, however, for I cai'ed little for the duck shooting; I was in quest of la.rger game, and only wanted to practice a little, to renew acquaintance and familiarity with my weapon. Early in the day we entered Burrard Inlet, a narrow, crooked, and peculiarly shaped arm of the salt water, that winds and threads its way many miles back into the mountains, so narrow in places, -that a boy may cast a stone across it, and yet so deep as to be navigable for the largest ocean steamship. The inlet is so narrow and crooked that a stranger, sailing into it for the first time, would pronounce it a great river coming down from the mountains. Through this picturesque body of water our good boat cleft the shadows of the overhanging mountains until nearly noon, when we landed at Vancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In consequence of this important selection, the place is a busy mart of trade. The clang of saw and hammer, the rattle of wheels, the general din of a building boom, are such as to tire one's nerves in a few hours. Later in the day we reached Port Moody. This town was origi- AXD OTHER HIXTrSG ADVEXTURE^ OJ Bally designated as tlie tide-\rater terminus of the road, and liad irs brief era of prosperity and specu- lation in consequence; but now that the plan has been changed it has been reduced to a mere way starion, and has relapsed into the dullest kind of dullness. From here I staged across the divide to Xew WestminsTer, on the Frazer river, the home of ^Mr. J. C. Hughs, who had invited me there to hunt Rocky ^Mountain goats with him. I «as grieved beyond measure, however, to learn on my arrival that lie was dangerously ill, and went at once to liis house, but he was unable Xo 'D OTHER HUXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 81 one great old dead fir — one that has flourished in this rich soil and di-awn sustenance from the moist, ozone-laden atmosphere of these mountains for hun- dreds of years, liut has lived out his time and is now going the way of all things earthly — forms the sub- ject of one of the l)est and most interesting pictures of the whole series. The tops of several other trees — birch, maple, etc., that stood near the fir — are also shown in the picture. It can best be seen and appre- ciated by holding it above your head, looking up at it, and imagining yourself there in the forest, look- ing up through the tops of the giant trees into the blue ethereal dome of heaven. CHAPTER IX. ^N tlie morniDg I got tip early to look for Doug- lass Bill, thinking and hoping he might have landed during the night, but no one had seen him and there was no strange canoe in the harbor. After breakfast, in order to kill time, I climbed the mountain east of the hotel to a height of about a thousand feet. It is heavily- timbered, and I found plenty of fresh deer-signs within plain sound of the hammers wielded by the carpenters at work on the hotel, but failed to get a shot. I returned at' eleven o'clock, but Bill had not yet shown up. Three other Indians were there, however, with three deer in their canoe, which they had killed on the opposite side of the lake the day before. I now concluded that Mr. Major's confidence in Bill was misplaced ; that he was not going to keep his contract, and was, in short, as treacherous, as unre- liable, and as consummate a liar as other Indians ; so I entered into negotiations with these three Indi- ans to get one or two of them to go with me. But they had planned a trip to New Westminster, to sell their venison, and I could not induce any one of them to go, though I offered big wages, and a premium on each head of game I might kill, besides. They said that if I wished they would take me to their village — (83) • AXD OTHER HUNTIXG ADVEXTURES. S3 which is five miles down the river — and that there were several good goat hunters there whom I could get. I accepted their offer of transportation, stepped into the canoe, and we pulled out. As we entered the shoal water in the river I asked for a pole, and impelled by it and the three paddles we sped down the stream at a rapid rate. There was a cold, disagreeable rain falling and a chUly north wind blowing. This storm had brought clouds of ducks into the river, among them several flocks of canvas backs. The Indians, who were using smooth-bore niuskets, killed several of these tooth- some fowls. One flock rose ahead of us and started directly down the river, but by some kind of native intuition the Indians seemed to know that they would come back up the opposite shore. They dropped their gans, caught up the paddles and plied them with siich force that every stroke fairly lifted the light cedar canoe out of the water, and we shot across the river with the speed of a deer. Sure enough, after flying a hundred yards down stream the ducks turned and, hugging the shore, undertook to pass up the river on the other side, but we cut them off, so that they had to pass over our heads. At this juncture the two muskets carried by the two young men cracked and three canvas backs dropped, limp and lifeless, into the water within a few feet of us. We arrived at the hut occupied by this family at noon. It stands on the bank of the river, half a mile above the village of Chehalis, and as we pulled up, two old and two young squaws and nine small Indi- ans, some of them mere papooses in arms (but not 84 CRTJISINGS IN THE CASCADES in long clothes — in fact, not in any clothes worth men- tioning), came swarming out to nleet us. Their abode was a shanty about twelve feet square, made by set- ting four corner posts into the ground, nailing cross- ribs on, and over these clapboards riven from the native cedars, and the roof was of the same material. The adult members of this social alliance had been engaged in catching and drying salmon during the recent run; the heads, entrails and backbones of which had been dumped into the river at their very door. There being no current near the shore tliey had sunk in barely enough water to cover them, and lay there rotting and pointing the water used by the family for drinking and cooking. Cart-loads of this offal were also lying about the dooryard, and had been trampled into and mixed up with the mud until the whole outfit stunk like a tanyard. Witbin was a picture of filth and squalor that beggars description. The floor of the hut was of mother earth. A couple of logs with two clapboards laid across them formed the only seats. On one side was a pile of brush, hay, and dirty, filthy blankets, indiscrimiaately mixed, on which the entire three families slept, presumably in the same f as b ion . Near the centre of the hut a small fire struggled for exist- ence, and that portion of the smoke that was not absorbed by the people, the drying fish and other objects in the room, escaped through a hole in the centre of the roof. The children, barefooted and half - nakedi came in out of the rain, mud, and fish carrion, in which they liad been tramping about, and sat or lay on the ground about the fire, looking as happy as a litter of pigs in a mud hole. On poles, attached AXD OTHEK IIUXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 85 by cedar withes to the rafters, weie hung several hundi'ed salmon, absorbing smoke, carbonic acid gas from tbe lungs of the human beings beneath, and steam from the cooking that was going on. It is understood that after this process has been prolonged for some weeks these once noble fishes ^vill be fit for the winter food of the Siwash. Some of the houses in Chehalis are neat frame cottages ; in fact, it is a better-built town, on the whole, than the village of Harrison River already described ; but these better houses all stand back about a quarter of a mile from the river, and the inhabitants have left them and gone into the ' ' fish- houses," the clapboard structures, on the immediate river bank. Some of these shanties are much larger than the one mentioned above, and in some cases four, five, or even six families hole up in one of these filthy dens during the fish-curing season. As a matter of fact, there are salmon of one variety or another in these larger rivers nearly aU the year, but sometimes the weather is too cold, too wet, or otherwise too disagreable in winter for the noble red man to fish with comfort, and hence all these prep- arations for a rainy day. After the fishes are cured they are hung up in big out-houses set on posts, or in some cases built high up in the branches of trees, in order to be entirely out of the reach of lats, minks, or other vermin, and the members of the commune draw from the stock at will. The coast Indians live almost wholly on fish, and seem perfectly happy without flesh, vegetables, or bread, if such be not at hand, though they can eat plenty of all these when set before them. If one of them kills a deer he sel- 86 CEUrSINGS IN THE CASCADES dom or never eats more of it than the liver, heart, lungs, etc. He sells the carcass, if within a three days' voyage of a white man who will buy venison. One of the young men already mentioned went with SALMON BOXES IN TREES. me down to one of the big fish-houses and called out Pean, a man about fifty years of age, who he said was a good goat hunter and a good guide. They held a hurried conversation in their native tongue, at the AXD OTHER HUJfTIXG ADVEXTCRES. 87 close of whicli the young man said Pean wonld go with, me for two dollars a day. I asked Pean if he could talk English, and he said "yes," but this proved, in after experience, to be about tbe only English word he could speak. He rushed into the hut, and in about three or four minutes returned with . his gun, powder-horn, bullet-pouch, pipe, and a small roll of blankets, and was ready for a journey into the mountains of, he knew not how many days. His canoe was on the river bank near us, and as we were stepping into it I asked him a few questions which he tried to answer in English, but made a poor stagger at it, and slid off into Chi- nook. Just then another old Indian came up with a canoe-load of wood. I asked him if he could speak English — "wah-wahKing George"; and he said "Yes." I then told him I had hired this other man to go hunting \\ith me and asked him if he knew him. "Oh, yes," he said; "me chief here. AUdese house my house. AU dese people my people. No other chief here." I said I was delighted to know him, shook hands with hitn, gave him a cigar, and inquired his name. " Captain George," he said; "me chief here." " Is he a good hunter ;" pointing to Pean. ' ' Yes, Pean good hunter ; good man . He kill plenty sheep, deer, bear. ' ' With this additional certificate of efficiency and good character I felt more confidence in Pean, and stepping into the canoe was once more en route to the mountains. 88 CKUISINGS IN THE CASCADES Still, I felt some misgivings, for my past experience with the fish eaters had taught me not to place implicit faith in their statements or pretensions, and the sequel will show how well grounded these fears were. ^'m^^ CHAPTER X. HE Flathead nation, to wliiik nearly all the Puget Souml Indians belong, may almost be termed amphibians; for Though they can, and do iu some cases, live inland ex- clusively, they are never happy when away from the water. They are ranoeists by birtli and education. A coast Indian is as helpless and miserable with- out a canoe as a plains Indian without a horse, and the Siwash (Chinook forecast Indian) is as expert in the use of the canoe as the Sioux, Crow, or Arapahoe intheuseandcontrolof hiscayuse. Almost the sole means of travel, of intercommunication among these people, and between themselves and the whites, is the canoe. There are very few horses owned in any of the coast tribes, and these are rarely ridden. A^"hen a Siwash attempts to ride a horse he climbs onto it kicking and grunting with the effort, much as an Alabama negro mounts his mule, and sits him about as gracefully. But let the Siwash step into his canoe, and he fears no rapid, whirlpool, nor stormy billow. He faces the most perilous water and sends IS9) 90 CEUISINGS IN THE CASCADES f^- I o o as m Q % AXD OTHER HTXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 91 Ms frail cedar sliell into it with a skill and a conscious- ness of mastery that would put to tbe blush any of the prize winners in our Eastern canoe-club regattas. The canoes are models of nautical architecture. They are cut and carved from the cedar trees which bounteous Nature, in wise provision for the wants of Her children, has caused to grow so plentifully and to such prodigious size in the Sotmd country. They are of various sizes and lengths, owing to the uses for which they are intended. If for spearing sal- mon or for light traveling, they are cut from a tree twenty to twenty -four inches in diameter, and are not more than twelve to fifteen feet long. If for attending nets and bringing in the catch, they are generally longer, and if for freighting and long-dis- tance traveling, they are of immense size and capable of carrying great burdens. A tree of the size wanted is selected, perfectly sound and free from knots, and a log of the desired length cut off. The log is hol- lowed, carved out to the desired shape, then, trimmed and tapered outside until it is a mere shell, scarcely more than an inch thick anywhere. It is then filled with water, a fire is built near in which rocks are heated and thrown into the canoe until the water boils. This is continued until the wood is thoroughly cooked and softened, when the water is turned out, the canoe is spread at the centre, braced out to nearly twice its natural width or diameter, and left to dry. This gives it ' ' sheer ' ' and enables it to ride a heavy sea like a lifeboat. Handsomely carved figureheads are attached to some of the large canoes, and the entire craft is painted, striped, and decorated in gay colors. I 92 CRUISIWGS EST THE CASCADES measured one of these cedar canoes that was thirty- four feet long and five and a half feet beam, and was told by its owner that he had carried in it four tons of freight on one trip, and two cords of green wood on another. It would carry fifty men comfortably and safely. There are not many of the Indians that can make the larger and better grade of canoes, and the trade is one that but few master. There is one famous old canoe builder near Van- couver, to whom Indians go from distances of a hundred miles or more when they want an extra fine, large, light canoe. For some specimens of his handiwork he gets as high as $80 to $100. The In- dians throughout Washington Territory and British Columbia do considerable freighting for whites, on streams not navigable for steamers, and they take freight u]j over some of the rapids where no white man could run an empty canoe. Some of these Platheads are industrious and are employed by the whites in salmon canneries, lum- bering and logging operations, farming, etc. Steam- boat men employ them almost exclusively for deck hands, and they make the best on.es to be had in the country; better than either whites or Chinamen. They are excellent packers by education. In this densely-timbered country horses can not, as a rule, be used for packing, and the Indians, in going across country where there is no watercourse, pack all their plunder on their backs. Whites traveling in the woods also depend on Indians to pack their lug- gage; consequently it is not strange that the latter become experts at the business, and it is this schooling that makes them valuable as deck hands. AXD OTHER irU.VTIXG ADVEXTURES. 93 They are not large men, but are tough., sinewy, and miTscular. An average Shvash will pick up a barrel of flour or pork, a case of dry goods, or other heavy freight weighing three hundred pounds or more, roU it onto his back, and walk up a gang-plank or a steep river-bank as easUy as a white man would with a bariel of crackers. No work is too dirty or too hard for them. They are obedient to orders and submissive to discipline, but their weak point, like that of aU Indians, is their inordinate love of whisky. Quite frequently, after working a few weeks or months, they quit and go on a drunken debauch that ends only when their money is gone. Their dress is much the same, in general, as that of the whites in this region, with the exception that the Indians wear moccasins when hunting. This footgear is little in favor here with white hunters, o^ving to there being so much rain- fall, and so much wading to do. Rubber boots are indispensable for hunting in most seasons, and a rub- ber coat should also l^e included in every hunter' s outfit. I found the Hannaford ventilated rubber boot the most comfortable and perfect footgear I have ever worn. You can scarcely walk a mUe in any direction in this country at any time of year, on mountains or lowlands, without encountering water, iloccasins soon become soaked, and are then the most uncomf ortalile things imaginable. I asked one of my guides why he did not wear rubber boots instead of moccasins, and he replied: " O, I dunno. De moxicans cheaper, mebbe. I mek him myself. Can't mek de boots." This is about the only use the Indians make of 94 CRUISINGS IW THE CASCADES buckskin. It is not popular with them as a material for clothing, on account of the vast amount of rainy weather. It has been said they make cloth from the wool of the goat, but, so far as I could learn, they make very little, if any of it, of late years. I saw some blankets that Indians had woven from this Wool, but they were very coarse. They have no machinery for spinning; the yarn is merely twisted by hand, and is so coarse and loose that it would not hold together a week if made into a garment and worn in the woods. Of course, a fair article of yarn, and even cloth, may be, and has been, made entirely by hand, but these people have neither the skill, the taste, nor the industry to enable them to do such work. A coarse hair grows with the wool on the goat, and the squaws do not even take the trouble to separate it, but work both up together, making a very uncouth-looking fabric, even if thick, warm, and serviceable. As a class, these Indians appear to be strictly honest, toward each other at least. They leave their canoes, guns, game, or in fact, any kind of property, anywhere they choose, without the slightest effort at concealment, and always feel perfectly sure of find- ing it on their return. About the only case of pilfer- ing I ever heard of while among them (and I took special pains to investigate) was when John asked me for some fish-hooks, and said in expla- nation: " I had plenty hooks, but I reckon Seemo he steal aU my hooks." "Why, does Seymour steal?" I inquired. He AND OTHER HUNTING ADVENTURES. 95 looked all around to see it Seymour was witMn hear- ing, and not seeing Mm, replied: "You bet. He steal my liooks, too." A SIWASH ASH HIS MORNING'S CATCH. 96 CRUISIJSTGS IjS" the CASCADES ^V-Vf !&■"■■ ■a^'wr Tlf^K'^mtiifiifSWSKW'iSSESW?'"^--^ AN INDIAN SALMON FISHERY. CHAPTER XI. mountain. HAD left raj bedding at the Hot Springs Hotel, and returning to get it staid there all night. Earlj next inorning (Friday, November 12) we crossed Harrison Lake, in a drenching lain, to the foot of a high mountain, about two miles from the springs, on which Pean, Captain (leorge, and other Indians said there were plenty of goats. We beached our canoe, and made up packs for the climb up the The outfit consisted of our guns, my sleeping-bag, Pean's gun and blankets, a few sea biscuits, a piece of bacon, and some salt. My sleeping-bag was wrapped up in a piece of canvas, and when I handed it to Pean, he commenced to unroll it to put his blankets in with it, but I objected. Visions of the insects with Avhich I knew his bedding was inhabited rose up before me. I thought of the rotary drill, key-hole saw, and suction pump with which they are said to be armed, and I did not want any of them in my bag. So I unrolled the canvas only a part of its length, laid his blankets in and rolled it up again, hoping the remain- ing folds might prevent the vermin from finding their way in, and my reckoning proved correct. One of his blankets had been white in its day, but had long since lost its grip on that color, and was 7 (97) 98 CEUISII^GS IK THE CASCADES now about as pronounced a brunette as its owner. The other blanket was gray, but even through this sombre shade, as well as through the rank odor it emitted, gave evidence that it had not been washed for many years. Pean brought with him a cotton bedspread that had also once been . vi^hite, but left this vs^ith the canoe. In my pack I carried the grub, and an extra coat for use on the mountain, where we expected to encounter colder weather. We started up the mountain at ten o'clock in the forenoon. For the first two miles we skirted its base to the eastward, through dense timber, crossing several deep, dark jungles and swamps. Then we began the ascent proper, and as soon as we got up a few hundred feet on the mountain side, we found niimerous fresh deer-signs. We halted to rest, when Pean took from its case his gun, which up to this time he had kept covered, and which I naturally supposed to be a good, modern weapon. It proved, however, an old smooth bore, muzzle-loading, percussion-lock musket, of .65 calibre, with a barrel about fifty inches long. He drew out the wiping stick, on the end of which was a wormer, j)ulled a wad of paper from the gun and poured a charge of shot out into his hand. This he put care- fully into his shot-bag. Then he took from another pouch a No. 1 buckshot, and dropped it into the muzzle of his musket. It rolled down onto the powder, when he again inserted the bunch of paper, rammed it home with the rod, put on a cap, and was loaded for bear, deer, or whatever else he might encounter. He then replaced the musket in its seal- AXD OTHER HUNTIXG ADVEXTURES. 99 skin cover as carefully as if it had been a !p300 breech-loader. Nearly all these Indians use just such old mus- kets, bought from the Hudson Bay Company, and yet they keep them in covers made of the skin of tlie seal, which tliey kill in the rivers hereabout, or of deer or other animals. They take excellent care of their guns in this respect, but I have never seen one of them clean or oil his weapon, and several of them told me they seldom do so. iMy Winchester express, witli fancy stock, Lyman sight, etc., was a curiosity to them. None of them had ever seen anything like it, and one of them asked me Avhat kind of a rifle it was. When told it was a Winchester, he said: "I didn't know Winchester so big like dat. Didn't know he had stock like dat." lie had only seen the little .44 Winchester, with a plain stock, and innocentlj' supposed it was the only kind made. Pean and I had a hard day's work toiling up the mountain through fallen timber, over and around great ledges of jutting rock, across deep, rugged canons and gulches, and through dense jungles of underbrush. About two o'clock in the afternoon we halted, lay down for a rest, and had been there but a few minutes when I heard the sharp, familiar chatter of tlie little pine squirrel. I looked around quickly, expecting to see one within a few feet of me, but instead saw Pean lying closfe to the ground, beckoning to me and pointing excitedly up the game trail in which we had been walking. Looking through the thick, intervening brush, I saw two 100 CEUISINGS IN THE CASCADES deer, a buck and a doe, looking toward us. They had not seen nor scented us, but had merely heard the chatter of the little squirrel, as they supposed, and, though apparently as completely deceived by it as I had been, they had stopped to listen, as they do at almost every sound they hear in the woods. But there was no squirrel there. Pean had taken this method of calling my attention, and had imitated the cry of the familiar little cone-eater so perfectly that even the deer had been deceived by it. I cautiously and slowly drew my rifle to my shoulder, and taking aim at the breast of the biick, fired. Both deer bounded away into thicker brush, and were out of sight in an instant. Pean sprang after them, .and in a few minutes I heard the dull, muffled report of his musket. He shouted to me, and going to him I found the buck dead and the Indian engaged in butchering it. My bullet had gone a little farther to the left than I intended, breaking its shoulder, and had passed out through the ribs on the same side. The deer had fallen after going but a few yards, but was not quite dead when Pean came up and shot it through the head. We took out the entrails, cut a choice roast of the meat for our supper and breakfast, and hurried on our way. We camped at four o' clock on a small bench of the mountain, and you may rest assured, gentle reader, that our conversation in front of the camp fire that night -jvas novel. Pean, you will remember, could not speak half a dozen words of English. He spoke entirely in Chinook, and I knew but a few words of that jargon. I had a Chinook dictionary AND OTHER HUXTIXa ADVENTURES. 101 with me, however, and by its aid was able to pick out the few words necessary in Avhat little talking I had to do, and to translate enough of Pean' s answers to my questions to get along fairly well. The great trouble Mith him seemed to be that he was wound up to talk, and whenever I made a remark or asked a question in his adopted language he turned loose, and talked until I shut iiim off with ' ' Halo kum- tucks" (I don't understand). No matter how often I repeated this he seemed soon to forget it, and would open on me again Avhenever he got a cue. He was a fluent talker, and if I had only been well up in the jargon, 1 could ha'^'e got lots of pointers from him. The deer of this region is the true black-tail {Czr- vus columbianus), not the mule-deer {Cervus ma- crotis), that is so often miscalled the black-tail. The black- tail is smaller than the mule-deer, and its ears, though not so large as those of the latter, are larger than those of the "\'irginia deer {Cervus vir- gin/anus). Its tail is white underneath, dark out- side, shading to black at the lower end, and while longer than that of the mule-deer, is not so long as that of the Virainia deer. CHAPTER XII. , III2\ OOK IS a queer Jargon. It is said to have been manufactured many years ago by an employe of the Hud- sfin Bay Fur Company, who taught the principal chiefs of various Indian tribes to speak it in order to facilitate traffic with them. From that time it has grown and spread until almost every Indian of the North Pacific Coast, and many inland tribes of Washington, British Columbia, and Oregon speak it. White men of all nations who live in this country speak it, and even the almond-eyed China- man learns it soon after locating here. In short, it is the court language of the Northwest, as the sign language is of the plains. It is made up from vari- ous Indian tongues, with a few English, or rather pigeon-English, French, and Spanish words inter- mixed. There are only about 1,500 words in the language and it is very easy to learn. Of course, it is woefully lacking in strength and beauty. You will often want to say something that can not be said in Chinook, because there are no words in that jargon with which to say it. But it is made to answer the purposes of trade, travel, and barter, in common forms. For instance: "Kah-tah si-ah ko-pa Frazer chuckf' would be, " How far is it to the Frazer river?" "Yutes kut klat-a-wa la-pe-a," "Only a short (102) AND OTHER IIlTN^TIjSTG ADVENTURES. 103 walk." If you wisli to say good-morning or good- evening to an Indian you say: . "Kla-how-ya, six." " Chali-co yah-wa " is " Gome here." "Mi-ka tik-eh mam-ook?" "Do you want to worlif ' ' ' Ik-ta mi-ka mam-ook T ' "At what?' ' '' Mam-ook stick." "Cut some wood." ' ' JSTa-wit-ka. " " Certainly. ' ' " Kon-si dat-la spose mi-ka mam-ook kon-a-way o-koke stick?" "What do you want for cutting that lot of wood?" "Iktdolla." "One dollar." The numerals are ikt (one), mox (two), klone (three), lock-it (four), kwin-num (live), tagh-kum (six), sin-na mox (seven), sto te-kin (eight), twaist (nine), tah-tlum (ten), tah-tlum pee-ikt (eleven), tah- tlum pee-mox (twelve), mox-tah tlum (twenty), klone tah-tlum (thirty), ikt tah-kamo-nux (one hundred), tah-tlum to-ka mo-mik (one thousand), etc. It is often difficult to get accurate information from these Indians as to distances or time, as they have little idea of English miles or of the measure- ments of time, and very few of them own or know how to read a watch or clock. Under Pean's tutelage I learned rapidly, and was soon able to carry on quite an interesting conversation by the aid of the little dictionary. By the light of a rousing camp-fire I cut a large quantity of cedar boughs and made for myself a bed a foot deep. On this I spread my sleeping-bag, crawled into it and slept the sleep of the weary hun- ter. Pean cut only a handful of boughs, spread 104 CEUISINGS IN THE CASCADES them near the fire, threw his coat over them, and lay down. Then he folded his two blankets and spread them over him, mostly on the side away from the fire, leaving that part of his body next to tlie fire exposed so as to catch its heat direct. During the night, whenever he turned over, he would shift his blankets so as to keep them where most needed. At frequent intervals he would get up and replenish the fire from the large supply of dry wood we had provided. The night was bitter cold, at this high altitude, and snow fell at frequent intervals. A raw wind blew, and the old man must have suffered from the cold to which he exposed himself. There are few of these savages that understand and appreciate fully the value of a good bed when camping. In fact, many white hunters and mount- aineers go on long camping trips with insufiicient bedding, simply because they are too lazy to carry enough to keep them comfortable. I would rather get into a good warm, soft bed at night without my supper, than eat a feast and then sleep on the hard ground, without covering enough to keep me warm. After a hard day's work a good bed is absolutely necessary to prepare one for the labor and fatigue of the following day. " In bed we laugh, in hei v;e cry, And born in bed, in bed we die; The near approacli, a bed may show. Of human bliss to human woe.'' Any ablebodied man may endure a few nights of cold, comfortless sleep, but it will tell on him sooner or later; while if he slee^ comfortably and eat AND OTHER IIUXTIXG ADVEXTt'KES. 105 heartily, he may endure an incredible amount of labor and hardship of other kinds. You may tramp all day with your feet wet. and aU your clothing wet, if need be, but be sure you crawl into a good, warm, dry bed at night. Old Pean complained of feeling unwell during the evening, and in the morning when we got up said he was sick. I prepared a good breakfast, but he could not, or at least wou'.d not, eat. Then he told me that he had once fallen down a mountain: that his breast -bone had been crushed in liy striking on a sharp rock, and that it always hurt him since when doing any hard work. He said the climl > up the mountain with the pack was too hard for him and he was played out. that he could go no farther. Here was another laitter disappointment, as we were yet two miles from the top of the mountain, and in going that distance a perpendicular ascent of from 2,0(»0 to 3,000 feet must be made. I deliberated, therefore, as to whether I should go up the mount- ain alone and let Pean go back, but decided it would be useless. I could not carry more load than my sleeping-bag, gun, etc., and therefore could bring no game down with me if I killed it, not even a head or skin. Beside, if he went back he would take his canoe, and I would be left with no means of crossing the lake. So the only thing to be done was to pack up and retrace our steps. On our way down we stopped and took the head and skin off of the deer killed the day before, and I carried them to the canoe. Arriving at the lake, we pulled again for Chehalis in a cold, disagreeable rain. I stopped 106 CKUISIKGS IN THE CASCADES. at the hot springs on my way down, and took my leave of my host, Mr. Brown, who had been so kind to me, and who regretted my ill luck almost as much as I did. ^ CHAPTER XIII. J HN our return to Cliehalis — that town of W imsavory odors and salmon-drying, ^ salmon-smoking Siwaslies — I at once 5- employed two other Indians, named John and Seymour, and, on the following day we started up Ski-ik-kul Creek, to a lake of the same name, in which it heads ten miles back in the mountains. The Indians claimed that goats, or sheep, as they call them, were plentiful on the cliffs surrounding this lake, and that we could kill plenty of them from a raft while floating up a)id down along the shores. Seymour claimed to have killed twenty-three in March last, just after the winter snows had gone off, and a party of seven Siwashes from Chehalis had killed ten about two weeks pre- vious to the date of my visit. Such glowing accounts as these built up my hopes again to such a height as to banish from my mind all recollection of the bitter disappointment in which the former expedition had ended, and, although the rain continued to fall heavily at short intervals, so that the underbrush reeked with dampness and drenching showers fell from every bitsh we touched, I trudged cheerily along regardless of all discom- forts. The first two miles up the creek, we had a good, open trail, but at the end of this we climbed a steep, (107) 108 CEUISIN-GS IK THE CASCADES rocky bluff, about 600 feet high, and made the greater portion of the remaining distance at an average of about this height above the stream. There was a blind Indian trail all the way to the lake, but it led over the roughest, most tortuous, outlandish country that ever any fool of a goat hunter attempted to traverse. There are marshes and morasses away up among these mountains, where alders and water beeches, manzanitas, and other shrubs grow so thick that their branches intertwine to nearly their full length. Many of these have fallen down in various directions, and their trunks are as inextricably mixed as their branches, forming altogether a labyrinthine mass, through which it was with the utmost difficulty we could walk at all. There were numberless little creeks coming down from the mountain into the main stream, and each had in time cut its deep, narrow gulch, or canon, lined on both sides with rough, shapeless masses of rock, and all these we were obliged to cross. In many cases, they were so close together that only a sharp hog-back lay between them, and we merely climbed out of one gulch 300 or 400 feet deep, to go at once down into another still deeper, and so on. Fire had run through a large tract of this country, killing out all the large timber, and many trees have since rotted away and fallen, while the blackened and barkless trunks of others, with here and there a craggy limb, still stand as mute monuments to the glory of the forest before the dread element laid it waste. We camped that night at the base of one of these great dead firs around which lay a cord or more AXD OTHER IIL'XTIXG ADVEXTURES. 109 of old dry bark that had fallen from it, and which, with a few dry logs we gathered, furnished fuel for a rousing, aU-night fire. Within a few feet of our camp, a clear, ice-cold little rivulet threaded its ser- pentine way down among rocks and ferns, and made sweet music to lull us to sleep. After supper, I made for myself the usual bed of mountain feathers (cedar boughs), on which to spread my sleeping-bag. This old companion of so many rough jaunts, over plains and mountains, has become as necessary a part of my outfit for such voyages as my rifie. \Vliether it journey by day, on the hurricane deck of a male, in th3 hatchway of a canoe, on my slioulder blades or those of a Siwash. it always rounds up at night to liouse me against tlie bleak wind, the driv- ing snow, or pouring rain. I have learned to prize it so highly that I can appreciate the sentiments of the fallen monarch, Xapoleon, on the lonely island of St. Helena, when he wrote: •'The bed has Ijecome a place of luxury tome. I would not exchange it for all the thrones in the world ■' These Indians, like Pean, and, in fact, all others who have seen the bag, aie greatly interested in it. They had never seen anything like it, and watched with undisguised interest the unfolding and prepar- ing of the article, and when I had crawled into it, and stowed myself snugly away, they looked at each other, grunted and uttered a few of their peculiar guttural sounds, which I imagined would be, if translated: ' ' Well, I' 11 be doggoned if that ain" t about the sleekest trick I ever saw. Eh;"' 110 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES " You bet it's nice to sleep in, but heavy to carry." By the way, some of my readers may never have seen one of these valuable camp appendages, and a description of itmay interest them. The outer bagis made of heavy, brown, waterproof canvas, six feet long, three feet wide in the centre, tapered to two I i Tv\ DIAGfUAM OF SLEEPING-BAG. feet at the head and sixteen inches at the foot. Above the head of the bag proper, flaps project a foot farther, with which the occupant's head may be completely covered, if desired. These are provided with buttons and button-holes> so that they may be buttoned clear across, for stormy or very cold weather. The bag is left open, from the head down one edge, two feet, and a flap is provided to lap over AXD OTHER IirXTIXa ADVEXTUKES. Ill this opening. Bnttons are sewed on the liag, and there are button-holes in the flaps so it may also be buttoned up tightly. Inside of this .canras bag is another of the same size and shape, less the head flaps. This is made of lamb skin ^^ith the wool on, and is lined with ordinary sheeting, to keep the wool from coming in direct contact mth the per- son or clothing. One or more i)airs of blankets may be folded and inserted in this, as may be necessary, for any temperature in which it is to be used. If the Aveather be warm, so that not aU this cover- ing is needed over the sleeper, he may shift it to suit the weather and his taste, crawling in on top of as much of it as he may wish, and the less he has over him the more he will have under him, and the softer will be his bed. Beside being waterproof , the canvas is ■windproof , and one can button himself up in this house, leaving only an air-hole at the end of Ms nose, and sleep as soundly, and almost as com- fortably in a snowdrift on the prairie as in a tent or house. In short, he may be absoltitely at home, and comfortable, AA'herever night flnds him, and no matter what horrid nightmares he may have, he can not roll out of bed or kick off the covers. Xor will he catch a draft of cold air along the north edge of his spine every time he turns over, as he is liable to do when sleeping in blankets. Xor will his feet crawl out from under the cover and catch chilblains, as they are liable to do in the old- fashioned way. In fact, this sleeping-bag is one of the greatest luxuries I ever took into camp, and if iiy CIIUISINGS IN THE CASCADES. any brother sportsman who may read this wants one, and can not find an architect in his neighborhood capable of building one, let him communicate with me and I will tell him where mine was made. CHAPTER XIY after the Indians went to sleep I lay there, into the fire and thinking. Many and varied were the fancies that chased each other through my restless brain — some pleasant, some unpleasant. I pondered on the novelty, even the danger, of my situation. I was away up there in that wild, trackless, mountain wilderness, alone, so far as any congenial com- panionship was concerned. Yes, I was worse than alone, for the moment I might close my eyes and sleep I would be at the mercy of these two reckless red men. True, they are not of a courageous, war- like race, but what might they not do for the sake of plunder i They could crush my skull at a blow and conceal my body beyond all possibility of discovery; or they could leave it and, saying I had killed my- self by a fall, reveal its resting place to anyone who might care to go in search of me. I had some prop- erty with me, especially my rifle, sleeping-bag, and a small sum of money, that I knew they coveted, and I reflected that they might already have concocted some foul scheme for disposing of me and getting possession of my effects. 8 ' (113) 114 ORUISINGS IN THE CASCADES In their native tongue of strange, weird gutturals, hisses, and aspirations, they had conversed all the evening of— I knew not what. John had rather an honest, frank face, that I thought bespoke a good heart, but Seymour had a dark, repulsiver countenance that plainly indicated a treacherous, nature. From the first I had made up my mind that he was a thief, if nothing worse. He pre- tended not to be able to speak or understand Eng- lish, although I knew he could. John spoke our tongue fairly, and through him all communication with either or both was held. Should they contem- plate any violence I would welcome them both to an encounter, if only I could have notice of it a second in advance. Their two old smooth-bore muskets would cut no figure against the deadly stream of fire that my Winchester express could pour forth. But I dreaded the treachery, the stealth, the silent mid- night assault that is a characteristic of their race. Yet, on further consideration, I dismissed all such forebodings as purely chimerical. These were civil- ized Indians, living within the sound of the whistle of a railroad engine, and would hardly be willing to place themselves within the toils of the law, by the commission of such a crime, even if they had the courage or the desire to do it, and I hoped they had neither. Then my fancies turned to the contemplation of pleasanter themes. I thought of the dear little- black-eyed woman, whom I had parted with on board the steamer nearly a week ago. She is homeward- bound and must now be speeding over the Dakota or Minnesota prairies, well on toward St. Paul. Will A^'D OTHER HCXTIXG ADVE>'TUKES. 115 she reach home in safety ( God grant it— and that in due time I may be permitted to join her there. Then other familiar images passed and repassed my mental ken. The kind acts of dear friends, the hospitalities shown me by strangers and passing acquaintances in distant lands and in years long agone came trooping through my memory, and a feel- ing of gratitude for those kindnesses supplanted for the time that of solitude. Gradually and sweetly I sank into a profound slumber and all was stillness and oblivion. Several hours, perhaps, have passed, and I am thirsty. I get up and start to the little brook for water ; to reach it a log, lying across a deep fissure in the rocks, must be scaled. "With no thought of danger I essay the task by the dying fire's uncer- tain light and that of the twinkling stars. I have not counted on the heavy covering of frost that has been deposited on the log since dark, and stepping out upon the barkless part of the trunk, lay mocca- sins slip, and with a shriek and a wild but unsuccess- ful grasp at an overhanging limb I fall twenty feet and land on the mass of broken and jagged granite beneath ! The Indians, alarmed by my cries, spring to my relief, carry me to the fire, give me stimulants, bind up my broken arm, and do all in their power to alleviate my sufferings. They are not the crafty villains and assassins that my fancy had painted. They are kind, sympathetic friends. I realize that my right coUar-bone and three ribs on the same side are broken, and when I remem- ber where I am, the deplorableness and utter help- lessness of my condition appal me. 116 CEtrisiKGS iin' the cascades The long hours until daylight drag slowly by, and at last, as the sun tips the distant mountain tops with golden light, we start on our perilous and painful journey to the Indian village and to the steamboat landing. The two red men have rigged a litter from poles and blankets, on which they carry me safely to their homes, and thence in a canoe to the landing EN ROUTE TO THE INDIAU VILLAGE. below. How the long, tedious journey thence, by steamer and rail, to my own home is accomplished ; how the weary days and nights of suffering and delirium which I endure enroute were passed, are subjects too painful to dwell upon. I am finally assisted from the sleeper at my destination. My wife, whom the wire has informed of my misfortune and my coming, is there. She greets me with that fervent love, that intensity of pity and emotion that only a a:xd other hUjStting adventures. 117 wife can feel. Her lips move, but her tongue is par- alyzed. For the time she can not speak ; the wells of her grief have gone dry ; she can not weep ; she can only act I am taken to my home, and the suspense, the anxiety, having been lived out, the climax having been reached and passed I swoon away. Again the surgeon appears to be racking me with pain in an effort to set the broken ribs, and seems to be making an incision in my side for that purpose, when I awake. The stars shone brightly above me, the frost on the leaves sparkled brightly in the fire-light. It took me several minutes to realize that I had been dream- ing. I searched for the cause of the acute pain in my side, and found it to be the sharp point of a rock that my cedar boughs had not sufficiently covered and which was trying to get in between l wo of my ribs. I got up, removed it and slept better through the remainder of the night. CHAPTER XV. JKI-IK-KUL, or Chehalis Creek, as the whites call it, is surely one of the most beautifal streams in the whole Cascade Range. Its size may be stated, approxi- mately, as two feet in depth by fifty feet in width, at or near the mouth, but its course is so crooked, so tortuous, and its bed so broken and uneven that the explorer will seldom find a reach of it sufficiently quiet and undisturbed to afford- a measurement of this character. At one point it is choked into a narrow gorge ten feet wide and twice as deep, with a fall of ten feet in a distance of thirty. Through this notch the stream surges and swirls with the wild fury, the fearful power, and the awe-inspiring grandeur of a tornado. At another place it runs more jplacidly for a few yards, as if to gather strength and courage for a wild leap over a sheer wall of frowning rock into a foaming pool thirty, forty, or fifty feet below. At still another place it seems to carve its way, by the sheer power of madness, through piles and walls of broken and disordered quartz, granite, or basalt, even as Cortes and his handful of Spanish cavaliers hewed their way through the massed legions of Aztecs at Tlascala. Farther up, or down, it is split into various (118) AND OTHEK HUXTING ADVENTURES. 119 channels by great masses of iiplieaved rock, and these miniature streams, after winding hither and thither through deep, dark, narrow fissures for perhaps one or two hundred yards, reunite to form tliis headlong mountain torrent. Viewing these scenes, one is forcibly reminded of the poet's words: "How the giant element, From rock to rock, leaps with delirious bound." Series of cascades, a quarter to lialf a mile long, are met with at frequent intervals, which rival in their beauty and magnificence those of the Columbia or the Upper Yellowstone. Whirlpools occur at the foot of some of these, in which the clear, bright green water boils, sparkles, and effervesces like vast reservoirs of champagne. The moanings and roar- ings emitted by this matchless stream in its mad career may be heard in places half a mile. At many points its banks rise almost perpendicularly to heights of 300, 400, or 500 feet. You may stand so nearly over the water that you can easily toss a large rock into it, and yet you are far above the tops of the massive firs and cedars that grow at the water's edge. Looking down from these heights you may see in the crystal . fluid whole schools of the lordly salmon plowing their way up against the almost resistless fury of the current, leaping through the foam, striking with stunning force against hidden rocks, falling back half dead, and, drifting into some clear pool below, recovering strength to renew the hopeless assault. The time will come when an easy roadway, and possibly an iron one, will be built up this grand •canon, and thousands of tourists will annually stand 120 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADKS within its walls to gaze iipon these magic pictures, absorbed in their grandeur and romantic beauty. Nor does the main stream afford the only objects of beauty and interest here: It is a diamond =set in a cluster of diamonds, for many of the littlfe brooks, already mentioned as coming down the mountain on either side, are only less attractive because smaller. Many of them tumble from the tops of rocky walls, and dance down among the branches of evergreen trees, sparkling like ribbons of silver in the rays of the noonday sun. Theodore Roosevelt, in his excellent work, ' ' Hunt- ing Trips of a Ran-hman," sayr^s: "Thirst is largely a matter of habit." So it may be, but I am sadly addicted to the habit, and I found it one from which, on this trip, I was able to extract a great deal of comfort, for we crossed one or more of these little brooks every hour, and I rarely passed one without taking a copious draught of its icy fluid. The days were moderately warm, and the hard labor we per- formed, walking and climbing, made these frequent opportunities to quench thirst one of the most pleasant features of the journey. I was frequently reminded of Cole' s beautiful tribute to the mountain brook: " Sleeping in crystal wells, Leaping in sliady dells, Or issuing clear from the womb of tlie mountain. Sky-mated, related, earth's holiest daughter; Not the hot kits of wii)e, Is half so divine as tho sip of thy lip, iospiringcold water." We arrived at our destination, the foot of Ski-ik- knlLake (and the source of the creek up which we had been traveling), at four o' clock in the afternoon. A^'D OTHER HUXTIXG ADVENTURES;. 121 of the second day out. We made camp on the bank of the creek, and John and I engaged in gathering a supply of wood. After we had been thus occu- pied for ten or:hfteen minntes, I noticed that St^y- mour was nowhere in sight, and asked John where he was. " He try spear salmon.' •• What will he spear him with;"' I said. " Sharp stick ;■' "No. He bring spear in him pocket,'' said John. We were standing on the bank of the creek again, and as lie spoke there was a crashing in the brush overhead, and an immense salmon, neai-ly three feet long, landed on the ground between us. SejTnour had indeed brought a spear with him in his pocket. It was made of a fence-nail and two pieces of goat horn, witli a strong cord about four feet long attached. There was a sort of socket in the upper end of it, and the points of the two pieces of horn were formed into barbs. As soon as Seymour had dropped his pack he had picked up a long, dry, cedar pole, one end of which he had sharpened and inserted between the barbs, fastening the stiing so that when he should strike a fish tlie spear point would pull off. With this simple weapon in hand he had walked out on the vast body of driftwood with which the creek is bridged for half a mile below the lake, and peering down between the logs, had found and Idlled the fish. We made a fire in the hollow of a great cedar that stood at the water's edge. The tree was green, but the fire soon ate a large hole into the central cavity, and, by fre- quent feeding with dry wood, we had a fire that SUl'PEKFOK TURTiE-SAUJlOJf BOTI. (123) AXD OTHER HUXTIXG ADVEXTUEtS. 1-23 roared and crackled like a great fuanace, all night. It " Kindled the gummy bark of fir or pine. And sent a comfortabl ; heat from far, Which might supply the sun." Seymour cut off the salmon" s head, split the body •down the back, and took out the spine, Then he spread the fish our and put skewers through it to hold it flat. He next cut a stick about four feet long, split it half its length, tied a cedar withe around to keep it from splitting further, and insert- ing the fish in the aperture, tied another withe arotmd the upper end. He now stuck the other end of the stick into the ground in front of the fire, and our supper was underway. , I have often been reduced to the necessity of eat- ing grub cooked by Indians, both squaws and men, and can place my hand on my heart and say truth- f tilly I never hankered after Indian cookery. In fact, I have always eaten it with a mental reserTation, and a quiet, perhaps unuttered protest, but I counted the minutes while that fish cooked. I knew Sey- mour was no more cleanly in his habits than his kin — ^in fact, he wotdd not have washed his hands before commencing, nor the fish after removing its entrails, had I not watched him and made "him do so: but even if he had not I should not have refused to eat. for when a man has been climbing mountains aU day he can not afford to be too scrupulous in regard to his food. When the fish was thoroughly roasted on one side the other was ttimed to the fire, and finally, when done to a turn, it was laid smok- ing hot on a platter of cedar boughs which I had 124 CKUISIXGS IN THE CASCADES. prepared, and the savory odors it emitted would have tempted the palate of an epicure. I took out my hunting knife, and making a suggestive gesture toward the smoking fish, asked John if I should cut off a piece; for not withstanding my consuming hun- ger, ray native modesty still remained with me, and I thus liinted for an invitation to help myself. " Yes," he said. "Cutoff howmuch you can eat." You can rest assured I cut off a ration that would have frightened a tramp. Good digestion waited on appetite, and health on both. I ate with the hunger born of the day's fatigue and the mountain atmos- phere, and the Indians followed suit, or rather led, and in half an hour only the head and spine of that fifteen- pound salmon remained, and they were not yet in an edible condition. Near bedtime, however, they were both spitted before the fire, and in the silent watches of the night, as I awoke and looked out of my downy bed, I saw those two simple-minded children of the forest, sitting there picking the last remaining morsels of flesh from those two pieces of what, in any civilized camp or household, would have been considered offal. But when a Siwash quits eating fish it is generally because there is no more fish to eat. After such a supper, chaxmed by such weird, novel surroundings, lulled by the music of the rushing waters, and warmed by a glowing camp-fire, I slept that night with naught else to wish for, at peace with all mankind. Even ' ' mine enemy' s dog, though he had bit me, should have stood that night against my fire" But I if-a id CHAPTEE XVl. going to bed. Seymour cautioned tkiough Ms intei-preter, the faithful Jijlm. against ^-^Hrting out too early iu thejnoming. He said the goats did not commence to move around untU nine or ten o'clock, md if we r^tarted out to hunt efore that time we were liable to s them a-leep in their beds, the hypociire-- meaning between Lizy loafer and loves to lin and snooze in the mianing. It wa- his own comfort, more than our Miicess in hunting, that lie was con- cerned about. egius and ends with a sort of arunt, somewhat like the bellow of a domestic cow cut short, but thelnterlude is a long-drawn, melodious, tiiite- like siiuml that ris-s and falls with a rhythmical cadence, floating on the stUl evening air. by which it i^ often wafted Avith singular disrincniess to great distances. By other individuals, or even by the samp indi\^dual at various times, either the tir~.t or last of these abrupt nouihIs i'^ omitted, and only the other, in connection with the luiiu -drawn, silver- toned strain, is given. The stag utter-< thi~; call only in the love-making season, and for the puiini^H of a-certaining the whereabouts of his dusky mate, who ie-~i-"jnd-~ by a short and utterly unmusical sound, similar to that with which the male l>egins or ends his call. Once, when exploring in Idalm. I had an interest- iiiii- and exritiim- experience with a band of elk. I had camped for the night on a high divide, l^etween two branches of the Clearwater river. The weather had been intensely dry and hot for several day-^. and the tall rye grass that grew in the old burn where I had pitched my camp was dry as powder. There was a gentle breeze from the south. Fearing that a spark might 1 )e carried into the grass. I extinguished my camp-fire as soon as I had cooked and eaten my 184 CUUISIJVTGS IN THE CASCADES THE WAPITI, OE AMERICAN ELK. AXD OTHER UUXTIM- ADVEXTUKES. IS-i supper. As darkness drew on. I went out to pi'kt-t my horses and noticed that they were acting stranaely. They were looking down the mountain side with ears pointed forward, sidfling the aii- and moriaa- about uneasily. I gave their picket ropes a turn aronnd convenient jack |>iiif-. and then slipping cautiously back to the tent, got my rifle and returned. I coald see noTkiiiu strange and sat down beside a ]<;>g to await develop- ments. In a few minute -^ I heard a dead limb break. Then there was a ru-rliu;,' in a bunch of tall, dry gras>: more snapping of twigs and shaking of l'U-hH~^. I ascertained that there were several large animaK movini: toward me and feared it might 1>? a family of bears. I feared it. I ^ay. b!-cau-^- it wa-~ now ^i) dark that I could not ^t-^- ti;> shoijt at any distance, and knew that if bears came near the hor^e^ the latter would break their toii"-~ and ^ranip'-ile. I thoui^ht uf shouting and trying to friiiliten them off. but decided to await developments. Presently I heard a snajipinL: of hoofs and a -^urc r-^^inu of dull, heavy. thumpiii;r uci^e-. accompanie 1 l>y rejwrT- of break- ing bni>h. which I knew at once were made bv a band of elk jumping over a high L ig. The game "as now not more than fifty yards away and in open ground, yet I could not ---e even a movement, for I was lookinic down toward a dark canon, many hundreds of tVet deep, slowly the great beasr> worked tijward me. Thf^y were coming down wind and I felt sure could not >i:eat me. but they could evidently -ee ray hor^i--. outlined again-r the -ky. and had doubtless heard them >uurtiug and moviui; ab( it. 186 CRUISINGS IX THE CASCADES ' The ponies grew more anxious but less frightened than at first, and seemed now desirous of making the acquaintance of their wild visitors. Slowly the elk moved forward until within thirty or forty feet of me, when I could begin to discern by the starlight their dark, shaggy forms. Then they stopped. I could hear them sniffing the air and could see them moving cautiously from place to place, apparently suspicious of danger. But they were coming down wind, could get no indica- tion of my p'resence, and were anxious to interview the horses. They moved slowly forward, and when they stopped this time, two old bulls and one cow, who were in the front rank, so to speak, stood within ten feet of me. Their great horns towered up like the branches of dead trees, and I could hear them breathe. Again they circled from side to side and I tli ought surely they would get far enough to one quarter or the other to wind me, but they did not. Several other cows and two timid little calves crowded to the front to look at their hornless cousins who now stood close behind me, and even in the starlight, I could have shot any one of them between the eyes. My saddle cay use uttered a, low gentle Avhinny, whereat the whole band wheeled and dashed away; but after making a few leaps their momentary scare seemed to subside, and they stopped, looked, snorted a few times and then began to edge up again— this time even more shyly than before. It was intensely interesting to study the caution and circumspection with which these creatures AND OTHER IIUXTIXL^ ADVEXTUliES. 1S7 planned and carried out their investigation all the way through. The only mistake they made, and one at which I was surprised, considering their usual cunning and sagacity, was that >^ome of them at least did not circle the hurses and get to the leeward. But they were m su( h a wild country, so far back in the remote fastnesses of tlie Rockies, that they had probalily ne^er encountered hunters or horses before and had not acquii-ed all the cunning of their more hunted and haunted brothers. After their temjiorary scare they returned, step liy steii. to their investigation, and the largest bull in the bunch approached the very log behind which I sat. He was just in the act of -iti-pjiing over it when he caught a whiff of my breatli and, with a terrific snort, vaulted backward and sidewise certainly thirty feet. At the same instant I rose up and shouted, and the whole band went tearing down the mountain side making a racket like that of an avalanche. As before stated, I could have had my choice out of the herd, but my only pack-horse was loaded so that I could have carried but a small piece of meat, and was unwUling to wast^■ >i > grand a creature for the little I could save from him. The antlers of the ))ull elk grow to a great size. He sheds them in February of eacli Aear. The new horn begins to grow in April. During the summer it is soft and puljiy and is cuverpd Avith a fine velvety growth of hair; it matures and hardens in August ; early in September he rubs this velvet off and is then ready to try conclusions with any rival that comes in 188 CEUISIlxGS IK THE CASCADES his way. The rutting season over, he has no further use for his antlers until the next autumn, and they drop off. Thus the process is repeated, year after year, as regularly as the leaves grow and fall from the trees. But it seems a strange provision of nature that should load an animal with sixty to seventy- five pounds of horns, for half the year, when weax)ons of one-quarter the size and weight would be equally effective if all were armed alike. I have in my collection the head of a bull elk, killed in the Shoshone Mountains, in Northern Wyoming, the antlers of which measure as follows: Length of main beam, 4 feet 8 inches; length of brow tine, 1 foot 6^ inches; length of bes tine, 1 foot 8| inches; length of royal tine, 1 foot 7 inches; length of surroyal, 1 foot 8J inches: circumference around burr, 1 footSj inches; circumference around beam above burr, 12 inches; circumference of brow tine at base, 7^ inches; spread of main beams at tips, 4 feet 9 inches. They are one of the largest and finest pairs of antlers of which I have any knowledge. The animal when killed would have weighed nearly a thousand pounds. The elk is strictly gregarious, and in winter time, especially, the animals gather into large bands, and a few years ago herds of from five hundred to a thousand were not uncominon, Now, however, their numbers have been so far reduced by tbe ravages of " skin hunters "■ and others that one will rarely find more than twenty-five or thirty in a band. In the fall of 1879, a party of three men were sight-seeing and hunting in the Yellowstone Na- tional Park, and having prolonged their stay until AXD OTHER IIUXTIXO ADVEXTUUE^. 189 late ill October, were ovHrtakeu liy a terrible snow- storm, winch completely l^lockaded and obliterated all the trails, and filled the gulches, canons, and coulees to such a depth that their liorses could not travel over them at all. They had lain in camp three days waiting for the stonn to abate: but as it continued to grow in severity, and as tlie snow became deeper and deeper, their situation gre^v daily and hourly more alarming. Their stock of pro- visions was low, they had no shelter sufficient to withstand the rigors of a winter at that high alti- tude, and it was fast becoming a question whether they should ever lie able to escajie beyond the snow- clad peaks and snow-tilled canons with which they were hemmed in. Their only hope of escape was by abandoning their hoi>es, and coiistiucting snow- shoes which might keep them above the snow; but in this case they could not carry beddinn' and food enough to last them throughout the several days that the journey would occupy to the nearest ranch, and the chances of killing game rit route after the severe weather had set in were extremel.v precarious. They had already set about making snow-shoes from the skin of an elk which they had saved. One pair hail lx"eii completed, and tlie storm having abated, one of the party set out to look over the surrounding country for the most feasible route by which to get out, and also to try if possible to find game of some kind. He had gone about a mile toward tlie northeast when he came upon the fresh trail of a large band of elk that were moving toward the east. He followed, and in a short time came up with them. They were traveling in single file, led 190 CRUISINGS IN" THE CASCADES by a powerful old bull, who wallowed through snow in which only his head and neck were visible, with all the patience and perseverance of a faithful old ox. The others followed him — the stronger ones in front and the weaker ones bringing up the rear. There were thirty-seven in the band, and by the time they had all walked in the same line they left it an open, well-beaten trail. The hunter approached within a few yards of them. They were greatly alarmed when they saw him, and made a few bounds in various directions ; but seeing their struggles were in vain, they meekly submitted to what seemed their impending fate, and fell back in rear of their file-leader. This would have been the golden oppor- tunity of a skin hunter, who could and would have shot them all down in their tracks from a single stand. But such was not the mission of our friend. He saw in this noble, struggling band a means of deliverance from what had threatened to be a wintry grave for him and his companions. He did not fire a shot, and did not in any way create unnecessary alarm amongst the elk, but hurried back to camp and reported to his friends what he had seen. In a moment the camp was a scene of activity and excitement. Tent, bedding, provisions, everything that was absolutely necessary to their journey, were hurriedly packed upon their pack animals; saddles were placed, rifles were slung to the saddles, and leaving all surplus baggage, such as trophies of their hunt, mineral specimens and curios of various kinds, for future comers, they started for the elk trail. They had a slow, tedious, and laborious task, breaking a way through- the deep snow to reach it. AXD OTHER nCXTIXG ADVEXTl'KES. 191 but by walking and leading their saddle animals ahead, the pack animals -were able to follow slowly. Finally they reached the trail of the elk herd, and followiag this, after nine day> of tedious and painful traveling,, the party arrived at a ranch on the Stiaking Water river, which was kept by a "squaw man"' and his wife, where they were enabled ti i lodge and recruit them>Hlres and their stock, and whence they finally reached their homes in safety. The band of elk }ia>-i'd on down the river, and our tourists never saw them again; but they have doubtle-s long ere this all fallen a i>rey tu the ruthless war that i^ con^rantlv beinar waged against them by hunters white and red. It is sad to think that such a noble creature as the American elk is doomed tu early and al;>solute extinction, but sucli is nevertheless the fact. Year by year his mountain habitat is bning surrounded and encroached upon by the advancing line of ^ht- tlements, as the tishennan encircln^ thn srnm-s-linii: mass of fishes in the clear pond with his long and closely-mesheil net The lines are dra^\m closer and cl(jSHr each year. Tlie^e lines are the ranches of cattle and sheep raisers, the caViius and towns of miners, the statiims and residen("es of employes of the railroads. All these places are made the shelters and temporary abiding places of Eastern and for- eign sportsmen who go out to the mountains to hunt. Worse than this, they are made the perma- nent abiding places, and constitute the active and convenient markets of the nefarious and unconscion- able skin hunter and meat hunter. Here he can find a ready market for the meats and skins he AXD OTHER HUNTIXG ADVENTURES. 193 brings in, and an opportunity to spend, the proceeds of such outrageous traflSc in ranch whisky and rev- elry. The ranchmen themselves hunt and lay in their stock of meat for the year when the game comes down into the valleys. The Indians, when they have eaten up their Government lations. lie in wait for the elk in the same manner. So that when the first great snows of the autumn or xN'inter fall in the high ranges, when the elk band together and seek refuge in the valleys, as did the herd that our fortunate tunrists followed out, they find a mixed and hungry horde waiting for them at the mouth of evt-ry canon. Before they have reached the valley where the snow-fall is light enough to allow them to live through the winter their skins are drying in the neighboring " shacks."' This unequal, one-sided warfare, this ruthless slaughter of inoffensive creatures, can not last always. Indeed, it can last but little longer. In ranges where only a few years ago herds of four or five hundred elk could be found, the hunter of to-day considers himself in rare luck when he finds a band of ten or twelve, and even small bands of any number are so rare that a good hunter may often hunt a week in the best elk country to be found anywhere without getting a single shot. All the Tenitories have good, wholesome game-laws which forbid the killing of game animals except during two or three months in the fall; but these laws are not enforced. They are a dead letter on the statute-books, and the illegal and illegitimate slaughter goes on unchecked. 13 CHAPTER XXIII. ANTELOPE HUNTING IN" MONTANA. ,F all the numerous species of large game to be found in the far West, there is none whose pursuit furnishes grander sport to the expert .^Lrifleman than the antelope {Antilocapra americana). His habitat being the high, open plains, he may be hunted on horse- ^ back, and with a much greater degree of comfort than may the deer, elk, bear, and other species which inhabit the wooded or mountainous districts. His keen eyesight, his fine sense of smell, his intense fear of his natural enemy, man, however, render him the most difficult of all game animals to ajpproach, and he must indeed be a skillful hunter who can get within easy rifle i-ange of the antelope, unless he happens to have the circumstances of wind and lie of ground peculiarly in his fa,vor. When the game is first sighted, even though it be one, two, or three miles away, you must either dismount and picket your horse, or find cover in some coulee or draw, where you can ride entirely out of sight of the quarry. But even under such favorable circumstances it is not well to attempt to ride very near them. Their sense of hearing is also very acute, and should your horse's hoof or shoe strike a loose rock, or should he (194) AXD OTHER IIUXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 195 snort or neigh, the game is likely to catch the sound while you are yet entirely out of sight and faraway, and when you finally creep cautiously to the top of the ridge from which you expect a favoralsle shot, you may find the game placidly looking for you from the top of another ridge a mile or two farther away. But we wUl hope that you are to have better luck than this.. To start with, we will presume that you are an expert rifleman; that yoti are in the habit of making good scores at the butts: that at Sou. 900, and 1,00(1 yards you frequently score 200 to 210 out of a possible 22.j points. "We will also suppose that you are a hunter of some experience; that you have at least killed a good many deer in the States, but that this is your first trip to the plains. You have learned to estimate distances, however, even in this rare atmosphere, and possess good judgment as to windage. You have brought your Creedmoor rifle along, divested, of course, of its Yenier sight, wind- guage, and spirit-level, and in their jDlaces you have fitted a Beach combination front sight and Lyman rear sight. Besides these you have the ordinary open step sight attached to the barrel Justin front of the action. This is not the 1 lest arm for antelope hunt- ing; a Winchester express with the same sights would be much better; but this will answer very well. We camped last night on the bank of a clear, rapid stream that gurgles down from the mountain, and this morning are uj) long before daylight; have eaten our breakfasts, saddled our horses, and just as the gray of dawni begins to show over the low, flat i^rairie to the east of us, wj 196 CRUISIiNfGS IN THE CASCADES mount, and are ready for the start. The wind is from the northeast. That suits us very well, for in that direction, about a mile away, there are some low foot-hills that skirt the valley in which we are camped. In or Just beyond these we are very likely to find antelope, and they will probably be coming toward the creek this morning for water. We pnt spurs to our horses and galloj) away. A brisk and exhilarating ride of ten minutes brings us to the foot-hills, and then we rein up and ride slowly and cautiously to near the top of the first one. Here we dismount, and, picketing our ponies, we crawl slowly and carefully to the apex. By this time it is almost fully daylight. We remove our hats, and 'peer cautiously through the short, scatter- ing grass on the brow of the hill. Do you see anything? No; nothing but prairie and grass. 'No'i Hold! What are those small, gray objects away off yonder to the leftl I think I saw one of them move. And now, as the light grows stronger, I can see white patches on them. Yes, they are antelope. They are busily feeding, and we may raise our heads slightly and get a more favorable view. One, two, three — there are five of them — two bucks, a doe, and two kids. And you will observe that they are nearly in the centre of a broad stretch of table-land. "But," you say, "may we not wait here a little while until they come nearer to us?' ' Hardly. You see they are intent on getting their breakfast. There is a heavy frost on the grass, which moistens it sufficiently for present purposes. AXD OTHER IITXTIXG ADVEXTUKE.s. 197 and it maj' he an hour or more before tlley will start for water. It won't pay us to wait so long, for we shall most likely find others within that time that we can get within range of without waiting for them. So you may as well try them from here. Xow your experience at the butts may serve you a good turn. After taking a careful look over the ground, you estimate the distance at 850 yards, and setting up your Beach front and Lyman rear sights, you make the necessary elevation. There is a brisk wind blowing from the right, and you think it nec- essary to hold ofif about three feet. ^Ve are now both lying pruuf- uj)on the ground. You lace the game, and support your ritle at your shoulder liy resting your elbows on the ground. The sun is now shining brightly, and you take careful aim at that old buck that stands out there at the left. At the report of your ritle a cloud of dust rises from a point about a hundred yards this side of him, and a little to the left, showing that you have underestimated both the distance and the force of tlie wind — things that even an old hunter is liable to do occasionally. AVe both lie close, and the anima's have not yet seen us. They make a lew jumps, and stop all in a bunch. The cross-wind and long distance prevent them from knowing to a certainty where the report comes from, and tliev don't like to run just yet, lest they may run toward the danger instead of away from it. You make another half-j)oint of elevation, hold a little farther away to the right, and try them again. This time the dirt rises about twenty feet beyond them, and they jump in eveiy direction. That was certainly a close call, and the bullet evi- 198 CKUisixGs Ijst the cascades dently wliistled uncomfortably close to several of them. They are now thoroughly frightened. You insert another cartridge, hurriedly draw a bead on the largest buck again, and fire. You break dirt just beyond him, and we can't tell for the life of us how or on which side of him your bullet passed. It is astonishing how much vacant space there is round an antelope, anyway. This time they go, sure. They have located the puflE of smoke, and are gone with the speed of the wind away to the west. But don't be discouraged, my friend. You did some clever shooting, some very clever shooting, and a little practice of that kind will enable you to score before night. We go back to our horses, mount, and gallop away again across the table-land. A ride of another mile brings us to the northern margin of this plateau, and to a more broken country. Here we dismount and picket our horses again. We ascend a high butte, and from the top of it we can see three more antelope about a mile to the north of us; but this time they are in a hilly, broken country, and the wind is com- ing directly from them to us. We shall be able to get a shot at them at short range. So we cautiously back down out of sight, and then begins the tedious process of stalking them. We walk briskly along around the foot of a hill for a quarter of a mile, to where it makes a turn that would carry us too far out of our course. We must cross this hill, and after looking carefully at the shape and location of it, we at last find a low point in it where by lying flat down we can crawl over it without revealing our- selves to the game. It is a most tedious and painful AXD OTHEE HUXXrN'G ADTtXTOJES. 199 piece of Tvork. for the ground is almost covered with cactus and sharp flinty roi :ks. and otir hands and knees are terribly lacerated. But every rose has its thorn, and nearly every kind of sport has something unpleasant conue -ted with it occasionally: and oui* A POF.TRAiT. reward, if we get it, will Iv worth the pain it co-ts us. With such reflections and comments, and witli frequent longing looks at the game, we kill time till at last the critical part of our work is done, and we 200 CRUisiNGS iisr the cascades can arise and descend in a comfortable but cautious walk into another draw. This we follow for about two hundred yards, until we think we are as near our quarry as we can get. We turn to the right, cautiously ascend the hill, remove our hats, and peer over, and there, sure enough, are our antelope quietly grazing, utterly oblivious to the danger that threatens them. They have not seen, heard, or scented us, so we have ample time to jjlan an attack. You take the stand- ing shot at the buck, and together we will try and take care of the two does afterward. At this short distance you don't care for the peep and globe sights, and wisely decide to use the plain open ones. This time you simply kneel, and then edge up until you can get a good clear aim over the apex of the ridge in this position. The buck stands broadside to you, and at the crack of your rifle springs into the air, and falls all in a heap, pierced through the heart. And now for the two does. They are flying over the level stretch of prairie with the speed of an arrow, and are almost out of sure range now. You turn loose on that one on the right, and I will look after the one on the left. Our rifles crack together, and little clouds of dust rising just beyond tell us that, though we have both missed, we have made close calls. I put in about three shots to your one, owing to my rifle being a repeater, while you must load yours at each shot. At my fourth shot my left- fielder doubles up and goes down with a broken neck; and although you have fairly " set the ground afire " — to use a Western phrase — around your AXD OTHER nij:N^TIXG ADVEXTURES. 201 riglit-fielder, you have not had the good fortune ta :stop her, anl sh^ is now out of sig'kt behind a low ridge. But you have the better animal of the Two, and have had sport enough for the first morning. We win take the entrails out of these two, lash them across our horses behind our saddles, go to camp, and rest through the heat of the day; for this S^p- temlier sun beams down with great power in mid- day, even though thenights are cool and frosty. And now, as we have quite a long ride to camp. and as we are to pass over a rather monotonous prairie country en route, I will give you a point or two on iiagging antelope, as we ride along, that may be useful to you at somn time. Fine s}iort may frequently be enjoyei in thi~^ way. If jou can iind a band that have not been hunted much, and are not familiar with the Aviles of the white man, you will have little trouble in decoying them Anthin ritie range by displaying to them almost any brightly-colored object. They have as much curiosity as a woman, and will run into all kinds of danger to investigate any strange oI>ject they may discover. They have be ?n known to follow an emigrant or freight wagon, with a white cover, several mile^, and the Indian of ten brings them ^vithin reach of his arrow or bullet by standing in plain view wrapped in his red blanket. A piece of bright tin or a mirror answers the ^ame purpose on a clear day. Almost any con^picious or strange-looking object will attract them; but ilie most convenient as well a-^ the most reliable at all times is a little bright-red flag. On one occasion I was hunting in the Snowy Mount- 202 CRUISINGS IN" THE CASCADES ains, in Northern Montana, with S. K. Fishel, the government scout, and Richard Thomas, the packer, from Fort Maginnis. We had not been successful in finding game there, and on our way back to the post camped two days on tlie head of Flat Willow creek, near the foot of the mountains, to hunt antelopes. As night approached several small bands of them came toward the creek, but none came within range of oar camp during daylight, and we did not go after them that night, but were irp and at them betimes the next morning. I preferred to hunt alone, as I always do when after big game, and went out across a level flat to some low hills north of camp. When I ascended the first of these I saw a handsome buck antelope on the prairie half a mile away. I made a long detour to get to leeward of him, and meantime had great difficulty in keeping him from seeing me. But by careful maneuvering I finally got into a draw below him, and found the wind blowing directly from him to me. In his neighborhood were some large, ragged volcanic roclvs, and getting in line with one of these I started to stalk him. He was feeding, and as I moved cautiously forward I could frequently see his nose or rump show up at one side or the other of the- rock. I would accordingly glide to right or left, as necessary, and move on. Finally, I succeeded in reaching the rock, crawled carefully up to where I could see over it, and there, sure enough, stood the handsome old fellow not more than fifty yards away, still complacently nipping the bunch-grass. "Ah, my fine laddie," I said to myself, " you'll AST) OTHER IirXTIXC4 ADVENTURES. 203 never know what hurt you;" and restiog the muzzle of the rifle on the rock. I took a fine, steady aim for his heart and turned the bullet loose. There was a terrific roar; the lead tore up a cloud of dust and went screaming away over the hills, while, to my utter astonishment, the antelope went sailing across the praiiie with the speed of a gieyhound. I sprang to my feet, pumped lead after him at a lively rate, and, though I tore the ground iip all around him, never touched a hair. And what annoyed me most was that, owi)ig to some peculiar condition of the atmosphere, the smoke of each shot Ining in front of me long enough to piwent me from seeing just where my bullets struck, and, for the life of me, I could not tell whether I was shooting over or under the gamel I went back over the hill to my horse, with my heart full of disappointment and my magazine only half full of cartridges. I loaded up, however, mounted, and, as I rode away in search of more game, I could occasionally hear the almost whis- pered "puff, puff" of FisheFs and Thomas's rifles away to the south and west, which brought me the cheering assurance that they were also having fun, and also assured me that we should not be without meat for supper and brealvfast. I soon sighted a band of about thirty antelopes, and riding into a coulee dismounted, picketed my horse, and began another crawl. In due time I reached the desired "stand,"' within about eighty yards of them, and, picking out the finest buck in the bunch, again took a careful, deliberate aim and fired, - scoring another clear miss. The band, 204 oeuisiinGS in the cascades intsead of running away, turned and ran directly- toward me, and, circling slightly, passed within thirty yards of me, drawn out in single file. It was a golden opportunity and I felc sure I should kill half a dozen of them at least; but, alas! for fleeting hopes. I knew not the frailty of the support on which I built my expectations. I fanned them as long as there was a cartridge in my magazine, and had to endure the intense chagrin of seeing the last one of them go over a ridge a mile away safe and sound. I was dumb. If there had been anyone there to talk to, I don't think I could have found a word in the language to express my feelings. As before, the smoke prevented me from seeing just where my bul- lets struck the ground, but I felt sure they must be striking very close to the game. I sat down, pon- dered, and examined my rifle. I could see nothing wrong with it, and felt sure it must be perfect, for within the past week I had killed a deer with it at 170 yards and had shaved the heads off a dozen grouse at short range. I was, therefore, forced to the conclusion that I had merely failed to exercise proper care in holding. I returned to my horse, mounted, and once more set out in search of game, determined to kill the next animal I shot at or leave the country. I rode away to the west about two miles, and from the top of a high hill saw another band of forty or fifty antelopes on a. table-land. I rode around till I got within about two hundred yards of them, when I left my horse under cover of a hill and again began to sneak on the unsuspecting little creatures. AXD OTHER IICXTIXG ADVEXTURES. 205 The}' were near the edge of the table, and from just beyond them the formation fell abruptly away into tlie valley some fifty feet. I crawled up this bluff until within about forty yards of the nearest ante- lope, and then, lying flat upon the ground, I placed my ritie in position for firing, and, inch by inch, edged up over the apex of tlie bluff until within fair view of the game. Again selecting the l3est buck — for I wanted a good head for mounting — I drew down on his brown side until I felt sure that if there had been a siilver dollar hung on it I could have driven it through Lim. Confidently expecting to see him drop in his tracks, I touched the trigger. But, alas ! I was doomed to still further disgrace. When the smoke lifted, my coveted i^rize was speed- ing away with the rest of the herd. I simply stood, with my lower jaw hanging down, and looked after them till they were out of sight. Then I went and got my horse and went to camp. Sam and Dick were there with the saddles of three antelopes. When I told them what I had been doing, they tried to rousole me, but I wouldn't be consoled. After dinner, ^am picked up my ritie and looked it over carefully. " Why, look here, you lilooming idiot," said he. '• Xi) wonder you couldn't kill at short range. The Avedge has slij)ped up under your rear sight two notches. She's elevated for 350 yards, and at that rate would shoot about a foot high at a hundred yards." I looked and found it even so. Then I offered him and Dick a dollar each if they would kick me, but they wouldn" t. Sam said good-naturedly: "(Jome, go with me 206 CRUISINGS US' THE CASCADES and get the head of the buck I killed. It's a very handsome one, and only two miles from camj). ' ' I said I didn't want any heads for my own use unless I could kill their owners myself, but would take this one home for a friend, so we saddled our horses and started. As we reached the top of a hill about a mile from camp a large buck that was grazing ahead of us jumped and ran away to what he seemed to consider a safe distance, and stopped to look at us. Sam generously offered me the shot, and springing out of my saddle I threw down my rifle, took careful aim and fired. At the crack the buck turned just half way round, but was unable to make a single jump and sank dead in his tracks. Sam is ordinarily a quiet man, but he fairly shouted at the result of my shot. I paced the dis- tance carefully to where the carcass lay, and it was exactly 290 steps. The buck was standing broadside to me and I had shot him through the heart. Of course, it was a scratch. I could not do it again per- haps in twenty shots, and yet when I considered that I shot for one single animal and got him I could not help feeling a little proud of it. As we approached the animal, not knowing just where I had hit -him, I held my rifle in readiness, but Sam said: "Ob, you needn't be afraid of his getting up. One of those Winchester express bullets is all an antelope needs, no matter what part of the body you hit him in. " This old fellow had a fine head, and we took it off, and now as I write it gazes down upon me with those large, lustrous black eyes, from its place on AXD OTHER HUXTIXG ADVEXTCEE.^. 207 tke wall, as proudly and curiously as it did there on the prairie when I looked at it through the sights of my Winchester. His portrait adorns page 199 of this book, and though the artist has treated it with a master's hand, it does not possess the lordly beam- ing, the fascinating grace, the timid beauty that distinguished the living animal. It was so late when we got this one dressed that we decided to return to camp at once. The curiosity which is so prominent a feature in the antelope's nature costs many a one of them his life, and is taken advantage of by the hunter in various ways. When we reached camp that afternoon Dick told us how he had taken advantage of it. He had set-n a small band on a level stretch of prairie where there was no possible way of getting within range of them, and having heard that if a man would lie down on his back, elevate his feet as high as pos- silile, and swing them back and forth through the air, that it would attra<-t antelopes, decided to try it. But the ant-lopes of this section had evidently never seen soap lioxes or bales of hay floating through the air, and had no desire to cultivate a clijser acquaintance with such frightful looking ol\jei:ts as he exhibited to their astonished gaze. And Dick said that when he turned to see if they had yet come within shooting distance they were about a mile away, and judging from the cloud of dust they were leaving behind them seemed to be running a race to see which could get out of the country first. The next morning Sam and I went together and Dick alone in another direction. During the fore- 208 CEUISINGS IN THE CASCADES noon I shot a buck through both fore legs, cutting one ofE clean and paralyzing the other. Sam said not to shoot him again and he would catch him, and putting spurs to his horse was soon galloping along- side of the quarry. He caught him by one horn and held him until I came up. Tlie little fellow pranced wildly about, and bleated pitifully, but a stroke of the hunting knife across his throat soon relieved his suffering. We then got the head from the buck Sam had killed the day before, and returned to camp about 11 o'clock a. m. In the afternoon we rode out together again, and had not gone far wher. we saw five of the bright little animals we were hunting, on a hill-side. They were too far away for anything like a sure shot, but were in such a position that we could get no nearer to them. They stood looking at us, and Sam told me to try them. I had little hope of making a hit, but dismounting took a shot off hand, holding for the shoulder of a good sized buck. When the gun cracked there was a circus. I had missed my aim so far as to cut both his hind legs off Just below the knee. The buck commeticed bucking. First he stood on his fore feet, got his .hind legs up in the air and shook the stumps. Then he tried to stand on them and paw the air with his fore feet, but lost his balance and fell over backward. He got up, jumped first to one side, then to the other, then forward. Meantime Sam rode toward him, and he tried to run. In this his motions were more like those of a rock- ing horse than of a living animal. The race was a short one. Sam soon rode up to him, caught him AXD OTHER HtTN'TIXG ADVEXTURES. 209 by a horn and held him tiU I came up and cut the little fellow's throat. Then Sam said that was a very long shot, and he would like to know jv st what the distance was. He went back to where I stood Tvhen I shot, stepped the distance to where the antelope stodL and found it to be 362 paces. We rode on a mile further and saw a young ante- lope lying down in some tall rye-grass. We could just see his horns and ears, and though he appeared to be looking at us he seemed to think himself securely hidden, for he made no movement toward getting up. I told Sam to shoot this time, but he said, 'Xo, you shoot. I live in this country and can get all the shootiag I want any time. You have come a long way out here to have some fun. Turn loose on him." And slipping off my horse I knelt down to get a knee rest, but found that from that position I could not see the game at all, and was