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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia - -Author: John Keast Lord - -Release Date: January 11, 2021 [eBook #64250] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Bryan Ness, Robert Tonsing and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURALIST IN VANCOUVER ISLAND -AND BRITISH COLUMBIA *** - - -[Illustration: A GROUP OF SPOKAN INDIANS -(Drawn from a Photograph).] - - - - - THE NATURALIST - IN - VANCOUVER ISLAND AND - BRITISH COLUMBIA. - - BY - JOHN KEAST LORD, F.Z.S. - NATURALIST TO THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION. - -[Illustration: THE ‘KETTLE’ FALLS: A SALMON LEAP ON THE UPPER COLUMBIA.] - - IN TWO VOLUMES—VOL. I. - - LONDON: - RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, - PUBLISHER IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY. - 1866. - - - - - PREFACE. - - -Many interesting and useful works have been already published relating -to the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, which, -however, contain little if any information on the subject of their -Natural History. - -This missing link I venture in some measure to supply. But ‘The -Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia’ is not intended -to be a book on Natural History merely; neither does the Author desire -to weary his reader with tedious descriptions of genera and species. -Comparative anatomy and physiology can be acquired at home, but -_habits_ are only discoverable by those who devote themselves to the -rough though pleasant life of a wanderer, or by the actual observation -of a careful investigator. - -In the following pages, the Author has purposely avoided any definite -system of arrangement, preferring a pleasant gossip, chatting, as it -were, by the fireside about North-Western Wilds. - -A detailed list of the Zoological collection made whilst Naturalist to -the Government Commission will be found in the Appendix. - - JOHN KEAST LORD. - -LONDON: _May 28, 1866_. - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -Before setting sail from Southampton, it may perhaps be as well to -devote a few pages explanatory of the early history and discovery -of Vancouver Island; why we are going there; and the object of the -Commission to which I belong. - -In the year 1587, we learn, that a Captain Cavendish, in order to -repair his shattered fortunes, fitted out three ships for the purpose -of plundering on the high seas. After many unsuccessful raids, we next -hear of him lurking in his ship behind a spit of land, Cape St. Lucas, -on the Californian coast (a prominent rocky bluff, not unlike ‘the -Needles,’), waiting for the ‘St. Anna,’ a galleon freighted with rich -merchandise and a hundred and twenty-two thousand Spanish dollars. -She heaves in sight, little dreaming of her danger; is pounced upon, -boarded, and taken, her treasure transferred to the hold of the -buccaneer; the crew rowed ashore, and their ship set on fire. Death -seemed inevitable, when a breeze, which soon increased to a gale, -drifting the burning hull on the rocks providentially proved a means of -escape, for a raft was made, and launched. Upon this the men stood out -to sea. - -After enduring frightful privations, a friendly ship picked them up, -and they eventually reached Europe in safety. Amongst the sailors -rescued from the raft was a Greek, Apostolos Valerianos, who for some -reason was nick-named by his shipmates Juan de Fuca. Nine years after -his escape from the raft we hear of him in Venice. - -In 1596 Mr. Locke, a merchant, and his friend John Douglas, a -sea-captain, were residing in Venice, and nightly smoked their pipes -at a snug wine-shop, the resort of sea-faring men. A constant visitor -at this house of entertainment was a pilot on the Greek seas, who had -attracted Douglas’s attention by the wonderful stories he related; so -much so that he induced his friend, Mr. Locke, to listen to the old -man’s adventures.[1] - -The story of the raft we already know. The remainder was to the effect -that he entered into the service of the Viceroy of Mexico, by whom he -was sent, in a small _caraval_, to explore the Californian coast. He -managed to reach lat. 47° N., and finding the coast inclined towards -the N. & NE., and that a wide expanse of sea opened out between 47° -lat., his position, and 48°, he entered the Strait, and sailed through -it for twenty days. Finding the land still tended to NE. & NW. and also -E. & SE., he proceeded, passing through groups of beautiful islands, -and so sailed on until he came into the North Sea; but being quite -unarmed, and finding the natives very hostile, he made his way back, -and reported his discovery of the entrance to what he believed the -North-West Passage. - -But the Viceroy was not impressed with the value of the old man’s -report, and paid him nothing for it. Disgusted with the government and -all belonging to it, he worked his way back to the Mediterranean, and -we next meet with him as a pilot on the Adriatic. - -Master Locke at once wrote to Sir Walter Raleigh, Master Hakluyt, -and to Lord Cecil, asking for 100_l._ to bring over the mariner who -possessed such a knowledge of the north-west coast. All thought the -information invaluable, but no one felt disposed to pay the money. -Time wore on; the old storm-worn pilot, growing feeble, left for his -native island. Locke again and again urged his request. At last the -long-coveted means came, but too late, the old sailor was no more. - -This strange story was current in England long after he who told it -was dead and forgotten. A few believed it, but the many thought it an -entire fabrication. - -In 1776, Captain Cook missed the entrance to the Straits, and, -mistaking the west side of Vancouver Island for the mainland, reported -the story to be a fiction as told by the old sailor. It will suffice -for explanation to skip a crowd of events, and take up the narrative -of the discovery of the island in 1792, when Captain Vancouver was -sent to Nootka Sound, for what purpose does not matter now. Coasting -southwards, he entered the Straits, and eventually came out at Queen -Charlotte Sound: which settled the question. The Island bears the name -of its discoverer (Vancouver Island), the Straits that of the old -sailor (Juan de Fuca). - -By the treaty of Washington, the 49th pl. of lat. N. was to be the -recognised _Boundary Line_, the course through the sea to be the centre -of the Gulf of Georgia, and thence southward through the _Channel_ -which separates the continent from Vancouver Island, to the Straits of -Juan de Fuca. - -The duties of our Commission were to mark the Boundary line from the -coast to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. - - _May 1866._ - - - - - CONTENTS - OF - THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - The Voyage 1 - - CHAPTER II. - - Victoria—The Salmon: its haunts and habits 36 - - CHAPTER III. - - Fish Harvesting 62 - - CHAPTER IV. - - The Round-fish, Herrings, and Viviparous Fish 97 - - CHAPTER V. - - Sticklebacks and their Nests—The Bullhead—The Rock-cod—The - Chirus—Flatfish 121 - - CHAPTER VI. - - Halibut Fishing—Dogfish—A Trip to Fort Rupert—Ransoming - a Slave—A Promenade with a Redskin—Bagging a - Chief’s Head—Queen Charlotte’s Islanders at Nanaimo 142 - - CHAPTER VII. - - Sturgeon-spearing—Mansucker—Clams 175 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Mule-hunting Expedition from Vancouver Island to San - Francisco—The Almaden Quicksilver Mines—Poison-oak - and its Antidote 199 - - CHAPTER IX. - - Sacramento—Stockton—Californian Ground-squirrels— - Grass-valley—Stage Travelling—Hydraulic Washings— - Nevada—Marysville—Up the Sacramento River to Red - Bluffs—A dangerous Bath 221 - - CHAPTER X. - - The Start from Red Bluffs—Mishaps by the Way—Devil’s - Pocket—Adventure at Yreka—Field-crickets—The Californian - Quail—Singular Nesting of Bullock’s Oriole 245 - - CHAPTER XI. - - Crossing the Klamath River—How to Swim Mules—Sis-kyoue - Indians—Emigrant Ford—Trout Baling—A Beaver - Town—Breeding-grounds of the Pelicans and various - Water-birds—Pursued by Klamath Indians—Interview - with Chief—The Desert—Prong-horned Antelopes—Acorns - and Woodpeckers—Yellow-headed Blackbirds—Snake - Scout—Arrival at Camp of Commission—End of Journal 268 - - CHAPTER XII. - - Sharp-tailed Grouse—Bald-headed Eagle—Mosquitos—Lagomys - Minimus (Nov. Sp.)—Hummingbirds—Urotrichus 300 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - The Aplodontia Leporina. (Rich.) 346 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - FOR - THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - The Kettle Falls: a Salmon Leap on the Upper - Columbia _vignette_ - - A group of Spokan Indians _frontispiece_ - - Viviparous Fish _to face page_ 106 - - Sturgeon-spearing 〃 〃 185 - - Sharp-tailed Grouse 〃 〃 300 - - North-Western Hummingbirds 〃 〃 328 - - Urotrichus 〃 〃 338 - - Aplodontia, or Ou-ka-la 〃 〃 346 - - - - - ERRATA IN VOL. I. - - - Page 88, line 19, _for_ blubbering _read_ blubbery - 〃 105, 〃 20, _for_ within _read_ in - 〃 157, 〃 2, _for_ scenery on my left. The _read_ scenery. On my - left the - 〃 158, 〃 23, _for_ Nimkis _read_ Nimkish - 〃 164, 〃 9, _for_ this cannon _read_ these cannons - 〃 177, 〃 13, _for_ cauiare _read_ caviare - 〃 179, 〃 9, _for_ are _read_ is; and line 16, _for_ fourteen - _read_ seven - 〃 195, 〃 9, _for_ three _read_ one - 〃 232, 〃 8, _for_ pack and equipment _read_ pack equipment - 〃 268, 〃 5, heading to chapter, _for_ The Desert Prong-horned - _read_ The Desert—Prong-horned - 〃 296, 〃 8, _for_ Reiney _read_ Reiner - 〃 349, 〃 12, _for_ Actomys _read_ Arctomys - - - - - VANCOUVER ISLAND - AND - BRITISH COLUMBIA. - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE VOYAGE. - - -Whether Good Friday was more unlucky than Fridays usually are, in -the estimation of sea-going men, I know not, but from England to St. -Thomas we encountered a succession of headwinds and terrific seas. -Of course it was the regular typical storm: ‘waves running mountains -high, threatening instantaneously to engulph the struggling ship in a -watery abyss; rent sails, creaking timbers, men lashed to the wheel -(real tarry Ixions); screaming mothers, and remarkably sick papas -and passengers,’—that ended in our case, as it usually does in all -sensation sea-voyages. St. Thomas was arrived at in perfect safety, -some few days after time. - -Amongst the passengers was a lady, fat beyond anything I have ever seen -(of the human kind) outside a show. From the time of her appearance -in the morning until her bedtime, she invariably sat in one place—her -throne a small sofa, behind the cabin-door. Flying-fish were constantly -driven on the deck of the steamer, or flung up into the sponsons by -the paddlewheels; and being most anxious to preserve some of these -curious tenants of the ocean, I tried every means to procure them; -but the ‘stout party,’ by resorting to most unjustifiable bribing, so -enslaved the sordid mind of the steward, that he got hold of the fish -in spite of me, and actually had the delicate beauties cooked, and -ignominiously fried at the galley-fire, for that terrible old lady to -eat. With regret and indignation I have watched her munching them up, -and wickedly longed to see her prostrated by that terrible leveller -seasickness, or the victim of dyspepsia—evil wishes of no avail: she -ate on, in healthful hungry defiance of wind and waves, and the wrath -of an injured naturalist. - -The first peep one gets of the little Danish town of St. Thomas, too -well known to need more than a casual notice, is picturesque and -pretty. Built on the scarp of a steep hill, its houses arranged in -terraces, and all painted with bright and gaudy colours; its feathery -groves of tamarind-trees; gay gardens decked with flowers, possessing -a brilliancy and magnitude seen only in a hot climate; together with -the showy dresses of the natives, it becomes the more impressive as -contrasted with the sombre island so recently left behind. - -Scarcely had the ‘Parana’ steamed into the harbour—much more, by the -way, like a stagnant cesspool than a rocky inlet, filled with pure -sea-water—when boats of all sizes, and far too numerous to count, -crowded round us. Everyone, seeming at once to forget seasickness and -rough weather, scrambled into this medley fleet, and with all speed -were rowed ashore—there to remain, during the transference of the -mails and baggage from the English steamer to the other vessels waiting -to take their departure. - -It has often puzzled me to imagine, why travellers in steamboats and -sailing-ships invariably do the same thing. Take this very case as an -instance of what I mean. Though yellow-fever was raging like a plague, -still the greater number of the passengers made straight for the hotel, -and there and then devoured a heavy breakfast composed of bad fish, -raw vegetables (libellously called salad), unripe fruits, followed by -a brown substance, in size, shape, and texture, vastly like to the -heel of a boot floating in hot oil, which we are informed by the polite -waiter is ‘bef steek à la Anglais’—the whole washed down with copious -libations of intensely sour claret iced to the freezing-point. - -The next thing in the programme is the exploration of the town, during -which all sorts of things are purchased at fabulous prices, that can -never, by any possibility, be required. Such unusual exercise in a -hilly place, exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, soon begets -a feverish thirst, necessitating copious draughts of iced-water -dashed with cognac, unlimited cobblers, or more cold sour poison. -Raw vegetables, acid wine, cobblers, cognac, cocoanut, and other -‘comestibles’ soon produce disagreeable admonitory twinges: dread of -yellow-fever immediately suggests itself—bang goes the signal-gun! -A hasty scamper for the boats dispelling further alarm, all rush on -board, there to compare notes, groan over their pains and stupidity, -and go through precisely the same performance at the next place of -landing. - -At St. Thomas we exchanged the commodious steamer ‘Parana’ for the -‘Trent,’ much more famous for getting into trouble than for getting -out of it. The run from the island across the Caribbean Sea to Santa -Marta, after the tumblings and buffetings that would have been good -training for an acrobat, endured betwixt England and St. Thomas, seemed -to me the very perfection of sea-travelling. Although a most enjoyable -passage, still it became monotonous: one tires of old threadbare jokes -and yarns, and wearies even of gazing day after day into the clear blue -sea, each day appearing the very counterpart of the other. - -Sluggish lump-fish, with their uncouth heads and misshapen bodies, -continually wriggle slowly and idly along with us; sun-fish, in their -parti-coloured armour, float by, ever performing eccentric undulations. -Now a stiff black fin cleaves the water suspiciously, leaving a wake -behind, as would a miniature ship—the danger-signal of a greedy shark; -huge leaves of kelp, wrack, and sea-tangle drift by, rafts to myriads -of crustaceans and minute zoophytes; the rudder creaks and groans to -the music of its iron chains, clanking over the friction-rollers, as -the helmsman turns the wheel; sea-birds peep at us, then wheel away -to be seen no more; whilst ever following are the ‘Chickens of Mother -Carey,’ dipping, but never resting, on the ripple at the stern. - -I had both heard and read of a formidable fortress that once guarded -the entrance to the snug harbour, on one side of which stands the neat -little town of Santa Marta, embowered amidst the trees. We sighted the -land before it was dark, but the captain deemed it expedient to lay-off -and await the daylight, ere venturing through the narrow entrance -between the rock on which stands the remains of the fortress and the -mainland. Issuing strict orders, coupled with a silver refresher, to -my cabin-boy to call me before daylight, I turned in, and was soon in -dreamland; my dreams were dispelled by a sudden shake, and the voice of -the faithful darkie boy screaming into my ear, ‘Hi, massa, him no see -fort if him no tumble out and tumble up pretty quick.’ Lightly clad and -hardly awake, I rush, glass in hand, on deck, and quietly seat myself -in the bow of the steamer. It was just in the grey of the morning; not -a sound disturbed the deathlike silence, save the ‘splash-splash’ of -the slowly-revolving paddlewheels. I could discern on my right a dim -line of trees, that looked as if they grew from out the water; on my -left the dark rock, crowned with its ruined fort, that, as the light -increased and the rays of the rising sun slanted down upon it, looked -like a mass of frosted silver—so brilliant was the contrast to the -dark water and darker woods, still in shadow, behind and around it. - -Delighted with the singular beauty of the scene, and wandering, in -imagination, far away into the vistas of the past, recalling scenes -of frightful atrocity once enacted within the dreaded gates of the -buccaneers’ stronghold—wondering too if gems and gold, plunder -wrenched from many a rich argosy, still lay hidden amidst the dust of -its crumbling walls—a sudden flash, and a jerk that sent me sprawling -on the deck, at once recalled my thoughts from the past to the present. -Utterly oblivious of what had happened, as I scrambled on my legs, a -stifled laugh induced me to look round. ‘Wish I may never taste rum -again, Cap’en, if I ever see you a-sittin on the signal-gun,’ said -a sly-looking rascal in sailor’s dress. There was a roguish leer -in his eye that revealed the whole secret. Seeing me seated on the -signal-carronade, loaded to announce our arrival, was too tempting a -chance to indulge in a practical joke for Jack to resist; so he quietly -touched off the gun, without giving me any notice. No doubt he has had -many a hearty laugh at my expense since then, when telling the ‘yarn’ -in far-away latitudes. Our stay in the harbour was very brief; the -mails and a passenger or two landed, away we steamed again. - -At Carthagena we only lay-off a short time, to land the mails, and take -on board the strangest assemblage of natives I ever saw. They were -bound for Colon, to sell the various products of their farms, gardens, -and native forests. We were about half a mile from the beach; a good -rolling swell broke, in small waves, against the ship’s sides, and -spread its foam far up the shingle inshore. Up to their waists might -be seen the dusky forms of the natives, launching long, ugly, shallow -canoes, dug from out the solid wood. Soon a perfect fleet of them -neared us, each striving to be first alongside; as they converged, and -steadily packed together, into a confused mass, the yelling, screaming, -and swearing in bad Spanish, mixed with some unknown tongue, baffled -all description. Bad as the hubbub was when some distance from the -steamer, it was ten times worse as they literally fought and struggled -to get on board. Those who were to be passengers, in dread of being -left behind, dashed from canoe to canoe, reckless of the rage of those -intent only on selling their wares. Here one held up a poor little -drenched and shivering monkey, another a screaming parroquet, a third -a squirrel; others fruits, strings of beads, vegetables, bunches of -bananas, and cocoanuts—all shrieking at the very top of their voices, -but what they said no living soul could tell. Soon the deck forward -was filled with its live and dead freight. The first turn of the -paddlewheel sent the queer-looking assemblage scudding out of the way, -to ply back again, with their unsold wares, to dingy old Carthagena. - -As we steamed quietly along, I had time to examine the new arrivals. -Squatted in little groups or families, each group had all its property, -piled or stowed in some fashion, amidst them, consisting of bundles of -all shapes and sizes, crockery, parrots and parroquets, quantities of -eggs and live poultry, fruits such as are usually consumed in tropical -countries; bananas, mangoes, cocoanuts, water-melons, bad oranges, -and vegetables; but what was most valued and cared for, clearly the -grand object of the visit, were numbers of gamecocks, all _trimmed_, -according to the most approved fashion, and tied by the leg, either -to the bedding or, failing anything else, to the person of the owner. -These Carthagenian blacks are evidently of mixed descent; most likely -a sprinkling of Spanish blood flows through their veins. The men, of -small stature, are lithe, sinewy, and extremely active; the women have -a decided tendency to become fat; one or two of them had attained to -such a state of obesity, that walking was next to an impossibility. The -children are the most singular little frights imaginable; guiltless of -garments, they seemed all eyes and stomach, arms and legs being merely -trifling unessential appendages; a singularity of form that may, I -presume, be traced to the habit of consuming such vast quantities of -innutritious vegetable food. - -We reached Colon (or Aspinwall, as the Americans have named it) in -due course, and landed about midday. The outfit being enormously -heavy, some time had necessarily to be occupied in landing; and as the -afternoon train was about to start, it was deemed the wiser course to -send the men and officers at once to Panama, where Her Majesty’s ship -‘Havannah’ was waiting to take us to Vancouver Island—the Commissioner -and myself remaining at Colon, with a sergeant and small working-party, -to bring on the baggage. All the attendant miseries of unshipping such -a heterogeneous medley of packages as we had on board was finished at -last, and our equipment safely stowed away in the goods-vans of the -Panama Railway Company. - -An invitation from the manager of the railway to the Commissioner to -sleep at their messhouse was by him gladly accepted; a favour not -extended to myself, so I had to take up my quarters at the ‘Howard -House.’ Now the ‘Howard House’ was managed precisely on the same -plan as a travelling wild-beast show; the entire attraction was on -the outside. The bar-room, brilliantly lighted, and glittering with -gilt, glass, and gaudy ornaments, was open to the street; an array of -rocking-chairs, before the pillars supporting the verandah, enabled -the luxurious lounger to sit with his heels higher than his head, -and in smoky abstraction contemplate his toes. The barman, all studs -and shirt-front, hardly deigned to answer my request for a bed, but, -pointing to the entry-book, said, ‘Waal, you’d better sign.’ My name -duly inscribed on the page of a huge and particularly soiled book, a -key was handed me, adorned with a brass label, attached to a chain -of like material, with No. 10 on it. ‘Guess, stranger, I want a -dollar—and you jist look here: there are two beds, so if anyone comes -along, he’ll jist have to room with you.’ This I decidedly objected to. -‘Waal, can’t help it nohow; thar ain’t no other room.’ ‘If I pay for -both beds,’ I replied, ‘surely I can have it all to myself?’ This was -at length agreed to, the money paid, and at an early hour I turned in, -to enjoy a good sound sleep ashore. - -Excepting two miserable, hard, curtainless beds, an old rickety -chest of drawers, and a couple of chairs, the room was destitute of -furniture; but spite of all discomfort, mosquitos, and other pests, -_felt_ if not seen or heard, I fell fast asleep, soon to be roused -again by a loud knocking at my door, the sound of numerous feet -scuffling hurriedly up and down the passage, and a very Babel of -voices. Hardly awake, my ideas were in a jumbled sort of chaos as to -the cause. Fire, burglars, riots, a house-fight, were all mixed in -strange confusion, until an angry voice, that appeared to come through -the speaker’s nose, yelled, rather than spoke, ‘Say, ar you agwine to -open this door? Our women want them beds for a lay-out, and jist mean -to havin em, anyhow.’ ‘Ah!’ thought I, ‘they want the spare bed I have -paid for.’ Of course I refused—who would not?—and, dragging the old -chest of drawers against the door, defied them to do their worst. - -In the angry parley that ensued, I discovered that a steamer had just -arrived from New York, en route to the new gold-diggings in British -Columbia, with 1,500 passengers, who, rowdy-like, demanded everything. -Threats of administering the summary law of Judge Lynch—of firing -their six-shooters through the door, and riddling me like a rat in a -hole—together with sundry hard names (it is better to imagine than -mention), were heaped profusely on my devoted head. As it appeared -to me quite as unsafe to surrender as to remain in my fortress, I -determined on holding out to the last. - -Fortunately, daylight soon came, and with it the shrill whistle and -clanging bell, announcing the departure of a railway-train. Peeping -cautiously through the window, I saw, to my intense delight, a long -train specially put on, and the rowdies just ready to start. I watched -them scrambling in, and as the engine with its freight dashed into the -tropical jungle, I emerged from my room and the ‘Howard House’ with all -possible speed, completed my toilet at the barber’s shop, breakfasted -with the Commissioner at the Company’s messroom, and thus ended my -night in Colon. - -The agency and mess establishment of the Panama Railway Company -are really delightful residences, overshadowed by cocoanut trees, -and surrounded by perfect bijous of gardens entirely reclaimed from -the swamps: the papaw, the banana, blossoming creeping plants, -fruit-bearing vines, and curious orchids, all growing together, -a wild tangle of loveliness, yielding beauty, fruits, and shade. -The cool verandah, and cane-chairs from China, together with the -comfortably-furnished interior, gave ample proof that the products of -a tropical country may be used to good account, as additions to our -northern ideas of a substantial home. - -One of the most singular flowers growing in this pretty garden was an -orchid, called by the natives ‘Flor del Espiritu Santo,’ or the ‘Flower -of the Holy Ghost.’ The blossom, white as Parian-marble, somewhat -resembles the tulip in form; its perfume is not unlike that of the -magnolia, but more intense; neither its beauty nor fragrance begat for -it the high reverence in which it is held, but the image of a dove -placed in its centre. Gathering the freshly-opened flower, and pulling -apart its alabaster petals, there sits the dove; its slender pinions -droop listlessly by its side, the head inclining gently forward, as if -bowed in humble submission, brings the delicate beak, just blushed -with carmine, in contact with the snowy breast. Meekness and innocence -seem embodied in this singular freak of nature; and who can marvel that -crafty priests, ever watchful for any phenomenon convertible into the -miraculous, should have knelt before this wondrous flower, and trained -the minds of the superstitious natives to accept the title the ‘Flower -of the Holy Ghost,’ to gaze upon with awe and reverence, sanctifying -even the rotten wood from which it springs, and the air laden with its -exquisite perfume? But it is the flower alone I fear they worship; -their minds ascend not from ‘nature up to nature’s God;’ the image -only is bowed down to, not He who made it. The stalks of the plant are -jointed, and attain a height of from six to seven feet, and from each -joint spring two lanceolate leaves; the time of flowering is in June -and July. - -We were to have a special train (the cost of crossing the isthmus was -something enormous—the actual amount I do not now remember); and as we -were most desirous to see as much of the country as possible, an open -goods-truck was appropriated to our use, in which we could stand, and -have a full peep at everything as we steamed along. Whilst the train -was getting ready, I took a turn over the Company’s wharf and round -the town. - -The Wharf, built on piles driven into the coral reef, extends about -a thousand feet in length, and forty in width, with a depth of -water at its landing-end sufficient to float the largest ship. The -piles are from the forests of Maine, and have to be coppered above -high-water-mark, to resist the destroying power of a boring worm -(_Teredo fimbriata_), that would otherwise destroy them in a very few -months. The Freight Department is a handsome stone structure, three -hundred feet long by eighty wide, through the arched entrance to which -is a triple line of rails. - -Man, it is said, differs from all other animals, in being ‘a tool and -a road-making animal,’ the truth of which was well exemplified in the -curious assemblage of products collected from all parts of the world, -and stowed in this huge house, brought by man’s ocean highways, and -awaiting removal by his iron roads and horses. - -Ceroons of cochineal and indigo from Guatemala and San Salvador, cocoa -from Eçuador, sarsaparilla from Nicaragua, coffee from Costa Rica, -hides from the North and South Pacific coasts, copper-ore from Bolivia, -linen goods from the French and English markets, beef, pork, hard -bread, cheese from the States, and silks from China. - -The town of Colon, as everybody perhaps does not know, stands on -a small island called Manzanilla, cut off from the mainland by a -narrow frith; the entire island being about one square mile in -extent, composed of coral reefs, and only raised a few feet above -highwater-level. It has no supply of fresh water but what is obtained -during the heavy rains; this, collected in immense iron tanks, that -hold over four thousand gallons, supplies the inhabitants during the -dry seasons. - -The most conspicuous objects one meets with in this dismal place are -flocks of turkey-buzzards (useful inspectors or nuisances, as they -do their own work of removal), pigs, naked dirty little children in -legions, blear-eyed mangy curs that do nothing but growl and sleep; -together with peddling darkies, bummers, and loafers (I know no other -names so expressive of this species of idler as these Transatlantic -ones), that employ their time much in the same fashion as the curs. -A line of shops faces the sea, and at a little distance is the -‘mingillo,’ or native marketplace, a spot no one would be disposed to -linger in or visit a second time, unless the nose could be dispensed -with. ‘Noses have they but they smell not,’ must surely apply to the -dwellers in the marketplace; the air is _literally_ (and not in figure -of speech only) _laden_ with the mingled fragrance of past and present -victims, an odour far more potent than pleasant. Surely ladies never go -to market in Colon! - -The train was by this time ready to take us to Panama, and, with a -parting scream, the iron horse rushed into the tropical wilderness. On -leaving Colon, the line winds its way through a deep cutting across -a morass, and along the right bank of the Rio Chagres; glimpses are -caught of the river from amidst the tangled and twisted foliage that -shuts it in on either side like dense walls. From out this leafy chaos -rise the gaunt trunks of the mango, cocoanut, plane, cieba, and stately -palm. Plantains, too, spread their green succulent leaves—sunshades -of nature’s own contriving—to protect the tender growths that love -to live beneath them. Every tree seemed strangling in the coils of -trailing vines and climbers; real ropes, pendents, and streamers of -brilliant blossoms, fit resting-places for the birds and butterflies, -themselves like living flowers. Wondrous orchids, grotesque in form -and colouring, grew everywhere, springing alike from the living and the -dead; for amidst this flood of vegetable life, decay and beauty, like -twin sisters, walk hand-in-hand. - -We stopped at Gatun for a short time, the station being close to the -little village of bamboo huts thatched with palmetto-leaves, and only -remarkable as being the place where the ‘bongoes’ (or native boats) -used to stop for the travellers to refresh themselves ere the railroad -was. From here the line skirts the bases of an irregular series of -hills to cross the Rio Gatun, tributary to the Rio Chagres, on a -well-made truss girder-bridge of seventy feet span; passed Frijoli, -where the fields of golden maize were decked with what looked, at a -distance, like immense bouquets of scarlet flowers; and along the banks -of the Rio Chagres, which are here very deep, to cross it at Barbacous -on a wrought-iron bridge, six hundred and twenty-five feet in length, -eighteen in breadth, and forty feet above the surface of the water. -There are six spans, each over a hundred feet; iron floor girders, -three feet apart, support the rails—the entire structure resting on -five piers and two abutments. - -After crossing the river, the country becomes open, and large patches -of rich land are seen under a rude kind of cultivation, until the -native town of Gorgona is reached, where, in old days, boats were -exchanged for horses and mules, on the overland route. - -Leaving the course of the river, the line passes through deep clay -banks and rocky cuttings, suddenly emerging on the green meadowlands -surrounding Matuchin. I never gazed on a more exquisite panorama. -Dotting the foreground was a pretty native village; to the left the -Chagres, and its tributary the Rio Obispo; on the right a group of -conical hills, so clothed with vegetation that it was impossible to -imagine what the land would look like if the trees were cut away. -During our stay at this station we were regularly beset; numerous -vendors of native merchandise crowded into and round about the open -van; grey-haired old men, and women, pushed trays under our very noses, -covered with filthy pastry, gingerbread, sweetstuff, and other like -abominations; whilst little black urchins sat like imps on the rails -of the truck, each with some live captive for sale—monkey, squirrel, -parrot, or other bright-plumaged bird. - -Following the valley of the Obispo, which river is crossed twice -within a mile on iron bridges, we ascend gradually (the gradient being -about sixty feet in the mile) to reach the watershed, over which the -descent commences to the Pacific. About a mile from the summit the -line winds through a huge pile of basaltic columns, that look as if -some Titan force had hurled them into the air, and let them fall again -one over the other, like a mass of driftwood piles itself in a North -American river. Below, the Rio Grande may be seen, a mere brawling -burn; a short distance through thick woods, and we are at Paraiso; as -unlike one’s ideal of paradise as Cremorne Gardens or Ratcliff Highway. -Again we reach the swampy lowlands with their dense growths; ahead, -and looming high in the glowing atmosphere, stands Mount Ancon, whose -southern base is bathed by the blue waters of the Pacific; on the left, -Cerro-de-los-Buccaneros, or the Hill of the Buccaneers, from whose -summit the terrible Morgan first looked on old Panama in the year 1670. -We rattle past San Pedro Miguel and Caimitillo, small tidal tributaries -to the Rio Grande, scream through the Rio Grande Station, sweep round -the base of Mount Ancon; and before us are the tall spires of the -cathedral, the long metal roofing of the terminus, and the quiet -waters of the Pacific. - -Captain Harvey, R.N., then in command of Her Majesty’s ship ‘Havannah,’ -met us at the terminus; the ship’s boats were in waiting to take both -men and baggage on board, so that I saw but little of Panama. My old -foes (that waged war against me at Colon), the gold-seekers, were -assembled on the wharf, awaiting the small tugboat to take them off to -the larger steamer anchored in the offing. To judge from appearances, -there were amongst them a goodly sprinkling that would have deemed -lynching or riddling a Britisher, a capital joke. - -A tropical sun soon makes one thirsty. I wanted ‘a drink,’ and for -the first time tasted iced cocoanut-milk; never in my life have I -ever drunk anything half as delicious. Don’t imagine that, in the -least degree, it resembles the small teacupful of sweet insipid stuff -dribbled out from the cocoanut as we buy it here in England. What we -eat as kernel is liquid in the young nut, and the outer husk soft -enough to push your thumb through. Surely the cocoanut palm must have -been specially designed for the dwellers in the tropical world! It -supplies everything uncivilised man can possibly need, to build his -ships, rig, paddle, and sail them; from its products, too, he can make -his houses, and obtain food, drink, clothing, and culinary utensils. -Strictly littoral in its habits, the cocoa-palm loves to loll over the -sea, and let the frothy ripple wash its rootlets. This also looks like -another link in the chain of Divine intentions. The nuts necessarily -fall into the sea—winds and currents carry them to coral reefs, or -strand them on desert shores, there to grow, and, by a sequence of -wondrously-ordered events, in time make it habitable for man. The -‘Havannah’ dropped down to the beautiful island of Tobago, to take in -water ere she sailed for Vancouver Island. - -As we crossed the Bay of Panama (which is, I believe, about 135 miles -wide, running inland 120), pelicans, far too numerous to count, were -floating high in the air, some of them mere specks. The species -_Pelecanus fuscus_ (the brown pelican) is a permanent resident on the -southern coasts of America, frequenting in great numbers the shores of -the Gulf of Mexico, California, the Bay of Panama, and other sheltered -inlets. They frequently build in the trees, although the nest is quite -as often placed on the ground, even when the former are close at hand. -My acquaintance with the pelicans in the Zoological Gardens in the -Regent’s Park had given me an idea of clumsiness, and to see them -_spooning_ the fish from out their pond is certainly no indication of -being adepts at fishing. I know no prettier sight than to watch the -brown pelican fishing in the Bay of Panama; no awkwardness there, every -movement easy and graceful. Soaring high in the lurid atmosphere, to -the eye little more than a tiny dark spot, suddenly down comes the bird -as if hurled from the clouds; plunging in head-first, its sharp beak -cleaves the water like a wedge; a fish seized is at once pouched; and, -rising without any apparent effort from the sea, it soars off again, to -look out for another chance. Should the fish be missed, an event that -does not often happen, the bird sits quietly on the water, and stares -round in stupid astonishment. - -We remained several days at Tobago; and as we rode at anchor in the -deep roadstead, I could have easily pitched a penny into the groves -of tamarind and orange-trees, that grew on the very beach. From the -sea-line to the summit of the island, which is quite a thousand feet -in altitude, the hills rise in terraces, but so densely clothed with -cocoanut, banana, tamarind, orange, and other tropical trees, that one -hardly credits the existence of terraces, or that hill and valley are -hid beneath the unbroken surface of green. A little village lies hid -in a palm-grove at the base of the hill, and in the ravine behind it -bubbles up the spring of pure fresh water, that never fails, and from -which all vessels touching at Panama obtain their supply. - -Mr. Baurman, a geologist, accompanied me on a ramble through its woods -and along the seacoast. We did nothing to distinguish ourselves save -getting frightfully hot, being well-nigh famished with thirst (for we -were far away from the water), and although I fired at the cocoanuts in -the hope of bringing one down, only succeeded in making holes in them -and letting out the much-coveted milk, that fell on us like a shower of -rain; shooting a few doves amongst the pineapples, and a turkey-buzzard -on the summit—a frightful crime in Tobago, of which, at the time, I -was in happy ignorance; but, fortunately for me, Baurman carried the -bird, and was deemed, for his good nature, the greater culprit. The -most singular sight we stumbled on was a bull, saddled and bridled in -equine fashion, with a black man riding on his back. Tauro might have -been a good hack, but he certainly did not look so as he waddled lazily -along with his sable rider. - -The inhabitants, with few exceptions, are blacks. There was one girl -(the property of as repulsive an old demon as one could well see) -perfectly blonde, fair even to paleness, with soft blue eyes and long -golden hair, that hung in wavy ripples down to her waist—her feet and -hands delicately small, and a figure Venus might have envied. Where -she came from no one knew: one might have supposed her the descendant -of some Viking, if Vikings had ever cruised in the Pacific. Perhaps -her owner was a ‘Black Pirate,’ who stole the damsel, and knifed her -friends; not bad material for a _sensation_ story—‘The Fair Captive of -Tobago.’ - -The view from the summit was exceedingly lovely. Behind, and to the -right and left, the dark-green slope looked as if one could have slid -into the vessels at their anchorage; before, a vertical wall of rock a -thousand feet from the sea. It looked to me as if the island had been -broken in two in the centre, and that one-half had sunk into the water -and disappeared; the air quivered even at this height, as it does over -a limekiln; not a leaf stirred— the intensely blue sea was unrippled -far as eye could reach; the very birds and insects, too hot to fly, sat -panting under the shadow of the leaves. We gathered a pineapple, but it -tasted hot, as if half-roasted. - -I am not favourably impressed with the honesty of the islanders that -do the washing, or rather that do not do it. Following the example of -the officers of the ‘Havannah,’ I delivered my bag of clothes, the -accumulation since leaving England, to the washer, who promised, as -only a black washerman will promise, to have it on board before we -sailed: he kept his word, for he came when the ship was under weigh, -had his money, and with bows, and prayers for my welfare in this world, -vanished over the side. We were well out to sea when I looked at my -bag; imagine my wrath at finding everything just as I had given it. It -was lucky for the rascal he was out of reach, and perhaps quite as well -for me; a dollar (4_s._) a dozen to carry one’s clothes ashore, most -likely to wear, and bring back again dirtier than it went, would enrage -the meekest saint! - -The voyage in the ‘Havannah’ from Panama to Vancouver Island was a long -and wearisome one. We left Tobago on June 4, and entered the Straits -of Juan de Fuca on July 12. Reference to the track-chart shows how -we idled and idled along on the sea, sauntering, rather than sailing; -with a blazing sun right over the masthead, the heat was intolerable, -and attended with a depressing languor, that forbade all energy, and -fairly melted one in body and mind. The only land sighted was a very -distant view of the Gallopagos Islands, a mere black looking spot on -an interminable surface of blue. This group of volcanic islands, so -strangely isolated, might have been a monster fish, a phantom ship, or -even the great sea-serpent, for anything that could be definitely made -out, even aided by a ship’s telescope. - -We caught great numbers of dolphins (_Coryphæna hippuris_), which -are far more lovely to the eye than agreeable to the palate, in my -estimation. This fish, usually from four to five feet in length, is -built for rapid passage through the water: the tail, forked like horns, -together with the long dorsal fin, reaching from head to tail, enables -it to turn with an ease and celerity during even its swiftest transit -through the sea. All who have written (in prose or poetry) about the -dolphin have attempted a description of its marvellous colouring: -to convey, by word-painting, the slightest idea of the changing, -flashing, glowing radiance that plays around and upon this fish, when -fresh from the ocean, is as impossible as to describe the colours of -the Aurora, or the phosphorescence of the tropical seas; it must be -witnessed to be realised in all its magnificence. Flying-fish are its -favourite food, and these the dolphins course as greyhounds course -hares; what is called ‘flying’ being merely an extended leap, aided by -the immensely-elongated pectoral fins, made in sheer desperation to -escape the voracious sea-hounds so hotly pursuing them. - -In reference to these same flying-fish, the species washed on board the -‘Parana’ by the waves of the turbulent Atlantic, and that found their -way into the stomach of a dolphin of terrestrial habits, was _Exocetus -exiliens_. I could see nothing of its movements, as the sea simply -washed it into the sponsons, or left it floundering on the deck. Its -general appearance was exactly like a newly-caught herring: the scales, -thin and rounded, easily detached, and adhered to the hand; the back -a light steel-blue, with greenish reflections, shading into silvery -whiteness on the sides; the pectoral fins reached quite to the tail, -and were shaped like the wings of a swift; the dorsal and anal fins -are opposite each other, and placed near the tail, which is deeply but -unevenly forked—the lower limb being much the longer; the ventral -fins, which are posterior to the middle of the body, are unusually long -and strongly rayed. - -But in the uncomfortably calm Pacific, where I watched the flying-fish -every day, and often all day long, I had ample opportunity to observe -its so-called ‘flying.’ The species that tenant the two oceans are -very nearly allied, _Exocetus volitans_ being the one common to the -Pacific; but it is of habits I wish to treat, not of minute specific -distinctions—that can be settled in the studio. It seems to me that -the distance traversed when the fish leaps from the sea, and the length -of time it remains out of the water, are much overestimated in books -on Natural History. Ten or twelve seconds may be taken as the average -time of its flight, and eighty yards the maximum distance traversed -when the water is perfectly tranquil; if aided by a breeze of wind, or -propelled from the crest of a breaker, the distance accomplished would -necessarily be greater; but the fins have no power to raise the fish a -single inch above the level of its leap, and simply aid in its support, -as the extended skin of the flying-squirrel bears it up in its spring -from bough to bough. I have never seen the fins vibrated or flapped, as -all wings invariably are, but, stiff and rigid, are extended and still, -until the fish plunges into the sea. Numbers, beyond all computation, -were constantly seen by us in the air together, when chased by -predatory fish. The flying-fish, as a rule, is about twelve inches in -length. - -We caught several sharks, and an immense hammerhead (_Zygaena -vulgaris_), that we could not catch, followed us for a very long time. -As I looked at him sailing along under the stern of the ship, I was at -a loss to imagine for what purpose such a head was given to it; exactly -like an immense caulking-hammer, with an eye in each end; in every -other detail of shape, and in habits of voracity too, as far as I know, -it resembles the ordinary sharks. That it is so constructed to serve -some special purpose in its economy there can be no doubt, but what -that may be, remains to be discovered. We fished for albatross with -marked success, to be devoured by both men and officers, stuffed as a -goose; the rag from off the bung of a cask of whale-oil, rubbed with an -onion and chewed, would be mildly flavoured as compared to the flesh -of this sea-bird. Petrels were ever with us, like flights of martins -round the habitations of man; always on the wing, never resting, or -roosting either, as far as I could see; watch them in their easy -graceful flight, till the last lingering ray of light sank away beneath -the watery horizon; and, as night wrapped them in her sable mantle, -they were still on the wing. Be on deck as the first blush of early -dawn crept drowsily over the sleeping sea, and with the rosy light -came the petrels, still flying, as they had vanished in the darkness. -We tried to catch them by loosing long threads over the stern, and -tangling them, like human spiders; we did trap one, but the sailors -were mutinous at such unheard-of barbarity; injuring the chickens of -‘Mother Carey’ was an offence not to be tolerated, even in a zealous -naturalist; so, at the captain’s request, the cotton webs were -abandoned. The one taken was the black stormy petrel, _Thalassidroma -melania_ (C. Buonaparte): upper plumage entirely black (as are the -wing-coverts), below ferruginous; tail deeply forked, and very short. - -It is a well-marked species, and readily distinguished from all its -kindred by the absence of white on the rump and wing-coverts. We caught -a huge turtle with a hook and line: a number of lines were hanging -from the bow, the ship almost still, when there was a tremendous -hue-and-cry that a turtle was hooked. To hold him with the line would -have been an utter impossibility—he could have smashed it like -pack-thread. The barbed trident called ‘a grains’ was brought into -immediate requisition, and from the ‘dolphin-striker’ an experienced -hand sent it crashing through the turtle’s armour-plates; a boat was -lowered, tackle rigged, and the ponderous reptile safely deposited on -the deck. The species I was unable to determine, for I had barely time -to seize the sucking-fish (_Remora_) that were clinging to its shell in -clusters, and observe the curious beings, parasitic and others, that -evidently used the turtle as a living raft, on which to cruise about, -ere the remorseless cook, armed with knife, axe, and saw, hewed and -hacked the monster, I could have devoted days to examine, into junks -for the pot. The harvest gleaned from his shell I shall speak of in the -chapter on Fishes. - -All our fresh provisions had long been expended, and water reduced to -a very small supply per diem, when on the 11th of July, the seventieth -day at sea, ‘land on the starboard bow’ was an announcement welcome -to all. Being near dark, it was deemed advisable to stand off until -morning, and enter the Straits of Juan de Fuca with a good light. It -appeared a longer night than I ever remember, so impatient was I once -more to see and tread on _terra firma_; what in the mist and distance -seemed but a dark undefined shadow, was in reality the lighthouse, -standing grey and lonely on the wild wave-lashed rocks of Cape -Flattery. The wind was dead aft, and blowing freshly, as we dashed up -the straits, faster far than we had ever gone during the long tedious -voyage. - -Nowhere is this curious inlet more than twelve miles in width: on the -right, seen over an ocean of dark-green forest, sloping to the shore, -were the snowy summits of the Olympian range of mountains; on the -left the more rounded and lower metamorphic hills, quite as densely -timbered, but broken along the coast-line into open glades and grassy -slopes, like well-kept lawns, reaching to the water-line. About sixty -miles from the entrance we round the dreaded ‘race rocks,’ and with -scarce time for even a hasty look at the new land, glide round a -rocky point, on which is a house, and people anxiously watching our -movements. The sails are clewed up; orders are rapidly given, and as -quickly executed. A heavy plunging splash and the rattle of the massive -cable, as it crashes through the hawse-holes, proclaim our anchorage in -Esquimalt Harbour, and safe arrival at Vancouver Island. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - VICTORIA—THE SALMON: ITS HAUNTS AND HABITS. - - -We were landed, soon after our arrival, on a rocky point of land with a -snug sheltered bay on each side; an easy slope led up to the frame of a -house, destined to be our headquarters; a pretty spot, very Englishlike -in its general features, but in the rough clothing of uncultivated -nature. Tents were pitched, the baggage carried safely up and stowed -away, and the first camp of the Boundary Commission established in this -new land of promise. - -Our first walk to Victoria, now the thriving capital of Vancouver -Island, was made on the evening of our landing. The gold-fever was -just beginning to rage fast and furiously, and all classes, from every -country, were pouring in—a very torrent of gold-hunters. Not that -_gold-hunter_ means only he that digs and washes the yellow ore from -out Nature’s treasury, but includes a herd of parasites, that sap the -gains of the honest digger; tempting him to gamble, drink poison -(miscalled whisky), and purchase trashy trumpery, made, like Pindar’s -razors, only to sell; and thus fool away his wealth; ‘earned like a -horse, squandered like an ass!’ Both species were well represented, in -what could not, in any sense of the word, as yet be called a town. - -The old trading-post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the governor’s -house, and a few scattered residences of the chief traders and other -employés of the Company, alone represented the permanent dwellings. But -in all directions were canvas tents, from the white strip stretched -over a ridge-pole, and pegged to the ground (affording just room -enough for two to crawl in and sleep), to the great canvas store, a -blaze of light, redolent of cigars, smashes, cobblers, and cocktails. -The rattle of the dice-box, the droning invitation of the keepers of -the monte-tables, the discordant sounds of badly-played instruments, -angry words, oaths too terrible to name, roystering songs with noisy -refrains, were all signs significant of the golden talisman that met -me on every side, as I elbowed my way amidst the unkempt throng, that -were awaiting means of conveyance to take them to the auriferous bars -of the far-famed Fraser river. Along the side of the harbour, wherever -advantageous water-sites were obtainable, the noise of busy industry -sounded pleasantly in contrast to the mingled hubbub I had just left. -Higher up the slope, substantial stores were being rapidly built. Out -of these germs grew the present town the capital of the island, that we -shall often have to visit in the course of this narrative. - -With the island, and its history as a colony, I have but little to do. -Other and more able writers have said all that need or can be told -about its commerce, agriculture, politics, and progress. The prairie, -forest, lake, river, sea, estuary, and rocky inlet are my domains; to -their tenants I have to introduce you, guide you to their homes and -haunts, and bring you face to face, in imagination, with the zoological -colony of the Far North-west. - -First, of the island. Vancouver Island is situated between the -parallels of 48° 20″ and 51° N. lat., and in from 123° to 128° W. -long.—its shape, oblong; length, 300 miles; its breadth, varying at -different points, may be taken at an average of from 35 to 50 miles. -The island may be characterised as an isolated ridge of mountains, -which attain, at their greatest elevation, an altitude of about 6,000 -feet. There are no navigable rivers, but numerous mountain-streams, -that, as a rule, have a rapid descent, and empty into inlets or arms -of the sea, everywhere intersecting the coast-line, east and west of -the watershed. Lakes, large and small, are common, from the summit of -the hills to the flat gravel lands near the coast; dense pine-forests -clothe these hills to their very tops. On the open lands, misnamed -prairies, the scrub-oak (_Quercus garryana_) grows so gnarled and -contorted that stock, branch, twig, and even the very leaves look as -if they suffered from perpetual cramp. Alder, willow, black birch, and -cottonwood fill the hollows. - -The climate of the island is milder and more equable than it is on the -adjoining continent, and closely approximates to that of Great Britain. - -The shortest road to an Englishman’s heart, says the adage, is down his -throat; and being a road a good deal travelled, is it to be wondered at -if fish (especially such as are welcome travellers down this same ‘red -lane’) should have been the first objects of practical Natural History -to which the naturalist, fresh from the ‘old country’ and seventy-two -days’ imprisonment on board-ship, turned his attention? The first fish -I saw and tasted was salmon; and to the Salmon and its haunts I at once -introduce you. - - - SALMO QUINNAT. - -Richardson, F. B. A., ‘Fishes,’ p. 219; Common Salmon, Lewis and Clark. -INDIAN NAMES: at Chinook Point, mouth of the Columbia, _Quinnat_; at -the Kettle Falls, _See-met-leek_; by the Nesquallys, _Satsup_. - -SPECIFIC CHARACTERS.—Head, just one-fourth of the entire length, -measured from the tip of the nose to where the scales terminate at the -tail; the operculum very much rounded, and usually with several spiny -projections on the outer margin; preoperculum rounded much the same, -but wanting the serrated margin; branchial rays, fourteen. Cleft of -the mouth posterior to the eye, which is a dark copper-colour in the -freshly-caught fish. The teeth are large and strong in both jaws, but -they vary in number according to the age, sex, and condition of the -salmon; about ten in each limb of the jaws may be taken as the usual -average in an adult fish. Those on the tongue are smaller, and placed -in two rows, six in each row. The vomerine and palatine teeth are again -much smaller and weaker than any of the others, corresponding to such -as stud the gullet. - -Fresh from the water, the colours in a healthy fish are particularly -marked and bright, but change rapidly after death. The back, through -its entire length, is a light steel-blue; shading off on the sides to -a lighter tint, that merges by imperceptible gradations through grey -to silvery-white on the belly; blushed over with pink, that disappears -soon after death. Back, above the well-defined lateral line, thickly -spotted with black, the spots being like stars with rays of irregular -length; but I have very often seen the spots extending beyond the -lateral line, and even on the white of the belly. Opercula, all the -fins and the tail more or less spotted, and of a pinkish hue, the anal -and pectoral fins tipped with black. The general appearance of this -salmon is that of being very thick for its length, the dorsal outline -slightly arched, forming almost a notch with the tail. - - • • • • • - -Soon after our commencing work, I was encamped for many months on the -banks of the Chilukweyuk river, a tributary to the Fraser, having a -short but rapid course through a rocky valley. - -In June and July salmon ascend this stream in incredible numbers, -filing off as they work upcurrent into every rivulet, filling even -pools left on the prairies and flats by the receding floods. - -About a mile from my camp was a large patch of pebbly ground, dry even -at the highest floods, through which a shallow stream found its way -into the larger river. Though barely of sufficient depth to cover an -ordinary-sized salmon, yet I have seen that stream so filled, that fish -pushed one another out of the water high-and-dry upon the pebbles. -Each, with its head up-stream, struggled, fought, and scuffled for -precedence. With one’s hands only, or, more easily, by employing a gaff -or a crook-stick, tons of salmon could have been procured by the simple -process of hooking them out. - -It seems to me that thousands of the salmon ascending these small -mountain-streams never can spawn from sheer want of room, or, if they -do, it must be under most unfavourable circumstances. At the end of -the pebble-stream was a waterfall, beyond which no fish could by -any possibility pass. Having arrived at this barrier to all farther -progress, there they obstinately remained. Weeks were spent in -watching them, but I never, in a single instance, saw one turn back -and endeavour to seek a more congenial watercourse; but, crowded from -behind by fresh arrivals, they died by the score, and, drifting slowly -along, in time reached the larger stream. It was a strange and novel -sight to see three moving lines of fish—the dead and dying in the -eddies and slack-water along the banks, the living, breasting the -current in the centre, blindly pressing on to perish like their kindred. - -Even in streams where a successful deposition of the ova has been -accomplished, there never appears, as far as my observations have gone, -any disposition in the parent-fish to return to the sea. Their instinct -still prompts them to keep swimming up-stream, until you often find -them with their noses worn quite off, their heads bruised and battered, -fins and tail ragged and torn, bodies emaciated, thin, and flabby; -the bright silvery tints dull and leaden in hue, a livid red streak -extending along each side from head to tail, in which large ulcerous -sores have eaten into the very vitals. - -The Indians say all the salmon that come up to spawn die; but if all -do not die, I have no hesitation in saying that very few spring-salmon -ever reach the saltwater after ascending the rivers to spawn. Why -there should be this marvellous waste of salmon in the rivers of the -North-west I am somewhat puzzled to imagine. The distance the fish -have to travel from the sea up-stream, or the obstacles they may -have to overcome, have clearly nothing to do with their dying. In the -Chilukweyuk river the distance from the sea is not over 200 miles, and -that clear from any kind of hindrance; and yet they die in thousands. -In the Columbia they ascend a thousand miles to the Kettle Falls, and -they have been caught many hundred miles above that; still they die -just the same as in the shorter streams. Up the Snake river they push -their way to the great Shoshonee Falls, over a thousand miles against -a rocky stream, but perish there just as they do in the Sumass and -Chilukweyuk rivers, which are close to the sea. - -Unlike the salmon in our own streams, the spring-salmon in -North-western waters spawn in midsummer, when the water is at its -lowest temperature and greatest flood-height, from the melting snow. -As there is no impediment or hindrance to prevent them returning -to the sea, why do they die in N.W. waters? In my opinion, from -sheer starvation. Careful observations, made at various Indian -fishing-stations and extending over a long space of time, have -quite convinced me that salmon (I more particularly allude to the -spring-fish) never feed after leaving saltwater. My reasons for -thus thinking are, first, no salmon (as far as I know) has ever -been tempted to take a bait of any kind in the fresh water above -the tideway. The Indians all say that salmon never _eat_ when in -the _rivers_; and I could never discover that they had any recorded -instance, or even tradition, of a salmon being taken with bait. - -I tried every lure I could think of, to tempt these lordly salmon. The -most killing salmon-flies of Scotch, Irish, and English ties, thrown -in the most approved fashion, were trailed close to their noses; such -flies as would have coaxed any old experienced salmon in the civilised -world of waters to forget his caution. Hooks, cunningly baited with -live fish, aquatic larvæ, and winged insects, were scorned, and not -even honoured with a sniff. Others of the Commission also tried their -powers of fascination, but with equally unsuccessful results. - -I have opened a very large number of salmon at various Indian -fishing-stations, on their first arrival, and during every stage of -their wasting vitality, and after death had ended their sufferings; -and not in a solitary instance did I ever discover the trace of food -in the stomach or intestinal canal. But in every case where a salmon -was taken in the tideway or saltwater, I invariably found the remains -of small fish and marine animals in its stomach; and in the estuaries -and long inland canals that so strangely intersect the coast-line of -British Columbia, salmon are readily and easily caught with hook and -line; clearly showing to my mind, that whilst in salt and brackish -water the North-western spring-salmon feed and fatten, but, after -quitting their ocean-haunts for the cold fresh-water, they starve, -waste, and die, as a lamp goes out from sheer want of oil. Surely, -where hundreds of salmon are split in a day, as at the Kettle Falls, it -is fair to assume that if they took any food, by chance a fish would be -caught immediately after its meal, with enough evidence in the stomach -to prove the fact of having broken its fast; but such proof is never -discoverable. Digestion would scarcely be more rapid in the rivers than -it is in the ocean and estuary, where we know they eat. Open a salmon -and examine its stomach at any time, caught either in nets or with hook -and line, and food in various stages of digestion will be invariably -found. - -Another proof that they undergo a rigid and persistent lent is found in -the rapid wasting of all the tissues that goes on during their sojourn -in fresh-water. Allowing for the consumption of material requisite -for the purposes of reproduction, and the wear-and-tear consequent on -making their way up stiff currents, leaping falls, and laboriously -toiling up rocky _canions_—still I contend, if only a partial -equivalent was resupplied in the shape of food, waste would not go on -to the actual death of the muscles, that slough away in large pieces, -as the exhausted fish makes feeble efforts to struggle on; dying at -last a loathsome mass of rotting animal matter. - -Sores, in both male and female fish, often arise from injuries -inflicted by the teeth of a jealous adversary; but these wounds are -utterly different from the sloughing ulcer, arising, as I believe, from -sheer lack of vital force. These salmon veritably consume themselves, -and perish, when life’s stove burns out, for want of fuel to keep it -alight. - -In August the Chilukweyuk river became perfectly unendurable from -the quantities of dead fish floating down. I had with me a splendid -retriever, that, to my disgust and annoyance, used to amuse himself, -during my absence from the tent, by swimming in after the floating -salmon, bringing them ashore, and safely storing them in my canvas -dwelling; and on my return I used to discover a heap of fish, the -stench from which was beyond human endurance. If fastened out from the -tent, he piled them up at the door: all the lessons bestowed on him -failed to convince him of his folly; he stuck to his disagreeable habit -with a perseverance worthy of a better cause. - -Arriving a little later than the preceding, is a smaller fish, which -I believe to be the _Salmo paucidens_ (Weak-Toothed Salmon) of Sir J. -Richardson, F. B. A., p. 223; the _red charr_ of Lewis and Clark, but -the red they allude to is a colour every one of the different species -acquire after being a short time in the rivers. - -This fish seldom attains a weight over from three to five pounds, -and is called by the Indians, at the salmon-leap at Colville on the -Columbia, _stzoin_; it is a very handsome fish, back nearly straight, -a light sea-greenish colour; sides and belly silvery-white, tail very -forked, fins and tail devoid of any spots; the teeth are wide apart, -and not strongly implanted. I was disposed at first to think they were -the _young_ of some other species; but the Indians are positive they -are not, and they spawn much as the others do. In a small stream or -tributary to the Chilukweyuk river, a mountain-torrent on the west -side of the Cascades flowing into the Fraser, on the banks of which I -was for a long time encamped, and up which the salmon come in great -numbers, I amused myself watching this species of salmon (_Salmo -paucidens_) deposit their spawn. It was in August, the water clear as -crystal, the bottom a fine brown gravel. A trench, that looked about -three or four inches deep and three feet long, was muzzled out by the -noses of the females. A female fish poised herself over the trench, -head up-stream, and by a rapid vibration of her fins kept herself -nearly still; this lasted about a minute and a half or two minutes, -during which time a quantity of ova were deposited. She then darted off -like an arrow; four males at once took her place over the spawn-bed, -and remained, just as the female had done, about two minutes. On their -leaving two females came, and were followed by the males, as before. -The water was about four feet deep. I am quite sure, from often -watching these streams, that one spawning-bed is used by a great many -males and females: it was both curious and interesting to watch the -extreme regularity with which the sexes succeeded each other. - -The question as to what becomes of the young salmon after leaving the -egg, is a query more easily asked than answered. There are no snug -breeding-ponds, no cosy little aquariums or water-nurseries, where the -baby-salmon may be watched and carefully tended until, honoured with -a badge, it is sent away to travel through pelagic meadows, deep-sea -forests, and ocean gardens, where, growing rapidly, bigger if not -wiser, it returns to tell how long it has been away, and how rapidly -it has grown. Assistance such as this falls not to the lot of the -hunter-naturalist, who with prying eye peers, searches, and grubs about -on the banks and into the depths of the lakes and mountain-torrents, in -this far-western wilderness. Had he the eyes of Argus, he could only -register a few hasty observations, and generalise on their value: he -has no opportunities for investigations, such as they have, who at home -can watch the egg in their very parlours, gradually shaping itself into -the quaint little salmon; see it come from out the egg-case with its -haversack of provender, wonderfully provided to supply its wants, until -able to live by its own teeth and industry; track its growth and habits -through its youthful days; then, marking it with a leaden medal, send -it off to sea, to welcome it back after its wanderings a full-grown -salmon. - -It may be that Creative wisdom has implanted the same instinct in the -North-western salmon, prompting it to obey similar laws, and follow the -same routine as to the exodus seaward, and return to fresh-water, as -directs it in our native streams: my own impression is, that the fish -spawned in midsummer or autumn remain up in the lakes and deep still -river-pools until the following summer freshets, when they take their -departure for the sea as the fresh-run salmon come. I think so, because -in the Sumass and Chilukweyuk lakes, already spoken of; along the banks -of the Fraser river, and in the Osoyoos lakes and tributaries to the -Columbia river, I have in September and October observed large shoals -of what I believed to be young salmon, that disappear when the snow -begins to melt during June and July in the following summer. I suspect -the first flood carries them down and out to sea; but, after all, this -is but surmise, and of little practical value. - -I never caught salmon-fry whilst fishing for trout, as we could so -easily do in our streams; and it is just possible that the rapid rise -(unlike anything we know of in our streams) that takes place in every -river, brook, and rivulet during midsummer, when the snow melts on the -hills, reducing the temperature of the water down to freezing-point, -may send the young salmon-fry into the saltwater at a very early period -of its life. “At three days old he is nearly two grains in weight; at -16 months old he has increased to two ounces, or 480 times its first -weight; at 20 months old, after the smolt has been a few months in -the sea, it becomes a grilse of 8½ lbs., having increased 68 times in -three or four months; at 2⅔ years old it becomes a salmon of from 12 -to 15 lbs. weight, after which its increased rate of growth has not -been ascertained; but by the time it becomes 30 lbs. in weight, it has -increased 115,200 times the weight it was at first.”[2] These smolts -that I have seen in shoals were about half an ounce in weight, the -produce of the summer’s spawning. As I have stated, they disappear when -the floods set in; and nothing more is seen of them until they return -salmon of various sizes, from 2 lbs. to 75 lbs., or, as I believe, the -Quinnat and Stzoin. - -The next salmon in importance, as affording food to the Indians, is -called by them at the Kettle Falls _cha-cha-lool_, and arrives with the -quinnat. This is unquestionably a fully-matured fish, and a distinct -species, answering in many particulars to the _Salmo Gairdneri_ of Sir -J. Richardson, F. B. A., ‘Fishes,’ p. 221; it will be as well to retain -that name. It may be readily distinguished from the quinnat by its -rounded blunt-looking nose, shorter and much thicker head, straighter -back, and more slender figure—the tail not nearly as much forked. The -entire colour of the back is much lighter, and thickly freckled, as -are the fins and tail, with oval black spots. The average weight of -the _cha-cha-lool_ is from 8 to 11 lbs. This salmon is common in the -Fraser, Chilukweyuk, and Sumass rivers, and in every stream along the -mainland and island coasts up which salmon ascend. When they first -arrive the flesh is most delicious—fat, pink, and firm withal, and -to my palate finer than that of the mammoth quinnat. The Indians also -prize these salmon, and pack them when dried in bales apart from the -others. - -_Salmo Gairdneri_ and _S. quinnat_ are the spring salmon, but the -autumn has also its supply of ‘swimming silver,’ quite equal to that of -spring in point of numbers, but inferior in quality. Up the Columbia -in October to the Kettle Falls, and somewhat earlier in the Fraser -and rivers north of it, comes an ugly, unprepossessing, hook-nosed, -dingy-looking salmon, called by the Colville Indians _Keasoo_, by the -Chinooks _Ekewan_, by the Clallams _Kutch-kutch_—the _Hooked Snout_ of -the fur-traders, _Salmo lycaodon_ of Pallas, _Zoog. Russ. Asiat._ - -When fresh-run, this fish in colour is of a silvery-grey lustre; -back, overshot with a greenish hue; belly, silvery-white; no spots on -either the back or sides. The hooked nose, said to be peculiar to the -male fish after spawning, is a well-marked, constant, and specific -character in every fresh-run fish, the females having at all times -symmetrical jaws. I found, from carefully observing great numbers of -these fresh-run males, that the hooked state of the snout differs -very materially in fish arriving at the same period; and I am quite -convinced that large numbers of these salmon do get back again to -the saltwater after spawning, and that the strange change that takes -place in the hooking over of the snout and growth of the teeth, during -their sojourn in the rivers, remains a permanent mark; and the vast -difference observable in the males, at the time of arrival, is simply -attributable to the fact, that those having the large fanglike teeth -and tremendously crooked snout are such as have been up the rivers -perhaps the year before, or, it may be, long prior to that period. - -In every stream and rill, where they can by any possibility work a -passage, you find these salmon; they remain until January and February -in the succeeding year, becoming fearfully emaciated and worn, from a -long and tedious abstinence; for I believe these salmon feed sparely, -if at all, after leaving the sea. The fish in January is of a pale -dirty-yellow colour; the sides, showing a bright purplish stripe (sure -sign of waning vitality), are flattened and compressed; the back is -straight until near its posterior third, when it dips down suddenly, -and rises again at the tail just as if you had cut a notch out. The -belly, instead of being silvery-white, is rusty yellow, and hangs -pendulous and flabby; the eye is dull and sunken. - -But the most curious change is in the head of the male fish: the nose -becomes enormously elongated, and hooks down like a gaff-hook over the -under-jaw, and the under-jaw bends up at the point into a kind of spike -that fits into a regular sheath or hole in the upper jaw, just where -it begins bending into the hook-like point; the teeth become regular -fangs, sticking out round the jaws at irregular distances, and having a -yellow bonelike appearance. I have often seen the teeth more than half -an inch in length. It is quite clear that these teeth grow during the -time the fish remain in fresh-water; no shrinking of the gums could -account for such a length of tooth; and their use, I believe, is for -fighting. - -My own observations lead me to assume that at least there are eight -or ten males to every female; and as one spawning-bed is used by many -females, terrible battles ensue between the males as to which shall -impregnate the ova; and it would appear, reasoning from analogy, that -the same law holds good with fish as with gregarious mammals and -birds—the stronger and more able male always begets the offspring. I -hardly think the ova of a female fresh-run salmon, impregnated by the -milt of an old and spent male fish, would produce as strong and healthy -an offspring as the male fat, fresh, vigorous, and healthy. I cannot -help thinking there must have been some purpose—as antlers are given -to the deer tribes, spurs to the males of gregarious birds, and like -examples—in giving such formidable weapons to these salmon during -their breeding-time; and why not the reason above stated? - -Quoting from Dr. Scouler: ‘Observatory Inlet (which I should imagine -to be just such an inlet as Puget’s Sound) was frequented at the time -by such myriads of the salmon, that a stone could not have reached the -bottom without touching several individuals—their abundance surpassing -imagination to conceive.’ He goes on to say, that in a little brook -they killed sixty with their boarding-pikes. Then, he says, the hump -before the dorsal fin consists of fat, and appears to be peculiar to -the males, who acquire it after spawning-time, when their snouts become -elongated and arched. - -The Fall-salmon (_Salmo lycaodon_) differ most extraordinarily at -different periods of their growth—so much so, that I quite believed -the adult, middle-aged, and young were three distinct and well-marked -species; but Dr. A. Günther has very kindly investigated the matter, -and knocked my three species into one. - -Indians take the young of this salmon in large numbers in the bays, -harbours, and fiord-like inlets surrounding the island, and along the -British Columbian and Oregon coasts; also in the Sumass, Chilukweyuk, -and Sweltza rivers, and indeed in all inland lakes that are accessible -to fish from the sea. These handsome, troutlike young salmon are easily -caught with bait of any kind; they rise readily to a gaudy fly, and -seize even a piece of their brethren if carefully tied round a hook; -from six ounces to a pound is about the average size. When they go to -sea again from the lakes I had no opportunity of proving, but I imagine -they go down with the floods, as the spring salmon come up. - -The second form in which I mistook it for a distinct species is that -of the Humpbacked Salmon (_Salmo proteus_, Pallas; _Salmo gibber_, -Suckley; ‘_gerbuscha_,’ Kamtschatka; ‘_hud-do_’ of the Nesqually -Indians; ‘_hun-num_’ of the Fraser river Indians). In its general -outline it differs altogether from the Hook-nosed Salmon. The back -is much more arched; nose curved, but not nearly as much as in the -mature _Salmo lycaodon_, and the under-jaw turns up and terminates in a -protuberance or knob; teeth much more numerous, sharper, and smaller; -tail deeply notched, and thickly spotted with dark oval-shaped marks. -The most conspicuous feature is a large hump of adipose material -situated on the shoulders, a little anterior to the dorsal fin, and -only found in the male fish. It has generally been stated that this -hump grows upon the male fish after entering the fresh-water: this is a -mistake, for I have seen them again and again taken in the sea, before -going up into the rivers, with this hump well developed. On cutting -it open, it appears to be a sort of cellular membrane, filled with an -oily, semifluid kind of material. The use of this deposit, there can be -no doubt, is to supply the male with this material in some mysterious -way during the spawning-time, for, after that period has passed, the -hump entirely disappears. They arrive about the same time as the older -fish, but only in very large runs every second year—have the same -range, and die in thousands. - -At Fort Hope, on the Fraser river, in the month of September, I was -going trout-fishing in a beautiful stream, the Qua-que-alla, that -comes thundering and dancing down the Cascade Mountains, cold and -clear as crystal; these salmon were then toiling up in thousands, and -were so thick in the ford that I had great trouble to ride my horse -through; the salmon were in such numbers about his legs as to impede -his progress, and frightened him so, that he plunged viciously and very -nearly had me off. They are never at any time good eating; the flesh, -in fresh-run fish, is white, soft, and tasteless. The Indians only eat -them when they are unable to obtain anything else. These salmon work up -to the very heads of the tributaries, and I have often seen them where -the water was so shallow as to leave their backs uncovered. - -The _Salmo canis_ of Suckley (Dog-Salmon, Spotted Salmon, ‘Natural -History of Washington Territory,’ p. 341), which he says arrives at -Puget’s Sound in September and October, I believe to be only the old -males of the _Salmo lycaodon_ (Hook-nosed Salmon), that have had a -turn in the rivers perhaps a year or two before, and have got safely -back again to the sea, recruited their wasted energies, and returned -again for another perilous cruise up the streams. The large fanglike -teeth, from which they derive the name of dog-salmon, are the large -teeth grown and developed, as I have previously described them, whilst -spawning in the fresh water. - -Salmon is of the most vital importance to the Indians; deprived or -by any means cut off from obtaining it, starve to death they must; -and were we at war with the Redskins, we need only cut them off from -their salmon-fisheries to have them completely at our mercy. If -salmon-fisheries—well managed, and conducted by persons who thoroughly -understood salting, barreling, and curing salmon—were established -on some of the tributaries to the Fraser and Columbia rivers, I am -quite convinced they would pay handsomely. Some few attempts have -been made by speculators, but always failed for want of capital and -proper management. The Hudson’s Bay Company, in some of their inland -and northern posts, feed their _employés_ on dried salmon during the -winter. At Fort Langley, on the Fraser river, the Company generally -_salt in_ several hundred casks of salmon, and these principally go to -the Sandwich Islands or to China. There was one large salmon-curing -establishment at the mouth of the Puyallup river, but I have been told -it did not pay; the fish, being badly put up and carelessly packed, -often spoiled before reaching the markets for which they were destined. -In Victoria, salmon is now a very important article both of food and -commerce. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - FISH HARVESTING. - - -The systems adopted by the Indians for capturing salmon vary in -accordance with the localities chosen for fishing. Besides the stages -or baskets in use on the Columbia river, they construct weirs reaching -from one side of a stream to the other, with skilfully-contrived -openings, allowing fish to pass easily through them into large lateral -stores made of closely-woven wicker, where they are kept prisoners -until required. - -They have rather a clever contrivance for catching salmon in the bays -and harbours, using a sort of gill-net (a net about forty feet long -and eight feet wide), with large meshes; the upper edge is buoyed by -bits of dry cedar-wood, that act as floats, and the net kept tight by -small pebbles slung at four-foot distances along the lower margin. This -kind of net the Indians stretch across the mouth of a small bay or -inlet, and sit in their canoes a short distance off, quietly watching -it. These small bays, or saltwater aquariums, are the lurking-places -and strongholds for shoals of anchovies and herrings. Often tempted -to wander and make excursions beyond the gateway of their rocky home, -they are at once spied by predatory piratical salmon; seeking safety -in flight, they dash headlong for their hiding-place, hotly pursued by -their dreaded foe, and shooting easily through the cordy snare, laugh -to see Master Salmon ‘run his head into the net;’ bob-bob go the floats -beneath the surface, up paddles redskin, hauls up his net, clutches the -silvery pirate, and with a short heavy club gives him a blow on the -head, drops him into the canoe, lets go his net, and waits for the next. - -With this kind of net immense numbers of spring and fall salmon are -taken. All their nets are made of cord, spun from native hemp, that -grows abundantly along the banks of the Fraser and other streams. -Squaws gather the plant about a week before the flowering-time; first -soak, then beat it into fibre; this, arranged in regular lengths, is -handed to the Indian, who, seated on the ground, twists the bundles -of tiffled hemp into cord—a cord as regular and symmetrical as -the handiwork of a practised ropemaker—-using neither tools nor -machinery, but simply the hand and naked thigh. - -The first salmon entering the Columbia are taken at Chinook Point, a -short distance above Cape Disappointment, near the mouth of the river. -These are known as ‘Chinook salmon,’ and are celebrated, not only in -the immediate neighbourhood but in the markets of San Francisco, as the -fattest and finest-flavoured salmon taken on the coast; they are large, -ranging from 35lbs. to 70lbs. in weight. - -In June the grand army arrives. We need not linger at the old fishery -of the Chinook Indians, so prosperous fifty years ago. The Indians have -disappeared; but the salmon army marches on, with little interruption, -until they have arrived at the Cascades. - -Here we must remain awhile, and see for ourselves how the red man -harvests his salmon. Salmon is quite as essential to the Indians -residing inland as grain to us, or bananas and plantains to the -residents in the tropics: gleaning the regular supply of fish, the -Indian literally harvests and garners it as we reap our grain-crops. -It cannot be by mere chance that fish are prompted, by an unalterable -instinct, to thread their way into the farthest recesses of the -mountains—fish too that are fat and oily, and best adapted to supply -heat and the elements of nutrition. - -The winters are long and intensely cold, often 30° Fahr. below zero, -the snow lying deep for at least six months. Birds migrate, most of -the rodents and the bears hibernate, and such animals as remain to -brave the biting cold, retire where it is very difficult and often -impossible to hunt or trap them. In a small lodge, made of hides or -rushes, as far from windproof as a sieve would be; wrapped in miserable -mantles (simply skins sewn together, or ragged blankets, bought of the -Hudson’s Bay Company), cowering and shivering over the smouldering -logs, are a family of savages. The nipping blasts and icy cold forbid -their venturing in pursuit of food; flesh they could not cure during -the summer, for they have not salt, and sun-drying is insufficient to -preserve it. A miserable death, starved alike by cold and hunger, must -be the fate of this, and of all Indian families away from the seaboard, -but for salmon: sun-dried, it preserves its heat and flesh-yielding -qualities unimpaired; uncooked, they chew it all day long, and -frequently grow fat during their quasi-hybernation. The waterways -are thus made available for the transport of coals and provisions -necessary to keep the life-stove burning, floated free of freight up to -the very doors of the Indian’s wigwam. The way he harvests this store, -and preserves it for winter use, we shall see as we follow the course -of the salmon in their ascent of the Columbia river. - -The Cascades, where the salmon first meet with a hindrance to their -upward course, is a lovely spot. The vast river here breaks its way -through the Cascade Mountains, a mountain-gap unequalled, I should -say, in depth and extent, by any in the world. Some parts are massive -walls of rock, and others wooded slopes like to a narrow valley. One -can hardly imagine the possibility of so great a change in climate, -and consequently vegetation, as there is betwixt this place and the -Dalles, only a few miles farther up the river. I have left the Dalles -when the ground was covered with snow, and within a distance of forty -miles entered this gap, and found the climate to be that of summer. The -sloping forests brightly green, shrubs of various sorts, tropical in -appearance, immense ferns, the emerald moss clothing the rocks, over -which dozens of waterfalls, unbroken for a thousand feet, tumble from -the hills into the river —all together make up a scene of beauty and -rich luxuriance, unlike any other part of the river. - -From the Dalles to the Cascades the river has scarcely a perceptible -current, either side being bounded by perpendicular walls of mountains. -Tradition says, that once the river had a uniformly swift course the -entire way, and that where the Cascades now are, the water passed at -that time under a huge arch that reached from side to side. Afterwards -an earthquake tumbled it down, the ruins of the arch still existing as -a chain of islands across the head of the rapids; the river, having -gradually carried away the fragments, forming now the long rapid. The -river, thus suddenly thrown back, flooded the forests up to the Dalles, -and to this day stumps of trees are to be seen sticking out of the -water many hundred yards from the shore. - -Below the Cascades, before reaching the flat district about Fort -Vancouver, the scenery is bold and massive; immense hills densely -wooded, bold promontories, and grassy glades are passed successively as -the steamer dashes on her downward trip. At the Cascades there is now a -railway, over which goods and passengers are conveyed to the steamers -above the rapids, which are so swift that canoes plied by experienced -Indians dare not venture to run them. - -Wandering along by this foaming rush of water, one sees numberless -scaffoldings erected amongst the boulders—rude clumsy contrivances, -constructed of poles jammed between large stones, and lashed with ropes -of bark to other poles, that cross each other to form stages. Indian -lodges, pitched in the most picturesque and lovely spots imaginable, -are dotted along from one end of the rapids to the other. Indians -from long distances and of several tribes have come here to await the -arrival of the salmon. - -Leaning against the trees, or supported by the lodges, are numbers of -small round nets (like we catch shrimps with in rocky pools), fastened -to handles forty and fifty feet in length. Hollow places are cunningly -enclosed, with low walls of boulders, on the riverside of each stage. - -It is early in June; the salmon have arrived, and a busy scene it is. -On every stage plying their nets are Indian fishers, guiltless of -garments save a piece of cloth tied round the waist. Ascending the -rapids, salmon seek the slack-waters at the edges of the current, -and are fond of lingering in the wake of a rock or any convenient -hollow; the rock-basins constructed by the sides of the stages are -just the places for idling and resting. This the crafty fisher turns -to good account, and skilfully catches the loiterer by plunging his -net into the pool at its head, and letting the current sweep it down, -thus _hooping_ salmon after salmon, with a certainty astounding to a -looker-on. Thirty salmon an hour is not an unusual take for two skilled -Indians to land on a stage. As soon as one gets tired, another takes -his place, so that the nets are never idle during the ‘run.’ - -The instant a fish reaches the stage, a heavy blow on the head stops -its flapping; boys and girls are waiting to seize and carry it ashore, -to be split and cured—a process I can better describe when at the -salmon-falls. As there is at the Cascades simply hindrance to the -salmon’s ascent, of course vast numbers escape the redskins’ nets. - -Forty miles above this fishery is another obstruction, the Dalles; -where the river forces its way through a mass of basaltic rocks in -numerous channels, some of them appearing as if hewn by human hands. -Another portage has to be made here, a neat little town having grown up -in consequence of the transhipment. The journey from steamer to steamer -is accomplished in stages, the heavy goods being hauled by mule and -ox-teams. The road lies over a steep ridge of hills to the junction -of the Des Chutes, or ‘Fall river,’ with the Columbia. Fishing at the -Dalles is much the same as at the Cascades. - -Great numbers of salmon turn off and ascend the Snake river, to be -captured at the Great Shoshonee Falls by the Snake and Bannock Indians. -We follow on the vanguard of the swimming army, passing numberless -tributaries, up which detachments make their way, right and left, into -the heart of the country—supplies for tribes living near the different -streams—to the great falls of the Columbia, the ‘Kettle Falls,’[3] why -so named is not very clear. These falls, except when the river is at -its highest flood, form an impassable barrier to the salmon’s progress; -the distance from the sea is about 700 miles, and the first arrivals -are usually about the middle of June. - -The winter-quarters of the Boundary Commission were about two miles -above the falls, and close to the falls is a trading-post of the -Hudson’s Bay Company, Fort Colville. The gravelly plateau on which the -trading-post stands, together with one or two houses belonging to old -employés, was clearly once a lake-bottom. The water at some remote -period filling the lake appears to have broken its way out through the -rocks at the falls, and left this flat dry land. Patches of wheat and -barley are grown, but the soil is far too poor to repay the labour of -cultivation. - -About three weeks preceding the arrival of the salmon, Indians begin to -assemble from all directions. Cavalcades may be seen, day after day, -winding their way down the plain; and as the savage when he travels -takes with him all his worldly wealth—wives, children, dogs, horses, -lodges, weapons, and skins—the turn-out is rather novel. The smaller -children are packed with the baggage on the backs of horses, which are -driven by the squaws, who always ride astride like the men. The elder -girls and boys, three or four on a horse, ride with their mothers, -whilst the men and stouter youths drive the bands of horses that run -loose ahead of the procession. A pack of prick-eared curs, simply tamed -prairie-wolves, are always in attendance. - -A level piece of ground overlooking the falls (the descent from which -to the rocks is by a zigzag path, down a nearly vertical cliff) is -rapidly covered with lodges of all shapes and sizes. The squaws do the -work appertaining to camping, and are literally ‘hewers of wood and -drawers of water.’ The men, who are all, when at the fishery, under -one chief, whom they designate the ‘Salmon Chief,’ at once commence -work—some in repairing the drying-sheds, which are placed on the rocks -(as are also numbers of lodges) at the foot of the zigzag; others are -busy making or mending immense wicker hampers, about thirty feet in -circumference, and twelve feet in depth. Little groups are dragging -down huge trees lopped clear of their branches—rolling, twisting, -and tumbling them over the rocks, to be fixed at last by massive -boulders, the ends hanging over the foaming water not unlike so many -gibbets. These trees being secure and in their right places, the next -work is to hang the wicker baskets to them, which is a risky and most -difficult job: but many willing hands and long experience work wonders; -with strong ropes of twisted bark, the baskets are at last securely -suspended. By this time the river begins to flood rapidly, and soon -washes over the rocks where the trees are fastened, and into the -basket, which is soon in the midst of the waterfall, being so contrived -as to be easily accessible from the rocks not overwashed by the flood. - -Whilst awaiting the coming salmon, the scene is one great revel: -horse-racing, gambling, love-making, dancing, and diversions of all -sorts, occupy the singular assembly; for at these annual gatherings, -when all jointly labour in catching and curing the winter supply of -salmon, feuds and dislikes are for the time laid by, or, as they -figuratively express it, ‘The hatchet is buried.’ - -The medicine-men (doctors and conjurors) of the different tribes busily -work their charms and incantations to insure an abundant run of fish. -One of the illustrations is drawn from a photograph of the falls. The -Indians at first steadily refused to allow the photographer and his -machine to come near the falls, declaring it a box of bad ‘medicine’ -that would surely drive every salmon away; and not until an old Romish -priest who was at the trading-post explained it to them, did they -permit a photograph to be taken. - -The watchers announce the welcome tidings of the salmon arrival, -and the business begins. The baskets are hung in places where past -experience has taught the Indians salmon generally leap, in their -attempts to clear the falls. The first few that arrive are frequently -speared from the rocks. They are in such vast numbers during the height -of the ‘run,’ that one could not well throw a stone into the water at -the base of the falls without hitting a fish: fifty and more may be -seen in the air at a time, leaping over the wicker traps, but, failing -to clear the ‘salmon-leap,’ fall back, and are caged. In each basket -two naked Indians are stationed all day long; and as they are under -a heavy fall of water, frequent relays are necessary. Salmon three -or four at a time, in rapid succession, tumble into the basket. The -Indians thrust their fingers under the gills, strike the fish on the -head with a heavy club, and then fling them on the rocks. I have known -three hundred salmon landed from one basket betwixt sunrise and sunset, -varying in weight from twenty to seventy-five pounds. - -From the heaps of fish piled on the rocks, boys and girls carry and -drag them back to the squaws seated round the curing-houses; with sharp -knives they rip the salmon open, twist off the head, and cleverly -remove the backbone; then hanging them on poles, close under the roofs -of sheds the sides of which are open, they dry them slowly, small fires -being kept constantly smouldering on the floors. The smoke serves to -keep away the flies, and perhaps also aids in the preservation of the -fish. The only portions eaten by the Indians during the catching are -the heads, backbones, roes, and livers, which are roasted, skewered on -sticks. - -When thoroughly dried the fish are packed in _bales_ made of rush-mats, -each bale weighing about fifty pounds, the bales being tightly lashed -with bark-ropes. Packing in bales of equal weight facilitates an -equitable division of the take. Horses are purposely brought to carry -the fish back to winter-quarters, and two bales are easily packed on -each horse. The fishing-season lasts for about two months: then the -spoils are divided, and the place abandoned to its wonted quietude, -until the following summer brings with it another harvest. - -During the drying, silicious sand is blown over the fish, and of course -adheres to it. Constantly chewing this ‘sanded salmon’ wears the teeth -as if filed down, which I at first imagined them to be, until the true -cause was discovered. I have an under-jaw in my possession whereon the -teeth are quite level with the bony sockets of the jaw, worn away by -the flinty sand. - -I question if in the world there is another spot where salmon are in -greater abundance, or taken with so little labour, as at the Kettle -Falls, on the Columbia river. In all streams emptying into Puget’s -Sound, in the Fraser river, and rivers north of it to the Arctic -Ocean, salmon ascend in prodigious abundance. In the Fraser there are -no obstructions as far as Fort Hope to the salmon ascent; hence fishing -is carried on by each village or family for themselves, and not by -the combined labour of many, as on the Columbia. Near the mouth of -the river large iron gaff-hooks are generally used; with these ugly -weapons salmon are hooked into the canoes. Higher up, at the mouths -of the Sumass, Chilukweyuk, and other tributary streams, they use a -very ingenious kind of net worked between two canoes, with which large -numbers of salmon are taken. Stages, too, are hung over the eddies from -the rocks, and round nets used as at the Cascades. - -On the Nanaimo river the Indians have a very ingenious contrivance -for taking salmon, by constructing a weir; but, instead of putting -baskets, they _pave_ a square place, about six feet wide and fourteen -feet long, with white or light-coloured stones. This pavement is -always on the lower side of the weir, leading to an opening. A stage -is erected between two of these paved ways, where Indians, lying on -their stomachs, can in an instant see if a salmon is traversing the -white paved way. A long spear, barbed at the end, is held in readiness, -and woe betide the adventurous fish that runs the gauntlet of this -perilous passage! - -But the most curious contrivance I saw was at Johnson’s Narrows. I -have said salmon readily take a bait when in saltwater. The Indians -when fishing use two spears, one about seventy feet in length; the -other shorter, having a barbed end, is about twenty feet long. In a -canoe thus equipped, favourable fishing-grounds are sought, the Indian -having the long spear being also provided with a small hollow cone of -wood, trimmed round its greater circumference with small feathers, much -like a shuttlecock; this he places on the end of the longer spear, and -presses it under water, until down the full length of the handle; a -skilful jerk detaches this conelike affair from the spear-haft, when it -wriggles up through the water like a struggling fish. The savage with -the short spear intently watches this deceiver; a salmon runs at it, -and it is speared like magic. - -Next in importance amongst the Salmonidæ is the Oregon Brook Trout, -_Fario stellatus_ (Grd. Proc. Acad., Phil. Nat. Soc., viii. 219). - -_Specific Characters._—Head rather large, contained four-and-a-half -times in the total length; maxillary reaching a vertical line drawn -behind the orbit. Colour of the back bright olivegreen, sides -pinkish-yellow, belly white, profusely speckled over with minute black -spots. - -This trout lives everywhere, and is to be met with in the lakes and -rivers in Vancouver Island, in all streams flowing into Puget’s Sound, -and away up the western sides of the Cascades. Crossing to the eastern -side, and descending into the valley of the Columbia, again he puts in -an appearance. Climb the western slope of the Rocky Mountains up to -the summit, 7,000 feet above the sea-level, there too he lives—always -hungry and voracious. These trout are very delicious, varying from -eight ounces up to three pounds in weight. - -My first exploit in fishing for trout may be worth relating:—I was -sitting on the bank of a stream that rippled gaily on its rocky course, -down the western slope of the Rocky Mountains; and which, here and -there lengthening out into a long stickle, and curling round a jutting -rock, lazily idled by the grassy bank; anon leaping a sudden fall, -and widening into a glassy pool. Butterflies gambolled and flitted -recklessly; dragonflies clad in brilliant armour waged cruel war on -the lesser forms of winged life, chasing them everywhere. The busy -hum of insects, the air fragrant with the forest perfumes, the murmur -of the water, and the songs of feathered choristers made one feel -happy, though far away from civilisation. My reverie was broken by a -sudden splash; a speckled tyrant, lurking under the bank on which I -sat, had pounced upon a large grey fly that, unconscious of danger, had -touched the water with its gauzy wings. Very well, Master Trout, you -may perhaps be as easily duped as your more cautious _confrères_; so -setting to work, I overhauled my ‘possible sack,’ found a few coarse -hooks, a bit of gut, and some thread. - -Among other materials wherewith to make a fly, feathers were -indispensable. Shouldering my gun, I strode off to look for a ‘white -flesher,’ alias ruffed grouse; soon stirred one up, bagged him, hauled -out his glossy bottle-green frill; selected some feathers which I -thought would turn a decent hackle, picked out a couple of brighter -ones for wings, some red wool from my blanket for dubbing, and with -these materials I tied a fly. Not the slightest resemblance, fancied -or real, did it bear to anything ever created, but still it was a fly, -and, as I flattered myself, a great achievement. A line was made from -some ends of cord; then cutting a young larch, I made my tackle fast to -the end, and thus equipped sallied to the stream. - -My first attempt in the swift scour was a lamentable failure. Warily I -threw my newly-created monster well across the stream, and, according -to the most approved method, let it slowly wash towards me, conveying -to the rod and line a delicate and tempting tremble; not a rise, not -a nibble; my hopes wavered, and I began to think these trout wiser -than I had given them credit for. I tried the pool as a last chance; -so, leaning over the rock, I let my tempter drop into the water; it -made a splash like throwing in a stone; but imagine my delight, ye -lovers of the gentle art, when a tremendous jerk told me I had one -hooked and struggling to get free! Depending on the strength of my -tackle, I flung him out on the bank; and admitting all that may be said -against me as being barbarous and cruel, I confess to standing over the -dying fish, and admiring his brilliant colour, handsome shape, fair -proportion—and, last though not least, contemplated eating him! I -pitied him not as, flapping and struggling on the grass, his life ebbed -away, but thought only of the skill I had displayed in duping him, and -the feast in store for me on returning to camp. - -Having discovered a secret, I pressed eagerly on to turn it to the best -advantage, and that day played havoc amongst the trouts. Some long -willow-branches, cut with a crook at the end, served me in lieu of a -basket. Passing the sticks under the gill-covers, and out at the mouth, -I strung trout after trout until the sticks were filled; then tying the -ends together, flung them across my shoulder and trudged along; a good -plan when you have not a basket. I now turned my attention, and devoted -all my ingenuity, to the manufacture of a more angler-like fly; and -in this case the adage proved true, ‘that a poor original was better -than a good imitation.’ My well-dressed fly was not one-half as much -appreciated as the old one; there was a sham gentility about him that -evidently led at once to suspicion, and it was only here and there I -met with a fish weak enough to fall a victim to his polished exterior; -I therefore abandoned the dandy, and returned again to the rough old -red-shirted ‘trapper’ with which I first commenced. - -There was a stream in which I had better sport than in any of the -others, the Mooyee, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains—a -small stream, very rocky, clear as crystal, icy cold, and so densely -wooded on each side that fishing in it, unless by wading, was -impossible. I remember one pool as being particularly productive—a -rock-basin, with a little rivulet dancing into it through a pebbly -reach; the water so beautifully clear, that everything in the pool -was visible, as though one looked into an aquarium. I could not help -standing and feasting my eyes on the trout playing about in it. To say -the pool was full of fish is no exaggeration; all, with their heads -toward the little stream, were gently sculling their tails to steady -themselves. I gazed upon a mass of fish, big and little, from four -ounces to three pounds in weight. - -Having sufficiently indulged in admiring this host of trout (the -like of which I had never seen before), I began the war. Dropping my -‘sensation-fly’ into the little stream, I let it sink and drift into -the pool. Twenty open mouths rushed at it ravenously, and trout after -trout was rapidly landed on the shingle. I continued this scheme until -a heap of magnificent fish were piled at my side, and the pool was -rapidly thinning. One crafty old fellow, however, that looked about -three pounds in weight, defied all my efforts to tempt him. I let the -fly drift over him, under his nose, above his nose; but he scorned it, -and, if he could, I felt he would have winked his eye derisively at me. - -To have him I was determined: so sitting down, I scooped out the eye -of a fish, and put it on the point of the flyhook, then let it drift -down the stream and into the pool; steadily it neared his nose, and in -breathless expectation I awaited the result. He was evidently uneasy, -and knew not what to do. It floated past him, and I thought my bait -had failed; when round he turned, and dashing viciously at it, seized -(pardon the joke) the hook and eye, and I had him fast. Being far too -heavy to risk jerking, I let him get over his furious fit, then towed -him ashore hand over hand gathering up my line, I got close to him, -and seizing him behind the gills, brought him upon the shingle; and a -beauty he was! - -I have tried various expedients—more as experiments than anything -else—to find out what bait these trout really preferred. Grasshoppers -they took readily, and I have often caught a trout when only one leg of -the insect remained on the hook; the white meat from the tail of the -river crayfish is also a very favourite diet. Earth-worms I could not -try, because they do not exist in British Columbia. But all my trials -and experiments failed signally in discovering anything that could at -all compare with my ‘first fly.’ - -The trout spawn about October, or perhaps a little later, depositing -their ova in gravel in the lesser streams. - -SALMON TROUT.—_Salmo spectabilis_ (Red-spotted Salmon Trout), -Grd. Proc. Acad., Nat. Soc. Phild., viii. 218.—_Sp. Ch._: Head a -trifle more than a fourth of the total length; maxillary extending -to a vertical line drawn posterior to the orbit. Colour of the back -dark-greenish, inclining to grey, a lighter shade of the same colour on -the sides—beneath silvery-white; thickly marked above the lateral line -with yellowish spots, interspersed with others that are bright red. - -In habits and distribution the salmon-trout differs in every respect -from the preceding. There can be no doubt that this fish is anadromous, -and comes up into the rivers to spawn at particular periods of the -year, like the salmon, and then returns to sea. In October the great -run begins. Into all the rivers emptying into Puget’s Sound—the -Dwamish, Nesqually, Puyallup, and several others, up the Fraser and its -tributaries, into all the creeks and inlets about Vancouver Island, -crowd in shoal after shoal. They vary in size; I have seldom seen them -exceed three pounds in weight. - -The advent of these trout is the signal for a general Indian -fish-harvest. The banks of all the little streams are soon dotted with -temporary lodges, and every one, from the naked little urchin to the -stalwart chief, wages war upon these fish. All sorts of expedients are -used to snare them. Boys, girls, and old squaws catch them with a hook -and line, about eight or ten feet long, tied to the end of a short -stick. The hook (made of bone or hard wood) is baited with salmon-roe. -The Indians never use the roe fresh; dried in the sun it becomes -extremely tough, and acquires a very rank oily smell. The fish take it -greedily, and in this manner large numbers are captured. - -Another bait equally fatal is made by cutting a small strip from the -belly of a trout, and keeping the shiny part outermost—winding it -tightly round the hook, from the barb, to about an inch up the line, -securing it by twisting white horsehair closely round it. A small -pebble is slung about a foot from the baited hook, and the line tied to -the canoe-paddle close to the hand; paddling slowly along, this bait -is trolled after the canoe. The intention is manifestly to imitate a -small fish, as we troll with minnow or spoon-bait in our waters. All -the larger fish are generally taken in this way. They rise readily to a -gaudy fly, and afford admirable sport. - -But the great haul of hauls is effected by a most ingeniously-contrived -basket, in principle the same as our eel-baskets. It is made of -split vine-maple, lashed together with strips of cedar-bark. These -baskets vary in size; some of them are fifteen feet long, and six in -circumference. The crafty savages place their wicker traps in the -centre of the stream; a dam of latticework on each side reaches to -the bank, so that no fish can get up-stream unless through the trap. -Another plan, and a very good one where the water is shallow, is to -build a little wall of boulders, rising about a foot above water, -slanting the wall obliquely until the ends meet in the centre of the -stream at an acute angle; at this point they place the basket. By this -plan all the water is forced through the basket, increasing the depth -and strength of the current. In happy ignorance of their danger, the -fish ply steadily upcurrent, until they suddenly find themselves caged. - -When a sufficient number of fish are in the basket, an empty one is -carried out and set, the other brought ashore; its contents are turned -out upon the grass. Squaws, old and young, knife in hand, squat round, -looking eagerly on; and as the captives lie flapping on the sward, -in the harpies rush, seize a trout, rip him up, remove the inside, -and then skewer him open with two sticks. Poles, having a fork at the -end, are placed firmly in the ground, about fifteen feet apart. Other -sticks, barked and rubbed very smooth, are placed in these forked ends, -on which the split trout are strung. Small fires are kept smouldering -below the strung-up fish. When thoroughly dry, they are packed in small -bales, and lashed with the bark of the cedar-tree. - -CANDLE-FISH.—The Candle-fish or Eulachon, _Salmo (mallotus) -Pacificus_, Rich. F. B. A., p. 227; _Thaleichthys Pacificus_, -Grd.—_Sp. Ch._: Head somewhat pointed and conical; mouth large, its -fissure extending back to the anterior margin of the orbit; opercule -terminated by a rounded angle, lower jaw projecting a little beyond -the upper one; tongue rough, teeth on the pharyngeals; lower jaw, -palatines, and vomer devoid of teeth; eye rather small; adipose fin, -placed opposite the hind portion of the anal; scales subelliptical. -Dorsal region greenish-olive colour, generally silvery-white, sparsely -spotted with dirty yellow; a dark spot, nearly black, over each orbit. - -A human body is a kind of locomotive furnace, that has to be kept up -to a given temperature by fuel, its food. Under a tropical sun, not -much fuel is needed, and that of a sort that will not keep up a large -fire. Man, therefore, wears clothes made from a vegetable fibre, and -eats fruit and rice, the lowest in the scale of heat-making materials. -Far north among the polar ice, where you cannot touch metal without its -taking the skin off your fingers, the human locomotive is protected -by thick coverings of fur: the native takes the jackets from his -furry-footed companions, and covers his own skin with them. But the -grand oil-springs—the locomotive’s necessary coal-mines in another -form—are in the bodies of the great seals and whales. Oil and blubber -burn rapidly, and give out a large amount of heat. With a fur-suit -outside, and inside a feed of seal’s flesh washed down with seal’s oil, -the steam of life is kept up very easily. - -But all the fat of the sea is not in the bodies of those great -blubbering whales and seals. There is a fish, small in size, not larger -than a smelt, that is fat beyond all description, clad in glittering -silver armour, and found on the coasts of British Columbia, Russian -America, Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands, which is called by -the natives _Eulachon_ or Candle-fish. I have had both leisure and -opportunity to make this fish’s intimate acquaintance; played the spy -upon its habits, its coming and going, and have noted how it is caught -and cured. - -Picture my home—an Indian village, on the north shore of British -Columbia. The village is prettily situated on a rocky point of land, -chosen, as all Indian villages are, with an eye to prevention of -surprise from concealed foes. Rearward it is guarded by a steep hill, -and it commands from the front the entrance to one of those long -canals, which, as I have previously stated, resemble the fiords of -Norway, often running thirty or forty miles inland. - -The dwellings consist of ten or fifteen rude sheds, about twenty yards -long and twelve wide, built of rough cedar-planks; the roof a single -slant covered with poles and rushes. Six or eight families live in -each shed. Every family has its own fire on the ground, and the smoke, -that must find its way out as best it can through cracks and holes -(chimneys being objected to), hangs in a dense upper cloud, so that a -man can only keep his head out of it by squatting on the ground: to -stand up is to run a risk of suffocation. The children of all ages, -in droves, naked and filthy, live under the smoke; as well as squaws, -who squat round the smouldering logs; innumerable dogs, like starving -wolves, prick-eared, sore-eyed, snappish brutes, unceasingly engaged -in faction-fights and sudden duels, in which the whole pack immediately -takes sides. Felt, but not heard, are legions of bloodthirsty fleas, -that would try their best to suck blood from a boot, and by combined -exertions would soon flay alive any man with a clean and tender skin. - -The moon, near its full, creeps upward from behind the hills; stars -one by one are lighted in the sky—not a cloud flecks the clear blue. -The Indians are busy launching their canoes, preparing war against the -candle-fish, which they catch when they come to the surface to sport in -the moonlight. As the rising moon now clears the shadow of the hills, -her rays slant down on the green sea, just rippled by the land-breeze. -And now, like a vast sheet of pearly nacre, we may see the glittering -shoals of the fish—the water seems alive with them. Out glides the -dusky Indian fleet, the paddles stealthily plied by hands far too -experienced to let a splash be heard. There is not a whisper, not a -sound, but the measured rhythm of many paddlers, as the canoes are sent -flying towards the fish. - -To catch them, the Indians use a monster comb or rake, a piece of -pinewood from six to eight feet long, made round for about two feet -of its length, at the place of the hand-grip; the rest is flat, thick -at the back, but thinning to a sharp edge, into which are driven teeth -about four inches long, and an inch apart. These teeth are usually -made of bone, but, when the Indian fishers can get sharp-pointed iron -nails, they prefer them. One Indian sits in the stern of each canoe to -paddle it along, keeping close to the shoal of fish another, having the -rounded part of the rake firmly fixed in both hands, stands with his -face to the bow of the canoe, the teeth pointing sternwards. He then -sweeps it through the glittering mass of fish, using all his force, and -brings it to the surface teeth upwards, usually with a fish impaled, -sometimes with three or four upon one tooth. The rake being brought -into the canoe, a sharp rap on the back of it knocks the fish off, and -then another sweep yields a similar catch. - -It is wonderful to see how rapidly an Indian will fill his canoe by -this rude method of fishing. The dusky forms of the savages bend over -the canoes, their brawny arms sweep their toothed sickles through the -shoals, stroke follows stroke in swift succession, and steadily the -canoes fill with their harvest of ‘living silver.’ When they have -heaped as much as this frail craft will safely carry, they paddle -ashore, drag the boats up on the shelving beach, overturn them as the -quickest way of discharging cargo, relaunch, and go back to rake up -another load. This labour goes on until the moon has set behind the -mountain-peaks and the fish disappear, for it is their habit rarely to -come to the surface except in the night. The sport over, we glide under -the dark rocks, haul up the canoe, and lie before the log-fire to sleep -long and soundly. - -The next labour is that of the squaws, who have to do the curing, -drying, and oil-making. Seated in a circle, they are busy stringing the -fish. They do not gut or in any way clean them, but simply pass long -smooth sticks through their eyes, skewering on each stick as many as -it will hold, and then lashing a smaller piece transversely across the -ends, to prevent the fish from slipping off the skewer. This done, next -follows the drying, which is generally achieved in the thick smoke at -the top of the sheds, the sticks of fish being there hung up side by -side. They soon dry, and acquire a flavour of wood-smoke, which helps -also to preserve them. No salt is used by Indians in any of their -systems of curing fish. - -When dry, the candle-fish are carefully packed in large frails made -from cedar-bark or rushes, much like those one buys for a penny at -Billingsgate; then they are stowed away on high stages made of poles, -like a rough scaffolding. This precaution is essential, for the -Indian children and dogs have an amiable weakness for eatables; and -as lock-and-key are unknown to the redskins, they take this way of -baffling the appetites of the incorrigible pilferers. The bales are -kept until required for winter. However hungry or however short of food -an Indian family may be during summer-time, it seldom will break in -upon the winter ‘cache.’ - -I have never seen any fish half as fat and as good for Arctic -winter-food as these little candle-fish. It is next to impossible -to broil or fry them, for they melt completely into oil. Some idea -of their marvellous fatness may be gleaned from the fact, that the -natives use them as lamps for lighting their lodges. The fish, when -dried, has a piece of rush-pith, or a strip from the inner bark of the -cypress-tree (_Thuja gigantea_), drawn through it, a long round needle -made of hard wood being used for the purpose; it is then lighted, and -burns steadily until consumed. I have read comfortably by its light; -the candlestick, literally a stick for the candle, consists of a bit of -wood split at one end, with the fish inserted in the cleft. - -These ready-made sea-candles—little dips wanting only a wick that can -be added in a minute—are easily transformed by heat and pressure into -liquid. When the Indian drinks instead of burning them, he gets a fuel -in the shape of oil, that keeps up the combustion within him, and which -is burnt and consumed in the lungs just as it was by the wick, but -only gives heat. It is by no mere chance that myriads of small fish, -in obedience to a wondrous instinct, annually visit the northern seas, -containing within themselves all the elements necessary for supplying -light, heat, and life to the poor savage, who, but for this, must -perish in the bitter cold of the long dreary winter. - -As soon as the Indians have stored away the full supply of food for the -winter, all the fish subsequently taken are converted into oil. If we -stroll down to the lodges near the beach, we shall see for ourselves -how they manage it. The fish reserved for oil-making have been piled in -heaps until partially decomposed; five or six fires are blazing away, -and in each fire are a number of large round pebbles, to be made very -hot. By each fire are four large square boxes, made from the trunk -of the pine-tree. A squaw carefully piles in each box a layer of fish -about three-deep, and covers them with cold water. She then puts five -or six of the hot stones upon the layers of fish, and when the steam -has cleared away, carefully lays small pieces of wood over the stones; -then more fish, more water, more stones, more layers of wood, and so -on, until the box is filled. The oil-maker now takes all the liquid -from this box, and uses it over again instead of water in filling -another box, and skims the oil off as it floats on the surface. - -A vast quantity of oil is thus obtained; often as much as seven -hundredweight will be made by one small tribe. The refuse fish are not -yet done with, more oil being extractible from them. Built against -the pine-tree is a small stage, made of poles, very like a monster -gridiron. The refuse of the boxes, having been sewn up in porous mats, -is placed on the stage, to be rolled and pressed by the arms and chests -of Indian women; and the oil thus squeezed out is collected in a box -placed underneath. - -Not only has Nature, ever bountiful, sent an abundance of oil to -the redskin, but she actually provides ready-made bottles to store -it away in. The great seawrack, that grows to an immense size in -these northern seas, and forms submarine forests, has a hollow stalk, -expanded into a complete flask at the root-end. Cut into lengths of -about three feet, these hollow stalks, with the bulb at the end, are -collected and kept wet until required for use. As the oil is obtained, -it is stored away in these natural quart-bottles, or rather larger -bottles, for some of them hold three pints. - -Some fifty years ago, vast shoals of eulachon used regularly to enter -the Columbia; but the silent stroke of the Indian paddle has now given -place to the splashing wheels of great steamers, and the Indian and the -candle-fish have vanished together. From the same causes the eulachon -has also disappeared from Puget’s Sound, and is now seldom caught south -of latitude 50° N. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE ROUND-FISH, HERRINGS, AND VIVIPAROUS FISH. - - -THE ROUND-FISH (_Coregonus quadrilateralis_).—_Sp. Ch._: Colour, -yellowish-brown, paler on the sides and belly than on the back; scales -bright and glittering, each edged with a narrow border of dark-grey; -cheeks, fins, and tail, a deeper tint of the same colour as that on the -back; head one-sixth of the length (without the caudal); mouth very -small, under-jaw shorter than the upper—no teeth perceptible. - -This fish has a very wide geographical range, being found as far north -(according to Sir J. Richardson) as the Mackenzie and Coppermine -rivers, east of the Rocky Mountains, and latitude 49° N. the western -side; how much farther they range north of 49° I had no opportunity of -judging. - -This handsome and delicious fish, one of the _Salmonidæ_, is most -valuable as an article of food to the Indians, west of the Rocky -Mountains, the White-fish (_Coregonus albus_), or ‘Attihawmeg’ (which -means ‘reindeer of the sea’), being of like importance to those -residing east of the mountains. There the Indians frequently have -to subsist entirely on white-fish, and, at many of the fur-trading -stations, the traders get very little else to eat during nine months of -the twelve. - -‘In one small lake (Lake St. Ann’s), near Fort Edmonton, forty thousand -white-fish were taken, of an average weight of three to four pounds, in -the course of three weeks.’ (_Palliser’s Exp._) - -Two modes are adopted for preserving them—one that of sun-drying, the -other by freezing, in which state they may be kept perfectly sweet and -free from taint for the whole winter. - -The Round-fish is seldom taken over two pounds in weight, and prior -to spawning they are loaded with fat, which on the shoulders almost -amounts to a hump, but becomes thin, watery, and insipid, after the -all-important duty of providing for their offspring is accomplished. I -am not quite sure when they return to the sea, as nothing is seen of -them after the ice sets in, towards the end of November, until their -arrival on the following year. The ova are deposited in much the same -way as that of other _Salmonidæ_: a hollow made in the gravel contains -the eggs and milt, which are covered over and abandoned—the young -fish, on its emergence from the egg, taking care of itself as best it -can. - -One may journey a long way to witness a prettier or more picturesque -sight than Round-fish harvesting on the Sumass prairie: the prairie -bright and lovely; the grass fresh, green, and waving lazily; various -wild flowers, peeping coyly out from their cosy hiding-places, seem -making the most of the summer; a fresh, joyous hilarity everywhere, -pervading even the Indians, whose lodges in great numbers lie scattered -about. From the edges of the pine-forest, where the little streams came -out from the dark shadow into the sunshine, up to the lake, the prairie -was like a fair. Indians, old and young; chiefs, braves, squaws, -children, and slaves; were alike busy in capturing the round-fish, that -were swarming up the streams in thousands: so thick were they that -baits and traps were thrown aside, and hands, baskets, little nets, and -wooden bowls did the work; it was only requisite to stand in the stream -and bale out the fish. Thousands were drying, thousands had been eaten, -and as many more were wasting and decomposing on the bank. Supposing -every fish escaping the Indians, otters, and the various enemies that -it meets with in ascending the rivers, succeeded in depositing its ova, -where or how they find room to spawn, or what becomes of the offspring, -is more than I know. - -Round-fish are cured by splitting and sun-drying, precisely in the same -manner as salmon. I have had very good sport angling for round-fish, by -using a rough gaudy fly. They rise readily, and struggle obstinately, -when hooked, but soon give up; turning on their side, they permit -themselves to be dragged upon the bank without attempting a flap of -resistance. - -Some of these fish remain permanently, or at any rate for some time, -in fresh-water. I have often taken them in the Na-hoil-a-pit-ka river, -to get into which they must have leaped the Kettle Falls during a high -flood, being quite 800 miles from the sea; and as they are caught in -the spring, I think it fair to conclude they do not invariably return -to the sea after spawning. - -HERRINGS.—The Vancouver Island Herring (_Malletta cœrulia_, -Grd.).—_Sp. Ch._: Head, about one-fifth of the total length of -the body, slender, its shape in profile somewhat fusiform; back, -bright steel-blue colour, shading away on the sides to brilliant -silvery-white; fins, yellow-white, but uniform in colour; posterior -extremity of maxillary bone extending to a vertical line drawn through -the middle of the orbit; eye, subcircular, large; colour, copper-red in -the freshly-caught fish; anterior margin of the dorsal fin, nearer the -extremity of the snout than the insertion of the caudal. The average -length is somewhat about ten inches. Indian name along the coast, -_Stole_; Skadget Indian, _Lo-see_. - -There are three distinct herring arrivals, one beginning in February -and March; these fish are small, and somewhat lean. About the beginning -of April the run commences; these are finer, full of spawn, and in high -condition: in June and July, and extending through the summer, small -shoals occasionally make their appearance, but never as fine as the -April fish. - -Toward the middle of April herring legions commence arriving from -seaward in real earnest; brigade follows brigade in rapid succession, -until every bay, harbour, inlet, estuary, and lagoon is literally alive -with them. Close in their rear, as camp-followers hang on the skirts of -an army, come shoals of dogfish, salmon, and fish-eating sea-birds. - -I have often seen a shoal of herrings, when hotly pursued by the -dogfish, dash into a little rock-bound nook, the water lashed into -white spray by a thousand tails and fins, plied with all the power and -energy the poor struggling fish could exert to escape the dreaded foe. -A wall of rocks, right and left, ahead the shelving shingle—on they -go, and hundreds lie high-and-dry, panting on the pebbles. It is just -as well perhaps to die there, as to be torn, bitten, and eaten by the -piratical cannibals that are waging fearful havoc on the imprisoned -shoal. The dogfish wound ten times as many as they eat, and, having -satiated and gorged their greedy stomachs, swim lazily away, leaving -the dead, dying, and disabled to the tender mercies of the sea-birds -watching the battle, ever ready to pounce upon the unprotected, and end -its miseries. - -Garnering the herring-crop is the Coast Indian’s best ‘sea-harvest;’ -lodges spring up like mushrooms along the edges of the bays and -harbours; large fleets of canoes dot the water in every direction, -their swarthy crews continually loading them with glittering fish; -paddling ashore, they hand the cargo to the female part of the -community, and then start again for a similar freight. - -Indians have various plans for catching herrings. Immense numbers are -taken with small hand-nets, literally dipping them out of the water -into the canoes; they also employ the ‘rake,’ already described as -used for taking candle-fish. One savage, sitting in the stern of his -canoe, paddles along, keeping in the herring shoal; another, having the -rounded part of the rake firmly fixed in both hands, sweeps it through -the crowded fish, from before aft, using all his force: generally -speaking, every tooth has a herring impaled on it, sometimes three or -four. It is astonishing how rapidly an Indian will fill his canoe with -herrings, using this rude and primitive contrivance. - -A wholesale system of capture is practised in Puget’s Sound, Point -Discovery, and Port Townsend, where large mud-flats run out for long -distances into the sea, which are left quite dry at low-tide. Across -these flats Indians make long dams of latticework, having here and -there openings like our salmon-traps, allowing herrings to pass easily -in, but preventing their return. Shoal after shoal pass through these -‘gates,’ but are destined never to get back to their briny home. It is -not at all uncommon to take from two to three tons of fish at one tide, -by this simple but ingenious method. - -When the tide is well out, and the flats clear of water, the Indians -bring down immense quantities of fir-branches, and stick them in the -mud, lay them on the ground, and, in all sorts of ways, distribute -them over the flats, within the weir-dam. On these branches the -herring-spawn gets entangled; when covered with spawn the branches are -carried to the lodges, and the fish-eggs dried in the sun. Thus dried, -and brushed into baskets, it is in appearance very much like coarse -brown sand; it is then stored away, and when eaten mixed with fish-oil -is esteemed by the Indians as the very perfection of feeding. This -spawn is to Indians what _caviare_ is to Russians; but as I do not like -either, it may be I am not an authority on its merits as a table dainty. - -All herrings taken in the weirs are not eaten; the Indians dry or -otherwise preserve them, but the great use to which they appropriate -them is to extract the oil. This is a grand process, and carried -on entirely by squaws. It would be a great blessing, and save much -annoyance, if you could only leave your nose at home, or at some -distance away, during your visit to an Indian village in herring-time, -or whilst oil-making. The entire atmosphere appears saturated with the -odour of decomposing fish, rancid oil, Indians, and dogs—a perfume the -potency of which you only realise by having a thorough good sniff. -Then, if you ever forget it, or wish to indulge your olfactory organ -again, your tastes and mine, gentle reader, must widely differ. The oil -is extracted and stored away (as described in a previous chapter) in -native bottles. - -I have no hesitation in stating my conviction that herring-fisheries -established east and west of Vancouver Island, or at different points -along the mainland coast, in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, or amidst -the islands in the Gulf of Georgia, would turn out most remunerative -speculations. It is true that herring-fishing has been tried, but only -on the most limited scale. To make it pay; for that, after all, is the -primary consideration; capital must be employed, and skilled hands to -manage the drying, curing, and packing. Salt can be obtained in any -quantities; wood in abundance, to make casks, build houses, boats, or -ships; herrings within _millions_, requiring neither risk nor skill to -catch. The rapidly-growing colonies of Vancouver Island and British -Columbia offer ready markets for home consumption; China, Japan, the -Sandwich Islands, and the entire coast southward from San Francisco -to Mexico, afford facilities for disposing of almost any quantity of -preserved fish. Those who undertake herring-fishing in North-western -waters on a large scale, judiciously applying capital, skilled labour, -and good management, will reap an ample harvest, and become the real -‘Herring Kings’ of the far North-west. - -VIVIPAROUS FISH.—We are so accustomed to associate the production of -young fishes with eggs and milt, familiar to all as hard and soft roe -in the cured herring, that it is difficult to believe in the existence -of a fish bringing forth live young, just as do dogs, cats, rats, and -mice—only with this difference, that, in the case of the fish, the -young are perfect in every detail, when launched into the water, as the -parent, and swim away self-dependent, to feed or be fed on, as good or -ill-luck befals the little wanderer. The woodcut represents the female -fish with the young _in situ_, together with others scattered round -her, having fallen out when the walls of the abdomen were dissected -open: the drawing was made from a female fish I brought from Vancouver -Island, and now exhibiting in the Fish Room of the British Museum. - -At San Francisco, as early as April, I saw large numbers of viviparous -fish in the market for sale; but then, it is an open question whether -these fish really arrive at an earlier period of the year in the Bay -of San Francisco than at Vancouver Island. I think not. That they are -taken earlier in the year is simply due to the fact, that the fishermen -at San Francisco have better nets and fish in deeper water, than the -Indians, and consequently take the fish earlier. The habit of the fish -is clearly to come into shallow water when the period arrives for -producing its live young; and from the fact that some of these fish are -occasionally taken at all periods of the year, I am induced to believe -that they do not in reality migrate, but only retire into deeper water -along the coast, there to remain during the winter months, reappearing -in the shallow bays and estuaries in June and July, or perhaps earlier, -for reproductive purposes; here they remain until September, and then -entirely disappear. - -[Illustration: THE VIVIPAROUS-FISH AND ITS YOUNG.] - -They swim close to the surface in immense shoals, and numbers are -very craftily taken by the Indians, who literally frighten the fish -into their canoes. At low-tide, when a shoal of fish is in the bay, -or up one of those large inlets that intersect the coast-line, the -savages get the fish between the bank (or the rocks, as it may be) and -the canoe, and then paddle with all their might and main among the -terror-stricken fish, lashing the sea with their paddles, and uttering -the most fiendish yells. Out leap the fish from the water, in their -panic to escape this (to their affrighted senses) terrible monster; and -if not ‘out of the fryingpan into the fire,’ it is out of the sea into -the canoes—which in the long run I take to be pretty much the same -thing. - -It appears to be a singular trait in the character of viviparous fish, -that of leaping high out of the water on the slightest alarm. I have -often seen them jump into my boat when rowing through a shoal, which -is certainly most accommodating. The Indians also spear them: they use -a long slender haft with four barbed points, arranged in a circle, but -bent so as to make them stand at a considerable distance from each -other. With this spear they strike into a shoal of fish, and generally -impale three or four; many are caught with hooks, but they bite shily, -the only baits I have seen taken being salmon-roe nearly putrid, or -bits of crab. - -Just prior to my leaving Vancouver Island, numbers were netted by some -Italian fishermen who had a seine. They found a ready sale for them -in the market, but as a table-dainty they are scarcely worth eating; -the flesh is insipid, watery, and flabby, and I am convinced that -no system of cooking or culinary skill would ever convert it into a -palatable fish. - -The geographical range of viviparous fish, as far as I have any -opportunity of judging, is from the Bay of San Francisco to Sitka. It -may perhaps (and I have but little doubt that it does) extend much -farther south along the Mexican coast; but this I can only surmise, -never having seen them beyond the limits above stated. It frequents all -the bays and harbours on the east and west sides of Vancouver Island, -and is equally abundant in the Gulf of Georgia and the Straits of -Juan de Fuca; making its appearance about the same period, or perhaps -somewhat earlier, in the various inlets on the Oregon coast, from Cape -Flattery to the Bay of San Francisco. It will be just as well perhaps, -before I go into the subject of its specific characters and singular -reproductive organs, I should mention how I first stumbled upon the -fact of its being viviparous. - -Soon after I arrived at Vancouver Island, I at once set to work to -investigate, as far as it lay in my power, the habits and periods of -migration of the different species of fish periodically visiting the -North-west coast. The sole means then at my disposal to obtain fish -for examination, or as specimens to send home, was to employ Indians -or catch them myself; so it happened, some of these fish were first -brought me by Indians. Cutting one down the side (the plan I usually -adopt to skin a fish, keeping the opposite side untouched), to my -intense surprise, out tumbled a lot of little fish! My wildest dreams -had never led me to suppose a fish I then thought was a bream, or -one of the perch family, could be viviparous. I at once most hastily -arrived at the conclusion that the greedy gourmand had eaten them. -Dropping my knife, I sat in a most bewildered state looking at the fish. - -The first ray of light that shone in to illumine my mystification -seemed to spring from the fact, that each little fish was the model, -counterpart, and facsimile of the larger, and in shape, size, and -colour were exactly alike: from the position too they occupied in the -abdomen of the larger fish, I was led at once to see the error of my -first assumption, that they had been swallowed. Carefully dissecting -back the walls of the abdomen, I discovered a delicate membranous -bag or sac having an attachment to the upper or dorsal region, and -doubled upon itself into numerous folds or plaits, and between each -of these folds was neatly packed away a little fish; the bag was of a -bluish-white colour, and contained fourteen fish. I had no longer any -doubt that the fish was viviparous, and that it was a true and normal -case of ovarian gestation. So much for my first discovery; the details -of my subsequent examinations I shall again have occasion to refer to. - -It happened most curiously that a Mr. Jackson (I believe a government -officer of the United States) was, about this same period, amusing -himself by fishing at Salsalita, and caught two viviparous fish, a male -and a female. On cutting open the female, to obtain a piece of the -belly for bait, he, like myself, was astonished at seeing a whole bevy -of tiny fish come scrambling out, and at first imagined, as I did, that -they had been swallowed. He immediately wrote a letter to Professor -Agassiz, sending the mutilated fish, having previously satisfied -himself that they had not been devoured, and stating at length his -singular discovery. The professor was astonished, and disbelieved the -possibility of the fish being viviparous, imagining some error had -crept into the statement sent him by Mr. Jackson; but other fish in a -similar state were subsequently obtained by Mr. Carey, and forwarded to -the learned professor. The fact was then most undeniably established, -that this and many other species were strictly viviparous. - -I have spoken of this at some length, because it is a curious -coincidence that the same fact should have been discovered by two men -a long distance apart, about the same date, and by both in the same -way,—by sheer accident. - -Now we come to a ticklish question: how are the young fish vitalised in -the abdomen of the mother? In this case I shall adopt what I conceive -to be the most straightforward course, which is candidly to give my own -thoughts, and solicit from abler, older, and better physiologists their -opinions or theories—for I sincerely think this is a question well -worth careful investigation. I believe the ova, after impregnation, at -first goes through the same transformations in the ovarium as it would -do, supposing it to have been spawned and fecundated in the ordinary -spawning-bed, but only up to a certain point; then, I think, the -membrane enfolding the ova, that have by this time assumed a fishlike -type, takes on the character and functions of a placental membrane, -and the young fish are supplied by an umbilical cord, just as in the -case of a fœtal mammal. But a third change takes place. There can be no -doubt that the young fish I cut out, and that swam away, had breathed -before they were freed from the mother; hence I am led to think that, -a short time prior to the birth of the young, sea-water has access -to this marsupial sac, washes over the infant fish, the gills assume -their normal action, and the regular systemic circle is established. -Maturity attained, the umbilical attachment snaps, and the little -fish, perfect in every detail of its organisation, is launched into -the deep, to brave its many perils, and shift for itself. The strong -transverse muscles attached to the powerful sphincter (constituting -the genital opening acting from the abdominal walls), I imagine, are -in some way concerned in admitting the sea-water, and it appears to -me a contrivance admirably adapted to effect such a purpose; but how -impregnation takes place, I may at once honestly confess—I do not know. - -The male is much like the female, but more slim, and the milt just -like that of other fish. I can only conjecture that fecundation -is accomplished through the medium of the sea-water, admitted by -the curiously-contrived floodgate of the female, carrying in the -milt-germs, and washing them over the ova. - -The actual period of utero-gestation I am by no means sure about, but -I am inclined to think they breed twice in the year. It is worthy of -remark that the young mature fish are very large, when compared with -the size of the mother. In a female fish eleven inches in length, the -young were three inches long—the adult fish four-and-a-half inches -high, the young an inch. - -The only instance I can find recorded of a viviparous fish bearing -any analogy to the _Embiotocidæ_ is the viviparous blenny (_Zoarces -viviparus_, Cuv.). Of course I exclude the sharks and rays. Of the -viviparous blenny little or nothing appears to me to be known. On -reference to Pennant’s ‘British Zoology,’ all he says is, that it was -discovered by Schonevelde, and that Sir Robert Sibbald afterwards found -it on the Scotch coast, and it was mentioned by Linnæus in his account -of the Swedish Museum. - -I quote the following paragraph verbatim from Pennant’s ‘British -Zoology.’ Speaking of the blenny, he goes on to say: ‘It is viviparous, -_bringing forth two or three hundred young at a time_. Its season of -parturition is a little after the depth of winter; before midsummer -it quits the bays and shores, and retires into the deep, where it is -commonly taken. It comes into the mouth of the River Esk at Whitby, -Yorkshire, where it is frequently taken from off the bridge.’ - -In Cuvier’s ‘Animal Kingdom’ (vol. i. ‘Fish’), all I can glean is that -the blenny is viviparous. Yarrel, in his ‘British Fishes,’ speaks of -a Mr. Low, who put a number of the small fishes (the young of the -blenny) in a tumbler of sea-water, in which they increased in size, -but eventually died from the want of fresh-water. Again, he quotes a -Mr. Neil, who saw in the Edinburgh market, in 1807, several dozens -of young fish escape alive from the female. ‘The arrangement of the -perfectly-formed young in the fœtal sac of the gravid female is very -remarkable.’ - -It is quite clear from the above quotations that there is an analogy, -if not a close one, between the reproductive organs of the blenny and -those of the viviparous fish from the North-west seas; for ‘the fœtal -sac of the gravid female’ evidently means that there is a kind of -placental sac, in which the young are contained; but it leaves us quite -as much in the dark as ever as to how fœtal life is supported. As the -ova deposited in the usual way (when fecundated) contains all that is -requisite for the development of the embryo, it is just possible that -the same process goes on in the womb of the female viviparous fish, and -that the fœtal sac is only a wrapper, formed by the widened end of the -ovary. But still I maintain that it fulfils a far more important duty. - -I fear I have been rather prolix in the foregoing descriptions, but I -must plead the novelty and importance of the subject as my excuse. The -most beautiful of all the species of these fish is the sapphire perch -(so called by the traders), very plentiful in Puget’s Sound. Eighteen -exquisitely beautiful mazarine-blue lines or stripes mark its entire -length from head to tail; and above and below this line are a number -of spots of most dazzling blue, arranged in a crescent shape, about -the eyes and gill-covers. Between these spots the colour changes, as -it does in the dolphin, throwing off a kind of phosphorescent light -of varying shades of gold, purple, and green—the back bright-blue -but darker than the stripes; the belly white, marked by golden-yellow -streaks. - -But now for the most important feature in the history of these -fish—that of bringing into the world their young alive, -self-dependent, and self-supporting, as perfect in their minutest -organisation as the parent-fish that gives them birth. The generative -apparatus of the female fish when in a gravid state may be defined as -a large bag or sac. Ramifying over its surface may be seen a most -complicated and strangely beautiful vascular arrangement—a network of -vessels, the use of which is clearly to convey the lifegiving fluid -to the infant fish, and carry it back again, after having served -its destined purpose, to be revivified for future use. The way this -sac is, as it were, folded, and the different compartments made for -the accommodation of the embryonic fish, is most singular, and very -difficult to describe clearly. - -The best illustration I can think of is an orange. You must imagine the -orange divided into its regular number of little wedge-shaped pieces, -and each piece to represent a fish; that the rind of the orange is -a delicate membrane, having a globular shape, and easily compressed -or folded. You now desire to fit the pieces together again in the -original orange-shape, but you must begin on the _outside_ of the -globular membrane, pressing in with each section a fold of membrane -(remember that each represents a fish); when each piece is in its -place, you will still have the sac in its rounded form, but the rind or -membrane has been folded in with the different pieces. If I have made -myself understood, it will be seen that there must be a double fold of -membrane between each portion of orange. This is exactly the way the -fish are packed in this novel placental sac. If it were practicable -to remove each fish from its space, and the sac retain its normal -shape, there would be twelve or fourteen openings (depending upon the -number of young fish), the wall of each division being a double fold -of membrane—the double edges wrapping or, as it were, folding over -the fish. Now make a hole in the end of this folded bag, and _blow_ it -full of air, and you get at once the globe-shaped membranous sac I have -likened to an orange. - -The fish are always arranged to economise space: when the head of -a young fish points to the head of its mother, the next to it is -reversed, and looks towards the tail. I am quite convinced that the -young fish are packed away by doubling or folding the sac in the way -I have endeavoured to describe. I have again and again dissected out -this ovarian bag, filled with fish in various stages of development, -and floating it in saltwater, have, with a fine-pointed needle, opened -the edges of the double membranous divisions that enwrap the fish—(the -amount of overlapping is of course greater when the fish is in its -earlier stages of development). On separating the edges of the sac, -out the little fishes pop. I have obtained them in all stages of their -growth,—but sometimes (and this not once or twice, but often) have -set free the young fish from its dead mother. Thus prematurely cut -loose from its membranous prison, the infant captive, revelling in its -newly-acquired liberty, swam about in the saltwater, active, brisk, and -jolly, in every particular, as well able to take care and provide for -itself as its parent. The female external genital opening is situated -a little posterior to the anal opening; the orifice is at the apex, -and in the centre of a fleshy conical protuberance, which is in fact, -a powerful sphincter muscle, _moored_, as it were, in its place by two -strong muscular ropes, acting from and attached to the walls of the -abdomen. - -Dr. Günther, in the British Museum Catalogue of Fishes, uses the -generic title of _Ditrema_, which I have adopted. The first glance -at the fish, as it lies on the table or on the beach, would lead you -to pronounce it a _Pomotis_ (belonging to the family _Percidæ_): the -northern _Pomotis_ (_P. vulgaris_) is a good example, and very common -along the shores of Lake Huron, where I have often caught them. Or, on -the other hand, you would be perhaps tempted to call it a _Sparus_; -the gilthead (_S. auratus_) may be taken as a type suggesting the -resemblance. This fish is taken in large numbers in the Mediterranean, -and occasionally on the French and Spanish coasts. But a close -investigation into the more marked generic and specific characters, -apart from their reproducing organs, at once clearly shows they belong -neither to the one family nor the other; they differ much more from the -percoids than from the sparoids, but the cycloid scales remove them -at once from the sparoids, in which the scales present a very uniform -etenoid type. - -The illustration represents a female _Ditrema argenteum_, Brit. Mus. -Cat., ‘Fishes.’ - -_Amphistichus argenteus_, Agass., Am. Journ., 1854; Soc. Nat. Hist., -1861, p. 131; Pacif. R. R. Exp., ‘Fishes,’ p. 201. - -_Mytilophagus fasciatus_ (Gibbons). - -_Amphistichus similes_ (Grd.). - -The middle dorsal spines are either nearly as long as, or somewhat -longer, than the posterior; scales on the cheek, in five series, -somewhat irregularly disposed. The height of the body is rather -more than a fourth of the total length (without caudal); jaws equal -anteriorly; the maxillary extends to below the centre of the orbit; -lips thin, the fold of the lower interrupted in the middle. For -description of species, _vide_ Appendix, vol. ii. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - STICKLEBACKS AND THEIR NESTS—THE BULLHEAD—THE ROCK-COD—THE - CHIRUS—FLATFISH. - - -The genus _Cottoidæ_, (fish having mailed cheeks) has a great many -representatives, common on Vancouver Island and the British Columbian -coasts. The least of the family, the stickleback, is so singularly -different from most other fishes in its habits, as to merit the first -consideration. - -In the months of July and August it would be difficult to find a -stream, large or small, swift or slow, lake, pool, or muddy estuary, -east and west of the Cascade Mountains, that has not in it immense -shoals of that most irritable and pugnacious little fish the -stickleback, ever ready on the slightest provocation to engage in a -battle. Let friend or foe but rub against his royal person, or come -nearer his private subaqueous garden than he deems consistent with -safety or good behaviour, in a moment the spines are erected like -spear-points, the tiny eyes glow with fury, the colours decking -his scaly armour intensify, and flash with a kind of phosphorescent -brightness, until the diminutive gladiator looks the impersonation of -rage and fury; but as we cultivate his acquaintance, and gain a better -knowledge of his real character, we shall discover that his quarrelsome -disposition is not so much attributable to a morose temper, and a love -of fighting for fighting’s sake, as to a higher and more praiseworthy -principle. - -No amount of thinking would lead one to imagine that his pugnacity -arises from intense parental affection: a love of offspring, scarcely -having a parallel in the living world, prompting him to risk his life, -and spend a great deal of his time in constantly-recurring paroxysms of -fury and sanguinary conflicts, in which it often happens that one or -more of the combatants gets ripped open or mortally stabbed with the -formidable spines arming the back. Skill in stickleback battles appears -to consist in rapidly diving under an adversary, then as suddenly -rising, and driving the spines into his sides and stomach. The little -furies swim round and round, their noses tightly jammed together; but -the moment one gets his nose the least bit under that of his foe, then -he plies his fins with all his might, and forcing himself beneath, -does his best to drive in his spear, if the other be not quick enough -to dart upwards and escape the thrust; thus squaring they fight round -after round until the death or flight of one ends the combat. - -I have often, when tired, lain down on the bank of a stream, beneath -the friendly shade of some leafy tree, and gazing into its depths -watched the sticklebacks either guarding their nests already built, or -busy in their construction. The site is generally amongst the stems of -aquatic plants, where the water always flows, but not too swiftly. He -first begins by carrying small bits of green material, which he nips -off the stalks, and tugs from out the bottom and sides of the banks; -these he attaches by some glutinous material, that he clearly has the -power of secreting, to the different stems destined as pillars for -his building. During this operation he swims against the work already -done, splashes about, and seems to test its durability and strength; -rubs himself against the tiny kind of platform, scrapes the slimy mucus -from his sides, to mix with and act as mortar for his vegetable bricks. -Then he thrusts his nose into the sand at the bottom, and bringing -a mouthful scatters it over the foundation; this is repeated until -enough has been thrown on to weight the slender fabric down, and give -it substance and stability. Then more twists, turns, and splashings, -to test the firm adherence of all the materials that are intended to -constitute the foundation of the house, that has yet to be erected on -it. The nest or nursery, when completed, is a hollow, somewhat rounded, -barrel-shaped structure, worked together much in the same way as the -platform fastened to the water-plants; the whole firmly glued together -by the viscous secretion scraped from off the body. The inside is made -as smooth as possible, by a kind of plastering system; the little -architect continually goes in, then turning round and round, works the -mucus from his body on to the inner sides of the nest, where it hardens -like a tough varnish. There are two apertures, smooth and symmetrical -as the hole leading into a wren’s nest, and not unlike it. - -All this laborious work is done entirely by the male fish, and when -completed he goes a-wooing. Watch him as he swims towards a group of -the fair sex, enjoying themselves amidst the water-plants, arrayed in -his best and brightest livery, all smiles and amiability: steadily, and -in the most approved style of stickleback love-making, this young and -wealthy bachelor approaches the object of his affections, most likely -tells her all about his house and its comforts, hints delicately at -his readiness and ability to defend her children against every enemy, -vows unfailing fidelity, and, in lover-fashion, promises as much in a -few minutes as would take a lifetime to fulfil. Of course she listens -to his suit: personal beauty, indomitable courage, backed by the -substantial recommendations of a house ready-built, and fitted for -immediate occupation, are gifts not to be lightly regarded. - -Throwing herself on her side, the captive lady shows her appreciation, -and by sundry queer contortions declares herself his true and devoted -spouse. Then the twain return to the nest, into which the female at -once betakes herself, and therein deposits her eggs, emerging when -the operation is completed by the opposite hole. During the time she -is in the nest (about six minutes) the male swims round and round, -butts and rubs his nose against it, and altogether appears to be in -a state of defiant excitement. On the female leaving he immediately -enters, deposits the milt on the eggs, taking his departure through the -backdoor. So far, his conduct is strictly proper, but, I am afraid, -morality in stickleback society is of rather a lax order. No sooner -has this lady, his first love, taken her departure, than he at once -seeks another, introduces her as he did the first, and so on wife after -wife, until the nest is filled with eggs, layer upon layer—milt being -carefully deposited betwixt each stratum of ova. As it is necessary -there should be two holes, by which ingress and egress can be readily -accomplished, so it is equally essential in another point of view. To -fertilise fish-eggs, running water is the first necessity; and as the -holes are invariably placed in the direction of the current, a steady -stream of water is thus directed over them. - -For six weeks (and sometimes a few days more) the papa keeps untiring -sentry over his treasure, and a hard time he has of it too: enemies of -all sorts, even the females of his own species, having a weakness for -new-laid eggs, hover round his brimming nest, and battles are of hourly -occurrence; for he defies them all, even to predatory water-beetles, -that, despite their horny armour, often get a fatal lance-wound from -the furious fish. Then he has to turn the eggs, and expose the under -ones to the running water: and even when the progeny make their -appearance, his domestic duties are far from ended, for it is said -(although I have never seen him do it), ‘When one of the young fish -shows any disposition to wander from the nest, he darts after it, -seizes it in his mouth, and brings it back again.’ - -There are three species that come into the fresh-waters of British -Columbia, to nest and to hatch their young:— - -_Gasterosteus serratus_, the Saw-finned Stickleback (Ayres, Proc. Cal. -Acad. Nat. Sc. 1855 p. 47).—_Sp. Ch._: Body entirely plated; peduncle -of tail keeled; the three dorsal spines conspicuously serrated on their -edges; anterior fin a little in advance of the base of the pectoral; -insertion of ventrals in advance of the second dorsal spine—their own -spines serrated on both edges; posterior margin of caudal somewhat -hollowed. The colour of the freshly-caught fish is greyish-olive along -the dorsal line; but on the sides, particularly in the male, it shades -away into an iridescence, like that seen on mother-o’pearl, again -changing to pure silvery-white on the abdomen. - -_Gasterosteus Pugettii_, the Puget Sound Stickleback (Grd., Proc. -Acad., Nat. Sc. Phil., viii. 1856).—_Sp. Ch._: Body only in part -plated, peduncle of tail not keeled; the three dorsal spines without -serrations; the anterior one inserted immediately behind the base of -the pectorals; ventrals inserted anterior to the second dorsal spine. -The colour is very much like that of _G. serratus_, but more decidedly -purplish on the sides the eyes bright red in both species, when fresh -from the water. - -_Gasterosteus concinnus_, the Tiny Stickleback (Rich., F. B. A., p. -57, vol. iii.).—_Sp. Ch._: Head one-fourth of the total length, mouth -small, and teeth but feebly developed; dorsal spines nine, seventh -and eighth smaller than the preceding ones, the ninth longer than any -of the others. The abdomen is protected by a bony cuirass, and the -ventrals represented by two spines. All the spines are moveable, and -destitute of serrations. Colour of the back a bright sea-green, sides -purplish-pink, shading away to a silvery-white on the belly the entire -body speckled with minute black spots. - -This handsome little stickleback, though smaller in size than his -brethren, is vastly more abundant. Sir J. Richardson speaks of it -‘as being common in the Saskatchawan, ranging as far north as the -65th parallel.’ So abundant are they in the lakes and pools about -Cumberland House, east of the Rocky Mountains, that sledge-loads -are dipped out with wooden bowls, and used for feeding the dogs. I -have seen cartloads of these tiny fish in a single pool, left by the -receding waters after the summer floods, on the Sumass prairie and -banks of the Chilukweyuk river. As the water rapidly evaporated, the -miserable captives huddled closer and closer together, starving with -hunger and panting for air, but without the remotest chance of escape. -The sticklebacks die and decompose, or yield banquets to the bears, -weasels, birds, and beetles; the pool dries, and in a few weeks not -a trace or record remains of the dead host of fishes. In the smaller -streams, a bowl dipped into the water where the sticklebacks were -thickest, could be readily filled with fish. - -Sticklebacks are the most voracious little gourmands imaginable, -devourers of everything, and cannibals into the bargain; tearing -their wounded comrades into fragments, they greedily swallow them. I -have often taken this species (_G. concinnus_) in Esquimalt Harbour, -where they are very plentiful during the winter months. The natives -of Kamtschatka make use of a stickleback (_G. obolarius_), which they -obtain in great quantities, not only as food for the sledge-dogs, but -for themselves also, by making them into a kind of soup. West of the -Rocky Mountains I have never seen the Indians use them as an article -of diet, not from any dislike to the fish, but simply because there are -larger and better fishes quite as abundant, and as easily procurable. -Whether there are any species in the North-west, strictly marine, -building their nests in the sea and never entering fresh-water, I am -unable to say. - -The Fifteen-spine Stickleback (_Gasterosteus spinachia_) is along our -own coasts strictly a tenant of the ocean, and makes a nest of seaweeds -glued together with an adhesive mucus, in the same way as the nests of -our little friends are cemented, that seek as their nursery the clear -cold streams of British Columbia, Oregon, and Vancouver Island. - -THE BULLHEAD.—The stickleback has a near relative, with a name nearly -as ugly as the owner, ‘_Bullhead_’ being certainly not suggestive of -beauty! With such a name, we are the less disappointed to find the -entire family of our friends ill-favoured, prickly, hard-skinned, and -as uncomfortable to handle as to look at. Plates of scaly armour cover -the head, from which sprout sharp spines, like a crop of horns; between -these are tubercles that have the appearance of being rivets. The body -looks like an appendage, tapering away to a mere nothing at the tail. -There are many species frequenting the lakes and rivers of British -Columbia, during the summer months, for the purpose of spawning. On -their return to the sea, swarms of young bullheads, of various species, -regularly follow the ebb and flow of the tide; and in rough weather -every breaker, as it rushes up the shelving shingle, carries a freight -of tiny fish, that are left struggling amid the pebbles in thousands, -to be dragged back and floated out again by the succeeding wave, or to -find a last home in the stomachs of the sea-birds. - -The bullhead does not actually build a nest, like the stickleback, but -makes an egg-house, on the bottom of some slowly-running stream. The -male usually selects a hollow under a boulder, or a space betwixt two -stones, and shoves out the lesser pebbles and gravel, to form a pit. -This accomplished, several females are in turn induced to deposit their -roe, having done which they are driven off by the male, who supplies -the milt, then shovels the sand and pebbles, with his huge horny head, -over the treasure, until it is completely covered: more females, more -eggs and milt, more shovelling, until the affair is completed to the -bullhead papa’s satisfaction. Now stand clear all thievish prowlers! -Let anything of reasonable size venture near—then head down, and -plying all his propellers to their utmost power, he charges at them, -driving his horns in to the very hilt; free again, seizes hold with -his mouth—thus biting and stabbing, until he kills or routs his foe. -I am not able to say exactly how long the eggs are incubating, but, as -nearly as I could observe them (in the Sumass and Chilukweyuk streams), -in about eight weeks the young escape from the egg-house. The females -were invariably driven away, with the same ferocity as other unwelcome -guests, from the depositing the spawn to the exit of the infant fish: -then old and young disappear into deeper water, and are seldom seen -again. - -During the winter, I constantly obtained the bullheads from out the -seine-nets used in Esquimalt Harbour to procure fish for the supply -of Victoria market. Rejected by the fishermen, the Indians greedily -gathered up the despised fishes, broiled them over the lodge-fire -empaled on a slender twig, then feasted right-royally on the grilled -remains of the spiny martyrs. - -The genus _Centridermichthys_ is characterised as follows:—Head more -or less depressed, rounded anteriorly; head and body covered with soft -and scaleless skin, more or less studded with prickles or granulations; -teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones. - -_Centridermichthys asper_ (_Coltus asper_, Rich. F. B. A. ‘Fishes,’ p. -295), the Prickly-skinned Bullhead.—_Sp. Ch._: Gill-openings separated -beneath, by an isthmus; three opercular spines; crown with very small -warts, back of the body with very minute spines; colour light yellowish -brown, thickly dotted with spots nearly black. The length of the adult -fish is seldom over three-and-a-half inches. - -These tiny bullheads are common in all the streams east and west of the -Cascades. They are not fond of going very far from the sea, but leave -the larger rivers soon after entering them, seeking the clear rivulets -and shallow lakes. In the streams flowing through the Sumass and -Chilukweyuk prairies, in those flowing into Puget’s Sound, and north -of it on the mainland to Fort Simpson, and in all the streams draining -Vancouver Island, the prickly-skinned bullhead can be easily found in -July and August. Similar in habits, and frequenting the same localities -as the preceding, are several species described in the Appendix. - -THE ROCK COD.—Belonging to the same family is the rock cod, as it -is usually styled by the fishermen who provide the Victoria and San -Francisco markets; one of the best and daintiest table-fish caught -in the seas round Vancouver Island. It often attains a considerable -size, and being in tolerable abundance, constitutes an article of some -commercial value. - -As numbers are taken all through the year, and as I never saw them -in fresh-water, it is fair to assume they are strictly marine. Their -appearance is not prepossessing, giving one the idea of being all head, -fins, and bones, as they lie gasping on the shingle; an error of the -eye only, as you discover when testing the substance and quality of a -large one, smoking hot from the fish-kettle. Three species are commonly -offered for sale in the markets, one of which is also taken in Japanese -seas. They vary in size; I have often seen a rock cod thirty inches in -length. Biting greedily at any bait, they are constantly caught by the -Indians when trolling for salmon. - -The one usually seen in the Victoria markets is _Sebastes inermis_ -(Cuv. and Val., p. 346; Faun. Japon., ‘Poiss.,’ p. 47, pl. 21, figs. 3, -4), the Weak-spined Rock Cod.—_Sp. Ch._: The height of the body equals -the length of the head; the upper surface of the head flat, with some -depressed spines behind the orbit. The fourth and fifth dorsal spines -are the largest, longer than those of the anal, and nearly half the -length of the head. Colour, uniform brownish. - -THE CHIRUS.—On the fish-stalls in Victoria and San Francisco markets -the visitor may generally see, lying by the side of the dingy, spiny -rock cod, a handsome, shapely fish, about eighteen inches in length. -Its sides, though somewhat rough, rival in beauty many a tropical -flower: clad in scales, adorned with colours not only conspicuous for -their brilliancy, but grouped and blended in a manner one sees only -represented in the plumage of a bird, the wing of a butterfly, or the -petals of an orchid, this ‘ocean swell’ is known to the ichthyologist -as the Chirus—the _Terpugh_ (a file) of the Russians—the _Idyajuk_ of -the Aleutian Islanders—the _Tath-le-gest_ of the Vancouver Islanders. - -Quite as delicious to the palate as pleasant to the eye, the chirus -is altogether a most estimable fish. Its habit is to frequent rocky -places, particularly where long ledges of rocks are left bare at -low-water, and sheltered at the same time from the surge of the sea -in rough weather. Here the chirus loves to disport his gaily-dressed -person, amidst the gardens of sea plants: for in these gardens dwell -jellyfish, tender little crustaceans, soft-bodied chitons, crisp -shrimps, and juicy annalides—all dainty viands, on which this gay -lounger delights to regale himself. - -At low-tide, when strolling over the slippery rocks that everywhere -gird the eastern side of Vancouver Island, in the larger rock-pools -I was certain to see lots of these fish imprisoned, having lingered -imprudently at their feasts. This indulgence constantly costs the idler -his life: gulls, herons, shags also prowl over the rocks, well knowing -what admirable preserves these aquariums are. Once spied out, it is -of no avail to hide amidst the seaweeds, or cower under the shelving -ledges draped with coralines. The large pincer-like beak follows, nips -him across the back; a skilful jerk gets the head first—then down a -lane he goes from which no chirus ever returns. - -We might as reasonably attempt to describe, the flushing changing -colours of the Aurora Borealis as seen in high latitudes, or the -phosphorescence of a tropical sea, or the wing of the diamond-beetle, -as to hope by word-painting to give the faintest conception of the -colourings that adorn the chirus: red, blue, orange, and green are -so mingled, that the only thing I can think of as a comparison is a -floating flower-bed, and even then the gardener’s art, in grouping, is -but a bungle contrasted with Nature’s painting! - -There are three species of chirus common along the island and mainland -coasts. The one usually sold is _Chirus hexagrammus_ (Cuv., Regne An., -‘Poiss.,’ pl. 83), the Six-lined Chirus.—_Sp. Ch._: A skinny tentacle -over each orbit; palatine teeth none; two muciferous channels, between -the lateral line and dorsal fin; scales ciliated. - -FLATFISH.—In all the muddy estuaries and on the sandy flats about -Puget’s Sound, at the mouths of the Columbia and Fraser rivers, several -species of flatfish are found in great abundance. These fish have -always formed an important article of food to all the sea-fishing -Indians, and, since the influx of white settlers, are caught for the -supply of the Victoria and San Francisco markets. - -Only the larger species are taken with hook and line, the smaller -flounders being usually speared by the Indians. And a pleasant sight -it is, too, to watch a little fleet of canoes, each one slowly paddled -by a dusky squaw gliding along the sandy shallows, the spearman in the -bow ‘prodding’ for the fish hidden in the mud and sand. The flounder, -thus disturbed, scuds along the bottom, and stirs up the sand like a -trail, marking its line of progress. The sharp-eyed savage notes the -spot where the dirt-line ends, paddles up to it, dashes in the spear, -and, quick as thought, transfers the ‘_flat_’ fish from its fancied -hiding-place to the bottom of the canoe. Immense numbers are taken in -this manner at every tide. The following are the species usually sold -in the markets:— - -_Pleuronectes bilineates_ (_Platessa bilineata_, Ayres, in Proc. Calif. -Acad., 1855, p. 40), the Two-lined Flatfish.—_Sp. Ch._: The height -of the body is a little less than one-half of the entire length, the -length of the head nearly one-fourth; snout somewhat projecting, not -continuous in direction with the descending profile of the nape; eyes -on the right side large, their diameter being two-sevenths of the -length of the head, separated by a strong prominent ridge, which is -partly covered with scales; lower jaw prominent; a single even row of -strong blunt teeth in each jaw, less developed on the coloured side -than on the blind; scales very conspicuous, those on the head and on -the tail ciliated; lateral line with a strong curve above the pectoral: -a second series of pores commences above the eye, and follows the -dorsal profile to the vertical, from the opercular angle, where it -terminates—it communicates with the true lateral line by a branch; -the dorsal fin rises over about the anterior third of the orbit, and -terminates at a distance from the caudal equal to the breadth of the -eye; anal spine prominent; pectoral fin half as long as the head. -Colour, light greyish-brown, with lighter blotches. More abundant at -San Francisco than at Vancouver Island and north of the Fraser. - -_Pleuronectes digrammus_ (Günther, Brit. Mus. Catalogue, ‘Fishes,’), -the Two-lined Flounder (Nov. Spec.).—_Sp. Ch._: The height of the body -rather less than one-third of the entire length, the length of the -head two-ninths, and that of the caudal two-thirteenths; snout with -the lower jaw prominent, equal in length to the diameter of the eye, -which is nearly one-fifth of that of the head; maxillary as long as -the eye; the upper jaw with a series of twenty-eight small truncated -teeth on the blind side, those of the other side being few in number -and very small; eyes separated by a very narrow, naked, bony ridge; -scales small but conspicuous; lateral line, with a very slight curve -above the pectoral; a second series of pores commences above the eye, -and follows the dorsal profile to the twenty-sixth dorsal ray, where -it terminates; dorsal and anal rays quite smooth—the dorsal commences -above the anterior third of the orbit, and terminates at a distance -from the caudal nearly equal to the depth of the free portion of the -tail; anal spine prominent—the longest dorsal rays are somewhat -behind the middle of the fin, rather shorter than the pectoral, and -half as long as the head; uniform brownish; length, eight inches. I -obtained this new species of flounder in Mackenzie’s Arm, a tidal inlet -continuous with Victoria Harbour. - -_Pleuronichthys guttulatus_ (Gerard, in Proc. Acad., Nat. Sc. -Philadel., 1856, p. 137, and U. S. Pacif. R. R. Expd., ‘Fishes,’ -p. 152).—_Sp. Ch._: The height of the body is somewhat more than -one-half of the total length (with the caudal), the length of the head -one-fourth, and that of the caudal one-fifth. The interorbital space -is exceedingly narrow, and raised ridgelike; snout very blunt and -short; mouth small, with the jaws even. The dorsal commences above the -anterior part of the orbit, and terminates at a short distance from -the caudal; its longest rays are on and behind the middle of the fin. -Scales, very small, cycloid. The lateral line is slightly arched above -the pectoral; a similar series of pores runs from the upper eye, along -the base of the dorsal fin, to about the middle of the length. There is -a connecting branch between both lines, across the occipital region. -Colour greyish, densely dotted with black and white spots. Common at -Vancouver Island and San Francisco. For further description of species, -_vide_ Appendix, vol. ii. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - HALIBUT FISHING—DOGFISH—A TRIP TO FORT RUPERT—RANSOMING A - SLAVE—A PROMENADE WITH A REDSKIN—BAGGING A CHIEF’S HEAD—QUEEN - CHARLOTTE’S ISLANDERS AT NANAIMO. - - -HALIBUT.—The Halibut, a giant amongst flat-fishes, is taken by -the Indians on the western side of Vancouver Island; a veritable -ground-feeder, frequenting deep-sea sandbanks, and devouring anything -and everything that comes within reach of his terrible mouth. The -halibut, at Vancouver Island, attains to an immense size, 300 lbs. -being no unfrequent weight. - -The Indians are most skilful in securing this leviathan of the deep, -as I had an opportunity of seeing, when visiting the northern end of -the island. Picture to yourselves an Indian village, built on a plateau -overlooking an open roadstead; a crowd of Indians on the shingly beach, -watching the departure of a large canoe, manned by four savages, -awaiting my arrival. This being a special occasion, they were more -elaborately painted than usual. A brief description of one will serve -to portray the other three. Tailors are entirely unknown in the land -of the redskin; a small piece of blanket or fur, tied round the waist, -constitutes the court, evening, and morning costume of both chief and -subject. - -My crew were _kilted_ with pieces of scarlet blanket. Imagine, if you -can, a dark swarthy copper-coloured figure leaning on a canoe-paddle, -his jet-black hair hanging down nearly to the middle of his back, the -front hair being clipped close in a straight line across the forehead. -Neither beard, whisker, nor moustache ever adorns the face of the -redskin, the hair being tweezered out by squaws in early life, and -thus destroyed. A line of vermilion extends from the centre of the -forehead to the tip of the nose, and from this ‘trunk line’ others -radiate over and under the eyes and across the cheeks. Between these -red lines white and blue streaks alternately fill the interstices. A -similar pattern ornaments chest, arms, and back, the frescoing being -artistically arranged to give apparent width to the chest; the legs and -feet are naked. A ‘fire-bag,’ made from the skin of the medicine-otter, -elaborately decorated with beads, scarlet cloth, bells, and brass -buttons, slung round the neck by a broad belt of wampum, completed the -costume of my coxswain. - -The canoe was what is commonly called a ‘dug-out,’ that is, made from -a solid log of wood. Coiled round the sharp bow of the canoe, like a -huge snake, was a strong line about sixty fathoms in length, made from -the inner bark of the cypress, neatly twisted. Lying along each side, -extending far beyond both bow and stern, were two light spear-hafts, -about sixty feet long; whilst stowed away in the bow were a dozen -shorter spears, one end being barbed, the other constructed to fit on -the longer spear, but so contrived that the spearman can readily detach -it by a skilful jerk. Tied lightly to the centre of each of the smaller -spears was a bladder made from sealskin, blown full of air, the line -attaching it being about three fathoms in length. - -I had hardly completed my investigation of the canoe, its crew, and -contents, when, to my intense astonishment, the four Indians lifted me, -as they would a bale of fur, or a barrel of pork, and without a word -deposited me in the bottom of the canoe, where I was enjoined to sit, -much in the same position enforced on a culprit in the parish stocks. -I may mention, incidentally, that a canoe is not half as enjoyable -as poets and novelists, who are prone to draw imaginary sketches, -would lead the uninitiated to believe. It would be impossible to trust -oneself in a more uncomfortable, dangerous, damp, disagreeable kind -of boat—generally designated a ‘fairy barque,’ that ‘rides, dances, -glides, threads its silvery course over seas and lakes, or, arrow-like, -shoots foaming rapids.’ All a miserable delusion and a myth! Getting -in (unless lifted, as I was, bodily, like baggage) is to any but an -Indian a dangerous and difficult process; the least preponderance -of weight to either side, and out you tumble into the water to a -certainty. Again, lowering oneself into the bottom is quite as bad, -if not worse, requiring extreme care to keep an even balance, and a -flexibility of back and limb seldom possessed by any save tumblers and -tightrope-dancers. Down safely, then, as I have said, you are compelled -to sit in a most painful position, and the least attempt to alter it -generally results in a sudden heeling-over of the canoe, when you find -yourself sitting in a foot of cold water. - -We are off, and, swiftly crossing the harbour, the beach grows -indistinct in the distance; but we still see the dusky forms of -the Indians, the rough gaudily painted huts, the gleam of many -lodge-fires, and wreaths of white smoke slowly ascending through the -still air; the square substantial pickets shutting in the trade-fort, -its roof and chimneys just peeping above, backed by the sombre green of -the pine-trees, altogether presented a picture novel and pretty in all -its details. - -A few minutes and we rounded the jutting headland, keeping close -along the rocky shore of the island, gliding past snug bays and -cozy little land-locked harbours, the homes and haunts of countless -wildfowl; soon we leave the shore, and stand away to sea. The breeze -is fresher here, and a ripple, that would be nothing in a boat, makes -the flat-bottomed canoe unpleasantly lively. Save a wetting from -the spray, and occasional surge of water over the gunwale, all goes -pleasantly. The far-away land is barely distinguishable in the grey -haze. No canoes are to be seen in the dark-blue water; the only sign of -living things—a flock of sea-gulls waging war on a shoal of fish, the -distant spouting of a whale, and the glossy backs of the black fish as -they roll lazily through the ripple. The line at the bow is uncoiled, a -heavy stone enclosed in a net attached as a sinker, a large hook made -of bone and hardwood, baited with a piece of the octopus, (a species of -cuttlefish), is made fast to the long line by a piece of hemp-cord; -then comes a heavy plunge of the sinker, the rattle of the line as -it runs over the side of the canoe, and—we wait in silence for the -expected bite. - -A tug, that came unpleasantly near to upsetting all hands, lets us -know that a halibut was bolting the tempting morsel, hook and all. A -few minutes gave him time fairly to swallow it, and now a sudden twick -buries the hook deeply in the fleshy throat; the huge flatfish finds, -to his cost, that his dinner is likely seriously to disagree with him, -whilst in the canoe all hands are in full employ. The bowman, kneeling, -holds on tightly with both hands to the line; the savage next him takes -one of the long spears, and quickly places on the end of it a shorter -one, baited and bladdered; the other two paddle warily. - -At first the hooked fish was sulky, and remained obstinately at the -bottom, until continued jerks at the line ruffled his temper, and -excited his curiosity sufficiently to induce a sudden ascent to the -surface; perhaps to have a peep at his persecutors. Awaiting his -appearance stood the spearman, and when the canoe was sufficiently -near, in he sent the spear, plucking the long haft or handle from the -shorter barbed spear, which remained in the fish, the bladder, floating -like a life-buoy, marking the fish’s whereabouts. The halibut, finding -his reception anything but agreeable, tries to descend again into -the lower regions, a performance now difficult to accomplish, as the -bladder is a serious obstacle. Soon reappearing on the surface, another -spear was sent into him, and so on, until he was compelled to remain -floating. During all this time the paddlers, aided by the line-man, -followed all the twistings and windings of the fish, as a greyhound -courses a doubling hare. - -For some time the contest was a very equal one, after the huge fish -was buoyed and prevented from diving. On the one side the halibut -made desperate efforts to escape by swimming, and on the other the -Indians, keeping a tight line, made him tow the canoe. Evident signs -of weariness at last began to exhibit themselves, his swimming became -slower, and the attempts to escape more feeble and less frequent. -Several times the canoe came close up to him, but a desperate struggle -enabled him once more to get away. Again and again we were all but -over; the fish, literally flying through the water, sometimes towed -the canoe nearly under, and at others spun it suddenly round, like -a whipped top; nothing but the wonderful dexterity of the paddlers -saved us from instant shipwreck and the certainty of drowning. I -would have given much to have stood up; but no; if I only moved on one -side to peep over, a sudden yell from the steersman, accompanied by a -flourish of the braining-club—mildly admonitory, no doubt, but vastly -significant—ensured instant obedience. I forgot cold, wet, and fright, -and indeed everything but the all-absorbing excitement attendant on -this ocean-chase. The skill and tact of uneducated men, pitted against -a huge sea-monster of tenfold strength, was a sight a lover of sport -would travel any distance to witness. - -Slowly and steadily the sturdy paddlers worked towards the shore, -towing the fish, but keeping the canoe stern-first, so as to be enabled -to pay out line and follow him, should he suddenly grow restive: in -this way the Indians gradually coaxed the flat monster towards the -beach; a weak, powerless, exhausted giant, outwitted, captured, and -subdued, prevented from diving into his deep-sea realms by, what were -to him, anything but life-buoys. We beached him at last and he yielded -his life to the knife and club of the redskin. - -I believe the species to be the _Pleuronectes hippoglossus_ of -Linnæus, but of this I am by no means perfectly clear, as I had only -an opportunity of examining this single specimen, that I estimated as -weighing over 300 lbs.; and it was quite impossible to investigate its -specific character, inasmuch as the Indians immediately set to work to -cut the body in pieces, some to be there and then devoured, after a -very brief roasting on a temporary fire; the remainder, packed into the -canoe, was taken to the village. - -Halibut are said to spawn in the middle of February; the roe, which is -bright red, being esteemed a great dainty by all the Coast Indians. - -COD.—The true Cod, although I never saw it offered for sale in the -Victoria market, is taken both at the northern extremity of Vancouver -Island, and near Cape Flattery, at its southern end. The Indians fish -for them with hooks and lines, and adopt very much the same system for -landing heavy obstinate fish as I have already described as used to -subdue the halibut. No regular system of deep sea fishing had, when I -left the island, been tried by white men; neither had the trawl ever -dragged up the treasures hidden at the bottom; so that deep-sea fish -are still comparatively unknown. But of this I am quite sure—whenever -fisheries are established along the island coasts, the trawl and -deep-sea line, used by experienced hands, will bring up treasures from -mines of wealth as yet unworked, to which gold and fur are nothing. - -DOGFISH.—The Western Dogfish (_Acanthius Suckleyi_), Grd., Proc. -Acad., Nat. Sc. Phil., vii. 1854.—_Sp. Ch._: Head contained in a sixth -of the entire length; snout blunt, nostrils near to its apex. Eye large -and bright, sea-green in the newly-taken fish. Anterior margin of the -first dorsal, midway betwixt the pupil and anterior margin of the -second dorsal. Colour reddish brown, above thickly spotted with white, -over-spread with bronze reflections. - -This most predaceous race of sharks, although they never grow to -a size dangerous to man, are nevertheless most bloodthirsty and -implacable enemies to all the finny tribes inhabiting the waters of -the North-west. They appear to live everywhere, in every harbour, up -the long inland canals, in the lagoons, and nearly as far as the tide -flows; the dogfish is ever to be found up the tidal rivers. Hunting in -packs like wolves, they often chase a shoal of fish upon the shingle, -then bite and maim six times as many as they can possibly eat. I have -often seen them seize dead and even wounded birds, drag them below the -surface, and tear them into shreds. - -Angling where there are dogfish, and it is hard to discover a spot -where they are not plentiful, is simply to waste time, and lose one’s -temper; your bait hardly touches the water ere it is gorged, and an -ugly dogfish dangles at the end of the line. To unhook the thief is a -service of danger, unless knocked senseless, and his fearfully-armed -jaws are propped open with a piece of stick. But, with all his faults, -the dogfish is most useful and valuable to the Indians, who spear -incredible numbers, split them, and take out their livers. From -these fatty livers a quantity of clear oil is extracted, by heat and -pressure, applied in such a clumsy manner, that at least one-third is -wasted. I was credibly informed that one small tribe of Indians, living -on the west coast of Vancouver Island, by their bungling process of -oil-making, managed to obtain seven cwt. of oil in one season: surely -oil making alone would pay a company a handsome return for a judicious -outlay of skill and capital. Several naval surgeons have assured me -they had fairly tested its curative powers—in diseases where oil is -said to be efficacious—and found it in every respect quite equal to -the finest cod-liver oil. - - • • • • • - -Whilst occupied in collecting the fishes previously described, the -Honourable Hudson’s Bay Company’s steamer ‘Otter’ was about to make her -usual trip to Fort Rupert, in order to carry up the necessary supplies -to the chief trader in charge of the fort, and bring back to Victoria -the furs traded during the year. Being a good opportunity to visit so -remote a part of Vancouver Island (not accessible, at that time, in any -other way), leave was obtained from His Excellency the Governor, and a -passage provided for me. - -On a bright but cold morning in October the ‘Otter’ twisted, puffed, -and worked her way through the somewhat intricate passage leading out -of Victoria Harbour. Leaving the harbour, the scenery opens out like -a magnificent panorama, indescribably wild and beautiful. In front, -the sharp jagged mountains of the coast range, wooded to the sea-line, -tower in the far distance to the regions of eternal snow; to the left, -the rounder hills of the island slope easily to the water’s edge, in -grassy glades and lawnlike openings, belted with scrub-oaks; higher up, -the hillsides are overshadowed by the Douglas pines and cedars; whilst -just visible in our course, like a green speck, is the famed island of -St. Juan; and bending away to the right, as far as eye could reach, -dense forests look like one vast unbroken sea of green. - -We had a delightful run along the coast and amidst islands, and -anchored in the evening near the narrows. These same narrows are only -used by the initiated as a short cut, being too risky for large vessels -navigated by unskilled hands. There is a channel, a quarter of a mile -long and seventy yards wide, between a small island and the Island -of Vancouver. Through this rocky canal the tide rushes with fearful -velocity. We ran it safely in the morning, although it struck me as -being the most ticklish bit of navigation I ever experienced. Through -these narrows, we were soon in Nanaimo, where we called for a supply -of coals; the town, at this early stage of its history, consisting of -about a dozen log-shanties, inhabited by the coal-miners and employés -of the fur-trading establishment. - -Whilst ‘coaling,’ a deputation of Indian braves, headed by a young -chief, waited on the captain of the steamer. Squatted in a circle on -the deck, and the all-essential pipe smoked, the object of their visit -was disclosed. The Fort Rupert Indians, residing at the Indian village -and trading-post we were _en route_ to visit, had very recently made -a raid on the Nanaimo savages. In the foray, the old chief had been -killed, several braves seriously injured, and, what was worse than -all, the favourite wife of the deceased dignitary had been seized, and -carried off a slave. The young chief, it seems, had loved the wife -of his predecessor, and was willing to pay any ransom for his lost -darling. After a long ‘wa-wa’ (talk), the captain consented to effect a -purchase, if possible, and bring back, on our return, the lost one to -the arms of her sable lover. - -We had a pleasant run across the Gulf of Georgia, and anchored at 10 -P.M. in Billings’ Harbour (much like a small duck-pond), in Faveda -Island. The next morning, again under weigh at 6 A.M., raining, as the -captain said, ‘marlinespikes,’ we steamed past a group of islands, -behind which is Malospina Strait. From this strait, Jarvis’s Inlet runs -like an immense canal for a distance (I believe) of fifty miles inland. - -Here the gulf widens out like the open sea, and little can be seen -of the land until the extreme south-east point of Valdes Island is -reached, known as Point Mudge, betwixt which and Vancouver Island is a -narrow channel, not more than a mile in width, called Discovery Passage. - -About a mile from its entrance, we passed a large Indian village, the -home of the Tah-cul-tas, a powerful band, of most predatory habits, and -generally at war with the different tribes north and south of them; -they own a large fleet of canoes, a great many slaves, and scalp and -plunder all they can lay hands on. - -For a distance of fourteen miles Discovery Passage is much the same -width, until reaching Menzies Bay, where the rapids commence. At the -base of these rapids, the channel, barely a quarter of a mile wide, -suddenly opens out into a large pond-like space. The tide rushes down -the narrow passage at the rate of ten knots an hour, and to get up -through it was as much as our little steamer could accomplish. Panting -and struggling, and sometimes hardly moving, at others she was carried -violently against the shore, until by slow degrees she breasted the -current and got safely through. I could not help wondering how Captain -Vancouver ever managed to get his ship up this terrible place, so -difficult even when aided by the power of steam. - -Above the rapids the passage again widens to Point Chatham, the -north-west termination of Discovery Passage. We puff by Thurlow Island, -divided from Valdes Island by the Nodales Canal, and anchor in a snug -harbour named Blenkinsop’s Anchorage. We start again at sun-up, the -fifth morning since leaving Victoria. As we steamed steadily along -through Johnston’s Straits, I could recall to my remembrance no -scenery that was comparable, in wild grandeur and picturesque grouping, -to the scenery on my left. The coast-line of Vancouver Island presented -a series of small projecting headlands; the bays and creeks between, -seldom rippled by the breeze, are very Edens for wildfowl. In the -background, the hills rise sharp and conical, at this time crowned -with snow, but all alike densely timbered. In the distance, Hardwicke -Island, like a floating emerald, hid the water beyond it. To the right, -islands of all sizes and shapes, so thick that one might suppose it -had rained islands at some time or other: on the least of them grew -pine-trees, any of which would have made a mainmast for the largest -ship ever built. I have again and again threaded the intricate passages -through the ‘Lake of a Thousand Islands,’ in the Great St. Lawrence; -but I say, without fear of contradiction, that the scenery from Chatham -Point to the mouth of the Nimkish river is wilder, bolder, and in every -respect more beautiful, lovely as I admit the Canadian scenery to be. - -The ship-channel hugs the shore of Vancouver Island, passing close -to Cormorant, Haddington, and Malcolm Islands, and the mouth of the -Nimkish river, navigable for canoes some considerable distance. This -stream is used by the Hudson’s Bay traders to reach the western side of -Vancouver Island. Ascending it in canoes as far as practicable, about -two days’ walking brings them to Nootka Sound. - -At the mouth of the river, I saw the village of the Nimkish Indians, -situated on a table-land overhanging the sea, and inaccessible save -by ascending a vertical cliff of smooth rock—a feat nothing but a -fly could manage, unaided; but the redskins have a ladder, made of -cedar-bark rope, which they can haul up and lower at will. The ladder -up, the place is impregnable. Safe themselves, they can quietly bowl -over their enemies, and sink their canoes. - -These Nimkish Indians speak of another tribe that they call -Sau-kau-lutuck, who have never seen or traded with white people. Their -story, as interpreted for me by Mr. Moffat, the chief trader at Fort -Rupert—who told me he quite believed it to be true—was as follows:— - -‘In crossing over to the west side of the island, on a war-path, the -Nimkis discovered these Indians by accident, took several of them -prisoners, whom they subsequently used as slaves, taking also skins, -and what other property they had worth plundering. They are said to -live on the edge of a lake, and subsist principally on deer and bear, -and such fish as they can take in the lake. They own no canoes, neither -do they know the use of firearms, their only weapons being the bow, -arrow, and spear.’ - -The wind came on to blow as we left this interesting spot, and soon -increased to a gale from the south-east, making the Otter rock most -unpleasantly in the cradle of the deep. About 10 A.M. we ran into -Beaver Harbour, our destination. This so-called harbour, being nothing -more than an open roadstead, is disagreeably rough; a heavy sea rolls -angrily in, dashing in foamy breakers on the rocky coast. - -We anchor about a mile from shore, the captain deeming it unsafe to -venture nearer. To announce our arrival, a gun is to be fired: this, I -observed, was rather a service of danger to the sailor who had to touch -it off, as it was just an equal chance whether the bulk of the charge -came through the barrel or the touch-hole; the latter having become so -capacious from rust and long usage, as to necessitate the employment -of an enormously long wand, with a piece of lighted slow-match tied to -the end of it. All hands having cleared away, and carefully concealed -themselves, the wand slowly appears from a secure hiding-place, and -the wheezy bang proclaims ‘all’s safe.’ - -The report was still echoing through the distant hills, when countless -tiny specks were discernible, dancing over the waves like birds. On -they came, a perfect shoal of them, nearer and nearer, all evidently -bound for the ship. I could make out clearly now, that these specks -were canoes filled with Indians. By this time our boat was lowered; how -I got into it, I never clearly remember: I have a dim recollection of -descending a rope with great rapidity, and finding myself sprawling in -the bottom, and being dragged up by the captain, much after the fashion -adopted by clowns in a pantomime to reinstate the prostrate pantaloon -upon his legs. At any rate I was safe, and the boat, propelled by four -sturdy rowers, neared the shore. - -On looking round, I observed the canoes had all turned towards us, and -we were soon surrounded by the most extraordinary fleet I had ever -beheld. The canoes were of all sizes, varying from those used for war -purposes, holding thirty men, to the cockleshell paddled by a squaw. -With the exception of a bit of skin, or an old blanket tied round the -waist, the savages were all perfectly nude; their long black hair hung -in tangled elf-locks down their backs, their faces and bodies painted -in most fantastic patterns, with red and white. Keeping steadily along -with us, they continually relieved their feelings by giving utterance -to the most wild and fiendish yells that ever came from human throats. - -As we neared the landing, I could see the chief trader of the Hudson’s -Bay Company, conspicuously white amidst a group of redskins, waiting -to receive us. The boat grated on the shingle some distance from the -beach, white with spray. ‘Surely you don’t expect me to go ashore like -a seal?’ I appealingly enquired of the captain. Before he had time to -reply, four powerful savages, up to their waists in water, fisted me -out of the boat; and two taking my heels, and two my shoulders, they -bore me safely to the shore. - -Having handed my letters of introduction from his Excellency the -Governor to the chief trader, I was presented to the chiefs as a _Hyas -tyee_ (great chief), one of ‘King George’s’ men. So we shook hands, and -I attempted to move towards the fort; it was not to be done. To use the -mildest term, I was ‘mobbed;’ old savages and young savages, old squaws -and young squaws, even to boy and girl savage, rushed and scrambled to -shake hands with me. Had I been a ‘pump’ on a desert, surrounded by -thirst-famished Indians, and each arm a handle, they could not have -been more vigorously plied. Being rescued at last by the combined -efforts of trader and captain, I was marched into the fort, the gates -shut with a heavy clang, and most thankful was I to be safe from any -further demonstrations of friendship. The evening passed rapidly and -pleasantly; mine host was a thorough sportsman, full of anecdote, and -hospitable to a fault. - -Awaking early, I wandered out, and up into the bastion of the fort. -The sun was creeping from behind the ragged peaks of the Cascade -Mountains, tinting with rosy light their snow-clad summits; the wind -had lulled, or gone off to sea on some boisterous errand; the harbour, -quite smooth, looked like burnished silver. There was a wild grandeur -about the scene, that awoke feelings of awe rather than admiration; -everywhere vast piles of craggy mountains, clad from the snow-line to -the sea with dense pine-forests; not an open grassy spot, or even a -naked mass of rock, peeped out to break the fearful monotony of these -interminable hills. - -The trading-post is a square, enclosed by immense trees, one end sunk -in the ground; the trees are lashed together. A platform, about the -height of an ordinary man from the top of these pickets, is carried -along the sides of this square, so as to enable anyone to peep over -without being in danger from an arrow or bullet. The entrance is closed -by two massive gates, an inner and outer; all the houses—the chief -trader’s, employés’, trading-house, fur-room, and stores—are within -the square. The trade-room is cleverly contrived so as to prevent a -sudden rush of Indians; the approach, from outside the pickets, is by -a long narrow passage, bent at an acute angle near the window of the -trade-room, and only of a sufficient width to admit one savage at a -time. (This precaution is necessary, inasmuch as, were the passage -straight, they would inevitably shoot the trader.) - -At the angles nearest the Indian village are two bastions, octagonal in -shape, and of a very doubtful style of architecture. Four embrasures -in each bastion would lead the uninitiated to believe in the existence -of as many formidable cannon, with rammers, sponges, neat piles of -round-shot and grape, magazines of powder, and ready hands to load and -fire—and, at the slightest symptom of hostility, to work havoc and -destruction, on any red-skinned rebels daring to dispute the supremacy -of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Imagine my surprise, on entering this -fortress, to discover all this a pleasant fiction, two small rusty -carronades, buried in the accumulated dust and rubbish of years, that -no human power could load, were the sole occupants of the mouldy old -turrets. - -The bell for breakfast recalling me, I jokingly inquired of the trader -if he had ever been obliged to use this cannon for defensive purposes. -He laughed as he replied, ‘There is a tradition that, at some remote -period, the guns were actually fired, not at the rebellious natives, -but over their heads; instead of being terror-stricken at the white -man’s thunder, away they all scampered in pursuit of the ball, found -it, and, marching in triumph back to the fort-gate offered to trade it, -that it might be fired again!’ - -Breakfast finished, the trader, captain, and myself started for the -village. Clear of the gates, we scrambled down a rocky path, crossed -a mountain-burn, dividing the Indians from the fort, and entered ‘the -city of the redskins;’ which consists of a long row of huts, each but -nearly square, the exterior fantastically frescoed in hieroglyphic -patterns, in white, red, and blue; having however a symbolical meaning -or heraldic value, like the _totum_ of the Indians east of the Rocky -Mountains; four immense trees, barked and worked smooth, support each -corner; the tops are carved to resemble some horrible monster: the hut -is constructed of cedar-plank, chipped from the solid tree with chisels -and hatchets made of stone: many hands combine to accomplish this; -hence a hut becomes the joint property of several families. Five tribes -live in this village:— - - Qua-kars, numbering about 800 warriors. - Qual-quilths 〃 〃 100 〃 - Kum-cutes 〃 〃 70 〃 - Wan-lish 〃 〃 50 〃 - Lock-qua-lillas 〃 〃 80 〃 - -The entire population, even to the dogs, turned out on our advent; it -was puzzling to imagine where they all came from. We soon formed the -centre of the vilest assemblage man ever beheld. The object of our -visit made known, a ring was immediately formed by chiefs and braves, -the squaws and children being outside. Had any charming princess, -captive in an enchanted castle, been guarded by such a collection of -painted ragamuffins as now surrounded us, he would have been a valorous -knight that dared venture to release her. - -The first question discussed being the price, a much larger sum was -asked than we felt disposed to pay. Although the slave belonged solely -to one Indian, the power to sell resting with him only, still every -one had their say. Men gurgled and spluttered strange unintelligible -noises, women chattered and screamed like furies, whilst children -engaged in small battles outside the ring. - -Thirty blankets and two trade-guns—equal to about 50_£._ -sterling—were the terms at last agreed on. We then adjourned to -the shed where the slave was a prisoner. I was in a great state of -expectation, picturing to myself an Indian Hebe, limbs exquisitely -moulded, native grace and elegance in every movement, gorgeous in -‘wampum,’ paint, and waving feathers, such as I had read of as -‘Laughing Water,’ or ‘Prairie Flower.’ - -Being carried, so to speak, into the shed—a waif in the stream of -savages rushing like a human torrent to get in—with all the breath -squeezed out of me, I was deposited somewhere but as my head was -enveloped in a dense cloud of pungent smoke, it was some time ere I -discovered I was close to the captain. ‘Sit down,’ he roared; ‘you -will die of suffocation if you keep your head in the smoke.’ At once -I seated myself on the floor, and now quite understand what being -suffocated in a chimney is like. - -Once more enabled to see, it was easy to discover the secret: there -being no place for the smoke to escape, it accumulates at the top of -the shed, and one literally, not figuratively, ‘lives under a cloud.’ -There was a hum and a burr, as in a nest of angry hornets; a din -increased by the dogs, that fought and rolled in where I sat; and being -by no means particular whether they bit my legs or any other man’s, it -required unwonted agility to keep clear. - -During an interval of peace, it was easy to make out that the slave -was coming. Alas! how fleeting are imaginary pictures—poetic -dreams—castles in the air! Half crouching, and waddling rather than -walking, came my ideal; her only covering, a ragged, filthy old -blanket, her face begrimed with the dirt and paint of a lifetime; -short, fat, repulsive, the incarnation of ugliness, a very Hecate! -All my romance vanished like a dissolving-view. For this had I been -squeezed nearly to death, suffocated, poisoned with a noxious stench, -my legs imperilled by infuriated curs, my ears deafened, half devoured -by insatiable blood-suckers?—to aid in paying 50_£._ for the ugliest -old savage eyes ever beheld! - -All the chiefs assembled at the fort in the evening to receive payment, -and hand over the slave. Squatting on their heels, nose and knees -together, their backs against the wall, they formed a circle. The pipe -produced (nothing can be done without it); I say pipe, for _one_ only -is used; filled and lighted, it passes from mouth to mouth; each, -taking a good pull, puffs the smoke slowly from his nostrils. The -thirty blankets and two guns being piled in the centre of this strange -assemblage, the slave was led in. Each blanket underwent a most careful -inspection; the guns, snapped and pointed, were finally approved of. -A husky grunt, from each of the council, denoting general approval, -the guns and blankets were carried off in triumph, and we became the -fortunate possessors of this strange purchase. - -Whilst in the fort I was tolerably exempt from the insatiable and most -annoying curiosity, that induces Indians to watch everything a stranger -does. One oily old chief, however, always contrived to get into my room -in time to see me dress. He used to stalk in, squat down rolled in a -dirty blanket, and testify his pleasure by a series of grunts slightly -varied in tone. He was certainly the most blubbery-looking man I ever -beheld. Everything about him was suggestive of oil, from his head to -his heels, blanket included; like a compound of salmon and seal’s -flesh, he smelt quite as oily as he looked. Outside, however, there was -no help for it: go where I would, a bodyguard of savages (real untamed -savages too, not semi-civilised articles) was always in attendance. - -Once I managed to escape through the pickets at the back of the -fort, and stealthily reaching the beach, under cover of the trees, -imagined myself safe. A light misty rain fell thickly, and a flock -of sanderlings, running along in the ripple, completely absorbed my -attention. I was suddenly startled by hearing the ‘crunch, crunch’ -of a foot in the shingle behind me. I had looked right and left on -reaching the beach, but not a trace of Indian was visible. Turning -suddenly round, you can picture my surprise at finding myself face to -face with a savage, unclad from head to heel, carrying—what should -you imagine?—not a scalping-knife, or a war-club, or bow or spear or -gory scalp: it was an immense green gingham umbrella, a thoroughbred -‘Gamp,’ with horn crook, battered brass ferule, furled with a ring such -as curtains are hung on. He politely offered me a part, and scarcely -deeming it safe to refuse, I paraded the beach, linked arm-in-arm with -the ugliest specimen of humanity eyes ever beheld. I wonder if, before -or since, a naked savage and civilised man ever walked together on the -sea-beach, listening to ‘what the wild waves were saying,’ sheltered -from the rain by a green gingham umbrella! I trow not. I should have -been no more astonished at seeing a seal, or old Neptune himself, with -an umbrella, than I was at a naked Indian so protected on the beach at -Fort Rupert. - -This was not my only adventure whilst staying at the fort. The beach -runs out very flat for a long distance seaward; the rocks appear -a slaty kind of shingle, with seams of coal cropping out in every -direction. The pines (_Abies Douglassii_) grow down to highwater-mark, -attaining a height of 250 feet and over, straight as a flagstaff. On -the branches are placed quaint-looking affairs, that you discover, on -inquiry, to be coffins; but how the friends of the departed get the -boxes up into the trees, or how they keep them there when they are up, -is more than I can tell. The coffin is usually an old canoe, lashed -round and round, like an Egyptian mummy-case, with the inner bark of -the cedar-tree; but of this, and other singular customs, I shall have -to speak more at length in a future chapter. - -Near one of these arboreal cemeteries, I observed a high pole, and -dangling from it a head, fresh, bloody, and ghastly; the scalp had -been removed, and a rope, passing through the under-jaw, served to -suspend it. Horribly revolting as the face appeared, still I could -not help going close to it. Never had I seen so singular a head; it -looked in shape like a sugarloaf, the apex of the skull terminating in -a sharp point. On returning to the fort, I inquired if they could tell -me anything about this mysterious head. It appeared that, a day or so -before our arrival, a war-party of the Qua-kars had returned from a -raid on the mainland coast, and brought with them a number of slaves. -(Prisoners taken in war, or in any other manner, are invariably used as -slaves, bought and sold, whipped or killed, as best befits the whim or -caprice of their owner.) Amongst the wretched captives, was a chief. -Soon after landing, he was made fast to a temporary cross erected on -the beach, shot, scalped, and beheaded, and it was his head I had seen -in my rambles. On hearing further that the tribe to which he belonged -was one that elongate instead of flatten the head, I determined at any -risk to have the skull.[4] Extreme caution was needed, or a like fate -would probably be mine; a white chief’s hairless head might possibly -adorn the same pole as that of the painted savage. I made several -attempts, but each time signally failed to accomplish my purpose. - -The night preceding our departure, all hopes of obtaining the coveted -head were nearly abandoned. Fortune at last smiled upon me; unobserved, -I upset the pole, and _bagged_ the head; and pushing it into my -game-bag, got safely into the fort. Still in terror of being seen, I -hid it in the bastion, and eventually headed it into a pork barrel, -with stones and sand; then had it rolled boldly out, and put on board -the steamer. - -On our departure the following morning, I was rejoiced to find the -head had not been missed, but somewhat frightened, on learning I was -to be paddled to the steamer, in the state-canoe of the chief to whom -the trophy belonged. In grand procession, we marched from the fort to -the canoe, marshalled by the dingy dignitary, who, in happy ignorance -of the wrong I had done him, was all smiles and grins; the final -hand-shaking being accomplished, I was lifted into the canoe in the -same fashion as I had been previously lifted out, and rapidly reached -the steamer. - -The chief came on board the steamer whilst the anchor was being -weighed. Imagine what I felt when he seated himself deliberately upon -the cask wherein I had hid his property. The wished-for moment came, -the wheels splashed slowly round, my plundered friend was bowed over -the side, and not until the smoke of the lodge-fires, and the fading -outline of the village, grew dim in the distance, did I feel my scalp -safe. The head is now in the Osteological Room of the British Museum, -and well worth investigation by any who may be curious to compare the -effect of circular pressure with that of the flat-head.[5] Skulls -similarly flattened were also brought by me from Vancouver Island. - -We again called at Nanaimo on our return, and, whilst ‘coaling,’ -delivered the ransomed lady safely into the hands of her owner. At -the same time three hundred Indians from Queen Charlotte’s Island -landed, _en route_ to Victoria, arriving in large canoes, each holding -about twenty Indians and their baggage. These canoes were not at all -similar to any I had seen at Fort Rupert, or to those used by the -Coast and Fraser river Indians. The shape was similar to the boats one -sees in very old pictures, filled with sailors in armour, the bow and -stern carved to represent a neck, bearing on it some hideous grinning -monster’s head. - -Their chief, named Edin-saw, once saved the crew of a small schooner, -the ‘Susan Sturges,’ from being killed by the islanders under his -control. The vessel was wrecked on Queen Charlotte’s Island, and -the crew subsequently ransomed. This little army of savages reached -Victoria safely, having taken four months to make the voyage threading -all the difficult and dangerous straits, with the risk of capture from -other tribes, exposed to all the vicissitudes of weather, in open -canoes as easily upset as a child’s cradle. - -Reaching Victoria in safety, I proceeded up the Fraser, and for the -first time witnessed sturgeon-spearing. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - STURGEON-SPEARING—MANSUCKER—CLAMS. - - -The Sturgeon found in North-western waters differs only in some -unimportant specific distinctions from the one living in the pond of -the Zoological Society’s Gardens, in the Regent’s Park. _Accipenser -transmontanus_ is the name given by Sir J. Richardson to sturgeon that -frequent rivers that flow into the St. Lawrence, on the east side of -the Rocky Mountains, but unknown in streams that fall into the Arctic -Ocean. On the western side sturgeon abound in the Columbia, Fraser, and -most other rivers as far north as lat. 53° N. It is certainly not a -handsome fish to look at, reminding one of a shark in armour; yet, clad -as he is from head to tail in bony mail, every movement is easy and -graceful. - -_Sp. Ch._—Five rows of plates encase the body: the row along the -back is most prominent, and contains fifteen shields. The cheeks are -flat, the snout terminating in an acute point, remarkably flexible -and trunklike in its movements. Four barbels dangle from beneath the -snout, situated about mid-distance between its point and the orbit. -The mouth is underneath, resembling a huge flabby sucker in the -freshly-caught fish. Nevertheless, as his habit is to prowl about the -mud and gravel at the bottom, it is in reality the very best kind of -mouth that could have been given. The barbels that hang before are -clearly delicate feelers, intended to give warning, that game suitable -for food—disturbed probably by the flexible nose—is near; the nose -is employed to stir up the mud, turn over stones, or in exploring -the hiding-places of prey amidst the rocks and heavy boulders. The -eyes are small and golden-yellow in the newly-caught fish, but change -immediately after death. - -The great extent and strength of the pectorals, which are nearly -horizontal, show us that, in addition to their acting as oars and -rudder, they are also powerful assistants in bringing the great fleshy -mouth to bear upon anything discovered by the barbels. Female fish are -taken full of roe in the Fraser during the month of June, and sometimes -later; but where they deposit the ova or what becomes of the young -after leaving the eggs, are mysteries. I never saw a small sturgeon, -but have no doubt most of the young fish descend to the sea, although -it is equally certain numbers remain entirely in the fresh-water. -Madame Sturgeon’s family is by no means a small one: a bushel of eggs -is not an unusual quantity for a female fish to yield; a great many -thousands, although I do not know how many eggs a bushel contains. -The Indians dry these eggs in the sun and devour them with oil, as we -eat currants and cream. It would surely pay to prepare cauiare on the -Russian plan, even to send it to the English market. A rough kind of -isinglass was at one time prepared by the Fraser river Indians and -traded by the Hudson’s Bay Company, but even that branch of industry -has ceased to flourish since the ‘Golden Age.’ Indians are exceedingly -fond of sturgeon-flesh, and usually demand a high price for it. - -Few fish have a wider geographical range than sturgeon. On our own -coasts, we find them frequenting the mouths of rivers and muddy -estuaries. When caught in the Thames, within the jurisdiction of the -lord mayor of London, it is considered a royal fish; implying, that -the fish ought to be sent to the king, though how far the sovereign’s -rights in the matter are actually considered, seems to be somewhat -doubtful. It is said, however, that the sturgeon was exclusively -reserved for the table of the king in the time of Henry I. - -In the Fraser and Columbia rivers, and in all the streams of any -magnitude from latitude 46°19´ N. to Sitka, latitude 53° N., the -sturgeon is found abundantly; as also in Northern Asia, where it -forms an article of vast commercial value, the well-known and -much-prized caviare being made from its roe, and that almost -indispensable household necessary, isinglass, from its air-bladder. -The long ligamentous cord, traversing the entire length of the spine, -constitutes another delicacy, called _vesiga_, much relished by the -Russians. The flesh also is eaten, cooked in various ways, and held in -no mean estimation. Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Greece (especially the -two latter) are great markets for caviare. - -Pliny speaks of the sturgeon as being in great repute among the Greeks -and Romans: ‘the cooked fish was decked with garlands, as were the -slaves who carried it to table;’ and altogether it was an affair of -great pomp and ceremony, when a sturgeon was to be demolished. - -Sturgeon arrive in the Columbia early in February, and a little later -in the Fraser, although a great number above the Kettle Falls, at Fort -Colville, must remain permanently in the fresh-water. They ascend the -rivers to incredible distances, in the Fraser as high as Fraser Lake, -quite up in the Rocky Mountains. In the Columbia sturgeon have been -taken eight hundred miles above the Kettle Falls, which are, speaking -roughly, eighteen hundred miles from the sea, and, in accomplishing -this, several very serious obstacles have to be overcome. Up the Snake -river, at the great Shoshonee Falls (a salmon-station of the Snake -Indians), sturgeon are often taken. The Snake river, tributary to the -Columbia, is about fourteen hundred miles from the sea. - -One would never imagine a fish clad in stiff unyielding armour could -ascend rapid torrents and leap falls that puzzle even the lissom salmon -but the strength of the sturgeon is immense, and the power it can exert -with the tail would be almost incredible to those, who have never -seen the rapid twists, plunges, and other performances this fish goes -through, when it has a barbed hook in the jaws, or a spear between the -joints of its mail. - -The first glance at a sturgeon would lead any one accustomed to fish, -to decide at once that it must be a ground-feeder: the form and -position of the mouth, the lengthened snout, the barbels, the ventral -fins so far back, the large size of the pectorals—as I have already -stated—all clearly evidence a habit of grubbing-up food of various -kinds near the bottom, and browsing off shelled molluscs adhering to -sticks or stones. They also indulge in small fish: eulachon are oily -dainties they seem particularly to appreciate; and the Indians say -sturgeon are never so fat and good as in ‘eulachon time.’ Small blame -to the sturgeon for appreciating such delicious fish. - -During the time the Fraser and Columbia rivers are rising,—and the -rise is very rapid, about thirty feet above the winter level, owing -to the melting snow,—sturgeon are continually leaping. As you are -paddling quietly along in a canoe, suddenly one of these monsters -flings itself into the air many feet above the surface of the water, -falling back again with a splash, as though a lit rock had been pitched -into the river by some Titan hand. It appears to be only play, as they -never leap for insect-food; neither have I ever observed them do it -during low-water; perhaps the intense cold of the snow-water begets a -desire for exercise. - -The systems of catching sturgeon in use amongst the Indians of the -Fraser and Columbia rivers are widely different, as indeed are all -their modes of taking fish. This mainly arises from the fact of the -Columbia river having numerous deep falls, that impede the ascent of -all fish going up to spawn. These falls, as I have said, are quite -impassable for even the salmon until the snow-water floods the river. -The Fraser, on the other hand, offers no hindrance at all until after -Fort Hope is passed, and the principal Indian fishing-stations are all -below this point: hence it is that on the Columbia, the fish, both -salmon and sturgeon, are speared, trapped in baskets or weirs, and the -sturgeon also taken with hook and line whereas, on the Fraser, salmon -are principally taken in nets, and sturgeon speared. - -I shall first describe the mode adopted by the Indians of the Columbia -to catch sturgeon with hook and line. The best months for fishing are -February and March, and the time of day either early in the morning, or -late in the evening. The Dalles is a favourite fishing-station. - -The first thing is to prepare the bait. The old wooden fish-hook is -now amongst the things that _were_, its place having been supplied by -its civilised Birmingham brother, bartered by the Indians from the -Hudson’s Bay Company. The fishing line is either made of native hemp, -or the inside bark of the cypress-tree spun into cord. The bait is a -long strip cut from the underside of a trout, at one end of which the -point of the hook is inserted; the strip being then wound tightly and -evenly round the hook, and up the line about three inches, the silvery -side outermost. It is then firmly whipped over with white horsehair, -a pebble slung on as a sinker, and the deception is complete. Five or -six long barbed spears are stowed away in the canoe, the line coiled -carefully in the bow, and the baited hook laid on it. Two wily redskins -man this frail bark, the paddler squatting on his heels in the stern, -the line-man standing in the bow. - -A few skilful turns of the paddle sends the canoe to the mudbank on -which King Sturgeon is dozing, and awaiting his matin or vesper meal. -The dainty-looking morsel, bearing all the external semblance to a fish -(but, like the Trojan horse, pregnant with mischief), sinks noiselessly -and slowly to the bottom; the canoe drifts with the current, and in -this manner the bait is towed along; it nears the sturgeon’s nose, -and, being far too tempting to be refused, the great pendulous lips -close upon it; but ere it reaches the gullet, a sharp twitch of the -line buries the hook in the tenacious gristle. At once discovering he -has been miserably done, anger and obstinate resistance are in the -ascendant; so he comes to the surface with a rush and a splash. - -The paddler now exerts all his skill to keep a slack line, for the -hooked fish would otherwise inevitably upset the canoe; the bowman, -with the line in one hand and a spear poised in the other, quietly -bides his time; then he hurls the spear into the sturgeon’s armour-clad -back; down darts the fish, but soon returns to the surface, when in -goes another spear, and so on again and again, until, towed ashore, it -is dragged out of the water with a powerful gaff-hook. Large numbers -besides such as are thus speared are netted in passing through the -narrow rock-channels. - -On the Fraser river sturgeon-spearing is the most exciting sport -imaginable. Hooking, playing, and landing a noble salmon is an -achievement every fisherman is truly proud of; but I unhesitatingly -assert that to spear and land a sturgeon five or six hundred pounds -in weight, with only a frail canoe, which the slightest inequality of -balance will upset in an instant, requires a degree of skill, courage, -and dexterity that only a lifetime’s practice can bestow. - -I have already said the Fraser has no falls below Fort Hope, but a -great many stiff rapids; below these rapids it widens out into long -slowly-running shallows, generally speaking having large sand and -gravel-banks—_bars_, as the miners call them, and on these bars the -Indians live during the fishing-season. The time for fishing being -generally soon after sunrise, four canoes, each manned by two Indians, -usually start for sturgeon-capture; the paddler, who squats in the -stern, looks in the direction in which the canoe is to go, not, as we -sit in rowing, with our backs to the bow, but facing it; he is always -chosen for his greater strength, tact, and dexterity with the paddle, -for on his skill depends in a great degree the safety and success of -the spearman. - -The spearman stands in the bow, armed with a most formidable spear—the -handle,[6] from seventy to eighty feet long, is made of white pine -wood; fitted on the spear-haft is a barbed point, in shape very -much like a shuttlecock, supposing each feather represented by a -piece of bone, thickly barbed, and very sharp at the end. This is so -contrived that it can be easily detached from the long handle by a -sharp dexterous jerk. To this barbed contrivance a long line is made -fast, which is carefully coiled away close to the spearman, like a -harpoon-line in a whale-boat. - -[Illustration: STURGEON-SPEARING ON THE FRASER.] - -The four canoes, alike equipped, are paddled into the centre of the -stream, and side by side drift slowly down with the current, each -spearman carefully feeling along the bottom with his spear, constant -practice having taught the crafty savages to know a sturgeon’s back -when the spear comes in contact with it. The spear-head touches the -drowsy fish—a sharp plunge, and the redskin sends the notched points, -through armour and cartilage, deep into the leather-like muscles. A -skilful jerk frees the long handle from the barbed end, which remains -inextricably fixed in the fish; the handle is thrown aside, the line -seized, and the struggle begins. - -The first impulse is to resist this objectionable intrusion, so the -angry sturgeon comes up to see what it all means: this curiosity is -generally repaid by having a second spear sent crashing into him. He -then takes a header, seeking safety in flight, and the real excitement -commences. With might and main the bowman plies the paddles, and -the spearman pays out line, the canoe flying through the water. The -slightest tangle, the least hitch, and over it goes; it becomes, in -fact, a sheer trial of paddle _versus_ fin. Twist and turn as the -sturgeon may, all the canoes are with him: he flings himself out of the -water, dashes through it, under it, and skims along the surface; but -all is vain—the canoes and their dusky oarsmen follow all his efforts -to escape as a cat follows a mouse. - -Gradually the sturgeon grows sulky and tired, obstinately floating on -the surface. The savage knows he is not vanquished, but only biding a -chance for revenge; so he shortens up the line, and gathers quietly -on upon him, to get another spear in. It is done—and down viciously -dives the sturgeon; but pain and weariness begin to tell, the struggles -grow weaker and weaker, as life ebbs slowly away, until the mighty -armour-plated monarch of the river yields himself a captive to the -dusky native in his frail canoe. - -THE CLAM.—Amongst the edible shellfish found on the coasts of -Vancouver Island and British Columbia, the Great Clam, as it is there -styled (_Lutraria maxima_), or the Otter-shell of conchologists, is -by far the most valuable. Clams are one of the staple articles of -winter food on which all Indian tribes in a great measure depend who -inhabit the north-west coast of America. The clam to the Indians is -a sort of molluscous cereal, that they gather and garner during the -summer months; and an outline sketch of this giant bivalve’s habits and -style of living, how captured, and what becomes of it after being made -a prisoner, may be interesting; its habits, and the uses to which, if -not designed, it is at least appropriated, being generally less known -than its minute anatomy. Clams attain an immense size; I have measured -shells eight inches from the hinge to the edge of the valve. We used -them as soap-dishes at our headquarters on Vancouver Island. - -The clam has a very wide range, and is thickly distributed along the -mainland and Vancouver Island coasts; his favourite haunts are the -great sandbanks, that run out sometimes over a mile from the shore. -The rise and fall of the tide is from thirty to forty feet, so that at -low-water immense flats or beaches, consisting of mud and sand, are -laid bare. - -There is nothing poetical about the clam, and its habits are anything -but clean; grovelling in the mud, and feeding on the veriest filth it -can find, appears to constitute the great pleasure of its life; the -stomach is a kind of dusthole, into which anything and everything finds -ready admission. Its powers of digestion must be something wonderful; I -believe clams could sup on copper tacks, and not suffer from nightmare. -Spending the greater part of its time buried about two feet deep, the -long syphon, reaching to the surface, discovers its whereabouts, as the -ebbing tide leaves the mud, by continually squirting up small jets of -water, about six or eight inches high. The sand flats dry, out marches -an army of squaws (Indian women), as it is derogatory to the dignity -of a man to dig clams. With only a small bit of skin or cedar-mat tied -round the waist, the women tramp through the mud, a basket made from -cedar-root in one hand, and in the other a bent stick about four feet -long. - -Thus armed, they begin to dig up the mud-homes of the unsuspecting -clam: guided by the jets of water, they push down the bent stick, and -experience has taught them to make sure of getting it well under the -shell: placing a stone behind the stick, against which the squaw fixes -her foot firmly, she lifts away: the clam comes from darkness into -daylight ere he knows it, and thence into the Indian’s basket. The -basket filled, the clam-pickers trudge back again to the lodge—and -next to open him. He is not a _native_ to be astonished with an -oyster-knife; once having shut his mouth, no force, saving that of -dashing his shell into atoms, will induce him to open it. But the wily -redskin, if she does not know the old fable of the wind and the sun -trying their respective powers on the traveller, at least adopts the -same principle on the luckless clam; what knife and lever fail to do a -genial warmth accomplishes. The same plan the sun adopted to make the -traveller take off his coat (more persuasive, perhaps, than pleasant) -the Indian squaw has recourse to in order to make the clam open his -shell. - -Hollowing out a ring in the ground, about eight inches deep, they -fill the circle with large pebbles, made red-hot in the camp-fire -near by, and on these heated stones put the bivalve martyr. The heat -soon finds its way through the shelly armour, the powerful ropes that -hold the doors together slacken, and, as his mansion gradually grows -‘too hot to hold him,’ the door opens a little for a taste of fresh -air. Biding her chance, armed with a long, smooth, sharp-pointed -stick, sits the squaw—dusky, grim, and dirty—anxiously watching the -clam’s movements. The stronghold opens, and the clam drinks draught -after draught of the cool lifegiving air; then down upon him the -savage pounces, and astonishes his heated and fevered imagination by -thrusting, with all her force, the long sharp stick into the unguarded -house: crash it goes through the quivering tissues; his chance is over! -Jerked off the heated stones, pitilessly his house is forced open; -ropes, hinges, fastenings crack like pack-thread, and the mollusc is -ruthlessly dragged from his shelly home, naked and lifeless. - -Having got the clam out, the next thing is to preserve it for winter: -this is effectually accomplished by stringing-up and smoking. A long -wooden needle, with an eye at the end, is threaded with cord made -from native hemp; and on this the clams are strung like dried apples, -and thoroughly smoked, in the interior of the lodge. A more effectual -smoking-house could hardly be found. I can imagine nothing in the -‘wide, wide world’ half as filthy, loathsome, and disgusting as the -interior of an Indian house. Every group has some eatable—fish, -mollusc, bird, or animal—and what the men and squaws do not consume, -is pitched to the dusky little savages, that, naked and dirty, are -thick as ants in a hill; from these the residue descends to the dogs, -and what they leave some lower form of animal life manages to consume. -Nothing eatable that is once brought in is ever by any chance swept, -or carried, out again, and either becomes some other form of life, or, -decomposing, assumes its elemental condition. - -An old settler once told me a story, as we were hunting together, and -I think I can vouch for the truth of what he related, of having seen a -duck trapped by a clam:—‘You see, sir, as I was a-cruising down these -flats about sun-up, the tide jist at the nip, as it is now, I see a -whole pile of shoveller ducks snabbling in the mud, and busy as dogfish -in herring-time; so I creeps down, and slap I lets ’em have it: six on -’em turned over, and off went the pack gallows-scared, and quacking -like mad. Down I runs to pick up the dead uns, when I see an old -mallard a-playing up all kinds o’ antics, jumping, backing, flapping, -but fast by the head, as if he had his nose in a steel trap; and when -I comes up to him, blest if a large clam hadn’t hold of him, hard and -fast, by the beak. The old mallard might a’ tried his darndest, but may -I never bait a martin-trap again if that clam wouldn’t a’ held him agin -any odds ’til the tide run in, and then he’d a’ been a gone shoveller -sure as shooting; so I cracked up the clam with the butt of my old gun, -and bagged the mallard.’ - -Any one who has travelled in America must have eaten clam-chowder, or, -more probably perhaps, tried to eat it. It is a sort of intermediate -affair between stew-proper and soup. How it is made I do not know, but -I do know that to my palate it is the vilest concoction I ever tasted; -and I always look upon a man who can eat clam-chowder with a kind of -admiration almost akin to envy; for I feel and know that if he can eat -chowder, short of cannibalism he can eat anything. I have tried smoked -clam, but that I cannot say I enjoy; it is remarkably like chewing good -old tarry ropeyarn, and, save the slight difference in nutritive power, -about an equally agreeable repast. - -If any of my readers should be curious to see the shells of these -monster clams, they will find many I have recently brought home in the -Shell Room of the British Museum. - -MANSUCKERS.—The three kinds of cuttlefish best known in British seas -are, first, the sepia, the creature whose backbone is the ‘cuttlefish’ -of the apothecaries’ shops; second, the ‘loligo,’ or ‘calamary,’ -that has a beautiful penlike bone, and, from the presence of a bag -containing a black fluid, is sometimes called the ‘pen-and-ink’ fish; -and third, the ‘octopus.’ - -The octopus as seen on our coasts, although even here called a -‘mansucker’ by the fishermen, is a mere Tom Thumb, a tiny dwarf, as -compared to the Brobdignagian proportions he attains in the snug bays -and long inland canals along the east side of Vancouver Island, as well -as on the mainland. These places afford lurking-dens, strongholds, and -natural sea-nurseries, where the octopus grows to an enormous size, -fattens, and wages war, with insatiable voracity, on all and everything -it can catch. Safe from heavy breakers, it lives as in an aquarium of -smooth lake-like water, that, save in the ebbing and flowing of the -tide, knows no change or disturbance. - -The ordinary resting-place of this hideous ‘sea-beast’ is under a large -stone, or in the wide cleft of a rock, where an octopus can creep and -squeeze itself with the flatness of a sand-dab, or the slipperiness -of an eel. Its modes of locomotion are curious and varied: using the -eight arms as paddles, and working them alternately, the central disc -representing a boat, octopi row themselves along with an ease and -celerity comparable to the many-oared caïque that glides over the -tranquil waters of the Bosporus; they can ramble at will over the -sandy roadways intersecting their submarine parks, and, converting -arms into legs, march on like a huge spider. _Gymnasts_ of the highest -order, they climb the slippery ledges, as flies walk up a window-pane; -attaching the countless suckers that arm the terrible limbs to the -face of the rocks, or to the wrack and seaweed, they go about, back -downward, like marine sloths, or, clinging with one arm to the waving -algæ, perform series of _trapèze_ movements that Leôtard might view -with envy. - -The size, of course, varies. I have seen and _measured_ the arm five -feet long, and as large at the base where it joins the central disc as -my wrist; and were an octopus by any chance to wind its sucker-dotted -cable-arms round a luckless bather, fatal would be the embrace, and -horrible to imagine, being dragged down and drowned by this eight-armed -monster; a worse death than being crushed by coiling serpents like -ill-fated Laocoon. - -I have often when on the rocks, in Esquimalt Harbour, watched my -friend’s proceedings; the water being clear and still, it is just like -peering into an aquarium of huge proportions, crowded with endless -varieties of curious sea-monsters; although grotesque and ugly to look -at, yet all alike displaying the wondrous works of Creative wisdom. In -all the cosy little nooks and corners of the harbour the great seawrack -(_Macrocystis_) grows wildly, having a straight round stem that comes -up from the bottom, often with a stalk three hundred feet long; -reaching the surface, it spreads out two long tapering leaves that -float upon the water: this sea-forest is the favourite hunting-ground -of octopi. - -I do not think, in its native element, an octopus often catches prey on -the ground or on the rocks, but waits for them just as the spider does, -only the octopus converts itself into a web, and a fearful web too. -Fastening one arm to a stout stalk, stiffening out the other seven, -one would hardly know it from the wrack amongst which it is concealed. -Patiently he bides his time, until presently a shoal of fish come gaily -on, threading their way through the sea-trees, joyously happy, and -little dreaming that this lurking monster, so artfully concealed, is -close at hand. Two or three of them rub against the arms: fatal touch! -As though a powerful electric shock had passed through the fish, and -suddenly knocked it senseless, so does the arm of the octopus paralyse -its victim; then, winding a great sucker-clad cable round the palsied -fish—as an elephant winds its trunk round anything to be conveyed to -the mouth—draws the dainty morsel to the centre of the disc, where the -beaked mouth seizes, and soon sucks it in. - -I am perfectly sure, from frequent observation, the octopus has the -power of numbing its prey; and the sucking-discs along each ray are -more for the purposes of climbing and holding-on whilst fishing, than -for capturing and detaining slippery prisoners. The suckers are very -large, and arranged in triple rows along the under-surface of the ray, -decreasing in size towards the point, and possessing wonderful powers -of adhesion. - -As illustrating the size of these suckers, I may as well confess to a -blunder I once made. It was an extremely low tide, and I was far out on -the rocks at Esquimalt Harbour, hunting the pools, when I saw what I -fancied a huge actinia, as big as an eggcup, its tentacles hauled in, -and, having detached its disc from the rocks, was waiting for the tide: -placing the fancied prize safely in my collecting-box, to my disgust, -on examining my new species, it turned out to be only the sucking-disc -of an octopus. - -Tyrants though they be, an enemy hunts them with untiring pertinacity. -The Indian looks upon the octopus as an alderman does on turtle, and -devours it with equal gusto and relish, only the savage roasts the -glutinous carcase instead of boiling it. His mode of catching octopi is -crafty in the extreme, for redskin well knows, from past experience, -that were the octopus once to get some of its huge arms over the side -of the canoe, and at the same time a holdfast on the wrack, it could as -easily haul it over as a child could upset a basket; but he takes care -not to give a chance, and thus the Indian secures his prize. - -Paddling the canoe close to the rocks, and quietly pushing aside the -wrack, the savage peers through the crystal water, until his practised -eye detects an octopus, with its great ropelike arms stiffened out, -waiting patiently for food. His spear is twelve feet long, armed at -the end with four pieces of hard wood, made harder by being baked and -charred in the fire: these project about fourteen inches beyond the -spear-haft, each piece having a barb on one side, and are arranged in -a circle round the spear-end, and lashed firmly on with cedar-bark. -Having spied out the octopus, the hunter passes the spear carefully -through the water until within an inch or so of the centre disc, and -then sends it in as deep as he can plunge it. Writhing with pain and -passion, the octopus coils its terrible arms round the haft; redskin, -making the side of the canoe a fulcrum for his spear, keeps the -struggling monster well off, and raises it to the surface of the water. -He is dangerous now; if he could get a holdfast on either savage or -canoe, nothing short of chopping off the arms piecemeal would be of any -avail. - -But the wily redskin knows all this, and has taken care to have ready -another spear unbarbed, long, straight, smooth, and very sharp, and -with this he stabs the octopus where the arms join the central disc. -I suppose the spear must break down the nervous ganglions supplying -motive power, as the stabbed arms lose at once strength and tenacity; -the suckers, that a moment before held on with a force ten men could -not have overcome, relax, and the entire ray hangs like a dead snake, -a limp, lifeless mass. And thus the Indian stabs and stabs, until the -octopus, deprived of all power to do harm, is dragged into the canoe, a -great, inert, quivering lump of brown-looking jelly. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - MULE-HUNTING EXPEDITION FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND TO SAN FRANCISCO—THE - ALMADEN QUICKSILVER MINES—POISON-OAK AND ITS ANTIDOTE. - - -The Commission, in 1860, were to commence the work of marking the -boundary-line on the eastern side of the Cascades. A large addition to -our staff of pack-mules being indispensable, I was despatched to San -Francisco to purchase them; and instructed to rejoin the Commission, as -soon as practicable, at the Dalles, already mentioned as a small town -on the upper part of the Columbia river. - -I introduce the journal of my mule-hunting adventures at this part of -the volume, as it enables me to explain the systems of transport and -travelling resorted to in wild countries, where roads and railways are -unknown. I transcribe my journal, the events of each day as hastily -recorded:— - -_Feb. 29th, 1860._—Left Esquimalt Harbour in the steamer -‘Panama,’—my destination San Francisco,—my mission to purchase mules. -The island is still in its winter garb; not a bud has burst into leaf, -and very few migratory birds have made their appearance. At 10.30 a.m. -we are steaming out of the harbour; no wind, water smooth as a lake; -run pleasantly down the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and pass Cape Flattery -about 4 p.m. Wind blowing unpleasantly fresh, and a heavy tumbling -swell makes the ‘Panama’ disagreeably lively. Passengers rapidly -disappear; various gulping sounds, heavy sighs, and impatient calls for -the steward, tell clearly enough that the most terrible leveller next -to death, seasickness, has begun its work below. - -_March 1st._—A bleak misty morning, a heavy sea, wind dead ahead, and -cold driving hail-showers. The ship, rolling from side to side, renders -it difficult for even practised hands to guide anything spillable -to the mouth; and walking, save to a sailor or a housefly, is an -impossible performance. - -_March 2nd._—Managed to scramble on deck about 7 a.m., by going -through a series of acrobatic performances, that came near to -dislocating all my joints; wind moderated, but a heavy sea still rocked -us very rudely. We are close inshore, passing Cape Blanco, 350 miles -below Cape Flattery. Port Orford, a place celebrated for its cedar, is -just visible through the haze; the rounded hills behind it are quite -white with snow. Kept close inshore all day, but the weather is too -cold, and sea too rough, for one to enjoy the scenery. - -_March 3rd._—Scrambled on deck again about 7 a.m.; wind still ahead, -but altogether a better morning than yesterday. Had a good look at Cape -Mendozena, a bold rocky headland, to the south of which is Mendozena -city, consisting of a few houses and a groggery. The coast-line is -exceedingly picturesque and pretty: between this headland and Point -Arena a series of undulating hills, capped with massive pine-trees; -their sides and grassy slopes, reaching down to the sea-line, remind me -of English hayfields; it seems almost like enchantment, the change in -the vegetation three days only from Vancouver Island. - -_March 4th._—At sunrise I am on deck, called by the captain, to get -a peep at the ‘Golden Gate.’ There is just enough light to reveal a -stupendous mass of bold mountain scenery, rising apparently from the -sea, and towering up 3,000 feet and over, until lost in the haze of the -morning. Under the shadow of these hills we are puffing towards an -opening, as if cut purposely through a solid wall of rock. On the right -stands an immense fortress, built of red brick. Alcatraz Island, right -ahead, is dimly visible, like a grey spot in the line of water. The -ripple, touched by the sunbeams that are slanting into the bay, seems -converted into revolving cylinders of brilliants. As we steam through -this magnificent portal, the finest harbour in the world opens out to -the southward and westward. On the curving shore of the bay, I can see -the city of San Francisco, built on the slopes of three hills; to the -left the island of Yerba Buena; farther to the right a forest of masts, -from which flags representing every nation flutter in the breeze; -ahead a long stretch of water, as far as eye could follow it—the -continuation of the harbour. - -We ran alongside an immense pier at 6 a.m. I am mobbed by touters from -every hotel in San Francisco, and have hard work to keep my luggage -from being equally divided amongst them. Passengers appear, for the -first time since leaving Vancouver Island, blanched like celery or -seakale. By dint of strong arms and stronger language, I get my luggage -fastened to a grating that lets down by machinery, at the end of an -omnibus marked ‘Oriental Hotel.’ I am hustled into the ‘bus with three -pale passengers, and we are rapidly whirled off to the ‘Oriental.’ The -mail-packet from Panama has also just arrived; all the beds are taken -at the hotel, so I bide my chance of some one leaving before night. - -Called on the Consul, and through his kindness am located in the Union -Club House, a grand improvement on the ‘Oriental.’ - -_March 5th._—Occupied in giving my letters of introduction, and -arranging money-matters. The club-house in which I am staying is a -massive granite building. The granite, beautifully faced and fitted, -was all hewn in China; the house was put together there, to see -everything was properly finished, then taken to pieces, packed, and -shipped for San Francisco. Chinese builders came with it, brought their -own scaffolding (made entirely from bamboo), put it together, built up -the granite edifice in which I transcribe this, as handsome a structure -as any San Francisco can boast of. - -_March 6th._—Having nothing particular to do, determine to visit the -New Almaden quicksilver mines. There are two routes to these mines—one -per stage the whole distance (56 miles), the other per steamer to the -head of the Bay of San Francisco, and thence by stage to San José. -Past experience had taught me, whenever possible, scrupulously to avoid -stage travelling. Being tossed in a blanket, or rolled down a steep -hill in a cask, produce much the same bruised and general state of -sprain and dislocation as a day’s ride in a stage. Choosing the steamer -lessened the chance of jolting by quite one-half, at the same time -affording a good opportunity of seeing the famed Bay of San Francisco. - -I embark at seven from a wooden pier—early as it is, alive with the -hum, buzz, and bustle of the awakening city—and steam away over the -unrippled waters of the bay. The temperature is delicious; a few fleecy -clouds are swept rapidly over the clear blue sky by a light breeze -blowing softly from the land, laden with the perfume of wild flowers -and forest trees. A run of a few hours brought us to the embarcadero, -or landing, at the head of the bay, from whence a stage bumped me over -the road about four miles, to the old town of San José. - -Pueblo San José stands at the entrance of a lovely valley. The town -consists of a collection of adobe houses; a few in the main street are -built of wood, painted white, with brilliant green jalousies outside -the windows. The older houses are scattered round an open space, -the plaza: trees of greenest foliage, in double rows, shade one from -the burning sun, and everywhere spacious orchards and flower-gardens -testify to the fertility of the soil. - -Having a note from a friend in San Francisco to the host of ‘—— -House,’ more than ordinary civility was accorded me, and by some -superhuman means a buggy would be ready in about two hours to take -me to the mines. Crossing the Alameda, a grove of willows and oaks, -planted by the padres, leads to the old crumbling walls of what was -once a very spacious mission, now rapidly falling to decay. The -interior of the old church is decorated with rude carvings, paintings -of the Crucifixion, and frescoed figures of saints and martyrs, -clad in garments of dazzling colours. One old shaven priest, with a -particularly dirty cassock, and a face so begrimed with layers of filth -as to be mosquito-proof, was the only ecclesiastic visible. Thousands -of cliff swallows (_Hirundo lunifrons_) were busy building their -bottle-shaped mud nests under the dilapidated roof. - -Discovered little worth looking at in the town. Found the buggy -waiting: my coachman, a regular Yankee, puffing vigorously at an -immense cigar, was seated in readiness, his legs resting on the -splash-board. Without removing the cigar from his mouth, he drawled -out, ‘Say, Cap’en, guess you’d better hurry up if you mean making the -ranch before sundown. Bet your pants this child ain’t agwine that road -in the dark nohow.’ ‘What’s to happen?’ I mildly enquired. ‘Happen! -Wal, maybe upset; maybe chawed up by a grizzly; maybe cleaned slick out -by the greasers. You’d better believe a man has to keep his eye skinned -in the daytime; so hurry up, Cap.’ Without further parley I scrambled -in, and away we went. - -Our road lay over broad plains and through occasional belts of timber; -deep, gravelly arroyos, in and out of which we dashed with a plunging -scramble, marked the course of the floods. Everything was steaming -hot; the baked ground reflected back the scorching sun-rays, until the -atmosphere quivered as one sees it over a limekiln; the mustangs in a -fog of perspiration; the Jehu, denuded of coat and vest, continually -yelled ‘A git along,’ with a rein in each hand, steering rather than -driving, was red-hot in body and temper. But this was nothing to my -state of broil. Exposed to a temperature that would have made one -perspire sitting in the shade; to be kept in a state of bodily fear of -instant upset; to undergo a continuous exercise that would have been -good training for an athlete, to avoid being shot out of the buggy -like a shell from a mortar, would have set an Icelander in a glow. The -rapidity with which we whirled along, and the eccentric performances of -the vehicle, destroyed, in a measure, the enjoyment of a scene quite -new to me. - -We rattled through the splendid valley of Santa Clara, passing here and -there a fertile ranch; on either side, the wooded slopes looked like -lawns of Nature’s own contriving; far on my left, the bay glimmered -like a line of silver light, the ground carpeted with flowers, -brilliant escholtzia and blue nemophila were most conspicuous amidst a -natural harvest of wild oats and grass; and on all sides, from amongst -the clumps of buck-eye and oak, the cheery whistle and chirp of birds -rang pleasantly on the ear. - -Reaching the ‘Halfway House’ (as a small wooden building is named, -midway betwixt San José and the mine), we stopped to water the mustangs -and refresh the inward man—a respite most acceptable. A ‘tall drink’ -worked wonders on my hitherto taciturn coachman, who, as we jogged -along the remaining half the journey, related such wonderful stories, -that it seemed to me we had hardly left the ‘Halfway House’ ere we -rattled under a grove of trees completely shutting out the fading -light, and pulled up with a sudden jerk, that well-nigh pitched me over -the mustangs. ‘Guess we’ve made it, Cap’en; this here’s the manager’s.’ - -Giving my letters of introduction to Mr. Young, a hospitable invitation -to be his guest was readily accepted. I cannot help devoting a line to -the praise of a house most enjoyable in its minutest details, with a -host and hostess it refreshes one’s heart to recall to memory. - -The lower village of Almaden consists of a long row of very pretty -cottages, the residences of the workmen employed in smelting the ore; -each cottage was completely buried with honeysuckle and creeping -roses the gardens in front filled with flowers, and at the back with -vegetables and fruit. A small stream of water, clear and cold, ripples -past the frontage, brought from a mountain-burn that runs swiftly at -the back, a barrier dividing the gardens from the surrounding hills. An -avenue of trees leads from the cottages to the spacious brick buildings -used for smelting. - -The discovery of these fabulously rich mines of quicksilver is briefly -told. Long ere gold was discovered in California, the padres and early -settlers knew of a cavern in the hillside, about a mile and a half from -the present village. Deeming it merely a natural fissure or cleft in -the rock, explorations only were made by the more adventurous as to its -extent, which proved to be in length one hundred feet, running into -the mountain horizontally. No one ever thought it was an artificial -excavation of great antiquity. When the vaqueros and old dons of the -neighbourhood were questioned by a new-comer about the cave, a shrug -of the shoulders, and the usual reply, ‘Quien sabe? son cosas muy -antiguas,’ was the sole information obtained. - -A gold-seeker, assaying some of the rock, salivated himself, and -thus discovered it was rich in quicksilver. A grant, with the land -adjoining, was procured, and the original opening widened; in clearing -away the rubble and dirt at the end of the cave, several skeletons -were discovered, together with rude mining-tools and other curious -relics, clearly proving it an old excavation made by the natives for -the purpose of procuring vermilion, so much used by all savages to -paint themselves. The position of the skeletons in the rubbish covering -them left no doubt that, having followed the vein of cinnabar without -exercising due precaution to prop the loose ground overhead, they had -been literally buried alive in a grave of their own digging. Further -research soon revealed the immense value of the deposit. Many years -rolled away, and very little was done until it passed from the hands of -an English company into that of an American firm. - -The mine is about a mile and a half from the smelting-works, on the -side of a mountain; an admirable road leads to it by a gentle ascent, -down which waggons drawn by mules bring the ore to be smelted. On -reaching the summit I rested on a level plateau, on which the upper -works are built; I am to descend presently into the depths of the mine -to see how the ore is deposited, and trace, step by step, the various -processes it has to go through before it is marketable. - -The main entrance is a tunnel ten feet high, and about an equal width -throughout, in which runs a tramway leading to the shaft. At the end of -this tunnel a small steam-engine does the work of the poor ‘tanateros,’ -or carriers, who, until very recently, brought the ore and rubbish from -the bottom of the mine on their backs, a system still adopted in Spain -and Peru, each man having to bring up a load of two hundred pounds, in -a bag made of hide, fastened by two straps passing round the shoulders, -and a broader one across the forehead, which mainly sustains the load. -It was fatal work to the poor Mexicans who had to do it, the terrible -muscular strain soon producing disease and death! - -On reaching the engine I am undressed and rigged as a miner, a costume -far more loose and easy than becoming. Three dip-candles dangled from a -button on my jacket by the wicks, and one enveloped in a knob of clay -for my hand, completed my toilet. The next process is to be lowered -down into the mine. Squeezing myself into a huge kind of bucket, and -assuming as near as practicable the shape and position of a frog, my -candle lighted, ‘All right!’ says somebody, and I find myself rapidly -descending a damp dismal hole, dripping with water like a shower. Of -course I shudder, and have horrible ideas of an abyss, ending no one -knows where; the candle hissed, sputtered, and went out; the bucket -swang as the chain lengthened, and bumped unpleasantly against the -rocks; now a sudden stop, and a lively consciousness of being dragged -bodily out like a bundle of clothes, discloses the fact of my safe -arrival at the bottom. - -The swarthy Mexican miner deputed as guide leads the way along a narrow -gulley, and down an incline to the mouth of another hole, the descent -to which has to be effected on a slanting pole, with notches cut in it, -very like a bear-pole, called by the miner an _escalera_, requiring a -saltatory performance that would not have been so bad if I had only -known where I should have landed in case of falling. After this we -scramble down a flight of steps cut in the rock, and reach the lowest -excavation, about one thousand feet from the surface. - -The cinnabar is found in large pockets, or in veins, permeating a kind -of trap-rock; and as the miners dig it out, large columns or pillars -are left to support the roof, and prevent the chance of its falling in. -A small charcoal-fire burned slowly at the base of one of these massive -columns, and as its flickering light fell dimly, illuminating with a -ruddy glow the bronzed faces and nearly nude figures of the miners, -the vermilion hue of the rugged walls and arched roof, sparkling with -glittering crystals, forcibly reminded me of a brigand’s cave, such as -Salvator Rosa loved to paint. - -All the work is done by contract: each gang taking a piece of ground -on speculation, is paid according to the amount of ore produced; the -ore averaging about thirty-six per cent. for quicksilver, although some -pieces that I dug myself produced seventy-five per cent. Many mines in -Europe have been profitably worked when the cinnabar has yielded only -one per cent. - -A shrill whistle rings through the mine; the miners from all directions -rush towards the pillars. Thinking, at least, the entire concern was -tumbling in, I was about to scamper off, when the guide, seizing my -arm, drags me behind a projecting mass of rock, simply saying, ‘A -blast!’ For a while there was a deathlike silence—not a sound save -the hiss of the fusee, and the heavy breathing of the men; then the -cave lighted up with a lurid flash, shedding a blinding glare over -every object like tropical lightning. The dark galleries appeared -and disappeared in the twinkling of an eye, whilst the report, like -countless cannon, was echoed and reechoed through the cavernous -chamber. Showers of fragments came rattling down in every direction, -hurled up by the force of the powder. On the smoke clearing, the -miners set to work to collect the scattered fragments of cinnabar. If -a blast has been successful, often many tons of rock are loosened and -torn out, to be broken into small pieces and conveyed to the bucket, -and hauled by the engine to the surface. The mining operations are -continued night and day, seventy-four pounds of candles being consumed -every twenty-four hours. - -I finish the survey of this singular mine perfectly free from foul air -or fire-damp; ascend as I came down; and, by vigorous rubbing with -soap-and-water, am slowly restored from bright vermilion to my normal -colour. - -The ore, on reaching the surface, is conveyed by the tram-cart to the -sorting-shed, where it is broken and carefully picked over by skilful -hands, great caution being needed in selection, as much valuable ore -might be thrown away, or a large quantity of useless rock taken to -the smelting-furnaces. The picked ore is placed in large bags made of -sheepskin, weighed, and then hauled by the mules to the lower works. - -Near the mine is a primitive kind of village, the abode of the miners, -sorters, and ore-carriers, who are principally Mexicans; dirty señoras -in ragged finery, dirtier children devoid of garments, together with -dogs, pigs, poultry, and idle miners playing monte on the doorsteps, -contrast sadly with the exquisite little village at the works. - -Descending from the mine to the level ground by a short track down -the hillside, through scenery indescribably picturesque, I reach the -smelting furnaces; these, occupying about four acres of land, are -built of brick, admirably neat, and well contrived. As quicksilver is -found in several forms—namely, native quicksilver, occurring in small -drops, in the pores or on the ledges of other rocks, argental mercury, -a native silver amalgam, and sulphide of mercury or cinnabar, different -processes are requisite for its reduction. Here it is found solely in -form of cinnabar, and to reduce it a kind of reverberatory furnace is -used, three feet by five, placed at the end of a series of chambers, -each chamber seven feet long, four wide, and five high. About ten -of these chambers are arranged in a line, built of brick, plastered -inside, and secured by transverse rods of iron, fitted at the ends with -screws and nuts, to allow for expansion. The top is of boiler iron, -securely luted. - -The first chamber is the furnace for fire, the second for ore, -separated from the first by a grated partition, allowing the flame to -pass through and play over the cinnabar. This ore-chamber, when filled, -contains ten thousand pounds of cinnabar. The remaining chambers are -for condensing the metal, communicating by square holes at the opposite -corners; for instance, the right upper corner and lower left, and -_vice versâ_, so that the vapour has to perform a spiral course in its -transit through the condensers. Leaving the chambers, the vapour is -conducted through a large wooden cistern, into which a shower of water -continually falls, and thence through a long flue and tall chimney -carried far away up the hillside. - -The mercury is collected, as condensed, in gutters running into a long -conduit outside the building, from which it drops into an iron pot sunk -in the earth. As the pot fills, the mercury is conveyed to a store-tank -that holds twenty tons. So great is its density, that a man sitting on -a flat board floats about in the tank on a lake of mercury without its -flowing over the edges of his raft. From this tank the metal is ladled -out, and poured into iron flasks containing each seventy pounds (these -flasks are made in England, and sent to New Almaden): in this state it -is shipped for the various markets. - -Although every possible care has been taken to prevent the mercurial -fumes from injuring the smelters, still a great deal of it is -necessarily inhaled, most injurious to health. Clearing out the -furnace is the most hurtful process, the men employed working short -spells, and resting a day or two between. A furnace charged with ore, I -am told, takes about eight days to sublime and cool. - -It is difficult to obtain a correct statement of the absolute yield of -this mine; proprietors, for many reasons, deeming it inexpedient to let -the world know the extent of their riches. The export of quicksilver -from San Francisco, a few years back, may, I think, be averaged at -1,350,000 pounds of mercury per annum, valued at 683,189 dollars; and -this, together with the large amount consumed in California, was the -sole produce of the New Almaden mines. - -There are fourteen furnaces, arranged with passages ten feet wide -between them, the whole covered with a roof sufficiently high to allow -a current of air to circulate freely. Between the furnaces and on -all the open spaces are innumerable bricks, just as we see them in a -brickyard to harden before baking. On inquiring what these were made -for, I discover that all the fragments and dust-cinnabar are pounded -together, mixed with water, and made into bricks: in this form the ore -can be conveniently built into the furnace, securing intervening spaces -for the flame and heat to act on; thus more perfect sublimation is -secured, and a great saving of metal effected. There are blacksmiths’ -and carpenters’ shops and a sawmill adjoining the furnaces. - -Until recently all the ore was brought down from the mine packed on -the backs of mules, a most costly system of transport as compared to -the one now in use. The vegetation only suffers immediately round -the chimney, and even there not to any alarming degree. The flue, -being of great length, carried at a moderate slope up the hill, and -terminating in a very tall chimney, completely condenses all mercurial -and arsenical fumes. Before this flue and stack were constructed, even -the mules and cattle grazing in the pastures died from the poisonous -effects of the mercurial vapour; and its deadly action on vegetation -was like that of the fabled upas-tree. The workmen now, as a rule, -enjoy very good health, and are admirably cared for; the village boasts -a capital hotel, and stages run daily to San José and San Francisco. - -A spring of native soda-water, bubbling up in the centre of the -village, protected and fitted like a drinking-fountain, is said to work -wonders as a curative agent in all maladies arising from the effects -of mercury. This spring is supposed to be under the especial care of -a ‘Saint Somebody,’ a lady whose image, attired in very dirty finery, -figures in niches cut in the rocks at the mine. No miner ever leaves or -enters the mine without prostrating himself before this dirty effigy. - -_March 9th._—Return to San Francisco by road; dine at San Mateo, -as lovely a spot as I ever gazed on. The grass is kneedeep, and the -chimps of buck-eye (_Esculus flava_) and handsome oaks besprinkling -the rounded hills and banks of the clear stream winding its way past -the village to the Bay of San Francisco, like a lake glistening in -the distance, reminded me of a park in fertile Devonshire. Completely -shut in, and sheltered from the wind that blows nearly all the summer, -withering up the vegetation exposed to its influence, everything round -about this favoured spot grows in wild luxuriance. In the garden -belonging to the roadside house, the summer flowers are in full bloom, -and vegetables of all kinds in rare abundance, such as for size and -quality equal anything Covent Garden Market can show. - -The bay runs inland about forty miles, and the land on its shores is -particularly fertile, and employed in great measure for dairy-farms and -stock-ranches. - -For the first time I gather the poison-oak (_Rhus toxicodendron_), -a pretty plant, that climbs by rootlets, like the ivy, and trails -gracefully over both rocks and trees. Some persons are most seriously -affected by it, especially such as are of fair complexion, if they -only venture near where it grows. It produces swelling about the -eyes, dizziness, and fever; the poisonous effects are most virulent -when the plant is bursting into leaf. I picked, examined, and walked -amidst the trees over which it twined thickly, but experienced not the -slightest symptoms of inconvenience. Still, I know others that suffer -whenever they come near it. Where the poison-oak thrives, there too -grows a tuber known to the settlers as Bouncing Bet, to the botanist -as _Saponaria officinalis_, the common soapwort. The tuber is filled -with a mucilaginous juice which, having the property of entangling air -when whisked up, makes a lather like soap. This lather is said to be an -unfailing specific against the effects of the poison-oak—the poison -and its antidote growing side by side! - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - SACRAMENTO—STOCKTON—CALIFORNIAN GROUND-SQUIRRELS—GRASS - VALLEY—STAGE TRAVELLING—HYDRAULIC - WASHINGS—NEVADA—MARYSVILLE—UP THE SACRAMENTO RIVER TO RED - BLUFFS—A DANGEROUS BATH. - - -_March 10th._—At San Francisco this morning a friend took me to see -the ‘What Cheer House,’ a very large hotel, supported by gold-miners, -where they make up six hundred beds, every lodger having a small room -to himself, with marble wash-stand, looking-glass, and dressing-table. -Each story shuts off from the next by fireproof doors, and the water is -forced to the top of the house, where there are hoses, fire-buckets, -and axes enough to fit out a fire-brigade. A large steam-engine is the -cook’s assistant, doing everything that hands usually do; it kneads the -bread, rolls the dough, drives the roasting gear, grinds coffee, peels -apples and potatoes, beats the eggs (twelve hundred dozen a week), -washes, irons, dries, and mangles the clothes; heats the water for -the bathing-houses, which are perfect in every detail; does all the -pumping, and cleans the knives. - -Adjoining the dining-room is a well-selected library, general -reading-room, and museum, containing a capital collection of stuffed -birds, and other useful objects of Natural History. The rate each miner -pays is five dollars, equal to 1_£._ per week: this includes eating and -drinking. The house is strictly a temperance one, no fermented liquor -being allowed within it. - -Wandering about San Francisco would be much more enjoyable, if the -hills were less steep, and the wind, which is everlastingly blowing, -freighted with fine sand, that finds its way into your very watchcase, -could be stilled. - -_March 11th._—Steaming across the bay in a white steamer called the -‘Eclipse,’ propelled by the largest paddlewheels I ever saw. We are en -route to Sacramento, which we reach late at night. - -_March 12th._—Strolled about. Hardly believe so vast a place can have -grown up in ten years. I think I like it better than San Francisco. -The streets running east and west are marked by numbers—_1st_ street, -_2nd_ street, and so on; those having a north and south bearing by -letter, as—_A_ street, _B_ street, &c. Received a telegram from the -Commissioner, who had just reached San Francisco on his return from -England, to join him. - -Nothing material occurs in my journal until - -_March 23rd._—I am at the Webber House in Stockton, a very pretty -city, built on what the Americans call a _slew_, or, in other words, -a muddy arm of the San Joaquin river. The country round is perfectly -flat, but fertile beyond description. To obtain water the inhabitants -have only to bore an auger-hole about nine feet in depth, when it -bubbles up like a fountain. In nearly every garden is a tiny windmill, -employed to irrigate the peach-orchards and general crops. Hear of 700 -mules that have just arrived from Salt Lake city. - -_March 24th._—Drive out in a buggy to the mule ranch. The country -very bare of timber, but thickly covered with grass. Every hillock, -I observe, is burrowed like a rabbit-warren by the Californian -ground-squirrel (_Spermophilus Beechyii_). I am told that it is next to -impossible to drive out or exterminate these most destructive pests; -entire fields of young wheat are cleared off by them, as if mowed down; -gardens are invaded, and a year’s labour and gain destroyed in a single -day. Trapping, shooting, and strychnine have failed to accomplish the -work of extinction. Farmers often flood entire districts, ‘to drown -out the darned cusses!’ Their habits are strictly diurnal; and pretty -lively little fellows they are, scampering off to their holes on the -approach of danger, where they sit up on their hind-legs, peering -curiously at the intruder. You may come very near now: there is a safe -retreat behind, and he knows it. When too close, however, for safety’s -sake, the squirrel gives a shrill defiant whistle, like the laugh of a -sprite, and dashes into its burrow. - -Purchased twenty-one mules, at 150 dollars per head; the others were -team-mules, and too large for pack animals. My mules are to remain on -the ranch until I have completed my other purchases. - -_March 25th._—Cross in the stage from Stockton to Sacramento, a -distance of about forty miles, through a country fertile in the -extreme. Wild flowers, in endless variety of colour, decked the -grass-land. The hawthorn, white with blossom, perfumes the air; and the -waving green cornfields contrast pleasantly with the foliage of the -oaks and chestnuts scattered about in graceful clumps. We change horses -at Woodbridge, Fugit Ranch, and Elk Grove, and at four o’clock pull up -at the St. George’s Hotel, Sacramento. - -_March 26th._—I am again on the road, this time bound to Grass Valley. -A clumsy railway with cars, or carriages, like the yellow caravans -giants, dwarfs, and wise pigs travel in, bumps me out to Fulsome, about -thirty miles off. Here I am hustled into a stage, without a chance of -seeing anything but mud, in which the horses are standing kneedeep. - -This stage is different from any I have seen; loops, straps, and other -contrivances, clearly meant to hold on by, evidence an inequality -of motion and tendency to upset that give rise to disagreeable -forebodings. Constructed to hold nine inside, the centre seat swings -like a _bale_ dividing horses in a stable, and being somewhat rounded -and padded, looks very like it. Five passengers seat themselves. I have -hardly time to look at them, when a loud cracking of whips, several -voices yelling ‘Hi! git up!’ ‘Hi! git along!’ and a sudden jerk sends -me upon the _bale_—a general splash and scramble—and we are off! - -We do the first ten miles with a bearable amount of jolting, and stop -to change horses. The five insiders get out, and we take a nip at -the roadside house, or what would be such if there were any roads. -I observe four most perverse, obstinate, wild-looking horses being -cautiously fastened to the stage; they are clearly uneducated—‘wild -mustangs’ one of the insiders called them. They are held tightly. -‘All aboard, boys?’ says the driver (they call him _Mose_)—in we -scramble—bang slams the door—and with an awful lurch away we go! -Now I can understand the suspicious-looking machinery, designed, on -the principle of life-buoys, for stage-tossed travellers to cling to. -Holding on to these we swing along as hard as the beasts can gallop. - -I am told by a fellow-passenger that unless the ‘mustangs start at a -gallop, they either upset the stage, or kick themselves clear of the -harness.’ On this journey they were agreeable enough to gallop off, so -we escaped the two contingencies. Several times _Mose_ shouted, ‘Get -out, boys, and hang on awhile.’ I discover that this means that we are -to cling to the side of the stage, that our united weight may prevent -its capsizing, when going along the side of a slope like the slant of a -housetop. - -Near dark we are requested by ‘Mose’ to walk up the last hill. A tall -sallow man, with a face hollow and sunken, closely shaven, except -a tuft at the chin, steps along with me, and we reach the top of -the hill a good time before the stage. We are standing amidst some -scrubby timber. The long shadows of the trees are swallowed up in -the gathering gloom, the music of the forest has died away, and, save -the wind sighing through the leafy foliage, everything is still. My -companion draws nearer. ‘Stranger,’ he began, in a voice that appeared -to come from his boots, and get out at his nose, ‘jist war we are -standin’, three weeks agone, a tarnation big grizzly come slick upon -two men, jist waitin’ for the stage, as we are; chawed up one, and -would a gone in for t’other, but he made tall travellin’ for the stage. -When they came up Ephraim had skedaddled, and they never see him or old -Buck-eye arter.’ - -This is refreshing! I hope if ‘old Ephraim’ does come, he may eat my -tough companion. The stage came, but the bear did not. We reach our -destination at 8 p.m.: how sore I am! - -_March 27th._—A good sleep has worked wonders. I find Grass Valley a -romantic little mountain town, about 2,200 feet above the sea-level, on -the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, owing its existence entirely -to gold-mining. Visited Mr. A.’s mill—a magnificent quartz-crusher. -Nine stamp-heads, each 900 lbs. in weight, are worked by one of Watts’ -engines. The fine-dust gold is collected on blankets, or bullocks’ -hides with the hair on, over which the water washes it, as it comes -from the stamp-heads. Some of the most productive gold deposits in -California were discovered in and about this quaint little place. I -descend a shaft 240 feet deep. The gold is distributed through the mud -and silt of what was clearly an ancient riverbed. - -_March 28th._—Ride on horseback to Nevada and Hunt’s Hill. Nevada is -a clean pretty _city_, with gay shops, brightly-painted houses, and -planked streets. Near it are the famed hydraulic washings. The gold is -disseminated through terraces of shingle conglomerates, often three -hundred feet in thickness. These terraces are actually washed entirely -off the face of the country, by propelling jets of water against them, -forced under great pressure through a nozzle. To accomplish this, the -water is brought in canals, tunnels, and wooden aqueducts, often forty -miles away from the drift. This supply of water the miners rent. - -As we near the washing-spot, in every direction immense hose, made -of galvanized iron, and canvas tubes six feet round, coil in all -directions over the ground, like gigantic serpents, converging towards -a gap, where they disappear. On reaching this gap, I look down into -a basin, or dry lake, 300 feet below me. The hose hangs down this -cliff of shingle, and following its course by a zigzag path, I reach a -plateau of rock, from which the shingle has already been washed. A man -stands at the end of each hose, that has for its head a brass nozzle. -With the force of cannon-shot water issues, in a large jet, from this -tube; and propelled against the shingle, guided by the men, washes it -away, as easily as we could broom a molehill from off the grass. - -The stream of water, bearing with it the materials washed from out -the cliff, runs through wooden troughs called ‘flumes,’ floored with -granite; these flumes extend six miles. Men are stationed at regular -distances to fork out the heavy stones. Throughout its entire length -transverse strips of wood dam back a tiny pond of mercury; these -are called _riffles_—gold-traps, in other words—that seize on the -fine-dust gold distributed throughout the shingle. The ‘flumes’ are -cleaned about once a month, and the gold extracted from the mercury. -Masses of wood occur, in every stage of change, from that of pure -silica to soft asbestiform material, and pure carbon. - -I am strongly disposed to think this immense hollow must have been the -rocky shore of an inlet or a lagoon; the rocks underlying the shingle -have all the appearance, when denuded by the washing, of sea-wear. I -try with a powerful lens to detect gold amidst the material they are -washing, but not a trace is discoverable, and yet it pays an immense -profit to the gold-washers. - -Hunt’s Hill is a timbered mountain, about 3,500 feet in altitude. -Washing its base is the Greenhorn river, on the banks of which some -very rich gold-washings are carried on, as well as at Bear Creek, on -the opposite slope of the ridge. Clothing the hill, towering high -above the shanties of the miners, the sugar and nut-pines wave lazily; -the immense cones of the latter, plentifully besprinkling the ground, -afford a feast to the Indians and lesser rodent mammals. - -_March 29th._—Return to Marysville. Visited another hydraulic washing -at Timbuctoo, on the Yuba river, much the same as that seen at Nevada. -Marysville is about the third best city in California, situated on -the bank of the Feather river, which is rapidly filling up, from the -immense quantity of material brought down from the hydraulic washings. -A single peach-orchard I visited was 200 acres, all fenced, and the -trees in beautiful health; from it, I am told, 80,000 dollars were -returned in a single year by the sale of the peaches. - - • • • • • - -I commence my journal again on - -_April 24th._—I am in the ‘Victor’ steamboat, a small crank -flat-bottomed affair, pushed against the current by a huge -stern-wheel—an ugly appendage, but very effective in navigating swift -shallow streams. I am bound for Red Bluffs, 275 miles above Sacramento. -Pass the exits of the Yuba and Feather rivers, and change the yellow -muddy water for the pure sparkling stream fresh from the mountain. - -_April 25th._—Starting again—the ‘Victor’ having been fastened up all -night, tethered to a tree, as one would tie up his horse—the scenery, -as we wend along the sinuous course of the stream, rapidly changes -its character. The banks get steep, and sharp hills take the place of -the flat lands behind us. Wild grape-vines hang in clustering tangles -of green luxuriance from the branches of the ilex, oak, and arbutus, -forming a continuous arcade over the water. - -The Bluffs are reached. A straggling town, built on a high bank -beetling over the Sacramento river, peeps out, from amidst some tall -trees. Men, women, children, and dogs are crowding down, marching like -ants from a hill towards a recent discovery of eatables. The banks -are red, the soil is red, and the houses are built of red brick—Red -Bluffs, a proper and appropriate name. - -Land, and put up at —— House, not remarkable for anything but dirt -and discomfort. - -_April 26th._—Purchase 59 mules, with a complete pack and equipment. -My mules and men, that I had sent by land from Stockton, arrive. Hire -two additional hands, and order the provisioning for my intended trip. - -_April 27th._—Mules and men need rest; breakfast over. - -‘Now, Cap’en,’ says mine host, as I was debating whether it would be -wiser to remain quietly at home, and enjoy a thoroughly idle day, or -join the hunters, I calkilate we’ve got to worry out this day somehow. -S’pose we take a ride over to the Tuscan Springs. It’s a mighty strange -place, you bet your life; they say it’s right over the devil’s kitchen, -and when he’s tarnation hot, he comes up and pops out his head to get -a taste of fresh air. The very water comes risin’ up a-bilin’, and the -pools flash into flame like powder, if you put fire near ‘um.’ - -‘Why, Major,’ I replied, ‘it is the place of all others I should enjoy -seeing. How far is it?’ - -‘Waal, it ain’t over ten mile, but a mighty bad road at that.—Here, -Joe, saddle up, and bring round two mustangs.’ - -The mustangs are small compact horses, seldom exceeding -fourteen-and-a-half hands in height, descended from Spanish stock, -originally brought into Mexico on its conquest by the Spaniards. They -run wild in large herds on the grassy prairies in California and -Texas, and are just lassoed when needed. I may perhaps mention, _en -passant_, that a lasso is from thirty to forty feet long, and made of -strips of raw hide plaited together. When a mustang is to be caught, an -experienced hand always keeps the herd to windward of him; sufficiently -near he circles the lasso round his head, and with unerring certainty -flings it over the neck of the horse he has selected. - -The end of a lasso being made fast to a ring in the saddle, as soon -as the horse is captured, the rider turns his steed sharp round, and -gallops off, dragging the terrified and choking animal after him. The -terrible noose becomes tighter and tighter, pressing on the windpipe, -until, unable to offer further resistance, the panic-stricken beast -rolls in agony, half suffocated, on the prairie. Never after this does -the horse forget the lasso—the sight of it makes him tremble in every -limb. I have seen the most wild and vicious horses rendered gentle and -docile in a minute, by simply laying the lasso on the neck behind the -ears. - -The breaking-in is a very simple affair: while the animal is down the -eyes are bandaged, and a powerful Spanish bit placed in the mouth. -This accomplished, he is allowed to get up, and the saddle is firmly -‘synched.’ The saddles commonly used in California differ very little -from those used in Mexico. The stirrups are cut out from a block of -wood, allowing only the point of the toe to be inserted; they are set -far back, and oblige the rider to stand rather than sit in the saddle. -One girth only is used, styled a ‘synch,’ made of horsehair, and -extremly wide; no buckles or stitching is used, but all is fastened -with strips of raw hide. Everything being complete, the rider fixes -himself firmly in the saddle, and leaning forward jerks off the blind; -it is now an open question who is to have the best of it. If the man -succeeds in sitting on the mustang until he can spur him into a gallop, -his wildness is soon taken out of him, and one or two more lessons -complete the breaking. - -Joe by this time had made his appearance with the mustangs. Mounting, -away we went at a raking gallop! I know no exercise half as -exhilarating and exciting as the ‘lope,’ a kind of long canter, the -travelling pace of a mustang; there is no jarring or jolting. All -one has to do is to sit firmly in the saddle; the horse, obeying the -slightest turn of the wrist or check of the rein, swings along for -hours at a stretch, without any show of weariness. - -Having crossed the Sacramento in a ‘scow,’ a kind of rough ferry-boat, -our road lay over broad plains and through scattered belts of timber. -The grass was completely burnt up, and the series of gravelly arroyos, -in and out of which we continually plunged and scrambled, marked -clearly the course of the winter streams. - -The air felt hot and sultry, but fragrant with the perfume of the -mountain cudweed. Not a cloud was visible in the lurid sky, and the -distant mountains, thinly dotted with timber, seemed softened and -subdued as seen through the blue haze. We entered a valley leading -through a pile of volcanic hills that one could easily have imagined -had been once the habitat of civilised man. The wooded glades had -all the appearance of lawns and parks planted with exquisite taste; -the trees, in nothing resembling the wild growth of the forest, were -grouped in every variety of graceful outline. - -On either side the hills were covered with wild oat as thick as -it could grow; its golden-yellow tints, contrasting with the dark -glossy-green of the cypress, the oak, and the manzanita, had an -indescribably charming effect. As we advanced the valley gradually -narrowed, until it became a mere _cañon_ (the Spanish for funnel), -shut in by vast masses of rock that looked like heaps of slag and -cinder—bare, black, and treeless. A small stream of bitter, dark, -intensely salt water trickled slowly through the gorge. - -Following a rough kind of road, that led up the base of the hills -for about two miles, we entered what I imagine was the crater of -an extinct volcano nearly circular, about a mile in diameter, and -shut in on every side by columnar walls of basalt. There was a weird -desolation about the place that forcibly reminded me of the Wolf’s -Glen in Der Freischütz—a fit haunt for Zamiel! Scarce a trace of -forest-life was to be seen, not a tree or flower; everything looked -scorched and cinderous, like the _débris_ of a terrible fire, and smelt -like a limekiln on a summer-night. A long narrow house, resembling a -cattle-shed, stood in the centre of this circle. - -‘Waal, Cap’en, I guess we’ve made the ranch anyhow,’ said the Major, as -we drew up at the door of this most uninviting-looking establishment. -‘A mighty tall smell of brimstone,’ he further added, ‘seems coming up -from “Old Hoof’s” stove-pipe. Calkilate he’s doing a tallish kind of -dinner below.’ - -I had no time to reply, ere the host, owner, and general manager of -the Tuscan Springs made his appearance. ‘How’s your health, Doctor?’ -inquired the Major. ‘I’ve brought up Cap’en —— to have a peep at your -location; he’s mighty curious about these kind of diggins.’ - -‘Waal, Cap’en,’ said the Doctor, in a long drawling voice, ‘I am glad -to see you. I raither guess you don’t see such nat’ral ready-made -places, for curin’ jist every sickness, in the old country as we have -in California.—Here, boy, put up the mustangs: and now step in, and -I’ll tell old aunty to scramble up some eggs and bacon, and then we can -take a look round the springs.’ - -Aunty was a quaint specimen of the feminine gender, not at all -suggestive of the gentler sex. Her features were small, but sharply -cut. She was bent naturally, but not from age, and reminded me of a -witch. One would not have felt at all astonished at seeing her mount a -broomstick, and start on an aërial trip over the burnt-up rocks. But -all honour to her skill as a cook,—she did her fixings admirably! - -During dinner I had ample time to take stock of Doctor Ephraim Meadows. -His face would have been a fortune as a study to a painter; his -forehead high but narrow, his eyebrows thick, bushy, and overhanging; -his hair would have joined his eyebrows, had not a narrow line of -yellow skin formed a kind of boundary between them. Peering out from -beneath his shaggy hair were two little twinkling, restless grey eyes, -more roguish than good-natured. His nose, crooked and sharp, was like -the beak of a buzzard; with thin dry lips that shut in a straight line, -which told in pretty plain language he could be resolute and rusty if -need be. The tip of his chin, bent up in an easy curve, was covered -with a yellowish beard, that had been guiltless of comb or shears for -many a day. His nether limbs were clad in leather never-mention-ums, -kept up by a wide belt, from which dangled a six-shooter. A red shirt, -with an immense collar that reached the point of the shoulders, and a -dirty jean jacket completed his costume. - -Our meal over, we started out to see the wonders of the doctor’s -establishment. The house or hospital, as he designated it, was a long -frame-building, divided into numerous small rooms, all opening on a -kind of platform that extended the entire length of the building; -and sheltered overhead by a rough kind of verandah. A camp-bed, -wash-basin, and stool constituted the furniture of each apartment. Four -sickly-looking men were walking feebly up and down the platform. These, -the Doctor assured me, were giants now as compared to what they had -been ere they stumbled on the Tuscan Springs and his water-cure. - -The springs are about ten in number, but not all alike. In some of -them, the water rises at a temperature near to boiling, and densely -impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen-gas, perfectly poisoning the air -with a most insufferable stench. In others, again, the waters bubble -up tepid, but bitter and saline. From two of them, that widen into -pools, gas (I imagine some compound of hydrogen) rises constantly to -the surface; and when I applied a match to the water, a sudden flash -lighted up the pool for a second or two, and this could be repeated at -intervals of three or four minutes. This gas, by a simple contrivance, -is collected and conveyed into a small shanty, dignified with the name -of ‘Steam Bath,’ the gas being used to heat the water from one of the -springs so as to fill a small room with steam. - -It is one of the most singular and interesting places I have ever -visited. There can be no doubt that the springs rise from the crater -of an extinct volcano, and that there is some active volcanic action -still going on in the depths below. Incrustations of various salts and -sulphur covered the edges of the pools and rocks over which the water -runs. The water they drink has to be brought from a spring the other -side of the encircling hills. - -Although at this place I observed more direct evidence of some great -internal fire or subterranean laboratory, in which Nature is ever -transforming the elemental forms of crude matter into available -materials for the supply of organic life; still throughout Oregon and -California I have constantly come across similar sulphurous and saline -eruptions, particularly soda-water springs, where the water rises -through the earth, thoroughly impregnated with carbonic-acid gas. At -Napa, not far from San Francisco, native soda-water is collected and -bottled at the springs for the supply of the San Francisco market. -Olympian nectar was never more grateful to the thirsty gods, than is -this soda-water to the hot, parched, and thirsty hunter! - -The Doctor had many strange and wild theories about these springs, and -evidently entertained a lively belief in their close proximity to his -Satanic Majesty’s kitchen. - -‘Cap’en,’ said the doctor, ‘I calkilate you ain’t a-goin’ home without -just tryin’ a bath?’ - -I at first declined. I did not feel at all ill, and as I bathed every -day grudged the trouble of undressing. It was of no use—the Major -joined the Doctor; persuasion failing, mild force was hinted at if I -did not comply. I was led, or rather hustled, into the bathing-house. -In one corner of this dismal-looking shed was an immense square tray, -and over it was a most suspicious-looking contrivance, like the rose -of a giant’s watering-pot. I shuddered, for I knew I should be held in -that tray, and deluged from the terrible nozzle. - -My miseries commenced by my being seized on by two brawny attendants -(the bathers), and literally peeled like an onion, rather than -undressed. This completed, a small door that I had not noticed before -was opened, and disclosed a kind of cupboard, about six feet square. A -flap of board was raised by an attendant, and supported by a bracket; -a contrivance one frequently sees in small kitchens to economise room. -On this I was laid; my janitors withdrew, the door slammed, and I was -alone in the dark. - -A sudden noise, between a hiss and a whistle, enlightened me as to -the fact, that sundry jets of steam were turned on. The room rapidly -filled, and the perspiration soon streamed from my skin. At first I -fancied it rather pleasant; a sort of lazy sleepy feeling came over -me, but as this passed away I felt faint and thirsty, and yelled to be -let out. No reply. I began to think it anything but a joke, and again -shouted: not a sound but the hissing steam. - -My thirst grew insupportable; it seemed as if a live crab was -gnawing and rending my stomach with his claws and nippers. I made -several attempts to get off the table, but wherever I put my leg the -burning-hot steam came like a flame against it, and there was not -sufficient room to stand betwixt the table and the partition of my -steam-prison. I called louder and louder; my reasoning powers were -growing feeble, my presence of mind was rapidly abandoning me, and -a thousand wild fancies passed through my brain; I had given up all -hope, when I saw a gleam of light. I have a vague remembrance of being -dragged out, plunged into cold water, and savagely rubbed with a kind -of hempen rasp. - -As I became quite conscious of what was going on, I was partly dressed, -and lying on the grass, the Doctor and the Major standing close by, the -bathers rubbing my hands and feet; whilst Aunty, squatted on a log, was -holding a cup containing some steaming mixture. - -‘O Doctor!’ I said, as well as I could articulate, ‘a little more, and -you would have had to bury me; I was nearly gone!’ - -‘Waal, Cap’en, I kind of guess you must have had a near shave for life, -but it warn’t meant nohow. You see the Major and me just strolled -up to take a peep at the mustangs, and the darned brutes stampeded, -breaking clean out of the “corral,” and went past the bath-house like -mad. The boys see ’em, and hearin’ us a-hollerin’, made tracks right -after ’em, and never thought about your bein’ a-steamin’. Old Aunty, by -sheer luck, heard you a-screamin’ and a-snortin’, and it mighty nigh -skeert the old woman to death, for she thought “Old Hoof” was a-bilin’ -himself. Up she came a-tearin’ and a-shriekin’ that somethin’ unearthly -was in the steamroom. “Thunder and grizzlys,” says the Major, “the -boys have forgot the Cap’en, and gone right after the mustangs!” You’d -better believe we soon had you out, and you ain’t none the worse for -it, thank Providence!’ - -The combined powers of Aunty’s mixture and the Major’s whisky-flask -rapidly restored me. The villainous mustangs—the cause of my -mishap—were caught and saddled. Danger past is lightly thought of and -we enjoyed a hearty laugh as the Major quaintly told the story at the -Bluffs of the Cap’en’s bath at the Tuscan Springs. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE START FROM RED BLUFFS—MISHAPS BY THE WAY—DEVIL’S - POCKET—ADVENTURE AT YREKA—FIELD-CRICKETS—THE CALIFORNIAN - QUAIL—SINGULAR NESTING OF BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. - - -_April 28th._—My pack-train is completed, my provisions arranged -for packing on the mules. I have eighty-one mules and a bell-horse. -To manage mules without a horse carrying a bell round its neck is -perfectly impossible. The bell-horse is always ridden ahead, and -wherever it goes the mules follow in single file. (But of this and -packing I shall have more to say further on.) - -_April 29th._—Sunday. - -_April 30th._—I have determined to find my way through Oregon by an -unknown route; doing this, I shall reach the Commission at least two -months earlier than by taking the ordinary mail-route to Portland. - -Again and again I am warned of the risk not only of losing my mules and -men, but my own scalp into the bargain. The country swarms with hostile -Indians, many large streams have to be crossed, the trail is bad, if -any; and altogether the prospect is anything but cheering. I have, -however, made up my mind to go. - -The annoyances of a start got over—wild mules reduced to a state of -discipline, packs adjusted, and men as sober as could reasonably be -expected—all went pleasant as a marriage-bell until the second day, -when my first misfortune happened. - -_May 1st._—I camp on a beautiful bit of ground, with grass in -abundance, and a stream, clear as crystal and cold as ice, rippling -past close to my fire. I place a guard over my mules, fearing -accidents; and choosing as level a spot as I can see, roll myself in my -blanket, and with my head in my saddle soon slept. - -I awoke at sun-up, lit my pipe, and wandered off to see what had become -of my mules. I found the trusty guard sound asleep, coiled up under -a tree, but not a mule. A sharp admonition, administered through the -medium of my foot, soon dispelled his dreams, and awoke him to a lively -sense of reality. He rapidly uncoiled, started up, stared vacantly -around, and thus relieved his feelings:— - -‘I guess they’re gone, Cap’en, every tarnation coon of ’em, right slick -back to the Bluffs.’ - -I could have pistolled the rascal there and then, but the mules had to -be recovered; so I bottled up my wrath, roused all my sleeping camp, -and we started in pursuit of the missing culprits. - -_May 4th._—Three days have elapsed. I have got the mules together, but -three are still absent. Again we started. I made a long march, crossing -Cottonwood Creek, through Major Raddon’s ranch—one Of the finest in -California for grazing—struck the Upper Sacramento, and camped about -sundown on a creek called Stillwater. - -_May 5th._—In the night it came on a deluge of rain, that regularly -soaked through everything; but it cleared towards morning, and we dried -ourselves in the sun as we rode along. - -The next three days we travelled through a beautiful parklike country, -very lightly timbered, covered with grass, and thickly dotted with -magnificent ranches (farms); we struck Pitt river on the fourth day, -crossed it safely, swam the mules, and ferried over the packs. - -_May 9th._—Our journey for the first twelve miles lay through a narrow -rocky gorge—the trail; simply a ledge of rock, barely wide enough for -a mule to stand upon. Three hundred feet below rolled the river. The -least mistake—a single false step, and over goes mule or man, as it -may be, and you see the last of him. - -Here I passed a most curious place called the Devil’s Pocket; the trail -winds along the very edge, and you peer down into an immense hollow -kind of basin, that looks as if it had once been a lake, and suddenly -dried up. The hills are lofty, sharply pointed, and capped with snow. - -At the head of this gorge I, for the first time, saw an encampment -of Digger Indians, and a more famished picture of squalid misery can -hardly be imagined. Their wretched comfortless huts are like large -molehills; there is a pit sunk in the ground, and a framework of -sticks, shaped like a large umbrella arched, over it; old skins and -pieces of bark are thrown over this frame, and the whole is covered -with earth. The entrance is a hole, into which they creep like animals. - -Their food consists principally of esculent roots of various kinds, -which they dig during the summer months, and dry in the sun. The -field-cricket (_Acheta nigra_) they also dry in large quantities, and -eat them just as we do shrimps. Bread made from acorn-flour is also -another important article of their diet. They seldom fish or hunt. -Their arms are bows and arrows; their clothing, both male and female, -simply a bit of skin worn like an apron; they are small in stature; -thin, squalid, dirty, and degraded in appearance. In their habits -little better than an ourang-outang, they are certainly the lowest type -of savage I have ever seen. - -We camped in the evening on a large plain called Big Flat. - -_May 10th._—It was bitterly cold all night, and froze sharply. We got -off soon after sun-up, and literally crept along the side of a high -range of mountains, densely wooded, and forming one side of the valley -of the Sacramento, which has dwindled down into a mere mountain-burn. -Here I came suddenly on a little colony of miners, engaged in -gold-washing. I discovered the place was named Dogtown—the entire town -consisting of a store, a grogshop, and a smithy. I paid twenty-five -cents (a shilling) for a mere sip of the vilest poison I ever tasted, -libellously called ‘Fine Old Monongahela Whisky.’ About six miles -farther, still on the same trail, I came to another gold-claim, where -there were no houses at all, called Portuguese Flat. Passed through -some thin timber; camped on a lovely mountain-stream. - -_May 11th._—Shotgun Creek; my camp is on the side of a steep mountain, -and, about a mile farther on, is another stream, Mary’s Creek. Camped -on this stream was a small pack-train, that had been with stores to -some mining-station. I heard wolves barking and howling all night, and -twice I drove them out of my camp with a fire-log. The next morning, as -I passed the camp of the packers, they were in sad grief. The rascally -wolves had pulled down one of their mules, and torn it almost to -pieces. I rode up in the wood to see its mangled remains. The ravenous -beasts must have fixed on its haunches, and ripped it up whilst it -lived. I was sadly grieved for the poor beast that had come to so -untimely an end, and for the man who had lost him—at least 30_l._ -worth. - -For two more days I followed up the course of the Sacramento, and -crossed it for the last time. Standing at the ford, and looking -straight up the valley, the scenery is wild and beautiful in the -extreme; on either side sharp pinnacle-like rocks shoot up into all -sorts of fantastic shapes, dotted with the sugar-pine, scrub-oak, and -manzanita in front; and blocking up, as it were, the end of the valley, -stood Mount Shasta, at this time covered to its base with snow. - -This vast mountain is a constant landmark to the trappers, for it can -be seen from an incredible distance, and stands completely isolated in -the midst of the Shasta plains. I camped close to the very snow at its -base, in a little dell called ‘Strawberry Valley.’ The next day reached -the Shasta plains, and camped early in the day. - -_May 15th._—As I was to bid goodby to civilisation, and abandon all -hopes of seeing aught but savages, after leaving this camp, and being -by no means sure of the road, I made up my mind to ride into Yreka and -obtain information about the Indians, and the state of the trails, and -also (what was of equal importance) obtain a relay of provisions; the -distance from my camp to the city was about thirty miles. - -Yreka city is a small mining-station, situated on one side of the -great Shasta plains; it stands quite away from law, society, and -civilisation, gold being the magnet that attracts first the miner, and -then the various satellites (jackals would be the more appropriate -name) that follow his steps. I left the mules in charge of my -packmaster, and started at sun-up. The ride was a most desolate affair, -over an interminable sandy plain, without even a shrub or flower, much -more a tree, to break the monotony. I reached Yreka about ten, and put -up at the ‘What Cheer House,’ bespoke my bed, and ordered breakfast. -The keen morning-air and a thirty-mile ride had made me perfectly -ravenous, and I waged alarming havoc on the ham and eggs, fixings, -and corn-dodgers, that, I must say, were admirable. The tea was not a -success, being a remarkably mild infusion, very hot, and sweetened with -brown sugar; but it washed down the solids, and the finest congou could -not have done more. - -Thus recuperated, I started off to call on Judge ——, to whom I had a -letter of introduction from my agents in San Francisco. It did not take -long to find the Judge’s quarters, the lanes, streets, and alleys being -distinctions without any material differences. The mansion in which his -judgeship ‘roomed’ was a small shanty, with a porch or verandah round -it, to keep off the sun when it happened to be hot, and the wet when -it rained. I knocked with my knuckles—no reply; tried again—still -silence; resorted to the handle of my hunting-knife, anything but -mildly—that did it. - -‘I raither calkilate, stranger, you’d better jist open that door; _I_ -ain’t agwine to, you bet your boots.’ - -I opened it, and walked in. There sat Judge —— in a large armchair, -cleverly balanced on the two hind-legs. No, it was not sitting, or -lying, or standing, or lounging; it was a posture compounded of all -these positions. His (I mean Judge ——’s) legs were extended on a -level with his nose, and rested on the square deal table before him. -He was smoking an immense cigar, one half of which was stowed away in -his cheek, rolled about, and chewed; whilst the other half protruded -from the corner of his mouth, and reached nearly to his eye. A -little distance from the Judge was an immense spittoon, like a young -sponging-bath. He was ‘whittling’ a piece of stick with a pocket-knife, -and looked the embodiment of supreme indifference. The chair he -occupied and the table—whose only use, as far as I could see, was to -rest his legs on—constituted the entire furniture. - -The Judge himself was a long spare man, and gave me the idea of an -individual whose great attribute consisted in possessing length without -breadth or thickness; everything about him was suggestive of length. -Beginning at his head, his hair was long, and his face was long, and -his nose was long, and a long goatee-beard terminated the end of his -chin; his arms were long, and his legs were long, and his feet were -long; he had a long drawling utterance, and was inordinately long at -arriving at a moderate pitch of civility. He eyed me over and drawled -out, ‘W-a-e-l!’ I handed my letter, and quietly awaited its effect; as -he was long in everything else, he was long in opening it. Having made -a minute inspection of the exterior, he slowly took it from its yellow -envelope, and gradually seemed to understand from its contents that he -was to be civil. - -‘So you ain’t bin long in these parts, Cap’en?’ said the Judge, without -in the smallest degree shifting his position. - -I said I was quite a stranger, and should be glad if he would give me -some information about the trails and the Indians, along the route I -intended taking. - -‘Bars and steel traps!’ roared the Judge. ‘You’ll have your har ris, -sure as beaver medicine! Why, thar ain’t worse redskins in all Oregon -than the Klamaths. Jist three months agone come Friday, the darn’d -skunks came right slick upon Dick Livingstone and his gang. You’ve -heerd of Dick, I guess?’ (I said I had not.) ‘Wael, most people has, -leastways. They was jist a-washing up a tall day’s work, up Rogue -River, when the Klamaths swarmed ’em just as thick as mosquitos in a -swamp. Several went under, bet your life, for Dick and his boys warn’t -the ones to cave in. But ‘twarn’t no use; the reds jist crowded them -clean down, and took the har off everyone of ’em. The trails, too, is -awful soft. Mose Hart says—and he’s now from Bogus Holler, whar you -have to go—that a mule is jist sure to mire down a’most any place.’ - -‘Well,’ I said, ‘your news is not by any means refreshing, Judge; -nevertheless, I mean going.’ - -‘Wael, Cap’en, maybe you’re right; makin’ back-tracks ain’t good, -anyway; we are a go-ahead people, we are, and it won’t pay to be -skeerish, anyway. S’pose we go and take a drink, and I’ll jist put you -through the city; I guess I’m well posted about most things in these -diggins.’ - -So we did the city, which did not take very much time to do; we did -the stores, where every person, from the master to the errand-boy, -did nothing but sit on the counter to chew, whittle, and spit. The -amount of whittling done in this city is perfectly astounding; every -post supporting the verandahs outside the stores and bar-rooms was -whittled nearly through; some of them in two or three places. We did -the bar-rooms, and did sundry drinks with divers people. I purchased -provisions, hired a guide, took leave of the Judge (who was not half -a bad fellow when you understood him), and retiring to my inn, -determined to enjoy the luxury of a bed and a long night-in, having -slept on the ground since leaving Red Bluffs; and if the Judge was -right about the redskins, the chances were considerably against my ever -stretching my limbs on another. So, to make the most of it—for a start -at sun-up and a long ride, added to a tedious day, had pretty well -fagged me—I retired very early, and turned in. - -It really was a lovely bed, just like bathing in feathers. I stretched -out my limbs until they fairly cracked again, and rolled in enjoyment. -My thoughts were soon wandering; and visions of home, mixed up with -mules falling over precipices, battles with Indians, an ugly feeling -round the top of my head, judges, drinks, rowdies, all jumbled together -in a ghostly medley—floated off in misty indistinctness, and I -subsided into the land of dreams. - -I awoke, with an indistinct idea that I was at a ball, with a jiggy -kind of tune whirling through my brain. Pish! I must have been -dreaming; so I turned over, and tugged the blankets more tightly round -my shoulders, vexed that such a stupid dream should have awoke me. -Hark! what on earth is that? ‘Ladies and gents, take your places, -salute your partners,’—then crash went two fiddles, crowding out a -break-down. Again the voice—‘Half right and left’—and off they went. -The sounds of countless feet, scuffling rapidly over a floor, told me, -in language not to be mistaken, that a ball was going briskly on very -near my head. - -I sat up, rubbed my eyes, took a long mournful yawn, and began to -consider what had best be done. I discovered that a thin wooden -partition only intervened betwixt my head and the ball-room; everything -rattled to the jigging tune of the music and the dancers; the windows, -the doors, the wash-crockery, the bed, all jigged; and I began to feel -myself involuntarily nodding to the same measure, and jigging mentally -like the rest. Shades of the departed! I could not stand this. Goodby -bed, and feathers, and sleep! I may as well dance in reality as in -imagination; and abandoning all my anticipated delights, dressed, and -entered the ball-room. - -It was a long room, lighted with candles hung against the wall in -tin sconces; the company—if variety is charming—was perfect. The -costumes, as a rule, were more suggestive of ease than elegance; -scarlet shirts and buckskin ‘pants’ were in the ascendant. The boots as -a rule, being of the species known as Wellingtons, were worn outside -the trousers, inducing the latter indispensables to assume a bunchiness -about the knees, not calculated to display the symmetry of the leg to -advantage. Very few had any jackets on, but all, without exception, -carried a bowie-knife and six-shooter in their waistbelts. The ladies’ -costumes were equally varied: most of them wore bright-coloured -muslins, of very large patterns, and showy waist-ribbons, tied behind -in a large bow, with streamers down to their heels. - -The dance was just ‘down’ when I came into the room. I saw a few -citizens I had met in the day, but each one seemed to have his ‘fancy -gal,’ and any chance of getting an introduction was a vain hope. The -fashion, I discovered afterwards, is either to bring or meet your -partner at the ball-room, and dance with her, and her only, all the -evening. - -A waltz was called, and I wanted a partner. Looking round, I espied a -lady sitting near the end of the room, who evidently had not got one. -She was in the same place when I entered the room, and it was clear -to me, by her unrumpled appearance, that she had not danced for the -evening. ‘Faint heart never won fair lady’ might, I imagined, apply as -forcibly to dancing as to wooing or fighting; if I am snubbed it won’t -be all the world, and I suppose I shall live it down—so here goes! -Walking boldly up to her, I asked coolly, but rather apologetically, if -she would try a waltz. - -‘Guess, stranger, I ain’t a-fix’d up for waltzin.’ - -‘Perhaps, madam,’ I said, ‘you will excuse me, although unknown to you, -if I ask you to dance the next cotillon with me?’ - -Looking into my face with an expression half doubt, half delight, she -said: ‘Stranger, I’ll have the tallest kind of pleasure in puttin’ you -right slick through a cotillon, for I’ve sot here, like a blue chicken -on a pine-log, till I was like to a-grow’d to the seat.’ - -This satisfactorily arranged, I sat down by her side until the waltz -finished, to have a good look at and trot out my new inamorata. She -was a blonde beauty, with fair hair and light-grey eyes, that flashed -and twinkled roguishly; and robed in some white material, with blue -ribbons in her hair and round her waist—a mountain-sylph, that any -wanderer in search of a partner would have deemed himself lucky to have -stumbled on. Our conversation was rather discursive, until I discovered -that home-politics, or rather the duties and requirements of a _gal -t’hum_, was a never-failing spring from which to draw fresh draughts -of household knowledge. At last the cotillon was called by the master -of the ceremonies, and again I heard—‘Take your places, salute your -partners;’ the fiddles started the same kind of jigging tune, and away -we went. - -A cotillon is a compound, complicated kind of dance, evidently -constructed from the elements and fragments of many other dances: a -good deal of quadrille, a strong taste of lancers, a flavour of polka -and waltz—the whole highly seasoned with Indian war-dance. You never -stand still, neither can you lounge and talk soft nothings to your -partner—it is real, _bonâ fide_, downright, honest dancing. I soon -discovered why the men left off their jackets: a trained runner could -not have stood it in clothing. My jacket and waist-coat soon hung on a -peg, and, red-shirted like the rest, I footed it out gallantly. - -My partner was a gem, with the endurance of a ballet-girl in pantomime -time. How many cotillons we got through I never clearly remembered; -but we danced on, till the grey morning light, stealing in through the -windows, warned the revellers that Old Sol was creeping from behind the -eastern hills, and that the day, with all its cares and toils, was near -at hand once more. My fair partner positively refused to allow me to -see her home. Being a casual acquaintance and not a lover, I suppose, -of course, that it was highly proper on her part. I thanked her -sincerely, for I really felt grateful to her for enabling me to dance -away a night that I had destined for a long luxurious repose. With a -hearty ‘good-night’ we parted, never to meet again. - -It was a glorious morning—the air cool and fresh, the sky unflecked by -a single cloud. The sun was just tipping the hilltops with rosy light, -and peeping slily into the valleys, as I wandered out to think over my -strange adventure. My way led by chance up the back of the street, and -out by a little stream to the gold-washings. Early as it was, all was -bustle and activity. Many of my friends of the ball were now wresting -the yellow ore from its hiding-places, the anticipation of gold -dispelling all sense of fatigue. The want of water is a great drawback -to these diggings. So valuable is it, that it has been brought by a -small canal a distance of thirty miles, and is rented by the miners at -so much a cubic foot. - -I lingered here some time, for there is much to see, then turned my -steps towards my inn through the city. - -‘Say—Cap’en—here—hold on!’ - -I turned, and saw a man in a one-horse dray, whipping up his horse, and -violently gesticulating for me to stop. He soon came up, and jumping -out of the dray, seized my hand, and shook it with a grip that made my -very eyes water. - -‘Guess you ain’t acquainted with this child?’ - -I said no; I had not the pleasure of knowing him. - -‘I spotted you, Cap’en, just as soon as ever I seed you making tracks -down the street. My gal Car’line told me how she put you through all -the dance last night.’ - -It suddenly flashed upon me that the drayman was my partner’s papa. -Here’s a lively affair! If he does not ask me my intentions, and riddle -me with a six-shooter if I refuse to marry his ‘gal’ at once, I shall -deem myself the most fortunate of men. I civilly said, in reply, that I -found his daughter a most admirable partner. - -‘I rather guess you did, Cap’en; she’s all watch-spring and whalebone, -she is; can’t skeer up a smarter gal than “Car” in these parts, if you -was to do your darndest. She! why, she’s worth her weight in nuggets to -the man as gets her.’ - -I felt cold all over—I thought it was coming. ‘You must excuse me,’ I -said; ‘my breakfast is waiting, and I daresay we shall meet again.’ (I -knew this was an awful twister.) - -‘I’m sure we shall, Cap’en. Let’s licker:’ so we adjourned to the -nearest bar-room and took an ‘eye-opener,’ and so I escaped from the -drayman. I drew a deep breath, and felt as if I had got clear from the -claws of a grizzly bear—made for the inn as fast as I could, gobbled up -a hasty breakfast, packed up my goods, and with my guide started for my -camp. - -Often I turned and gazed anxiously over the plain, expecting I should -see the drayman, his daughter Caroline, and a priest in hot pursuit; -and there and then, on the Shasta plains, I should be, _nolens volens_, -linked to my fair-haired partner, for a life’s cotillon! - -Such was my first, and such was my last, my only night in Yreka! ‘All’s -well that ends well,’ and I trust the fair Caroline has as pleasant a -remembrance of the Cap’en as he has of her! - -I found my camp all right, saddled up, and am off on my perilous -journey through the wilds of Oregon. The Shasta plains are vast sandy -flats, half prairie, half desert, sparsely covered with withered grass, -and not a bush or tree or shrub, as far as the eye could wander, -had struggled into life. ’Tis true a stunted artemisia, or wild-sage -bush, had fought its way inch by inch in its struggle for existence, -and looked so old, dry, and parched, that your idea was, if you laid -a finger on it, it would powder up like dried herbs; but whatever had -been in shape of grass, or herb, or shrub, was gone, cleared bodily and -entirely away by the field-crickets. - -Never shall I forget this insect array. On getting well upon the -plains, I found every inch of ground covered with field-crickets; they -were as thick on the ground as ants on a hill; the mules could not -tread without stepping on them; not an atom or vestige of vegetation -remained, the ground as clear as a planed floor. It was about twenty -good long miles to the next water, and straight across the sand-plains, -and, for that entire distance, the crickets were as thick as ever. It -is impossible to estimate the quantity; but when you suppose a space of -ground twenty-seven miles long, and how wide I know not, but at least -twice that, covered with crickets as thick as they could be packed, you -can roughly imagine what they would have looked like if swept into a -heap. - -It was long after sundown when we reached the water, tired, thirsty, -and utterly worn-out; but the stream being wide and swift, the -crickets had not crossed it, so our tired animals had a good supper, -and we a comfortable camp. I rode off to some farm-enclosures I saw, -in search of milk and eggs; and, to my great surprise, I noticed every -field had a little tin-fence inside the _snake_ or _rail_ fence, about -six or eight inches wide, nailed along on a piece of lumber, placed -edgeways in the ground, so that a good wide ledge of tin projected -towards the prairie. - -‘What,’ I said to the first farmer I met, ‘induces you to put this tin -affair round your field?’ - -‘Why, stranger, I guess you ain’t a-travelled this way much, or you’d -be pretty tall sure that them darned blackshirts out on the prairie -would eat a hoss and chase the rider. But for that bit of a tin-fixin’ -thar, they’d mighty soon make tracks for my field, and just leave her -clean as an axe-blade. These critters come about once in four years, -and a mighty tall time they have when they do come!’ - -It was a most effectual and capital contrivance to keep them out, for -if they came underneath the tin they jumped up against it, and it -was too wide to leap over. These field-crickets (_Acheta nigra_) are -black, and very much larger than the ordinary house-cricket. They eat -seeds, grass, fruit, and, when they can get nothing else, they devour -each other. I frequently got off my horse to see what a large mob of -crickets were about. They had dragged down, perhaps, two or three -others, and were one and all deliberately tearing them to pieces. If -they meet head to head, they rush at each other and butt like rams, -but, backing against each other, they lash out their hind-legs and kick -like horses. What becomes of them when they die I cannot imagine; the -entire atmosphere for miles must become pestilential. I suppose, from -their coming in such vast numbers every fourth year, that the larvæ -must take that time ere they assume the perfect shape. - -_May 16th._—The Californian quail, which I found most plentiful -along the course of the Sacramento, ceases at the edge of this great -sandy desert; it appears to be the limit to its northern range. I -note a singular instance, how curiously and readily birds alter -their usual habits under difficulties, in the nesting of Bullock’s -Oriole. A solitary oak stood by the little patch of water, a spring -that oozed, rather than bubbled, through the sandy soil where my camp -stood; it was the only water within many miles, and the only tree -too; every available branch and spray had one of the woven nests of -this brilliant bird hanging from it. I have never seen them colonise -elsewhere. The nests are usually some distance from each other, and -concealed amidst thick foliage. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - CROSSING THE KLAMATH RIVER—HOW TO SWIM MULES—SIS-KY-OUE - INDIANS—EMIGRANT FORD—TROUT BALING—A BEAVER - TOWN—BREEDING-GROUNDS OF THE PELICANS AND VARIOUS - WATER-BIRDS—PURSUED BY KLAMATH INDIANS—INTERVIEW WITH - CHIEF—THE DESERT PRONG HORNED ANTELOPES—ACORNS AND - WOODPECKERS—YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS—SNAKE SCOUT—ARRIVAL AT CAMP - OF COMMISSION—END OF JOURNAL. - - -_May 17th._—Leave this sandy waste, cross over a low divide, and -descend into a narrow gulley, named Bogus Hollow. Creep along between -high craggy peaks for ten miles to reach the Klamath river, a wide, -rapid stream that I have to cross, but how, just now is a puzzler. The -banks are high; not a tree grows along its sides, or near by, wherewith -to make either canoe or raft. I follow on its course for eight miles; -the river makes a sudden bend, and in the angle on the opposite side I -can see the charred remains of a log-shanty, amidst a clump of trees, -one of which has been felled so as to fall across the river, and forms -a rude footbridge. We unpack the mules, carry all the packing-gear and -provisions on our own backs to the other side, an operation requiring -steady heads and sure feet, the footway a single tree, and not even a -handrail to steady the crosser. All safely over, and no mishap. - -The next operation is to swim the mules, a very simple process if -properly managed; a risky and dangerous one if due precautions are -neglected. The strength of the current must be estimated, so that the -mules may be driven up-stream far enough, to ensure their not being -washed farther down the opposite side, than where you are desirous they -should land, and the place selected for them to land should always -have a shelving shore. Supposing you have a canoe, the bell-horse, -deprived of his bell, is towed by the canoe across the stream; a -packer, standing in the canoe, keeps ringing the bell violently; the -mules, that have followed their leader to the edge of the stream, are -prevented galloping along the river-bank by the packers; at last, in -sheer despair, they dash into the water and swim towards the clanging -bell; nothing can be seen but long ears and noses, or heard save the -tinkling bell, the splashing water, and a medley of snorts, ranging -from a shrill whistle to a sound compounded of creak and groan, gasped -from the older, asthmatical, short-winded mules. If we have no canoe, -the bell-horse is ridden into the water; when the rider feels the horse -begins to swim, he grasps the mane with his left hand, floats from off -the horse’s back, swims with his legs as in ordinary swimming, whilst -with the right he splashes the water against the horse’s face, thus -keeping the animal’s head always up-stream. On reaching the opposite -side, when the horse’s feet touch the ground, the man again drops -astride, and rides it out, ringing the all-potent bell with all his -might. - -I learn from my guide that a settler ‘squatted’ where we cross about -a year before, built the shanty, made the footbridge, and put in some -grain-crops; but the Indians discovered, killed, and scalped him, burnt -his shanty, and carried his wife away prisoner—not a cheering story, -considering I am going through their very strongholds. - -_May 18th._—A sharp frosty morning; very cold, sleeping in the open -air. Get away soon after sun-up. Leave the flat grassy valley, and -ascend the timbered slopes of the Sis-ky-oue mountains. Follow a bad -Indian trail, through barren gorges, and along rocky ledges, for twenty -miles; observe lots of deer-tracks, but no deer. Descend the northern -slope, arrive at the Emigrant’s Ford, and come plump upon a large -encampment of Sis-ky-oue Indians. Fifteen miles to the next water; the -sun rapidly sinking; men and mules tired. At all risks, I camp near the -redskins. - -The Emigrant Ford is a wide lake-like expanse of the Klamath river, -that spreads out over a level plateau on emerging from a basaltic -gorge, through which the river finds its way for some distance. The -walls of rock shutting it in being deep and almost vertical, reaching -the water in the cañon is an impossibility. As the river widens out it -shallows sufficiently for ox-teams and waggons to get through it; and, -being almost the only fordable place, was always chosen by emigrant -trains coming to Oregon and California. - -The remains of half-burnt waggons and human bones still bleaching in -the sun, makes one shudder to think of the terrible fate of the weary -wanderer, cut off at this fatal spot by the Indians. Their plan was -to remain concealed until the trains were all safely through, then to -swoop down upon them, while scattered and disordered by crossing, cut -loose the oxen, kill the men, carry off the women and children, if -girls, burn the waggons, and secure all that suited them in the shape -of plunder. - -The Indians near my camp were fishing in a small mountain-stream, if -baling out fish by the bucketful could be called fishing. Round-fish -(_Coregomis quadrilateralis_) and brook-trout (_Fario stellatus_) were -in such masses (I cannot find a better word) that we dipped out, with -baskets and our hands, in ten minutes, enough fish to fill two large -iron pails that we carried with us. How such hosts of fish obtain -food, or where they find room to deposit their ova, are mysteries. The -Indians were splitting and drying them in the sun strung on long peeled -rods. - -_May 19th._—Had no trouble with these Indians. Hire two of them to -aid me in again crossing the Klamath river, where it runs from the -upper into the lower Klamath lake. For the first four miles we ascend -a steep mountain, rather thickly timbered. Killed a grey deer, and -saw a splendid herd of wapiti; but the bell frightened them, so I did -not get a shot. Cross the ridge, and descend on an open grassy flat, -surrounding the lower Klamath lake, which I should say, at a rough -guess, is thirty miles in circumference. It is in reality more like a -huge swamp than a lake; simply patches of open water, peeping out from -a rank growth of rushes at least twelve feet in height. - -I should think this place must be the ‘head centre’ of the entire -beaver population of Oregon; in some of the patches of open water, -there certainly was not room to jam in even a tiny beaver cottage of -the humblest pretensions, although the open space occupied by the town -was many acres in extent. The trees, although a good half-mile from the -water, were felled in all directions, as if busy emigrants had been -making a clearing. The branches, lopped from the fallen trees, had been -dragged by these busy animals along the well-beaten roads, that led in -all directions, from the timber to the rushes, through which roads were -also cut, to gain an easy access to the water. - -The branches, many of them large and heavy, are dragged by the -beavers—backing along the roads, two or three often assisting in -tugging a single branch—until the water is reached; then they seize -it with their chisel-like teeth, and using their powerful tails, both -as rudders and screw-propellers, float it out, to be employed in -building their dome-shaped residences. But of this more at length, when -referring to the habits of the beaver. - -Wildfowl too are here, in great variety and abundance. For the first -time I see the breeding-ground of the Rough-billed Pelican (_Pelecanus -erythrorynchus_). Their nests were on the ground, amidst the rushes, -but unluckily I did not succeed in finding an egg. The nest is simply a -confused heap of rushes, with a lot of down and feathers in the centre. -On the water these huge birds swim as easily, buoyantly, and gracefully -as swans; and in fishing, do not swoop down from a height, as does the -brown pelican, but thrust their heads under water, and regularly spoon -up small fish with their immense pouched beaks. - -Where could one find a more enjoyable sight, whether viewed with the -eye of a naturalist or lover of the picturesque? Before me is the reedy -swamp, with its open patches of water, glittering like mirrors in the -bright sunlight, rippled in all directions by busy beavers: some making -a hasty retreat to their castles, others swimming craftily along, crawl -on to the domes and peep at the intruder. Dozing on the sandbanks round -the margin of the pools, or paddling with ‘oary feet’ on the smooth -water, are numbers of snowy pelicans: the bright orange encircling -the eyes, and colouring the pouch, legs, and feet, looks like flame, -contrasted with the white feathers, so intensified is the color by -the brilliancy of the sun-rays. Pintails, shovellers, stockducks, -the exquisitely coloured cinnamon teal, the noisy bald-pate, and a -host of others, are either floating on the water or circling round -in pairs, quacking angry remonstrances at such an unjustifiable -prying into their nuptial haunts. Overhead, vying with the swallows -in rapidity and grace of flight, countless Terns (_Sterna Fosteri_) -whirl in mazy circles: their black heads, grey and white liveries, and -orange-yellow beaks, show to great advantage against the sombre green -of the swallows, amid which they wing their way. Behind me, and far to -the right, the Sis-ky-oue Mountains, in many a rugged peak, bound the -sky-line, their slopes descending in an unbroken surface of pine-trees -to the grassy flats at their base. To my left, the river that feeds -this rushy lake winds through the green expanse, like a line of twisted -silver, far as the eye can scan its course; along its bank my string of -mules, in dingy file, pace slowly on: the tinkle of the bell-horse, but -faintly audible, bids me hasten after them, and leave a scene the like -of which I shall never perhaps gaze on again. I did not see any nests -of the Tern, although I have but little doubt they breed about these -lakes. - -Follow the stream and pass a second kind of rushy lake, not nearly -so large as the one behind, and reach the southern end of the great -Klamath lake, out of which pours a rapid stream, two hundred yards in -width, and very deep; camp on its edge, and set to work to discover -some means of crossing. - -The smoke of my camp-fire has barely reached above the trees, when -Indians are seen coming from all directions, some on horseback, others -on foot; and canoes in fleets dot the lake, that stretches away until -lost in the distance, like a fresh-water ocean. I feel very uneasy. The -two Sis-ky-oues have gone, vanished mysteriously. Hastily collect dry -wood and light a circle of fires, within which I enclose my mules. I am -mobbed by ugly half-naked demons, who are evidently doubtful whether -to be friends or foes. By aid of my guide, I manage to bargain for two -canoes. - -_May 20th._—Never laid down all night. Kept the packers guarding my -mules, stationing a man between each of the fires. Indians in full -force at sun-up. In two hours cross all my stores in the canoes; swim -the mules, and without any accident we are safely over the river. - -This tribe, the Klamath Indians—the chief of whom, Le-lake, is a man -of considerable influence—number about 2,000, and own large herds of -horses and cattle. They are nearly always at war, and are the terror of -emigrants. The men are well-grown and muscular; they wear little more -than the breech-cloth, and most of them still use the bow and arrow. -The squaws are short in comparison with the men, and for Indians have -tolerably regular features. The men use no saddles, and a strange sight -it is to see a number of these demons nearly naked, painted from their -heads to their waists, all colours and patterns, skying and whirling -round upon their half-tamed beasts, yelling and shouting, with no -apparent object that I could discover but that of exhibiting themselves -and trying to frighten me. - -The morning is dark and cloudy, with a sharp keen wind. Keep close to -the shore of the lake, which for the first fifteen miles is shut in by -high mountains. The trail winds along the side of this mountain, in -some places over bare rock, at others loose rolling stones render it -very dangerous and difficult to get over. Emerging on an open sandy -plain, about seven miles in width, we cross it, still close to the -lake. Then hill again, but not so steep. Reaching an open prairie -covered with grass, camp on a small stream, with decent wood on its -banks. During the whole day I was beset and worried by Indians riding -in among my mules, galloping forward, then back again, from one end of -the train to the other, in a most excited state. - -Immediately on camping I am again thronged, so ride on to see the chief -at his lodge, about four miles from camp; having first enclosed my -mules in a ring of fires, and desired my men, in case I do not return -in two hours, to abandon the mules and escape as best they can. I find -the chief’s lodge, in the centre of a very extensive Indian village, -situated on the bank of a swift stream. All the lodges are dome-shaped; -like beaver-houses, an arched roof covers a deep pit sunk in the -ground, the entrance to which is a round hole; through it I descend -into the sable dignitary’s presence, his lodge differing from the -others only in being rather larger, and having more dogs and children -round it. - -Face to face I stand alone with the dreaded chief—more like bearding -a hog in its stye than the Forest Monarch, or the Scottish Douglas, -in his stronghold. On a few filthy skins squats a flabby, red-eyed, -dirt-begrimed savage, his regal robe a ragged blanket tied round his -waist. Sot and sensualist are legibly written on his face, and greed, -cruelty, and cunning visible in every twist of the mouth and twinkle -of the piglike eyes. My heart misgives me when I think my men, the -government property, and my own life, are entirely in the hands of this -degraded beast. - -Addressing him in Chinook, which he fortunately understood, I explained -what my mission was, asked him what he meant by sending armed braves in -full war-paint, without any squaws, amongst my mules and men; that I -was a ‘King George’s’ chief, and what was more, that another and a much -greater chief was awaiting my arrival on the banks of the Columbia, -and if I failed to come when so many suns had set over the hills, he -would seek me, and if harm had befallen me, would surely burn up all -the lodges, drive off the horses, kill the braves, and perhaps hang the -chief. - -Handing me the all-potent pipe, he replied—‘I am your brother; my -heart is good; my people are assembling for a war-trail; I mean you no -harm. Give me two bags of flour, to pay me for the grass your mules -eat.’ This I consent to, bolt through the hole like a fox, and gallop -with all speed back to my camp. Not one word of all this do I believe; -but take additional precautions to guard my mules, and quietly await -the tide of events. About dusk the chief arrives in full war-paint, -which consists of alternate stripes of vermilion and white, arranged -in all sorts of directions, and extending from his waist to his hair. -We smoked together; the pipe passing round the circle of ‘braves’ (that -might have been more justly styled ‘ragged ruffians,’ if they had worn -clothes), the chief’s bodyguard. - -The chief of course wanted everything he saw, as a present; but this, -at all hazards, I sternly refused. Finding nothing more was to be -obtained by fair means, on receiving the promised payment, he left for -the village. - -The lake near which I am camped is a magnificent sheet of water, forty -miles in length, with an average breadth of fifteen, shut in by steep -hills not very heavily timbered, between which are fine open grassy -valleys. Wildfowl in swarms dot its surface, and it abounds with -fish—so the Indians tell me. - -_May 21st._—Another sleepless night, morning dark; a cold icy wind -nearly freezes one’s blood; start as soon as we can see. The chief -tells me I can ford the stream near his lodge, but, doubtful of its -truth, canter on ahead of the mules, and try it. Just as I thought, -deep water; a ruse to get my mules swimming, and when scattered, to -pounce upon and steal them. Ride back towards my train, puzzled what -course to pursue. An Indian gallops from amidst the trees, chasing two -horses with a lasso, catches one, and proceeds rapidly down-stream. I -follow quietly, about a half-mile; then he rides into the river, and, -without wetting his horse’s sides, gets on the other side. - -This is a grand discovery. Gallop to my train. Ride in triumph through -the ford, followed by the bell-horse and mules, and bow impudently to -the flabby old deceiver, staring at me wonderingly as I pass up the -opposite side of the stream. - -Without stopping to rest, I push on over a swampy country, with little -clumps of alder and cottonwood-trees, like islands, here and there, -for twenty-four miles; keep as close as possible to the edge of the -river, until we reach a large morass, from which it heads. Here I camp. -Although I have not seen the trace of an Indian since leaving the -village, still I feel sure they will follow up my trail. - -Light fires as usual, and keep strict watch over the wearied and -hungry mules. The men are tired and sleepy; but, jaded as I am in mind -and body, contrive to keep them up to their sentry-duty. They get an -alternate sleep—I get none. - -_May 22nd._—Passed a miserably cold night. Blowing nearly a gale -of wind. Found all right in the morning. At daybreak get the mules -together, and begin saddling. Two mules managed to slip off about fifty -yards from us, when a sudden yell told me they were gone. The Indians -had followed, and been concealed close to me in the bush all night, -afraid to make an attack, but waiting a chance to stampede the band; -this, from my having lighted fires, and kept watch, they were prevented -from doing; however, they made good the two that strayed. I started -after them, but deemed it prudent not to go too far. They also managed -to steal a coat from my packmaster, with $100 in the pocket. - -From the high water the trail through the swamp is impassable, so I -have to go round it, keeping along on the small ridges, where birch -and alder grow; continuing this for about eighteen miles, and crossing -several deep creeks and swamps, through which the poor mules are -literally dragged, get on to higher and comparatively dry land, two -miles of which brings me to the entrance of what my guide calls the -desert. The distance across it, he says, is forty miles, with but one -chance of water. Into this barren waste I did not think the Indians -would follow, so make up my mind to push on, although my men and mules -are fearfully fagged. I thought the Indians intended to pursue us to -the edge of this wilderness, and when off our guard, worn-out for want -of sleep, killing us, and driving off the band of mules. - -I am in the very paradise of the prong-buck (_Antilocapra Americana_). -In bands of twenty or thirty they gallop close up to the mules, -halt, have a good look, and suddenly scent danger; the leading bucks -give a loud whistling snort, then away they all scamper, and rapidly -disappear. We shot as many as we needed, but at this time the does we -killed were heavy in fawn. - -The size of the prong-buck, when fully grown, is somewhat larger than -the domestic sheep; but its legs, being proportionably much longer, -give it a greater altitude. The neck is also of greater length, and the -head carried more erect. The hind-legs are longer than the fore ones; -a wise provision, not only tending to give additional fleetness, but -materially assisting it in climbing steep precipices and rocky crags, -up and down which it bounds with astonishing speed and security. - -The back is a pale dun colour; a transverse stripe between the eyes; -the lip, and each side the muzzle, and a spot beneath the ear, dark -reddish-brown; the entire underparts, the edges of the lips, a large -and most conspicuous patch on either side the tail, pure white. The -white meeting the brown of the back about midway on the sides, forms a -well-defined waving line. Horns, hoofs, and nose black. The horns (so -marked a feature in the prong-buck) are placed very far back, and much -compressed in a lateral direction to about a third of their height, -where they give out a thin triangular bracket-shaped prong, projecting -upwards and forwards. Above this snag, the horns have a shiny surface, -are rounded, and taper gradually to a sharp tip, bent into a hook. The -horns vary greatly in the males. I have sometimes shot them with the -prong hardly developed, sometimes springing from the horn near the tip, -and in others growing close to the head, where it is always uneven and -warty. The female is devoid of horns, or only has them in a rudimentary -condition. - -The eyes of the prong-buck are black, large, and expressive, but not a -trace exists of a larmier or crumen, a glandular opening beneath the -eyes, so conspicuous in the generality of deer. The hoofs are narrow -and acute, but no trace exists of the supplementary hoofs usually found -in all ruminants, situated just above the pasterns, at the back of the -legs. The ears are very long, and well adapted to catch the faintest -sound. The hair is coarse, crimped or wavy; growing in a tuft on the -forehead, and during summer in a mane on the neck and back of the male. - -About the posterior third of the back is an opening like the tear-gland -in the face of a deer, from which a musky-smelling secretion -continually oozes. The animal has also the power of erecting the hair -of the white patches on its rump, as a peacock spreads its tail, or -a wolf bristles its back. This power of elevating, or apparently -_puffing-out_, these snowy markings, adds immensely to the general -beauty of the prong-buck. When wooing, or striving to make the most -favourable impression on his harem of does, or when in defence of his -wives he rushes at some intrusive rival, the snowy round patches are -‘ruffed’ to treble their natural size. - -The geographical distribution of the prong-buck is rather extensive. -North it is found as far as the northern branches of the Saskatchewan, -53° N. lat. It ranges over all the plains from the Missouri to the -eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains; southerly into Mexico, as far as -the mouth of the Rio Grande; through Oregon and California, and into -Washington Territory, along the banks of the Columbia, to the Spokan -river. - -Their favourite haunts appear to be the grassy prairies, that extend -hundreds of miles without a break through Texas and Oregon, dotted -everywhere with small patches of timber. As the eye wanders over the -limitless tract of prairie, these small isolated belts and clumps of -trees exactly resemble beautifully-wooded islands, studding a sea of -waving grass. Here the prong-buck wanders in herds of from sixty to -seventy; naturally shy, approaching them is not by any means an easy -matter; on the least alarm the males give the shrill whistling snort, -toss their graceful heads, sniff the air, stamp with their forefeet, -then bound away like the wind; the herd circle round at first, -then wheel up again in tolerable line, have another look, and, if -apprehensive of danger, dash off, and seldom stop until safe from all -risk of harm. - -There are two methods of hunting them practised by the Indians, on -horseback and on foot. If the former, three or four mounted savages, -armed with bows, arrows, and lassos, approach from different points, so -as to get a herd of antelopes between them on the open prairie. They -then ride slowly round and round the herd, each time diminishing the -circle: the terror-stricken beasts huddle closer and closer together, -and appear perfectly bewildered. When, by this manœuvre, the Indians -have approached sufficiently near, each throws his unerring lasso, then -shoots arrows at the flying herd. As many as six are often killed and -caught at one circling. - -On foot the crafty savage, getting the wind of the herd, crawls along -the grass, and every now and then lies on his back, and elevates his -two legs into the air. Attached to the heel of each mocassin is a strip -of ermine-skin, which floats like a pennant. The antelopes soon notice -it, stand, and look; down go the heels, and on the Indian crawls; -and if the herd does not come towards him, he gets a little nearer. -In a short time their curiosity tempts them to approach slowly and -cautiously towards the two feet, which are performing every variety of -strange evolution. Near enough, they too soon discover their error; -the twang of the string and whistling arrow, that goes up to the -feather-end in the chest of the foremost male, warns the others to fly, -and leave their leader and king a prey to the wily redskin. - -We are on the sandy waste, and right well does it merit its name -desert, for a more dismal barren wilderness cannot be imagined; its -surface is all pumice and cinders, with nothing growing on it but a -few sage-bushes and dwarfed junipers. Every step the animals make is -fetlock-deep; and dust, that nearly chokes and blinds us, comes from -every direction. On, and on, and on we go, but no change, no hope of -water. - -Just before dark—when I begin to think I have been guilty of an awful -mistake, and brought needless misery on both men and animals—I push -ahead of the train, in hope of finding water, for the guide is utterly -lost. Suddenly I descry the tracks of the prong-buck in the sand; -hope revives, water must be near at hand! Carefully I follow on their -tracks, that lead down a sloping bank of scoria, and slags of lava, -through a narrow gorge, with rocks on either side that look as if they -had been burnt in a limekiln—to come out into a narrow valley, where -the sight of trees, grass, and water makes my heart leap with delight. - -Back I spur to meet the lagging train, toiling on, parched with -thirst, blinded with dust; hungry, weary, and exhausted. I guide them -to the valley, and at the sight of water, men and mules seem to gain -new life, rush wildly towards it, plunge in, and drink as only the -thirst-famished can. Unsaddle and let the mules feed for two hours, -then light five fires, and keep them closely herded, although I have -but very little dread of farther pursuit. Supped on grilled antelope, -and got a few hours’ sleep. - -_May 23rd._—All safe; no sign of being followed. Off at dawn; fifteen -miles more of this horrid waste, and we begin ascending a ridge of -mountains, which I find is the watershed of the streams flowing into -the Columbia on one side and into the Klamath river on the other; -strike the headwaters of the Des Chutes or Fall river, and camp in a -fine grassy prairie belted with pine—the _Pinus ponderosa_. Here I -determine to remain two days, to allow resting-time for men and animals. - -_May 25th._—All wonderfully recruited; rest and good feeding soon -repair a healthy body, be it man’s or quadruped’s. I stroll off with my -gun, and observe that numbers of the pine-trees are completely studded -with acorns, just as nails with large heads were driven into doors in -olden days. I had seen a piece of the bark filled with acorns in San -Francisco, and was there informed it was the work of a woodpecker, -but, to tell the truth, thought I was being hoaxed; but here I am in -the midst of dozens of trees, with acorns sticking out all over their -trunks; it is no hoax, for I saw the birds that did it, and shot two -of them. This singular acorn-storer is the Californian woodpecker -(_Melanerpes formicivorus_), evidently of very social habits. They -assemble in small flocks, climbing rapidly along the rough bark of the -pitch-pine, rapping here and there, with their wedgelike beaks, to -scare some drowsy insect; inducing it to rush out, to be nipped, or -speared, with the barbed tongue, ere half-awake; others, sitting on the -topmost branches of the oaks and pines, continually darted off after -some fugitive moth or other winged insect, capturing it much in the -fashion of the flycatchers. The harsh and discordant voice is made up -for in beauty of plumage. A tuft of scarlet feathers crowns the head, -and contrasts brilliantly with the glossy bottle-green of the back -and neck; a white patch on the forehead joins, by a narrow isthmus of -white, with a necklet of golden-yellow; the throat is dark-green, and -the underparts of a pure white. - -As I look over these stores of acorns, I am at a loss to think for -what purpose the birds place them in the holes. In Cassin’s ‘Birds of -America’ he quotes from Dr. Heerman and Mr. Kelly’s ‘Excursions in -California.’ Both writers positively state that these birds stow away -acorns for winter provisions, and the latter that he has seen them -doing it: ‘I have frequently paused from my chopping to watch them with -the acorns in their bills, and have admired the adroitness with which -they tried it at different holes, until they found one of its exact -calibre.’ - -I have seen the acorns in the holes, and the birds that are said to -put them there, and have no right to doubt the statements of other -observers; but it seems strange to me, that I cannot find a single -acorn exhibiting any evidence of being eaten during the winter. These -were stored on the previous fall; winter has passed away, and yet not a -seed has been eaten, as far as I can see. I opened the stomachs of the -two birds I shot, but not a trace of vegetable matter was in either of -them. Subsequently I killed and examined the stomachs of a great many -specimens, but never detected anything save insect remains. - -Does this woodpecker _ever_ eat acorns? I think _not_. More than -this, when the insects die, or go to sleep during the cold, snowy, -biting winter months, the woodpeckers, like all other sensible birds, -go southwards, and have no need to store up a winter supply, as do -quasi-hibernating mammals. Then it occurred to me, that if they really -do take the trouble to bore holes, a work of great time and labour, -and into every hole carefully drive a _sound_ acorn that they never -make any use of, it is simply idle industry. As a rule, birds are not -such thriftless creatures. I had no opportunity of watching the birds -in acorn-time—hence this storing is still to me a mystery that needs -further explanation. - -I came suddenly on a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds (_Xanthocephalus -icterocephalus_), sitting on a clump of bushes skirting a small -pool. As they sit amidst the bright-green foliage, they remind me -of blossoms; the intense black of the body-plumage shows out so -conspicuously against the orangelike yellow of the head, that the -colours seem too defined for a bird’s livery, and more like the freaks -of colouring Nature indulges in when tinting orchideous flowers. I -imagine this to be their utmost range northwards, for I never saw them -after, although they are frequent visitors to Texas, Illinois, and -Mexico. Strike the trail of a grizzly, follow it for some distance, but -fail in coming up with my large-clawed friend. - -_May 26th._—I find I shall have to ferry the Des Chutes river. Send on -four of my men ahead, to collect timber for a raft. Find, on arriving -at the river-bank, that a heap of dry timber has been collected. -With axes and an auger—and here let me advise all who travel with -packhorses or mules never to go without a three-inch auger—we soon -build a raft 12 feet long by 6½ feet wide; the timber is fastened -together with wooden trenails. - -The stream makes a bend at this spot, and does not run quite so -swiftly, about eighty yards wide, with a dry bank on the side we are, -but swampy on the opposite. We launch our raft; she floats like a -boat, make ropes fast to her, and stow a coil on board; with one man I -commence crossing, paddling with rough oars hewn from a pine-branch. -They pay-out rope as we near the opposite bank; twice we whirl round, -and come very near being a wreck, but right again. We are over. Now we -make fast our rope, and the men on the other side haul her back; and -thus we tug her from side to side, heavily freighted; we have made a -very successful crossing, neither losing nor damaging anything. The -mules swam the river, and also got safely over. - -_May 27th._—Fine morning: made an early start; kept close along on -the course of the river for about twenty miles, following a ridge -lightly timbered. The opposite or east bank is an enormous mass of -black basaltic rock, extending several miles in length. The top is -like a table, reaching as far as one could see, quite black, and not -the vestige of a plant visible. The black expanse had exactly the -appearance of a bed of rocks, over which the tide ebbed and flowed. -Crossed a creek fifteen miles from camp, deep and swift, and about -fifteen yards wide; five miles beyond this cross another creek, about -half the size. Leave the timber and come out on a wide sandy kind of -desert, covered with wild-sage and stunted juniper-trees, frightfully -dusty, and most tiresome for the mules; no chance of camping until -quite over it, which is twenty miles. After a weary march reach a -creek, where I stop; a capital camping-ground, with fine grass and -water. Passed close along the bases of the Three Sisters, lofty -mountains, at this time covered with snow. Saw a great many abandoned -lodges, but no Indians. The sandy places were quite alive with the -Oregon horned toad (_Tapaya Douglassii_), which is a lizard really very -harmless, and particularly ugly. Every stream too was thronged with -beaver. - -_May 28th._—Mules all in at 4 A.M. Got off in good time: weather -not nearly so cold. Looked over the creek, but saw no gold, but any -quantity of beaver-workings; trees four feet round had been cut down by -them. Passed through a tract of lightly-timbered land and open grassy -valleys; crossed a small creek about eight miles from camp, descending -rapidly all the way for about eighteen miles. - -Came on to the top of a high basaltic mountain, that seemed to offer an -almost perpendicular descent into a deep gorge or _cañon_. I rode right -and left, but discovering no better place, down we went; how the mules -managed to scramble to the bottom without falling head over heels I -know not, but we got safely down. I believe it would have been utterly -impossible to have got up over it a second time. Through the gorge ran -a large swift stream, called by the Indians Wychus creek, in which we -found a good fording-place and got over it; safely camped about a mile -below the place we forded. The camp was completely shut in by almost -vertical cliffs of basalt and tuffa, covered thickly with what I take -to be ancient river-drift; the cliffs were, I should say, quite 100 -feet high. - -The great black _butte_ down which we scrambled was a volcano, and -an active one too, not a very long time ago; streams of lava, just -like slag, that had run in a molten state as if from out a huge glass -furnace, reached from its summit to its base; and the red cindery -earth, on either side this congealed stream, told plainly enough -how fearfully hot it must have been. One would imagine this district -was entirely volcanic, the great desert-waste we crossed being -composed of pumice, scoria, and ashes. Perhaps these lesser hills were -safety-valves to the more conspicuous mountains in the coast-range of -British Columbia and Washington Territory—Mounts Baker, Rainier, St. -Helens, and others. - -Several pillars, composed of a kind of conglomerate, quite away from -all the surrounding rocks, stand as if man had hewn or rather built -them—ghostly obelisks, that have a strange and unusual look. I suppose -the portions that once joined them to the mass, from which they were -detached, must have been crumbled off by Time’s fingers, and these -solitary pedestals left as records. Round them, too, were scores of -tiny heaps of boulders, built, as I am informed, by the Snake Indians, -who suppose these pillars are the remains of spirits that have been -turned into stone; but for what object they really pile up these -little altars I could never discover, though the Indians tell you as a -powerful ‘_medicine_’; but who can say what that means? - -_May 29th._—All night it rained in torrents, and I do not think I -ever saw so dark a night; the rain put out all our fires, and I could -neither see men or mules, although close to them. Got the mules -together at 7 A.M., but did not make an early start, in consequence -of the men being tired from want of sleep: we managed to start at -eight o’clock. Our first task was to get out of the gorge. It was a -most tedious and even dangerous job, for the ground was loose, and -constantly broke away from under the mules’ feet, but at last we -managed to scramble to the top. - -For twenty miles farther it was a continued series of uphill and -downhill, all loose basaltic ground, and very hard to travel over. -Descending a long sandy hill we came to an Indian reserve (the Warm -Spring reservation) and we encamp. The house is a large quadrangular -building of squared blocks, loopholed for shooting through. Six white -men live here, and the Indians on the reservation are the Des Chutes -tribe; they cultivate a small quantity of ground very badly. All hands -are in a great state of ferment. A band of Snake Indians have just made -a raid on the reservation, driven off seventeen head of stock, and are -hourly expected to return. This is cheering, considering I must pass -the night here. But, luckily, no Indians came. - -_May 30th._—I should be seventy miles from the camp I am to join; -start with one man as a companion at three o’clock in the morning. The -silver stream of light from the unclouded moon illumines the trail we -follow as brightly as sunshine. The mules are to follow. As day dawns -an open plain is seen, spreading far away right and left, and along it -a horseman gallops towards us. - -As he nears I make him out to be an Indian on a skewbald horse. We -stop and parley, and I find he is a Snake scout; both horse and rider -are splendid specimens of their kind. A circle of eagle’s feathers -fastened to the skin of the ermine surrounds his head, and long raven -black hair covers his neck: a scarlet blanket, elaborately beaded, -hangs from his shoulders; a broad wampum-belt contains his knife and -powder-horn, and in his right hand he bears a rifle. But very little -paint daubs his shining-red skin, through which every muscle stands out -as if cast in bronze; he is a handsome savage, if there ever was one. -As we ride in opposite directions, I cannot help thinking that men and -mules will stand but little chance if all the Snakes are like to this -sable warrior. Reached a cabin at the Tye creek after doing forty-five -miles, where we remained for the night. - -_May 31st._—Ride in amidst the tents of the Commission, anxiously -awaiting my arrival. The following day men and mules arrive safely. So -ended my journey through the wilder part of Oregon, having accomplished -a hazardous, wearisome journey, making my way a distance of several -hundred miles without any trails, or, if any, simply trails used by -Indians to reach their hunting or fishing-grounds; sleeping during -the whole time in the open air, a saddle my only pillow. Apart from -the anxiety, harass, and want of rest, and the necessity of guarding -against the hostile Klamaths, to save the mules and our scalps, we all -enjoyed the journey thoroughly, not even a cold resulting from the -exposure. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - SHARP-TAILED GROUSE—BALD-HEADED EAGLE—MOSQUITOS—LAGOMYS MINIMUS - (NOV. SP.)—HUMMINGBIRDS—UROTRICHUS. - - -The Sharp-tailed Grouse (_Pediocætes Phasianellus_, Baird; _Tetrao -Phasianellus_, Linn.; _Centrocercus Phasianellus_, Jardine; _Phasianus -Columbianus_, Ord.)—_Specific characters_: The tail consists of -eighteen feathers—prevailing colours black, white, and umber-yellow; -the back marked with transverse bars, the wings with round conspicuous -white spots—under pure white; the breast and sides thickly marked with -V-shaped blotches of dark-brown; length about 18·00; wing, 8·50; tail, -5·23 inches. - -This beautiful bird is alike estimable, whether we consider him in -reference to his field qualities (therein being all a grouse ought to -be, rising with a loud rattling whirr, and going off straight as an -arrow, lying well to dogs, and frequenting open grassy prairies), or -viewed as a table dainty, when bowled over and grilled. Though his -flesh is brown, yet for delicacy of flavour—game in every sense of -the word—I’ll back him against any other bird in the Western wilds. -This grouse appears to replace the Prairie-hen (_Cupidonia cupido_) on -all the prairies west of the Rocky Mountains. By the fur-traders it -is called the ‘spotted chicken’; for all grouse, by the traders and -half-breeds, are called chickens! and designated specifically by either -habit or colour—such as blue chickens, wood chickens, white chickens -(ptarmigan), &c. &c.; the _skis-kin_ of the Kootanie Indians. - -[Illustration: THE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE -(Pediocætes phasianellus).] - -The tail is cuneate and graduated, and about two-thirds the length -of the wing; the central pair, considerably longer than the rest, -terminate in a point—hence the name _sharp-tailed_. - -The singular mixture of colours (white, black, and brownish-yellow), -the dark blotches, transverse bars, and V-shaped marks of dark-brown, -exactly resemble the ground on which the bird is destined to pass -its life. The ochreish-yellow angular twigs and dead leaves of the -Artemisia, or wild-sage; the sandy soil, dried and bleached to a -dingy-white; the brown of the withered bunch-grass; the weather-beaten -fragments of rock, clad in liveries of sombre-coloured lichens, -admirably harmonise with the colours in which Nature has wisely robed -this feathered tenant of the wilderness. - -Often, when the sharp crack of the gun, and the _ping_ of the -fatal leaden messengers, has rung the death-peal of one of these -prairie-chiefs, I have watched the whirring wing drop powerless, and -the arrowy flight stop in mid-career, and, with a heavy thud, the bird -come crashing down. Rushing to pick him up, and keeping my eye steadily -on the spot where he fell, I have felt a little mystified at not seeing -my friend: here he fell, I am quite sure; so I trudge up and down, -circle round and round, until a slight movement—an effort to run, or -a dying struggle—attracts my attention, and then I find I have been -the whole time close to the fallen bird. But so closely do the back -and outspread wings resemble the dead foliage and sandy soil, that it -is almost impossible for the most practised eye to detect these birds -when crouching on the ground; and there can be no doubt that it as -effectually conceals them from birds of prey. - -This bird is abundantly distributed on the western slope of the -Rocky Mountains, ranging right and left of the Boundary-line, the -49th parallel of north latitude. It is particularly abundant on the -tobacco-plains near the Kootanie river, round the Osoyoos lakes, and in -the valley of the Columbia. - -I have never seen this grouse on the western side of the Cascade range. -This bird is also found in the Red River settlements, in the north -of Minnesota, as well as on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, and on the -Mackenzie river. Mr. Ross notes it as far north as the Arctic Circle. - -Of the different species of grouse I met with in my rambles (described -in vol. ii.) not one has come so often under my observation as this, -the sharp-tailed grouse. Its favourite haunt is on open grassy -plains,—in the morning keeping itself concealed in the thick long -grass, but coming in about midday to the streams to drink, and dust -itself in the sandy banks; it seldom goes into the timber, and, if it -does, always remains close to the prairie, never retiring into the -depths of the forest. - -They lay their eggs on the open prairie, in a tuft of grass, or by the -foot of a small hillock; nesting early in the spring, and laying from -twelve to fourteen eggs. The nest is a hole scratched out in the earth, -a few grass-stalks and root-fibres laid carelessly and loosely over the -bottom; the eggs are of a dark rusty-brown, with small splashes or -speckles of darker brown thickly spattered over them. - -After nesting-time, they first appear in coveys or broods about the -middle of August; the young birds are then about three parts grown, -strong on the wing, and afford admirable sport. At this time they -live by the margins of small streams, where there is thin timber and -underbrush, with plenty of sandy banks to dust in. About the middle of -September and on into October they begin to pack; first two or three -coveys get together, then flock joins flock, until they gradually -accumulate into hundreds. On the first appearance of snow they begin -to perch, settling on high dead pine-trees, the _dead_ branches being -a favourite locality; or, should there be any farms, they pitch round -on the top of the snake-fences. At the Hudson’s Bay trading-post at -Fort Colville there were large wheat-stubbles; in these, after the -snow fell, they assembled in vast numbers. Wary and shy they are now, -and most difficult to get at; the cause being, I apprehend, the snow -rendering every moving thing so conspicuous, it is next to impossible -for dogs to hunt them. - -Their food in the summer consists principally of berries—the snowberry -(_Symphoricarpos racemosus_), and the bearberry (_Arctostaphylos -uva-ursi_). The leaves of this latter plant are used to a great extent, -both by Indians and traders, to mix with or use instead of tobacco, and -called _kini-kinick_; the leaves being dried over the fire, and rubbed -up in the hand to powder, and smoked in a pipe. The wild roseberries -(_Rosa blanda_ and _Rosa mirantha_), and many others, usually -designated huckleberries, constitute the food generally consumed by -these birds during summer and autumn; although I have often found -quantities of wheat-grains and larvæ of insects, grass-seeds, and small -wild flowers in their crops. Their thickly-feathered feet enable them -to run upon the snow with ease and celerity, and they dig holes and -burrow underneath it much after the fashion of the ptarmigan. - -During the two winters we spent at Colville, flocks of these birds -congregated about the corn-stacks and hayricks at our mule-camp, and at -the Hudson’s Bay trading-post, Fort Colville. The temperature at that -time was often down to 29° and 30° below zero, and the snow three feet -deep; yet these birds did not at all appear to suffer from such intense -cold, and were strong, wild, and fat during the entire winter, which -lasted from October until near April before the snow entirely cleared. - -In this valley (the Colville valley) the Commissioner and myself had, -I think, as brisk and nice a bit of shooting as I ever enjoyed. If I -remember aright, it was towards the end of September, and the birds -had packed. We rode down one clear bright morning, about six miles, to -the Horse-Guards. Do not at once hastily imagine any analogy between -Colville valley and Whitehall. The heavy man, with his heavy boots, -heavy sword, heavy dress, heavy walk, and heaviest of all heavy -horses—so conspicuous a feature in our London sights—is represented -here by the genuine savage, thin and lissom as an eel; his equipment -a whip, a lasso, a scalping-knife, and sometimes a trade-gun; a pad -his saddle, and the bands of horses, some two hundred in number, his -charge. A stream of cold clear water rambles quietly down the hillside; -and as the hills are thickly dotted with bunch-grass, affording most -glorious pasturage, the Hudson’s Bay fort horses are always pastured -here, and guarded by Indians; hence comes the name—‘the Horse-Guards.’ - -The Colville valley is, roughly speaking, about thirty miles long, the -hills on one side being densely studded with pine-trees, and on the -other quite clear of timber, but thickly clothed up to their rounded -summits with the bunch-grass. This is a peculiar kind of grass, that -grows in tufts, and its fattening qualities are truly wonderful. - -The little stream at the Horse-Guards has on either side of it a belt -of thin brush, and in this, and in the long grass close to the stream, -we found the sharp-tailed grouse. There were hundreds of them—up they -went, and, right and left, down they came again! It might have been -the novelty of the scene, causing an undue anxiety and excitement, -or perhaps it was the liver, or powder, or something else—who knows -what?—but this I do know, that neither of us shot our best, but we -made a glorious bag nevertheless. They rise with a loud rattling -noise, and utter a peculiar cry, like ‘chuck, chuck, chuck,’ rapidly -and shrilly repeated. On first rising the wings are moved with great -rapidity, but after getting some distance off they sail along, the -wings being almost quiescent. - -They pair very early in the spring, long before the snow has gone -off the ground, and their love-meetings are celebrated in a somewhat -curious fashion. By the half-breeds and fur-traders these festivities -are called chicken or pheasant dances. I was lucky enough to be -present at several of these balls whilst at Fort Colville. Their usual -time of assembling is about sunrise, and late in the afternoon; they -select a high round-topped mound; and often, ere the fair are wooed and -won, and the happy couple start on their domestic cares, the mound is -trampled and beaten bare as a road. - -I had often longed to be present at one of these chicken-dances; and it -so happened that, riding up into the hills early one spring morning, my -most ardent wishes were fully realised. The peculiar ‘chuck-chuck’ came -clear and shrill upon the crisp frosty air, and told me a dance was -afoot. I tied up my horse and my dog, and crept quietly along towards -the knoll from whence the sound appeared to come. Taking advantage of -some rocks, I weazled myself along, and, without exciting observation, -gained the shelter of an old pine-stump close to the summit of a -hillock; and there, sure enough, the ball was at its height. - -Reader, can you go back to the days of your first pantomime, your first -Punch-and-Judy, or bring to your remembrance the fresh, bounding, -joyous delight that you felt in the days of your youth, when you had -before your eyes some long and deeply-wished-for novelty? If you -can, you will be able to imagine my childish pleasure when looking -for the first time on a chicken-dance. There were about eighteen or -twenty birds present on this occasion, and it was almost impossible to -distinguish the males from the females, the plumage being so nearly -alike; but I imagined the females were the passive ones. The four -birds nearest to me were head to head, like gamecocks in fighting -attitude—the neck-feathers ruffed up, the little sharp tail elevated -straight on end, the wings dropped close to the ground, but keeping up -by a rapid vibration a continued throbbing or drumming sound. - -They circled round and round each other in slow waltzing-time, always -maintaining the same attitude, but never striking at or grappling with -each other; then the pace increased, and one hotly pursued the other -until he faced about, and _tête-à-tête_ went waltzing round again; -then they did a sort of ‘Cure’ performance, jumping about two feet -into the air until they were winded; and then they strutted about and -‘struck an attitude,’ like an acrobat after a successful tumble. There -were others marching about, with their tails and heads as high as -they could stick them up, evidently doing the ‘heavy swell;’ others, -again, did not appear to have any well-defined ideas what they ought -to do, and kept flying up and pitching down again, and were manifestly -restless and excited—perhaps rejected suitors contemplating something -desperate. The music to this eccentric dance was the loud ‘chuck-chuck’ -continuously repeated, and the strange throbbing sound produced by the -vibrating wings. I saw several balls after this, but in every one the -same series of strange evolutions were carried out. - -In reference to this bird’s adaptability to acclimatisation in our own -country, it appears to me to be most admirably fitted for our hill and -moorland districts. It is very hardy, capable of bearing a temperature -of 30° to 33° below zero; feeds on seeds, berries, and vegetable -matter—in every particular analogous to what it could find in our own -hill-country; a good breeder, having usually from twelve to fourteen -young at a brood; nests early, and would come to shoot about the same -time as our own grouse. Snow does not hurt them in the slightest -degree; they burrow into it, and feed on what they can find underneath -it. The two specimens in the British Museum I shot in the Colville -valley; they are male and female, in winter plumage; and anyone, who -may feel an interest in getting these birds brought home, may there -see for himself what fine handsome creatures they are. - -But then comes the question—how are they to be obtained, and how -brought to England? I do not imagine it would be a very difficult or -expensive matter; the young birds in May could be easily obtained, at -any point up the Columbia river, by employing the Indians to bring them -to the riverside; and once on board steamer, they could be as easily -fed as fowls. The great difficulty _I_ have always had is in bringing -the young birds from the interior to a vessel; they always die when -transported on the backs of animals, however carefully packed. The -continued jerking motion given to birds packed on the back of a mule or -horse as he walks along has, according to my experience, been the sole -cause of their dying ere you could reach water-carriage; but the fact -of their being so close to water as they are along the Columbia river, -would render their being brought home a very easy task. - -THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE (_Haliactus leucocephalus_) is seen but seldom, -as during its breeding-time it retires into the hills, and usually -chooses a lofty pine as its nesting-place. Two of them had a nest near -the Chilukweyuk lake, which was quite inaccessible, of immense size, -and built entirely of sticks—the same nest being invariably used -year after year by the same pair of birds. Their food consists mainly -of fish, and it is a curious sight to watch an eagle plunge into the -water, seize a heavy salmon, and rise with it without any apparent -difficulty. Both the osprey and bald-headed eagle fish with their -claws, never, as far as I have observed them, striking at a fish with -the beak; during winter they collect, young and old together, round the -Sumass lake; and as the cold becomes intense, they sit three and four -on the limb of a pine-tree, or in a semi-stupid state, all their craft -and courage gone, blinking and drowsy as an owl in daytime. - -I have often, when walking under the trees where these half-torpid -monarchs of the air sit side by side, fired and knocked one out from -betwixt its neighbours, without causing them the slightest apparent -alarm; three I picked up one morning frozen stiff as marble, having -fallen dead from off their perch. - -Why birds so powerfully winged should prefer to remain where the -winters are sufficiently intense to freeze them to death, rather -than go southward, where food is equally abundant, is a mystery I am -unable to explain. Towards the fall of the year, when the hunting and -fishing-grounds of the Old-man (_Sea-la-ca_, as the Indians designate -the eagle, on account of its _white head_) grow scant of game, hunger -prompts them to be disagreeably bold. Constantly a fat mallard, that -I had taken a vast amount of trouble to stalk, was pounced upon by a -watchful eagle, and borne off, ere the report of my gun was lost in -the hills, or the smoke had cleared away; indeed, I have sometimes -given the robber the benefit of a second barrel, as punishment for -his thievery. Numberless ducks have been lost to me in this way. This -eagle is by far the most abundant of the falcon tribe in British -Columbia, and always a conspicuous object in ascending a river; he is -seated on the loftiest tree or rocky pinnacle, and soars off circling -round, screaming like a tortured demon, as if in remonstrance at such -an impudent intrusion into its solitudes. The adult plumage is not -attained until the fourth year from the nest. - -MOSQUITOS (_Culex pinguis_, nov. sp.)—Reader, if you have never been -in British Columbia, then, I say, you do not know anything about insect -persecution; neither can you form the faintest idea of the terrible -suffering foes so seemingly insignificant as the bloodthirsty horsefly -(_Tabanus_), the tiny burning fly (beulot or sand-fly of the trappers), -and the well-known and deservedly-hated _mosquito_, are capable of -inflicting. - -A wanderer from my boyhood, I have met with these pests in various -parts of our globe—in the country of Czernomorzi, among the Black Sea -Cossacks, on the plains of Troy, up on Mount Olympus, amid the gorgeous -growths of a tropical forest, where beauty and malaria, twin brothers, -walk hand-in-hand—away in the deep dismal solitudes of the swamps on -the banks of the Mississippi, on the wide grassy tracts of the Western -prairies, and on the snow-clad summits of the Rocky Mountains. - -Widely remote and singularly opposite as to climate as are these varied -localities, yet, as these pests are there in legions, I imagined that I -had endured the maximum of misery they were capable of producing. I was -mistaken; all my experience, all my vaunted knowledge of their numbers, -all I had seen and suffered, was as nothing to what I subsequently -endured. On the Sumass prairie, and along the banks of the Fraser -river, the mosquitos are, as a Yankee would say, ‘a caution.’ - -In the summer our work, that of cutting the Boundary-line, was along -the low and comparatively flat land intervening between the seaboard -and the foot of the Cascade Mountains. Our camp was on the Sumass -prairie, and was in reality only an open patch of grassy land, through -which wind numerous streams from the mountains, emptying themselves -into a large shallow lake, the exit of which is into the Fraser by a -short stream, the Sumass river. - -In May and June this prairie is completely covered with water. The -Sumass river, from the rapid rise of the Fraser, reverses its course, -and flows back into the lake instead of out of it. The lake fills, -overflows, and completely floods the lower lands. On the subsidence -of the waters, we pitched our tents on the edge of a lovely stream. -Wildfowl were in abundance; the streams were alive with fish; the mules -and horses revelling in grass kneedeep—we were in a second Eden! - -We had enjoyed about a week at this delightful camp, when the mosquitos -began to get rather troublesome. We knew these most unwelcome visitors -were to be expected, from Indian information. I must confess I had a -vague suspicion that the pests were to be more dreaded than we were -willing to believe; for the crafty redskins had stages erected, or -rather fastened to stout poles driven like piles into the mud at the -bottom of the lake. To these large platforms over the water they all -retire, on the first appearance of the mosquitos. - -In about four or five days the increase was something beyond all -belief, and really terrible. I can convey no idea of the numbers, -except by saying they were in dense clouds truly, and not figuratively, -a thick fog of mosquitos. Night or day it was just the same; the hum -of these bloodthirsty tyrants was incessant. We ate them, drank them, -breathed them; nothing but the very thickest leathern clothing was of -the slightest use as a protection against their lancets. The trousers -had to be tied tightly round the ankle, and the coat-sleeve round the -wrist, to prevent their getting in; but if one more crafty than the -others found out a needle-hole, or a thin spot, it would have your -blood in a second. We lighted huge fires, fumigated the tents, tried -every expedient we could think of, but all in vain. They seemed to be -quite happy in a smoke that would stifle anything mortal, and, what was -worse, they grew thicker every day. - -Human endurance has its limits. A man cannot stand being eaten alive. -It was utterly impossible to work; one’s whole time was occupied in -slapping viciously at face, head, and body, stamping, grumbling, and -savagely slaughtering hecatombs of mosquitos. Faces rapidly assumed an -irregularity of outline anything but consonant with the strict lines -of beauty; each one looked as if he had gone in for a heavy fight, and -lost. Hands increased in size with _painful_ rapidity, and—without -intending a slang joke—one was in a _k-nobby_ state from head to heel. - -The wretched mules and horses were driven wild, racing about like mad -animals, dashing into the water and out again, in among the trees; but, -go where they would, their persecutors stuck to them in swarms. The -poor dogs sat and howled piteously, and, prompted by a wise instinct to -avoid their enemies, dug deep holes in the earth; and backing in lay -with their heads at the entrance, whining, snapping, and shaking their -ears, to prevent the mosquitos from getting in at them. - -There was no help for it—our camp had to be abandoned; we were -completely vanquished and driven away—the work of about a hundred men -stopped by tiny flies. Our only chance of escape was to retire into the -hills, and return to complete our work late in the autumn, when they -disappear. Hard wind is the only thing that quells them; but it simply -drives them into the grass, to return on its lulling, if possible, more -savagely hungry. Quaint old Spenser knew this; he says, speaking of -gnats:— - - No man nor beast may rest or take repast - For their sharp sounds and noyous injuries, - Till the fierce northern wind with blustering blast - Doth blow them quite away, and in the ocean cast. - -My notebook, as I open it now, is a mausoleum of scores of my enemies; -there they lay, dry and flat; round some of them a stain of blood tells -how richly they merited their untimely end. - -One thing has always puzzled me in the history of these ravenous -cannibals—what on earth can they get to feed on, when there are no men -or animals? I brought home specimens, of course; and I am by no means -sure I feel any great pleasure in finding my foe to be a new species, -but it is, and named _Culex pinguis_, because it was fatter and rounder -than any of its known brethren. - -The habits of this new mosquito are, in every detail, the same as all -the known species. The female lays her eggs, which are long and oval -in shape, in the water; then aided by her hind-legs, she twists about -the eggs, and tightly glues them together, into a very beautiful little -boat-shaped bundle, that floats and drifts about in the water. In sunny -weather the eggs are speedily hatched, and the larvæ lead an aquatic -life. They are very active, diving to the bottom with great rapidity, -and as quickly ascending to the surface to breathe; the respiratory -organs being situated near the tail, on the eighth segment of the -abdomen, they hang, as it were, in the water, head downwards. After -shifting the skin three or four times, they change into the pupa form, -in which state they move about, even more actively than before, aided -by the tail, and two organs like paddles, attached to it. In this stage -of their existence they never feed (I only wish they would always -remain in this harmless condition); and although they still suspend -themselves in the water, the position is reversed, the breathing organs -being now placed on the chest. - -The final change to the perfect or winged state is most curious, and -well worth careful attention. The pupa-case splits from end to end; -and, looking moist and miserable, with crumpled wings, the little -fly floats on its previous home, an exquisite canoe of Nature’s own -contriving. A breeze of wind sufficient to ripple the water is fatal -to it now, as shipwreck is inevitable; but if all is calm and conducive -to safety, the little fly dries, the wings expand, it inhales the air, -and along with it strength and power to fly; then bidding goodbye -to the frail barque, wings its way to the land, and begins a war of -persecution. - -Mosquitos never venture far over the water after once quitting their -skin-canoe: this fact the wily savage has taken advantage of. During -‘the reign of terror’ the Indians never come on shore if they can help -it; and if they do, they take good care to flog every intruder out of -the canoes before reaching the stage. - -These stages, each with a family of Indians living on them, have a -most picturesque appearance. The little fleet of canoes are moored -to the poles, and the platform reached by a ladder made of twisted -cedar-bark. Often have I slept on these stages among the savages, to -avoid being devoured. But I am not quite sure if one gains very much -by the change: in the first place, if you are restless, and roll about -in your sleep, you stand a very good chance of finding yourself soused -in the lake. The perfumes—varied but abundant—that regale your nose -are not such as are wafted from ‘tropic isles’ or ‘Araby the blest.’ I -shall not shock my fair readers with any comparison—you must imagine -it is not agreeable. Dogs also live on these platforms; for the Indian -dog is always with his master, sharing bed as well as board. These -canine favourites are not exempt from persecutors; like the giant of -old, they at once ‘smell the blood of an Englishman,’ and will have -some; but, after all, the night steals away, you know not how, until -the dawn, blushing over the eastern hilltops, rouses all the dreaming -world—except mosquitos, that never sleep. - -On the eastern side of the Cascades the scenery and general physical -condition of the country materially changes, and the _Tabanus_ and -burning-fly become the ruling persecutors. - -_Lagomys minimus_ (Lord, sp. nov.)—The Commissioner, myself, a few -men, and a small train of pack-mules, set out to visit some of the -stations on the Boundary-line, east of the Cascades. Our route lay -along the valley of the Shimilkameen river, to strike Ashtnolow, a -tributary that led up into the mountains, the course of which we were -to follow as far as practicable. We had a delightful trip, through a -district indescribably lovely. - -There is a wild and massive grandeur about the eastern side of the -Cascades, unlike the scenery of the west or coast slope, which is -densely wooded. Here it was like riding through a succession of parks, -covered with grass and flowers of varied species. - -We reached the junction of the two streams, and camped, just as the -sun, disappearing behind the western hills, tinted with purple twilight -the ragged peaks of the rocks that shut us in on every side. Scarce a -sound of bird or beast disturbed the silence of the forest, and save -the babble of the stream, as it rippled over the shingle, all nature -was soon hushed in deathlike sleep. I could dimly make out in the -fading light the grim hills we had to climb, towering up like mighty -giants; the clear white snow, covering their summits, contrasted -strangely with the sombre pine-trees, thickly covering the lower -portion of the mountains. - -We had a stiff climb before us, and my hopes were high in expectation -of bowling over big-horn (_Ovis montana_) and ptarmigan. For some -distance we scrambled up the sides of the brawling torrent, whose -course, like true love, was none of the smoothest, being over and among -vast fragments of rock, that everywhere covered the hillside. From -amidst these relics of destruction grew the Douglas pine and ponderous -cedar (_Thuja gigantea_). Here the ascent was easy enough, but on -reaching a greater altitude, the climbing became anything but a joke. - -We at last reached a level plateau near the summit, and lay down on -the soft mossy grass, near a stream that came trickling down from the -melting snow. - -Close to my couch was a talus of broken granite, that Old Time and the -Frost King between them had crumbled away from a mass of rocks above. -As I contemplated this heap of rocks, a cry like a plaintive whistle -suddenly attracted my attention; it evidently came from amongst the -stones. I listened and kept quiet. Again and again came the whistle, -but nowhere could I see the whistler. A slight movement at length -betrayed him, and I could clearly make out a little animal sitting bolt -upright, like a begging-dog, his seat a flat stone in the middle of the -heap. - -I had a load of small-shot in one barrel, intended for ptarmigan; -raising my gun slowly and cautiously to my shoulder, I fired as I lay -on the ground. The sharp ringing crack as I touched the trigger—the -first, perhaps, that had ever awoke the echoes of the mountain—was the -death-knell of the poor little musician. - -I picked him up, and imagine my delight when for the first time I held -a new _Lagomys_ in my hand. Having made out what he was, the next thing -to be done was to watch for others—to find out what they did, and how -they passed the time in their stony citadel. I had not long to wait; -they soon came peeping slily out of their hiding-places, and, inferring -safety from silence, sat upon the stones and cheerily chorused to each -other. The least noise, and the whistle was sounded sharper and more -shrill—the danger-signal, when one and all took headers among the -stones. - -I soon observed they were busy at work, carrying in dry grass, -fir-fronds, roots, and moss, and constructing a nest in the clefts -between the stones, clearly for winter-quarters. The nests were of -large size, some of them consisting of as much material as would fill a -good-sized basket. One nest was evidently the combined work of several -little labourers, and destined for their joint habitation. - -There were no provisions stored away, neither do I think they garner -any for winter use, but simply hibernate in the warm nest; which, of -course, is thickly covered with snow during the intense cold of these -northern latitudes, thus more effectually preventing radiation and -waste of animal heat. Their food consists entirely of grass, which -they nibble much after the fashion of our common rabbit. They never -burrow or dig holes in the ground, but pass their lives among the loose -stones. Who can fail to trace the evidence of Divine care in colouring -the fur of this defenceless creature in a garb exactly resembling the -grey lichen-covered fragments amongst which he is destined to pass -his life? So closely does the animal approximate in appearance to an -angular piece of rock when sitting up, that unless he moves it takes -sharp eyes to see him; and the cry or whistle is so deceptive that I -imagined it far distant, when the animal was close to me. - -The species described and figured by Sir John Richardson—F.B.A., plate -19, _Lepus (Lagomys) princeps_, the little Chief Hare—I first saw at -Chilukweyuk lake, and next on the trail leading from Fort Hope, on the -Fraser river, to Fort Colville. The little fellows were in a narrow -gorge, as well as among loose stones. It was about the same date as -in the preceding year that I had seen _Lagomys minimus_ making its -nest; but here not a trace of nest could I see, nor any evidence of -an attempt to make one. I soon after returned again by the same trail. -The snow having now fallen to the depth of about six inches, completely -covering up the rocks and stones, all the animals had disappeared; and -although I searched most carefully, there was not a hole or track in -the snow, to show they had ever left their quarters to feed or wander -about. - -As it was quite impossible a nest could have been made in the interim, -it is perfectly certain they hibernate in holes without a nest; whereas -_Lagomys minimus_, living at a much greater altitude, makes a nest to -sleep through the winter. - -_Lagomys minimus_ (Lord, sp. nov.).—SP. CHAR.: Differs from _Lepus -(Lagomys) princeps_ of Sir J. Richardson (F.B.A., vol. i. p. 227, -pl. 19) in being much smaller. Predominant colour of back dark-grey, -tinged faintly with umber-yellow,—more vivid about the shoulders, -but gradually shading off on the sides and belly to dirty-white; feet -white, washed over with yellowish-brown; ears large, black inside, the -outer rounded margin edged with white; eye very small, and intensely -black; whiskers long, and composed of about an equal number of white -and black hairs. - -Measurement: Head and body, 6½ inches; head, 2 inches; nose to -auditory opening, 1¼ inch; height of ear from behind, 1 inch. - -The skull differs in being generally smaller; the cranial portion of -the skull in its superior outline is much narrower and smoother. The -nasal bones are shorter and broader, and rounded at their posterior -articulation, instead of being deeply notched, as in _L. princeps_. -Distance from anterior molar to incisors much less; auditory bullæ much -smaller. Incisors shorter and straighter, and very deeply grooved on -the anterior surface. Molars smaller, but otherwise similar in form. -Length of skull, 1¼ inch. - -General differences from _Lagomys princeps_:—First, in being smaller, -1½ inch shorter in total length; the ear, measured from behind, ¼ -inch shorter; the colour generally darker, especially the lower third -of the back. Secondly, in the _structural_ differences of the skull; -for although these differences are not prominent or well-defined, yet -they are unquestionable specific variations. Thirdly, in the habit of -constructing a nest of hay for the winter sleep, and in living at a -much greater altitude. - -There is a strange indescribable delight in discovery, and in finding -animals for the first time in their native haunts, animals that before -one had vaguely heard or only read of; thus digging, as it were, from -Nature’s exhaustless mine, fresh wonders of Divine handiwork on which -eye had not before gazed. - -_Hummingbirds._—Hummingbirds, and the wild tangled loveliness of -tropical vegetation, appear to be so closely linked together, that we -are apt to think the one essential to the existence of the other. - -We naturally (at least I did in my earlier days) associate these -tiniest gems of the feathered creation with glowing sunshine, gorgeous -flowers, grotesque orchids—palms, plaintains, bananas, and blacks. -This is all true enough, and if we take that large slice of the -American continent betwixt the Amazon, the Rio Grande, and the Gila -(embracing Guiana, New Granada, Central America, Mexico, and the -West Indian islands), as the home of hummingbirds, we shall pretty -truthfully define, what is usually assumed to be, the geographical -range of this group—a group entirely confined to America. Within the -above limits, the great variety of species, the most singular in form -and brilliant in plumage, are met with. - -Gazing on these gems of the air, one would suppose that Nature had -exhausted all her skill in lavishly distributing the richest profusion -of colours, and in exquisitely mingling every imaginable tint and -shade, to adorn these diminutive creatures, in a livery more lustrously -brilliant than was ever fabricated by the loom, or metal-worker’s -handicraft. - -[Illustration: NORTH-WESTERN HUMMINGBIRDS.] - -But away from the tropics and its feathered wonders, to the wild -solitudes of the Rocky Mountains,—it is there I want you in -imagination to wander with me, and to picture to yourself, which you -can easily do if you possess a naturalist’s love of discovery, the -delight I experienced when, for the first time, I saw hummingbirds up -in the very regions of the ‘Ice King.’ - -Early in the month of May, when the sun melts down the doors of snow -and ice, and sets free imprisoned nature, I was sent ahead of the -astronomical party employed in making the Boundary-line to cut out a -trail, and bridge any streams too deep to ford. The first impediment -met with was at the Little Spokan river,—little only as compared with -the Great Spokan, into which it flows. The larger stream leads from the -western slope of the Rocky Mountains, and flows on to join the Columbia. - -It was far too deep to be crossed by any expedient short of bridging; -so a bridge had to be built, an operation involving quite a week’s -delay. The place chosen, and the men set to work, my leisure time was -devoted to collecting. - -The snow still lingered in large patches about the hollows and -sheltered spots. Save a modest violet or humble rock-blossom, no flower -had ventured to open its petals, except the brilliant pink _Ribes_, or -flowering currant, common in every English cottage-garden. - -Approaching a large cluster of these gay-looking bushes, my ears were -greeted with a sharp thrum—a sound I knew well—from the wings of -a hummingbird, as it darted past me. The name by which these birds -are commonly known has arisen from the noise produced by the wings -(very like the sound of a driving-belt used in machinery, although of -course not nearly so loud), whilst the little creature, poised over -a flower, darts its slender beak deep amidst the corolla—not to sip -nectar, in my humble opinion, but to capture drowsy insect revellers, -that assemble in these attractive drinking-shops, and grow tipsy on -the sweets gratuitously provided for them. Soon a second whizzed by -me, and others followed in rapid succession; and, when near enough to -see distinctly, the bushes seemed literally to gleam with the flashing -colours of swarms (I know no better word) of hummingbirds surrounding -the entire clump of _Ribes_. - - ‘From flower to flower, where wild bees flew and sung, - As countless, small, and musical as they - Showers of bright hummingbirds came down, and plied - The same ambrosial task with slender bill, - Extracting honey hidden in those bells - Whose richest blossoms grew pale beneath their blaze, - Of twinkling winglets hov’ring o’er their petals, - Brilliant as rain-drops when the western sun - Sees his own miniature beams in each.’ - -Seating myself on a log, I watched this busy assemblage for some time. -They were all male birds, and two species were plainly discernible. -Chasing each other in sheer sport, with a rapidity of flight and -intricacy of evolution impossible for the eye to follow—through -the bushes, and over the water, everywhere—they darted about like -meteors. Often meeting in mid-air, a furious battle would ensue; their -tiny crests and throat-plumes erect and blazing, they were altogether -pictures of the most violent passions. Then one would perch himself -on a dead spray, and leisurely smooth his ruffled feathers, to be -suddenly rushed at and assaulted by some quarrelsome comrade. Feeding, -fighting, and frolicking seemed to occupy their entire time. I daresay -hard epithets will be heaped upon me,—cruel man, hard-hearted savage, -miserable destroyer, and similar epithets,—when I confess to shooting -numbers of these burnished beauties. Some of them are before me at -this moment as I write; but what miserable things are these stuffed -remains, as compared to the living bird! The brilliant crests are rigid -and immoveable; the throat-feathers, that open and shut with a flash -like coloured light, lose in the stillness of death all those charms so -beautiful in life; the tail, clumsily spread, or bent similar to the -abdomen of a wasp about to sting, no more resembles the same organ in -the live bird, than a fan of peacock’s feathers is like to the expanded -tail of that bird when strutting proudly in the sun. - -It is useless pleading excuses; two long days were occupied in shooting -and skinning. The two species obtained on this occasion were the -Red-backed Hummingbird (_Selasphorus rufus_), often described as the -Nootka Hummingbird, because it was first discovered in Nootka Sound, -on the west side of Vancouver Island; the other, one of the smallest -known species, called Calliope. This exquisite little bird is mainly -conspicuous for its frill of minute pinnated feathers encircling -the throat, of most delicate magenta tint, which can be raised or -depressed at will. Prior to my finding it in this remote region, it was -described as being entirely confined to Mexico. - -About a week had passed away; the bridge was completed, during which -time the female birds had arrived; and, save a stray one now and then, -not a single individual of that numerous host that had gathered round -the _Ribes_ was to be seen. They cared nothing for the gun, and would -even dash at a dead companion as it lay on the grass; so I did not -drive them away, but left them to scatter of their own free will. - -My next camping-place was on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, -near a lake, by the margin of which grew some cottonwood trees (_Salix -scouleriana_), together with the alder (_Alnus oregona_), and the sweet -or black birch (_Betula leuta_). My attention was called to the latter -tree by observing numbers of wasps, bees, and hornets swarming round -its trunk. The secret was soon disclosed: a sweet gummy sap was exuding -plentifully from splits in the bark, on which hosts of insects, large -and small, were regaling themselves. As the sap ran down over the bark, -it became very sticky, and numbers of small winged insects, pitching on -it, were trapped in a natural ‘catch-’em-alive-O.’ - -Busily occupied in picking off these captives were several very -sombre-looking hummingbirds. They poised themselves just as the others -did over the flowers, and deftly nipped, as with delicate forceps, the -helpless insects. I soon bagged one, and found I had a third species, -the Black-throated Hummingbird (_Trochilus Alexandri_). Were any proof -needed to establish the fact of Hummingbirds being insect-feeders, this -should be sufficient. I saw the bird, not only on this occasion but -dozens of times afterwards, pick the insect from off the tree, often -killing it in the act; and found the stomach, on being opened, filled -with various species of winged insects. - -The habits of the three species differ widely. The Red-backed -Hummingbird loves to flit over the open prairies, stopping at every -tempting flower, to catch some idler lurking in its nectar-cells. -Building its nest generally in a low shrub, and close to the -rippling stream, it finds pleasant music in its ceaseless splash. -Minute Calliope, on the other hand, prefers rocky hillsides at great -altitudes, where only pine-trees, rock-plants, and an alpine flora -‘struggle for existence.’ I have frequently killed this bird above the -line of perpetual snow. Its favourite resting-place is on the extreme -point of a dead pine-tree, where, if undisturbed, it will sit for -hours. The site chosen for the nest is usually the branch of a young -pine; artfully concealed amidst the fronds at the very end, it is -rocked like a cradle by every passing breeze. - -The Black-throated Hummingbird lingers around lakes, pools, and swamps -where its favourite trapping-tree grows. I have occasionally, though -very rarely, seen it hovering over flowers; this, I apprehend, is -only when the storehouse is empty, and the sap too dry to capture the -insects. They generally build in the birch or alder, selecting the fork -of a branch high up. - -All hummingbirds, as far as I know, lay only two eggs; the young are so -tightly packed into the nest, and fit so exactly, that if once taken -out it is impossible to replace them. Several springs succeeding my -first discovery that these hummingbirds were regular migrants to boreal -regions, I watched their arrival. We were quartered for the winter -close to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The winters here -vary in length, as well as in depth of snow and intensity of cold, 33° -below zero being no unfrequent register. But it did not matter whether -we had a late or early spring, the hummingbirds did not come until the -_Ribes_ opened; and in no single instance did two whole days elapse -after the blossoms expanded, but Selasphorus and Calliope arrived to -bid them welcome. The males usually preceded the females by four or -five days. - -The Black-throated Hummingbird arrives about a week or ten days after -the other two. Marvellous is the instinct that guides and the power -that sustains these birds (not larger than a good sized bumblebee) over -such an immense tract of country; and even more wonderful still is -their arrival, timed so accurately, that the only flower adapted to -its wants thus early in the year opens its hoards, ready to supply the -wanderer’s necessities after so tedious a migration! - -It seems to me vastly like design, and Foreseeing Wisdom, that a shrub -indigenous and widely distributed should be so fashioned as to produce -its blossoms long before its leaves; and that this very plant alone -blooms ere the snow has melted off the land, and that too at the exact -period when hummingbirds arrive. It cannot be chance, but the work -of the Almighty Architect—who shaped them both, whose handiwork we -discover at every step, and of whose sublime conceptions we everywhere -observe the manifestations in the admirably-balanced system of -creation! - -The specific characters of these three species, whose northern range I -believe was first defined by myself, are briefly as follows:— - -_Selasphorus rufus_ (the Nootka or Red-backed Hummingbird).—Male: -tail strong and wedge-shaped; upper parts, lower tail-coverts, and -back, cinnamon; throat coppery red, with a well-developed ruff of the -same, bordered with a white collar; tail-feathers cinnamon, striped -with purplish-brown. Female: plain, cinnamon on the back, replaced -with green; traces only of metallic feathers on the throat. Length -of male, 3·50; wing, 1·56; tail, 1·31 inches. Habitat: West coast of -North America to lat. 53° N., extending its range southward through -California, to the Rio Grande. - -_Stellata Calliope._—Male: back bright-green; wings brownish; neck -with a ruff of pinnated magenta-coloured feathers, the lower ones much -elongated; abdomen whitish; length, about 2·75 inches. Female, much -plainer than the male, with only a trace of the magenta-coloured ruff. - -_Trochilus Alexandri_ (Black-throated Hummingbird).—Male: tails -lightly forked, the chin and upper part of the throat velvety black -without metallic reflections, which are confined to the posterior -border of the black, and are violet, changing to steel-blue. Length, -3·30 inches. Female, without the metallic markings; tail-feathers -tipped with white. Both have the same northern and southern range as -_Selasphorus rufus_. - -_Urotrichus Gibsii_, Baird (Western slope of Cascade Mountains); -_Urotrichus Talpoides_, Temminck.—This singular little animal, that -appears to be an intermediate link between the shrew and the mole, -at present is only known as an inhabitant of two parts of the world, -widely removed from each other—the one spot being the western slope -of the Cascade Mountains, in North-west America, the other Japan. -There are, as far as I know, but two specimens extant from the Cascade -Mountains—one in the Smithsonian Museum at Washington, the other a -very fine specimen that I have recently brought home, and now in the -British Museum.[7] I have carefully compared the Japanese gentleman -with his brother from the Western wilds, and can find no difference -whatever, either generically or specifically. In size, colour, shape, -and anatomical structure they are precisely alike. - -The habits of the little fellow from Japan I know nothing about, -but with my friend from the North-west I am much more familiar; and -I shall endeavour to introduce him to you as lifelike as I can, from -what I have jotted down in my notebook. First, then, the Urotrichus -is an insectivorous mammal, its size that of a large shrew, about -two-and-a-quarter inches in length, exclusive of tail, which is about -an inch and a half. This tail is covered thickly with long hairs, which -at the tip end in a tuft like a fine camel’s-hair pencil, and from this -hairy tail it gets the name, _Urotrichus_. - -[Illustration: THE UROTRICHUS -(Urotrichus Gibsii).] - -Its colour is bluish-black when alive, but in the dried specimens -changes to sooty-brown. The hair is lustrous, and, where it reflects -the light, has a hoary appearance, and, as with the mole, it can be -smoothed in either direction; this is a wise and admirable arrangement, -as it enables the animal to back through its underground roads, as well -as to go through them head-first. Its nose or snout is very curious, -and much like that of a pig—only that it is lengthened out into a -cylindrical tube, covered with short thick hairs, and terminated in a -naked fleshy kind of bulb or gland; and this gland is pierced by two -minute holes, which are the nostrils. Each nostril has a little fold of -membrane hanging down over it like a shutter, effectually preventing -sand and minute particles of dust from getting into the nose whilst -digging. - -Now this curious nasal appendage is to this miner not only an organ of -smell, but also serves the purpose of hands and eyes. His forefeet, as -I shall by-and-by show you, are wholly digging implements, and, from -their peculiar horny character, not in any way adapted to convey the -sense of touch. Eyes he has none, and but a very rudimentary form of -ear; his highly sensitive moveable nose serves him admirably in the -dark tunnels, in which his time is passed, to feel his way and scent -out the lower forms of insect life, on which he principally feeds. Had -he eyes he could not see, for the sunlight never peeps in to cheer his -subterranean home, and sound reaches not down to him. The busy hum of -insect life, and the song of feathered choristers, he hears not, so -that highly-developed hearing appendages would have been useless and -superfluous. - -But his nose in every way compensates for all these apparent -deficiencies, and shows us how to be admired is Creative Goodness -in shaping and adapting the meanest and humblest of His creatures -to its habits and modes of life. His forefeet are, like the mole’s, -converted into diggers; the strong scoop-shaped nail, like a small -garden-trowel at the end of each toe, enables him to dig with wonderful -ease and celerity. The hind-feet are shaped into a kind of scraper by -the toe being curiously bent, and the length of the hind-foot is about -two-thirds more than the fore or digging hand. When I come to his -habits, as differing from the mole, I shall be able to point out the -use of this strange scraper-like form of hind-foot. - -So far I have endeavoured to give you an outline of his general -personal appearance, differing from the shrew in the peculiar -arrangement of his feet, and from the mole in having a long hairy -tail. His nearest relative (if at all related) is the _Condylura_, or -Star-nosed Mole, whose nose has a fringe of star-shaped processes round -its outer edge, about twenty-two in number. The first and only place -in which I ever met this strange little fellow was on the Chilukweyuk -prairies. These large grassy openings, or prairies, are situated near -the Fraser river, on the western side of the Cascade Mountains. Small -streams wind and twist through these prairies like huge water-snakes, -widening out here and there into large glassy pools. - -The scenery is romantic and beautiful beyond description. Towering up -into the very clouds, as a background, are the mighty hills of the -Cascade range, their misty summits capped with perpetual snow—their -craggy sides rent into chasms and ravines, whose depths and solitudes -no man’s foot has ever trodden, and clad up to the very snow-line with -mighty pine and cedar-trees. The Chilukweyuk river already referred -to washes one side of the prairie. Silvery-green and ever-trembling -cottonwood trees, ruddy black-birch, and hawthorn, like a girdle, -encircle the prairie, and form a border, of Nature’s own weaving, to -the brilliant carpet of emerald grass, patterned with wild flowers of -every hue and tint,—all shading pleasantly away, and losing their -brilliancy in the dark green pine-trees. - -In the sandy banks on the edge of the Chilukweyuk river, and the -various little streams winding through the prairie-grass, lives the -Urotrichus. His mansion is a large hole, lined with bits of grass, and -this hole is his sleeping-room and drawing-room. A genuine bachelor, -he never dines at home. He has lots of roads tunnelled away from his -central mansion, radiating from it like the spokes of a wheel. His -tunnels are not at all like those of the mole; he never throws up -mounds or heaps of earth, in order to get rid of the surplus material -he digs out, as the mole does, but makes open cuttings at short -intervals, about four or five inches long; and now we shall see the use -of those curiously-formed scraper-like hind-feet. - -As he digs out the tunnel with his trowel-hands, he throws back -the earth towards his hind-feet; these, from their peculiar shape, -enable him to back this dirt out of the hole, using them like two -scrapers—only that he pushes the dirt away, instead of pulling it -towards himself. Having backed the dirt clear of the mouth of the hole, -he throws it out over the edge of the open cutting; after having dug in -some distance—and finding, I daresay, the labour of backing-out rather -irksome—he digs up through the ground to the surface, makes another -open cutting, and then begins a new hole or tunnel, and disappears into -the earth again. When he has gone as far from his dormitory as he deems -wise, he again digs through, and clears away the rubbish. This road is -now complete, so he goes back again to his central mansion, to begin -others at his leisure. - -It is very difficult to watch the movements and discover the -feeding-time, or what he feeds on, of an animal which lives almost -wholly underground in the daytime; but I am pretty sure these tunnels -are made for and used as roadways, or underground trails for the -purpose of hunting. He is a night-feeder, and exposed to terrible -perils from the various small carnivora that prowl about like bandits -in the dark—stoats, weasels, martens, and skunks. So, to avoid and -escape these enemies, he comes quietly along the subterranean roadways, -and cautiously emerging at the open cutting, feels about with his -wonderful nose; and I doubt not, guided by an acute sense of smell, -pounces upon larvæ, slugs, beetles, or any nocturnal creeping-thing he -can catch; and so traversing his different hunting-trails during the -night, manages in that way to fare sumptuously, and safe from danger. -Turning in, to sleep away his breakfast, dinner, and supper, at the -first peep of the grey morning, he dozes on, until hunger again prompts -him to make another excursion on the ‘hunting-path.’ - -It is scarcely possible to imagine a more skilfully-contrived -hunting-system, to avoid danger and facilitate escape, than are these -tunnel-trails with open cuttings; for the sly little hunter has, on the -slightest alarm, two means of flight at his disposal—one before and -another behind him; and the fur, as I have already mentioned, laying as -evenly when smoothed from tail to head as it does when turned in the -natural direction, enables him to turn astern, and retreat tail-first -into his hole as easily as he could go head-first. - -When we contemplate this grotesque and strangely-formed little -creature, and see how wisely and wonderfully it is fashioned and -adapted to its destined place, supplying another missing link in the -great chain of Nature, we cannot but feel God’s power and omnipresence. -Feeding in the dark and living in the dark, eyes would have been -superfluous; sound, save from vibration in the earth, or when hunting -at the open cuttings, would seldom reach this tiny _hermit_; hence -the hearing organs have no external appendage for catching sounds, -and are but in a rudimentary form. Hands fashioned into marvellous -digging-tools, and hind-feet turned into scrapers, for getting rid of -the rubble dug out with the hands, and nose possessing smell and touch -in their most exquisite forms, these serve him for guides of unerring -certainty and undeviating precision through his darksome wanderings. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE APLODONTIA LEPORINA. (RICH.) - - (_Sewellel or Show’tl of the Nesqually Indians._) - - SYNONYMS.—_Aplodontia leporina_, Rich., F.B.A. i. 211, plate - xviii.; Aud. Bach. N.A. Qua. iii., 1853, 99, pl. cxxiii.; _Hoplodon - leporinus_, Wagler System, Amh., 1830; _Anisonyx rufa_, Rafinesque, - Am. Month. Mag. ii. 1817; _Arctomys rufa_, Harlan, F. Am, 1825, - 308; _Sewellel_, Lewis and Clark’s Travels, ii. 1815, 176. - - _General Dimensions._—Nose to ear, 2 in. 7 lines; nose to eyes, 1 - in. 5 lines; tail to end of vertebræ, 9 lines; tail to end of hair, - 1 in. 2 lines; ear, height, 5 lines; nose to root of tail, 14 in. 6 - lines. - - -I first met with this rare and curious little rodent on the bank of -the Chilukweyuk river. My canvas house is pitched in a snug spot, -overshadowed by a clump of cottonwood trees, growing close to a stream, -that like liquid crystal ripples past in countless channels, finding -its way betwixt massive boulders of trap and green-stone, rounded and -polished until they look like giant marbles. - -Towering up behind me are the Cascade Mountains, with snow-clad -summits dim in the haze of distance, their craggy slopes split into -chasms and ravines, so deep, dark, and lonesome, that no man’s footfall -has ever disturbed their solitudes, so densely wooded up to the very -snow-line with pine, that a bare rock has hardly a chance to peep out, -and break the sombre monotony of the dark-green foliage. - -[Illustration: OU-KA-LA -(Aplodontia leporina).] - -Before me, stretching away for about three miles, is an open grassy -prairie, one side of which is bounded by the Chilukweyuk river, the -other by the Fraser. At the junction of the two streams, at an angle -of the prairie, stands an Indian village: the rude-plank sheds and -rush-lodges; the white smoke, curling gracefully up through the still -atmosphere from many lodge-fires; the dusky forms of the savages, as -they loll or stroll in the fitful night, give life and character to a -scene indescribably lovely. - -The Indian summer is drawing to a close; the maple, the cottonwood, -and the hawthorn, fringing the winding waterways, like silver cords -intersecting the prairie, have assumed their autumn tints, and, clad -in browns and yellows, stand out in brilliant contrast to the green of -the pine-forest. The prairie looks bright and lovely; the grass, as yet -untouched by the frost-fairy’s fingers, waves lazily; wild flowers, of -varied tints, peep out from their hiding-places, enjoying to the last -the lingering summer. - -I had been for some time sitting on a log, admiring the sublime beauty -of the scene, spread out before me like a gorgeous picture; the sun was -fast receding behind the hilltops, the lengthening shadows were fading -and growing dimly indistinct, the birds had settled down to sleep, and -the busy hum of insect life was hushed. A deathlike quiet steals over -everything in the wilderness as night comes on—a stillness that is -painful from its intensity. The sound of your own breathing, the crack -of a branch, a stone suddenly rattling down the hillside, the howl of -the coyote, or the whoop of the night-owl, seem all intensified to an -unnatural loudness. I know of nothing more appalling to the lonely -wanderer camping by himself than this ‘jungle silence,’ that reigns -through the weary hours of night. - -This silence was suddenly broken, as was my reverie, by a sharp ringing -whistle; it was so piercing and clear, that I could not believe it was -produced by an animal. Hardly had it died away, when another whistler -took it up, then a third, and so on, until at least a dozen had joined -in the chorus. I stole carefully in the direction from which the sound -came, but as I neared the spot the whistle ceased, and it was now -far too dark to descry any object on the ground. So, in doubt, and -sorely puzzled to account for such an unusual sound, and with a firm -determination to unravel the mystery in the morning, I returned to my -camp. Could it be Indians? No, impossible; there were far too many -whistlers, and the tone of each whistle was precisely alike. I was -equally sure it was not the cry of the rock-whistler (_Actomys_); that -sound I knew too well. What could it be? - -As the grey light of morning came peering into my tent, I started -off to investigate the secret of the mysterious whistler; but all I -could discover, after a long and diligent search, was, that there were -numerous runs and burrows excavated in the sandy banks of the river, -but by what sort of animal I could not for the life of me guess. -Setting a steel-trap at the entrance to one of the holes, I strolled -down to the Indian village, thinking I should possibly be able to -find out from the redskins what it was that made such shrill sounds. -Partly by signs, and by using as much of their language as I knew, I -endeavoured to make the old chief comprehend my queries. - -After attentively watching my absurd attempts to produce a ringing -whistle by placing my fingers in my mouth, and blowing through -them until my face was like an apoplectic coachman’s, a smile of -intelligence lit up his swarthy visage: then I violently dug imaginary -holes, and explained that the sounds came about twilight; he nodded his -head, dived into the tent, and disappeared in the smoke, to shortly -emerge again with a rug or robe, made from the skins of an animal that -was quite new to me. - -It was beautifully soft, glossy, and brown. The skins were about the -size of a large rat’s, and about twenty in number. Here, then, was -the dawn of a discovery. He called the animal _Ou-ka-la_, and made me -understand that it lived on roots and vegetable matter, and burrowed -holes in the ground. - -As the daylight faded out, I again took my seat; and, just as before, -when everything was silent, the woods echoed with the Ou-ka-la’s cry. -I longed for morning, and hardly waited for light, but hastened off to -my trap and, joy of joys, I had one sure enough, caught by the neck. -Poor Ou-ka-la! your friends had heard, and you had given, your ‘last -whistle.’ He was dead and cold—trapped, perhaps, whilst I listened -wonderingly, keeping my lonely vigil. A very brief examination -revealed the fact that I had caught a magnificent specimen of the -Aplodontia leporina, of which I had only read. - -Captains Lewis and Clark obtained some vague information about this -animal, which is given in their journal of travel across the Rocky -Mountains, in 1804. All they say of its habits is, ‘that it climbs -trees, and digs like a squirrel.’ They obtained no specimen of the -animal, but saw, probably, robes made of the skins. It was subsequently -described by Rafinesque, and by him named _Anysonyx rufa_, and by -Harlan _Arctomys rufa_. In 1829 Sir John Richardson obtained a -specimen, and, after a careful anatomical examination, this eminent -naturalist determined it to be a new genus, and renamed it, generically -and specifically. The generic name (_Aplodontia_) is founded on its -having rootless molars, or grinding teeth—_aploos_, simple; _odons_, a -tooth. It belongs to the sub-family _Castorinæ_, dental formula -2 00 55 -——————— 22. -2 00 44 - -_Sp. ch._—Size, that of a musk-rat; tail very short, barely visible; -colour, glossy blackish-brown. Male, length about 14 inches; female -resembling the male, but smaller. The fur is dense and woolly, with -long bristly hairs, thickly interspersed; the short fur is bluish-gray -at the base, the ends of the hairs being tipped with reddish-brown; the -bristles are black, and when smooth give a lustrous appearance to the -fur. The eyes are very small, and placed about midway between the nose -and the ear. The whiskers, stiff and bristly, are much longer than the -head, and dark grey. The ears are covered on both sides with fine soft -hair, rounded and very short, and not unlike the human ear. - -_Skull._—The skull is much like that of the squirrel’s, with the -marked exception of having rootless molars, and the absence of -post-orbital processes; the occipital crest is well-developed, the -muzzle large, and nearly round. The bony orbits are largely developed; -the auditory bullæ are small, but open at once into wide auditive -tubes; the first molar is unusually small, oval, and situated against -the antero-internal angle of the second. All the molars are rootless: -the lower grinders are much like the upper, but somewhat longer and -narrower. The molars in both jaws are situated much farther back than -is usual, the centre of the skull being about opposite to the meeting -of the second and third. The lower jaw is very singularly shaped, -the inner edges of the molars on opposite sides being parallel; the -descending ramus is bent, so as to be exactly horizontal behind, the -postero-inferior edge being a straight line, nearly perpendicular -to the vertical plane of the skull’s axis. The conformation of the -incisor-teeth is admirably adapted to the purposes they have to -fulfil; no carpenter’s gouging chisels are more effective tools than -are these exquisitely-constructed teeth. It is essential that they -should always have a sharp-cutting edge, in order to nip through the -tough vegetable fibre on which the animal subsists; at the same time, -strength and durability are indispensable. The Aplodontia has no -whetstone or razor-grinder, to sharpen his tools when they grow blunt; -but an Allwise Providence has so fashioned these wondrous chisels in -all rodents, that the more they are used the sharper they keep; the -contrivance is simple as it is beautiful. The substance of the tooth -itself is composed of tough ivory, but plated on the outer surface -with enamel as hard as steel. The ivory, being the softer material, of -course wears away faster than the enamel; hence the latter, plating the -front of the tooth, is always left with a sharp-cutting edge. - -The position this genus should occupy, in a systematic arrangement of -the rodents, has always been a stumbling-block and a matter of doubt, -in great measure attributable to the fact that but a single species of -the genus is known, and very few specimens have hitherto been obtained. -A fine male specimen has recently been set up in the British Museum -collection, that I caught near my camp on the prairie. - -In many particulars the Aplodontia very nearly resembles the -Spermophiles, particularly the prairie-dog (_Cynomys Ludovicciana_), -but differs, as in the true squirrels, in the rootless molars and -absence of post-orbital processes. In this respect it is allied to the -beaver. It is quite impossible to assign it a well-defined and settled -position, until a greater number of specimens are procured, from which -more minute and careful examination of the bony and internal anatomy -can be made. At present, however, it would appear to connect the -beavers with the squirrels, through the Spermophiles. - -The name Lewis and Clark gave this animal, Sewellel, is evidently a -corruption of an Indian word. The Chinook Indians, once a powerful -tribe, live near the mouth of the Columbia; and from them, in all -probability, Lewis and Clark obtained the name, and first heard of the -animal. But the Chinook name for the Aplodontia is _Og__ool-lal_, -Shu-wal-lal being the name of the robe made from the skins; and this -is unquestionably the word corrupted into Sewellel, and misused as the -name of the animal. In Puget’s Sound the Nesqually Indians call it -_Show′tl_; the Yakama Indians, _Squal-lah_; and the Sumass Indians, -_Swok-la_. - -A single glance at the conformation of the feet would at once convince -the most careless observer that climbing trees was not a habit of the -Aplodontia. The feet and claws are digging implements, of the most -finished and efficient kind: the long scoop-shaped nails, resembling -garden trowels; wide strong foot, almost hand-like in its form; the -strong muscular arms, supported by powerful clavicles, proclaim him a -miner; his mission is to burrow, and most ably he fulfils his destiny. -His haunt is usually by the side of a stream, where the banks are -sandy, and the underbrush grows thickly; his favourite food being fine -fibrous roots, and the rind of such as are too hard for his teeth. He -spends his time in burrowing, not so much for shelter and concealment, -as to supply himself with roots. He digs with great ease and rapidity, -making a hole large enough for a man’s arm to be inserted. - -In making the tunnels, he seldom burrows very far without coming to -the surface, and beginning a new one. Like a skilful workman, he knows -how to economise labour. Having to back the earth out of the mouth of -the hole he is digging, the farther he gets in the harder grows the -toil; and so he digs up through, and starts afresh. They seldom come -out in the daytime, and I have but rarely heard them whistle until -everything was still, and the twilight merged into night. - -The female has from four to six young at a birth, and she has about -two litters in a year. The nest for the young is much like that of -the rabbit, made of grass and leaves, and placed at the end of a deep -burrow. In the winter they only partially hibernate, frequently digging -through the snow to eat the bark and lichen from the trees. Their gait -when on the ground is very awkward; their broad short feet are not -fitted for progression, and they shamble rather than run, and can be -easily overtaken. Where a colony of them have resided for any time, -the ground becomes literally riddled with holes, and the trees and -shrubs die for want of roots. I imagine, from having found abandoned -villages, that they wisely emigrate when their resources are exhausted. -The Indians esteem their flesh a great luxury, and trap them in a kind -of figure-offour trap, set at the mouth of the burrow. I daresay they -are as good as a rabbit; still, they have too ratlike an appearance -to possess any gastronomic attractions for me. _De gustibus non est -disputandum._ - -The Aplodontia has a terrible and untiring enemy in the badger -(_Taxidea Americana_). He is always on the hunt for the poor little -miner, digs him out from his hiding-place, and devours him with as -much gusto as the Indian. Its geographical range is not very extended, -being, as far as I know, confined to a small section of North-western -America. I have seen it on the eastern and western slopes of the -Cascades, but not on the Rocky Mountains, although it very probably -exists there. It is also found at Puget’s Sound, Fort Steilacum, and on -the banks of the Sumass and Chilukweyuk rivers, west of the Cascades; -on the Nachess Pass, at Astoria and the Dalles, on the Columbia, east -of the Cascades. - -Feeding entirely on vegetable matter (I never discovered a trace of -insect or larvæ remains in the stomach), passing its life principally -in dark burrows, and limited, as far as we know at present, to a very -narrow section of a barren country, it is hard to imagine what purpose -it serves in the great chain of Nature, save it be that of supplying -food to the badger, and both food and clothing to the savage; and yet -we know that it was fashioned for some specific purpose, if we could -but read and rightly interpret the pages of Nature’s wondrous book. If -we ask ourselves, Why was this or that made? how seldom can we answer -the question! Why did He, who made the world, the sun, and the stars, -deck the butterfly’s wing with tiny scales, that by a simple change in -arrangement produce patterns beside which the most finished painting -is a bungling daub? Why exist those microscopic wonders, (diatoms and -infusoria,) formed with shells of purest flint, and of the quaintest -devices? Why were these atomies, that tenant every roadside pool, which -dance in the sunbeam, and float on the wings of the breeze? Why all -the prodigal variety of strange forms crowding the sea, forms more -wonderful than the poet’s wildest dreams ever pictured? Who can tell? - - - END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. - - LONDON - PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. - NEW-STREET SQUARE - - - FOOTNOTES: - - [1] For full narrative of Apostolos Valerianos, see Samuel Purchase - His Pilgrims. - - [2] Buckland’s Manual, ‘Salmon Hatching,’ page 24. - - [3] _Vide_ Illustration. - - [4] _Vide_ Illustration. - - [5] _Vide_ Illustration. - - [6] _Vide_ Illustration. - - [7] _Vide_ Illustration. - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Blank pages have been removed. - - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURALIST IN VANCOUVER ISLAND -AND BRITISH COLUMBIA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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