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42 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
had made from $ 2.00 to $ 2.50 a day over their l i v i ng
expenses. Above the Baptiste there was nothing doing;
indeed, we d i d not pass a single m i n e r at work o n the whole
route, and i t was the best time for their work. The gold is
flocculent, its source as mysterious as that of the Saskatchewan,
i f the theory that the latter was washed out of the
S e l k i r k s before the upheaval of the Rockies is astray.
A fresh moose head, seen l y i n g on the bank, indicated a
h u n t i n g party, but no human l i f e was seen aside f r om our
own people. Indeed, the absence of l i f e of any k i n d along
the river, excepting the song- birds, which were i n some
places numerous, was surprising. No deer, no bears, not
even a fox or a timber wolf made one's fingers itch for the
trigger. A few brent, w h i c h took w i n g afar off, and a highf
l y i n g duck or two, were the sole wildings observed, save
a big humble- bee which droned around our boat for an
instant, then darted off again. Even fish seemed to be anyt
h i n g but p l e n t i f u l . f
That night's camp was h u r r i e d l y made i n a hummocky
fastness of p i n e and b i r c h , where we found f ew comfortable
bedding- places. I n the morning we passed several ice- ledges
along shore, the survivals of' the severe winter, and, presently,
met a canoe w i t h two men f r om Peace R i v e r , crestf
a l l e n " K l o n d i k e r s , " who had " struck it r i c h , " they said,
w i t h a laugh, and who reported good water. Next morning
a very early start was made, and after some long, strong
p u l l s , and a vigorous spurt, the mouth of the Lesser Slave
R i v e r opened at last on our sight.
We had l a t t e r l y passed along what appeared to be f e r t i le
s o i l , a sandy clay country, which improved to the west and
south- west at every t u r n . It had an i n v i t i n g look, and the
" l i e , " as well, of a region foreordained for settlement. It
was i r r i t a t i n g not to be able to explore the inner land, but
our urgency was too great for that. F r o m what we saw,
however, i t was easy to predict that thither would flow, in
time, the stream of pioneer l i f e and the bustle of attending
enterprise and trade.
Object Description
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| Title | Page 49 |
| OCR | 42 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN had made from $ 2.00 to $ 2.50 a day over their l i v i ng expenses. Above the Baptiste there was nothing doing; indeed, we d i d not pass a single m i n e r at work o n the whole route, and i t was the best time for their work. The gold is flocculent, its source as mysterious as that of the Saskatchewan, i f the theory that the latter was washed out of the S e l k i r k s before the upheaval of the Rockies is astray. A fresh moose head, seen l y i n g on the bank, indicated a h u n t i n g party, but no human l i f e was seen aside f r om our own people. Indeed, the absence of l i f e of any k i n d along the river, excepting the song- birds, which were i n some places numerous, was surprising. No deer, no bears, not even a fox or a timber wolf made one's fingers itch for the trigger. A few brent, w h i c h took w i n g afar off, and a highf l y i n g duck or two, were the sole wildings observed, save a big humble- bee which droned around our boat for an instant, then darted off again. Even fish seemed to be anyt h i n g but p l e n t i f u l . f That night's camp was h u r r i e d l y made i n a hummocky fastness of p i n e and b i r c h , where we found f ew comfortable bedding- places. I n the morning we passed several ice- ledges along shore, the survivals of' the severe winter, and, presently, met a canoe w i t h two men f r om Peace R i v e r , crestf a l l e n " K l o n d i k e r s , " who had " struck it r i c h , " they said, w i t h a laugh, and who reported good water. Next morning a very early start was made, and after some long, strong p u l l s , and a vigorous spurt, the mouth of the Lesser Slave R i v e r opened at last on our sight. We had l a t t e r l y passed along what appeared to be f e r t i le s o i l , a sandy clay country, which improved to the west and south- west at every t u r n . It had an i n v i t i n g look, and the " l i e , " as well, of a region foreordained for settlement. It was i r r i t a t i n g not to be able to explore the inner land, but our urgency was too great for that. F r o m what we saw, however, i t was easy to predict that thither would flow, in time, the stream of pioneer l i f e and the bustle of attending enterprise and trade. |
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