The Saskatchewan and Columbia Rivers Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1897 edition. Excerpt: ...to be more than half a mile wide. On the S. the rocks are nearly washed by the stream, while on the N. lies a small piece of level ground covered with pines, about 60 yards wide, extending to the foot of the rocks. Both sides rise to an immense height of solid, barren rocks, with a few stunted pines scattered at the base, and thence about halfway up. The tops appear to be each one solid mass of grayish stone, in some places smooth, and in others craggy, with strata of different thicknesses, obliquely declining toward the river. The mountain on the S. appears more destitute of wood and verdure than the other, and its summit more wild and craggy. In the face of this mountain, several hundred feet above the river, appears the mouth of a large cave, nearly of an oval form. I observed the tracks of several animals, which seemed to reach the cave down a winding passage among the rocks, but no track appeared to descend below it. These are the gray sheep bighorns, Ovis montand, which have been seen about this place, and which delight to dwell among precipices and caverns, where they feed on a peculiar sort of clay?. At the entrance of these mountains the ravages of fire seem to have ceased in some degree, the country being not so much divested of its verdure as it is below. Wherever there is any soil the ground is well covered with pines. From the hard state in which we yesterday found the snow had drifted upon the river, it was evident there must have been a strong wind between those mountains for some time, while we had fine, calm weather below. After we had passed the cave about an hour the river opened suddenly before us, to the width of nearly a mile from bank to bank; the channels became numerous, winding their several courses among banks and...