alf a mile
to a mile. At the last crossing of the Miette, three miles west of
Dominion Prairie, the Miette is just a little stream with many
branches. Now note very well the last one of these branches. That
points out the true summit of Yellowhead Pass. Perhaps this very
summer, if there is high water, some of the drainage water will run
west from this marsh into the Fraser River, while some of it will run
east into the Miette and the Athabasca."

"Then how far have we come up the Miette all together, Uncle Dick?"
inquired John, his pencil in his mouth.

"Only about seventeen miles, but they have been rather hard ones. We
have climbed about four hundred feet all together in total elevation,
but a great deal more than that if we count all the little ridges we
have crossed over. Now do you think you can get your directions from
your compass and make your map from these figures?"

"I'll try my best," said John.

"Well, come ahead," said Uncle Dick. "It isn't far from here to the
place we call the top of the hill."

Surely enough, after a little more scrambling progress they pulled up
beside a little square stump, or post, to which Uncle Dick pointed
silently.

"I helped set that," said he, "and, believe me, it meant some work.
Well, do you see the figures on it? Three, seven, two, o--that's how
high we are above the level of the sea, and this is the lowest of all
the mountain passes. It is a little over three thousand five hundred
miles between the Atlantic and the Pacific on this railway line, and
this is the highest point on the whole line. Believe me, my young
friends, you are at rather an interesting place right here--so
interesting that if you don't mind we'll forget the short day's travel
for the last few days and make our day's camp right here."

Nothing loath, the entire party assisted in hunting out a suitable
camping-spot not far from the actual summit where grass and water were
to be found and a fairly good place for the tents.

John was much excited with his first attempt at map-making; and all
the boys, impressed by the interesting nature of the place in which
they were encamped, plied the leader of the party with many questions.

"I was thinking," said Rob, "that the Yellowhead Pass was one of the
earliest ones found, but 1826 is not so very early, is it?"

"Not so very," said Uncle Dick. "I told you how this pass came to be
discovered. Well, as a matter of fact, none of these routes across the
m