ing, from
piled-up masses of rock to pleasant patches of meadow, and no two miles
alike."

"But no steamers could ever come up here," said Esau.

"Oh yes, out there in the broad channel in the middle, but they will
need very powerful engines and careful pilots. Ah, they are getting
ready for a fresh start."

"But it will take us a long time to get up to where we are to stop for
to-night," I said.

"Twelve miles at the outside," replied Gunson. "Yes, I am beginning to
be in doubt as to whether we shall get there to-night."

The leader of the Indians shouted, they plunged in their paddles, and
the next minute we were again struggling with a rapid bit of the river
between two rocks; but they soon got into smooth water again, and,
evidently quite at home in the intricacies of the navigation, they took
advantage of every sheltering clump of rocks, and cut across swift
rapids to get into eddies here, there, and everywhere. Now we were
right in the middle of the stream, now crossing under the left bank, now
making for the right, but always advancing slowly, with the sides of the
river growing grander every hour, and Gunson smiling at our ecstasies,
as we kept getting glimpses of ravines down which tumbled silvery
streams, whose spray moistened the gigantic pines which shot up like
spires.

"Wouldn't have ketched me sitting on the stool in old Dempster's office
all that mizzable time," cried Esau, "if I'd known there were places
like this to come and live at."

"It is a grand valley," said Gunson thoughtfully, and looking at me as
he spoke; "but as it is, what is it? Only something beautiful to be
admired. You couldn't live on waterfalls and pine-trees here. Suppose
I landed you two lads in that lovely gorge, where the water comes down
like a veil of silver, and--yes, look, there's a rainbow floating in
that mist just above the big fall. Look at the ferns, and perfect shape
of that great fir-tree, with its branches drooping right to the ground.
You could sleep under its spreading boughs, and find a soft bed of
pine-needles; but I don't think it would be possible to climb up the
sides of the gorge, and in a short time you would starve."

"Oh would we?" cried Esau. "We'd soon build a hut, and we could catch
the salmon."

"Yes, you might catch some salmon in the season; but there is nothing
else you could eat. It is very beautiful too, and those pine-trees that
stand there are as they stand worth nothing, but