sent instance the work of immolation was done so effectually that we only rescued the horns, one pair of which, being of an enormous size, we carried with us as a trophy.

On reaching the river we saw no trace of our boat, so, hungry and tired, we were forced to lie down under a rock and wait, while two of the guides went off in search of her. They did not return until midnight, when we attacked the provisions, having been in a state bordering on starvation for the last twelve hours. Our further progress became each mile more difficult: the river, as I said before, had completely altered, changing into a comparatively narrow impetuous stream, which in some parts came down with such force that oars were of no use, obliging us to land, and by the greatest exertion tow our boat past the rapid, an occupation rendered doubly irksome by a scorching sun pouring down upon our devoted heads from a lurid sky. Opaque white clouds, tinged round the edges with a brickdust violet hue, floated along the horizon; the plain was almost hidden by a haze, throbbing like the waves of the sea; while a monotonous roll, resembling distant guns, filled the air. Everything betokened a storm, and our utmost exertions were required to reach some sort of shelter before nightfall. This we had scarcely succeeded in doing when the storm burst; peal followed peal, each crash thrown back from the rocks over our heads, while the distant rolling we had heard before grew much louder, and still more like the reports of large guns. Loud as the thunder was, the lightning was even more startling, a dozen flashes breaking from the sky at the same time, taking every colour of the rainbow; at one moment the rocks would be bathed in a bright red tint, the next look perfectly blue, bursting out upon us from the intense blackness following each flash with a truly spectral awfulness.

The storm had been raging among the hills long before it reached us, as the river was already rising and covered with foam; twice ere morning we were obliged to pull the boat higher up to prevent its being carried

away. I shall never forget the appearance of the river as daylight broke we had taken refuge upon the ledge of a precipice, about ten yards above the water; behind us rose an immense rock, before us the fierce waters rushing madly past, chafing against the rocky sides, which must, even in ordinary circumstances, have rendered this point a dangerous passage; now the torrent, pent in by the rocks, poured on in one resistless stream, taking with it gigantic trees, fragments of rocks, &c., now beating them angrily against the shore, now carrying them triumphantly over some weaker barricade.

As we stood gazing, and too much impressed to utter our thoughts in words, a buffalo was borne down by the stream. He was still alive, and struggling against the current. Just after he had passed us, his course was for a minute arrested by a mass of trees and grass. An eddy was close at hand. The poor animal made a wild effort and reached it, but only to prolong his agony; for, although touching the shore, the rocks were perpendicular for some feet above his head. Poor thing! his struggles to gain a footing were incredible; but at last his strength was gone, and he sank exhausted."

This little incident, sad as it was in itself, cheered us by the certainty that buffaloes must be in the vicinity, and most probably waiting for the abatement of the flood to ford the river. This reconciled us to the irksomeness of the delay we anticipated we must endure before we could venture down stream. Rowing further up being quite out of the question, and determined to lose no time, we seized the first favourable moment, and set off walking up the river, keeping as near the banks as we could. Here a new difficulty presented itself, and finally forced us to return.

The long coarse grass, which bears a stronger resemblance to reeds than to the elastic verdure of Great Britain, had been so beaten down by the torrents of rain, that it formed an uneven and dangerous covering over the entire ground, throwing a deceptive carpet over deep holes filled with water, into some of which we fell headforemost, and really found great

trouble in extricating ourselves. Expecting every step to gain better footing, we toiled on, until the heat of the sun, and a heavy malaria that rolled in thick clouds over the swampy plain, warned us of the danger we were in from fever; so we turned back to our former retreat, where the current and constant breeze down the river kept the air clearer.

To our amazement, the Crees immediately began preparations to descend. In vain did we remonstrateour voices were drowned in the roar of the water; the more we spoke, the greater their excitement became; and at last I began to think the Columbia boatmen must be subject to periodical attacks of insanity.

Everything was at last ready, and, pointing to a little bay where the water was comparatively calm, they seized the boat, and rushed down howling to us to follow, and I have no doubt calling us all sorts of bad names in their own horrible language.

We were in an uncomfortable position, being fully a hundred miles above the Fort. Surrounded by an unknown swamp, without ammunition save what was in the boat, to stay was out of the question, and to go seemed utter madness. We looked at each other in dismay, and I was on the point of trying a last expostulation when I was lifted up by one of the Crees, and carried, kicking and shouting, into the boat, my companions sharing a similar degradation. No sooner were we seated than we were shot off into the boiling stream, the Crees yelling in a truly demoniacal manner, pointing from our faces to the dark water. Away we went, the little cockleshell boat darting like an arrow, now down a current at railway speed, now caught in the vortex of an eddy, and whirled round until I grew giddy, and closed my eyes, expecting to open them in the water. Our escapes were marvellous, the Crees all the while conducting themselves like madmen, apparently utterly regardless of danger."

As we gained the wider part of the river, our danger decreased; and it was with intense relief I at last felt terra firma beneath me, and shared

in the congratulations of my companions on our safety.

The Governor laughed heartily at our description of what we had felt, assuring us that the hunters constantly take advantage of the season when rains are most frequent to ascend the river, trusting to save themselves the trouble of rowing down by catching the flood. We spent a couple of days with the Governor, and then embarked on board the little steamer which plies with the mails between Fort Vancouver and Victoria, on Vancouver's Island.

A fortnight after my trip up the Columbia River, I made one of a party intending to cruise round the island of Vancouver. We numbered four-the chaplain, two midshipmen, and myself: to these were added three Indians as crew. The boat we borrowed from a good-natured settler, who at first intended to accompany us himself, but was unfortunately prevented by illness. Of the chaplain we did not see much, having agreed to take him to visit a relation who had settled on San Juan Island, little thinking that he had made up his mind to remain there until we should call for him on our way back. Such, however, was the case; so, leaving him, we proceeded on our way. The shores of Vancouver's Island present a constantly varied aspect, a new landscape opening out every mile you go, one differing in beauty from another only by some chance grouping of the trees or the appearance of some brook, either flowing between the pendant branches of the ferns, or falling in a shower of spray over some precipice. Flowers and shrubs enamel the bright green grass, forming a pretty contrast to the pure white sand which covers the beach. This sand is formed by minute particles of white coral, and when seen at the foot of the black rocks studded here and there along the coast, looks almost as white as snow. Like almost all the islands in the Pacific, Vancouver's retains striking evidences of its volcanic origin: the peculiar shape of the mountains, lifting their graceful cone-like heads one above another--their sides

veined by deep rents, and the red soil formed by decomposed lava;these and many other features soon become familiar proofs of their fiery birth.

I had heard and read a great deal of the beauty of the island, but reality exceeded all. It struck me more than once that the scenery in some measure resembled the Pyrenees, excepting, of course, the ocean. The mountains strongly reminded me of some of those round Cauterets, and I could almost imagine the little Indian village I saw peeping through the trees was that quaint old town itself.

Having only six days' leave from our duty, we declined every temptation to land, determined to proceed as far as we could before nightfall. Fortunately, just as darkness came on, we arrived at the mouth of a stream, and seeing it was deep enough to float us, we paddled up; and reaching the basin at the foot of a pretty fall, we fastened the boat, and bivouacked for the night, intending to explore the neighbouring mountain in the morning.

In order to see as much as possible, when we started next day, it was decided to divide, each taking a separate route-all agreeing to meet at the top of the mountain. My way lay for a short distance over tolerably clear ground, richly carpeted with a very beautiful kind of moss. As I drew nearer the mountain, the path became more difficult, and at last was really formidable, often rendering it well-nigh impossible to proceed, deep fissures, hidden by brushwood, cross ing the way in every direction, and keeping me continually exercising the maxim of "Look before you leap,"- a caution not to be neglected when one rash step would plunge the unwary into an abyss hundreds of feet in depth, the very darkness of which made one shudder to gaze

into.

The mountain itself was clothed by a dense forest of pines, whose immense trunks often rose to the height of fifty feet without a branch breaking their smooth surface, looking like a spectral army in the sombre twilight caused by the impervious roof of interlaced branches, through which a ray of sunshine would pene

trate here and there like a star-now glancing upon the dark-red trunks, now darting along like some spirit of the forest. In places where the branches grew lower, innumerable creepers had entwined themselves, and hung in gorgeous festoons, forming an impediment through which I had frequently to cut my way, shaking down whole showers of petals, and disturbing flocks of birds, which flew screaming off, but soon returned to flutter over my head, too innocent to fear man.

In open parts of the forest, the treefern lifted its feathery head, contrasting its light-green airy foliage with the dark hue of the pines. The common English fern is the miniature plant of that which, in the Pacific, attains the dignity of a forest tree; it grows in the same barren spots, springing out of the very face of some bare rock, over which its graceful arms droop, as if it wished to shield its home. From between the branches, and just at the point where they unite with the trunk, the Indians gather a soft silky down, which makes a delightful stuffing for a bed or pillow.

As I threaded my way up the mountain, I had almost forgotten the purpose for which I had ostensibly undertaken the journey. Not a trace of a deer met me, and at length Į began to doubt their existence. I had reached within a short distance of the top, when a soft open glade tempted me to lie down.

The view down the mountain was exquisite: first, the dark-green carpet of pines, broken here and there by purple or grey rocks, fringed with their constant ornament, the fern; below, the pale-green plain was studded with single trees; and this again met by the snowy beach, along which the deep-blue ocean throbbed in everlasting pulsations.

Perfectly entranced, and deaf to all around, I was roused from my dream by the approach of the very animals I had despaired of meeting. A sharp rustling had awakened me, and turning, I saw a pair of dark-brown eyes, crowned by splendid antlers, peeping through the bushes. My rifle sprang instinctively to my shoulder; fright ened by the movement, the stag

bounded past, almost over me, followed closely by two hinds. The report of my rifle rang through the forest, and the stag fell, shot through the neck.

To my surprise, both hinds stopped short, and after looking round and smelling the air impregnated with gunpowder, presently they walked up to the body of their lord and master, again stopping to glance round before they began to lick his wound, uttering as they did so a low, plaintive moan. My rifle remained silent; I had not the heart to fire and disturb

the sorrow of the poor affectionate creatures. The picture was too pretty to interrupt, and I was attempting to lay my rifle down without the movement attracting their attention, when they threw up their heads and sprang away. Somehow the spell was broken, and, forgetting my resolution as to not firing, I seized the rifle. Alas! I only wounded the last one, and long before I could reload, they were gone.

Bitterly regretting I had fired at all, I started off in the hope of being able to overtake them and put the poor thing out of pain. In this I was disappointed, and forced to give up the pursuit, lest I should not be able to find the spot where the dead stag lay.

Whilst I was anxiously debating with myself the possibility of getting the body down to the boat, one of my friends, having heard the report of the rifle, joined me, and with his help I constructed a sort of sledge, upon which we laid the stag, and after a great deal of hard work and difficulty, succeeded in getting him safely down, when he proved to be the only one shot, neither of my companions having met any.

We stayed one more day in the same place to try the other side of the mountain, but had very bad sport, only seeing two or three deer during the whole time so voting the hunting in Vancouver's a great swindle, we paddled down the little stream, and, hoisting our sail, proceeded on our cruise, intending to land at an Indian village a few miles further round, and, if possible, find out the best hunting-ground.

VOL. LXXXVII.-NO. DXXXII.

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The bay upon which this village was built was perfectly land-locked; narrow strip of water, about twenty yards wide, ushering us into a saltwater lake, imbedded in flowers and sunshine: a lovely valley ran up among the green hills on our left, and in this lay the Indian village, their picturesque rustic huts peeping out from the rich foliage. At first not a human being was visible; but long ere we reached the shore, they were crowding down to meet us, some even swimming off to welcome us to their village, bringing us invitations from the king, who was, they said, waiting to receive us.

On landing, we were agreeably surprised by being greeted in good English by a French settler, who, having lived with these people for five years, had gained great influence over them, and at once offered to introduce us to the king, and help our views in any way he could.

Accordingly we followed to the royal residence, in which we found his majesty seated in great state: his palace corresponding exactly in its native features with those we had seen on the Columbia; but in the present case, in consequence of the intercourse enjoyed by this tribe with European vessels watering off their territory, the reception-room was hung with curious relics, which, consisting principally of old wearingapparel, gave it a strong resemblance to an old Jew-shop-a delusion by no means decreased by the dress of the king himself, who, upon hearing of our approach, had hastily donned his regal robes, consisting of a very old-fashioned blue swallow - tailed and brass-buttoned coat, a pair of old white ducks, which had, to all appearance, once ornamented the legs of a very small midshipman, and must have rendered the Turkish posture of his royal highness by no means a comfortable attitude. Upon his head, and merely resting upon his stiff bushy hair, was a hat, or rather two hats the larger being crushed halfway down the smaller one. It was with great difficulty we preserved a proper degree of gravity to enable us to pay deference to this extraordinary figure; our occasional irrepressible laughter, however, amused the

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people, who seemed of a jolly, lighthearted disposition, and joined us heartily, our dress possibly amusing them as much as their king's did us. Having eaten some roasted pork, and pretended to drink the horrible compound they call ava (a mixture peculiar to almost all the Indians I ever met with), we began to smoke and talk. The king was a shrewd, intelligent fellow, and seemed delighted to tell us all about his people: most of their customs were identical with those of the Columbia River Indians, of whom the Vancouver Flatheads form a branch. One of their greatest delicacies is blubber, which they obtain in the following ingenious manner.

During the severe storms that occasionally visit their coast from the north, it frequently happens that whales are driven so far out of their latitude that the receding tide leaves them unable to regain the deep water. When the natives discover a fish in this unhappy predicament, they assemble in great numbers, each family furnishing a canoe; their weapon is a barbed spear-head of hard wood, fastened so loosely into the handle, that when the head is fixed into anything, the former can be withdrawn, leaving the latter in the wound. To the head itself are attached, first, a long rope of seaweed-next, a bladder of sealskin. Armed with this, the boats approach the monster, and, getting as near as they can, throw the spear: the heads imbed themselves in his skin, and when the handle is drawn out, remain acting as an anchor to the bladder and rope. The whale soon presents an extraordinary appear ance, being entirely covered with bladders; these, as the tide rises, prevent him sinking deep enough to regain the ocean, or make very much resistance. Thus buoyed up, he is pulled over the bar into the harbour by the united efforts of the thousand ropes so firmly attached to him. Once in the bay, he is safe, and is easily despatched.

After spending several hours with the king, and getting all the information he could give us as to the best shooting-ground, we continued our route, intending to sleep at the

point from which we were to start in pursuit of deer. Our intentions were, however, doomed to be thwarted: a messenger from San Juan overtook us, bringing a note from the chaplain, in which, after telling us of an outbreak upon the other side of the island, he represented the danger of our prosecuting our journey so strongly, that we decided upon giving it up, all the more readily in consequence of the disappointments we had already met with in the scarcity of game. We found the little settlement at San Juan in a perfect ferment of excitement, every one listening with horror to the recital of former atrocities committed by the Indians, and now remembered and retold with many additions. Every one spoke confidently of a general outbreak, and assured us the men-of-war would be required.

Two days only now remained of our leave; these we spent at the island, endeavouring to instil some confidence into the people, but, I fear, with very little success; and they evidently watched our departure with feelings of dread, imagining the Indians would take advantage of it to attack them. Upon our arrival at Victoria we had the satisfaction of seeing the ship getting quietly towed out of harbour, and found the captain had taken round the Governor to the scene of rebellion, leaving orders for us to follow as quickly as we could. This was only to be done by hiring a boat, which we did, together with a man and his wife to row us; but the current proved so strong that, in spite of a couple of long paddles and a sail filled by a regular breeze, we were nearly six hours in going three miles, during which tedious progress we were continually fired on by the natives. Fortunately they imagine the destructive powers of a gun consist in the noise it makes.

The cause of the outbreak will be best explained by relating one of the native customs-that of demanding life for life; it being an ancient belief that a chief, or the son of a chief, cannot die unless through the malignant influence of some one who has intercourse with