The Pacific Railway Hotel at Banff is a large, admirably situated, and picturesque establishment, designed to accommodate from two to three hundred guests at a time, and is especially patronized by Canadian bridal parties. The view from it is superb, commanding the winding course of the Bow River and valley for miles, with the many adjacent mountains. The river pours swiftly down from its sources among the snow fields, and plunges seventy feet over rock and precipice close beside the hotel, passing almost beneath our feet as we stand upon the broad piazza, gazing in admiration at the grand scenic carnival, and listening to the thrilling anthem of the rushing waters, while breathing the soft aroma of the Douglas pine and cedar forests which cover the surrounding slopes. The region in proximity to the hotel will give the lover of fishing ample sport. Trout of large size abound in Devil’s Lake near at hand. A guest brought in forty pounds of this gamey fish, caught in two hours’ time in the lake, while the author was at Banff. Wild sheep and mountain goats abound in the neighboring hills, while bears are more numerous than is desirable. Wildcats, mountain lions, deer, and caribou are also frequently shot by the hunters. The restriction as to use of firearms which is established in the Yellowstone Park does not apply in this region. Sportsmen roam where they please and freely hunt the wild animals which roam in this section of the country. Good roads and bridle paths take one in all directions among some of the finest scenery of the Rocky Mountains, where we watch the morning sun dispel the mist which floats upward and away, disclosing the snow-decked peaks in their virgin whiteness blushing roseate tints at the ardor of the sun. This is called the eastern gateway to the Rocky Mountains, through which the grand Bow River flows on its diversified journey of fifteen hundred miles to Hudson Bay. There are extensive hot springs on the eastern slope of what is known as the Sulphur Range, some six thousand feet above the sea level. They are at different elevations, and have good bathing-houses erected over them, in charge of courteous attendants. One of the springs is inside of a dome-roofed cave, which is a favorite resort of visitors to Banff. The medicinal character of these springs is considered so important that an iron pipe two miles in length conducts their heated waters for use at the hotel, the normal temperature being sustained by metallic coils of superheated steam. It rains much and often in this region. The weeping clouds make one feel rather gloomy, purely out of sympathy for their ceaseless tears, but when the sun finally asserts his power and lifts the misty veil, then come forth in hold contrast silvery, sparkling, sky-reaching mountains, covered with their frosty mantles, together with richly wooded valleys and river-threaded cañons, opening views of unrivaled sublimity and grandeur.