Continuing to follow the Fraser on the morrow, we reached an open space a few miles beyond the end of the lake, and stayed there the remainder of the day. The place was rich in grass and vetches, and our horses ate greedily after their long fast, whilst we overhauled our provisions. The flour and pemmican had been greatly injured by the repeated wettings of the last few days, but the greater part of it we rendered available by careful drying in the sun. Our desiccated vegetables were, however, past redemption, but we made the best of the misfortune by living almost entirely upon them for the next few days. Mr. O’B. was missing for some time after we arrived, and we learnt from The Assiniboine that he had heard frequent calls for help coming from “Le Vieux,” as he called him, who had, as usual, fallen behind, but he had utterly disregarded them. In course of time, Mr. O’B. appeared in his shirt sleeves, carrying his coat, blanket, and saddle, and most thoroughly disgusted with his horse, which had driven him to the verge of distraction by its vagaries, and the misfortunes into which it led him. He told us he had come to the conclusion that he should be much happier on foot, and wished to lend him to us to use as a pack animal for the rest of the journey. The descent on the western slope was very rapid and continual, although nowhere steep, and a change in the vegetation marked the Pacific side. The cedar, the silver pine, and several other varieties now first appeared, and became more and more frequent. A species of aralea, a tall prickly trailer, many kinds of rosaceæ, and new deciduous shrubs, showed strangely to our eyes. The timber was altogether of a larger growth, and the huge trunks which barred the path rendered our progress very laborious. The pack horses wearied us by breaking away into the forest, rather than leap over the obstructions in the way, and from morning till night we were incessantly running after them to drive them back. Then they rushed about in every direction but the right one, crashing and tumbling amongst the timber, and often involving themselves in most serious embarrassment, jamming their packs between adjacent trees, trying to pass under an inclining trunk too low to admit the saddle, or jumping into collections of timber where their legs became helplessly entangled. On the afternoon of the 13th we came to a place where the trail passed along the face of a lofty cliff of crumbling slate. The path was only a few inches in width, barely affording footing for the horses, and midway a great rock had slipped down from above, resting on the narrow ledge by which we had to pass. This completely barred the way, and the perpendicular cliffs rendered it impossible for us to evade it by taking any other route. We therefore cut down a number of young pine trees, and using them as levers, set to work to dislodge the obstacle. After an hour’s toil, we succeeded in loosening it from its position, and with a single bound