Chapter 2

Alex arose and took from his belt the great Hudson Bay knife, or buffalo knife, which he wore at his back, thrust through his belt. With this he hacked off a few boughs from the nearest pine-tree and threw them down in the first sheltered spot. Over this he threw a narrow strip of much-worn bear hide and a single fold of heavy blanket, this being all the bed which he seemed to have.

"Is that all you ever had?" asked Rob. "I don't think you'll sleep well, Alex. Let me give you some of my bed."

"Thank you, no," said Alex, sitting down and lighting his pipe. "We make our beds small when we have to carry them in the woods. We sleep well. We get used to it, you see."

"Injun man she'll been like dog," grinned Moise, throwing down his own single blanket under a tree. "A dog she'll sleep plenty, all right, an' she'll got no bed at all, what?"

"But won't you come under the edge of the tent?" asked Rob.

"No, you're to have the tent," said Alex. "I'm under orders from your Uncle, who employed me. But you're to make your own beds, and take care of them in making and breaking camp. That's understood."

"I'll do that for those boy," offered Moise.

"No," said Alex, quietly, "my orders are they're to do that for themselves. That's what their Uncle said. They must learn how to do all these things."

"Maybe we know now, a little bit," ventured John, smiling.

"I don't doubt it," said Alex. "But now, just from a look at your bed, you've taken a great deal of time making your camp to-night. You've got a good many boughs. They took noise and took time to gather. We'll see how simple a camp we can make after we get out on the trail. My word! We'll have trouble enough to get anything to sleep on when we get in the lower Peace, where there's only willows."

"What do you do if it rains?" queried Jesse. "You haven't got any tent over you, and it leaks through the trees."

"It won't rain so much when we get east," said Alex. "When it does, Moise and I'll get up and smoke. But it won't rain to-night, that's certain," he added, knocking his pipe on the heel of his moccasin. "Throw the door of your tent open, because you'll not need to protect yourselves against the mosquitoes to-night. It's getting cold. Good night, young gentlemen."

In a few moments the camp was silent, except something which sounded a little like a snore from the point where Moise had last been seen.

John nudged his neighbors in the beds on the tent floor, and spoke in low tones, so that he might not disturb the others outside. "Are you asleep yet, Rob?"

"Almost," said Rob, whispering.

"So'm I. I think Jesse is already. But say, isn't it comfy? And I like both those men."

III

STUDYING OUT THE TRAIL

It must have been some time about five o'clock in the morning, or even earlier, when Rob, awakened by the increasing light in the tent, stirred in his blanket and rolled over. He found himself looking into the eyes of John, who also was lying awake. They whispered for a minute or two, not wishing to waken Jesse, who still was asleep, his face puckered up into a frown as though he were uneasy about something. They tried to steal out the other tent, but their first movement awakened Jesse, who sat up rubbing his eyes.

"What's the matter?" said he; "where are we?" He smiled sheepishly as the other boys laughed at him.

"A good way from home, you'll find," answered John.

The smell of fresh smoke came to their nostrils from the fire, which had been built for some time. So quiet had the men been about their work that they had left the boys undisturbed for the best part of an hour. They themselves had been accustomed to taking the trail even earlier in the day than this.

"Good morning, young gentlemen," said Alex, quietly. "I hope you slept well."

"Well," said Jesse, grinning, "I guess I did, for one."

"You'll been hongree?" smiled Moise at the fireside.

"Awfully!" said John. "I could eat a piece of raw bear meat."

"So?" grinned Moise. "Maybe you'll seen heem before we get through, _hein_? She'll not been very good for eat raw."

"Nor any other way, according to my taste," said Alex, "but we'll see how we like it cooked, perhaps."

"Do you really think we'll see any bear on this trip?" asked Rob.

"Plenty," said Alex, quietly.

"Grizzlies?"

"Very likely, when we get a little farther into the mountains. We ought to pick up two or three on this trip--if they don't pick us up."

"I'm not worrying about that," said Rob. "We're old bear hunters."

Both the men looked at him and laughed.

"Indeed, we are," insisted Rob. "We killed a bear, and an awfully big one, all by ourselves up on Kadiak Island. She was bigger than that tent there; and had two little ones besides. Each of them was big as a man, almost. They get awfully big up there in Alaska. I'll bet you haven't a one in all these mountains as big as one of those fellows up in our country."

"Maybe not," said Alex, still smiling, "but they get pretty near as big as a horse in here, and I want to tell you that one of our old, white-faced grizzlies will give you a hot time enough if you run across him--he'll come to you without any coaxing."

"This is fine!" said Rob. "I begin to think we're going to have a good trip this time."

"Grub pile!" sang out Moise about this time. A moment later they were all sitting on the ground at the side of the breakfast fire, eating of the fried bacon, bannock, and tea which Moise had prepared.

"To-day, Moise, she'll get feesh," said Moise, after a time. "Also maybe the duck. I'll heard some wild goose seenging this morning down on the lake below there. She's not far, I'll think."

"Just a little ways," said Alex, nodding. "If we'd gone in a little farther to the west we might have hit the lake there, but I thought it was easier to let the water of this little creek carry our boats in."

"Listen!" said John. "Isn't that a little bird singing?"

A peal of sweet music came to them as they sat, from a small warbler on a near-by tree.

"Those bird, he's all same Injun," remarked Moise. "He seeng for the sun."

The sun now indeed was coming up in the view from the mountain ranges on the east, though the air still was cool and the grass all about them still wet with the morning dew.

"Soon she'll get warm," said Moise. "Those mosquito, she'll begin to seeng now, too."

"Yes," said Rob, "there were plenty of them in the tent this morning before we got up. We'll have to get out the fly dope pretty soon, if I'm any judge."

"But now," he added, "suppose we read a little bit in our book before we break camp and pack up."

"You're still reading Sir Alexander and his voyages?" smiled Alex.

"Yes, indeed, I don't suppose we'd be here if we hadn't read that old book. It's going to be our guide all the way through. I want to see just how close we can come to following the trail Mackenzie made when he crossed this very country, a hundred and eighteen years ago this very month."

"Some say they can't see how Sir Alexander made so many mistakes," said Alex, smiling. He himself was a man of considerable intelligence and education, as the boys already had learned.

"I know," said Rob, nodding. "For instance, Simon Fraser--"

"Yes, I know those Simon Fraser--he's beeg man in the Companee," broke in Moise, who very likely did not know what he was talking about.

Alex smiled. "There have always been Mackenzies and Frasers in the fur trade. This was a long time ago."

"How'll those boy know heem, then?" said Moise. "I don't know. Some boy she'll read more nowadays than when I'm leetle. Better they know how to cook and for to keel the grizzly, _hein_?"

"Both," said Alex. "But now we'll read a little, if you please, Moise. Let's see where we are as nearly as we can tell, according to the old Mackenzie journal."

"I'll know where we ought for be," grumbled Moise, who did not fancy this starting-place which had been selected. "We'll ought to been north many miles on the portage, where there's wagon trail to Lake McLeod."

"Now, Moise," said Rob, "what fun would that be? Of course we could put our boats and outfit on a wagon or cart, and go across to Lake McLeod, without any trouble at all. Everybody goes that way, and has done so for years. But that isn't the old canoe trail of Mackenzie and Fraser."

"Everybody goes on the Giscombe Portage now," said Moise.

"Well, all the fur-traders used to come in here, at least before they had studied out this country very closely. You see, they didn't have any maps--they were the ones who made the first maps. Mackenzie was the first over, and he did it all by himself, without any kind of map to help him."

"Yes, and when he got over this far he was in an awful fix," said John. "I remember where it says his men were going to leave him and go back down the Peace River to the east. He wasn't sure his guide was going to stick to him until he got over to the Fraser, west of here."

"Yes," said Rob, "and there wasn't any Fraser River known by that name at that time. They all thought it was the Columbia River, which it wasn't by a long way. But Sir Alexander stuck it out, don't you see. He was a great man, or he couldn't have done it. I take off my hat to him, that's what I do."

And in his enthusiasm, Rob did take off his hat, and his young companions joined him, their eyes lighting with enthusiasm for the man the simple story of whose deeds had stirred their young blood.

Alex looked on approvingly. "He was of my family," said he. "Perhaps my great-grandfather--I don't know. He was a good man in the woods. You see, he went far to the north before he came here--he followed the Mackenzie River to its mouth in the Arctic Sea. Then he thought there must be a way across to the Pacific. Some one told him about the Peace River. That's how he came to make the first trip over the mountains here. By rights the Fraser River ought to have been named after him, too, because he was the first to see it."

"But he wasn't the first to run it on out," said John, who also had a good idea of the geography hereabouts, which he had carefully studied in advance. "It was Simon Fraser did that first."

"Yes, they'll both been good man, heem," said Moise, his mouth full of bacon. "My wife, she'll had an onkle once name Fraser an' he'll been seex feet high an' strong like a hox--those Fraser, yes, heem."

"They must have been strong men," said Alex, "and brave men as well."

"Their worst time was getting west of here, wasn't it?" asked John.

"Yes," answered Rob. "The book says that when they tried to get down the Fraser they had a terrible time. Sometimes they had to carry their canoe through swamps and over hills. No wonder the men mutinied. Why, they lost all their bullets, and got everything they had wet. The men almost lost heart."

Moise nodded. "I'll onderstan' that," said he. "Sometime man get tired."

"But you see now, Moise, why we wanted to come down here and go over this same ground and not to take the easy portage trail into Lake McLeod."

"All same to me," smiled Moise. "I'll don' care."

"Of course, if we wanted to go through the easiest way," assented Rob, "it would be simpler to go up through McLeod Lake. But you see, that's something of a way above here. Finlay found that lake after Mackenzie came across, and they had a fort up there when Fraser came through eighteen years later. The Indians used to come to that fort and tell about the salt water somewhere far to the west. They had brass and iron which they had got of white men somewhere on the Pacific--that was more than a hundred years ago. Fraser wanted to get across to the Pacific, but he followed the old Mackenzie trail across here. He started at the Rocky Mountain portage and went up into McLeod Lake, and stopped there for a while. But he didn't start west and northwest, by way of Stuart Lake. Instead of that, he followed Mackenzie's journal, just as we're doing. He came into the little creek which leads into these lakes--where we'll go down pretty soon. He came right across this lake, not a mile from where we're sitting. Then he met Indians in here, who told him--just as Moise has told us--that the best and easiest way to get across would have been by way of McLeod Lake--the very place he had come from."

"Well," said Jesse, "I agree with Moise. It would be easier to go where we could have wagons or carts or something to take the boats over. Everything looks mighty wild in here."

"Certainly, Jess," said John, "that's why we're here. I expect that portage trail up there is just like a road."

"Fur-traders made it first," smiled Alex, "and then the miners used it. That was the way white men came into the country east of the Rockies, in the far North."

"How long ago was that?" asked John.

"There were a great many miners all along the Fraser as early as 1857. Ten years later than that, they came up the big bend of the Columbia. Many men were killed on the rapids in those days. But they kept on pushing in, and in that way they learned all these old trails. I expect some Fraser uncle or other of Moise's has been across here many a time."

"Seex feet high, an' strong like a hox," smiled Moise, nodding his head. "Heem good man, my onkle, yes, heem."

"Well," said Rob, as he bent over the book once more. "Here's Sir Alexander's story, and here's a map I made myself. That way, to the west, is the little lake where the Bad River runs out to another river that runs into the Fraser. This lake drains into that little lake. There's another lake east of here, according to the story; and when we get there we'll strike a deep, clear creek which will take us pretty soon into the Parsnip River. From there it's all downhill."

"Yes," said Alex, smiling, "considerably downhill."

"It's said there was a current westward in this middle lake," began John.

"Certainly," Rob answered, "we are really now on Pacific waters."

"How far is it across to the other lake?" asked Jesse.

"The portage is just eight hundred and seventeen paces," replied John, promptly. "I remember that's what Mackenzie wrote down."

"Fraser in his journal calls it 'between eight and nine hundred paces,'" said Rob. "Anyhow, that portage goes over the top of the Rocky Mountain range at this place--that's the top of the divide. Nearly all these natural passes in the mountains run up on each side to a sort of flat place. Anyhow, when we get over that portage we're on Peace River waters. In yonder direction the waters run into the Pacific. To the east they go into the Arctic. I'm ready to start now, and anxious to get over the height of land."

"She'll be downheel then," laughed Moise. "All same roof on the house, maybe so."

"You're not scared, are you, Moise?" asked Rob, smiling.

"Moise, she'll sweem all same feesh," was the answer of the _voyageur_.

"We're not going to do any swimming," said Alex, quietly, "and not even any more wading than we have to. You see, our party is small, and we're going over a trail that has already been explored. We travel light, and have good boats. I think we ought to have rather an easy time of it, after all."

"One thing," broke in John, "that always makes me think less of these early explorers, is that they weren't really exploring, after all."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Jesse. "You just said that Mackenzie and Fraser were the first to come across here."

John shook his head vigorously. "No, they weren't the first--as near as I can find out, the white men always had some one to tell them where to go. When Mackenzie was going north there was always some tribe or other to tell him where he was and what there was ahead. It was some Indian that told him about coming over this way to the west--it was Indians that guided him all the way across, for that matter, clear from here to the Pacific."

"That's right," said Rob. "If some Indian hadn't told him about it, he probably never would have heard about the creek which leads into these lakes where we are now. He had a guide when he came here, and he had a guide west of the Fraser, too--they never would have got through without Indians to help them."

"That's true," said Alex, not without a certain pride in the red race which had given him half his own blood. "The whites haven't always used the Indians well, but without native help they could never have taken this northern country. The Beaver Indians used to hunt all through these mountains. It was those men who told Mackenzie how to get over here. He was told, weeks before he got here, that there was a carrying-place across the great hills to the western waters. As you say, young gentlemen, he had guides all the way across. So, after all, as we have only him and Fraser for guides, we'll take a little credit to ourselves, just as he did!"

"Yes," said Moise. "My people, she'll own this whole contree. They'll show the Companee how to take hold, all right. But that's all right; I'm glad, me."

"It looks a little tame," grumbled John, "coming through here where those old fur-traders knew every foot of the country."

"Well, we'll see," said Alex, rising, filling his pipe and tightening his belt to begin the day's work. "It may not look so tame before we get through! But first," he added, "we'll have to see if we can get the boats to the open water of the lake. Come, it's time to break camp now for the first day's journey."

IV

THE GREAT DIVIDE

To boys as familiar with camp work as were Rob, John, and Jesse, the work of breaking camp in the morning was simple. In a few moments they had their tent down and rolled up ready to put in the canoe. Their beds also were rolled, each in its own canvas, and lashed with a rope. Their rifles, which, kept dry in their cases, had been placed under the edge of their blankets as they slept, were now leaned against the bed-rolls. Their knapsacks, in which each boy had his personal belongings, such as brushes, combs, underwear and spare socks, were very quickly made ready, and placed in order each with its owner's bed-roll. In a very few minutes they stood up and showed Alex that they were ready.

Meantime, Moise had put his pots and pans into the sack which served him as a cook's box. His flour and bacon he quickly got ready in their packages, and even before the boys were done with their work he was carrying these parcels down to the first canoe, which was to serve as the cook's boat. The beds of Moise and Alex, simple as they were, required only a roll or two to be ready for the boats.

"We'll fix a system," said Alex, "so that we'll load each boat just the same every day. There's nothing like being regular when you're on the trail."

"I'll bet, Alex, she'll not be a harder boss than ol' Pete Fraser, my wife, he's onkle," declared Moise. "He'll make those men get up by two, three, in the morning an' track two, three hour before she'll eat breakfast, heem."

"Well, you see, we had to do a little reading this morning," remarked John.

"Surely, and to very good purpose," answered Alex. "You ought to keep track of the old journal day by day."

"Exactly," said Rob, "and I'm going to keep a journal of my own each day. We haven't got any sextant to take observations, but I've got all the maps, and I've got a compass--maybe we'll get out a Voyage of Discoveries of our own some day!"

"Now, Moise," said Alex, "you're to go ahead with the cook-boat. You'd better take Mr. Rob for your bow paddler. I'll let Mr. John take the bow in my boat, and our youngest friend here will go amidships, sitting flat on the bottom of the canoe, with his back against his bed-roll. The blankets and tent will make the seats. Of course, Moise, you're not to go too far ahead. It's always a good plan to keep in sight of the wangan-box and the cook's chest, when you're in the woods."

"All right," replied Moise, "I'll go slow with those boy all the time, yes."

"Well, we're not any of us scared yet," said John, stoutly, "and we won't be."

"I hope we'll get some white water to run," added Rob, his eyes shining. Jesse was the only one who seemed to be not wholly happy. The silence of the great hills about him, situated as they now were far from all human habitation, made him feel rather lonesome. He kept up a stout heart, however, and soon forgot his troubles when the actual bustle of the departure was begun.

"You'd better take the axes, Mr. Rob, and go ahead and cut out the way a little bit on this little creek," said Alex. "I'm afraid the boats won't quite clear."

"Aye, aye, sir," said Rob, and soon he and the other boys were making their way in among the tangled thicket, sometimes in and sometimes out of the water, chopping away the branches so that the little boats could get through.

"Will they float, do you think, Mr. Rob?" called Alex.

"Like a bird!" answered Rob, as the first canoe, which was named the _Mary Ann_, soon took the water.

"Here comes the _Jaybird_!" cried Jesse, as they pushed the other canoe over the last foot or so of grass which lay between it and the water.

"Those boat she'll be all same like ducks," exclaimed Moise, admiringly. "I'll bet not even my onkle Pete Fraser he'll have better boat like those."

"Sir Alexander's boat was twenty-five or thirty feet long, all made out of birch-bark," said Rob. "Ours aren't much over sixteen feet."

"They had eight or ten men in their boats," began John, "and the most we'll have in either of ours will be three--that is, if you count Jess as a full-sized man!"

"Yes," said Alex, "and they had a number of packs, each weighing ninety pounds. Now, all our packs won't weigh a great deal more than that for each boat, counting in what we're going to eat. We'll have to get something in the way of meat as we go on through. Fine boats these, and much better than birch-bark. Perhaps you may remember that Sir Alexander was having trouble to find good bark to mend his boats before he got in here. We'll not need to trouble about that."

"No," said Rob, "we've got plenty of canvas, and rubber cement, and shellac, and tacks, and cord, and wire. We'll make it through, even if we do have some little breaks."

"I don't think we'll have any," replied Alex in a reassuring way. "Moise, don't you think your load settles your canoe just a little deeper than she ought to go?"

"_Non! Non!_" said Moise, in reply, casting a judicial look at the low freeboard of the _Mary Ann_. "She'll go, those boat."

"She'll be getting lighter all the time," ventured Jesse. "John gets awfully hungry, and he'll eat a lot!"

They all laughed heartily at this reference to John's well-known appetite. All were in good spirits when the real progress down the tangled creek began.

"_En roulant, ma boule, roulant!_" began Moise, as he shoved out his boat--the words of the old Canadian _voyageurs'_ boat song, known for generations on all the waterways of the North.

"Better wait until we get into the lake," smiled Alex. "I don't think we can 'roll the ball,' as you call it, very much in among these bushes."

They moved on down now, pushing and pulling their boat when they could not paddle or pole it. Sometimes they had to force their way through an _embarras_, as the _voyageurs_ call a pile of driftwood. The boys, however, only enjoyed this sort of work. They were wet, but happy, when, after some time passed in this slow progress, at last they saw the open waters of the lake fully before them.

"_En voyage, messieurs_," cried Moise. "We begin!"

V

CROSSING THE HEIGHT OF LAND