Chapter 9

"That's all right, Moise," said Rob; "your uncle isn't here, and for one, I'm glad we took it easy coming through here. That's rough water either way you look at it, up-stream or down. But now," he continued, once more consulting his maps and notes, "we ought to have a couple of days of good, straightaway running, with almost no bad water. It's about seventy miles from here to the Parle Pas rapids. And speaking of _rapids_, they tell me that's the worst place on the whole river."

"That's a funny name--why do they call them the Parle Pas rapids?" asked Jesse.

"Those were Frenchman words," said Moise. "Parle Pas means 'no speak.' He's a quiet rapeed. S'pose you'll ron on the river there, an' smoke a pipe, an' talk, an' not think of nothing. All at once, _Boum_! You'll been in those rapeed, an' he'll not said a word to you!"

"Well," said Rob, "the traders used to run them somehow, didn't they?"

"Yes, my onkle he'll ron them in beeg boat many tam, but not with leetle boat. She'll jump down five, three feet sometams. Leetle boat she'll stick his nose under, yes. My onkle he'll tol' me, when you come on the Parle Pas take the north side, an' find some chute there for leetle boat. Leetle boat could ron the Parle Pas, maybe so, but I suppose, us, we'll let those boat down on the line because we'll got some scares, _hein_?"

"It's just as well to have some scares on these mountain rivers, Moise," said Alex, reprovingly. "This water is icy cold, and if even a man got out into the rapids he couldn't swim at all, it would tumble him over so. We'll line down on the Parle Pas, yes, depend on that. But that's down-stream a couple of days if we go slow."

"When do we get that bear hunt, Alex?" asked John, who loved excitement almost as much as Moise.

"Almost anywhere in here," answered Alex; "but I think we'd better put off the hunt until we get below all the worst water. No use portaging bear hides."

"It looks like good bear country here," said Rob. "We must be in the real Rockies now, because the mountains come right down to the river."

"Good bear country clear to Hudson's Hope, or beyond that," assented Alex.

"All right," said Rob; "we'll have a good hunt somewhere when we get below the Parle Pas. If we have to do any more portaging, we don't want to carry any more than we can help, that's true. And, of course, we're going to get that grizzly."

Having by this time reloaded the boats, they re-embarked, and passed merrily on down the river, which now seemed wholly peaceful and pleasant. The mountains now indeed were all about them, in places rising up in almost perpendicular rock faces, and the valley was very much narrower. They were at last entering the arms of the great range through which they later were to pass.

The character of the river changed from time to time. Sometimes they were in wide, quiet reaches, where they needed the paddles to make much headway. Again there would be drops of faster water, although nothing very dangerous. Relieved as they were now of any thought of danger for the next sixty or seventy miles ahead, this part of their journey seemed delightful in every way. They did not pause to hunt, and saw no game excepting one band of four timber wolves, upon which they came as they swept around a bend, but which hastened under cover before any one could get a shot. Once in a while they stopped at little beaches or bars, and almost always saw the trails of large game in the sand or mud. Always they felt that now they were deep in the wilderness, and every moment was a pleasure to them.

They did not really know how far below the Finlay rapids they traveled that day, for continually they discovered that it is difficult to apply map readings to the actual face of a new country. They made no great attempt at speed, but sometimes drifted down-stream, the boats close together. Sometimes when the wind was fair Rob or John would raise the corner of a tent or blanket to act as a sail. Thus, idling and chatting along, they made perhaps forty miles down-stream before they made their next evening camp. The country seemed to them wilder now, since the bold hills were so close in upon them, though of course they knew that each day was bringing them closer to the settlements on the eastern side of the range.

That night was cold, and they had no trouble with mosquitoes. Feeling no need of hurry, they made a late start and idled on down the river through a very interesting mountain region, until the afternoon. Toward evening they began to feel that they might perhaps be near the dreaded Parle Pas rapids, and they approached each bend with care, sometimes going ashore for a prospecting trip which proved to be made only on a false alarm. They had, however, now begun to learn the "feel of the water," as the _voyageurs_ called it. Rob, who was ahead, at length noted the glassy look of the river, and called back to Moise that he believed there were rapids ahead.

"Parle Pas!" cried Moise. "On shore, queek!"

Swiftly they paddled across, to the north side of the river, where presently they were joined by the other boat.

"She's the Parle Pas, all right," laughed Moise; "look at heem!"

From their place of observation they could see a long ridge, or rim, the water falling in a sort of cascade well out across the stream. There seemed to be a chute, or channel, in midstream, but the back-combing rollers below it looked ominously large for a boat the size of theirs, so that they were glad enough to be where they were, on dry land.

Moise was once more for running the boats through the chute on the north shore, but Alex's cautious counsel prevailed. There was not more than thirty or forty feet of the very worst water, rather a cascade than a long rapid, but they discharged the cargo and lined both boats through light. This sort of work proved highly interesting and exciting to all hands, and, of course, when superintended by such men as Alex and Moise had no great danger, although all of them were pretty wet when at length they had their boats reloaded at the foot of the rapids.

"I know how Sir Alexander got across the mountains," said John. "He had good _voyageurs_ to do the work! About all he had to do was to write the story each night, and he didn't do that any too well, it seems to me--anyhow, when you come to read his story backward you can't tell where you are very well."

"That's right," said Rob. "I don't much blame Simon Fraser for finding fault with Mackenzie's narrative. But maybe if we had written the story they'd have found fault with us the same way. The same country doesn't look alike to different people, and what is a mile to one man may be two miles to another when both are guessing. But anyhow, here we are below the 'Polly' rapids--as the traders call them to-day--and jolly glad we ought to be we're safe, too."

"Plain sailing again now for a while," said Jesse. "Let's see the map."

They all bent over the different maps they had, especially one which Rob had made up from all the sources of information he had.

"Yes," said Rob, "it ought to be about sixty miles of pretty good water now until we get to the one place on this river which the boldest _voyageur_ never tried to run--the Cañon of the Rocky Mountains, as the very first travelers called it."

"Those map she'll not been much good," said Moise, pointing to the government maps of which Rob had a store. "The only good map she'll been made by the Injun with a stick, s'pose on the sand, or maybe so on a piece of bark. My onkle she'll made me a map of the Parle Pas. He'll show the place where to go through the middle on the Parle Pas. S'pose you'll tell my onkle, Moise he'll walk down the Parle Pas an' not ron on heem, he'll laugh on me, heem! All right, when you get to the Grand Portage sixty miles below, you'll get all the walk you want, Alex, _hein_?"

Alex answered him with a pleasant smile, not in the least disposed to be laughed into taking any risks he did not think necessary.

"We'd better drop down a few miles farther before we make camp," said he. "_En avant, Moise. En roulant, ma boule!_"

Moise turned to his paddle and broke into song gaily as they once more headed down the stream. They did not tarry again until the sun was behind the western ridges. The mountain shadows were heavy when at last their little fire lighted up the black forest which crowded close in all around them.

"I think this is fine," said Jesse, quietly, as they sat about the camp-fire that night.

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world," said John; and Rob gave his assent by a quiet nod of satisfaction.

"I feel as if we were almost home now," said Jesse. "We must have come an awfully long way."

Alex shook his head. "We're a long way from home yet," said he. "When the Klondike rushes were on some men got up as far north as this place, and scattered everywhere, hoping they could get through somehow to the Yukon--none of them knew just how. But few of them ever got up this river beyond Hudson's Hope, or even Fort St. John, far east of there. Some turned back and went down the Mackenzie, others took the back trail from Peace River landing. A good many just disappeared. I have talked with some who turned back from the mountains here, and they all said they didn't think the whole world was as big as it seemed by the time they got here! And they came from the East, where home seems close to you!"

"Well," said Rob, "as it's probably pretty rough below here, and good grizzly country, why not stop here and make that little hunt we were talking about?"

"All right," said Alex; "I suppose this is as good a game country as any. We ought to get a moose, even if we don't see any bear. In the old times there used to be plenty of buffalo this far to the west in the mountains. What do you say, Moise--shall we make a hunting camp here?"

"We'll been got no meat pretty quick bimeby," said Moise. "Maybe so."

They were encamped here on a narrow beach, which, however, sheered up high enough to offer them security against any rise in the stream. They were careful to pull up the boats high and dry, and to secure them in case of any freshet. Used as they were by this time to camp life, it now took them but a few minutes to complete their simple operations in making any camp. As all the boys had taken a turn at paddling this day, and as the exciting scenes of the past few days had been of themselves somewhat wearying, they were glad enough to get a long night's sleep.

Before Rob, the leader of the younger members of the party, had rolled up in his blankets Alex came to him and asked him whether he really cared to finish running the river, provided they could get out overland.

"Surely we do," said Rob at once. "We'll go on through, as far as we can, at least, by boat. We don't want to be modern and ride along on horseback until we have to. Mackenzie didn't and Fraser didn't! Nor do we want to go to any trading-post for supplies. We can get butter and eggs in the States if we want to, but we're _hunters_! You show us a grizzly to-morrow, Alex, that's all!"

"All right," said Alex, smiling. "Maybe we can."

XVI

THE GRIZZLY HUNT

"Why, Alex, this land along the bayou here looks like a cattle-yard!" exclaimed Rob as early the next morning they paused to examine a piece of the moist ground which they had observed much cut up with tracks of big game.

There were four in party now, Moise alone having remained to keep the camp. For an hour or more now they had passed back toward the hills, examining the damp ground around the edges of the willow flats and alder thickets. From time to time they had seen tracks of bears, some large and some small, but at this particular point the sign was so unmistakable that all had paused.

"I don't know that I ever saw more sign on one piece of ground," admitted Alex. He spoke in a low tone of voice and motioned for the others to be very quiet. "The trouble is, they seem to be feeding at night and working back toward the hills in the daytime. On this country here there have been six black bears and two grizzlies."

"Yes, and here's that big track again," said Rob. "He sinks in the mud deep as an ox, and has a hind foot as long as my rifle-stock."

"Six or eight hundred pounds, maybe," said Alex. "He's a good one. The other one isn't so big. They fed here last night, and seem to be working up this little valley toward the hills again. If we had plenty of time I'd be in favor of waiting here until evening, for this seems to be a regular stamping-ground for bear. What do you think, Mr. Rob?"

"Well," said Rob, "I know it usually isn't much worth while to follow a bear, but maybe it wouldn't do any harm in here to work on after this one a little way, because there doesn't seem to be any hunting in here, and maybe the bears aren't badly scared."

"Very well, that's what I think, too," said Alex; "but if this trail gets very much fresher I think it is just as well for all of us to keep out of the thicket and take to the open. Maybe we can find higher ground on ahead."

They passed on up, making cross-cuts on the trail and circling now and again through the willow flats as they advanced. Once in a while Alex would have to search a little before he could pick up the trail, but always somewhere among the willows he would find the great footprint of the big bear. Often he showed the boys where the willows had been broken down by the bear in its feeding, and at some places it left a path as though a cyclone had gone through.

Having established it in his mind that the bear was steadily advancing deeper back into the valley they were following, Alex at last left the willow flats and made for the side of the depression down which a little stream was coming, striking into the hills at the place where the valley finally narrowed to a deep coulée. Here they advanced slowly and cautiously, taking care to be on the side where the wind would favor them most, and once in a while Alex still dropped down to the foot of the coulée in search of sign or feeding-ground. As they advanced, however, the course of the stream became more definite and the moist ground not so large in extent, so that it became more difficult to trail any animal on the drier ground. A mile farther on, none the less, in a little muddy place, they found the track of the giant bear, still ahead of them. It had sunk eight inches or more into the soft earth, and a little film of muddy water still was trickling into the bottom of the track, while at its rim little particles of mud still hung loose and ragged.

Alex's eyes now gleamed with eagerness, for he saw that the bear was but a little distance ahead. He examined closely the country about to see whether the big grizzly was alone, and to his relief found no sign of the smaller bear.

"I'm not afraid of them both," said he, in a low whisper to Rob, "but sometimes it's easier to get up to one bear than it is to two, and I notice it's nearly always the small one that gives the alarm."

The big grizzly, however, still was traveling steadily at times. They could not locate him in this thicket, and, indeed, a little farther on found where, apparently but a few moments earlier, he had left this coulée and crossed a little ridge, apparently intending to change his course entirely. This was disappointing, but Alex whispered to the young hunters not to be disturbed, for that possibly the bear might lie up or go to feeding in some other ravine not far on ahead.

"You'd better wait here, I think," said he at last, as they approached the top of a little ridge, where evidently another coulée came down.

He began slowly to climb toward the top, from which he could get a view of the other side. Almost as soon as he raised his head above the summit he pulled it back again. Quickly he dropped down to where the others stood.

"Is he there?" asked Rob, eagerly.

Alex nodded. He looked at the faces of all the boys. Not one of them was pale, and every one seemed only eager to go ahead. Slowly standing and watching them for a time, at length the old hunter turned, silently motioning them to follow him.

What Alex had seen when he peered over the top of the ridge was nothing else than the big bear feeding in the bushes which lay some sixty yards ahead and below, where the ground was moister. When at length the boys, however, reached the same place and gazed over eagerly they saw nothing at all at first.

Rob turned to whisper a question to Alex, but even as he did so he felt John clutch him by the arm. Then as they all looked on ahead they saw the great bear rise once more on his hind legs high above the bushes. He was so close they could see his blocky head, his square nose, and even his little piggish eyes. Slowly the grizzly turned a little bit from side to side, nodding his head and whining a little all to himself, as he started once more to reach out and break down the tops of the bushes toward him in his great arms.

It was at that instant that the rifle of Alex rang out, and he called to the others hurriedly, "Shoot! Shoot!"

He needed not to give such counsel, for every boy there had almost at the same instant fired at the giant grizzly which stood below them. He fell with a great roar, and began to thresh about in the bushes. No sight of him for a moment could be obtained. All four now sprang erect, waiting eagerly for the crippled game to break cover. John and Rob even started down the slope, until Alex called out to them peremptorily to come back. As a matter of fact, three of the four bullets had struck the bear and he was already hurt mortally, but this could not be determined, and Alex knew too much to go into the cover after a wounded grizzly.

The bear itself heard them shouting, and, having located the presence of an enemy, now broke cover with a savage roar, limping as best he could in a vain endeavor to get up the slope and to attack his enemies. But again and again the rifles spoke, and an instant later the great bear dropped down and rolled limp at the bottom of the slope, almost back into the bushes from which he had come.

"He's dead now, all right!" said Alex, even as he held out his hand to restrain his young companions once more from rushing in on their game. "Some one hit him in the head that last time. I'm thinking the hide won't be good for much, for he must be shot full of holes by now!"

Such indeed proved to be the case. The high-power rifles, fired at close range, with hands excited yet none the less fairly accurate, had done their work in such fashion as might have finished three or four bears instead of one even as large as this one proved to be.

Alex turned once more to note the conduct of his young friends as they gathered at the side of the dead bear. He smiled a little bit grimly. Whereas their faces had lately been flushed and eager, they now were just a little pale, and he saw that they all were disposed to tremble as they stood.

"We're well out of that," said he, quietly. "That's bad as the Parle Pas. Of course the odds were in our favor, but with a bear of this size any man or any party is well out of it when they get him down. But here's your grizzly, young gentlemen."

"My, isn't he a whale!" said Jesse. "There's plenty of meat, I should think."

"Yes, we've killed him," said Alex, "but what good is he to us? Grizzlies aren't good to eat, even when they are feeding on berries, as this one is."

"Never mind," said Rob; "this is a pretty good robe, I want to tell you, even if it is only in August. It is finer and closer than our Alaska bears; see how white on the shoulders and face. I believe he's about as ugly a customer, too, as most of our big Alaska bears, that live on fish."

"Yes," said Alex, "he's what you call a bald-face, and whether there's any truth in it or not, Injuns always say that these white-faced bears are the most savage. Look at his claws--they're white too. All of them perfect, however, which shows that he hasn't been digging among the rocks very much, but has been feeding in low country for quite a while. I suppose Moise would call this bear his cousin, and I doubt if he'd want to help skin him. But that's what we've got to do now, and it's no easy job either."

"We'll all help," said Rob.

"Well, you'd better go and help by finding some sort of rock for a whetstone," said Alex, "for I see I have left my file down in camp. There's nothing in the world takes the edge off the best steel like skinning a big bear--the hide is like sandpaper inside."

"Here's something," said Jesse, picking up a flat stone, "and maybe we can sharpen the knives on it."

They all fell to work now, each with his own hunting-knife. Alex, of course, did most of the work, first ripping down the tough hide with his big buffalo knife, along each leg and up the middle of the body. Then giving each of the boys a leg, and himself keeping clear of the eager knife blades, they all began the work of skinning off the hide.

"Skin it close," said Alex, "and don't leave on much meat. The Injuns never skin a bear hide close, for the women like the fat, it seems, and they do all the scraping in camp. But this hide is so big that I'm not anxious to carry any more weight on it than I have to--I should not wonder if it would weigh seventy-five to a hundred pounds, the best we can do."

At last, however, they had the great hide free from the carcass, with the footpads and long claws attached, and the scalp all skinned carefully free from the skull at eyes, ears, and nose. Rob insisted on taking the skull also, although Alex demurred.

"We'll carry it, Alex," said he. "This is a splendid robe, I'm telling you, fine color, and not worn nearly as badly as I should have expected in the summer-time. We're going to have a rug made out of it for Uncle Dick's house, and we want the skull, too. We'll carry that down the hill."

"All right," said Alex; "I'll have plenty to do with the rest of this old fellow."

He rolled the green hide into a pack, which he lashed tightly with some thongs, and once more using his belt as a pack-strap, which he rested on the top of his head, he managed to get under the weight of the green hide, and started off at a half trot, following the nearest valley down to the river where their camp was pitched.

Strong as the old hunter was, at times even he was willing enough to set down his pack and rest awhile, and to smoke a pipe. The boys, who were carrying his rifle and also making shifts at carrying the heavy bear skull, themselves were willing enough to join him when he stopped. At last, however, they got to the top of the bank under which their camp was pitched.

"Listen!" said Rob. "There's some one talking."

Alex nodded. They stepped up to the top of the bank and looked over.

XVII

THE YOUNG ALASKANS' "LOB-STICK"

They saw sitting near the fire three men beside Moise, all of them Indians or half-breeds. They were all of them talking and laughing eagerly, certainly not showing very much of the so-called Indian reserve, at the time the hunters peered over at them. Yet occupied as they were, their senses were always alert. One of them heard a twig snap, and turned his face to the bank.