66 RIVERS IN SUMMER

earth and the sun-warmed rocks drew bears from
their resting-places, and the scent of willows brought
moose along the creeks and valleys. The colours of
grass and flowers set the red and blue butterflies
fluttering over the country and dazzled the eyes of
awakening life. Movement and scent and colour
brought out more movement and more scent and
more colour, until summer held sway in the Cassiar
beneath the towering white peaks of the unchang-
ing mountains.

Dease Lake stretched the gleaming surface of its
waters northward for thirty miles between its en-
compassing hills, and from the northern end the
Dease River wound giddily in narrow curves and
half-circles between dark borderings of trees until
it came out upon wide grassy plains and made a
chain of lakes. From the last of these emerged a
stronger stream to try its strength against a rock
barrier near the mouth of the Cottonwood River;
the Cottonwood merged with the Dease, and to-
gether they crashed down, swirling and foaming,
toward the lower level. Against some massive
boulder the green water rose in a solid wall, poured
itself smoothly and powerfully over the top and
fell deeply down on the lower side, rising again in
white fury to add itself to the broken volume of the
river. For half a mile the battle raged, but at last