--<{ TO CARIBOO AND BACK }--

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A GRIZZLY ON THE DOORSTEP

Christmas at Quesnel was kept as nearly in
orthodox fashion as the miners knew how.
They all stopped work, except a few so ravenous
for gold that they grubbed and cradled week-
days, Sundays and holidays without inter-
mission, truly losing their lives to keep them.

But the greater number were keen for
jollity and a change from the daily round. Nor
was the meaning of the day wholly overlooked,
for a clergyman had come to them all the way
from Yale, which was at that time the most
advanced settlement on the Fraser above West-
minster, for the express purpose of holding a
Christmas service. This was well attended;
the hall was filled to overflowing by miners,
who joined in the best known carols with a roar —
and when the plate was passed searched their
pockets for gold dust and nuggets, contributing
generously what they had. In those days cash
was scarce, and no coin smaller than twenty-
five cents was ever seen in the mining camps.

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