~~ TO CARIBOO AND BACK }—

men’s ability to navigate such perilous waters.
But at least by this road there was less danger
of being caught and held by the snows of win-
ter, for the racing Fraser would not freeze.

A number of the original overlanders had
turned back before this. They lost heart when
the hardships of the journey became very
severe. Others had stopped to prospect at
some of the streams they passed and finding
gold, or signs of it, they remained behind. A
few had stopped for a wiser purpose. When
they saw rich crops growing near some of
the forts they came to, they chose to make
their home where they were and stayed to take
up farming. A few more were so far behind
the rest of the caravan that they did not reach
the Yellow Head Pass until long after the others
had gone through and were either striking
south or embarked on the Fraser River. A few
others had filled lonely graves by the wayside,
where they had fallen victims to some accident
or sickness. And so it happened that when the
final separating into two parties took place,
neither of them was very large.

Here at their last long camp Jim had the sad
experience of saying goodbye to his good pony

Oe

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