THE PROSPECTOR oo:

amid the valleys of the upper peaks; for, in
an instant, the snowslide might come over the
edge of the upper valley to sweep down the
slope, carrying away forests, rocks, trail, pack-
train and all. The story is told of one slide
seen by the guide at the head of a long pack-
train. He had judged it to be ten miles away ;
but out from the upper valley it came coiling
like a long white snake, and before he could
turn, it had caught him. Ina slide death was
almost certain, from suffocation if not from
the crush of falling trees and rocks. Miners
have been taken from their cabins dead in the
trail of a snowslide that swept the shack to the
bottom of the valley without so much as a
hair of their heads being injured. Though the
logs were twisted and warped, the dead bodies
were not even bruised.

When a hushed whisper came through the
trees, travellers looked for some waterfall. At
midday, when the thaw was at its full, all the
mountain torrents became vocal with the glee
of disimprisoned life running a race of gladness
to the sea. The sun sets early in the moun-
tains with a gradual hushing of the voice of
glad waters and a red glow as of wine on the
encircling peaks. Camp for the night was
always near water for the horses; and every |

a = Taran BRN nee = - - . —peeneeie ton