The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-09-27

Rivers That Rns the Wrong wsy-Lofty
Glaciers, and Enormous Mountain
Peaks.


knows. says the Victoria Times. that
they flow in the wrong direction while
they are Young. For instance, the
Arctic Ocean, In defiance OF the Rocky
Mountains and the laws of nature.
while the Columbia. Fraser and Koot
enay only consent TO travel seaward
after going in the opposite direction
some hundreds of miles. But they
also have very peculiar ways of max.
ing ice. quite opposite 10 that laid
down in the text books. In the Skeena
have observed tho ice In autumn to
form on the river bed among the
powders In globules. like mass OF
fish spawn. this often growing until
the reef actually reaches the surface
but more often il breaks away In large
pieces and floats off down stream. bear.
ing pebbles and even powders for
many miles. have seen the river In
December entirely covered with this
ground ice adrift. the globules being
the size of peas aud cohering like loose
snow.
There are many natural bridges on
our rivers also. In the Kicking Horse
three miles below Field Station, there
is a rock bridge, In slate formation,
which is inclined so AS TO present sharp
edges very unpleasant TO walk upon.
Every obseryant passenger on the
Canadian Pacific Railroad has noticed
the snow bridge on the Illecillewaet.
but there are records of ice bridges
also. l think have heard of one Oh
the Homatheo River. but of the Stick
cen marvellous story Is told. There
is a great glacier descending out of the
high snowfield to the north. and this
in ancient times flowed right across
the valley, meeting lesser ice stream
from the heights opposite. The Stick.
cen flowed under the ice in tunnel.
and at very low water the passage was
too small for il, although the water
must have been banked up into lake
at the spring freshet.
Now, the Sloane Indians OF the up
per valley used 10 regard this tunnel
in the ice as leading TO the sweet by
and by They were. therefore. very
anxious to avoid the place. But once
the tribe was encamped not far above
the glacier, and there was very old
man and his wife with them who were
too mean to die because of the expense
of giving funeral feast. They were
very rich and of no use and had large
appetitcs. and their relatives ut last
consented 10 part with them. They
were. therefore. set adrift in leaky
canoe and consigned to the current,
and all the people, conscious of self.
sacrifice. stood on the bank and
watched the canoe vanish into the tun.
/ Al al al Ia old
pie were very much frightened and
squealed good deal. but when the
blue shadows Of the ice closed over
them they thought they were dead In.
dians. and behaved accordingly. Pres
emily the old lady thought IL was get
ting light, and became curious and
looked about her. Then she kicked
the old man and asked II he didn't
wish they were at the funeral feast.
He looked up and found the canoe out
in the open again, the glacier behind
them. and the world pretty much as
usual. They got ashore. cut paddles
and poles, and prepared to 90 home
again. The old man began to be
hungry for the grease boxes; the old
lady set her heart on grease and Der.
! ries. and they both determined TO get
home for the banquet since they had
assisted at the funeral Well. by dint
of making the old lady work while he
steered and gave good advice, they
succeeded in making their way up
through the tunnel aud home. and were
in ample time for the feast. In fact
! they lived happily ever afterward. But
how shall we coudole with the relatives,
whose sweetest and most pious tradi.
/ tons had been shattered about the
sweet by and byp
Not least among the natural wonders
of the coast is Mckenzie Passage, o
little to the westward of Kinacome
Inlet. 1t Is chasm about six miles In
length. leading to the base OF an isolat-
ed and broken peak 1865. feet high
The walls are very close together.
/ vertical and snow-crowned. The sun
never shines in this awful gorge; the
yapor from IFS waters hangs dark and
bitter cold, unmoved by any wind. and
no living being enters It's solitude. J
find but two records OF this place hav-
ing been visited by white men.
Scarcely less wonderful is an inlet
tributary TO Deans Canal, and the
scene OF one OF the most important
events in Canadian history. IL Is thus
described by Vancouver: The width
OF the channel did not anywhere cx.
coed three-quartcrs OF mile; It's shores
were bounded by precipices much more
perpendicular than any we had yet
seen during this excursions; and from
the SUBMITS of the mountains that
overlooked il. particularly on its north.
eastern shore, there fell several large
cascades. These were extremely grand