The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-08-26

NOTEBOOK.
Calgary lies among the foot hills,
and by it's door sweeps the full, swift
river Bow. Along the valley of this
river we began our climb. The sun
set in crimson glory; and the dark
ness came creeping up the peaks until
at last all was night. We reached
Banff at midnight tired, and glad of
beds that stood still.
Next morning when l opened my
window my first thought was that a
some remote village in the heart of
the Alps. In the sunshine lowered
mountain peaks covered with snow
and wrapped in gray clouds. thought
of Koffel that watches over the valley
if Oberammergau, and on the crest of
which is an immense cross that throws
the protecting shadow of it's arms
over the village. 1t was erected by
the zeal of the inhabitants and with
great effort, one of them laying down
his life in the work. Through the
mountain gorge the swift, resistless
Bow plunges on IT'S way, instead of the
chattering Ammer. The tables in the
dining room of our hotel were deco
rated with mountain flowers, white
and yellow peoples, and the purple
spikes that for want of a better name
we call fireweeds, it's splendor follows
us all the way since leaving home.
From Banff through the National
Park the scene is one of indescribable
beauty-magniicent forests climbing
the shoulders of stately peaks, until
they mingle their darkness with the
eternal SHOWS; mad torrents, leaping
boulders and fallen tree trunks on
their impetuous way to the level;
great gullies spanned by bridges look
ing dwarfed and wholly inadequate
where everything is so vast. In view
of the recent Teutonic pastime of
wrecking bridges in the enemy's coun-
try, it was not little reassuring to
see a quiet-faced soldier standing
guard at each end of the bridges; and
when we read the motto picked out
with white stones, God save the
King" after crawling over particu-
larly hair-raising abyss, we devoutly
added amen"
| The Great Divide.
| A few hours out from Banff we cross
the Great Divide where the water in a
cement runway has to make it's choice
right in the public eye, instead of
creeping, as it formerly did, under the
grasses and rushes and coyly turning
back and forth until, as if by the
merest chance, it parts forever, the
one stream going to the rising, the
other to the setting sun. Here we
bid adieu to the Bow river and follow
the fortunes of Kicking Horse as it
Swells from tiny stream at it's foun
tain head until after many vicissitudes
it pours it's waters into the lordly
Columbia.
Kicking Horse river and canyon
take their names from a rock forma
ton at the entrance of the canyon
which to the imaginative represents q
man seated on a kicking horse.
could very we'll make out the figure
of man on horseback, but that the
animal was showing any evidence OF
bad humor l failed to discover.
When hunters of beauty spots roam
the world seeking for something to en-
thuse over, they should go directly to
Lake Shushuwap. But does it always
look so beautiful as the evening we
left the little town of Sicamores and
followed it's clear cut border for miles
and miles? On the opposite shore the
mountains rose round and steep and
wooded and wading out as if they
would battle their great, tired feet in
it's cool depths. The sun went down
in gray and silver behind the should
er of a spruce-covered mountain and
shreds of clouds floated about Their
peaks until the dusk blotted out every
thing and | felt rather than saw we
were still following the border of the
darkling lake.
Redcoats.
Even a Saunterer must miss some
things and it was our destiny to glide
through Vancouver without even g
glimpse, for we went directly to the
boat. At Victoria we had two hours
There we're many soldiers to be seen
strong, straight fellows in their dull
colored suits. But here and there
was scarlet coat. l thought the
scarlet coat had gone, with lot Of
the other "pomp and circumstance o.
glorious war" l remembered my frs
sight of red coats. l was only a chile
then and little company of English
soldiers we're marching up the quiet
country road to evict tenant who
was backward in paying his rent, fol
in some places, even on this side Of
the Atlantic, that simple way of max
ing collections prevailed. remember
yet the little cloud of dust they kick
ed up and the terror of my mother as
she gathered us all into room up
stairs where we peeked through the
windows at them as they passed
That is good many years ago, bu
time has failed to take from my minC
a distaste for the color, in coats.
who are these men in red," ask
ed of woman standing near. "Oh,'
, she replied, these are Americans.
But no." said l, these are no
American soldiers" eyes," was the
answer. 1.-THE American Legion they
/ &hoY,1 Tboxy fovo