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                   [Illustration: Mount Assiniboine.]




                             CAMPING IN THE
                            CANADIAN ROCKIES


   AN ACCOUNT OF CAMP LIFE IN THE WILDER PARTS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKY
 MOUNTAINS, TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION ABOUT BANFF, LAKE
      LOUISE, AND GLACIER, AND A SKETCH OF THE EARLY EXPLORATIONS

                                   BY
                          WALTER DWIGHT WILCOX

                             [Illustration]

 WITH TWENTY-FIVE FULL-PAGE PHOTOGRAVURES, AND MANY TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS
                     FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

                          G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
                                NEW YORK
                      27 West Twenty-third Street
                                 LONDON
                       24 Bedford Street, Strand
                       _The Knickerbocker Press_
                                  1896

                            Copyright, 1896
                                   BY
                          G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
                 _Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London_

                  _The Knickerbocker Press, New York_

                             [Illustration]




                                PREFACE.


The Canadian Rocky Mountains offer exceptional attractions to those who
enjoy natural scenery, sport, and camp life. Few regions of the world
combining mountain, lake, and forest scenery possess the additional
advantage of a delightful summer climate, such as obtains in the
Canadian Rockies.

The extremely wild character of this part of the Rocky Mountains, and
the very short time since it was opened up to travellers, are probably,
in great part, the reasons for the lack of literature and the absence of
any thoroughly illustrated publication concerning this region.

During a period of four years, the author has made camping excursions
into many of the wilder parts of the mountains and effected a
considerable number of ascents. An excellent camera has been an almost
inseparable companion in every excursion, so that photographs of the
typical scenery have been obtained from every possible point of view.
Moreover, throughout all the processes of photographing, no expense of
time or labor has been spared in order to obtain true and artistic
representations of nature. Nor have these results been obtained without
considerable sacrifice, for in many cases the proper light effects on
lakes and forests required hours of delay, and frequently, on lofty
mountain summits, high winds made it necessary to anchor the camera with
stones; while the cold and exposure of those high altitudes made the
circumstances unfavorable for successful work.

A map is not included in the volume, as, owing to the wildness of the
country, there are no detailed maps covering this region that are
entirely satisfactory. The best map, and, in fact, the only one
available, is published in Dr. Dawson’s _Preliminary Report_ on this
part of the Rocky Mountains.

The author makes grateful acknowledgment of the assistance received from
many friends in the preparation of this book. Special thanks are due to
Prof. J. H. Gore, of Columbian University, and to the Hon. Chas. D.
Walcott, Director of the United States Geological Survey, for the
valuable aid and information given by them; to M. Guillaume La Mothe for
an interesting letter concerning the first exploration of the Fraser
River; and to Sir William Van Horne for the many courtesies extended.

                                                                W. D. W.

Washington, D.C., July, 1896.

                             [Illustration]

                             [Illustration]




                               CONTENTS.


  CHAPTER I.

      _Banff—Its Location—The Village—Tourists—Hotels—Topography of the
      Region—Rundle and Cascade Mountains—The Devil’s Lake—Sir George
      Simpson’s Journey to this Region—Peechee the Indian Guide—An
      Indian Legend—The Missionary Rundle—Dr. Hector—The Climate of
      Banff—A Summer Snow-Storm—The Mountains in Winter_            1-15

  CHAPTER II.

      _Lake Louise—First Impressions—An Abode of Perpetual Winter—The
      Chalet—Visitors—Stirring Tales of Adventure—Primeval
      Forests—Forest Fires—Mosquitoes and Bull-Dog Flies—Mortal Combats
      between Wasps and Bull-dogs—The Old Chalet—Morning on the
      Lake—Approach of a Storm—Sublimity of a Mountain
      Thunder-Storm—Cloud Effects—The Lake in October—A Magnificent
      Avalanche from Mount Lefroy—A Warning of Approaching Winter_ 16-35

  CHAPTER III.

      _Surroundings of the Lake—Position of Mountains and Valleys—The
      Spruce and Balsam Firs—The Lyall’s Larch—Alpine Flowers—The Trail
      among the Cliffs—The Beehive, a Monument of the Past—Lake Agnes, a
      Lake of Solitude—Summit of the Beehive—Lake Louise in the Distant
      Future_                                                      36-46

  CHAPTER IV.

      _Organizing a Party for the Mountains—Our Plans for the
      Summer—William Twin and Tom Chiniquy—Nature, Habits, and Dress of
      the Stoney Indians—An Excursion on the Glacier—The Surface Debris
      and its Origin—Snow Line—Ascent of the Couloir—A Terrible
      Accident—Getting Down—An Exhausting Return for Aid—Hasty
      Organization of a Rescue Party—Cold and Miserable Wait on the
      Glacier—Unpleasant Surmises—“I Think You Die”—A Fortunate
      Termination_                                                 47-64

  CHAPTER V.

      _Castle Crags—Early Morning on the Mountain Side—View from the
      Summit—Ascent of the Aiguille—An Avalanche of Rocks—A Glorious
      Glissade—St. Piran—Its Alpine Flowers and Butterflies—Expedition
      to an Unexplored Valley—A Thirsty Walk through the
      Forest—Discovery of a Mountain Torrent—A Lake in the Forest—A
      Mountain Amphitheatre—The Saddle—Impressive View of Mount
      Temple—Summit of Great Mountain—An Ascent in Vain—A Sudden Storm
      in the High Mountains—Phenomenal Fall of Temperature—Grand Cloud
      Effects_                                                     65-83

  CHAPTER VI.

      _Paradise Valley—The Mitre Glacier—Air Castles—Climbing to the
      Col—Dark Ice Caverns—Mountain Sickness—Grandeur of the
      Rock-Precipices on Mount Lefroy—Summit of the Col at Last—A
      Glorious Vision of a New and Beautiful Valley—A Temple of
      Nature—Sudden Change of Weather—Temptation to Explore the New
      Valley—A Precipitate Descent—Sudden Transition from Arctic to
      Temperate Conditions—Delightful Surroundings—Weary
      Followers—Overtaken by Night—A Bivouac in the Forest—Fire in the
      Forest—Indian Sarcasm_                                      84-100

  CHAPTER VII.

      _The Wild Character of Paradise Valley—Difficulties with
      Pack-Horses—A Remarkable Accident—Our Camp and Surroundings—Animal
      Friends—Midsummer Flowers—Desolation Valley—Ascent of Hazel
      Peak—An Alpine Lake in a Basin of Ice—First Attempt to Scale Mount
      Temple—Our Camp by a Small Lake—A Wild and Stormy Night—An
      Impassable Barrier—A Scene of Utter Desolation—All Nature
      Sleeps—Difficulties of Ascent—The Highest Point yet Reached in
      Canada—Paradise Valley in Winter—Farewell to Lake Louise_  101-118

  CHAPTER VIII.

      _The Selkirks—Geographical Position of the Range—Good Cheer of the
      Glacier House—Charming Situation—Comparison between the Selkirks
      and Rockies—Early Mountain Ascents—Density of the Forest—Ascent of
      Eagle Peak—A Magnificent Panorama—A Descent in the
      Darkness—Account of a Terrible Experience on Eagle Peak—Trails
      through the Forest—Future Popularity of the Selkirks—The Forest
      Primeval—An Epitome of Human Life—Age of Trees—Forests Dependent
      on Humidity_                                               119-136

  CHAPTER IX.

      _Mount Assiniboine—Preparations for Visiting it—Camp at Heely’s
      Creek—Crossing the Simpson Pass—Shoot a Pack-Horse—A Delightful
      Camp—A Difficult Snow Pass—Burnt Timber—Nature Sounds—Discovery of
      a Beautiful Lake—Inspiring View of Mount Assiniboine—Our Camp at
      the Base of the Mountain—Summer Snow-Storms—Inaccessibility of
      Mount Assiniboine_                                         137-157

  CHAPTER X.

      _Evidence of Game—Discovery of a Mountain