ry.

We watched the big-horn as it bounded away, until it speedily
disappeared.

Almost immediately afterwards the mist lifted, and we saw before us a
range of mountains with a snow-capped peak, apparently of great
elevation, rising beyond them, while at their foot slept a lake of clear
water, shining like a polished mirror in the rays of the sun.

"What! shall we have to cross all those mountains?" exclaimed Dan, "we
shall be brought to a stand-still, I fear."

"We shall have to get through them somehow or other, but I hope that a
passage may be found up a canon, between the rocky heights, so that we
shall not be compelled to climb over their tops," answered Mr Tidey.
"The sooner, however, we get back to camp and look out for the required
pass the better. It may take us some days, and as the season is
advancing there is no time to be lost."

We accordingly turned back, and on reaching the train found that the
mountains were as clearly visible as from where we had first seen them.
Near at hand was a rocky height, to the top of which my father and uncle
climbed with us, carrying their spy-glasses that they might take a view
of the range, and endeavour to discover some opening through which we
might hope to make our way.

"Others have gone through yonder rocky barrier, and so may we," said my
father, sweeping the range from north to south with his telescope.
After surveying the mountain for some time, he exclaimed, "I see what
looks like a canon where the cliffs appear to rise almost
perpendicularly out of the plain. We will direct our course towards it.
We shall not reach it to-night, but we will explore it with our carts
to-morrow morning, while we leave the waggons in a safe position, so
that they may be effectually defended should any Indians venture to
attack them, though I have no apprehensions on that score."

The plan being arranged, we returned to the train, and, verging to the
right, moved towards the gap my father had discovered. We reached one
end of the lake which we had seen in the morning, and as the sun had
already disappeared over the mountains, a halt was called, and we
encamped in our usual fashion. We chose a spot with the lake to the
south; on one side a rocky height rose precipitously out of the water,
on the other was a thick wood; we had thus two sides of the camp
strongly defended by nature, and by throwing up a breastwork round the
other two sides the camp might be made as strong as c