. Climbs & exploration in the Canadian Rockies . casionally great tongues andjets of flame would shoot skywards, as someclump of extra dry timber got ablaze; and,with a mighty crackling, thousands of sparksand red-hot pieces of wood flew up, followedby immense slowly-rising pillars of smoke thatexpanded, umbrella-like, towards the top; and,lit by the rays of the declining sun, graduallyenveloped the surrounding peaks with a luridhaze. The fire had not, as yet, embraced anyone large expanse of wood; but it was slowlyeating its way like a pestilence eastwards insmall scattered patches which grad
. Climbs & exploration in the Canadian Rockies . casionally great tongues andjets of flame would shoot skywards, as someclump of extra dry timber got ablaze; and,with a mighty crackling, thousands of sparksand red-hot pieces of wood flew up, followedby immense slowly-rising pillars of smoke thatexpanded, umbrella-like, towards the top; and,lit by the rays of the declining sun, graduallyenveloped the surrounding peaks with a luridhaze. The fire had not, as yet, embraced anyone large expanse of wood; but it was slowlyeating its way like a pestilence eastwards insmall scattered patches which gradually united,and, if the fine weather continued, it was evi-dent that wide tracts of the neighbouring forestswould be destroyed. An hour or twos work next morning suflicedto bring the raft to completion. It was a largeand very fine specimen of naval architecture,made of good-sized logs lashed together withcinches (pack-ropes), and wooden cross-pieces andbranches laid thereon to raise our goodly pile of baggage above the water. She was named 296. Rafting on Glacier Lake GLACIER LAKE The Glacier Belle, but we had no liquor towaste on her christening. The baggage wasbrought down on the horses, and piled up andlashed securely on the raised portions of theraft, the edifice being fitly crowned by thecolossal form of the mattress amid jeers fromthe packers. Punting-poles were fashioned outof pine saplings ; Fred sang out, All aboard ;and, with everybody pushing and shoving withpoles, and chattering a strange medley of rail-way and nautical jargon, we committed ourselvesto the deep. It was a brilliant morning ; thesun was blazing hot; not a breath stirred, andthe mountains and rocks and trees were reflectedwith startling clearness in the placid surface ofthe lake. We hugged the northern shore asclosely as possible, but it shelved so rapidly intodeep water that punting was no easy , freight, and passengers must have weighedtwo or three tons, so it may be imagined ourspeed was
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmountai, bookyear1903
