The country of the Atna
Indians on the upper Fraser abounded in elk, wapiti, reindeer, bighorn
sheep, mountain goats,[2] and beaver.
[Footnote 2: This remarkable beast (_Oreamnus_) they called "Aspai",
and wove from its white wool an excellent cloth for their clothing.]
Here is a description by Fraser of some of the rapids in the upper
part of the river named after him.
"The channel contracts to about forty yards, and is enclosed by two
precipices of immense height, which bending towards each other make it
narrower above than below. The water which rolls down this
extraordinary passage in tumultuous waves and with great velocity has
a frightful appearance. However, it being impossible to carry canoes
by land, all hands without hesitation embarked, as it were, _a corps
perdu_ upon the mercy of this awful tide. Once engaged, the die was
cast. Our great difficulty consisted in keeping the canoes in the
middle of the stream, that is, clear of the precipice on the one side,
and of the gulfs formed by the waves on the other. Thus, skimming
along as fast as lightning, the crews, cool and determined, followed
each other in awful silence, and when we arrived at the end we stood
gazing at each other in silent gratification at our narrow escape from
total destruction.... I scarcely ever saw anything so dreary and
dangerous in any country (such precipices, mountains, and rapids), and
I still seem to see, whichever way I turn my eyes, mountains upon
mountains whose summits are covered with eternal snow.
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