the Winnepeg, which flows into Hudson's Bay by the River Nelson, 58 deg. north latitude.[113]
{144} The Christian's standard, the cross, has been reared at the source of these two rivers: may it be a sign of salvation and peace to all the scattered and itinerant tribes east and west of these gigantic and lurid mountains.
On the cypress which serves for constructing the cross, the eagle, emblem of the Indian warrior, perches himself. The huntsman aims—the noble bird lies prostrate, and even in his fall, seems to retain his kingly pride. It so forcibly recalls to memory the beautiful lines of the illustrious Campbell, that I quote them in full:—
Fallen as he is, the king of birds still seems
Like royalty in ruins. Though his eyes
Are shut, that looked undazzled on the sun,
He was the sultan of the sky, and earth
Paid tribute to his eyrie. It was perched
Higher than human conqueror ever built
His bannered fort. . . .
. . . He cloved the adverse storm
And cuffed it with his wings. He stopped his flight
As easily as the Arab reins his steed,
And stood at pleasure 'neath heaven's zenith, like
A lamp suspended from its azure dome;
Whilst underneath him the world's mountains lay
Like mole-hills, and her streams like lucid threads.
We breakfasted on the bank of a limpid lake at the base of the "Cross of Peace," from whence {145} I have the honor of dating my letter, and of giving you the renewed assurance of my profound respect and veneration; recommending to your fervent prayers, in a special manner,
- [Footnote: as Simpson Pass (elevation 6,884 feet). It comes out in the neighborhood of
Banff on the Canadian Pacific Railway, in the valley of Bow River, a tributary of the South Saskatchewan. See Simpson, Narrative, i, pp. 118-121.—Ed.], longitude 99° 20['] west. Nelson River enters Hudson Bay near the fifty-seventh parallel of north latitude.—Ed.]
