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Show 68 [ 174 ] . 1 · tl n.t clirection and took an observation, where the barometer stood 1ant rt 1er m 1 '<- o · 1 c 1 1 1 1 gAOl; attached tbermomet~r 50, 111 t 1e gap. arson,.w w. l:l.l g01~e t l · 11 tLcceec1ed it renclwte: oue of tile uowy sumnnts of the matn onvde )r" e ow h1\1e n'c ,e be saw the peak touw ards wl~t. ch n.l l 0~1:· .c fl' ort.::; 1~ rtl1 been di. g , 0 towerine: ricrht or ten humlretl feet u1to the au above lnm. In the rectt 't· 110 r. 1110 ...... 1 ncr ~1vsl'IC crrow rather worse than better, ami doubtful ho\V mean u , 11 b J • b .1 · · l r far my strength wonl<..l curry me, I sent Bn.s1 l:nJcunessc w1t 1 10lll' mcu, hack to the place where the u~ulc hn.l1 been left. w 0 were uow better ncq uamtcd wtth. t~e topog:raphy of the cou~1try, n.nu T directed hitn to briug back with hi111, tf It were. Ill any way pos~tble, four or five mules, with provi~ions and blankets. \V1th me were 1\.Iaxwell ami Ayer. and after we bad remaiued 11carl y _an hour on the rock, Lt became so unplea 'antly cold, though the d<~Y was bnght, that .w~ _:ct out on our rctmn to the ca 111 p, at v;hich we n.ll arnved safely, stragglmg Ill Otte after the other. 1 conlinuc<l 11\ during the aft ruoou, but becrune better toward~ snndown, whcu my recovery wu con1pletcd by the ap~eara~1cc of I \n.~tl and four men all mounted. The men who had gone wtth llun had bevu too much fatig'ncd to retnru, ami were rel~eved by those iu charge of ~lte lwr..:cs; but in his powers of nd urance Basll resembled more a. motmt::uu goat than a man. 'l'bey lHougllt bl::mkcts and provisions, and we enjoy?d well our dried mc<.1t and a cup of good cofl'ce. \~e rolled ourselves up m. our bl~nkets, ·llld with our feel tumcd to a bluzmg fire, slept souud.ly unttl mommg. ' J1u1r 11 st 15.-lt bad been supposed that we lw.d fiui ·hec1 with the mountaius ·0 and the evening before, it had becu arran ged tlw.~ Carson should set ont a~ daylight, and return to urcakfast at the Camp of the .M ules, taking with lsim all but four or five men, who were to stay wiLh me aud bring back the mule and iustruments. Accordingly, at the break of day they set out. With Mr. Preuss and myself remained Basil L::~jeunesse , Cl',ment Lambert, JaniRse, nnd Descoteaux. \Vhcn we had secured strcugth for tht~ day by a hearty breakfa. t, we covereu what remained, which was Cllough for one meal, with rock ·, in order that it might be safe from auy marawJing bird i a 11 u, <::audliug our nmleR, turned our faces once more towarJs the peaks. This timt..: we uetermined to proceed quietly and cautiously, deliberately resolved to ~cc01nplish our object if it were within the cornpa s of ltuman llleans. vVe were of opiuion that a long defile which lay to tltc left of yesterday's route would lead us to tlte foot of the main peak. Om mules had been refre~hetl by the fine grass in the little ravine at the J 'land camp~ and we iutended to ride np the defile as far as po ~iblc, in order to husband our ·trength for tile main ascent. Though thi was a fu1e passage, still it was a defile of the most rugged mountains known, and we had mauy u rough and steep slippery place to cross before rcachiug the ell(]. Iu this place the sun r;.u·ely shone ; snow lay along the border of the small stream which flowed through it, and occasional icy passacrcs made the footi11cr of the mnles very iusecnre, and the rocks awl gronncf were moist with bthe trickling waters in this spring of mighty rivers. \\Te ·oou lJn.cl the :1tisfaction w find ourselves riding along the huge wall which forms the central summits of the c_hain. ~her? at last it rose by onr sides, a ncar! y perpendicular wall of gramte, termtnatmg 2,000 to 3,000 feet above our heads in a serrated liue of broken, jagged cones. We rode on until we came almost immediately b~low the main peak, which I denominated the Snow peak, as it exhibited more snow to the eye than any of the neighboring summit~. !I ere were t.hree small laltes of a green color, each of perhaps a thousand yards in 69 [ 174 J . diameter, and apparently very deep. These 1 · 1·· accordiug to the barometer, we had attainc~l b~~ .~11~~ \~nd o1. rhasll!; ;utd, the J:.;lautl b.ke. Tlte barometer here stood. t '>QL l~ w tlli H.l trd feet abov<" ter 70°. <l ...., •• .:>0. attached thennome We managed to get onr mules nu to a little bl'n ·l . . above tile lakes, where there w·ls a p·:ttcll (' c 1 about a hundred teet I ' ' 0 crond ()"r•:tss alllf t J 1 oo e to crraze. Dming Ollr rollglt ritle to tlli ~.. 5. lh .n • , < lll'll~l .t lCtn WOIH.lerfnl surcfooteducs.. . P'· tt·ts of tl te <1 c f1i, l e1 w' cec.,' tfhlrly lh :td . e1x lubtted 1. sharp fragments of rock, tln·ee or four and eiol!t or ,'e ,~ C< Wit l angular, these they hatl wo rked thei·· w"y le·:tt ll.t1g {" b ten feet ctll>e; aud among- .. "' ' " I' 0 I n 0 I H' II · tl'l' · J rarely making a false st<'P and nivincr u . 1 , • • · • ' o~v poutt to anothrr, divested Ollt"'clves of evcr'y ltlli~ccss~'lr s elO ~cc,lts~.on to dtsmouut. Having '1'1 . . . a ' y tl tllll Jl,uJcc we COllll ~ l I asccllt. liS tmw It!~ cxtwricnrccl trav ellt'l's w' d 'd ncnce< t 1C bnt clitnhcd leisurely ittino· down .0 • ·' e .1 not press Otll'sclv<'s t r 'I . ' b OOil .. l.S we fonnd br ~atl b . . o IHl. At llltcrvals we readlCd places wltcr . . c. _t t'gllllltllo· frotn the rocks, and auout 1 800 feet abo tl c' .. ~.\!.umber o! sprtngs gushed From tlJis poiut our progres~ was uniu t~~~~u >t~ ,\. \.('S e~une to tl_le1';1tow lit H'. worn a pair of thick moccJ.Stlt~ with s 1 lt.ted clj;1_1btng. Ilttllertn l h:ul I . I I . . L ~, 0 es 0 ;wr,, ·chc · unt he I a tg tt t 1111 pair, wltiell 1 had brono·ht f . tl · rc put oa om toe, bccanlC necessary to a fttrtbll Oll Jc pmpose, :ls now the u ... o ot f b [ ' " cr at. vance I a v·t ilecl Jf [ o com o tlte mowttaiu which stood '1 . . ' . mysc o a sort which the wind and the s~hr radi~t' ~ g:autsl't the wall ltlcc a buttre .. ·, nlH.I ruck, hatl kcl1t almost c,tltt.'t·cly.. ft·e' ewfn, .JOUJC<. to the steepness of the SlliOoth · , rom snow U tl ·. I c] rat ptdlyI. Onr cautiou method ol' a d vancu.l O' . . p II~ ma e my way 111 the ou t •t l 1 1 s reugt l; allCI, with tlw cxccptiou of a slier! t u·. . . t lac :-;pur'<. my no remains of yesterday's illne.s. lt; a {', l J •• postllou to headache, I felt wherc_thc buttress was overhancriucr a cw ,'.t~mu.tes we reaclted a point motltltlllg the dilllcultv tlnn by b ·' tJd tltclC w.ts .no other wuy of' sur-tl r f · L pa, lll cr aronud one std) f ·t J · 1 lep ttl.tCt'e o 1a V<l' rtical p, rcrit.> ice of s.. c vct.d. I I llliH l t, o 1 ' w ttc l w·t. r~d feet . u tng latHs and ket Ill the ere vic' l ' . lll getting over it' alld whcu I rcncbetl c~l ,>ct weeu the hlocK~, l ·t~cc cdcd small valley below J)<'SC' l l ' l JC top, foulttlnJy compunwn~ in 3 • - t t t u w to t 1 c m w . · d 1. • a short time r8acheu the crest bl , . . ' c contJuuc c mthin()", atJU in I 1 .1 ... • ~p l allrr lll)Oll the c• • ,1 s. ep wou u have prrcipitatcd me ii t: .,tmJ~lllt, anu auoth r feet uclow. To the c<.lnc oft!. r. llldo an ltnllJ CilSe _snow fwld five htllHlrt·d ·tl ::.. -- llS 11e was a ~ltccr 1c · · Wl l a gradual fall, the fi elcl sloped ofr f ~· . b yyr('Clpt.c~; and then, foot of au other lower ridrrc 1 1 · ' 0 <..l out ::t mtlc, uutd 1t struck thL' w'·ltl . I . . b. s oou on a narrow cr''l . I I . . lu ,, w.Jt l au mcltuatiou of about 20o N r.. o ~" l ~ ' .. t JOllt t lrce teet ut fi?c] the lust feeliug' vf curios·t I c]' . .:>1 L. A soon as l had crratt· Ins turn. for I wonld o I Illy, c. cended, and eaeh man a c 'lldf'd in prccar·w'u , slab, wl ich itu iveoanowwd oa ube. '· ttl'' l titr t I - lC o mot_lllt t 1e unstable untl ~c nwnnted. tile barometer iu tile teat:. 7ottld hu~·l lnto the abyss b low. Ill a crevice, unfnrletl the mttioua~llf\~ o t lC su~nmtt, aud, fixing a ramrod flag wa vcd h fore. Dnring . I a b. to wave lll the breeze where uevm ~a n·t mu1 1I·Lr e, exeC' nt the s our mornmry's ·1sceot 1 . 1 111 • 1jt . . . . b · .'' ' we Wu lllet 110 icrn of lless the most pr~foultd nnLtl 'lSJtl~\\~j~)~:·ltk~ bml already mentioned. A ~till· on the llJiud as tile crreut fen.t~t· [ t ollttude forccJ themselves constalltlv the stillnes - was au~olttt<' ' ut ~cs lo t lbe p ac~..L lJere, on the summit \~llCrc plete ' we t 1l Ougllt onr::~clv'o . b1e Hyoo ncden t l Y .a uo·y· souud ~· t n tl t 1l e so l'l tutl' e com-- w? \~ere sitting Oil the rock a l·v . le le ton of atlllll'lted life; but while wwgmg his flight from the ~;s~~. 1 '-''~ 1~ee (bror:zw~, the hunzble bee) came men. Clll va. cy, and ltt on the knee of one of tile " |