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Show [ 174 ] G! f l'tt1 tl 'cket two or three hundred feet from our enc:~mp. tmheen et dg~v~v e aw elr e ep os1 ticd 1·'11 a arove of bcrch, on the margiu of the iake, < o • . 1 · . · r 1 1 d c et Jo 11g with a narrow p1·atl'lllon ou t 1e lllner s!cle, tH.l a 1ew nmc re 1C ' ( • · 1 ~ordered b the rocky ridge. In the upper end of_ tlu gr~ve we_ c eared a ci· rcnl~u spayc e au1.o u t i'o1·ty feet in diameter ' nud, with t1h efi fellCr' d tt·l llb1c r ·a nd m· terw' oven b ranc 1I es ' ~~ urrouhded it with a. brea ·t wIo r. (I vI e 1ce.t 111 l H' tght. ' 1 ft fo. a crate on tile inner stdc, by w nc 1 t 1e amma were A aap was e 1 0 ( o · l 1 t 1d tl1e l1.ttlc \\' ·1· .1 · · rtd S"Cll!'el] whde I 1e ll1C'll S ep rt l'Olll 01\, t be unven ltl a ' ' · d b 1 1 It was IJ a•' f 1l l·C l d en by tl'~ c foli''loae '· ar1d ' ga. rn oue ly . tI w e .va et reslo ute ld l t nt defiance any baml o{ av:1ges W 11C l lll10 men won 1ave SG u ' 11t C WllC!\ c-·r · 0 discover them in tile interval of' on~· nbseucc. t~ 1 teet~ o[ t 11 e_ 1)~ st lnltl e s, wt' th 1c 0tH te e1 1 111n' 11 , were s' rlected ior the . mont1tam party. Om pto- 1 - 1 1 • n.· Vl· I·O nS COllSl·S t t'.u1 of d1·1·ecl r1 1e'· u Cor two claJu s, w1th our Hl t c slt oc c ot couee '111 d ~ome mace 111.0111· . I11 '1clclition to the barometer ana a t 1ermouwtt>r, I l 'OO l\ . Wl't l 1 tne a sc -.."... t.".l lt 'tllll SJ1V o-la~s and we had of course onr comp1 e. L ... • :., • , In charge of 1 he camp I left U~rnier, one of my. most rrnst wortl1y men, who po::;se. eel tl!e most determrue~l courage. . . . , 1 ugu ·t 1o -l~'at·ly in the mornt:Jo- we left the cd.tnp, fdteen 111 number, 8 ll ' i "o"· f co:t.Jt r·c,~ a11d monuted: :;,o n onr bc&t mn Ie s. A pac1 { :Jut.m ·a l W<.; arlllC'C · " ' " f . carrieu our ,provi.ious, with n. coffee pot and kettl~, and three or om. t1_n cups. Every man bad a bla:1kct su:apped over Ins sa<..l~l.c, ~o ~erve for hts bed and the in~trnments were earned by tnms 011 . theu bLlcks. ~Ve cn- 1ercd directly 011 rongll and rocky grou,,d; and, JIISt after crossmg the ridge, h:td the good fortune to .Jwot au ru~t elope. We lwar_d th_e roar, and had a glimpse of a Wf:l.trrf.tll as we rode along; and, cros.,lllg 111 m_u· W'J.Y two fine streams, tributary to the Colorado, iu about t\~O hours nde :ve 1 carh ,d the top o1 the fir~t 1 ow or range 0f the montJtauJs. Here~ ag~m, a view of the nwst rollla11tic beauty met onr eyes. It scemC'd as 1f, 11om the vast expanse of uninterc ·t ing prairie we haJ passed over, ~at me had ccillccted all lwr b~auties together in one chosen place. \\re wc1c O\'Cr· looking a deep vallC'y, which was entirely ocel!P_icd by ~hrce lakes, and from the brink the surrounding ridges rose prcCIJHtously hve IJ_nudrcc~ n.nd a thonsawl feet, cov<'recl. with the dark green ot tl1~ bal:~am ptne., rc!Jcved ou the border of the lake with the ligl1t foliage o( the aspen. fhe) all commuuicated with c:-tch uthe r ; and the crrcen ?f the wa1er~, cotm_u ~ n to momJtain lakes of great depth, showed tlw.t . It woulcl be Hnposslbie to cro::-s them. The surpri e mauifested by our gmdcs whcu thee Jtnpassnhle uLstucles slldd('!JJly barred our progress proved that they were among tlle. hi<..lcl.eu trea nrcs of tho place nuknown even to the wanclonng tr~ppet::; ot the rt'gion. De.'cendiJJg the hill, we p1occedecl to m~l~e our way a!ong the nmrgin to the southern extremity. A uarrow stnp of augnlar ll'itg· ments of' rock sometimes affurded a rough pathw[\y lor our mules, but generally we rode alo11g the shelving side, occasionally crambling np, at a considerable risk of tumbling br~ck into the lake. The lope was frrqttt>ntly 60°; the piues grew densely together, an_d .he grouml was covered with the bru11ches aiJu trunks of trees. 'l_'hc ~tr vas fragrant with the odor of the pines; aud I realized this dehgbtlul morni11g the pleasure of breathing that mountain nir which makes ~con· stant theme of the hunter's praise, and whiclt now made us feel ~s If w_e J~acl all Leen drinking some exhilarating gas. The depths of this unex· plorecl forest Wl'l'e a place to delight the heart of a botanist. Th~re w~s ~. riclJ m1dergrowth of plauts, and numerous gay-colored flowers w. bnl· 65 [ 174 J jj~ut bloom. ~e reached the outlet at length, where orne freshly barked willows that lay m the water howe~ that. bea v_er had been r crntly at work. There were some small brown sq~urre!s Jnmpmg abont in the pines, and a conple of large mallard dncks swmunmg about in the trearn. Tl~e bills on this southern end were low, and the lake looked like a m1m1c se~, as the waves broke on the sandy bench iu the force of a strong breeze. There was a pretty open spot, with fine grass for our mules; and we made our noon halt or~ the beach, under the shade of omo large hemJocks. We l'?SUI1led OUr JOlll'lley arrer a halt of <l bout an lJour, making our way np tbe ndge o_n tb~ western r..a de of the lake. In search of smoother grounc\, we rode a h~tle 1nland; and_, passiug through groves of aspen, soon found otu~elvcs nga!n amo11g the plllcs. Emerging from these, we .struck the summtt of the ndge above the upper end of the lake. We had r~ached a very elevated point; a_ncl in the valley below, and among the Jnlls, were a numher of lakes at different levels· some two or three hundred feet above other , wi_th which they commnni~ated by foammg torrents. Even to our ~reat hergh~, t~e roar of the catarncts came up, and we conld see them lcnpmg down 111 lmes of snowy foam. From this ,cene of busy waters, we turned abruptly iuto the stillness of a forest where we rode among the open tolls of the pines, over a Ia wn of verdant gr~ss, having stJ i .. i11gly tlle air ?f cultivated g rouuds. This led us, after a t1me, among mlls, es of rock wl11eh had no veo-etable earth but in hollows and crevices, though still the pine forest contit~ted. Toward ever1ino- we reached a defile, or rather a hole in the moumaius cutirely -hut in by0dark pine-covered rocks. ' A small stream, with a scarcely perceptible cnrrent, flowed throucrh a lc~el bottom of perh~ps eighty yards width, where tile grass was satur~ted With ~vater. Iuto th1s the mules were turned, an(} were 11eithcr hobbled l:or prckoted during the night, as tl_lC fine r~astnrag~ tool away all tcmptat JOJl to stray; and we made our b1 vouac m the pmc . Tbe surroull(litw 1nasses were ~ll o~ grallite .. 'Vhile supper wus beiug prepared, I set ou~ on an excursiOn Ill the neighborhood, accompani 'd by oue of my men. \tVe wandered about among tb~ cra~s and ravines Ulltil dark, richly repaid for our _walk by a .fine col!cctwn ol plants, many of them in fnll bloo 111 • '\c;ccn? tng ~peak to find the place of our camp, we saw that the little dciile ill wl!JCh we lay communicated with the lotJg green valley of some ~tream? wh1eh,_ here lockeu up in the nwutJtains, far away to the south, Jound lts way lll a uense forest to the plains. Looking along its upward course, it seemed to conduct, by a smooth grad ual slope, dtrectly toward the peak, which, from long consultation as we apfroached the mountain, we had decided to be the hiahest of the range. Pleased with the discovery of so fine a road for the n~xt day, we hastened dow~ to the camp, where we arrived just in time for supper. Our table service was rather scant; and we held the meat in our hands and clean rocks made good plates, on which we c::~preacl. our maccaroni~ Among all the strange places on which we had occasion to encamp durinoour long journey, uone have left so vivid an impression on my mind a~ the camp of this evening. The disorder of the mas es which surrounded u~; the little hole through which we saw the stars overhead; the dark pmes where we slept; and the rocks lit up with the glow of our fires made a night pictnre of very wild beuuty. ' .dftgust 13.-The mon1ing was bright and pleasant, just cool enough 5 • |