OCR Text |
Show 67 [ 17 4 ] . trunks of fallen pines afforded us bright .fires. Near by was a foaming torrent, which tnmblcd into the little lake about one lwndrr.d and fifty feet below us, and which, by way of di~tinction, we h:1ve called Island lake. We had reached the upper limit of tlie piney n ·gion; as, above this poi nt, · no tree was to be sceu, and patches of s11ow luy ev ery wl H.'re arouuJ ns on tho cold, ides of the rock!';. The flora nf the regin 1 we had traver ·cd sinct' leaving om mules was extremely rich, and , nu uH1g the charac: teri stic pla tJts, the scarlet flow ers of tlw dvdecalheon tlenlall11Jl cv"ry wht· rc met the rye iu great nbundance. A small greeu ra vit tl', n11 ll! • cdgl' of which we wPre encamped, was filled with a profu. ion of al pirrc pl. t Jll ~ in brillia nt bloom. From barometrical obse rvation~, mnc!e dnri11g our tll rec <.l ays' ,ojon rn at this place, its eievatio11 above tile Gulf of l\ l u.· ico i~ 10,000 fc l'! . Duri11g the day, we bad seen uo sigu nf anim·d li !c•; l>ur a lt!O tlg th · rot·ki-. lwr., we heard what wa. uppo~ed to bt.. the blc~t of a yotll •g !.;U ,t, wlticlt Wt; searel lcd for with hungry acti\'ity, and fonnJ to prnf·t·ed lrom a ~ lll ~tll ~1lli1 u al llf a gray color with short cars and no tail-proht~ hly tlw Si iH~ I i<ttl Mluirrel. \Ye saw a considcn1ble ntllllber of tltcm, <lll cl , wil lr tl )(' c ·c· p litlll of a ~w all bird like a sparrow, it is the only inlmhitant llr this elcvn tcd pari of the ll tOlllltains. Ou our rctum, we saw, below til is lake, I rg<" ilnC'ks of tltP Jll ulltl t <t it l go:tt. We l1ad notlli11g to eat to -night. L llj t' li Pe-..~,! , will! M:vc r"<d otiH r , took their guu:-:;, and sallied out in search of a gnnl; hnt rt· tJ II Jll'd llll~u t:c-L • .__ fnl. At sunset, the bnromcter stood at 2 0.fi2 2 ; tire• al l ;lc lt t·d tltt' rllrn nJetcr 50°. Here we l1au the misfortutlc to brec.1k our th crlfHIIlrt'lr 1, h.tvittg ttuw only that attached to the barotllelcr. 1 \\'U 'l t ;.d\(' !l ill :-:llo rtly af"le r W L' lwJ encamped, a11d continned so niHil lu te in ri JU tti ~ ht with vi• le nt lu~ada t ·h e and vomitiug. This wa. proba.hly CD ll "t~ cl hy llt1~ P XI'Pss iv• · f~t tlg ll l' I J,,, tf Ul\dcrgonc, ::tnd want of food, and pt~ r ll a jlS, als •, l I !'-11 1\H' llH·aSJ IJ"I'1 by tile rarity of lhe air. Tl1e night was co lei , as n v 10lP 11t gn 1e fwm tIt ,· Jl< rth had. sprnng up at Slll!Sct, which entirl'ly blnw , wny t'H· 1'\'il' nf tile tir c·s. The cold, and our granite beds, had uot been rll VO!<th iP (t) ·:!c•t·p, ~1 1 d w, wne glad to sec the face of the s11n in tile m•H 11i t1g Not hei11g J r·l.tyod by auy preparation for brcal\fast, we set ont im• tJt'di ·rr ly. On every ::;ide as w.e advant:cd was lt t~nrd tl tl' 1 1'\ 1" of watCH~, and of a torrent, whiclt we followed up a sl:ort <f~t,tll ·e, tl •. lil it <'~\fH.l l H hd i11to a lake abuut one mil~ iu length. On tl11~ nortlwrJt :-: id r} nf til(• l. d<·~ Wll'-' a hauk o1 ice, or rather of suow covered wi rh a ru:-1 of il t' Carsou lrad l~t:cu (1.1r gnide)nto the mountain , and, agre<·<ddy tn hi· ;H1,•ir:l', we 11' 1'1 this li ttle valley, alld. tonk to the ricJg ·s agaiu; win :r W1.' [llllttd t'. lrdllH'ly brolceu, and where we were u0".1.in invoh·cd Hlll'Jlt' ' ,, •'· ·iJlirPs. H en' \vt'r · il': fi< ·ld.:-; ,· ::> .._. I among which we were :.~11 uispcr!'edJ s r!v kJ 'I:_; t~.w h lire h ~~ p ·ttlt to ascend. the peak. 1.\IIr. Prc u~ s attcrllpted to W< 11, ~dott~ t'r · 111•1>. c ,. <JJC of OIH' of these fields, which slnpcd away at an nuglr• ot 1,1111t t Wt' tJ ly du•rrce..:;; but lJi.' feet slipped from nuder him, n.uJ lte we 11 plu 1gi ·~; 1ln •\'t t 111 ·plane. A f,•w hundred feet below, at the bottcna, were s• n 11c· fr, l~ llH'lJ I: o[ ~harp rot.:k, o:-u which he landed; and tlwuvh he t tlf H·rl ' ,., 111d ,· nf S• ll11t:t e t:-::, fortun c-ll cly received no injnry beyond ; few brui~'' " 'l\v .. 111" t:u· •nL 11 , Ch.' llll..' llt L :uubert and Descoteaux, had been takct1 it:, . I ·: \' d \ V!J ot t the roc k · a ~h ort distance below; an<l at this point I \'v< .. ,,,. '. 1 witl t lH•: ·1ache aud gidJiness, accompanied by vomiting, as on tlw d,~~, '~d~nP. F1t1ding myself unable to proceed, I sent the baromcta u"\·1. r to \•I r. P r('W. , who was in a gap t~vo or three hundred yards distant, dcstriug him to reach the peak, if posstblc, and take an observation there. He founJ him elf unable to proceed |