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Show 462 WESTERN WILDS. south- westward, the view for a long time was uninterrupted. From our standpoint the hill fell off evenly, and too steep for descent, for three thousand feet or more to a beautiful green valley, dotted with dense groves of fir and pine ; and beyond that we could see over the sub- ranges and look directly down into a score of narrow valleys, through which as many clear streams coursed like narrow bands of silver all bearing rapidly downward to Bear . Creek and Snake River, and thence out to the Great Colorado. Here and there ap-peared little mining camps, seemingly set like toy villages on the green plats, in among the heavy pines, or against the red and yellow faces of the cliffs. But this extended view was brief. First came a dead calm, and then a strong wind from the south- west drove the mist over the scene. To the north- west only was the view clear, and in that direction we saw merely the broken peaks in which head the two Laramies and minor affluents of the North Platte. Beyond them, and a mile and a quarter vertically below us, were Laramie Plains, now hidden from our sight by dense clouds. The cold had meantime grown too intense for the most hardy, and we crouched down behind a stone wind- breaker which successive tourists have erected. The brandy, which no one should ascend without, was produced and a light lunch partaken of; but two of the ladies completely succumbed, and recourse was had to ammonia and chafing the hands and face with snow. No serious suf-fering followed, though some people are greatly affected at such heights. , Those of a hemorrhagic tendency often have bleeding at the nose. The only thing that bothers me is a sort of over- action of the heart and a heavy fluttering in the temples, if I move faster than a slow walk. Most of us suffered only from cold ; and the most hardy remained upon the summit but an hour. On the descent there was one slight accident. An unskillfully fastened buckle turned in the girth and so irritated the horse, which a lady was riding, that he took the bit in his teeth and started for home. He descended all that winding way in less than three- quarters of an hour we were two hours ascending reaching the cabin an hour before us, while she, to use her own words, " hung on to the pommel and trusted in God." That was, however, the best thing to do, even if the horse had been at his natural gait, for in attempting to guide one is much more apt to disconcert him. I am willing enough to be carried up a mountain, but I prefer to walk down, which I did in this instance, reaching the base in an hour and a quarter. It was now past noon; the snow was entirely melted from the |