BOTANICAL GAZETTE. ng 



now, perhaps it was easier clambering out over the top than to re- 

 turn. At about half way up, say 1000 feet altitude a ledge of two to 

 six feet wide occurs, and here hundreds of species of shrubs, herbs, 

 ferns, mosses and licheus crowd the broadened bench in a most 

 robust form and highest colors. A lovely, motley-leaved plant 

 {Heuchera sanguined) resembling a geranium thrusts long racemes 

 of bright red, star flowers from the crevices. A golden Silene (S. 

 laciniata) with large lacerated petals and a curious Draba (D. 

 streptocarpa) with yellow flowers and curled pods cling to the damp 

 wall. Dr. Parry's new and beautiful lily vies with the golden col- 

 umbine in flaunting a profusion of rich color. White-faced 

 strangers with purple Lobelias commingle their lives,, while 

 beneath all, a noble shield-fern, a modest lip-fern, and a delicate 

 spleen-wort — all new to the region — formed an exhilarating 

 climax to discovery, aud rendered the toiler totally irresponsible. 



Above this ledge the walls are deeper, the foot-holes and 

 trailing bushes less frequent, so progress became more difficult and 

 dangerous. But the strange plants still appeared at every cleft. 

 At about 1 o'clock p. m. I had arrived near to the top and felt 

 triumphant and elated. Already I. regarded myself safe and recalled 

 the number of ferns crammed intonrv portfolio which now weighed 

 about 15 pounds and was securely strapped to my back. There 

 were twenty-seven species and several very marked varieties! 

 When it is considered that only 80 species are yet known to 

 science in all N. America, to find one-third of the number growing 

 in one rocky album, however large, is enough to turn an ambitious 

 botanist's head. 



Tired, bruised, exhausted and shivering I drew myself slowly 

 up to the last crevice, to be amazed and stunned at seeing the up- 

 permost stratum which was of slate and about 50 feet thick jutted 

 out 1 to 5 feet over the wall on either hand. 



There was no recourse but to return. How frightful was the 

 3 r awning chasm now that I had to face it! How tremulous were my 

 bending knees! Experienced cragsmen the world over will tell 

 vou that it is far easier to climb up than to descend a wall of rocks. 

 You cannot see the foot-holds or avail yourself of bushes when they 

 are below you. 



Once the slight projection that half-received my nailed boot 

 proved a thin shell of rock and I fell ten feet to the next ledge, 

 landing on my shoulders; my outspread arms luckily clutched a 

 spiny bush on one side, and a prickly cactus on the other, else I 

 would have fallen over 1,500 feet. This accident banished the 

 ferns for the nonce from consideration and determined me to seek 

 an exit from the trap by a side passage if such could be found. 

 Hide stepping with great care along on each ledge as far as possible 

 before returning to the center I examined each of them in order 

 but with no success until the broadest ledge about half way down 

 was reached. Here on the left, the ledge extended like a bridle 



