HO! FOR GRAY'S PEAK! 237 



soned steeds," and resumed our journey toward Gray's 

 Peak. The birds just mentioned greeted us with their 

 salvos as we crept along. It was not until we had almost 

 reached the timber-line that Gray's Peak loomed in 

 sight, solemn and majestic, photographed against the 

 cobalt sky, with its companion-piece, Torrey's Peak, 

 standing sullen beside it. The twin peaks were pointed 

 out to us by another miner whom we met at his shack just 

 a little below the timber-line, and who obligingly gave us 

 permission to " bunk " in one of the cabins of what is 

 known as " Stephen's mine," which is now abandoned — 

 or was at the time of our visit. Near the timber-line, 

 where the valley opens to the sunlight, we found a 

 mountain bluebird flitting about some old, deserted 

 buildings, but, strangely enough, this was the last time 

 we saw him, although we looked for him again and 

 again. Nor did we see another mountain blue in this 

 alpine eyrie. 



Our burros were tethered for the day in a grassy hol- 

 low, our effects stowed away in the cabin aforesaid, 

 which we had leased for a few days ; then, with luncheon 

 strapped over our shoulders and buttei-fly net and field- 

 glass in hand, we started happily up the valley afoot 

 toward the summit of our aspirations, Gray's Peak, ris- 

 ing fourteen thousand four hundred and forty-one feet 

 above the level of the sea. In some scrubby pine bushes 

 above timber-line several Audubon's warblers were flit- 



