HO ! FOR GRAY'S PEAK ! 253 



nectar they sipped I know not, for there were no flowers 

 or verdure on the lieights. They were the Painted 

 Lady or Thistle Buttei'fly {Pyrameis cardui) and the 

 Western "VMiite {Pieris occkJentaUs). He captured an 

 individual of the latter species with his net, and to-day 

 it graces his collection, a memento of a hard but glori- 

 ous climb. The descent of the mountain was laborious 

 and protracted, including some floundering in the snow, 

 but was accomplished without accident. A warm sup- 

 per in the miner''s shack which we had leased prepared 

 us for the restful slumbers of the night. 



Although the weather was so cold that a thin coat- 

 ing of ice was formed on still water out of doors, tlie 

 next morning the white-crowned sparrows were singing 

 their sonatas long before dawn, and when at peep of day 

 I stepped outside, they were flitting about the cabins 

 as if in search of their breakfast. The evening before, 

 I left the stable-door open while I went to bring the 

 burros up from their grazing plat. A\Tien I returned 

 with the animals, a white-crown flew out of the build- 

 ing just as I stepped into the entrance, almost fluttering 

 against my feet, and chirping sharply at what he seemed 

 to think a narrow escape. He had doubtless gone into 

 the stable on a foraging expedition. 



The day was spent in exploring the valley and steep 

 mountain sides. A robin's nest was found a little below 

 the timber-line on the slope of Mount Kelso. In the 



