THE WILDERNESS IN JUNE 237 



side, even laying bare the granite ribs. The 

 forces of Nature here displayed their might, and 

 centuries will scarcely repair the damage done 

 in a moment. 



When the air is clear the slide seems near at 

 hand and every detail of its ragged face is seen 

 distinctly; but when the mists gather, and at 

 twilight, it appears indistinct and far away as 

 though receding in the uncertain light, a fitting 

 playground, you would say, for the giant spirits 

 with which the Indians 'in the old days were 

 wont to people these lonely mountains. 



To the left of Baker and reaching well around 

 into the west rises the lesser height of Big Ele- 

 phant, its name suggested by the peculiar out- 

 line of the long summit. Just below appear the 

 rugged forms of the Indians, Big and Little, with 

 Chairback well to the south. The entire range 

 is thickly clad with coniferous trees, forming a 

 ponderous wall of sheltering green. To the east 

 the valley is also protected by a long range, low 

 to the south but rising higher and higher in each 

 succeeding peak until in the northeast it cul- 

 minates in the lofty crest of White Cap, a grand 

 and symmetrical mountain, its gracefully slop- 

 ing sides surmounted by a shining rock mass 

 which gives its name. 



Through the valley thus guarded, in winding 

 course, flows a small river, at the nearest point 

 scarcely a hundred yards distant from the clear- 

 ing. This stream varies much in character. 

 For long stretches the current moves sluggishly, 

 with deep pools here and there, dark and myste- 

 rious from the dense shade of the overhanging 



