:264 



THE MUSEUM. 



lake, and are seen by the thousands. 

 At night they seek the deep water, 

 and a good portion of the day is spent 

 in the shallow water at the edge, evi- 

 dently seeking food. It is said there 

 are no fish where they are so abund- 

 ant, but as to the truth of this I can- 

 not say. Undoubtedly great numbers 

 of them would clean out the fish food 

 from a body of water. 



It was fun catching them. I start- 

 ed alone with an insect net and a fruit 

 basket. Taylor had said to be sure 

 and bring him one. There were 

 thousands of them, piling over each 

 other, several deep, along the bottom, 

 as visible as clearly as though there 

 was no water. They would not come 

 close enough to the edge to be taken 

 in the net. An old raft was near, but 

 I couldn't tow it and seine. The 

 water looked so shallow I decided on 

 a plunge and in I went, with a whoop 

 however for it was ice cold and waist 

 deep. It is a wonder it was not over 

 my head, everything in the mountains 

 is so deceiving. I think I can appre- 

 ciate what travelers mean when they 

 say they had to wade a torrent on a 

 glacier. But it was done, and the 

 basket might as well be filled and it 

 was filled. As I came into camp wet 

 and bedraggled, with a woe-begone 

 look, I said, "Taylor, I couldn't get 

 but one." "Well, never mind, we 

 will try it again," he said. Later 

 hearing a squirming and stirring he 

 looked over at the basket as he stirred 

 the mush, stopped, and remarked, 

 "Well, I'll be— " He did not finish. 

 Some hot mush flew out on his hand 

 and he busied himself for a few min- 

 utes. He says that axolot he has is 

 the greatest curiosity in his county. 

 If any of the Museum readers want a 

 specimen I have some yet. 



In insects there were plenty of flies 

 but as I know little about them I can- 

 not tell of what species. There were 

 no mosquitoes, no dragon-flies, no 

 mayflies, only an occasional beetle, 

 but plenty of butterflies. Our camp 

 was right in the home of Parnassins 

 sviintlicus, and they could be seen by 

 the thousands. But the weather was 

 bad and as soon as the sun was behind 

 a cloud they disappeared. My col- 

 lection shows a good series with many 

 variations in color and marking. This 

 beautiful specimen was sought con- 

 stantly during the sunshine. Most of 

 them have been traded and I sigh to 

 again visit them at home and see them 

 as thick as before. 



With Parnassins smintJiciis were 

 taken in abundance Satynis alopc. 

 On the bald sides of Pike's Peak Coli- 

 as incadii and ocJiraeus were now and 

 then resting on the Polygonum, Go- 

 tentilla, Silene and Geum. When 

 seen, however, we were after the Pika 

 and a breathless chase with a hat 

 brought a few that are now very high- 

 ly prized. Other butterflies taken 

 are given in the April number of the 

 Museum. 



We made several trips to the saddle 

 back; two miles from the summit, for 

 the peculiar tailless rodent, the North 

 American Pika. This interesting and 

 peculiar animal was met with fre- 

 quently and in numbers in the earlier 

 surveys of the west, and has received 

 no little attention at the hands of nat- 

 uralists. It generally stays about tim- 

 ber line, but is frequently met with 

 lower. Aside from those taken on 

 this occasion I shot a single specimen 

 below timber line at Mt. Lou Lou, 

 Mont., whose skull is now in the 

 Smithsonian. 



