1886.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 127 



Cement Creek and Eureka Gulch, into Ross' Basin. We follow 

 a sharp ridge dividing waters flowing north from those flowing 

 south to Congress mine, and so on to the rich groups of Red Mt. 

 mines. Here, at the head of Red Mt. Creek, is found the low- 

 est depression, 12,000 ft. ahove the sea level. We take the 

 Marshall Basin trail and begin again to ascend along a steep 

 mountain side, winding up it as best we can. We flounder 

 through snow drifts in the middle of dog-days. High valleys 

 are filled with snow, calling to mind an ancient glacier which 

 once covered all tliese summits and moved down the valleys. 

 To the north we see Sneffels group in all their sublimity. 

 To the south lies Mt. Nero. A long saddle of gray trachyte 

 connects the two. 



Of all the grand, wild, and sublime scenery of San Juan 

 County, here we find the climax. We are in the midst of peaks 

 with higher and grander peaks farther out on the limits of vision 

 and surrounding us on all sides. Beneath us lies Marshall Ba- 

 sin, half a mile deep, and over two miles long. On the western 

 rim we see the famous Smuggler Vein. We descend the saddle 

 mentioned, by a zigzag trail which clings to the mountains. We 

 see cliff below cliff of porphyry with still many more ahead of 

 us, and pass the mouths of many veins. 



At last, as we near the upper levels of the bottom, we turn 

 the sharp shoulder of a cliff and find the Smuggler still a mile 

 ahead ; we see it in all its length and beauty. Under the name 

 of Cimaron, it starts in the valley and begins to ascend the 

 western rim of the basin. At the middle it is known as Union 

 and Smuggler. Higher up it goes by the name of Sheridan, 

 and at the summit, of Mendota. Here it dips over into Sneffels 

 Basin, and is known by other names. For more than 5,000 feet 

 it has been proved as a regular, well defined, rich silver lode. 

 It is a cleft in the mountain side, cleanly cut, and well stored 

 with silver ore satisfactory to its owners. 



At the foot of this vein, the mountain walls of the basin draw 

 together and form a narrow, deep canon. Through this, by a 

 steep, narrow, zigzag trail, we descend a branch of the San 

 Miguel river, all the way through porphyry until at the Pandora 

 Mill we find the same stratified arenaceous rocks and limestone 

 that we left behind us at Ouray. 



These hills continue down the river a few miles, where the 

 trachyte cap disappears. San Juan Mts. do not extend beyond 

 Telluride; further west is mesa country. To cross them east 

 and west we have travelled nearly forty miles, most of the way 

 on the sky-line, and all the way on eruptive rocks. 



Immediately after crossing San Miguel River, at Telluride, we 

 strike into a rolling mesa region. We can follow this around 

 to the head of South Mineral Creek, and retui'n to Silverton. 



