BALD PEAKS AND GREEN VALES 49 



iridescent in the sunlight. In contemplating this vast, 

 overawing scene, I almost forgot my natural history, 

 and wanted to feast my eyes for hours on its ever-chang- 

 ing beauty ; but presently I was brought back to a con- 

 sciousness of my special vocation by a sharp chirp. 

 Was it a bird, or only one of those playful little chip- 

 munks that abound in the Rockies? Directly there 

 sounded out on the serene air another ringing chirp, 

 this time overhead, and, to my delight and surprise, a 

 little bird swung over the summit, then out over the 

 edge of the cliff, and plunged down into the fearsome 

 abyss of the " Bottomless Pit." Other birds of the 

 same species soon fpllowed his example, making it 

 evident that this was not a birdless region. Unable to 

 identify the winged aeronauts, I clambered about over 

 the rocks of the summit for a while, then slowly made 

 my way down the southern declivity of the mountain 

 for a short distance. Again my ear was greeted with that 

 loud, ringing chirp, and now the bird uttering it oblig- 

 ingly alighted on a stone not too far away to be seen 

 distinctly through my binocular. Who was the little 

 waif that had chosen this sky-invading summit for its 

 summer habitat ? At first I mistook it for a horned 

 lark, and felt so sure my decision was correct that 

 I did not look at the bird as searchingly as I should 

 have done, thereby learning a valuable lesson in 

 thoroughness. The error was corrected by my friend, 



4 



