242 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



peak to us, expressed grave doubts about the success 

 and wisdom of our undertaking. " See ! " he said, " the 

 trail 's covered with snow in many places on the moun- 

 tain side. I 'm afraid you can't reach the top, sir." I 

 did not see as clearly as he did, but said nothing aloud. 

 In my mind I shouted, " Excelsior ! " and then added, 

 mentally, of course, " Faint heart never won fair lady 

 or fairer mountain's crest hurrah for the peak ! " I 

 simply felt that if there were birds and butterflies on 

 that sky-aspiring tower, I must see them. The die was 

 cast ; we had come to Colorado expressly to climb Gray's 

 Peak, and climb it we would, or have some good reason 

 to give for not doing so. 



And now we were making the attempt. We had 

 scarcely reached the mountain's shoulder before we 

 were obliged to wade snow. For quite a distance 

 we were able to creep along the edge of the trail, or 

 skirt the snow-beds by making short detours, and 

 then returning to the trail ; but by and by we came 

 to a wide, gleaming snow-field that stretched right 

 athwart our path and brought us to a standstill with 

 the exclamation, " What shall we do now ? " Having 

 already sunk a number of times into the snow over our 

 boot-tops, we felt that it would not be safe to venture 

 across so large an area of soft and treacherous crystals 

 melting in the afternoon sun and only slightly covering 

 we knew not what deep gorges. In some places we 



