30 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



low temperature which the ranchmen of the valley 

 told him he would experience. To all their tales of 

 woe his invariable answer was : 



" I want to know ! " * 



Dyche and Russ accepted the invitation which was 

 given with such sincerity, and several days were 

 spent searching for rare insects and plants. When 

 a goodly number of specimens had been secured Russ 

 returned to Camp Montezuma with them and Dyche 

 remained at the ranch intending to hunt animals 

 and birds. Harvey's continued talk of the number 

 and apparent tameness of deer gave Dyche a de- 

 sire to obtain a few for specimens and at the same 

 time for a supply of fresh meat at the ranch. 

 "With this double object in view he started every 

 morning early and returned every evening with 

 monotonous regularity with the same story to tell. 

 He had seen deer, but just as he got ready to shoot 

 they disappeared in the woods and he could not find 

 them again. At last he went out, saying he would 

 not come back until he got a deer. He left the ranch 

 early with a single biscuit in his pocket for lunch. 

 It was almost dark when they heard three wild 

 whoops away up on the side of the mountain. An- 



* Four years later Harvey's labor had borne good fruit and his mountain 

 home, ten thousand feet above the level of the sea, had become a favorite re- 

 sort of tourists. The ranch is the highest on the American continent and is 

 peculiarly isolated. Fifty acres are now under cultivation and over a hun- 

 dred head of horses, cattle, and burros graze on the grass of the meadow. 

 Tons of hay, barley, wheat, rye, and oats are raised, and from his dairy he 

 sells many pounds of butter and cheese. Notwithstanding the altitude, 

 the climate is salubrious, and the several log-cabins which he has built find 

 tenants each summer. During the winter he finds that the temperature is 

 rarely below zero, while the snow-fall is light, and the valley is suitable for 

 occupancy the entire year. 



