THE GLACIEKS 29 



Yosemite Valley, not expecting to find any active 

 glaciers so far south in the land of sunshine. 



Beginning on the northwestern extremity of the 

 group, I explored the chief tributary basins in suc 

 cession, their moraines, roches moutonnees, and 

 splendid glacier pavements, taking them in regular 

 succession without any reference to the time con 

 sumed in their study. The monuments of the trib 

 utary that poured its ice from between Eed and 

 Black Mountains I found to be the most interest 

 ing of them all ; and when I saw its magnificent mo 

 raines extending in majestic curves from the spa 

 cious amphitheater between the mountains, I was 

 exhilarated with the work that lay before me. It 

 was one of -the golden days of the Sierra Indian 

 summer, when the rich sunshine glorifies every 

 landscape however rocky and cold, and suggests 

 anything rather than glaciers. The path of the 

 vanished glacier was warm now, and shone in many 

 places as if washed with silver. The tall pines 

 growing on the moraines stood transfigured in the 

 glowing light, the poplar groves on the levels of the 

 basin were masses of orange-yellow, and the late- 

 blooming goldenrods added gold to gold. Pushing 

 on over my rosy glacial highway, I passed lake 

 after lake set in solid basins of granite, and many 

 a thicket and meadow watered by a stream that is 

 sues from the amphitheater and links the lakes to 

 gether; now wading through plushy bogs knee-deep 

 in yellow and purple sphagnum ; now passing over 

 bare rock. The main lateral moraines that bounded 

 the view on either hand are from 100 to nearly 200 

 feet high, and about as regular as artificial em- 



