64 THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA 



but rather because my instincts, usually so posi 

 tive and true, seemed vitiated in some way, and 

 were leading me astray. At length, after attaining 

 an elevation of about 12,800 feet, I found myself at 

 the foot of a sheer drop in the bed of the avalanche 

 channel I was tracing, which seemed absolutely to 

 bar further progress. It was only about forty-five 

 or fifty feet high, and somewhat roughened by 

 fissures and projections; but these seemed so slight 

 and insecure, as footholds, that I tried hard to avoid 

 the precipice altogether, by scaling the wall of the 

 channel on either side. But, though less steep, the 

 walls were smoother than the obstructing rock, and 

 repeated efforts only showed that I must either go 

 right ahead or turn back. The tried dangers be 

 neath seemed even greater than that of the cliff in 

 front ; therefore, after scanning its face again and 

 again, I began to scale it, picking my holds with 

 intense caution. After gaining a point about half 

 way to the top, I was suddenly brought to a dead 

 stop, with arms outspread, clinging close to the face 

 of the rock, unable to move hand or foot either up 

 or down. My doom appeared fixed. I must fall. 

 There would be a moment of bewilderment, and 

 then a lifeless rumble down the one general pre 

 cipice to the glacier below. 



When this final danger flashed upon me, I became 

 nerve-shaken for the first time since setting foot on 

 the mountains, and my mind seemed to fill with a 

 stifling smoke. But this terrible eclipse lasted only 

 a moment, when life blazed forth again with pre 

 ternatural clearness. I seemed suddenly to become 

 possessed of a new sense. The other self, bygone 



