A COLORADO SKETCH 31 



light struck down from them. As the sun rose 

 the halo surrounding it became very dazzling, and 

 assumed the colours of the rainbow, and a second 

 rainbow-tinted circle formed outside it. The 

 rainbow in the zenith increased at the same time 

 in brilliancy, and a second circle formed outside that 

 also. The whole phenomenon was very beautiful ; 

 it continued some hours, gradually fading away, 

 and finally disappeared about three in the afternoon. 

 The next morning we loaded up a wagon with 

 stores and started on our toilsome expedition to 

 the Park. It is very easy work — it is not work at 

 all, in fact — to get into the Park nowadays. It 

 was a very different affair at that time. There 

 are two good stage- roads now ; there was no road 

 at all then — only a rough track going straight up 

 hill and down dale, and over rocks and through 

 trees and along nearly perpendicular slopes, with 

 the glorious determination to go straight forward 

 of an old Roman road, but without any of the 

 engineering skill and labour expended upon the 

 latter. It was a hard road to travel, covered with 

 snow and slippery with ice ; but by dint of literally 

 putting our shoulders to the wheel uphill, by 

 chaining the wheels downhill, and by holding up 

 the wagon by ropes and main strength on pre- 



