IN THE MINING DISTRICT 211 



rush through the ravines between overhanging boughs, 

 and the gigantic evergreen California oaks and aged 

 pines show in their aromatic twigs the brightest verdure. 

 The country is not what we call woody; the trees stand 

 about 30 or 40 feet apart, so that their outer branches 

 hardly touch each other. The ground between them is 

 entirely free from underbrush, but is covered with a 

 dense growth of soft grass, forming a carpet which is in- 

 terwoven with the brightest and most fragrant flowers. 

 These flowers which rival the flowers in your gardens in 

 the splendor of their colors, but surpass them in fra- 

 grance, often cover the ground so completely that they 

 even hide the grass; and in the cooling shade of these 

 oaks one often walks for hundreds of yards, and walks 

 literally on a carpet of flowers. This belt of undulating 

 country, never losing its character, is crossed by beauti- 

 ful rivulets, here meandering between low brushwood 

 over a gravelly bed, or there rushing in cascades over 

 moss grown rocks towards the Yuba. For miles and 

 miles around us the country shows these charming fea- 

 tures, which though on the whole always the same, con- 

 stantly present themselves to the eye in a different and 

 —if possible— more enchanting form. If I had to select 

 some scenery near my old home, in order to give you an 

 idea about the country surrounding Long Bar, I should 

 select the Simser Valley near Meilsberg, where the 

 "holy" lindentree stands; in looking at that scene there, 

 think of gigantic oaks here, and of the indescribable 

 aroma of millions of flowers, so strong that at times it 

 almost overcomes you. But come with me ; it is Saturday 

 evening, and I wish to take my usual walk. 



We ascend to the second terrace above Long Bar, which 

 I mentioned before, and follow a serpentine trail which, 

 running through the most charming natural park, brings 

 us in about fifteen minutes to the top of a high hill, a 

 somewhat higher point than the surrounding country. 

 It is covered with brushwood, through which we have to 

 find our way ere we reach the summit; through this the 

 bed-rock has forced its way in the shape of two mighty 



