212 EAST PRUSSIA TO THE GOLDEN GATE 



bowlders of granite, wonderfully resembling in shape 

 and size the Borstenstein at Neu-Kuhren, only that they 

 tower higher above you by about 15 feet. We climb up 

 to the top of the larger of the two, and from here we have 

 a good view of the surrounding country. 



Our view towards the North does not extend very far. 

 Near us a small rivulet passes in its winding course on 

 towards the Yuba,, now in plain view falling over gray 

 rocks, then disappearing among brush, to come to light 

 again as a lakelet, bedded in banks of flowers, its crystal 

 surface reflecting the purple clouds above. Another 

 curve and it is again out of sight. This is "Dry Creek." 

 Its steep bank on yonder side bars your view in that di- 

 rection, and so we turn towards the East. 



Here, terrace upon terrace, rise the hills, higher and 

 higher, steeper and steeper, and more and more densely 

 wooded, until we gaze in the far distance upon the peaks 

 of the Sierra Nevada, covered with eternal snow and ice, 

 and now bathed in violet tints of the setting sun. The 

 character of the landscape in this direction is melancholy, 

 almost sad; nothing animate, no human habitation in 

 sight; mountains upon mountains, and only high above 

 in the air you may at times see an eagle, hardly visible 

 to the naked eye, slowly sailing in circles in the clear at- 

 mosphere; or perhaps from yonder tree the shrill screech 

 of a raven may at times reach your ear. 



Towards the South we have the whole bar before us 

 from end to end. Among the gloomy, desolate-looking 

 piles of rocks, which, however, at this moment, bathed in 

 a rosy tint of the evening sun, appear in their best light, 

 we see yet here and there an exceptionally industrious 

 miner. The most of them, however, are at this moment 

 climbing up to their tents, carrying in their arms the tin 

 pans with the gold, which they have taken out during the 

 day— their wages gained by hard labor. Nearer to us, 

 on this side of the bar and glistening white among the 

 green foliage, you see the tents; and out of the chimneys 

 here and there you will notice the smoke curling up, a 

 sign that the occupant is busy preparing his frugal eve- 



