(preface 



life. Well has it been called the "Playground 

 of America." It is an enormous and splendid 

 hanging wild garden. 



This mountain State of the Union has al- 

 ways appealed to the imagination and has 

 called forth many graphic expressions. Thus 

 Colorado sought statehood from Congress under 

 the name of Tahosa, — " Dwellers of the Moun- 

 tain-Tops." Even more of poetic suggestive- 

 ness has the name given by an invading Indian 

 tribe to the Arapahoes of the Continental Divide, 

 — "Men of the Blue Sky." 



I have visited on foot every part of Colo- 

 rado and have made scores of happy excursions 

 through these mountains. These outings were in 

 every season of the year and they brought me 

 into contact with the wild life of the heights in 

 every kind of weather. High peaks by the score 

 have been climbed and hundreds of miles cov- 

 ered on snowshoes. I have even followed the 

 trail by night, and by moonlight have enjoyed 

 the solemn forests, the silent lakes, the white 

 cascades, and the summits of the high peaks. 



The greater part of this book deals with na- 

 viii 



