(Rocfy (mountain Tftonberfcmb 



were as vivid as if made of the brilliant fire of 

 the northern lights. All these changing colors 

 played on the lake, while the surrounding peaks 

 towered in cold and silent desolation, changeless 

 except when occasionally swept with the filmy 

 bluish shadows of the clouds. 



Below the timber-line these lakes are more ap- 

 pealing, and many in the midst of groves and 

 meadows help to form delightful wild parks. 

 Others are hidden away in black forests; tall, 

 crowding firs and spruces rise from their edges 

 and hide them completely, even when one is 

 only a yard or two from their shores. I camped 

 for a week within a stone's throw of one of these 

 forest-embowered gems without suspecting its 

 presence. Returning to camp one evening from 

 an encircling ramble, I was startled by stepping 

 into a lake-edge. For a moment I was puzzled. 

 Instinctively I felt that my camp was about the 

 width of the lake ahead of me. Although I felt 

 certain of my bearings, my mental processes 

 were such that I was unwilling to trust this 

 strange lake. Instead of walking around its 

 poetic shore, I lashed two water-soaked logs 



156 



