738 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. ]. 



last watermelon here, and Mr. Wilder sadly 

 gave the last rind to the horses. 



A few days were now spent in hunting. My 

 companions strode out with their rifles for big 

 game — bears, mountain lions, mountain sheep, 

 wild-cats, etc. Signs of deer were quite plenti- 

 ful, and some were visible; but State laws for- 

 bid killing them, and my friends were law- 



THE RAMBLER BEFORE CLIMBING GRAYBACK. 



abiding: then would not shoot deer— oh, no! 

 The Rambler contented himself with the shot- 

 gun and camera: and wiien we all gathered at 

 night around our camp-lire it was the shotgun 

 that brought down the small game for our 

 repast. 



After tramping ii round the lower mountains 

 to quite an extent we held a council one even- 

 ing around our c;nnp-lire in relation to scaling 



old Grayback. There is no trail to the top from 

 this basin, and the ascent is very difficult. 

 The mountains here are scarred with deep 

 gulches running up their sides. The ridge be- 

 tween the gulches is called a "'hogback:" and 

 to climb any of these mountains we must take 

 this jagged way. While discussing the pros 

 and cons of the effort, Mr. Ferguson mildly 

 suggested that, if there 

 were a big watermelon up 

 there. Wilder'd get there 

 certain. We all resolved, 

 however, to get there, and 

 were off at .5:30 in the morn- 

 ing, with a few rations and 

 bottle of water each. For 

 a few hours our climb was 

 quite steady: but as we 

 emerged from the timber- 

 line our way was more and 

 more obstructed. Our short- 

 er respiration also made us 

 take frequent rests. Deep 

 chasms yawned at our feet, 

 and a careless step would 

 slide the victim down a 

 thousand feet into a jagged 

 abyss where reigned "'con- 

 fusion worse confounded," a 

 lit scene for the location of 

 Dante's Inferno. 



After six hours of climb- 

 ing, the last summit was 

 scaled with a shout, and we 

 found here a basin se-veral 

 acres in extent, carpeted 

 with a coarse gray sand — 

 disintegrated granite. At 

 one side was a very at- 

 tractive and beautiful snow- 

 hank, several rods in extent. 

 From a pool in its side we 

 quenched our thirst, replen- 

 ished our bottles, and in- 

 dulged in the boyish pastime 

 of snowballing, and this on 

 the ()th of August, when 

 people were sizzling with 

 heat in the valleys below. 



After enjoying our sand- 

 wiches, snow water, and a 

 restful nap upon the sand, 

 we sought the highest of 

 the three mounts that 

 crown the summit of Gray- 

 back, anu had a view grand 

 beyond description. To the 

 south we looked down upon 

 the San Jacinto Mountains, 

 and the thriving towns 

 around it. To the east the 

 far-reaching Mojave Des- 

 ert and th(^ noted Salton 

 Sea: nortli is a series of 

 mountains and canyons, and 

 awav beyond, again, the 

 desert. Over the distant 

 mountains a thunderstorm 

 is bombarding the wilder- 

 ness, adding to the wildness 

 of the scene. To the west 

 we see what appears to be 

 the blue of distant moun- 

 tains: but the glass reveals it to be the Pacific 

 Ocean. Our eyes follow down the range toward 

 Los Angeles, and see the crown of Old Baldy. 

 then the lesser Cucamonga: and away down 

 toward the coast is a very prominent ant-hill. 

 We pass the glass from hand to hand, and, 

 " Why!" we exclaim, " that's Mount Wilson." 

 Then we all put our thumbs in the armholes 

 of our vests and smile. "-And th<(Vs Mount 



