In the Sierra 



blur of mutton and wool, and they do him 

 no good. 



The sick sheep are getting well, and the 

 shepherd is discoursing on the various poi- 

 sons lurking in these high pastures azalea, 

 kalmia, alkali. After crossing the North 

 Fork of the Merced we turned to the left 

 toward Pilot Peak, and made a considerable 

 ascent on a rocky, brush-covered ridge to 

 Brown's Elat, where for the first time since 

 leaving the plains the flock is enjoying plenty 

 of green grass. Mr. Delaney intends to seek 

 a permanent camp somewhere in the neigh- 

 borhood, to last several weeks. 



Before noon we passed Bower Cave, a 

 delightful marble palace, not dark and drip- 

 ping, but filled with sunshine, which pours 

 into it through its wide-open mouth facing 

 the south. It has a fine, deep, clear little lake 

 with mossy banks embowered with broad- 

 leaved maples, all under ground, wholly 

 unlike anything I have seen in the cave 

 line even in Kentucky, where a large part 

 [33 ] 



