PREFACE 



'< When the book of life falls open at the page of spring," 

 who does not long to enter the kingdom of Nature and wan- 

 der therein, with bright-hued flowers abloom about his feet 

 and the silent, scintillating peaks standing circlewise above 

 his head? 



High up where the snow-crowned mountain monarchs rule 

 over an enchanting land of foliage, ferns, and fungi, outspanned 

 in sunshine beneath the broad blue tent of the western sky, 

 the alpine meadows are ablaze with starry blossoms. Held 

 close in the curved arms of the cliffs, these patches of verdure 

 and wondrous-tinted flowers are a revelation to the traveller. 

 From the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska to the hills of 

 Nova Scotia and New England, in the Rockies, the Selkirks, 

 and the vast mountain ranges of Montana, Dakota, Wash- 

 ington, Oregon, California, and other western states, one will 

 find that the same miracle has been wrought. On the lower 

 levels, white-flowered, scarlet-fruited shrubs stretch out long 

 branches, weighted with clustered loveliness, across the tiny 

 ribbon-like trails that man has cut deep into the heart of the 

 primeval forest. Over the valleys the water ways have spread 

 an emerald tide of verdure, set with islands of flaming Painted- 

 cups, blue Gentians, and purple Vetches ; while higher up the 

 slopes of the mountains are carpeted with myriads of yellow 

 Lilies, Gaillardias, and Arnicas, — a glorious Field of the 

 Cloth of Gold. 



As the traveller climbs upward the scene changes ; every- 

 where there are barren rocks and towering cliffs, huge escarp- 

 ments and frowning precipices, for here Nature stands revealed 

 in one of her most majestic moods, and all the lines of the 



