62 IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



sharp-edged, and somewhat later the beauty they 

 are set to guard is revealed. A stem or two, 

 heavy and loaded with hard green balls, pushes 

 itself up among them day by day, till some 

 morning he stands spellbound before the full- 

 blown bells of the yucca, cream-tinted or pink, 

 and fragrant as the breath of summer. 



Before the Nature-lover is tired of feasting 

 his eyes upon that stately flower, shall begin to 

 unfold the crumpled draperies of the great Mex- 

 ican poppy, dotting the hillsides and the mesa 

 with white, as far as the eye can reach. Mean- 

 while, the earth itself shall suddenly turn to pink, 

 and a close look disclose a tiny, low-growing blos- 

 som, sweet as the morning, with the glow of the 

 sunrise in its face ; a little bunch of crazy-look- 

 ing stamens, and tiny snips of petals standing 

 out at all angles, and of all shades on one stem, 

 from white to deep red; the whole no bigger 

 than a gauzy-winged fly, and shaped not unlike 

 one, with a delicious odor that scents the air. 



Next day or next week wandering over 

 the pathless barrens, the observer may come 

 upon a group of cream-colored satin flowers, 

 wide open to the sun, innocent looking and 

 most tempting to gather. But the great fleshy 

 leaves from which they spring give warning ; 

 they belong to the cactus family, and are well 

 armed to protect their treasures from the va- 



