1 912 1 Swarth: Birds and Mammals from Vancouver Island 7 



many steep rock slides, or towering faces of sheer, unscalable 

 rock. The higher slopes of the mountains, from about 4000 feet 

 upward, are plentifully covered with heather and blueberries. 



Mount Saunders forms the southwestern wall of the basin, 

 while just north of this peak, connected by a comparatively low 

 ridge and directly overlooking the site of our camp, is a lesser 

 mountain, Hansen Height, altitude 4952 feet. 



The canon to the westward, King Solomon's Basin, is prac- 

 tically a replica of the one we were in, but somewhat smaller ; 

 the two canons are separated by the ridge running up to Hansen 

 Height and Mount Saunders, and come together at a point some 

 four miles below our camp. 



The summers are short at this altitude (Golden Eagle Basin 

 is from 1900 to 2200 feet elevation). During our stay here 

 (July 1 to 20), snow lay deep on the ground; most of the floor 

 of the basin was covered; the ravines on the slopes held drifts 

 thirty or forty feet deep, and there was snow everywhere on the 

 higher peaks. The veratrum and grass were just pushing up, 

 and when we left, the willows and alders had not yet fully 

 leaved out, while the salmon-berry bushes were still in blossom, 

 though we had eaten berries in the lowlands six weeks before. 



MOUNT DOUGLAS 



The highest point on the ridge extending from Mount Saun- 

 ders to the westward of King Solomon's Basin. The summit 

 (4245 feet) is gently rounded, and comparatively easy of access, 

 once the ridge is attained, but the slopes from the canon bottom 

 to the ridge are steep and brush-covered, presenting a stiff climb. 

 The ridge and slopes above are quite open, covered with moss and 

 heather, and with many groves of stunted conifers. We found 

 here two little lakes, one about an acre in extent, the other, just 

 below, about half as large, both fed by surrounding snow banks. 

 At the upper end of the lakes these drifts were from twenty to 

 thirty feet high, rising sheer from the water like miniature 

 glaciers. From the summit both coasts of the island can be seen. 



Though the weather was clear and sunny the air was de- 

 cidedly chilly at this height, and ice formed on the water in 

 the night. Birds were abundant, much more so than in the 



