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too slow for making progress and when passing a Mexican’s 
camp we rented two more donkeys and left the old white one 
with the Mexican. 
Our trip took us around the southern end of the Abajo Moun- 
tains, crossing Verdure Creek, Johnson Creek, and Dry Wash to 
Allen Canyon. The most characteristic shrub on the ridges 
between Johnson Creek and Allen Canyon, was an Amelanchier 
with tomentose leaves and yellowish fruit, which was almost dry, 
even when ripe. Large stretches were covered by this bush. In 
other places were intermixed scrub-oaks, cedars, pinyons, moun- 
tain-mahogany and other shrubs. Along the streams were found 
willows, black-birches, alders, choke-cherries and poplars. The 
travel down Allen Canyon was very hard, as the recent rains had 
washed out the trail; in one place we could not cross the river 
and we had to climb the steep side of the canyon s 
almost impossible to get the donkeys up with their loads. Along 
the lower part of Allen Canyon we passed several Indian camps, 
with herds of goats. At our camp in the evening near Cotton- 
wood Creek, we were visited by four Indians and the following 
day two young Indians overtook us and kindly put us on the 
right road. We had taken the trail leading up Cottonwood 
Canyon instead of Hammond Canyon, where the best trail 
leads up on the Elk Mountains. Even in Hammond Canyon 
we had a hard time, as we missed the trail leading up the south 
slope and followed the canyon almost to its head. The scenery 
ere was grand; the most fantastic rocks were seen in form of 
spires, pillars, domes, animal heads, etc. The Elk Mountains 
are in reality a high table-land, 8,000 to 8,500 feet high. The 
top is flat, covered with grass and scattered bull-pines (Pinus 
scopulorum), and are used for summer pastures for thousands of 
cattle. The only real mountains are found at the southern- 
most end, two high knolls, of 9,400 and 9,500 feet altitude, 
known as the Bear’s Ears (Orejos del Oso). The second day 
of August we were camped at the foot of these and investigated 
botanically the western of the two mountains. Its flora was 
rather interesting. 
As the natural bridges, so renowned and well-described by 
