4b 



and villages shining up out of the valleys below, and a flock 

 of ghostly, wild, white Angora goats that frequent the sum- 

 mit after nightfall. 



At five we were out for sunrise, and from the lee side of 

 a big boulder watched the light come up from behind a great 

 bank of dark clouds and gradually brighten, first the forest- 

 clad mountain-tops, and then creep down into the misty 

 valleys at our feet. It was a surprisingly beautiful pano- 

 rama. On one side the undulating Virginia plain, and on the 

 other, endless chains of misty blue mountain-ranges fading 

 into the horizon. 



But even the most enthusiastic of sight-seers tire on a cold 

 rock at five A. M., and without looking at a plant we returned 

 to the cabin, to wait for the sun to warm things up a little. 



Among the stones on the summit w^e found the rare 

 Diclytra eximia and plenty of the beautiful, rose-colored Rho- 

 dodendron Cataiobiense in full bloom, and also collected a few 

 fine specimens of the showy white flowers of Pyrtis Americana. 

 After breakfast we climbed down over the pathless ledge into 

 the woods below, where we found Liliiini Grayi and Melan- 



\ 



The drive was a succession of beautifu views, and at 

 seven P. M. we were at the foot of the Peaks, and there, to 

 our consternation, we heard that a long, steep climb was to be 

 the end of our journey that evening. The wagons were left 

 at a small log hut, dignified by its owner with the title of 

 stable ; and laden with the necessary bags and the precious 

 botany boxes, we started into the dark woods up a seemingly 

 endless and perpendicular path. We stumbled along in the 

 pitch darkness, till an old negro with a lantern came to our 

 rescue and piloted us over the huge boulders that crowned 

 the summit, to the log cabin that was to be our shelter that 

 night. How our leader, carrying two bags and two botany 

 boxes, ever got over those boulders alone and in the dark, 

 without breaking his neck, was a mystery we could not solve 

 when we saw the place by daylight. 



Before retiring to our primitive rooms under the roof we 

 were shown the sights. They were the lights of many towns < 



*v 



^ 



