192 



There is the finest growth of grass I have ever seen in Colorado, with 

 beautiful little groves of pine and quaking-asp scattered about, which 

 one would expect to be full of game. The old trail and the very anti- 

 quated appearance of the carvings on the trees, and the absence of all 

 tracks, old or new, indicated that the Indians had abandoned this route 

 long since. With all these conditions, so favorable to animal life, we 

 did not bear a bird twitter in the thickets, and saw neither deer, elk, nor 

 antelope, nor even a single track of one of those animals. In all other 

 parts of the country little squirrels and chipmunks were seen in abun- 

 dance; but here, if they existed at all, they kept themselves close. We 

 made camp on the large east fork of the San Miguel, just across the 

 stream from station 32 on the map. The next day, September 9, we 

 made station 32, on a low hill on the north side of the creek, which from 

 its width might more properly be called a river. Above this for several 

 miles the stream bed is very flat and covered with willows, while the 

 stream itself winds like a great snake. A short distance below our sta- 

 tion the stream plunges down very abruptly into the canon of the San 

 Miguel, which, above and below this junction, cuts down from 800 to 

 1,000 feet into the sandstone which here makes its appearance. 



Leaving station 32 on our way to Mount Sneffels, we followed the 

 trail a short distance, and then, turning off to the right, with great diffi- 

 culty succeeded in descending to the bed of a creek flowing from the 

 northeast. In this vicinity we saw a band of six gray wolves, the first 

 we had seen during the season. 



With great difficulty we followed up the cahon, which gradually be- 

 came narrower and more rocky. In some places we had to cross over 

 short spaces of smooth, almost polished rock-surfaces, inclined toward 

 the stream. In one such place a small rivulet of water flowed over the 

 surface and terminated below in a fall of considerable height. The 

 smooth stone, thus wet, rendered our passage with the mule-train very 

 hazardous, as the least slip would have resulted in the certain destruc- 

 tion of an animal, and possibly serious injury to members of the party. 

 As we traveled upward the trees became more and more scattering, 

 and the huge rock-slides, which below we had only seen high up against 

 the mountain-sides, began to extend their fingers, like glaciers, far below 

 the timber-line, and in many places reached the bed of the creek. These 

 slides, ever and anon crossing our path, rendered travel very difficult 

 for animals; the more so as they were composed of large angular frag- 

 ments, often many tons in weight, and containing in their interstices no 

 vestige of soil or vegetation. Sometimes we were able, by filling in the 

 spaces with small stones, to form a rough trail over these. At others, we 

 were able to go around them. 



The obstacles to our onward march continued to grow greater and 

 greater till we came to the upper verge of a clump of trees, and found 

 our further progress completely barred by the great debris slides on 

 both sides of the creek, coming down to the water's edge, making the 

 passage for animals an utter impossibility. About half a mile farther 

 on we could see the trees commence again ; but this sti'ait, if we may 

 call it such, was too much for us. Besides, we could see no prospect of 

 good grass for the animals ahead, while this last group of trees formed 

 a beautiful camping ground, and was overgrown with a rich crop of 

 grass. There, then, we struck camp; and as it was early in the afternoon, 

 and the sun shining brightly, we took this rare oportunity of spreading 

 out our blankets to dry. Wilson turned out his mule with the rest to 

 feed, and walked on over the rock-slides, up the caiion, to reconnoiter, 

 and after a long and tiresome walk reached the summit of the pass at 



