148 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



ing streams, all along the Sierra, and northward 

 beneath cold skies by way of the mountain 

 chains of Oregon, Washington, British Colum- 

 bia, and Alaska, to the Arctic regions ; gradu- 

 ally descending, until at the north end of the 

 continent it reaches the level of the sea ; bloom- 

 ing as profusely and at about the same time 

 on mossy frozen tundras as on the high Sierra 

 moraines. 



Bryanthus, the companion of cassiope, accom- 

 panies it as far north as southeastern Alaska, 

 where together they weave thick plushy beds on 

 rounded mountain tops above the glaciers. It 

 grows mostly at slightly lower elevations ; the 

 upper margin of what may be called the bryan- 

 thus belt in the Sierra uniting with and overlap- 

 ping the lower margin of the cassiope. The 

 wide bell-shaped flowers are bright purple, about 

 three fourths of an inch in diameter, hundreds 

 to the square yard, the young branches, mostly 

 erect, being covered with them. No Highlander 

 in heather enjoys more luxurious rest than the 

 Sierra mountaineer in a bed of blooming bryan- 

 thus. And imagine the show on calm dewy 

 mornings, when there is a radiant globe in the 

 throat of every flower, and smaller gems on the 

 needle-shaped leaves, the sunbeams pouring 

 through them. 



In the same wild, cold region the tiny Vacci- 

 nium myrtillus, mixed with kalmia and dwarf 



