•^HiMBER-LiNE in the high mountains of the 

 W^ West wakes up the most indifferent visi- 

 tor. The uppermost limit of tree-growth shows 

 nature in strange, picturesque forms, and is so 

 graphic and impressive that all classes of visitors 

 pause to look in silent wonder. This is the forest 

 frontier. 



It appears as old as the hills and as fixed and 

 unchanging as they; but, like every frontier, 

 that of the forest is aggressive, is ever struggling 

 to advance. To-day this bold and definite line 

 is the forest's Far North, its farthest reach up 

 the heights; but this simply marks where the 

 forest is, and not where it was or where it is 

 striving to be. Here is the line of battle be- 

 tween the woods and the weather. The ele- 

 ments are insistent with "thus far and no 

 farther," but the trees do not heed, and the 

 relentless elements batter and defy them in a 

 never-ending battle along the timber-line. 



49 



