268 THE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



powers of performance; that the senses are neg- 

 lected; individuahty and the creative faculty sup- 

 pressed; and the wonderlight of imagination ex- 

 tinguished. 



I was thinking that before long she might do 

 something big, so universal were her sympathies, 

 and I finally asked: 



"You have become a good mountaineer, you also 

 appreciate the facts and the poetry of natural 

 history, why not become a translator of the great 

 book of nature?" 



"For years," she replied, "I have wished that 

 others might have the strange delight from nature 

 that I enjoy. And I have been trying to develop 

 myself so that I might give its appeal to people." 



"This can be done," I said, "you are fitted for a 

 guiding career." 



The outings which she enjoyed usually were made 

 alone and sometimes they were adventurous. The 

 nearest settlement on the other side of the Conti- 

 nental Divide is thirty miles away. This is reached 

 by trail — a trip across the summit, 12,500 feet 

 above the sea, and then down through fifteen miles 

 of rugged, forested mountains. She resolved to 

 make this journey afoot and without a guide. 



She had been on the summit mid-winter, but this 

 snowshoe trip was less eventful than her spring 

 experience. It was a trip that few men had made 

 alone, and local people had concluded that a 

 woman could not make it if she tried. Her success 



