EHODA.J GEOGRAPHY QUAETZITE PEAKS. 471 



east the view was very extensive, many points of the Sangre de Cristo 

 rauo-e, east of San Luis Valley, being clearly visible at a distance of one 

 hundred and ten miles. In the descent nothing of special interest trans- 

 pired. The next day camp was moved up near the timber-line, at the 

 head of the creek, while the three of ns followed up a branch coming 

 in on the east side, and, crossing the national divide, made station 21!, 

 on the southern point of a granite ridge, at an elevation of about 

 13,0U0 feet. The divide here is very near the boundary between the 

 trachyte and quartzite. This line marks a sudden and decided change 

 in the nature of the topography. Station 22 is on granite, the first we 

 had yet come across in the district, but it only appears here in a small 

 area. Before leaving we were again visited by an electric hail and rain 

 storm, which soon cut short all work. Although surrounded by high 

 peaks, rising several hundred feet above us, the phenomena seemed 

 quite as marked as at any previous time. The whole mass of peaks west 

 of us was soon veiled iuclouds. Just as we were leaving the littleknob 

 on the end of the ridge which had formed our station, we all felt a 

 heavy shock as if from an electric battery. Being unaccompanied by 

 thunder, we concluded that we had been subjected to a miniature stroke 

 of lightning. This is the last station where we felt any electricity, 

 although we were- often caught on the peaks in rain and hail storms. 

 The next day we had a storm almost exactly similar to this one, only 

 it was entirely unaccompanied by electricity. The date of this station 

 (station 22) was August 23. The rain continued falling during our ride 

 to camp, which we found located in a clump of pines, at the junction of 

 two small streams. Like all the trees near the timber-line, these had 

 few branches, and furnished us little protection from storms. 



i^ext morning the sky was pretty clear, so, without moving camp, we 

 crossed the divide south of us, and ascended the high quartzite mountain 

 east of the Vallecito. This quartzite rock is very hard, and breaks 

 off in angular fragments with almost polished faces. Where debris-slides 

 are formed of these fragments it is found that the rocks slip and 

 slide on each other very easily. Sometimes we would step on a stone 

 weighing several tons; it would tip up, as if delicately balanced, or slip 

 from under us. These seem to be universal characteristics of quartzite 

 debris, so that in clinibing over it great care is required. This peak was 

 very steep and difiBcult to climb ; in fact, more so than any which we 

 had yet ascended. When we had nearly reached the summit, and at an 

 elevation of 13,600 feet, a small grizzly bear suddenly jumped up a few 

 yards in front of us and rushed down the steep slide ou the south face 

 of the peak. Of course, in a climb as long and difficult as this, our instru- 

 ments and books were all we cared about bringing with us, and for this 

 reason our guns were left behind. We were much surprised to see an 

 animal in this place. It is ever thus ; when you feel you are treading 

 a path never trod by a living thing before, and your imagination begins 

 to build for itself a romantic picture, if some such 'vile, worldly thing as 

 a paper collar or a whisky-bottle does not intrude itself on the sight, some 

 beastly quadrui)ed needs must break the precious solitude and scatter 

 your airy castle to the winds. To show our utter disgust for all animate 

 things that could not live below this altitude, we yelled and threw stones 

 after the bear till he finally was lost to sight far down the mountain- 

 side. In our hate we even wished he might have been in a position 

 whence we could have rolled rocks down on him. As we passed on we 

 saw several places where he or others of his breed had scraped out beds 

 among the finer debris. They seemed to have come up here for fresh 

 air, or to sun themselves, or both. Alter this experience we named the 



