214 JUNE RAMBLES IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 
We desire the reader, whether he be a botanist, or a lover of 
scenery, to accompany us for a few miles up the canon of Clear 
Creek; assuring him at the outset that if he has any due appre- 
ciation of any of these things he will not regret, in after days, a 
few hours’ toil among the picturesque wilds of this grand gateway 
to the higher mountains. 
Following the stream for the distance of half a mile above 
Golden City, we quite suddenly find ourselves shut in on either 
side by a rocky wall of prodigious height, and either so nearly per- 
pendicular, that to ascend would be impossible, at least in many 
places. In most hilly and mountainous countries, rivers have 
their valleys. Not so here; for since the mountains are almost 
solid masses of rock, the waters, during the lapse of ages, have 
worn out for themselves, narrow and deep gorges or cafons in- 
stead of broad valleys. 
On the north side of the stream, there is left sufficient space for 
a narrow wagon road, and along this sort of terrace we pursue our 
way. At this season of the year, swollen by the rapid melting of 
snow in the higher altitudes, Clear Creek is a torrent; and asit , 
comes boiling down over the rocks and forcing its passage through 
narrow defiles, it seems to jar the foundations of the very moun- 
tains. The constant roar drowns all the voices of the hundreds of 
song-birds that occupy the trees and shrubs which grow among the 
rocks, and would be tiresome indeed, did we not forget our ears, 
while admiring with our eyes the manifold beauties of the scenery 
around and above us. 
But at length we issue forth upon a broader pathway, and the 
mountain sides become less precipitous. We may now begin 
the work of filling our portfolios. In the more open situations, 
there grows among the rocks, a fine liliaceous plant, with a large, 
whitish, tulip-like flower, and narrow, grassy leaves. It is the 
Lencocrinum montanum. Three or four very ornamental shrubs, 
all with snow-white blossoms, are conspicuous along the water's 
edge, and under the shade of overhanging cliffs; a raspberry 
(Rubus deliciosus) with smooth stems and entire, roundish leaves, 
with solitary flowers as large as wild roses; a dwarf, and pro- 
fusely flowering variety of Spiræa opulifolia; and more beautiful 
than either, the Jamesia Americana. 
From almost every crevice in the rocks, Campanula rotundifolia 
hangs forth, on thread-like stems, her toneless bells of deepest 
