off with an ease and rapidity that did great credit to his 
prowess as a mountaineer. 
There could he no flagging now. The man who, compara¬ 
tively unincumbered, could not Keep pace with the doctor must 
certainly he in disgrace, and the scrambling advance grew more 
lively than ever• Presently it began to rain and the smooth 
rock grew slippery and the grass and bushes dripping wet. By 
the time we had reached the point where the mountain rises 
abruptly from the valley, we were soaked to the skin, but we 
must push on. 
From this point the course was upward. Hour after hour 
we toiled on, the box was shifted from one to another, and the 
carrier was constantly assisted where the walls were steep. But 
the box grew heavier as we advanced, and the changes more fre¬ 
quent. At timber line all parties were glad to take a rest. 
We were now in the midst of the rain clouds and the day was so 
unpromising for mountain work that it seemed useless to advance. 
A fire was built in the shelter of the great pines and an attempt 
made to dry our clothes. 
It was midday, and 3,000 vertical feet intervened between 
us and the summit. It now became a serious question as to 
what it was best to do. We had brought only a sandwich for 
lunch, and had no blankets not even an overcoat to protect us 
during the night. We could do nothing on the peak among the 
clouds, and the idea of returning to camp and making the entire 
ascent again on the following day could not be entertained for a 
moment. It was finally decided to complete the ascent imme¬ 
diately and trust to Providence to lift the shroud tha,t envelop¬ 
ed the mountains. 
Meantime the photographic party, much more heavily laden 
than ourselves, had encountered far greater difficulties. Mr. 
Jackson and his two associates carried among them upwards of one 
hundred pounds of apparatus, but were not men to yield before 
ordinary difficulties. The rain, the greatest possible damper 
on a photographer r s enthusiasm, could not make them hesitate; 
torrents and cliffs and dense forests and prowling beasts were 
interposed in vain. They had set out to accomplish an object, 
and success at whatever cost of exertion and hardship must-be 
attained. 
By the middle of the day Mr. Jackson finds himself far in 
advance of his companions, but in spite of his unusual enthusiasm 
he begins to fear for his results. 
Eight hours of weary climbing have brought him nearly to 
the summit of the ridge• There is nthing to be seen but the 
dull, gray clouds which rise and fall and sweep back and forth 
