Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-08-11
In Conejos Canon, Colorado.

From a camp near Guadalupe tho OK.
petition explored the main branch Of the
Conejos for about three miles, and then di.
verged on trail through pass in the steep
walls to the west, and over heavily wooded
activity, with crest about 800 feet above
the level. The way up the hill was OBJ
structed in the earlier stages by fragments
of rock scattered in every direction, like the
debris Of spent shower of meteors, and as
we mounted higher, another difficulty APP
peared in dense forest Of cottonwood, with
an almost impossible underground Of shrubs
aud brambles The facility with which this
tree adapts itself to circumstances is one of
the marvels of the vegetable world. When
it has room it scars to height OF seventy
feet spreading itself like an old yew, aud it
seems to thrive equally well in a confined
space, where hundreds of its species are lin
tied in growth to six feet, aud concentrated
within few inches Of each other. Its leaves
are like those Of the lilac, a small oval in
shape, with the lightness and sensitiveness of
the aspen and the glitter Of the silver poplar.
But most beautiful is the bark, which 10
nearly all the ages of the tree is shade Of
soft gray, and as smooth on the surface as q
piece Of ivory.
Climbing higher VIC became entangled in
this maze of cottonwood, which hid US from
one another, and knottcd itself in eur brides
aud stirrups, making our progress more lGbo.
rious than ever. The grass was tall and
rank, and sprinked with blue, yellow, red,
and purple flowers, the blue aud yellow
vieing with the sky and sun, which at inter-
walls were revealed through break in the
thicket. Occasionally a breath of wind
swept along the cotton-woods, and their
leaves shook and glittered like the drops OF
sivery rain. So we went on with our
arms extended over our mules heads to ward
off the obstructing branches, until we came
to pile Of moss-covered lava at the head Of
the farther slope. Beneath us was the juno.
ton of two branches Of the main canon-two
deep cuttings, with high, precipitous banks,
eadingIirom an even ridge to a fiat bottom.
Here the cottonwood was still more profuse
and the other vegetation still more reduud-
ant. The bed OF the canon was matted by
a luxuriant shrub, called, our Mexican guide
told me, the jara, with leaves vivid green
and stalks a bright red. Underneath this
there was low Iippling sound, and when
we swept the branches aside, we dis.
covered brooklet running with the blush
water OF freshly melted snow. Slows2 Yes
with all the abundance Of foliage, in the
middle of an exceptionally hot June, white
mantle still lay on the shady part of this
canon, 5000 feet above the level of the sea.
The banks were covered with cotton-woods
varying in height from six to seventy feet,
all trembling, all cleaning, as the wind
touched them. Some majestic pines with
rugged limbs and duskY green foliage. were
superadded to these and dense asthe living
timber was, thousands of dead trunks lay on
the hill-sides, where they had fallen in the
last tempest. Ahead of US cloud of blue
smoke wreathed itself to heaven. aud pres
emily we came upon wide patch of lane
wasted and blackened by fires that were still
spreading. As we went through the hollows
the sound of our steps was drowned in tn
beds of MOSES and ferns, and numberles
wild flowers constantly tempted us to dis
mount and pick them.-Harper's Magazine