The morning call., 1893-09-17

was to study the alpine fora of the Sierra
Nevada, and TO compare the vegetation
with that of the Rocky Mountains. l also
wanted TO collect fer. the academy. The
country around Shasta has. however. been
botanized pretty well, but the academy
has not many plants, and l now know
why. There are not many growing"
So began most interesting account of
plucky journey. which very few young
ladies' not of the Menie Muriel DOwie
type, would venture upon alone. Miss
Alice Eastwood. the narrator, Is curator OF
the botanical department of the California
Academy of Sciences, and in enthusiasm
for science and special knowledge of her
own field, with its iGtinitude of Technology
and bewildering class fcation, is an apt
and able successor 10 Mrs. Catherine
Brandegee, who is at present on a collect
Ing visit TO Lower California. Miss East
WOOD has the physical qualifications for
mountaineering in high degree. She is
robust and active, athletic even. not
piuched or drawn in at the waist, 1.-THE in
movement able to breathe freely under
severe physical eXertion, and not averse to
wearing a goOd-Sized stout shoe. which
gives her foot room to expand.
Besides she has experience of the noun
tans In her native Colorado alured by
botany. she las agcended most of the great
summ!ts-Pikes Peak. Grays, Ouray, the
La Plata range and many others in the
southern part Of the State. Last spring
she was IN Utah aud Colorado collecting
and during eleven days was in the Willis
With young ranch acquaintance as guide.
During that expedition she lost her way in
MOnteZuma Canyon, near where Utah and
Colorado Join in the San Juan country.
nd hur rTs0T hah ha a
from want of food, but all was cheerfuiiy
borne for the sake Of a few trophies in
plants. All her adventures in Colorado
and Utah did not produce single example
Of climbing so faiguIng and arduOuS as
th1sOne ascent OF SHASTA On the 11th and
JrtA OF August last
Numbers OF people predicted failure, be-
cloGse they had either failed themselves or
had heard OF others disappointed. She was
warned That the aValancbeS are SO nicely
poised Tor slipping away that if you only
sneeZe down one comes, and Is app To put
summary end to sneeZng and all else.
Another knew that the rocks came bound
ing down on the SIDE opposite that Sc
lected. as they are loOsened constantly by
the thaws. In short, the ascent was pie
tuTed in such a dismal manner that tile
young OOianISt felt her heart sink at the
thought of going to the cop. She would 20
to the limit OF the timber line. gather all
the specimens she could discover and re-
of trampiBg To the summit tn others. But
she performed the feat, nevertheless. al
though at SlSSOnS there WAS a young man
who had failed 10 go higher than Thumb
Rock the day before with two guides 20
assist him.
''At Sissons," continued Miss Eastwood,
u went In search Of the DarlngtOnia, the
pitcher plant Of California, commonly
styled calfs head from its peculiar ap-
pearance at little distance. The pitchers
q : ~ l. nv.I Ia,
or less in diameter. l ought TO have seen
plant like That half a mile of, but its
habitat Is limited, ana AS they mlsdlrected
me, did not find specimen. l thought
might procure DarlingtOnia on return
ing from Shasta, but when | did get back
! was too exhausted to give that or any
other plant much consideration.
My equipment was designed for walk
ing trip. had a sheepSkin bag with the
WOOlly side IL, formed of two rugs sewed
. together and covered with canvGs. This
weighed nine pounds. My food supplies
consisted Of Bologna sausage. sardlnes,
cheese. figs, unS weetened Graham crackers
and a lie tea. / had q cup and trusted
10 finding some tin can lett by campers
which should serve for Kettle. My bag
gage felt rather heavy for a warm day,
and at the last moment | changed my mind
and procured pack-bOTse lie was a
sedate, resigned sort of animal. too lazy to
display emotion, but obstinately deEer-
mined not to show he was born for speed.
His name was Plckanihny, and II there was
another horse in the stable more pblegmatic
1t must have been phen omenon.
L walked ahead andPiekaninny followed at
the full stretch of the halter, quite aware
There was another crank going uD Shasta.
MlstortuneS overlook me at the outset.
lost my way in the numerous wood
paths before l struck the trail, and in that
manner three hours were wasted. Per-
maps my oDtuseness In going counter to
directions, II these were intelligible, arose
from the annoyances OF repose at SissOns.
o l ne nolel harD0rs not oaly The malodOr-
Gus and vllalnous bedbug but an insect
designed by Providence TO prev upon the
same, and 1t was altogether an alteration
of its propensltes that this otherwise use
full creature should fasten upon me. 1t
caused such havoc, too. that one pya was
ElmOst closed by swelling, | must have
e presented wo-beg0ne spectacle in the
broling sun as l dragged RosinaGte up
. the trail, bnt luckily no photographer
Game past TO add me 10 his gallery
O. AT noon, beside beautiful little spring.
halted and ate part of the lunch put up
Tor me. Beyond q little water which
o0Zed out of the sand that was the last
water | saw until the edge Of the mber
belt was reached and | suffered greatly
from thirst In Colorado there are streams
:. everywhere gushing out of the mountain
sldes put Shasta is almost nloistureless.
My theory is that the water which must
come from the melting SHOWS sinks into
the porous lava soil and reappears far be-
low IN the country around the base. There
are numerous springs at the foot, but my
observation failed TO detect any on the
trail. Pickaninny, the higher | got, proved
an awful nuisance. l think he would have
allowed me TO carry him.
"rhe slopes of the mountain are delight
ful IN sylvan beauty. Conifers are the
Characteristic trees-the sugar pine. the
yellow pine, the Douglas spruce and the
silver fir. There are not many oaks. The
shade is so dense that not MANY flowers
occur. but noticed tile exquisite Wash
ington lily, with Its large ute flower and
pink spots. The yellow tiger INV. which is
quite common in California, was near the
Spring Underneath the pines were sew
sral species of pYrola and allied plants.
A few composite are found, but none,