The Yale expositor., 1907-10-25
N THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE THE CLOUDS.
CONTINUED from First Page

Some of the principal flowers are the
butterfly and tiger lilies, California
poppy, cream-cupS red and blue lark
spur, blue-hells fire. balls. and last but
not least. the worlds la gest lily, the
mountain candle, yucca or spanish
dagger" This plant grows t0 the
! heighth of from ten to fifteen feet, and
! its great mass of cream colOred cup
shaped, waX-hke blossoms gives il the
appearance of giant candle, especial
| ly when seen high up on the mountain
side. AI' ny the stream i'm the canyons
are found Alder, soft maple, evergreen
oak. sycamore, elder, holly, bay-trees.
| from which bay rum is made), mistle-
toe and willow, and i'm the mountains,
! pine, spruce, hemlock, cedar, mountain
mahogany, scrub-Oak, buck thorn or
wild lilac and manZaneta. This is no
paradise for the hunter as game is too
scarce to make that sport of any inter
est Occasionally a mountain lion,
bear or deer is seen, but they are shy
and hard TO get. The smaller animals
are the lynx, wild cat, fox, coon, coyote,
squirrel, etc. Snakes are scarce, the
most common is the "rattler" 1t is
noticeable that coyotes will not inhabit
regions infested by mountain lions.
lynx and wild cats, from the fact that
they are kept in continual fear of those
stealthy, cat-like animals which prey
upon them.
Nearly everything taken into the
mountains above Seven Oaks, is pack
ed i'm on the backs of donkeys, even
mining machinery, engines, organs,
lumber, etc. We took three donkeys
with us, "Angel," "Satan," and "Baby."
to be used as saddle and pack animals.
Angel was slow, surefooted, meek,
patient little beast; Satan was more
active, but had reformed considerable
since his younger days, and the ladies,
somewhat impatient, soon made the re-
mark that he no longer deserved the
name that still clung to him. Baby
was the youngest, and like all his
ancestors from time immemorial,
stupid, obstinate donkey.
We hardly had begun the journey
when it looked as though it was at an
end. In front of us lay natural bar
rier, directly across the canyon, hun
dreds of feet high. This natural bar
rier called Hogs Back" is crossed by
a Zigzag wagon road blasted out of the
solid rock. Ages ago the top of the
towering mountain, like an avalanche,
slid down into the canyon in such a
position as to resemble a gigantic hog
lying crosswise in an enormous trough.
The mountain stream now plunges
over the nose of this hog, and falls
many feet into a beautiful pool, where
it lies mirror-like for a moment, then
gathers itself for an onward rush
among the rocks, falling, roaring,
splashing, dashing and gliding down to
the valley where the ingenuity of man
gathers it from its mad rush.
About one mile beyond "lIog's Back"
the trail suddenly emerges from the
trees and brush into little mountain
meadow of three or four acres. Some
time ago, a prOspector camping near
the place, turned his burro into the
meadow to Craze. During the night he
was awakened by strange noise, but
on hearing it no more, fell asleep. In
the early morning he arose to investi- !
gate, and was greatly surprised OH
finding the mangled and partly eaten |
carcass of his donkey. He knew i'm
it was the work of a mount |
ain lion, so carefully setting a heavy |
trap, awaited results. That night the |
lion came back for another feast, step
ped into the trap and was made a |
prisoner. 1t was the largest ever caught |
in the canyon, measuring nine feet |
from tip to tip.
The ascent of the main canyon was
gradual and hardly noticeable, but we
soon left that and entered Bear Can
yon, where the real mountain climbing
began. From here on to the summit
.he trail rises over one thousand feet
20 the mile-a long hard climb, but a
limb full of interest and inspiration.
Here in the mouth of the canyon is To-
lated the last camp-the vanguard of
The Zigzag trail, crossed and recross-
I'd the stream, dodging rocks and trees,
advancing and receding, wound high
Up the canyon side. The slow, patient
lonkeys plodded along unconcerned
lbout the climb or its dangers, at times
passing along the very edge of some
ock slide, where a false step might
end one rolling to the bottom. A few
lays ago party ventured over the
rail with his horse, and in passing one
# the slides the horse became excited,
Tipped, fell and rolled down to the
'ottom of the canyon, not much hurt
nut badly frightened.
The sun was sinking behind the
uOulldlllS anu lut SnduONS Vi Ulgnl
lready had begun to lower in the
eeper gulches, when we reached the
op of the canyon and entered a large
pening surrounded by mighty hills.
his opening lying between the heads
f two great canyons, and covered
Mostly with brush is called Bear Flats.
A complaining brooklet of clear, cold
1ater went hurrying through the grass
small meadow, and on its bank a
)ne tree stood sentinel beside mon
Lrous rock, making it an ideal place
Dr camp. Away from home and its
without tent, stove or
boxing utensils, we were to experience
)r the first time, camp life in the wild !
solitude of the mountains.
a our predicament we all looked at
lch other as if awaiting some sugges- :
on, when Emerson, realizing the situa-
on, said, "Well, think we should be
lankful" We all concluded he was
ght, and acting on that suggestion
4 to work to prepare camp.
Concluded next week
A weak stomach causinp dvsnpneia