Up through the woods the hoofed2 locusts3 streamed beneath a cloud of brown dust. Scarcely were they driven a hundred yards from the old corral ere they seemed to know that at last they were going to new pastures, and rushed wildly ahead, crowding through gaps in the brush, jumping, tumbling like exulting4 hurrahing5 flood-waters escaping through a broken dam. A man on each flank kept shouting advice to the leaders, who in their famishing condition were behaving like Gadarene swine; two other drivers were busy with stragglers, helping7 them out of brush tangles8; the Indian, calm, alert, silently watched for wanderers likely to be overlooked; the two dogs ran here and there, at a loss to know what was best to be done, while the Don,[Pg 87] soon far in the rear, was trying to keep in sight of his troublesome wealth.
As soon as the boundary of the old eaten-out range was passed the hungry horde9 suddenly became calm, like a mountain stream in a meadow. Thenceforward they were allowed to eat their way as slowly as they wished, care being taken only to keep them headed toward the summit of the Merced and Tuolumne divide. Soon the two thousand flattened10 paunches were bulged11 out with sweet-pea vines and grass, and the gaunt, desperate creatures, more like wolves than sheep, became bland12 and governable, while the howling drivers changed to gentle shepherds, and sauntered in peace.
Toward sundown we reached Hazel Green, a charming spot on the summit of the dividing ridge13 between the basins of the Merced and Tuolumne, where there is a small brook14 flowing through hazel and dogwood thickets15 beneath magnificent silver firs and pines. Here, we are camped for the night, our big fire, heaped high with rosiny logs and branches, is blazing like a sunrise, gladly giving back the light slowly sifted16 from the sunbeams of centuries of summers; and in the glow of that old sunlight how impressively surrounding objects are brought forward in relief against the[Pg 88] outer darkness! Grasses, larkspurs, columbines, lilies, hazel bushes, and the great trees form a circle around the fire like thoughtful spectators, gazing and listening with human-like enthusiasm. The night breeze is cool, for all day we have been climbing into the upper sky, the home of the cloud mountains we so long have admired. How sweet and keen the air! Every breath a blessing17. Here the sugar pine reaches its fullest development in size and beauty and number of individuals, filling every swell18 and hollow and down-plunging ravine almost to the exclusion19 of other species. A few yellow pines are still to be found as companions, and in the coolest places silver firs; but noble as these are, the sugar pine is king, and spreads long protecting arms above them while they rock and wave in sign of recognition.
We have now reached a height of six thousand feet. In the forenoon we passed along a flat part of the dividing ridge that is planted with manzanita (Arctostaphylos), some specimens21 the largest I have seen. I measured one, the bole of which is four feet in diameter and only eighteen inches high from the ground, where it dissolves into many wide-spreading branches forming a broad round head about ten or twelve feet high, covered with clusters[Pg 89] of small narrow-throated pink bells. The leaves are pale green, glandular22, and set on edge by a twist of the petiole. The branches seem naked; for the chocolate-colored bark is very smooth and thin, and is shed off in flakes23 that curl when dry. The wood is red, close-grained, hard, and heavy. I wonder how old these curious tree-bushes are, probably as old as the great pines. Indians and bears and birds and fat grubs feast on the berries, which look like small apples, often rosy24 on one side, green on the other. The Indians are said to make a kind of beer or cider out of them. There are many species. This one, Arctostaphylos pungens, is common hereabouts. No need have they to fear the wind, so low they are and steadfastly25 rooted. Even the fires that sweep the woods seldom destroy them utterly26, for they rise again from the root, and some of the dry ridges27 they grow on are seldom touched by fire. I must try to know them better.
I miss my river songs to-night. Here Hazel Creek28 at its topmost springs has a voice like a bird. The wind-tones in the great trees overhead are strangely impressive, all the more because not a leaf stirs below them. But it grows late, and I must to bed. The camp is silent; everybody asleep. It seems extravagant29 to spend hours so precious in sleep. “He[Pg 90] giveth his beloved sleep.” Pity the poor beloved needs it, weak, weary, forspent; oh, the pity of it, to sleep in the midst of eternal, beautiful motion instead of gazing forever, like the stars.
July 9. Exhilarated with the mountain air, I feel like shouting this morning with excess of wild animal joy. The Indian lay down away from the fire last night, without blankets, having nothing on, by way of clothing, but a pair of blue overalls30 and a calico shirt wet with sweat. The night air is chilly31 at this elevation32, and we gave him some horse-blankets, but he didn’t seem to care for them. A fine thing to be independent of clothing where it is so hard to carry. When food is scarce, he can live on whatever comes in his way—a few berries, roots, bird eggs, grasshoppers33, black ants, fat wasp34 or bumblebee larvæ, without feeling that he is doing anything worth mention, so I have been told.
Our course to-day was along the broad top of the main ridge to a hollow beyond Crane Flat. It is scarce at all rocky, and is covered with the noblest pines and spruces I have yet seen. Sugar pines from six to eight feet in diameter are not uncommon35, with a height of two hundred feet or even more. The silver firs (Abies concolor and A. magnifica) are ex[Pg 91]ceedingly beautiful, especially the magnifica, which becomes more abundant the higher we go. It is of great size, one of the most notable in every way of the giant conifers of the Sierra. I saw specimens that measured seven feet in diameter and over two hundred feet in height, while the average size for what might be called full-grown mature trees can hardly be less than one hundred and eighty or two hundred feet high and five or six feet in diameter; and with these noble dimensions there is a symmetry and perfection of finish not to be seen in any other tree, hereabout at least. The branches are whorled in fives mostly, and stand out from the tall, straight, exquisitely36 tapered37 bole in level collars, each branch regularly pinnated like the fronds38 of ferns, and densely39 clad with leaves all around the branchlets, thus giving them a singularly rich and sumptuous41 appearance. The extreme top of the tree is a thick blunt shoot pointing straight to the zenith like an admonishing42 finger. The cones43 stand erect45 like casks on the upper branches. They are about six inches long, three in diameter, blunt, velvety46, and cylindrical47 in form, and very rich and precious looking. The seeds are about three quarters of an inch long, dark reddish brown with brilliant iridescent48 purple wings, and when ripe,[Pg 92] the cone44 falls to pieces, and the seeds thus set free at a height of one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet have a good send off and may fly considerable distances in a good breeze; and it is when a good breeze is blowing that most of them are shaken free to fly.
The other species, Abies concolor, attains50 nearly as great a height and thickness as the magnifica, but the branches do not form such regular whorls, nor are they so exactly pinnated or richly leaf-clad. Instead of growing all around the branchlets, the leaves are mostly arranged in two flat horizontal rows. The cones and seeds are like those of the magnifica in form but less than half as large. The bark of the magnifica is reddish purple and closely furrowed51, that of the concolor gray and widely furrowed. A noble pair.
At Crane Flat we climbed a thousand feet or more in a distance of about two miles, the forest growing more dense40 and the silvery magnifica fir forming a still greater portion of the whole. Crane Flat is a meadow with a wide sandy border lying on the top of the divide. It is often visited by blue cranes to rest and feed on their long journeys, hence the name. It is about half a mile long, draining into the Merced, sedgy in the middle, with a margin52 bright with lilies, columbines, lark[Pg 93]spurs, lupines, castilleia, then an outer zone of dry, gently sloping ground starred with a multitude of small flowers,—eunanus, mimulus, gilia, with rosettes of spraguea, and tufts of several species of eriogonum and the brilliant zauschneria. The noble forest wall about it is made up of the two silver firs and the yellow and sugar pines, which here seem to reach their highest pitch of beauty and grandeur53; for the elevation, six thousand feet or a little more, is not too great for the sugar and yellow pines or too low for the magnifica fir, while the concolor seems to find this elevation the best possible. About a mile from the north end of the flat there is a grove54 of Sequoia55 gigantea, the king of all the conifers. Furthermore, the Douglas spruce (Pseudotsuga Douglasii) and Libocedrus decurrens, and a few two-leaved pines, occur here and there, forming a small part of the forest. Three pines, two silver firs, one Douglas spruce, one sequoia,—all of them, except the two-leaved pine, colossal56 trees,—are found here together, an assemblage of conifers unrivaled on the globe.
We passed a number of charming garden-like meadows lying on top of the divide or hanging like ribbons down its sides, imbedded in the glorious forest. Some are taken up chiefly with the tall white-flowered Veratrum Californicum, [Pg 94]with boat-shaped leaves about a foot long, eight or ten inches wide, and veined like those of cypripedium,—a robust57, hearty58, liliaceous plant, fond of water and determined59 to be seen. Columbine and larkspur grow on the dryer60 edges of the meadows, with a tall handsome lupine standing61 waist-deep in long grasses and sedges. Castilleias, too, of several species make a bright show with beds of violets at their feet. But the glory of these forest meadows is a lily (L. parvum). The tallest are from seven to eight feet high with magnificent racemes of ten to twenty or more small orange-colored flowers; they stand out free in open ground, with just enough grass and other companion plants about them to fringe their feet, and show them off to best advantage. This is a grand addition to my lily acquaintances,—a true mountaineer, reaching prime vigor63 and beauty at a height of seven thousand feet or thereabouts. It varies, I find, very much in size even in the same meadow, not only with the soil, but with age. I saw a specimen20 that had only one flower, and another within a stone’s throw had twenty-five. And to think that the sheep should be allowed in these lily meadows! after how many centuries of Nature’s care planting and watering them, tucking the bulbs in snugly64 below winter frost,[Pg 95] shading the tender shoots with clouds drawn65 above them like curtains, pouring refreshing66 rain, making them perfect in beauty, and keeping them safe by a thousand miracles; yet, strange to say, allowing the trampling67 of devastating68 sheep. One might reasonably look for a wall of fire to fence such gardens. So extravagant is Nature with her choicest treasures, spending plant beauty as she spends sunshine, pouring it forth69 into land and sea, garden and desert. And so the beauty of lilies falls on angels and men, bears and squirrels, wolves and sheep, birds and bees, but as far as I have seen, man alone, and the animals he tames, destroy these gardens. Awkward, lumbering70 bears, the Don tells me, love to wallow in them in hot weather, and deer with their sharp feet cross them again and again, sauntering and feeding, yet never a lily have I seen spoiled by them. Rather, like gardeners, they seem to cultivate them, pressing and dibbling as required. Anyhow not a leaf or petal71 seems misplaced.
The trees round about them seem as perfect in beauty and form as the lilies, their boughs72 whorled like lily leaves in exact order. This evening, as usual, the glow of our camp-fire is working enchantment73 on everything within reach of its rays. Lying beneath the[Pg 96] firs, it is glorious to see them dipping their spires74 in the starry75 sky, the sky like one vast lily meadow in bloom! How can I close my eyes on so precious a night?
July 10. A Douglas squirrel, peppery, pungent76 autocrat77 of the woods, is barking overhead this morning, and the small forest birds, so seldom seen when one travels noisily, are out on sunny branches along the edge of the meadow getting warm, taking a sun bath and dew bath—a fine sight. How charming the sprightly78 confident looks and ways of these little feathered people of the trees! They seem sure of dainty, wholesome79 breakfasts, and where are so many breakfasts to come from? How helpless should we find ourselves should we try to set a table for them of such buds, seeds, insects, etc., as would keep them in the pure wild health they enjoy! Not a headache or any other ache amongst them, I guess. As for the irrepressible Douglas squirrels, one never thinks of their breakfasts or the possibility of hunger, sickness or death; rather they seem like stars above chance or change, even though we may see them at times busy gathering80 burrs, working hard for a living.
On through the forest ever higher we go, a cloud of dust dimming the way, thousands of feet trampling leaves and flowers, but in this[Pg 97] mighty81 wilderness82 they seem but a feeble band, and a thousand gardens will escape their blighting83 touch. They cannot hurt the trees, though some of the seedlings84 suffer, and should the woolly locusts be greatly multiplied, as on account of dollar value they are likely to be, then the forests, too, may in time be destroyed. Only the sky will then be safe, though hid from view by dust and smoke, incense85 of a bad sacrifice. Poor, helpless, hungry sheep, in great part misbegotten, without good right to be, semi-manufactured, made less by God than man, born out of time and place, yet their voices are strangely human and call out one’s pity.
Our way is still along the Merced and Tuolumne divide, the streams on our right going to swell the songful Yosemite River, those on our left to the songful Tuolumne, slipping through sunny carex and lily meadows, and breaking into song down a thousand ravines almost as soon as they are born. A more tuneful set of streams surely nowhere exists, or more sparkling crystal pure, now gliding86 with tinkling87 whisper, now with merry dimpling rush, in and out through sunshine and shade, shimmering88 in pools, uniting their currents, bouncing, dancing from form to form over cliffs and inclines, ever more beautiful the[Pg 98] farther they go until they pour into the main glacial rivers.
All day I have been gazing in growing admiration90 at the noble groups of the magnificent silver fir which more and more is taking the ground to itself. The woods above Crane Flat still continue comparatively open, letting in the sunshine on the brown needle-strewn ground. Not only are the individual trees admirable in symmetry and superb in foliage91 and port, but half a dozen or more often form temple groves92 in which the trees are so nicely graded in size and position as to seem one. Here, indeed, is the tree-lover’s paradise. The dullest eye in the world must surely be quickened by such trees as these.
Fortunately the sheep need little attention, as they are driven slowly and allowed to nip and nibble93 as they like. Since leaving Hazel Green we have been following the Yosemite trail; visitors to the famous valley coming by way of Coulterville and Chinese Camp pass this way—the two trails uniting at Crane Flat—and enter the valley on the north side. Another trail enters on the south side by way of Mariposa. The tourists we saw were in parties of from three or four to fifteen or twenty, mounted on mules94 or small mustang ponies95. A strange show they made, winding[Pg 99] single file through the solemn woods in gaudy96 attire97, scaring the wild creatures, and one might fancy that even the great pines would be disturbed and groan98 aghast. But what may we say of ourselves and the flock?
We are now camped at Tamarack Flat, within four or five miles of the lower end of Yosemite. Here is another fine meadow embosomed in the woods, with a deep, clear stream gliding through it, its banks rounded and beveled with a thatch99 of dipping sedges. The flat is named after the two-leaved pine (Pinus contorta, var. Murrayana), common here, especially around the cool margin of the meadow. On rocky ground it is a rough, thickset tree, about forty to sixty feet high and one to three feet in diameter, bark thin and gummy, branches rather naked, tassels100, leaves, and cones small. But in damp, rich soil it grows close and slender, and reaches a height at times of nearly a hundred feet. Specimens only six inches in diameter at the ground are often fifty or sixty feet in height, as slender and sharp in outline as arrows, like the true tamarack (larch) of the Eastern States; hence the name, though it is a pine.
July 11. The Don has gone ahead on one of the pack animals to spy out the land to the north of Yosemite in search of the best point[Pg 100] for a central camp. Much higher than this we cannot now go, for the upper pastures, said to be better than any hereabouts, are still buried in heavy winter snow. Glad I am that camp is to be fixed101 in the Yosemite region, for many a glorious ramble102 I’ll have along the top of the walls, and then what landscapes I shall find with their new mountains and cañons, forests and gardens, lakes and streams and falls.
We are now about seven thousand feet above the sea, and the nights are so cool we have to pile coats and extra clothing on top of our blankets. Tamarack Creek is icy cold, delicious, exhilarating champagne103 water. It is flowing bank-full in the meadow with silent speed, but only a few hundred yards below our camp the ground is bare gray granite104 strewn with boulders105, large spaces being without a single tree or only a small one here and there anchored in narrow seams and cracks. The boulders, many of them very large, are not in piles or scattered107 like rubbish among loose crumbling109 débris as if weathered out of the solid as boulders of disintegration110; they mostly occur singly, and are lying on a clean pavement on which the sunshine falls in a glare that contrasts with the shimmer89 of light and shade we have been accustomed to in the leafy woods.[Pg 101] And, strange to say, these boulders lying so still and deserted111, with no moving force near them, no boulder106 carrier anywhere in sight, were nevertheless brought from a distance, as difference in color and composition shows, quarried112 and carried and laid down here each in its place; nor have they stirred, most of them, through calm and storm since first they arrived. They look lonely here, strangers in a strange land,—huge blocks, angular mountain chips, the largest twenty or thirty feet in diameter, the chips that Nature has made in modeling her landscapes, fashioning the forms of her mountains and valleys. And with what tool were they quarried and carried? On the pavement we find its marks. The most resisting unweathered portion of the surface is scored and striated113 in a rigidly114 parallel way, indicating that the region has been overswept by a glacier115 from the northeastward, grinding down the general mass of the mountains, scoring and polishing, producing a strange, raw, wiped appearance, and dropping whatever boulders it chanced to be carrying at the time it was melted at the close of the Glacial Period. A fine discovery this. As for the forests we have been passing through, they are probably growing on deposits of soil most of which has been laid down by this same ice agent in the[Pg 102] form of moraines of different sorts, now in great part disintegrated117 and outspread by post-glacial weathering.
Out of the grassy118 meadow and down over this ice-planed granite runs the glad young Tamarack Creek, rejoicing, exulting, chanting, dancing in white, glowing, irised falls and cascades119 on its way to the Merced Cañon, a few miles below Yosemite, falling more than three thousand feet in a distance of about two miles.
All the Merced streams are wonderful singers, and Yosemite is the centre where the main tributaries121 meet. From a point about half a mile from our camp we can see into the lower end of the famous valley, with its wonderful cliffs and groves, a grand page of mountain manuscript that I would gladly give my life to be able to read. How vast it seems, how short human life when we happen to think of it, and how little we may learn, however hard we try! Yet why bewail our poor inevitable122 ignorance? Some of the external beauty is always in sight, enough to keep every fibre of us tingling123, and this we are able to gloriously enjoy though the methods of its creation may lie beyond our ken6. Sing on, brave Tamarack Creek, fresh from your snowy fountains, plash and swirl124 and dance to your fate in the[Pg 103] sea; bathing, cheering every living thing along your way.
Have greatly enjoyed all this huge day, sauntering and seeing, steeping in the mountain influences, sketching125, noting, pressing flowers, drinking ozone126 and Tamarack water. Found the white fragrant127 Washington lily, the finest of all the Sierra lilies. Its bulbs are buried in shaggy chaparral tangles, I suppose for safety from pawing bears; and its magnificent panicles sway and rock over the top of the rough snow-pressed bushes, while big, bold, blunt-nosed bees drone and mumble128 in its polleny bells. A lovely flower, worth going hungry and footsore endless miles to see. The whole world seems richer now that I have found this plant in so noble a landscape.
A log house serves to mark a claim to the Tamarack meadow, which may become valuable as a station in case travel to Yosemite should greatly increase. Belated parties occasionally stop here. A white man with an Indian woman is holding possession of the place.
Sauntered up the meadow about sundown, out of sight of camp and sheep and all human mark, into the deep peace of the solemn old woods, everything glowing with Heaven’s unquenchable enthusiasm.
July 12. The Don has returned, and again[Pg 104] we go on pilgrimage. “Looking over the Yosemite Creek country,” he said, “from the tops of the hills you see nothing but rocks and patches of trees; but when you go down into the rocky desert you find no end of small grassy banks and meadows, and so the country is not half so lean as it looks. There we’ll go and stay until the snow is melted from the upper country.”
I was glad to hear that the high snow made a stay in the Yosemite region necessary, for I am anxious to see as much of it as possible. What fine times I shall have sketching, studying plants and rocks, and scrambling129 about the brink130 of the great valley alone, out of sight and sound of camp!
We saw another party of Yosemite tourists to-day. Somehow most of these travelers seem to care but little for the glorious objects about them, though enough to spend time and money and endure long rides to see the famous valley. And when they are fairly within the mighty walls of the temple and hear the psalms131 of the falls, they will forget themselves and become devout132. Blessed, indeed, should be every pilgrim in these holy mountains!
We moved slowly eastward116 along the Mono Trail, and early in the afternoon unpacked133 and camped on the bank of Cascade120 Creek. The Mono Trail crosses the range by the[Pg 105] Bloody134 Cañon Pass to gold mines near the north end of Mono Lake. These mines were reported to be rich when first discovered, and a grand rush took place, making a trail necessary. A few small bridges were built over streams where fording was not practicable on account of the softness of the bottom, sections of fallen trees cut out, and lanes made through thickets wide enough to allow the passage of bulky packs; but over the greater part of the way scarce a stone or shovelful136 of earth has been moved.
The woods we passed through are composed almost wholly of Abies magnifica, the companion species, concolor, being mostly left behind on account of altitude, while the increasing elevation seems grateful to the charming magnifica. No words can do anything like justice to this noble tree. At one place many had fallen during some heavy wind-storm, owing to the loose sandy character of the soil, which offered no secure anchorage. The soil is mostly decomposed137 and disintegrated moraine material.
The sheep are lying down on a bare rocky spot such as they like, chewing the cud in grassy peace. Cooking is going on, appetites growing keener every day. No lowlander can appreciate the mountain appetite, and the facility with which heavy food called “grub”[Pg 106] is disposed of. Eating, walking, resting, seem alike delightful138, and one feels inclined to shout lustily on rising in the morning like a crowing cock. Sleep and digestion139 as clear as the air. Fine spicy140 plush boughs for bedding we shall have to-night, and a glorious lullaby from this cascading141 creek. Never was stream more fittingly named, for as far as I have traced it above and below our camp it is one continuous bouncing, dancing, white bloom of cascades. And at the very last unwearied it finishes its wild course in a grand leap of three hundred feet or more to the bottom of the main Yosemite cañon near the fall of Tamarack Creek, a few miles below the foot of the valley. These falls almost rival some of the far-famed Yosemite falls. Never shall I forget these glad cascade songs, the low booming, the roaring, the keen, silvery clashing of the cool water rushing exulting from form to form beneath irised spray; or in the deep still night seen white in the darkness, and its multitude of voices sounding still more impressively sublime142. Here I find the little water ouzel as much at home as any linnet in a leafy grove, seeming to take the greater delight the more boisterous143 the stream. The dizzy precipices144, the swift dashing energy displayed, and the thunder tones of the sheer falls are awe145 inspir[Pg 107]ing, but there is nothing awful about this little bird. Its song is sweet and low, and all its gestures, as it flits about amid the loud uproar146, bespeak147 strength and peace and joy. Contemplating148 these darlings of Nature coming forth from spray-sprinkled nests on the brink of savage149 streams, Samson’s riddle150 comes to mind, “Out of the strong cometh forth sweetness.” A yet finer bloom is this little bird than the foam-bells in eddying151 pools. Gentle bird, a precious message you bring me. We may miss the meaning of the torrent152, but thy sweet voice, only love is in it.
July 13. Our course all day has been eastward over the rim62 of Yosemite Creek basin and down about halfway153 to the bottom, where we have encamped on a sheet of glacier-polished granite, a firm foundation for beds. Saw the tracks of a very large bear on the trail, and the Don talked of bears in general. I said I should like to see the maker154 of these immense tracks as he marched along, and follow him for days, without disturbing him, to learn something of the life of this master beast of the wilderness. Lambs, the Don told me, born in the lowland, that never saw or heard a bear, snort and run in terror when they catch the scent49, showing how fully155 they have inherited a knowledge of their enemy. Hogs156, mules,[Pg 108] horses, and cattle are afraid of bears, and are seized with ungovernable terror when they approach, particularly hogs and mules. Hogs are frequently driven to pastures in the foothills of the Coast Range and Sierra where acorns157 are abundant, and are herded158 in droves of hundreds like sheep. When a bear comes to the range they promptly159 leave it, emigrating in a body, usually in the night time, the keepers being powerless to prevent; they thus show more sense than sheep, that simply scatter108 in the rocks and brush and await their fate. Mules flee like the wind with or without riders when they see a bear, and, if picketed160, sometimes break their necks in trying to break their ropes, though I have not heard of bears killing161 mules or horses. Of hogs they are said to be particularly fond, bolting small ones, bones and all, without choice of parts. In particular, Mr. Delaney assured me that all kinds of bears in the Sierra are very shy, and that hunters found far greater difficulty in getting within gunshot of them than of deer or indeed any other animal in the Sierra, and if I was anxious to see much of them I should have to wait and watch with endless Indian patience and pay no attention to anything else.
Night is coming on, the gray rock waves are growing dim in the twilight162. How raw and[Pg 109] young this region appears! Had the ice sheet that swept over it vanished but yesterday, its traces on the more resisting portions about our camp could hardly be more distinct than they now are. The horses and sheep and all of us, indeed, slipped on the smoothest places.
July 14. How deathlike is sleep in this mountain air, and quick the awakening163 into newness of life! A calm dawn, yellow and purple, then floods of sun-gold, making every thing tingle164 and glow.
In an hour or two we came to Yosemite Creek, the stream that makes the greatest of all the Yosemite falls. It is about forty feet wide at the Mono Trail crossing, and now about four feet in average depth, flowing about three miles an hour. The distance to the verge165 of the Yosemite wall, where it makes its tremendous plunge166, is only about two miles from here. Calm, beautiful, and nearly silent, it glides167 with stately gestures, a dense growth of the slender two-leaved pine along its banks, and a fringe of willow168, purple spirea, sedges, daisies, lilies, and columbines. Some of the sedges and willow boughs dip into the current, and just outside of the close ranks of trees there is a sunny flat of washed gravelly sand which seems to have been deposited by some ancient flood. It is covered with millions of erethrea, eriogonum,[Pg 110] and oxytheca, with more flowers than leaves, forming an even growth, slightly dimpled and ruffled169 here and there by rosettes of Spraguea umbellata. Back of this flowery strip there is a wavy170 upsloping plain of solid granite, so smoothly171 ice-polished in many places that it glistens172 in the sun like glass. In shallow hollows there are patches of trees, mostly the rough form of the two-leaved pine, rather scrawny looking where there is little or no soil. Also a few junipers (Juniperus occidentalis), short and stout173, with bright cinnamon-colored bark and gray foliage, standing alone mostly, on the sun-beaten pavement, safe from fire, clinging by slight joints,—a sturdy storm-enduring mountaineer of a tree, living on sunshine and snow, maintaining tough health on this diet for perhaps more than a thousand years.
Up towards the head of the basin I see groups of domes174 rising above the wavelike ridges, and some picturesque175 castellated masses, and dark strips and patches of silver fir, indicating deposits of fertile soil. Would that I could command the time to study them! What rich excursions one could make in this well-defined basin! Its glacial inscriptions176 and sculptures, how marvelous they seem, how noble the studies they offer! I tremble with excitement in the dawn of these glorious mountain sublim[Pg 111]ities, but I can only gaze and wonder, and, like a child, gather here and there a lily, half hoping I may be able to study and learn in years to come.
The drivers and dogs had a lively, laborious177 time getting the sheep across the creek, the second large stream thus far that they have been compelled to cross without a bridge; the first being the North Fork of the Merced near Bower178 Cave. Men and dogs, shouting and barking, drove the timid, water-fearing creatures in a close crowd against the bank, but not one of the flock would launch away. While thus jammed, the Don and the shepherd rushed through the frightened crowd to stampede those in front, but this would only cause a break backward, and away they would scamper179 through the stream-bank trees and scatter over the rocky pavement. Then with the aid of the dogs the runaways180 would again be gathered and made to face the stream, and again the compacted mass would break away, amid wild shouting and barking that might well have disturbed the stream itself and marred181 the music of its falls, to which visitors no doubt from all quarters of the globe were listening. “Hold them there! Now hold them there!” shouted the Don; “the front ranks will soon tire of the pressure, and be glad to take to the water, then[Pg 112] all will jump in and cross in a hurry.” But they did nothing of the kind; they only avoided the pressure by breaking back in scores and hundreds, leaving the beauty of the banks sadly trampled182.
If only one could be got to cross over, all would make haste to follow; but that one could not be found. A lamb was caught, carried across, and tied to a bush on the opposite bank, where it cried piteously for its mother. But though greatly concerned, the mother only called it back. That play on maternal183 affection failed, and we began to fear that we should be forced to make a long roundabout drive and cross the wide-spread tributaries of the creek in succession. This would require several days, but it had its advantages, for I was eager to see the sources of so famous a stream. Don Quixote, however, determined that they must ford135 just here, and immediately began a sort of siege by cutting down slender pines on the bank and building a corral barely large enough to hold the flock when well pressed together. And as the stream would form one side of the corral he believed that they could easily be forced into the water.
In a few hours the inclosure was completed, and the silly animals were driven in and rammed184 hard against the brink of the ford.[Pg 113] Then the Don, forcing a way through the compacted mass, pitched a few of the terrified unfortunates into the stream by main strength; but instead of crossing over, they swam about close to the bank, making desperate attempts to get back into the flock. Then a dozen or more were shoved off, and the Don, tall like a crane and a good natural wader, jumped in after them, seized a struggling wether, and dragged it to the opposite shore. But no sooner did he let it go than it jumped into the stream and swam back to its frightened companions in the corral, thus manifesting sheep-nature as unchangeable as gravitation. Pan with his pipes would have had no better luck, I fear. We were now pretty well baffled. The silly creatures would suffer any sort of death rather than cross that stream. Calling a council, the dripping Don declared that starvation was now the only likely scheme to try, and that we might as well camp here in comfort and let the besieged185 flock grow hungry and cool, and come to their senses, if they had any. In a few minutes after being thus let alone, an adventurer in the foremost rank plunged186 in and swam bravely to the farther shore. Then suddenly all rushed in pell-mell together, trampling one another under water, while we vainly tried to hold them back. The Don jumped into the[Pg 114] thickest of the gasping187, gurgling, drowning mass, and shoved them right and left as if each sheep was a piece of floating timber. The current also served to drift them apart; a long bent188 column was soon formed, and in a few minutes all were over and began baaing and feeding as if nothing out of the common had happened. That none were drowned seems wonderful. I fully expected that hundreds would gain the romantic fate of being swept into Yosemite over the highest waterfall in the world.
As the day was far spent, we camped a little way back from the ford, and let the dripping flock scatter and feed until sundown. The wool is dry now, and calm, cud-chewing peace has fallen on all the comfortable band, leaving no trace of the watery189 battle. I have seen fish driven out of the water with less ado than was made in driving these animals into it. Sheep brain must surely be poor stuff. Compare today’s exhibition with the performances of deer swimming quietly across broad and rapid rivers, and from island to island in seas and lakes; or with dogs, or even with the squirrels that, as the story goes, cross the Mississippi River on selected chips, with tails for sails comfortably trimmed to the breeze. A sheep can hardly be called an animal; an entire flock is required to make one foolish individual.
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1
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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hoofed
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| adj.有蹄的，蹄形状的，装蹄的v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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locusts
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| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
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exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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hurrahing
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| v.好哇( hurrah的现在分词 ) | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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tangles
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| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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13
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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15
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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17
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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18
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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19
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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glandular
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| adj.腺体的 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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32
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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33
grasshoppers
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| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
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wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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37
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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38
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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39
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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41
sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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42
admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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43
cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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44
cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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45
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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46
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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47
cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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48
iridescent
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| adj.彩虹色的，闪色的 | |
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49
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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50
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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51
furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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53
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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54
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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55
sequoia
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| n.红杉 | |
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56
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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57
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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58
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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59
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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60
dryer
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| n.干衣机，干燥剂 | |
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61
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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62
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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63
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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64
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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65
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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66
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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67
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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68
devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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69
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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70
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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71
petal
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| n.花瓣 | |
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72
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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73
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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74
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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75
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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76
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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77
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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78
sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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79
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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80
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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81
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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82
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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83
blighting
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| 使凋萎( blight的现在分词 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害 | |
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84
seedlings
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| n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 ) | |
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85
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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86
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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87
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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88
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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89
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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90
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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91
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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92
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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93
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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94
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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95
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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96
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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97
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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98
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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99
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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100
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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101
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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102
ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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103
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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104
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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105
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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106
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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107
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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108
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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109
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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110
disintegration
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| n.分散，解体 | |
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111
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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112
quarried
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| v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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113
striated
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| adj.有纵线，条纹的 | |
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114
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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115
glacier
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| n.冰川，冰河 | |
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116
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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117
disintegrated
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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119
cascades
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| 倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西 | |
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120
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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121
tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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122
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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123
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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124
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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125
sketching
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| n.草图 | |
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126
ozone
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| n.臭氧，新鲜空气 | |
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127
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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128
mumble
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| n./v.喃喃而语，咕哝 | |
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129
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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130
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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131
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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132
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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133
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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134
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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135
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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136
shovelful
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| n．一铁铲 | |
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137
decomposed
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| 已分解的，已腐烂的 | |
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138
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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139
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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140
spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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141
cascading
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| 流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流 | |
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142
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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143
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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144
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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145
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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bespeak
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| v.预定；预先请求 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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149
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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150
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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151
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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152
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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153
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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154
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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155
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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156
hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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157
acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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158
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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160
picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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161
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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162
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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163
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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164
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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165
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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166
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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167
glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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168
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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169
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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170
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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171
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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172
glistens
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的第三人称单数 ) | |
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174
domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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175
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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176
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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177
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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178
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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179
scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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180
runaways
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| （轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 ) | |
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181
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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182
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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183
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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184
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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185
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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186
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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187
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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188
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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189
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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