CHAPTER ELEVEN
ON TO FLAT TOP MOUNTAIN
What would a trip in the Rockies mean without an Indian guide? He isthe most valuable asset one can have. No matter where he findshimself, under the greatest stress of difficult conditions andcircumstances, the Indian guide will manage to save the day. No humanbeing can get as much out of Nature as an Indian. No one can find asdesirable a campsite without loss of time. No one can make fire asquickly, pitch tents so securely, weave beds so comfortably, clean upso neatly, spin yarns so thrillingly, and smoke a pipe so contentedly,as an Indian.
So, in the early morning when the scouts awakened to the hope of newadventures, they found their guides preparing breakfast. Julie andJoan felt no after-effects of their unpleasant experience, other thanin memory, and there was no reason for that to cripple either one.
The breadtwists were baking, duck broiling, and other delicious odorscoming from the campfire, so the girls speedily completed their bathand toilet for the day. Then, the delicious breakfast out of the way,the kits were packed into the canoes, the scouts got in and sat down,and onward they traveled.
At every turn in the stream new vistas of Nature's varied beautiesopened out before their admiring eyes, and every now and then, a scoutwould call, "Take that picture, Verny! It's wonderful." And theCaptain always snapped the scene.
Beautiful birds swung low on branches, with heads on one side, eyeingthe strange creatures in the canoes. Squirrels sat upon the boughs andthrew nutshells at the scouts as the canoes passed under theirperches. Thus the hours flew by until night fell again. Camp was made,supper cooked, Indian legends told about the fire, then bed andrefreshing sleep.
Beautiful weather blessed the scouts while on the canoe trip, andadded to the enjoyment of the experience. Many times they paddledthrough water that looked like molten silver, so heavy and opaque wasit in the weird light. Again they went along streams that reflectedthe sunset hues, and looked more like sheets of opal with itschangeable colors of rose, lilac, and yellow-green. Then this fading,translucent color would suddenly vanish, and all be dark! Again therewere times when the canoes threaded a way between towering cliffs thatcast somber shadows down upon the waters, and other times when theyrushed through gorges and gullies.
Hour after hour, day after day, sped on to join the yesterdays, withone thrilling experience after another passing into memories, and thescouts began to realize that their trip was almost ended. All the timethe three Indians paddled faithfully, carefully, and silently, as mucha factor in the enjoyment of the marvelous scenes as the water or theforests.
At last the scouts reached the great falls that marked the end of thejourney, but they still had the joy of going back. So the backtrailbegan, with as many happy adventures as one can hope for on a canoetrip. No accident or disagreement marred the trip, and when theyreached the rendezvous where they were to meet the riders who wentover the Divide, every one was satisfied.
"'The End of a Perfect Day,'" sang Julie, as she jumped out of thecanoe.
That same night Mr. Gilroy and Mr. Vernon hiked into camp and werereceived with noisy welcome. They were as wildly enthusiastic over thefine specimens they had secured in their side trips, as the scoutswere over their canoe trip. Then in the morning the riders came tocamp, and after hearty thanks from both sides, the horses and canoeschanged hands again.
The Kenmore party started down the stream, and the scouts rode awayalong the trail that led to Glacier Creek and to Flat Top Mountain.The trails were rough but the horses were sure-footed, and all wentwell.
They had gone some distance when just ahead, beside the trail theywere following, they saw a beautiful sheet of water. It really was awild tarn, placed in the pocket of the mountains that encircled it.
"It looks just like a diamond sparkling in the deep prongs of thesepointed peaks," said Julie.
"We've discovered a poetess, scouts!" exclaimed Ruth, but Juliefrowned upon her.
"We'll find many such pure jewels hidden in these settings," said Mr.Gilroy. "Some are perched so high in the mountaintops that you wonderhow they ever snuggle there. Others are so deeply entrenched interrifying chasms and ravines that only the intrepid ever see them.But most of these gems are made by the glaciers that carved out theirbasins by constant friction. The waters, so cold and pure, come fromleaping cataracts and icy falls above, that flow from the melting icefields during the summer."
On the shores of one of these lovely lakes the Indians made camp thatnight. The two scientists decided to study some of the peculiarformations found near the place, and the scouts were satisfied toenjoy a quiet rest for a time. With an acre or more of flower-dottedmeadow on one side, rugged cliffs on another side, dark forests onstill the third side, and Tyndall Glacier rising sheer from the fourthside, what more could adventurous youth ask?
"Girls," remarked Mr. Gilroy that evening, "this place offers us allwe need for individual pastimes,--you to explore in the forests, andVernon and I to collect specimens. It's up to you to say how long wecamp here. I'm ready to move on whenever you say."
Later, as they sat about the campfire, Betty asked, "Gilly, what is itthat makes a glacier?"
"Is it the winter's snow that piles up on mountaintops and freezes?"added Julie who, too, had been puzzling over the matter.
"A glacier, girls, is an accumulation of ice in an altitude where themelting process is not equal to the deposit. Every winter adds snowand ice to the peaks, and then when these slide down to milder areas,they melt and vanish into these rivers and tarns.
"Some of these glaciers found in the Rockies were left here since theIce Age, when the whole globe was ice-clad. The glacial rivers thatflowed from these ice-peaks are mainly responsible for the wildscenery in these mountains. They cut a gully here, or scoop out a pitthere, according to the force and size of the torrents. In thusforcing a way through every obstacle, these resistless currents carryalong timber, soil, and rocks.
"These, in turn, tearing and banging against other obstacles thatresist them, finally carry _them_ along to add to the power of itsruthless progress.
"Through ages these ice torrents, starting from the highest peaks andcoming down, down, down from one resting place to another, but alwaystraveling downward and onward, moving mountains, as it were, changingthe course of mighty rivers, filling up inland seas,--have given youthis grand scenery of to-day.
"Not only do all kinds of debris come flooding the valleys and lakeswith this gushing from glacial fields, but gold and other preciousmetals are washed down and deposited. Thus the seeker may find gold,if he is willing to sacrifice for it.
"To warn you scouts that these glacial fields are not as safe as afloor in your home, let me tell you what happened to a party ofmountain climbers. They were experienced men, too.
"They were climbing Mont Blanc when a snowslide swept them away into adeep crevasse. One man escaped to tell the story. It was impossible toreach any of them, so the scientists figured out how long a time mustelapse before the glacier would move down to give up its victims.Computations had it that forty years must pass by and then the icewould reach a place where the bodies of the men would be recovered.Forty-one years afterwards, far down the slope of that same mountain,the frozen forms of seven men were found and removed."
"Well, Gilly, rest assured that not one scout will be found frozenthat way, this year or forty years hence!" promised Julie,emphatically.
"Not if we can help it!" seconded the girls.
"See that you remember this vow, when you feel like a littleadventuring over a peak," laughed Mr. Gilroy.
A few days after this talk, the scouts begged the guides to take themon a hunting-trip,--not that they ever shot anything, but they liked toexplore the forests and watch the animals browse or run away.
So they hiked up the steep ascent of the mountain that rose manythousands of feet above the camp, and after startling several haresand other tiny creatures, they came upon a fox, dining upon a wildrabbit. But he leaped away almost before they h
ad seen him, his greatred brush disappearing between the trees.
"Wasn't he splendid!" exclaimed Betty.
"Um! Not scout scare him away--something comin' dis way," returnedTally, peering eagerly into the dimness.
"Tally!" hissed Omney suddenly, "Grizzly!" At the same time the scoutsdistinctly heard a crashing through the dry branches of thedown-timber.
"Clim tree--quick--in any one near!" warned Tally, while he cocked hisrifle to protect the scouts.
"Why don't _you_?" demanded Julie, who stood back of the Indians whenthe other girls scampered anxiously for aspens, or other"safety-first" places.
"Me fight!"
"Oh!" was all Julie said, but she stood her ground behind the twoIndians, while her friends all begged her to seek a tree for safety.
"I want to watch what is going on down here--you can't see a thing upin the foliage," called Julie. "Besides, I am safe because the bearwill have to down the guides first, before he can get a mouthful outof me."
But the grizzly must have caught a scent of the human beings who stoodtoo near the tempting bit of rabbit right on the trail! So he satupright on his haunches and waved his fearful paws threateningly,while he growled as if saying, "Come on! I'm waiting for you folks.Why don't you fight?"
But the two guides and Julie were so screened by the bush that thebear could not see them,--he merely scented them. Then the wind shiftedagain, and the grizzly thought he was mistaken, for he smelled nofurther annoyance. But he decided to be cautious, as it alwaysbehooved him to be when man was at hand. So he gave voice to aterrifying roar, just to show these pigmies what would happen if theydared to interfere with his meal!
Julie stood her ground behind the two Indians]
As he sat munching the mouthful of rabbit, blinking at nothing inparticular, Tally suddenly jerked his head sideways and took asearching look at the beast. Then he leaned over and whispered toOmney so softly that Julie could not hear a sound.
Omney now stared at the bear in unbelief, but after gazing keenly,soon nodded his head anxiously. Then, in another moment, two rifleswere silently levelled, and two shots rang out. The grizzly rolledover while the rabbit still remained half-chewed in his great maw.
"O Tally! Shame on you!" cried Julie, furiously.
The scouts now slid down the treetrunks and ran over. Each one had aprotest to register against the heartlessness of the Indians. But theywere over by the bear, turning him over on his side.
"Him be Devil-Bear!" exclaimed Tally, excitedly.
"Um! Bump on haid, scar on rump!" added Omney.
"What do you mean, boys?" now asked Mrs. Vernon.
The scouts saw a great knob on one side of the bear's head, and an oldscar that cleft his left hind-quarter almost in two.
"Dis ole Devil-Bear come down all time to ranches, kill calf, eatlamb, carry off ennything, an' nobuddy ketch him. Evehbud' hunt andshoot, but Devil-Bear quick an' get away. He climb glacier, go overpeaks, live evehwhere.
"Sometime him in Flat Top, nudder time him down in Wyom. One time herun in Denver, kill horse, scare evehbuddy away, den run back to FlatTop." Tally laughed at the last memory.
"Him steal cattle, even fight ranchers, so big reward out fer him,"added Omney.
"How can you be sure you have killed this demon?" asked Mrs. Vernon,eagerly.
"We hear 'bout Devil-Bear and pickshers nail on all signboard forreward. Big scar in rump, big lump on haid--him got 'em," Tallyreplied.
"Um! Dis scar make by rancher. One day he chop wood and fine sheep-dogplay round. Devil-Bear steal out of woods, catch dog unner man's nose,and run away. Rancher so mad he frow axe at bear, an' it hit rightthere," explained Omney, poking his foot at the scar on the bear.
"Rancher say dat bear neveh walk gin, but nex' year nudder rancher seebear kill calf an' many lamb and run away," added Tally.
"Then I'm glad you shot him!" declared Betty, glaring at the deadbeast.
"But you've got to get him back to camp, boys, to get the reward,"said Mrs. Vernon.
The two Indians considered this the least of their problems, and whenthey had tied the forelegs and the hindlegs together, they swung theheavy animal from a long pole they had cut down from a clump of pine.
That night when Mr. Gilroy heard the story, he assured the scouts thatthe guides had really done a great service to the country at large, asthis bear had terrorized every one in the mountain ranches.
"As a rule, grizzlies are not ferocious except when interfered with.They use their fine intelligence to keep man at a safe distance withtheir roaring and display of fierce strength. But this rascal was theexception, and it's well he is dead," added he.
"If the guides get the reward, the scouts ought to have the pelt,"suggested Mr. Vernon.
"I'll see to it that they do," returned Mr. Gilroy.
The Indians made quick work of skinning the beast and leaving the headon the body so the bump could be identified. The bear fat was triedout and saved by the guides, and several fine steaks were carved fromthe carcass and broiled, but the girls refused them.
The men had no such qualms, however, and ate greedily, then smackedtheir lips laughingly at the disgust manifested on the scouts' faces.
"Devil-Bear good eat!" chuckled Tally, as he wrapped the remainingsteaks in a paper for another time.
When the campers resumed their ride, Devil-Bear--or all that was leftof him--was packed on Jolt's back. The mule cared not a fig for a deadbear, so the skin was carried along without demur, although the horsesnow and then caught a whiff of the bear-pelt and tossed their headsnervously.
The trail up Flat Top Mountain proved as wonderful as it had promisedto be. The scouts rode their horses without a tremor, although attimes they went on narrow ledges, forded roaring streams, or plungeddown through gulches, and over down-timber. They steadily climbed allthat day, and towards night were on Flat Top--twelve thousand, threehundred feet high.
Mr. Gilroy reached his desired Tyndall Glacier, and so delighted washe that he acted like a boy with a new toy. Here they camped for a fewdays while the scientist collected some interesting bits, then theparty continued to the very top of the mountain.
From this summit the scouts could see over the entire country formiles around. Estes Park looked like a tiny city park from thatheight. And Long's Peak appeared on a line with their sight. Theycould plainly see Stone's and Taylor's Peaks, and also Mt. Hallett,while several famous lakes,--Mills, Bierstadt, Dream, and others--wereseen gleaming like sheets of blue ice down in the hollows between thecrags.
Fresh camp was pitched that night under the shadow of a giganticcolumn of jagged rock that rose perpendicularly above the tableland ofthe peak. The base of the rock was about a quarter of a mile around,but one side of the monolith dropped sheer down to a cliff a thousandfeet below. From that ledge it again dropped down to another rockyresting-spot hundreds of feet lower. Thence it went straight downthree thousand feet to the bottom of its stand, where it found a firmfooting in the valley.
As every one was tired with the climb of the day, they were soon fastasleep on the fragrant balsam beds, and slept until the snorting ofthe horses roused the Indians, and then they, in turn, called to theothers to get up.
Girl Scouts in the Rockies Page 11