Not knowing the difficulty of our undertaking, we determine to plant our feet in the snow glittering upon the Cobbler’s crown. We are almost exhausted when we reach the base, but, after resting a few minutes, I say: “Johnson, renew your strength, and let us go.” For awhile the ascent is comparatively easy; but we soon come to great walls of black rock, rough and steep, some places being almost perpendicular. We try to go around the worst places, determining, however, that when we come to a rock which we can not go around, we will go over it. This we manage to do by the assistance of the grass and twigs growing in the crevices of the rock, but the climbing is exceedingly difficult and tiresome, and often dangerous. One time in particular my escape is narrow. I am standing on a narrow shelf of rock. Below me is a yawning chasm, some sixty feet deep. Above is a wall almost straight up and down, eighteen feet high. With dire apprehensions I start up. When about two-thirds of the way up, a bush, whose fastenings in the crevice of the rock are not as strong as I thought, gives way with me. Down I come on the narrow rock-shelf, and almost into the chasm below. For some minutes I am unable to move, though I am worse frightened than injured. Johnson excitedly calls out: “Whittle, Whittle, are you hurt?” I reply, “No, I am like a cat—always catch on foot. Besides, ‘A man’s greatness consists not in his never falling, but in always rising after a fall.’” The day before this memorable tramp, a heavy rain had fallen and the grass, with which many parts of the mountain are covered, is very wet, hence our feet are soon as wet as water can make them. Under these difficulties, we have not gotten more than two-thirds of the way up the mountain, before my companion, who, like a mountain goat, loves to climb, gives out completely. He has neither the strength to go to the top, nor the spirit to start down. Rest is the only hope. So, with two overcoats for a pallet, a round stone for a pillow, and the blue sky for a covering, I put Johnson to bed, and he is to sleep while I am to continue my journey to the top of the mountain, and hasten back with some snow for dinner.