A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS Isabella L. Bird Introduction by Ann Ronald University of Nevada, Reno To My Sister, to whom these letters were originally written, they are now affectionately dedicated. Contents Introduction, by Ann Ronald LETTER I Lake Tahoe--Morning in San Francisco--Dust--A Pacific mail-train--Digger Indians--Cape Horn--A mountain hotel--A pioneer--A Truckee livery stable--A mountain stream--Finding a bear--Tahoe. LETTER II A lady's "get-up"--Grizzly bears--The "Gem of the Sierras"--A tragic tale--A carnival of color. LETTER III A Temple of Morpheus--Utah--A "God-forgotten" town--A distressed couple--Dog villages--A temperance colony--A Colorado inn--The bug pest--Fort Collins. LETTER IV A plague of flies--A melancholy charioteer--The Foot Hills--A mountain boarding-house--A dull life--"Being agreeable"--Climate of Colorado--Soroche and snakes. LETTER V A dateless day--"Those hands of yours"--A Puritan--Persevering shiftlessness--The house-mother--Family worship--A grim Sunday--A "thick-skulled Englishman"--A morning call--Another atmosphere--The Great Lone Land--"Ill found"--A log camp--Bad footing for horses--Accidents--Disappointment. LETTER VI A bronco mare--An accident--Wonderland--A sad story--The children of the Territories--Hard greed--Halcyon hours--Smartness--Old-fashioned prejudices--The Chicago colony--Good luck--Three notes of admiration--A good horse--The St. Vrain--The Rocky Mountains at last--"Mountain Jim"--A death hug--Estes Park. LETTER VII Personality of Long's Peak--"Mountain Jim"--Lake of the Lilies--A silent forest--The camping ground--"Ring"--A lady's bower--Dawn and sunrise--A glorious view--Links of diamonds--The ascent of the Peak--The "Dog's Lift"--Suffering from thirst--The descent--The bivouac. LETTER VIII Estes Park--Big game--"Parks" in Colorado--Magnificent scenery--Flowers and pines--An awful road--Our log cabin--Griffith Evans--A miniature world--Our topics--A night alarm--A skunk--Morning glories--Daily routine--The panic--"Wait for the wagon"--A musical evening. LETTER IX "Please Ma'ams"--A desperado--A cattle hunt--The muster--A mad cow--A snowstorm--Snowed up--Birdie--The Plains--A prairie schooner--Denver--A find--Plum Creek--"Being agreeable"--Snowbound--The grey mare. LETTER X A white world--Bad traveling--A millionaire's home--Pleasant Park--Perry's Park--Stock-raising--A cattle king--The Arkansas Divide--Birdie's sagacity--Luxury--Monument Park--Deference to prejudice--A death scene--The Manitou--A loose shoe--The Ute Pass--Bergens Park--A settler's home--Hayden's Divide--Sharp criticism--Speaking the truth. LETTER XI Tarryall Creek--The Red Range--Excelsior--Importunate pedlars--Snow and heat--A bison calf--Deep drifts--South Park--The Great Divide--Comanche Bill--Difficulties--Hall's Gulch--A Lord Dundreary--Ridiculous fears. LETTER XII