visitor. Snow-cups are always objects
of interest and beauty. Instead of reducing a snow surface evenly, the
warm sun sometimes melts it in patterned cups set close together like
the squares of a checker-board. These deepen gradually till they suggest
a gigantic honeycomb, whose cells are sometimes several feet deep. In
one of these, one summer day in the Sierra, I saw a stumbling horse
deposit his rider, a high official of one of our Western railroads; and
there he sat helpless, hands and feet emerging from the top, until we
recovered enough from laughter to help him out.

Pink snow always arouses lively interest. A microscopic plant,
Protococcus nivalis, growing in occasional patches beneath the surface
of old snow gradually emerges with a pink glow which sometimes covers
acres. On the tongue its flavor suggests watermelon. No doubt many other
microscopic plants thrive in the snow-fields and glaciers which remain
invisible for lack of color. Insects also inhabit these glaciers. There
are several Thysanura, which suggest the sand-fleas of our seashores,
but are seldom noticed because of their small size. More noticeable are
the Mesenchytraeus, a slender brown worm, which attains the length of an
inch. They may be seen in great numbers on the lower glaciers in the
summer, but on warm days retreat well under the surface.

IV

The extraordinary forest luxuriance at the base of Mount Rainier is due
to moisture and climate. The same heavy snowfalls which feed the
glaciers store up water-supplies for forest and meadow. The winters at
the base of the mountain are mild.

The lower valleys are covered with a dense growth of fir, hemlock, and
cedar. Pushing skyward in competition for the sunlight, trees attain
great heights. Protected from winter's severity by the thickness of the
growth, and from fire by the dampness of the soil, great age is assured,
which means thick and heavy trunks. The Douglas fir, easily the most
important timber-tree of western America, here reaches its two hundred
feet in massive forests, while occasional individuals grow two hundred
and fifty to two hundred and seventy feet with a diameter of eight feet.
The bark at the base of these monsters is sometimes ten inches thick.
The western hemlock also reaches equal heights in competition for the
light, with diameters of five feet or more. Red cedar, white pines of
several varieties, several firs, and a variety of hemlocks complete the
list of conife