veil;
the whole family of pentstemons, and hundreds of others.

An artist in Colorado Springs, who has given her heart, almost her life,
to fixing in imperishable color the floral wealth about her, has painted
over three hundred varieties of Colorado wild-flowers, and her list is
still incomplete.

It is not pleasant to mar this record of beauty, but one thing must be
mentioned. The luxuriance of the flowers is already greatly diminished
by the unscrupulousness of the tourists who swarm in the flower season,
especially, I am sorry to say, women. Not content with filling their
hands with flowers, they fill their arms and even their carriage, if
they have one. Moreover, the hold of the plant on the light, sandy soil
is very slight; and the careless gatherer, not provided with knife or
scissors, will almost invariably pull the root with the flower, thus
totally annihilating that plant. When one witnesses such greediness, and
remembers that these vandals are in general on the wing, and cannot stay
to enjoy what they have rifled, but will leave it all to be thrown out
by hotel servants the next morning, he cannot wonder at the indignation
of the residents toward the traveler, nor that "No admittance" notices
are put up, and big dogs kept, and that "tourist" is a name synonymous
with "plunderer," and bitterly hated by the people.

I have seen a party of ladies--to judge by their looks--with arms so
full of the golden columbine that it seemed they could not hold another
flower, whose traveling dress and equipments showed them to be mere
transient passers through, who could not possibly make use of so many.
Half a dozen blossoms would have given as much pleasure as half a
hundred, and be much more easily cared for, besides leaving a few for
their successors to enjoy. The result is, of course, plain to see: a few
more years of plunder, and Colorado will be left bare, and lose half her
charm.

One beautiful place near Colorado Springs, Glen Eyrie, belonging to
General Palmer, was generously left open for every one to enjoy by
driving through; but, incredible as it seems, his hospitality was so
abused, his lovely grounds rifled, not only of wild-flowers, but even of
cultivated flowers and plants, that he was forced at last to put up
notices that the public was allowed to "drive through _without
dismounting_."

VII.

CLIFF-DWELLERS IN THE CANYON.

Glad
With light as with a garmen