Mountains rose up in the distance, and every now and
then we had glorious peeps of the valleys, which near at hand were of
the richest golden-green, but in the distance gradually grew from
amethyst into the purest blue.

"At last!" cried Uncle Dick, for we had reached the outskirts of the
land he sought--one with the natural roads necessary; for by careful
management we contrived to penetrate some distance up the various
streams which came down from the mountains to join the main river, and
when we had forced the boat up a little stream till it was aground, we
there camped and made expeditions on foot in all directions, coming back
to the boat with our treasures.

It was difficult to decide which stream to try, and one in particular
whose mouth we passed several times in our journeys to and fro attracted
me--I could not tell why--and I suggested more than once that we should
go up it; but Uncle Dick shook his head.

"It is the least likely, Nat," he said on one occasion, and when, after
several expeditions, I proposed it again, because most of those we tried
evidently bore to the north, while this had a southward tendency, he
refused tetchily.

"Can't you see how covered it is with water-weed and tangled growth? It
would be impossible to go up there without a small canoe."

So I said no more, but contented myself with his choice.

For of treasures we had plenty, the wild mountain valleys swarming with
beautifully plumaged birds, especially with those tiny little objects
which were actually less than some of the butterflies and moths.

These humming-birds we generally shot with sand, sometimes merely with
the wad of the cartridge, and even at times brought them down by the
concussion caused by firing with powder only, when very near.

I was never tired of examining these little gems of the bird world, and
wondering at their excessive beauty in their dazzling hues, exactly like
those of the precious stones from which they are named--ruby, emerald,
topaz, sapphire, amethyst, and the like.

"It caps me," Pete used to say, as he stared with open mouth when I
carefully skinned the tiny creatures to preserve them.

Then came the day when, after a long tramp along with Pete, we found
ourselves at the end of a narrow valley, with apparently no farther
progress to be made.

We had started, after an early breakfast in the boat, and left my uncle
there to finish off the drying of some skins ready for packing in a
lig