A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

by Bird, Isabella Lucy

• ISBN13: 9780806113289
• ISBN10: 0806113286
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

In 1873, a middle-aged Englishwoman toured the Colorado Rockies on horseback -- alone, for the most part. Painting an intimate portrait of the "Wild West," Bird wrote eloquently of flora and fauna, isolated settlers and assorted refugees from civilization, vigilance committees, lynchings, and the manners among the men she encountered in the wilderness.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
Daniel J. Boorstin
Lake Tahoe---Morning in San Francisco---Dust---A Pacific mail-train---Digger Indians---Cape Horn---A mountain hotel---A pioner---A Truckee livery stable---A mountain stream---Finding a bear---Tahoe	3	(14)
A lady's ``get-up''---Grizzly bears---The ``Gem of the Sierras''---A tragic tale---A carnival of color	17	(6)
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	23	(13)
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	36	(8)
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	44	(20)
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	64	(19)
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	83	(19)
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	102	(22)
``Please Ma'ams''---A desperado---A cattle hunt---The muster---A mad cow---A snow-storm---Snowed up---Birdie---The Plains---A prairie schooner---Denver---A find---Plum Creek---``Being agreeable''---Snowbound---The grey mare	124	(20)
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	144	(21)
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	165	(13)
Deer Valley---Lynch law---Vigilance committees---The silver spruce---Taste and abstinence---The whisky fiend---Smartness---Turkey Creek Canyon---The Indian problem---Public rascality---Friendly meetings---The way to the Golden City---A rising settlement---Clear Creek Canyon---Staging---Swearing---A mountain town	178	(14)
The blight of mining---Green Lake---Golden City---Benighted---Vertigo---Boulder Canyon---Financial straits---A hard ride---The last cent---A bachelor's home---``Mountain Jim''---A surprise---A night arrival---Making the best of it---Scanty fare	192	(12)
A dismal ride---A desperado's tale---``Lost! Lost! Lost!''---Winter glories---Solitude---Hard times---Intense cold---A pack of wolves---The beaver dams---Ghastly scenes---Venison steaks---Our evenings	204	(11)
A whisky slave---The pleasures of monotony---The mountain lion---``Another mouth to feed''---A tiresome boy---An outcast---Thanksgiving Day---The newcomer---A literary humbug---Milking a dry cow---Trout-fishing---A snow-storm---A desperado's den	215	(14)
A harmonious home---Intense cold---A purple sun---A grim jest---A perilous ride---Frozen eyelids---Longmount---The pathless prairie---Hardships of emigrant life---A trapper's advice---The Little Thompson---Evans and ``Jim''	229	(11)
Woman's mission---The last morning---Crossing the St. Vrain---Miller---The St. Vrain again---Crossing the prairie---``Jim's'' dream---``Keeping strangers''---The inn kitchen---A reputed childeater---Notoriety---A quiet dance---``Jim's'' resolve---The frost-fall---An unfortunate introduction	240	(10)
Index	250