ough a lava bed and forming a series of wildly picturesque
views. The sides of Black River Canyon and its small tributaries are well
forested. On the cool northerly slope the forest is made up of a heavy
growth of pines, firs, aspens and alder bushes, which give way on the
southerly slope, where the full force of the sun is felt, to a thin
growth of pines, grass and a little underbrush.

At the head of Black River, between 8,000 and 9,000 feet, there are many
nearly level or gently sloping areas, sometimes of considerable extent.
These are covered with open yellow pine forests, with many white-barked
aspens scattered here and there, and an abundance of grasses and low
bushes. This was once a favorite summer country for elk, and I have
seen there many bushes and small saplings which had been twisted and
barked by bull elk while rubbing the velvet from their horns.

Immediately south and east of Black River lies the Prieto Plateau, a
well wooded mountain mass rising steeply from Black River Canyon to a
broad summit about 9,000 feet in altitude. The northerly slopes of this
plateau, facing the river, are heavily forested with pines, firs, aspens
and brushy undergrowth, and are good elk country. The summit is cold and
damp, with areas of spruce thickets and attractive wet meadows scattered
here and there. Beyond the summit of the plateau, to the south and east,
the country descends abruptly several thousand feet, in a series of
rocky declivities and sharp spur-like ridges, to the canyon of Blue
River, a tributary of the San Francisco River. This slope, near the
summit, is overgrown with firs, aspens and pines, which give way as the
descent is made, to pinons, cedar and scrubby oak trees and a more or
less abundant growth of chaparral. Small streams and springs are found
in the larger canyons on this slope, while far below, at an altitude of
about 5,000 feet, lies Blue River.

The country at the extreme head of Blue River forms a great mountain
amphitheater, with one side so near the upper course of Black River that
one can traverse the distance between the basins of the two streams in a
short ride. The descent into the drainage of Blue River is very abrupt,
and is known locally as the "breaks" of Blue River. The scenery of these
breaks nearly, if not quite, equals that on "The Rim" of Tonto Basin in
its wild magnificence. The vegetation on the breaks shows at a glance
the milder character of the climate, as compared with t