f a lake is shallow, when the deep snow falls it soon sinks
below the surface in a heavy mushy mass that presses down upon the
fish and prevents their breathing. Then, if a severe frost follows and
the mass freezes the ice squeezes the fish to the bottom. Over three
years ago Watson took fish to Bessie Lake, putting in as many as 6000
fry of Lake Tahoe and other species. The next year, and the following
years they were all right, having grown to eight or nine inches in
length. Then came a severe winter and in the spring there was not a
living fish left. The bottom was strewn with them, many of them with
broken backs.

[Illustration: A gnarled monarch of the High Sierras, an aged Juniper,
near Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Mountain Heather, in Desolation Valley, Near Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: The Successful Deer Hunter at Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Chris Nelson, With His Catch, a 23 Lb. Tahoe Trout]

CHAPTER XXIX

HUNTING AT LAKE TAHOE

In the chapter on the Birds and Animals of the Tahoe Region I have
written of the game to be found. There are few places left in the
Sierras where such good deer- and bear-hunting can be found as near
Tahoe. During the dense snow-falls the deer descend the western
slopes, approaching nearer and nearer to the settlements of the upper
foothills, and there they do fairly well until the snow begins to
recede in the spring. They keep as near to the snow line as possible,
and are then as tame and gentle almost as sheep. When the season
opens, however, they soon flee to certain secret recesses and hidden
lairs known to none but the old and experienced guides of the region.
There are so many of these wooded retreats, however, and the Tahoe
area is so vast, that it is seldom an expert goes out for deer
(or bear) that he fails. Hence the sportsman is always assured of
"something worth while."

As for bear I have told elsewhere of recent hunts on Mt. Freel from
Tallac, and the two bears killed there in 1913, and of Carl Flugge's
experiences. With Tallac hunters, Flugge, Bob Watson or any other
experienced man, one can scarcely fail to have exciting and successful
times.

CHAPTER XXX

THE FLOWERS OF THE TAHOE REGION

It would be impossible in the space of a brief chapter to present
even a list of all the flowers found and recorded in the Tahoe Region.
Suffice it to say that 1300 different species already have been
listed. This chapter will merely call attention to the