Wondering what the meaning of that strange, lonely red cloud might be, I was up betimes next morning looking at the weather, but all seemed tranquil as yet.

Towards noon gray clouds with a lose, curly grain like bird's-eye maple began to grow, and late at night rain fell, which soon changed to snow.

Next morning the snow on the meadows was about ten inches deep, and it was still falling in a fine, cordial storm.

During the night of the 18th heavy rain fell on the snow, but as the temperature was 34 degrees, the snow-line was only a few hundred feet above the bottom of the Valley, and one had only to climb a little higher than the tops of the pines to get out of the rain-storm into the snow-storm.

The streams, instead of being increased in volume by the storm, were diminished, because the snow sponged up part of their waters and choked the smaller tributaries.