Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-11-26
The Trappers of the Rocky Noun
tains,

The Trappers of the Rocky Noun
tains.
i work called Adventures in Mexico and
the Rocky Mountains from two parts--but
very unequal parts-of the House and Colonial
Library. One describes a journey through
Mexico, by a route that has hitherto been little
if at all traversed by Europeans yet, owing
to the sameness in the character of the people,
and position of the country, it is but little diff
ferent from the narratives of former travellers
Our author, however, shows that the obvious
arrest of social progress in Mexico is in a great
degree owing to physical causes the fertile ia
blc-lands of the central region being cut off
from easy traffic with the coast and the entire
population of 100000 scattered over an area
of l,3i2,s50 square miles, being distributed in
isolated departments, distinct in interests, and
insecure in REORGANIZATION. The people,
he tells us, rank decidedly low in the scale OF
humanity. They are treachcrous, cunning, in
dolcnt, and cowardly by nature, yet have the
british indifference to death which is alto
gether distinct even from mere animal courage.
He never observed a single commendable trait
in the character of the Mexican-that is of the
male animal; for the women, singular as il
may seem under the circumstances, are, for
kindness of heart, and many sterling qualities,
an ornament to their sex and to any nation
The second, and by far the more valuable
part, contains the passage of the Rocky Noun
tains, and the route thence to New York There
is much in this portion of the work which will
be new to our readers, and probably useful in
correcting the pleasant decisions of such wri-
tiers as Cooper. Take the following scenic view
to begin with;
The view from this point was wild and dis
NAL in the extreme. Looking back, the whole
country was covered with a thick carpet OF
snow, but eastward it was seen in patches only
here and there. Before me lay the main chain
of the Rocky Mountains, Pixies Peak lifting its
snowy head far above the rest and to the
southeast the Spanish Peaks (Cumbres Espa-
nolas) lowered like twin giants over the plains.
Beneath the mountain on which | stood was n
narrow valley, through which ran streamlet
bordered with dwarf oak and pine, and looking
like thread fsilver as it wound through the
plain. Rugged peaks and ridges, snow-clad,
and covered with pine and deep gorgcs filled
with broken rocks, everywhere met the eye
To the eastward the mountains gradually
smoothcd away into detached spurs and broken
ground, until they met the vast praires, which
stretched far as the eye could reach, and hun
dreds of miles bcyond-a sea of seeming bar
renness, vast and dismal. A hurricane of wind
was blowing at the time, and clouds Of dust
swept along the sandy prairies, like the smoke
of a million bonlres. On the mountain top IL
roared and raved through the pines, filling the
air with snow and broken branches, and piling
il in huge drifts against the trees. The perfect
solitude of this vast wilderness was almost ap-
palling. From my position on the summit of
the dividing ridge had II birds eye view, as it
were, over the rugged and chaotic masses of
the stupendous chain of the Rocky Mountains.
and the vast deserts which stretched away from
their eastern bases; while on all sides of me
broken ridges, and chasms, and rayines, with
masses Of pilcd-up rocks and uprooted trees
with clouds of drifting snow flying through the
air, and the hurricanes roar battling through
the forest at my feet, added to the wildness of
the scene, which was unrclieved by the slight
est ycstigc Of animal or human life, Not
sound either of bird or beast was heard in
deed, the hoarsc and stunning rattle of the
wind would have drowned them, so loud it
roared and raycd through the trees.
Even the lowlands in such region are not
without their terrors:
The black threatening clouds seemed grad |
ually to descend until they kissed the earth,
and already the distant mountains were hidden
to their very bases. A hollow murmuring
swept through the bottom but as yet not a |
branch was stirred by wind and the huge
cotton-woods, with their leafcss limbs, doomed |
like a line of ghosts through the heavy gloom. |
Knowing but too well what was coming. I |
turned my animals toward the timber, which |
was about two miles distant With pointed /
ears, and actually trembling with fright, they
were as eager as myself to reach the shelter
but before we had proceeded a third of the |
distance with n deafcning roar the tempest |
broke upon us. The clouds opened and drove
right in our faces storm of freezing sleet,
which frozc upon us rs il fell. The first sqnal
Of wind carried away my cap, and the cnor-
nous hail stones, beating on my unprotected
head and face, almost stunned me. In an in
slant, my hunting shirt was soaked, and as in
stantly frozen hard; and my horse was mass
Of ieicles. Jumping of my mule--for to ride
was impossible tore off the saddle blanket
md covered my head. The animals, blinded |
With the sleet and their eyes actually coated