The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-11-10

peaks Oh SilueI eIuep WV poiooS ke"A
ally eastward direction to pour their tiny
tribute into the Great Chasm. Our route
led US six or eight times across these
Mesdows-wh hicb were often so bogey as
to require a very nice choice of footing,
across the generally wooded prononto-
ries which DETECTED the probably contin-
uous meadow into what seemed to us ma
ny, until we stood at length, about lO P.
m., on the brink of the awful abyss and
halted a moment to tighten girths and
take breath for the descent.
And here let me renew my tribute
to the marvellous bounty and beauty OF
the ferest. of this whole mountain region.
The Sierra Nevada lack the glorious G la
ciers, the frequent rains, the verdure, the
abundant cataracts of the Alps; but they
far surpass them-they surpass any 9th
er mountains | ever saw--in the wealth
and grace of their trees. Look down
from almost any of their peaks, and your
range of vision is filled, bounded, satisfied
by what might be termed tempest tossed
sea of evergreens, filling every upland val
ley, covering every hillside, crownin4 ev-
cry peak but the highest, With their unfa-
ding luxurience. That saw during this
days travel many hundreds of Pines
eis BIT feet in diameter, with Cedars at
least six feet, | am confident; and there
were miles after miles of such and small
er trees of like genus standing as thick
as they could grow. Steep mountain sides
allowing these giants to grow. rank above
rank, without obstructing each others
sunshine, seem peculiarly favorable to
the production of these serviceable giants.
But the Summit Meadows are peculiar in
their heavy fringe of Balsam Fir, of all
sizes from those barely one foot high to
those hardly less than two hundred, their
branches surrounding them in collars,
their extremeties gracefully bent down by
the weight of Winter SHOWS, making them
here, | am confident, the most beautiful
trees on earth. The dry prom ontories
which separate these meadows are also
covered With species of Spruce, which
is only less graceful than the Firs afore-
said. | never before enjoyed such tree
feast as on this wearing, difficult ride.
Descent into the Yosemite is only prsc-
tcatle at three points-one near the head
of the valley. where small stream makes
in froo the direction of the main ridge Of
the Sierra, down which there is q trail
from the vicinity of Walker River, Utah
"a trail practicable, believe, for men
on foot only. The other two lead in near
the outlet from Mariposas and Coulter
vile respectively, on opposite banks of
of the Merced, and are practicable for
sure. footed mules or horses We, of course
made our descent by the Mariposas trail,
on the south side of the little river which
here escapes from the famous Valley by
a cannon which water alone can safely,
if at all. traverse, being shut in by lofty
preeipices and broken by successive falls.
Ny friends insisted that I should look
over the brink into the profound abyss
before clamberiBg down its side, but |
apprehendiDg giddiness aud feeling the
the need of steady nerves, frmly declined.
So we formed line again, and moved on.
The night was clear and bright, as all
Summer nights n this region are; the at
uosphere cool but not really cold; the
moon had risen before 7 o'clock, and was
shedding SO much light as to bother US in
our forest path, where the shadow of a
standing pine looked exceedingly like the
subsistence of fallen one, and many sem
blauces were unreal and misleading. The
safest course was to give your horse full
rein and trust to his sagacity or selflove
for keeping the trail. as we descended
by zi.zags the north face Of the ali but
perpendicular mountain, our moonlight
soon left Us, or was present only BY re-
fectio0 on the opposite cliff. Soon the
trail became at once so steep, 80 rough,
and so tort1ous, that we all dismounted
but my attempt at walking proved mis-
ernble fa,ure. | had been ridin. with q
bad Mexican stirrup, which barely ad-
mitted sne toes of my lef. foot, and con-
tiDual pressure on these had sprained and
swelled them SO that walking was positive
torture. l persisted in the attempt till
my companions insisted on my remount-
ing, and thus foundering slowly to the
bottom. BY steady effort we descended
the three miles z, 900 feet perpendicular
in two hours, and stood at midnight BY
the rushing, roaring waters Of the Mer-
ced.
The first full, deliberate gaze up the
opposite hight can l ever forget It'll
The valley is here scarcely half a mile
wide, while It's northern wall of mainly
naked. perpendicular granite is at least
1000 feet bigh-probably more. But
the modicum of moonlight that fell into
this awful gorge gave to that precipice a
vagueuess of outline. an indefinitd vast
ness, ghostly and wierd spirituality
Had the mountain spoken to me iu audi
BILE voice, or begun to lean over with the
purpose of burying me beneath its crush
ing mass, | should hardly have been sur
prised. It's whiteness, thrown into bold
relief by the patches of trees or shrubs
which fringed or fecked it wherever a
few handfulls of its moss, slowly decom.
posed to earth, could contriye to hold on,
continually suggested the presence OF