Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1866-10-17
SIJNNTT Or THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

Flower Garden and Mountains Soenery--The
Beauty Of the Snow Flowers and Grandeur
of the Scene.
rFrom recent Colorado letter by Bayard Taylor,
\ detailing trip across the Rocky Mountalns'l
ANOTHER quarter Of an hour, and the
sleeps fell back in front, leaving a lovely
Alpine meadow, dotted with clumps Of
pine, the vivid green of its turf sprinkled
with snowy flowers, and brook Of
icy crystal winding through it.
l was delighted when Mr.. Byers gave
the word to unsaddle. 1t was hordly three
quarters of mile, he said, to the summit
of the Pass-whether we could cross was
still a doubtful matter-and before at
tempting it both beasts and men must be
| fed. The former were turned loose to
Craze at will, with their long lariats drag
ging after them the latter unlocked
the cups from their button-holes, opened
the coffee-b cut the ham with hunting
knives, and partook Of the biscuits which
we're not sufficiently sad" The water
Of the brook was so intensely cold that
it almost made one stream. Yet imme-
diately out Of and through it grew clus-
ters of a flower so purely beautiful that
we all cried out with admiration on dis
covering it. 0ut of ring Of broadly
ovate leaves (under the water) rose a
straight STEM twelve TO fifteen inches in
height, crowned at the top with q cluster
of dark crimson-velvet flowers, about the
size and with the rich mealy bloom of the
polyanthus. 1t is called, here, the
"Alpine primrose, =" but know ofueither
cowslip nor primrose that viii compare
with it. The odor is very peculiar, re
sembling that of Russian leather. Here
is a treasure for our florists.
While we took our lunch and rested
our bones Mr.. Byers and White discussed
the passage of the mountains. Directly
in front of us depression in the fr-clad
ridge indicated the summit of the Pass,
on either side Of which bald, snowy
peaks rose considerably above the timber
line. White had crossed the range last
week, with drove oftwenty two Govern
ment horses but he had gone consider
ABLY to the northward of the Pass, in
order to avoid the SHOWS. 1t was a que5-
tion whether we should reopen the old
trail. or follow his example and climb the
frightful looking steep on our right to a
point beyond the timber. Being a green
hand l said nothing, but l felt relieved
when the Pass was selected FOR the
SHOWS had been melting very rapidly.
and was convinced that we could ia!siiy
the predictions Of our friends.
The horses we're ssdiled, the mules
repacked, and We set out upou the un-
certain adventure There was snow all
around US; some drifts, even, lay on the
meadow; and even where it had melted,
the soil was elastic, treacherous bog that
we did not venture 10 ride. On all sides
rills came rushing down, uprooted trees
barred the way, or pools Of black mud
had collected. 1t was impossible to fol-
low the trail, although. We could trace It
by the marks of the shoVels. Slowly, in
single file, stopping every two minutes to
e IN upon our horses necks and gasp for
breath, spatlered with mud and wet with
n,w-Water, we climbed through the
forest. taking heart with the knowledge
that this was our last hard pull The
/ trees rapidly grew thinner, the roaring
rills became nOiscless threads Of water
the snow drifts ovcrlapped each other
and must be waded, and then-ihe steep
suddenly fattened and keen wind blew
] II al, De-
Itis a sharp crest, with not ten yards
between the opposite decliyities. Here
there was an open space, covered with
bunch grass among the fields of snow
We were Just at the limit Of timber, a
little more than II. 600 feet above the sea
level. No general panorama Of therange
is visible. but there are iuc!osed views to
the east and west. Behind US a sweep Of
bleak, frosty SUBMITS. too near (appa-
rantly,) too hard and sharp to be bcauti-
ful. Before us, far away over the deeps
of endless dark green forest grand Al
pine range,
\ thousand sha5ow-pencilcd valleys,
And snowy delis in golden air
/ Still further, thirty or forty miles behind
it, arose two great snowy pyramids, eyi-
IDENTIFY beyond the North Park, and not
inferior to Mount Blame This view was
superior in all the clements Of subhmity
to any thing had ever seen since enter
ing the mountains. In the center Of the
bare spot where we gather grew ranuu
clulus, q blossom of which transferred to
my notebook.