Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-12-02
Hunt and slaughter.
kansas CRY. Nov. I87

KANSAS A4IAF 4NDN-s 1870
AT Georgetown the Snowy Range is
not visible. owing to intervening noun
tains. A trail, practicable twO-thirds Of
the way for carriages, leads TO the sum-
NIT, eight miles distant. The journey
up and back again may be easily ac-
complIshed between sunrise and sunset,
with plenty Of leisure for sightseeing.
SIX or OUR PARTY, INCLUDING THE
LADIES,
having decided to make the ascent. ar
rangements were perfected for a season
able start the following morning Heavy
snoyv-falls had quite recently prevailed
along the Range, but at this time, for
tunately for US, the auguries were indica-
| tive Of favorable weather. To crown
our anticipations. the morning Of the
I'D came crisp, cloudless and resplen-
dent. The cold was quite severe enough
to adnonish US of the necessity for heavy
wrappings, and each member Of the
party was accordingly
PROVIDED WITH MIDwINTER OUTFIT.
The gentlemen carried their shooting
irons, SO as to be prepared to interview
any chance cinnamon bear who might
/ happen to desire an acquaintance. This
precaution seemed to be justified by the
/ fact that few days before one of these
animals had been shot on the trail by
solitary traveller who was coming over
the mountain. At an unexpected mo
ment
BRUIN HAD STEPPED OUT BOLDLY
in front Of the stranger, and reared him
self in an attitude of defiance. A fortu-
nate shot did the business for him. and
.summarily ended what might otherwise
have been an interesting parley.
About seven O'Clock the horses were
brought around, and half an hour later
our cavalcade started from the hotel,
and at once began the steep and wind
ing ascent.
OUR GUIDE
was an intelligent and agreeable gentle
man of Georgetown, who had kindly
volunteered his services. His advice
had been largely instrumental IN Induc-
ing US to undertake the trip up the
Range, which was not a part Of our
original programme, and there IS no
member of our party who does not now
feel deeply grateful to him for his coun-
sci.
Far up the mountain we had hne
backward view of Georgetown, and the
coy little park In which It is situated
Then the road turned its course around
the mountain, and up the great gulch
through which the wind came roaring
among the pines ike the grand ihtona-
ton of some deep-voiced cataract. Soon
we changed direction again into mar
rover defile, beyond which WAS pointed
out the locality of
GREEN LAKE,
one Of the chief wonders of this wild
and impressive region. 1t is a deep,
tranquil sheet of water, broadly belted
with perpendicular walls of rocks, and
from some mysterious cause preserves
through all seasons the hue of rich and
deeply-tinted emerald. A visit to this
lake was reserved for our return trip,
when it was innocently believed we
would still have the necessary time and
? energy.
From this time out our course was up
3 ward, and that continually. Occasional
: banks Of snow began to appear under
the shady sides of ledges, the road was
sometimes slippery with ice, and the
frosty and invigorating atmosphere grew
redolent with piney aroma.
It was well nigh noon when we
reached
THE UTMOST EDGE OF THE TIMBER LINE
and confronted the snow-enshrouded
SUBMITS Of the Range, whose cloud
like shapes had so often tempted US in
the delusive distance. Hating beside
an ice-cold brook we enjoyed our lunch
preparatory to the difficult work before
us. The distance to the summit was
still four times as great as It appeared to
be, and of the entire ascent, was alto
gether the steepest. The trail was
partly blocked with drifted snow, leav-
ing but narrow path for our horses,
and zigzagged its way upward by Sc
ries of inclined planes, each one of which
developed dizzier height and grander
prospect. After an hours hard work
THE CREST WAS WON,
and we stood on the backbone of tie
14me1zca1 Continent, fz0eZ5e fz0HSaad
feet a6o5is sea kc0ek Fastening our
brides to Ioosened stones, we climbed
a pinnacle of about a hundred
feet, too steep and rugged for the
horses, and from the summit feasted
our eyes for nearly an hour upon scene
of surprising grandeur. The senses
reel with the very recollection of it, and
; description staggers in the attempt to
convey even the faintest idea of its vast
ness and sublimity.
5 Fifty miles away, looking eastward
the great Plains could be distinctly seen
melting in far and fading outline into
r the cloudless heaven. Near at hand
J Gray's Peak, now unattainable by rea-
son of the snow, lowered thirteen hun,
dred feet above us, closing the view tc
the northward. Almost due south, one
hundred miles, appeared Pixies Peak
the solitary and majestic monarch of the
mountains, crowned with broken outline
of naked rock, and robed in royal er
r mine of perpetual frost To the south
4 west, eighty miles, Lincoln's Peak con
E stituted a conspicuous object in the
western wall of the great South Park
into which we looked down as upon Z
smooth prairie, enCompassed with noun.
t tain battlements. On either hand lay
t the eastern and western foothills, re
+ treating in wild confusion of crag ano
: peak and chasm from the majestic sweep
e of the central range.
Such is the mere outline of the pic.
: ture-imagination must do the resi-
4 Standing on that giddy apex of wind
g worn and storm-beaten rocks, which
: separated like an upturned wedge the
e tributaries of two oceans, and from
whence the eye gathered at a glance the
majesty Of an empire, it was not dificul
/ to. conceive that here, in these lofty sol
!, itudes, the Genius of America had spread
9 her tabernacle and unveiled the exceed,
I ing brightness and glory of her trans
figured presence. Absorbing the gran
: deur of such scene, the soul becomes
i expanded and glorifed, as if caught UP
] to some wider sphere of being, and the
quickned pulse and swelling heart give
expression better than words to the proud
: inspiration of the anthem:
My native country thee,
Land OF the noble free,
Thy name loves
love thy rocks and rtllS,
Thy woods and tenn mpIed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.
: The unclouded beauty of the day con.
: tributed largely to the splendor of the
view, as well as to the comfort of ouI