Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-01-26
THEBACK.BONE OFTHECONTINENT.
Ascent OF snowy Ridge.

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not visible, owing to intervening noun
tains. A trail, practicable two-thirds
of the way for carriages, leads to the
summit, eight miles distant. The
Journey up and back again may be
easily accomplished between sunrise
and sunset, with plenty of leisure for
sight seeing. Six of our party, includ-
ing the ladies, having decided to make
the ascent, arrangements were perfected
for seasonable start the following
morning. Heavy snow-falls have quite
recently prevailed along the range, but
at this time, fortunately for us, the
auguries were indicative of favorable
weather.
To crown our anticipations, the
morning of the I'd came crisp, cloudless
and resplendent The cold was quite
severe enough to admonish us of the
necessity of heavy wrappings, and each
member of the party was accordingly
provided with a mid-winter outfit.
The gentleman carried their shoot
ing irons, so as to be prepared to in
terview any chance cinnamon bear who
might happen to desire an acquaint-
ance. This precaution seemed 20 be
justified by the fact that a 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 moment Bruin had
stepped out boldly in front of the
stranger, and reared himself in an atti-
tude of defiance. A fortunate shot did
the business for him, and summary
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 a gentleman
of Georgetown, and had volunteered
his services.
Far up the mountain we had fine
backward view of Georgetown and the
cozy 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 like the grand inton
alton of some deep-voiced cataract.
Soon We changed direction again into q
narrow defile, beyond which was point
ed out the locality of Green Lake, one
of the chief wonders of this wild and
impressive region. 1t is deep, tran
quill 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
upward, and that continually. Occa-
sional banks of snow began to appear
under the shady sides of the ledges, the
road was sometimesslippery with ice, and
the frosty and invigorating atmosphere
grew redolent of piney aroma.
1t was well nigh noon when we reach
ed the utmost edge of the timber line
and confronted the snow-enshrouded
SUBMITS of the range, whose cloud-like
shapes had so tempted us in the delu-
sive 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
altogether the steepest. The trail
was partially blocked with drifted
snow, leaving but narrow
path for our horses and zigzagged it's
way upward by series of inclined
planes, each one of which developed
a dizzier hight and grander prospect.
After an hours hard work, the crest
was won, and we stood on the backbone
of the American continent, twelve
thousand feet above the sea-level Fas-
tening our brides to loosened stones,
we climbed pinnacle of about one
hundred feet, too sharp and rugged for
the horses, and from the summit feast
ed 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 at
tempt to convey even the minutest idea
of It's vastness and solemnity.
Fifty miles away, looking eastward,
the great plains could be distincly
seen, melting in far and lading outline
into the cloudless heaven. Near at
hand Grav's Peak, now unattainable by
reason OF the snow, lowered thirteen.
hundred feet above us, closing the
view to the northward. Alrsost due
south, one hundred miles, appeared
Pixies Peak, the solitary and majestic
monarch of the mountains, crowned
with naked outlines of broken rock and
robed in royal ermine of perpetual
frost. To the southwark, eighty miles,
Lincoln's peak constituted conspicu-
GUS object in the western wall OF the
great South Park, into which we looked
down as upon a smooth prairie, en-
compassed with mountain battlements.
n Il 4
western foothills, retreating In wild
confusion of crag and peak and chasm
from the majestic sweep of the central
! range.
Such is the mere outline of the pic
ture-imagination must do the rest.
Standing on that giddy apex of wind
worn and storm-beaten rocks, which
separated like an up,urned wedge the
tributaries of two oceans and from
whence the eye gathered at a glance the
majesty of an empire, it was not diff
cult to conceive that here, in these lof-
|. ty solitudes, the Genius of America
had spread her tabernacle, and un-
yelled the exceeding brightness and
glory of her transfgured presence.
The unclouded beauty of the day
contributed largely to the splendor of
the view, as well as to the comfort of
our obserxations, but keen wind blew
almost necessarily, and at times with
such fury as to make it extremely diff
cult to maintain an upright position.
. One or two of the party found it neces-
sary to withdraw directly, owing to a
|, sort of dizzy faintness, and persons
sometimes swoon soon after leaving
the summit
Going down was much more difficult
, than going up, as we soon discovered,
, and in the case of three of our party,
including myself, occasioned severe
. headache, accompanied by intense and
| nauseating sickness at the stomach.
The sensation is precisely like that OF
, sea sickness, and creates the same loath-
, ing of food and disinclination 10 be
amiable. The longer the descents lasts
the stronger grows the sensation, until
each step of the horse creates a throb