Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-10-06
Che family Circle.
The Garden Of the Gods.
HELEN Hunt.

| fever there was place on earth where
the Gods of the Greeks and Romans may
be supposed to have lived and had a 600
time that place must have been in Colo
rad" Near the foot of the famous noun
tain known rs Pixies Peak lies the Gear
den of the G. ,LS.' 1t is a small valley
just on the edge of tina Rocky Mountains
and is completely surrounded bv a hipf
perpendicular wall of white sandstone
There are two entrances through this won
dcrful wall; one of thcm-the larrer-is
cal led The Beautiful Gatr.n Its a mar.
| row gap in Il mass of TO more than on.
hundred feet high. As You enter YOU look
over valley fenced in on all sides with
white sandstone; and, nearly opposite, at
| the top Of hill, Is another smaller gate
way, halt concerted by huge rock about
he size Of AN ordinary cottage. This
mass of rock is So balanced on the EDGE OF
the slope that it looks rs if it might ium1
Oft and 90 laundering down the hill while
You look at it.
The Garden of the Gods abounds with
beautiful trees and foliage. and. TOWERING
amidst the lovelincss. are some of I'm.
most extraordinary, queer and fantastic
| shapes ever made ont of rock. Ares AGO
when his part of the world was in u stat.
OF terrible C 'mnotion. vist LAYERS of rock
were forced up out of the ear h in all sort :
OF positions. Some We're vertical, some
Slantlny, and some We're cri>s-cross ano
mixed up generally. Learned men say
that was tn" way these layers of sand
stone, which once were flat, got up edre-
wise and III all other Nays We must
take their word for it. There was nobody
there to see
; Trees and shrubs, after Il time, grew VI
aroHnd and the disturbed earth had peace
| lien came the mounttin winds AMI the
eng autumn rains. The wind blew the.
>lnd against the rocks. which are 80 >of;
tht You could dig holes in them with :,
strong ltck-kn The wearing of the
sand and wind AMI water against tn, Sc
stony surfaces carved them into all sort,
II Wild and funny shapes. AGES and ares
passed away. probably before these gro
te> ne sculptures looked Is they do now.
here and there among the trees ris,. III,
Fantastic shapes like spires. towns and
st eple>. some of the f;,ncifu nameS civ
TN these are Montrznml> CATHEDRAL =
"CIr"pltrt'> Needle, - Washing on Mon
nmrnt, Th" Cathedral Spires" and
= Needle Rock.'
But. of course. the h. lf-human look NJ
objects hat gave ii name t. thi, .urion>
= eden are MIST likely to attract attention
ne n.'inr> by which they are knoAn are
as tntasrc IL The shapes themselves
one. figure of i woman, crap, Il and
tandlng nn"urnfullv alon". has many
nam"s Il IS called. The Mournin1
Bride. Th" Widow" 1.-The Old Maid.
and ~ other titles. any one Of which MAY
happen TO stick to the pathetic figure.
that might be called Lots Wife, only
thlt 1t l. a pillar of stone instead of a nil
lar OF salt Then there is hure water
worn boulder, that look for all the world
like Il gigantic frog i'll the act of oettinr
ready TO Jump. You get tired looking at
his stony frog. He seems Just about to
leap, but he never does. He has been in
that position for don't know how many
hundred years. and he has not jumpeJ
yet.
On one part of the wall. where the
white sandstone is mixed with red, is a
gigantic head of Il buffalo. There it rests
horns. ears. no>trils and all.-glowerinp
down ut you. inst as if it were 4 petrifeI
mammoth butfalo's head stuck up there as
a trophy. as the head AMI antlcrs of deer
are sometimes hung up-trophies of the
chase. Another singular group is THE
Nun and the Seal You will have no
IN making out this picture and.
as the Seal is pcerng over the rock at the
nun. who seems to have been at PRAYER
tins group is sometimes called "Inlerrup-
tea Mr'ilati"n.' If may be allowed, I
should LAY it might he called THE Heioht
of lmpudence." 1t is about fifty feet
Eliza Greatorer. in 81. Mich
olus.