The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-11-20
Many promise them that never send "a
slight sigh.

l
J slight sigh.
O.. yes, we are semi celestials. Goo
smokers, and always high. That's nothin
to pick flowers with one hand and gathe
snow with the other. Up here we some
times have'to put on our overcoat on on
side and. go shirt sleeves on the other. Th
noise you heard coming up must have bee
either a grizzly bear or mountain goat
There are plenty OF both on the road. N
danger up here. Lodgers here must keep a
eye open for rats, though. They some night
make raid on us and we have to fight TO
life. They are OF the Asiatic species, an
have bushy tails.
sOld Probs?' He can always tell you
about the weather, either the day before o
the day after. How many of us? Three, t,
run the two stations. We alternate on,
stays up here month, and one below, ant
the third acts as messenger to keep the lin,
J in repair. That wire on the ground? 1Tha
was the ground wire. We have to 90 dowr
three miles to find the ground, you see. W.
/ are all males. Do our own cooking: car
/
cook anything we can raise on the mules, ex
| cept to boil beans. Water boils at 1860 in.
stead Of 2l2o as it ought to, and the longer
we boil beans the harder they get. It takes
six hours to boil small potatoes, and then
there is hard core in the centre. Yes,
nearly all our visitors are sick just like you
are. You won't die; we never had death
up here; no doctors and no undertakers.
We often have them bleed at the nose and
ears. The pulse here ranges from 80 to no.
You breathe about twice as fast as at home.
On, if you stay up here hong enough you
either get over it or die. Visitors often
faint, but we have plenty Of snow handy.
My name? Well, there are three of us,
Black, Choate and Blake. First names !?
William, Rufus and Wesley.
Yes. Mr.. Choate is relative of the cele-
brated lawyer of that name. No, Black is
white man. Me? No, I'm no kin to
John Wesley. Those spots on the plains !?
They are shadows of last nights sunset?
Oh, don't be backward at all about ask
ing questions. You haven't got them half
yet. You ought to hear the ladies ask ques-
tions about the s'dear little burros.''
eyes, you are all welcome to stay. 1t only
costs you dollar meal, and dollar for
shakedown on the floor.''
AS we stood outside the door, pourced
upon the fragments of a stone-china plate,
with the zeal Of relic hunter, which have
since been distributed among enthusiastic
friends. A badger, stiff and bleeding, lay
near, which had been slaughtered under the
wood pile that morning numbers Of our
party were still peppering at the rats, but
unsuccessfulIy. A barrel set on end served
as horse block and standing erect on its top,
realized the overwhelming fact that was
probably the highest person on the globe at
that moment-the top of my head being
head swan, my breast swelled with pride at
this unwonted elevation, but the barrel be-
gan to shake and l descended upon my
horse with more haste than grace. Cap
turing a tin lard-pail flor a purpose which
will be shown hereafter) we took long,
lingering look at the Peak we should never
ascend again said good bye to the officers
who had greeted us SO kindly gave rein to the
ponies and began our descent. The fair
panorama was blotted out by the masses of
cloud rolling up, and Mr.. Sweeny called
out: ''You'll be caught in heavy shower
before you get down.
Prophetic words the clouds withheld
their torrents till we left the Seven Lakes,
after dinner, then ''the rains descended and
the floods came" The thunder reverberated
through the splintered crags, lightning illus
mined them with ghastly splendor,
the rains formed all the bodies of water
described in the primary Biographies
Springs, rills. brooks, lakes, straits,
bays, CULTS, rivers, seas, and oce0ns.'' We
were so wet that 1t was an impossible
ity we should be wetter. In Bear Greek
Canyon in the midst Of the storm, we
met one OF the cheap transportation lines
to Pixies Peak, the round trip for five dollars.
A weatherbeaten man led the van, ploddin2
through the mud on foot and bearing on his
breast the legend, s'Old Reliable Burro
Line to Pixies Peak,' in white letters on
a black placard. The burros seemed plunged
in mud and despair, though each was cover
ed by his riders mbrella.
From the chaos OF oilskin and waterproof,
between burro and umbrella, it was hard to
evolve human beings, but l think there were
ten ladies and three gentlemen, looking al
most as dry as we did. A burro bearing
large tin case Of provisionsa and burro stag
gering under the weight of several tents
brought up the rear. 'T'is pleasant after
noon for sightseeing, +" remarked one Of our
party. 80 wal, see Pixies Peak or bust!'
responded the leader with cheerful serenity,
and like the ssKings of Jumboiee, we pass
ed on with mutual bows and pleasing smiles.
Our sole adventure was the loss of our cher
ished tin pail which we had fastened to the
sssadd1e boao," and filled with tender forget
me-nots; silvery moses, delicate star-dow-
ers, and all the trans-alpine flora which was
to form herbarium in a certain eastern
parlor. We happened to glance at the shoul
der Of sol, 1.-THE grey branded pony,) and
there was the handle tightly secured by the
strings, but the pail was not. 4,. g
1t was growing darker as we neared the
end OF Bear Creek Canyon, towering with
rockssand massive foliage, and we were glad
enough to homeward plod our weary way
and leave the world to darkness and to-
mud !!
Just at sunset, the clouds broke and the
horizon was suffused with rosy bushes. The
granite walls OF Bear Creek Canyon stretched
in parallel lines before us,and their last piers
were spanned by double rainbow. each
arch distinct, and encircling band OF in
tervening purple sky. We stood hushed be-
fore the wondrous sight Of the heavenly bow
uprising from its earthly buttresses, and half
expected to see passing over the mystic and
shining bridge, the olden gods sweeping on
ward toward their Valhalla. M. V. D.
Colorado Springs, Oct. 20, 1919. 7
| A GENEROUS OFFER. Second Bap-
| fist church of St. Louis, Mo-. dedicated last
Thursday, has been rebuilt at a cost of $780,
900, The pastor, Rev. DR.. Boyd, and one
l Hon Nathan G01o u1pn1hnr