New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-29

Two exouisite little cascades near the upper end
of tho canon deserve especial mention. These are
rho Sheltered Cascades and the Little Mnnehaha
Fous The first of these ~ al q sudden turn IN the
trail where /. crosses from one side Of the canon
to the other on a little rustic bridge The course Of
the brook AZ this point Is obsiructed By great mass
If granite boulders. which have been tumbled down
there in the grandest confusion. Instead OF howlng
over them. the water has found a passage through
the irregular spaces between them. and seems to
come out from grotto in a beautiful cascade. The
trail descends gradually few rods before crossing
tho stream and then resumes its sharp ascent. pass
inc around hinge rock and mp the side of the noun
tain on the other side. The Little Minnehaha Falls
are rightly named. for they pour over The rock in
bcsutIful sheet instantly reminding one of the ex-
ouisite waterfall in Minnesota, for which it has
been named.
ANYTHING which may be said about this canon
Will be incomplete which omts to mention the
views Of the valley and plains which are constantly
bursting upon the sight turn in the trail opens
n vista through the gorge They are not as extern
,ve or as varied as those obtained from the summit,
butthev are royalty framed by the grand old noun
tain sides which rise 1000 or 5000 feet. and IN
some places almost inclOse them. II Is diicult to
describe the effect. The breadth Of country to be
seen Is only few miles square, and includes Col
orado Springs and ManitOu, with It's hotels and the
white tents covering the hillside, and upon this
ouiet little patch Of country the tourist looks doWD
from an elevation of 1000 or 5000 ieet and be-
tween ragged walls of rock that almost meet al the
70, These views are better seen when coming
down the mountain, but they are well worth re
ouent pause on the way MP to contrast them WIN
those of the nearer picture Of rocks ana stream
FLOWERS TO The VERY SUMMIT.
+fo ttf+Ie Ntnnehaha Falls the tran
soon leads out upon park or plateau of few hun
dred acres part of which is covered with grass and
part with piflou trees. This point Is half way to
the summit and here the guide orders everybody to
dism-unt. and the ponies are turned loose Tor
half-hour's rest and grazing. At this point, also.
there IS one Of the COOL clear springs that are found
NJ freouent intervals along the upper hall OF the
trail-as pure, sparkling and refreshing as only
melted snOw-water can be.
From the halfway point The path leads for a mile
through groves Of aspen and spruce trees, part OF
the way BY gentle grades, and, rs tmber-ne Is APP
preached over steep and rocky deciIvltles' IN the
groves the ground was covered with Deautllul p'I-
nj. flowers which might be said to carpet it but
for the fact that they grow on stalks about foot
high. The flowers on the mountain add wonder
fully to the beauty of the trip. They can hardly
vet ne said TO be in season, because week or two
later they viii be far more abundant and brilliant
buf even now they contribute greatly to the pleas
IRE Of the trip.
Soon after entering the cations noticed mere ana
There q delicate little blucbeu where a small patch
Of soil afforded 10 root, and we went NJ they
became more plentiful and other varenes Of
flowers began % appear. One OF the most common
was purple daisy with yellow centre. whose mod
esty made a striking contrast with the dwarf sun
flowers with their bright yellow encrclng DlacA
centre. These were by no means the only varieties
of flowers which were in bloom. There was spIea
growing Iy the side of the brook, with many Yarle-
ties of the lily family. There were colum0lnes ana
honovsuckes. Scarlet and blue, anu purple ana
yellow. white and PINK flowers. such as had never
seen before, and whose names do not Know gre"
among the grass and between the rocks dividing
onr attention with the striking grandeur OF the
scenery.
I WAS greatly surprised to find many OF the flow
ers growing at the highest attitudes After passing
tiroter-liue at an elevation Of little more than
II 900 feet and gathering some of the bright bios
SONS by ,he waysde, made MP my mind TO watch
the flowers notice the point where hey ceasea ana
them on my return from the summit, PICK Iof pres
eryation some Of those which grew at the n ghest
altitude But the flowers did not cease to grow even
on the very summit of the peak rs we lett ne
timber behind Us. tie plants and blossoms became
gradually smaller and more delicate. Although the
flowers were of the same varieties Is those lower
down on the mountain, instead of being haf an
inch or an inch across aud standing 40 several
inches from the ground. they nestled close to the
earth. and were from the sze of pln-head TO that
of a pea As bright in color rs those growing under
more favorable circumstances, these little plants by
the side of the snow looked like little gems, and
were so delicate that IT was almost impossible TO
,tff3 ALL IN,
APPROACHING TIE SUMMIT.
Above timber-ine 10 within mile of the top,
tbe side of the mountain is alternately covered
with boulders and thick WASH bearing gooo
grass. The boulders are of all sizes, from tha5 OF
mans hand to that Of the City Hail III New-lork'
but they average SIX .ght feet square, and seem
TO have been poured ont upon the mountain side as
farmer would pour q Thousand bushels Of potatoes
down mon a slope IL his field. Looking over these
great areas of loose rock, not trace Of soil was
visible. not shrub nor spear OF grass. but on
/ linking closely between the ROCKS We found many
ttIe patches OF earth few inches or foot square,
and IN these were always growing tufts OF bunch
! grass and the delicate Little flowers which have
! mentioned. The uai across these fields OF Oouiders
was made by simply breaking the rocks up into
pieces about the SIZE OF a mans fist In this way a
narrow path has been made-a very rough one to
be sure but still practicable.
The entire mountain for the last mile before
reaching the summit, and the summit itself. are en-
tirely covered with the granite bouldcrs described
in the ast paraT pa. with nothing whatever to re-
eve the eye except here and there little patch OF
snow that had fallen two days before and which the
sun had not dissolved T. comprehend what the
summit Of Pixies Peak is like, let the reader ina
gine a truucated whose slant height is about q
mile and whose almost level top contains ten acres
composed entirely Of gray granite boulders OF every
size but averaging from ten to fifteen feet square
II is apparently an enormously exaggerated pile OF
cobble stone such farmers build III their sterile
New-Eugland fields from the stones which they
gather from the soil The trail up this part OF The
| peak Is exceedingly dificnt. The stones OF which