Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1880-06-12
speculate upon the movements of armies

speculate upon the movements of armies
along the Danube as the Greeks dis
cussed the life of souls across the Styx.
The affairs of the outside world have
lost interest for us since we are no long
er spurred by the heel of the morning
newspaper. In simplifying our life to
primitive measure we have ceased to
trouble ourselves about problems of pol
itics or social economy, and are begin
ming to discover that the universe is less
complex than we made it. Thus we
conduct sort of mental exploration
parallel with the geodetic survey.
Sometimes signs of previous occupan-
cy added to the attractions of a camp,
when it was made near some trail, and
we speculated on the kind of man who
had been there before us. How long
beforep What was his object? And
whittier was he bound? In region SO
wild and utterly untenanted as this,
anything pertaining to humanity is in
vested with extraordinary interest. From
these foundation-sticksw we could tell the
size and kind of tent he had; from the
tracks could decide that his one animal
was a horse, not mule (Which makes
a smaller, narrower track, and knew
that at this stake he picketed him at
night, and by that path led him to the
water; from this stump we guessed the
sharpness of his ak; that wadding told
the size of his rifle; here was his fire;
| there, where the grass is trampled he
piled his nights wood. Where this
hunter or beaver trapper has camped
and left his history on a few chips there
| remains a civilized aspect which nature
must work long to efface.
Similarly, if we remained long, our
own halting- ground became dirty and
bedraggled, so that we were glad to
change often. Yet strange familiari-
ty attaches even to a bit of brook and
mountain side, and knowing there is
no better representation of home with
4 in many hundred miles, you easily give
it that name. ssLet us wander where
we will. the universe is built round
about US, and we are central still. -
Nowhere did this homelike feeling at
tach itself more (and with less good
reason) than to one July camp high up
on the Wind River Peak, at the very
sources of the great Sweetwater. Per-
haps because we invaded angry soli-
I tudes and boldly held our own, in
spite of every effort on the part of the
well-roused spirits of the place. The
trees were all pines and stood thickly,
Uut were AOt VI RICdu SiACs oAOuS5 II
straight and tall. Many lay at full
length upon the ground, for they had
shallow root hold among the boulders,
and the very first night the forest
treated us to an exhibition of its power
to injure, as hint, perhaps, that we
would better not violate its sacred
shades with our presence, and consume
its royal timber in our paltry campfire.
When want fire." the forest seemed
to say, 81 rub my limbs together and
the flames sweep, for miles through my
oily cones and dry tops, that love the
blaze.'' The trunks began to fall all
around us-dozens at time, while the
air was full of tremendous conclusions
and the screams of rending fibers. But
none of these mighty bolts harmed US,
beyond the crushing of a single tent,
and when the hurricane was over we
found our fire-wood close at hand
ready cut and SO profted by the anger
of the resentful gods.
There was some of the hardest work
done in the history of the survey from
the headquarters of this camp, but one
night when the snow drifted steadily
downson our beds as we lay quiet, ]
was not SO tired but that I lay awake
for hours, slowing away in the Golfers
of my memory the fast crowding i'm
pressions; and perhaps it was those
hours of reflection that fixed all the de-
tails of the wild, timber-line camp SO
firmly in my mind.-Scr5baaer for Jat'ae.