The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1880-08-19

shadowy outline of Pixies Peak
about $50 miles away-hOlds the eye
for a moment, and then, still looking
| to the north, one can almost fancy he
sees Gray's Peak, away above Denver.
This fancy Is soon set at rest, and with
the aid Of powerful glass which we
had brought along, we bring the latter
peak SO close that, to those who have
been there, different peculiarities man
ifest themselves.
After spending couple of hours in
contemplation Of the grandeur and
wonderful in nature, we were about to
start down, when some one decried q
cloud coming down from the north
east at q 2:lls gait. Here was an OF
portunity long sighed for, and after q
little persuasion the party concluded
to wait and inspect it at close quarters.
First we could only see very small
fragment of cloud, but as it approached
it caught up Others hitherto unnoticed,
until when near the mountain it as
sumed an alarming size, and I began
to wish 1 had let curiosity lie in
allegiance and descended when the
party intended to- The cloud struck
Ration fair, and passed over, only,
however, to be followed by another
and another, each more dense than
the last. We saw we were in for it,
for sweeping along, yet seine distance
away, we observed one coming, leav-
ing trail of rain in its path. And
were ii only rain We could have taken
1t good naturally enough, but the
muttering of distant thunder told us
that We would soon be placed in a 20
sitiOn to thoroughly analyze thunder
storm. We had not long to wait. We
SOON found ourselves enveloped on all
sides by a mass of vapOr that shut out
everything from view, and the
thunder. which but q moment ago was
rolling about our ears with deafening
noise, became hushed, and q breath
less silence prevailed. So still was
everything around us that, to borrow
an expression, We keenly recognized
the awful state implied by 1.-The 81
lence of the grave" yet the great
mass of mist and vapOr heaved and
tossed about in fearful evOlutiOns, the
wind tattering the clouds into fantas-
tic shreds. AS the cloud grew deeper
in its passage over, breathing became
difficult, and we experienced y strange
buzZing in our ears and a sense of diZ-
illness. The rain pitched about our
ears with the fury OF hurricane, yet
all the time an awful state of quietude
prevailed, rendering our condition
fearfully oppressive. We could not
see three feet around US, and it was
only by budding close together that
each was aware of the safety of the
other. 1t took probably twenty
minutes or half an hour for the cloud
to pass over, and as We emerged out of
the gloom our ears were once more
deafened by vOlley of natures ar
tillery, which grew less and less
until completely hushed in the dis
lance. One experience of this kind is
enough for a lifetime, but having gone
through it, no one would wish to re-
call it. The sun was shining his
brightest as we began to descend, and
i'm about three-quarters Of an hour the
party again stood by the lake, COM
pletely dried and in good spirits for
the homeward journey, which was
commenced without delay. We
reached Trinidad about 6:3O, well re-
paid for the fatigue and fright of the
trip. RONNOCO.