The Daily Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Or.) 1876-1883, 1881-05-08
a Mountain Storm.

The following beautiful scenic
description is from the pen of Col.
Mcclure, written to the New York
Tribune from Denver, Colorado,
in 1867. 1t gives expression to
those emotions common to all on
the first view of the sublimities Of
the Rocky mountains, and is not
inferior to D. Israeli's description
of storm, held as a model de-
scriptive composition:
Go where YOU will in this Sec
ton, the prospect is most charm
ing, but all is dwsrfed by the in
describable grandeur of the noun
tains. We have read and written
volumes abort the grandeur Of the
Alps. hut the world has only one
such view as Is presented from the
rollingprairic east of Denver In he
wildering sublimity none but itself
is It's parallel. There may be iso-
lated views Of the Alps as beauri-
( ful as any twenty miles of the
Rocky mountain range, and the
lev land of Russian America has
+ its Saint Elias, that towers higher
toward the heavens than the high
est Of these, but here Is presented
ia one grand view nearly two hum
dred miles of the Rocky noun
tains, from beyond Pixies peak far
off 10 the south, thence. by the
Spanish peaks to Longs peak, and
still on toward the north, until the
range is lost in the dimness of dis
tance. Black threatening clouds
hung about them when first saw
them, and added to the peerless
beauty of the scene. Around
Longs peak the storm-king seem
ed to be spell.bound or held an
easy captive, for he had no deliv-
erance until his heavy clouds had
been discharged and broken, and
his thunderbolis drawn in
harmless violence. Far beyond
the struggling tempest the
setting sun was casting his
evening rays through the toss
ing clouds. and fringing the
very lightning with his matchless
tintS. On either side of the storm
he was reaching out his light,
ilinging the silver lining around the
raging elements, breaking in re-
fulgent splendor on the distant
peaks, and flashing in almost daz.
zling brilliancy upon their eternal
SHOWS. To the north the sweep
inc SHOWS, falling and fitting in
graceful waves, seemed to defy the
lightnings erratic fash, while or
the south the bow of promise IL
lumined the heavens. 1t was the
very sublimity OF moral and mate
rial grandeur, a panorama that God
alone could have fashioned. The
great snow range is the first tC
meet the eve, and the observer in
! sensibly wanders along the vast
rigid and unbrokcn sweep, until II
is lost in the deep blue vaulteC
dome on either side. Ii has nc
: two points alike, as if the Grca
: Architect meant to confuse tn,
very conceptions of men in thi:
colossal masterpiece of His crea
tion. Yender is a cluster of peak:
! as if made up OF huge inverted
icicles, and beside them it would
: seem that gigantic snow drifts
with their unique and counties
forms, had fallen in. Here is
hillock of spotless white, whose
d garments change not with the re
: volving seasons, regular, graceful
rounding with apparent mathe
, matical precision until it finishe.
with its tapered cap of snow
e lhere are deep ravlnes, vast goTg
5 es and rude, craggy peaks, as j
. the earthquake had taken the west
ern world in It's frenzied arms anC
tossed its mightiest rocks in wild
disorder across the plains. Thu
north and south, as far as the ey
can see, and for two hundred
miles toward the setting sun these
-. vast, snow-clad monuments of ON
nipotent power present their yarie,
beauties and surprising grandeur
1 and | turn from them only wheI
the last ray of the receding sun ha
d parted with their topmost crown:
and the mellow moonlight take
up the grateful task of displaying
{ through nights weary shadows
this mute but most impressiv
It tribute an all-wise God has reare
II to Himself.