The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-08-27
Notes from Myra's Portfolio.
An Excursion t. Mount Satouly-The Clio
rious View from ONE of the Lofty
Peaks Of the Blue Ridge.

LAURELDEsE. N. G., August, 1881.
DEAR AUNT CHAT:
If you could only have been one of us
last week when we visited Mt. Satouly
the highest summit in this portion of the
Blue Ridge! 1t had been IL pet project
of ours from the first that we should
camp ont in some picturesque glen, and
now an opportunity offered itself Of
pitching our tents upon a towering
mountain peak. What more rare and
novel experience could have fallen to the
lot of Louisiana girls and boysT Our
party consisted entirely of bright young
spirits, with the solitary exceptions of
our two chaperons, who, fortunately for
us, were almost as full of life and fun as
the very youngest uember of our little
band.
Very like pilgrims we looked, equipped
for q crnsa,le-each bearing Il stout staff
to insure us IL more comfortable ascent
of the mountail-only infinitely happier,
merrier, if not more hopeful than the
pilgrims of old!
The woods resounded with the ring of
blithe, gay voices, and the elasticity
with which we trod the steep mountain
road corrcsponted to our joyous natures.
You must know that we had four or five
miles to walk before we reached the foot
of the mountain, and the road to the
Highlands was literally a climb nearly
the whole way SO think it was scarce
ly q wonder that some of our party in
glorously surrendered and perched them
selves upon the rocks to wait till the
wagon bearing our blankets and eatables
should overtake us.
The old song, "We'll wait for the
wagon, when we'll all take ride" ludi-
crously suggested itself to mind, but the
far deeper thought of the great Carlyle
came also-when he compares life to a
vast, snrging army and speaks Of the
faint-lleartetl who inglorionsly give up
the fight and rest unfaithfully in the
provision wagons IN the rear. ALI, the
analogy of the natural and purely phys
ical to the moral and spiritual realm is
surely very striking and furnishes solid
food for thought.
At last we reached tho base Of the ma
jestic Satouly and our guide bade us
hasten up to the summit if we desired to
witness the sunset view. With renewed
energy and full Of expectancy we bega,
the second ascent, and this time we did
not retreat, but attained the very pin.
nacle just before the King Of Day was
taking his leave Of the fair earth.
My pen should be dipped i'll sunshine
il ever hoped to portray u truthful pic
| turc of the glorious scene around us, and
you must give flight to your Imagination,
that you may enjoy with me the gran.
,lcur and loveliness | then bellcld.
The magnificent Blue Ridge stretched
out for miles and miles like q panorama
tendcrly pervaied and softened by lu
minous blue mist which seemed to Ell
velop the whole earth like some con
secratiny garment. cover the hills an'
far away" We gazed, and 10! the sc;
seemed beyond us, and instead of distan
hills covered with wonderful haze
were thu undulating pillows OF til.
"dark blue ocean" with its surgin4
waves, its ceasclcss ebb and flow. d,
not imagine that my fancy is rife when
tell you this, for the most prosaic ant
matter-of-f;,ct of our party saw distinctl,
this wonderful ocean view. Almost th'
first words that greeted my ear the fol
lowing day, when VIC returned to TIN
Cove, from some one who made the ms
cent OF S;tonly last year, were, Wa
not the ocean beautiful ?"
As we gazed down, far down bencat1
us, feeling almost of self-pity took pos
session Of me when | saw the slIrunke
and diminutive proportions of man
work upon the earth. Immense corn an
wheat ficlds-or what seemed ilnnens
whom we were OH their lrvel--were no,
so pitifufly small as to be fantly discern
ibIc: the houses and Il little yIlag
which seemed important enough to MS
few hours ago, now resembled ant-hilh
while the roads winding around to thcs
human habitations appeared to us til
mcrcst narrow trails.
AS gazcd in h,lmbled pride upon tn
monuments of human skill and effort an
far out into the vastness Of Gods worl,
all sloriiic,l and beautihed by the hcas
enly blue ether, while the gliding ray
nf the departing sun were resting upo
the whole like Heavens smile, it sccnie
as if all the greatest achievements {
man, that are 6 betrunipcted and b,
shouted from end to end of the habit;.b
globe" must seem so pitif'Illy small t
the angels who look down upon us frol
the highest heights. What do our pIa,
} and dreams avail i'll the great scheme
the universe, and what uninportaI
: factors we individually are in the dram
of life
1t would require too many more page
dear Aunt Chat, to pretend to give Sc
5 an adequate description of the subs
; gucnt events Of our excursion, SO sh,
! have to reserve it for my next commun
: cation. Until then, believe me,
Yours attcctionateIy, MiRA
f ~~s~-
Morcho,lsc Clarion: Tuesday morllil
, our people were shocked by the ne,