Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-09-09


like a white thread. The city o
Gunnisson, fifty miles away, was
distinctly visible, and in the back
ground we saw the misty purple
mass of the Elk Mountains tending
northward. Over to the southwest
| Mount Sneffies reared its shapely
head, reminding one of the picture
of the pyramid. To the south We
were pointed out familiar peaks IN
New Mexico, and thus until tht
eye was weary of sightseeing,
| turned me to the monument with
its tall flagstaff, and fell to dream
ing of the probable fate of the cour
| ageous men who built it. 1t is one
of Fremont's government mOnu
ments, built long ago when the
mountains and foothills held terror
and probable death to the white
man. But in the face of all, these
brave United States surveyors dared
the danger, and endured the suffer
| ing of rigorous winters. Borrowing
penknife / whitfield chip from
the flagstaff to add to my relics
One of the gentlemen approached
the precipice and dropping a stone
timed it; it took exactly nine Sec
onds for it to strike bottom. l was
loath to leave the spot, knowing
should never again stand on the
summit OF Uncapagre, for the jour
ney is exceedingly hard and peril
Gus. | gathered rich, blue flower
and put it in my pressing-boOk, and
1t valued above all my mountain
flowers. The stone of the peak is
covered with crystals so closely re-
sembIing petrified hail that one
must needs touch it to be undeceiv-
ed. We fingered until the deepen
ing shadow in the Cimmaron Gorge
warned us to be off, and we began
our dizzy descent. AT one very
steep place we had been drawn up
with ropes and l did not seem to
mind 1t, but when l came to de-
scend and could SO distinctly see
the great chasm below me, dread
full fear took possession of me. A
delightful feeling of security came
over me when we were again
mounted on our burroS Ell route for
camp. 1t soon became evident to
US that we had fingered too long,
and the thick, purple shadows fell
swiftly around US. We pushed on
with all speed, but night pushed
faster, and at length after winding
through innumerable and frightful
places, the horrible idea daWned
upon Us that we were lost. Our
guide came back and advised us to
dismount and rest until he could
reconnoitre. We did so feeling
very much like the "babes in the
wood" Nearly exhausted by the
efforts of the day, l leaned back on
the short, dry grass and studied the
consultations. How strange they
looked, the dipper lying over in
the north, and Tom Wayne afar off
from home. Some writer has
truthfully said that "sleep no SOON
er begins than it is ended," and
just as was losing myself in uncon-
sciousnesS, l was aroused by the
voice of the guide. No singing
around the campfire that night,
but with common assent we sought
the comfort of our blankets. The
next morning found us so burned
and Drowned as to be almost unrec-
ognizable, but refreshed and eager
for the pleasures of the day. We
are to visit Crystal Lake on the way
home, and by nine o'clock we are
packed and ready. 1t was decided
that we should ascend Sunrise
Peak in the morning and despite
of a few scattered clouds which
rolled up from the west, we left our
burros and began the climb. After
we reached the top and had enjoyed
the view through the glass, we be-
gun our decent on the Southern side,
adoWn which stretched and wild
ened the most magnificent valley l
have ever seen. 1t is strikingly
like the picture of Yosemite Valley
in California, and l am quite sure
Yosemite cannot be grander, or
wilder. When about half way
across, the clouds rolled up from
the basin and seethed and surged
below us like boiling vapors. They
were intensely black and fieecy
white, and the effect was at once so
strange and fantastic that it is writ
ten on my memory forever. We
reached the lake at noon, and the
placid beauty of the waters seemed
in odd contrast with the wild and
rugged surroundings. 1t lies on the
top of lofty mountain, its nearly
circular banks fringed with daisies
and beautiful spikes of grass. A
few years back the most costly
goods were found on the banks of
this lake. They were found in
round stones, which when broken
open yielded the clearest amethysts,
but so many specimen hunters have
visited the spot though we searched
we found not one. We
passed the day until four O'Clock in
hunting crystals and pressing the
delicate ferns that grew around the
lake, which reflected back their
feathery beauty. The artist of the
party peeled square from one of
the large spruce pines and carved
the names of our crowd. Below he
carved in the most laughable and
perfect manner, burro climbing u
with lady mounted.
At four o'clock we turned our
faces homeward. We reached the
city at dusk, and the lighted streets
and echo of footsteps on the side
walks was grateful 10 us, who for
three days had been in the unbro-
ken solitude of the mountains. 1t |