Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1883-03-27
MISCELLANEOUS.
In Cloud Land.

Mount Hooi stands about s;xty miles
from the great Pacific, as the crow flies,
and about two hundred miles up the
Colombia River, as il IS nayigated-
Mount Hood stands utterly alone. And
Yet he Is only q brother, bigger and
taller brother. of = well raised family OF
seven snow-peaks-
At any season OF the wear, Won can
stand ON almost any little e.ninenee
within two hundred miles OF Mount
Hood and count seven snow-cones, clad
in eternal winter, piercing the clouds
There IS no scene so sublime as this in
al the world
The mountains of Europe are onlv
hills N comparison Although none of
them are quite as high "a those of Ore
EOn and Washington Territory, yet they
lie far inland. and are so set on the top
of other hills that they lose much of
their maJeSty- Those of Oregon start
up sudden and solitary, and almost out
o. the sea, - it Were So that whil-
they are really not much higher than
the mountain peaks of the Alps, the.
seem TO be ABOUT t.sieo AZ high And
being all In the form of pyramids NJ
cones, they arc much more imposing
and beautiful than those of either Asia
or Europe
But that which adds most of all 10 the
beanty and subiImity of the mountain
scenery of Mount Hood and his envfroos
Is the marvellous cloud effects that en-
compass him =
In the first place, You must under
stand that all this region here Is one
dense black masS OF u,atchiess and mag
nlfieent forests From the waters edge
mp to the snow line Chamber and cling
the dark green fir, pine. cedar, tamz-
rack, yew and juniper. Some of the
pines are heavy with great cones as long
as YOUR arms, some of the yew trees are
scarlet with berries; and now and then
you see . bUrly juniper bending under
load of btne and bitter fruit And nearly
all Of these trees are raantIcd in gar
Eients of moss FhiS moss Tails and
swings Eaz:ly in the wind, and some
times drOops TO the length of hundred
feet
In the&e great dark forests "a q dense
underground of vine-maple. hazel.
mountain ash, marsh ash, willow and
hrier bushes Tangled in with ali this
IS the rank and eyer-present and i'm
pe-ishabTe fera-
Up and through and OYER al this
darkness Of forests, drift AMI drag and
tszily creep the most weird and wonder
t1l csontts In all this world They move
IN great etrsEanS- They seem literally
10 ne alive They riae with the morn
ing s1n, Ike the eouat!css millions Of
scow-whita geese, swans and Other
waterfowl that frequent the rivers of
Oregon, ard slowly .scend the ruo7n:ain
sides, dragging themselves through and
ove- the tops OF the trees. heading
straight for the SEA-, o. lowering ab ,ut
the mountain peaks, Ike mighty white
winged 5ird-, weary of ftghs and watt-
ing to rest.
They are white a. Stow, these eloa.is
OF Oregon, feeey, and rsrely, If ever
still; cnnstantly moving in eoatrass with
the black foreatz, these cioarts are
strangely sympathetic u one WHO yor-
ships nature
OF course IN the rainy season, which
Ia nearly half the year here. these cln:ls;
effects are absent At such times the
whole land Is one vast ratn-c:oud, DARK
and d.earJ and full of thunder.
To see n snoE-peak in ii; its sab in
ItF, you mElst see l. above the clouds Ii
IS not necessary that got, shouI.t climb
the peak to do this, bus ascend some
neighboEing hill and have the white
clouds creep up or DOWN the valley,
through and oser the black fInest, be-
tween you and the snowy suE1nis that
bricks the blue home OF stars. What
color. Movement. Miraculous lffe:-
siod lnln Miller "a S. NI-.soiGs.