The National tribune., 1883-08-23


stream, or a river, it has cut its way among the
friable rocks from the high sources of never
melting SHOWS which I'll every fissf,re and
gorge in the high attitudes, sometimes to thu
depth OF one hundred and fifty feet In the
lar upper regions these SHOWS never disappear.
| although, day by day, the white vapors ara
steamIng from their lofty domes and pinnacles
IN the hot midsummer sun. These streams.
tiny rlIls at first, gather force with every foos
of their swift and PERCEPTIONS descent RilI
flows into rill, and IN the cups Of the mountain
lakes are formed, clear, cold, and IiTnpid. and
aocundlng with trout. The riIls that have
formed the lake now pour through the tsmpo
rary basin into . fOaming, tumultuous noun
tam torrent; the torrents combine and form
the rlyer, the rivers miugle their mighty
waters and we have the drainage Of the world.
as through the great Rio Grande the Arkan-
sas the Colorado, the Father Of WaterEthe
wonderful Mississippi Every stream has its
canon; when the hundreds Of streams swell
into thousands, and the thousands into MIL
hons, and the millions into tens Of millions.
then we have the Grand Canon OF the Arkansas.
or the Grand Canon of the Yellowstone. or the
Colorado Those raging, rapid streams ara
positively washing away the mountains Of che
Wess. 1ney have taken big contract but
they are bound to go through with it.
1. Sterry Hunt says the solvent mowers 81
cold water are sufficient to take into solution
any known mineral element. And here we
have not only cold water, bat thermal waters.
with the power TO act upon minerals greatly
increased So it is that all the streams have
cut deeper and deeper; until their ban Ks are
towering cliffs of solid rock These deep. mar
row, tortuous gOrges, with their abrupt and
fantastic carvings, are known as canOns.
All the features of a canon are dark and
somber and on a scale of awful grandeur the
naked, ragged rocks reaching I'D thousands of
feet and the angry waters, forming a series Of
cascades, ias1lng and plunging IN their mad
fury of assault and conquest
The buttes are Outliers Of the same beds Of
rocks exposed on the faces of the bluffs of the
ranges OF which they are the OutcroDpinGS.
They are usually Of thinly laminated shales
and saRdstones, varying in color, standing
above IN vertical cliffs and buttressed below.
presenting the appearance Of long lines of fort
resSeS or l0op-h0led castles. Some Of them at
tam TO very high attitudes, as for instance
Crested Butte Mountain, homogeneous mass
OF eruptlve rock. rising TO the height of thou
sands OF feet, known, from It's rich coal Mines
as the Plttsburg of the State. Both hard and
soft Goals abound here IN close proximity The
anthracite eoal is hard, dense, and compact,
not to be distinguished from Pennsylvania
COAL
DREAM on CRESTED BUTTE.
Mr. Ha1lowen is the author Of the following
beautiful geological alleg0ry, which came to him
when he had climbed Crested Butte Mountain,
to see what it was made Of, as wei as to get a
view OF the surrounding country. We give It
because 1t is not only in itself a readable pro-
ductl0n, but because the story of the departing
glory of Crested Butte Mountain is the story Of
/ the muititudinOus d0nes and peaks of the dis
solving Rocky Mountain series. But let Mr..
HallOweu tell the story:
AT my feet to the south was the town of Crested
Butte, beautifully located; 20 the west Gothic
nesting IN 8 green valley; wagon roads winding
direct ola
blue vault OF heaven; atuly side the breeze gently
numbering through the evergFeens, giving the
soothing, gentle touch that only mountain breeze
through the pines knows how TO give. 1t was q
/! spot and scene for the poet and painter.
As / lay outstretehed, filing myself with the
miles OF wonders before me and perhaps gradually
! dropping into Inconsistencies seemed to hear
n voice speaking In this wise: All me- nv friend
you are only looking upon wreck Of what was.
/ Could you only have me IN nav glory aud
pride, when l was island IN the midst of q
glorious sea! AZ my feet were shorelands covered
with tropical vegetation9 up my sides grew such
grand trees as you never saw stopped the pass
I ing clouds and down my sides ran the tunbns,
! waters, while, with my head above All, laughed
/ IN tGe sunlight as l enjoyed my bath. How long
this time went on cannot tell as you count time
| but It was ages. Then came 3 change. j do not
| know the cause, but the waters rose around my
| sides. could not see the shore lines the bOund-
aries OF this sea, and occasionally some massive
head ike mine was struggling above the watery
waste L say waste, for life appeared now N
this sea, but nasty, shiny mud alternating with
sands laid around the lower part OF my Do(lysts
/ lowing the waters until what deep
became wet, Doggy marshes, full OF rank, rapid
/ growing vegetation. vast beds of it. a. sar as the
/ eye could reach 1t was what makes your coal
beds now Again the waters rose, and with the
ClSyey sediment washed from adjoining lands came
I floating patches OF leaves 80 sink and be buried
a. my feet, grtevng me as recalled the Life and
I IlSnL that once were mine. This was repeated
I many times. The waters kept rsing-you would
say kept sinking Il matters not, the result was
the same. The last glimpse had OF my comrades
was to the southeast, whore they still kept
above the waters Look at that mountain directly
west with the mining village at its feet lie IS my
Dfosher ana went down with To the northwest
the water still deeper and vaster beds of these
mudS were laid down. 1 was near the sea border
Finally over my head the waters passed and could
only guess ct what was being done I was bound
In the hshtest OF dungeon letters, and felt the
masses OF mud still growing above me. From
their oppressive weight, / knew was carrying
hundreds OF feet, and all hope OF ever seeing the
blessed sunlight was gone from me, fels forever.
Ages upon ages passed then came the runsbling OF
e-AfthluakeSi Strange movements felt, and
stranger sounds heard. Everything appeared %
be breaking and smashing but a short distance or
was sensible of a movement I'D up and sfiil lg)-
wards, slowly but always moving; would never
stop? was bound and blinded, yet surrounded
by the hardened mud-masses Of tEs old sea, and at
last seeTned to rest. Gradually heard noises Of
rushing, roaring waters; these rsui-raasses an-
peared to De tern from my head and sides BIZ an
irresistible force; gradually saw the light then
the sun AGAIN Ey my sides were swift running
waters, of q kind new to me for they were cold,
aud chilled me through and through. I noticed
the rains OF former times white ffeeev
masses. Surrounding me were new aeuaainfances.
great towering fellows, covered with concealed
waters that came rushing down, a. melted IN tho
summers sun, tearing and grinding about me,
laying my sides and ribs bare tO the SHOWS and
WIntFy blasts. These friends unlike any,
thing knew before; reaching hi-a above me [
can see they are different from myself evidently
oullt OF the m1os OF the deepest part Of the old ser
ana their height above me showed how deep WAS
my burial pstce. BY brother there 70 the west
shook oil his grave clothes as Z tiid and together
we have been through these ages of change atsti
you o. But | do not Ike i now. Your SHOWS.
trOstS and falling waters are slowly but surely
working my ruin; gradually wearing away,
and can only look forward IN the future realms OF
time 10 become naussht, or existing only IN
fragments along miles upon miles of running
waters. who VIII breaS no 70 smaller fragments
and PARTICLES, atoms of which 50 down the great
sea- there to make parts OF rock and perhaps
IN time new world. 1t is this looking forward TO
the GnSnowabe dread, and cannot help myself;
these rude elements are stronger thlln ana
But, bark ye, my friend could yousee the mar
velous changes that I have Witnessed in al Of is
minutlse, you Eight then talk OF your kn0wleSxe
as . science BQt keep working for those VINO
come after you VIII profit by what you learn, and
many shall come after you and are gone, gone"
SIC traIssit gioria agsasdi.
KATE B. SHERWOOD.