The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-10-18
SCENE IT THE YosEaafrE.
[Lesaer h the Alta caiiSorsia.l

lLesfer h the Alta caiifossia.l
 Descending into the Yosemite valley
 Last June vas scene ever to be remem-
 bered. h canyon affsx canyon roased
 mountain torrents rom the melting of the
 snovs. coming from elevations of 900
 or } GOO feet overhead, tearjng in enor-
 nous volumes of white foam dovn the
 ravines and over sheer precipices from
 300 to 800 feet high, crossing the road in
 streams from ten to thirty feet wide and
 mid-leg deep, plunging over the road
 wall only to lose themselves to the sight
 and hearing in the Meroed river, fak be-
 low.
 Never in the history of Yosemite since
 it's occupancy by white people has the
 water been higher than during the past June, and at no time has the flood lasted 90 long. Coming into the valley by the Mariposa road, generally the first fall of any note seen is the Bridal Veil, but this year there are several that deserved the title and dignity of waterfall, notably the
 first one, known as the Inspiration fall, sometimes jocosely termed the Widows
 Lament, as being opposite the Virgins Tears, also as an old stage driver very dryly remarked to querist Because it dries up inside of two months" This
 fall the past season was of an unusually
 large volume, suggesting a double dose
 of grief-and snow. Other falls and
 cascades, varying in length from 1000 to
 } 300 feet were to be seen before arriving
 Tn the vicinity of the Bridal Veil This
 was by far the grandest mass of water in
 the valley in June.
 It was fully eighty feet wide at the top,
 and appeared .c :he eye :o stand up a,
 its outside edges fully eight to ten feet
 above the lip of the wall. Itwas of
 muddy color for some three hundred feet
 and the remainder of the fall was of the most dazzling white. 1, struck the rocks
 below with reverberation like thunder
 and fell in so solid mass as to utterly defy the power of the wind to break or
 blow its volume to either side. At the foot the spray was projected out in a vast jet tor some four hundred feet, resembling a gigantic stream from a fire engine. Over and enveloping all was a dense mist and stream-like cloud, rising some. times nearly to the top of the fall. Per sons passing by this fall on the road which goes by its base at distance of nearly quarter of mile, were instantly saluted by shower of rain, wing with any of our winter storms, for a distance of 500 yards, and unless one was inside of the coach or well wrapped up on the outside, he was speedily wet through.
 It IS seldom the Bridal Veil attains such majestic proportions, being fully as large as the Nevada or Vernal fall ever gets to be. Its width the past season was so great that it no longer appeared high, and, instead Of appearing to be goo feet high, it was seemingly not over 100 feet. Approaching the Sentinel rock, the Sentinel fall or Loya, made it's pres ence m anifest byits deafening clatter and hiss This cascadA being series of falls for ) 700 feet it vas of Eeat volume, its las, plunge of 800 feet being extremely beauti- ful, the wind in the afternoon blowing the jet SO as to display the @rocketh forms in great beauty. A little above this point, or farther up the valley, could be seen eight waterfalls at once, and as the valley represents an area of view at this place of one and one-half miles in width and some four miles long, it will be readily understood that they must have been of considerable magnitude to | be seen at all. The great Yosemite was a giant, laundering mass, falling in great spurts of foam, overlapping each other | and piling up in great volumes of snow like vapor at the base of each of the three | falls. The canyon of the Yosemite was, in fact. almost hidden in vapor and steam for almost a fortnight. It was next to impossible to go up the ladders | at the Vernal falls or to descend that way, one being in some danger of suffo- cation from the vast mass of mist at the | foot of the Nevada fall, and at Shows at | the foot of Nevada fall, all of the doors | and windows on the front and east sides | of the hotel were kept tightly closed for | nearly three weeks, on account of the | beating of the spray of the Nevada esIl. | The water dripped from the caves >l perpetual rain stream and the w..... | vicinity was constantly deluged as in a | heavy shower, although the house is over | a quarter of mile from the foot of the |