The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-11-29
ON FROZEN HRIoHrs.
[RsAoho.A Sunday RerAlal


 IRshohotA Sunday HerAldl
 After dangerous ascent tArough snow drifts fron six to twelve feet deep, and over many places where a false step would have sent ne eo tAe bottom of a pTecipice, reached the summit of Mouns Washington in an exhausted condition at 6 pm., Decesnber a4. ln making the a. cent one has eo pass thrcngh . cloud area more CT les dense, and the moisture quickly saturates your clothing, and then the low tempefatuFe al Aigher elevation tfeeses your clothes. Such vas my ex. pegience, and before could remose my apparel had to be thawea out"
 The officers ot the signal service were very much astonished when ! made my appearance at their station, and gave me . most cordial greeting. l was told that . large pefcentage of those who have at. tempted the ascent during the winter season have paid dearly for their teraer- isy. After rest of three or four hours. walked out to obtain . view cf the moun- tain by moonlight. TAe night was nearly calm and the full moon made everything appear as bright As day. There vas neither cloud nor log, but slight mist hung over the vaileys Each particular peak Of the presidential range stood out in bold reiief, aud the mooalight on their manties of xnow and tee made iu- minous halo somewhat akin to the cor. ona, while the frostwork ou the buildings near mo flashed and spaYkled in the light. Long gased tn silent admiration of tho scene. So still and beautiful, yet 90 drear, 1t recalled to my mind an Arctic night of many years ago, when In that sar-oa region l stood alone and locked on similar scene of snow and ice
 The intense cold awoke me from my rcverie and slowly retraced my steps to the warm fire. Early the next morning Christmas day) vas called to sec the sun rise. The same condition prevailed on the summit as the night before-the same quiet atmosphere, free from fog, but the light mist of the night had settled into heavy belt of fog below us. lf the night was g.oriously beautiful. the pano- vama ot the morning vas surprisingly grand as the sun rose in the east. The rays falling on the fcg bel, illuminated 1t with all the colors 0f the rainbow. lap peared a mass of shimmering light and color. Each peak vas encifcied by lu- minous bands, while the small prisms of ice in frost work on the different build- ings sparkled and danced, showing all the eolors of the solar spectrum, and changing from enc to the other with the greatest rapidity-all color and seemingly motion. lt seemed indeed fairy land. A sceue of such grandeur, dazsling beauty and gorgeousness 1 never again expect to see. As the sun rose higher and higher the fog heaved up under it's warm rays, forming itself, like the pillows of the ocean, in immense waves Of color But the scene soon changed. From calm the wind rose suddenly to a velocity of seventy miles an hour, and the fog rising formed . cloud completely obscunng the sun. It seemed that nature during my brief stay intended to show me not only her beauties, but also her grandeur in storm. Snow and slect began to fall, and the wind increasing iu violence, the building, although heavily bfaced on the outside by heavy rafters, rocked and swayed to and fro like staunch sbip in gale at sea, and felt it would surely be moved from it's foundation. Ventur. ing forth in such a storm would have OSSu sSS&iuB oesuuCuCu, M Sot&CSG myself by watching iss effects from a vim dow. The wind was ti5en blowing over 100 miles an hour, and owing to the blinding slect and snow l could not see further than ten or fifteen yards. Inn mense pieces of frost work four feet thick and eight to ten feet long were torn from the buildings and blown out of sight. Never before had l experienced anything % sublime as we'll as fearful, and while the scene of the morning excited my ad. miration, the storm of the afternoon created profound wonder and reverence.
 It ceased as suddenly as it began, and much to my astonishment, on gong out of doors to see the effects of the storm, found the summit as bare of snow and ice as 1t would have been on a summers day. The next morning l prepared to descend the mountain, and by dint of considerable labor, many falls and nu. merous slides, 1 successfully reached the base. The scenes witnessed fully recon. pensed me for all the hardships and dan- gers of the trip