The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-09-06

On our return home q lovely scene
stood before us which I shall not
easily forget. We had left the valley,
and a we were ascending the noun
tain lying between Bitter Root and
Rock Greek . thick mist lowered
over the valley and simultaneously
skirted the mountain. The mist was
not SO dense as to conceal the valley
enttrely from our view. Through the
tenuous mist we could see portions of
the valley which appeared similar to
. mirage. The mist kept approach
ing the summit and q bank of fog
gathered from the other side. They
were fast approaching each other as
It irresistibly bent to wage . war.
We were standing between the two
fog mountains, and as we gazed on
their inky fr0wns q foam of light
flashed between the two, making it q
scene of panoramic glory. The foam
of light illumed the region beyond.
And there were fields Of grain and
wealth, and once more over that
lovely valley the sky was
"Tinged with . blue Of heavenly dye,
And starred with sparkling gold"
Such . scene imaged forth the lights
and shades of human life. We con-
tinued to wend our way among the
trees following paths that were intri-
cate and bewildering .decussating1ike
the orbits of the solar system, and
soon realized the full significance of
the most significant word in all the
language Of men-the word lost.
Through brush and thickets hiding
the very heaven we wandered, but
all in vain. We threaded inky
abysms and tortuous labyrinths in
search for an egress, but our at
tempts were hopeless. The star of
hope which had hung pendent upon
the brow of our ~expectant heaven
began to dim. Still we toiled on,
sometimes coming near being dis
robed and dismantled. Now ana
then some feathered songster would
carol its warbling notes of pity SEEM.
ingly in minor strain. We finally
reached the declivity of hill thickly
clad in timber, and paused to DELHI
crate. From the side Of this hill
there was a dark, rugged ravine
stretching out to sOme region
unknown to us. The writer of this
article declared his intention to wan
der down the ravine. This met with
the disapprobation of his com pan
ions. They reasoned with me lOgi-
cally and tried to dissuade my at
tempt to tread my way around the
jagged rocks and barren crags thinks
ing that possibly below were deep
chasms which would form an impas-
sable barrier and over which would
be inscribed the memorable words,
Hitherto thou shalt 90 and no fur
ther." But here we separated. My
companions searched for q more con-
venient place to descend the hill. l
tried the ravino and found it a dis
NAL place. There were places where
considerable brush had accumulated
forming q canopy under which wild
beasts could conceal themselves and
leap upon their prey without q mo-
ments warning. I pursued my way
accompanied 'bymy faithful horse,
my heart beating most violently, and
after q hundred yards through thick
brush, / reached q little vale through
which Rock Greek rolls. The words
of Watts were very appropriate here
after q slight modification
Sweet fields beyond the dark ~ravines,
Stand dressed In living green,
While to the lost q valley stood
While Rock Greek rolled between,
And now my companions were far
away and how to meet them was a
problem more difficult to solve than
either one in Euclid or geometry. I
cannot now, for fear of taxing the
reader, relate q full act cunt of our re~
union 1t the reader ever saw friends
on the seashore waiting for the e
turn of loved ones, hearts thr0bbing
and vibrating in unison with each
other waiting to greet them with a
lovely smile, he can form some con-
ceptiOn of our reunion meeting.
J. B. WHITFORD.