The Arizona sentinel., 1889-01-05
MOUNTAIN MYTHS.
The Probable Cause of Feelings Born of
 Ignorance and Superstition.

The Probable Cause of Feelings Born of Ignorance and Superstition.
 Turning back to the heather and tho savage, we see at once whence comes the old feeling about mountains, feel ing born of dark shadows that disap- pear in the light of knowledge. We have all heard of the Brocken and it's witch revels, made famous by the genius of Goethe. The Hartz mount aims are so rich in superstitious le- gends, not that they have more impos- ing features of their own thcn many other less celebrated mountains, but because, standing out by themselves on the great northern flats of Ger many, they powerfully impressed the l imagination of the lowlanders around, and because, this district being one of the last converted to Christianity. they long continued to be retreat for pagan rites, and thus gained their grim reputation as a seat of witch craft. Here, as is well known, ap- pears the Specter of the Brocken, when. at sunrise or sunset the amazed traveller happens to see magnificent reflection of his own figure thrown upon the sheet of mist vailing some opposite peak. The most extraordi- nary of all such appearances seem to be that observed at Adams Peak, in Ceylon, as described for us through 8 recent expedition undertaken by the Hon. Ralph Abercromby and two other men of science:
 "This mountain rises in an abrupt cone, 1000 feet above the chain and 7,552 feet above sea level. It lies near an elbow in the main range, while a gorge runs up from the northeast just to the west of it. When, then, the northeast monsoon blows morning mist up the valley, light wreaths of condensed vapor pass to the west of the peak, and catch the shadows at sunrise. The party reached the sum- init on the night of February 21, 1886, amid rain, mist and wind. Early next morning the foreglow began to bright en the under surface of the stratus cloud with orange; patches of white mist filled the hollows, and sometimes masses of mist, coming from the val ley, enveloped them with condensed vapor. At 6:30 a. m. the sun peeped through chink in the clouds, and they saw the pointed shadow of the peak lying on the misty land. Soon complete pris- matic circle of about eight degrees diameter, with the red outside, formed round the summit of the peak as 8 center. The meteorologist, knowing that with this bow there ought to be spectral figures, waved his hand about, and immediately found giant shadowy arms moving in +sssantcr of the rain bow. Two dark rays shot upward and outward on either side of the cen ter, and appeared to be nearly in a prolongation of the lines of the slope of the peak below. Three times with in a quarter of an hour this appearance was repeated as the mist drove up in proper quantities, and itful glimpses of the sun gave sufficient light to throw a shadow and form a circular rainbow. In every case the shadow and bow were seen in front of land. and never against the sky. When the sun rose pretty high, the characteristic peculiarity of the shadow was beautifully observed. As thin wreath of condensed vapor came up the valley at a proper height, a resplendent bow formed round the shadow, while both seemed to stand up majestically in front of the observ- CTS, and then the shadow fell down upon the land, and the bow vanished as the mist passed on. About an hour later the sun again shone out, but much higher and stronger than before, and then they saw brighter and sharper shadow of the peak, this time encircled by double bow; and their own spectral arms were again visible. The shadow, the double bow, and giant oforms combined to make this phenomenon the most marked in the whole world. ."-AScoH R. Hope.