The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1891-10-10

up the trees and peer curiously at III
through the branches. We also sav
Q large variety of apes. These were
by no means numerous, but they
seemed almost as large as hal
grown boy. A curious but well au
thenticated story is told about this
: species of the ape. If one of theiI
number has been wounded or killed
they will not rest until they have
avenged him. And it is said If q
man, in company with other men
should shoot one they single him out
with unerring certainty. and before
he can escape beat him to death A
brakeman or guard as they are call.
ed here, just as the train was slow
ing up to stop at certain station
fired at and wounded one of these
apes The instant the train stopped
and before he could close the door
of the brake van he was attacked and
ere he could call for help they had
beaten him to death.
To do the scenery justice in this
stupendous range of mountains
would require the pen of Words
worth. These quiet, fertile valleys
with little villages snugly built on
the hill side just above them. The
villagers for untold ages had doubt
less never gone far beyond the sur
rounding hills. Within this narrow
horizon they had been born, mar
ried, given in marriage and gone to
their graves in happy ignorance of
the great busy, schelning out side
world.
Often dividing these beautiful VII
lagos into unequal parts, was a
clear, silvery stream. Now all smooth
and tranquil, now growing bolster
Gus as if quarreling with the des-
tiny that forced it to flow on so un-
even bed. Now worked into a
frantic rage rushing and bounding
along over the Enthusiastically carved
rocks and boulders that INSTRUCTED
its progress.
Some times we would suddenly
turn round hill and enter one of
these valleys with its clear stream.
it's fertile fields and ripening grain.
At first from hill to hill it would be
a half mile, but as we went on, the
huge peaks that formed the boundary
line would gradually approach each
other until only the narrow gorge, at
the bottom Of which roared the now
mad stream, divided them. Our
path high up on the steep side and
cut out of the solid rock seemed to
overhang the stream hundreds of feet
below. These stupendous peaks lift
ing their heads far into the sky were
clothed from base to summit with
evergreens. In these wild mountain
Businesses, far away from civilization
and where the hand of man had not
been to mar and defile, it seemed as
if we had entered the inner sanctuary
of the Most High.
There is nothing like the wild
scenery and appalling sights of some
great mountain range, unless it be
the ocean, to drive one out OF him
self and bring him face to face with
God. AS we looked on these His
handiwork, we thought how little
with all his boosted greatness is man.
How powerless his puny arm to
think of fighting against Him who
hath laid the foundations of the
earth and who dwells far above the
mountains. OF all men it seems to
me that mountaineers ought to be the
most godly.
/ should like to dwell longer on
these scenes, but my utter inability
to set them before the reader warns
me to hasten. Yet before / leave
this part of my subject must speak
of one more scene.
Early in the morning we left our
camping place where we had spent
the night before about 1000 feet
high. But for five miles we contin-
ued TO climb steep pathway which
has been fifty described as 'going up
stairs" Toward the latter part of
the days march queer sensations
about the ears told more plainly than
words that we were getting into
lofty mountain. But suddenly on
reaching the summit, scene broke
upon our astonished gaze such as it
has been the privilege of few to see.
And once seen is never to be forgot
ten There from an altitude of al
most IL 600 feet, across a deep gorge
and not more than three miles dis
tant we saw the eternal SHOWS, all
radiant with the luster of an uncloud
ed sun.
Stretching away far in the distance
lay the huge peaks covered with the
accumulated snow of untold centur-
les. All the tolls and hard marches
and difficult climbs were repaid ten
fold in that matchless panorama that
lay before us. To our right was
Nundi Dew piercing the heavens at
q, 800 feet. Far in the other direc-
ton was Budri Moth, almost as high.
Between these two peaks for many
scores of miles lay an unbroken
stretch of unmelting snow How
deep on the mountain top we had no
means of knowing.
We gazed long at the scene in per-
feet silence What were words at
such time! But the cold frosty
winds sweeping across the deep gorge
from the SHOWS beyond brought us
to our sense again. We FASTENED to
descend about thousand feet to
our dak bungalow. But even there
we still commanded full view of the
SHOWS. We remained in the place
three days. The air was cold and
frosty, the scenery unparalleled and
the silence awful at times. So cold
was it here that we dressed in our
thickest clothes, kept the doors all
shut when in the house and kept up
a roaring fire.
We saw the mountains from this
point Dressed in earliest life" We
saw them again in the slanting rays
of the afternoon sun; and again when
the last rays of the setting sun were
lingering on the highest peaks like
a crown of gold while the dark shad-
ows had enveloped all below. We
saw them again by moonlight stand
ing out like huge silent sentinels of
the sky. Whether viewed in the
early morning, at MONDAY, at sun
set or by moonlight the sight was one
to be seen, and awed by but not to
L. a