St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-07-21


SDNOP land SIGH" With all that may
be and has been we'll said of the sub
Unity of the Garden ofthe Gods, still
far more impressive to our mind Is
the great canyon up which the rail-
road pushes for the first few miles OF
its ascent. More of wildness and of
grandeur is here, and none the less of
strange forms, of balanced rocks big
as many houses, piles of them to
which Ossa upon Pelion would be
playthings. Here we go under vast
projecting crag, on an incline too,
ready to crush hundred trains like
ours. One says nothing short of an
earthquake could start them, but we
are glad that no Californian shakes
are tried on them today, and that
the real quakes which piled them up
were mostly over SO long ago. No
White Mountain Notch this, with
its rich and thick upholstery, but
pines large enough to match much
bare rock and gravel as in all these
western geologically new domaine
give the whole a character of its
own. We cannot always gaze at the
sublimity, but are charmed by the
beauty of the flowers we may pick by
the slowly moving hating train, and
we are no longer on the Pacific slope
or in the Eastern region, but are in
fora distinct from either, and a
bouquet of rare beauty soon rewards
our labor.
How the widening, rising vistas of
plains below greet our outlook from
the steep lower openings of the can
yon and prove our lofty height long
before we pass the timber line, while
glim pses of slope after slope show
that much is before US. Then the
scene changes and quite an expanse
of gently sweeping valley opens
out near by and our ascent is more
gradual for time. In this valley is
lake and adventurous campers and
even numerous cottages high up as
Mt Mansfield above the surround
ing country, really perhaps 10000
feet above sea level. But up again we
climb among the rocks and out above
the timber; now the solitary, bare
rough craggy peaks loom up to claim
superiority over all the multitudes of
mountains to be seen in all directions
but the east around us. Windy
Point hardly verihes it's name today,
for all the way we only have the
cheering, pleasant mountain breezes
and only clouds enough of a beauti-
full summer day to add beauty and
f1eck the landscape with varying
light and shade, or give US few
flakes of snow as they come near us.
For now as we slowly are lifted up
l., l.,
the SHOWS and the Alpine flowers.
Overcoats are needed though the sun
is high above us, and no words can
tell what the scene about us is. Col
orado Springs, tiny patchwork Of
green and brown far down on the
eastern landscape the only portion
of our view not filled out to the far
horizon with mountains. mountain
ranges of mountains, systems of
mountains. How easily we speak
the word systems, but could the old
plans of travel ever give US such a
realizing sense of what a system of
mountains means as to have fresh In
memory the swiftly rushing panora
ma we had seen in the past few days of
travel, when valley after valley and
range after range had been passed in
review with all their variety, and
then to stand on the most noble of
them all and cast one more glance
over them, not simply in the over
powering sensa ton of the physical
sight, but in the recall of what the
wonders of modern travel have just
given us. 1t may well be said that
the quick methods may give US far
more vivid, deep impressions than
the more slowly acquired ones of the
earlier times.
A "Glorious Fourth" indeed it was,
as in silent, hushed admiration we
tried to fill out the grand literal
view by looking with eye of mind
and soul on one of the later works
by which this great continent of ours
has been prepared for US to go in and
| possess. S. H. B.