Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-06-17

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trail became sleeper, the fall of the tor-
rent greater, and the gentle ripple and
splash developed into rush and a roar.
The rapids were gradually superseded
by succession of falls of ten, fifteen
and thirty feet, At times our trail led
us hundreds of feet above this stream
and then again to its level,
As we assembled into the clouds and
above them we came into the vicinity
of occasional showers. At times only
gentle mist then for few minutes, un-
til we passed out of that strata, pour
ing and drenching rain. Long before
evening we were both drenched, and the
additional weight to carry by no means
facilitated travel.
The ration of crackers which I had
brought along for an evenings lunch
had returned to their original state of
dough. Towards dusk it began to be
apparent that we would be unable to
reach the summit, and slept in the sig
nal station that night. The hardest
climb of some five miles through rari-
fed atmosphere, occurred after timber
line was passed, over trail unfamiliar
to us. To make this at night in our
present exhausted condition was ridicu-
lous to contemplate, so a half mile be-
low the limit of timber, in little nook
sheltered by cliff of granite and several
high boulders that were conveniently
placed to be of use, we were eventually
successful in building out of the damp
and wet brush and logs, a rousing and
roaring camp fire.
As the evening advanced into the
night the rain became colder and our
comfort correspondingly decreased. Any
one who has tried to warm themselves
by camp fire knows what an unsatis-
factory process it is. One side roasts
while the other freezes. After few
hours I became disguised with the con-
tinued rain and lay down in front of the
camp fire and perfectly tired and worn
out, slept without interruption for sew
eral hours, with no bed but few fir
boughs, and no pillow save a small
granite boulder. About O'Clock in the
morning was awake and in half hour
the rain having ceased the light was
sufficient to enable us to begin our jour-
ney upward again.
In a few minutes timber line was
reached and there, spread out before us,
lay the desolate waste of snow and rocks
and ice over which we must travel to
reach our destination.
From this time ON from the lack of
food, loss of sleep and light air the as
cent became steadily more difficult,
more tedious and more painful. Rests
became more and more frequent and
finally not over dozen steps would be
taken without breathing spell.
To admire scenery under such condi-
tons was out of the question. We
wished God had forgotten to make
mountains or that he had never put
into our brains the desire to scale them.
But each fifty feet counted and my
patient efforts were at last rewarded
and turned the last curve and made
the last steep climb and almost creeping
and crawling along found myself in
front of the signal station whose picture
is so well known throughout this coun-
try at least. My friend had preceded
me. 1t was seven o'clock and we had
climbed about one mile an hour.
The summit of Pixies Peak covers
about twenty acres. The surface is
composed of granite boulders thrown
about in the most promiscuous order.
Crossing from one side of the summit
to the other consists in jumping from
one boulder to another. Near the
western portion of the summit is the
stone signal station.
At the time of my ascent the signal
officers accommodated travellers with
meals at the rate of one dollar each,
coffee twenty cents'per cup and water
to wash face and hands, five cents.
These rates were really not exhorbitant,
as all water had to be melted from the
snow and provisions packed upon the
back of burros. Having secured fair
breakfast 1 made my exit from the
station house and surveyed the sur
rounding view. The storm had sue
cumbed, even beneath, except to the
west where the dark clouds still hung.
Far to the east extended in the dis
lance the broad expanse of waste, for
merly known as the american Desert"
and which is now being rapidly redeem
ed by irrigation. To the south and
north the broken and rugged ranges of
this Rocky Mountain system. The
scene, without any exaggeration or play
on words, absolutely baf1ed description.
The Peak breaks off abruptly TO the
north and if you lean over and drop a
stone it will fall thousand feet before
striking resting place. To the west
and east are gulches filled with snow
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