Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-10-08
ALTA CORRESPONDENCE.
Table Talk About Sundry Things-Sturms,
Clouds, an Eagles Good Night.


fine In Little Cottonwood canyon
very little frost, almost no rain until
the closing week of September, and
no snow until the first day OF october.
There was one hail storm in August
that left the ground white for an hour
or more. | observed singular phe-
nomenon at the time of that storm.
The hardy little plant known as PEN
nyroyal is found along the mountain
submits. l had been watching the
clouds gather and pile themselves in
dense masses OF threatening darkness.
The downfall began in the northeast
and l could hear the roar Of the hail
several minutes before 1t reached Alta.
But in short time after it came the
atmosphere was loaded with the pun
gent aroma Of pennyroyal. The hail
had torn the plants and the storm
forced the odor down into the valley.
Ancient inhabitants said it was the
worst hail storm they had ever seen
here
The first of october was a Long
fellow day; that is one might have
described 1t by paraphraslng his lines
thus:
The day is cold and dark and dreary.
II SHOWS and the wind Is never weary.
The vine still clings to the cloud
capped hill,
But at every gust the dead leaves
spill,
And the day is dark and dreary.
But the day after! Never was the
sun more bright and CHEEKY. Before
noon the snow on southern exposures
| had become water and was fastening
! to Utah's salt sea. In the evening as
| the golden clouds of the sunset rose
| in the west | saw magnificent bald
eagle rise above the skyline of Hot
| Tamale mountain and sweep slowly
and gracefully round in an ascending
| spiral, such as an eagle only can truce
in the air. 1t appeared to me that
he was rising to keep the sun in view
| as 1t sank in the west. With that
thought in mind l brought out my
| glass and watched him. He moved
ever round and round each incomplete
| circle carrying him farther westward
| and upward. When at length l low
cred the glass the eagle had disap-
| peared. He was invisible to the un-
| aided eye. and yet l fancied he was
| stll gazing upon the sun while around
| me in the valley the shades of night
| were falling fast, etc
Moonlight nights are superb here.
| There is neither dust nor smoke to OBJ
/ scure the face Of Luna, and she shines
white and cold and still at her very
best one night when she was on
! her monthly full, I lay for hours
watching the magic play of light and
| shade as the clouds, driven by brisk
| southern breeze, swept across her lace
| Now huge masses of vapor as whlte
as piled snow floated by, their edges,
as they crossed the moon. hemmed
with glowing silver Again great
black Thor stormers dashed by In
pursuit of the nymphs of the gossamer
shutting the light out as suddenly ana
completely as when you blow out the
gas for the night. The cause of this
clouds to the eye of the behoider'
From the plain you see the same
clouds and their chase, but they are
much farther away and the horizon Is
so far removed that the light is never
wholly obscured. But in the canyon
where at her greatest altitude came
near saying Altatude-the moon is
merely peep!ng at You over n noun
tain crest and all the Swallowed
ground Is black and the horizon seem
ingly so close that you could touch It
the play of the moon and the CLOUDS
becomes wonderfully interesting.
have had a busy and charming
summer up here among the stars
have climbed enough to carry me mol
less than fifty miles straight into the
skies. You see / am becoming famlhai
with the way of my maj tramp
though there are people in salt Lake
foolish enough to say that Will be go
ing the other way
met a sweetheart on one of my
trips. She was
A daughter of the gods.
Divinely tall and most divinely fair
OF course she will never know how
much her charmingly intellectual anc
chastely beautiful face has been tt
me, and / only tell you because my
friends among the readers OF th'
News" have carelessy accused me a.
times of lacking appreciation OF th'
bettcr-half of life,
had Il ride up the canyon som'
time ago with a vivacious little widow
who was the unfortunate owner OF M
Alta mine that had been devouring he
house for years. She was runnlnt
over with assertions of what she wal
about to do to make the old camp iiv'
again. 1 innocenty asked why sh'
had not done SO long before for he
own benefit. Ali said she, hav'
been betrayed; l have been be-tray-
ed. Then ! put my foot in my moutf
as usual, by declaring that If sh'
would show me the rascal who did 1
there should be stop put to his EVIL
doings.
Alta is profound. The blasts alon,
! her hills do not disturb hef sumner
There goes on the little efforts OF year
to Jump others claims. steal what thu
incautious prospectors leave in thei
? cabins or hunt for ore in mines tina
have been abandoned. Yet | believe sh'
will wake again. There Is wealth We
in old Emma, and when her owners
give over the policy Of employing snaI
hunters to manage their property anC
give Il practical, common sense minel
control, with orders to go down, they
will again find ore. Then, there IL
plenty of uncut ground as good as tina
of the olden time. All that Is needed
is perseverance and pluck. There is M
truth in the stories of sailed mines W
here, and no occasion to use salt. The
mountains are bursting with minera
and one of these days new men viii
reap the golden harvest The outpu
of the present season must be credited
to the City Rocks, the Grizzly and tbs
Bryan, with q few sacks of ore from
several others. CHARLES ELLIS.
Alta, October 4, 1897.