The record-union., 1897-06-24

| central valley are at times whtened.
Then the range looks like a vast bev-
| eled wall of purest marble, clean as the
skies; and though silent in it's flight
| from the clouds, and when it is taking
| its place on rock and tree and grassy
| meadow, how soon the gentle snow
| finds a voice! Slipping from the nights,
gathering in avalanches, it booms and
roars like thunder and makes a glori-
Gus show, arrayed in long, silkful
streamers, and wreathing, swirling
| films of crystal dust.
The north half of the Sierra is most
| ly covered with floods of lava, dotted
with volcanoes in various stages of
decay. The south half is composed of
granite nearly from base to summit,
while considerable number of peaks
| in the middle of the range are capped
with metamorphic states. Mt. Whit
| ney, the eliminating point of the
| range, lifts it's helmet-shaped crest to
| a hight of nearly 14,600 feet, near the
southern extremity. Mt. Shasta, COL
| ossal volcanic cone, rises near the
| northern extremity to a hight of IA, ,440
| feet, and forms a noble landmark for
| the surrounding country within a ra-
| masses of volcanic rock occur through
| out most of the granite southern por-
| ton, and there are a considerable num-
| ber of old volcanoes on the east
| flank, near Mono Lake and southwark.
Here, also, there are numerous hot
| springs and mud volcanoes; but it is
| only to the northward that the entire
| range is mantled with lava. From the
summit of Mt. Whitney only granite
is seen. Many nameless peaks and
| spires, but little lower than it's own
| storm beaten crags, rise in groups like
| forest trees, segregated by chasms
and canyons of tremendous depth and
| ruggedness; but on Shasta nearly every
feature in the view speaks of the old
| volcanic fires Craters and cones of
every size are seen, the highest being
| Lassen Butte, rising to a hight of about
| l1,0O0 feet above the sea- The Cinder
Gone near Lassen Butte marks the
most recent volcanic eruption in the
| Sierra. symmetrical truncated cone,
about 100 feet high above its base,
covered with gray cinders and ashes,
and has a regular crater in its summit.
in which few small pines are growing.
| These trees show that the age of the
cone IS not less than a hundred years,
though it looks fresh and unwashed. 1t
stands between two lakes, which before
the eruption were one. Before the cone
was bu1lt stream of rough vascular
| lava was poured into the lake cutting q
| 1t in two, and then advancing into the
adjacent forest, overwhelming the trees
| in its path. the charred ends of some
of which being still visible, projecting
| from beneath the snout of the lava
stream where it came to rest Later
there was an eruption of ashes and
| loose obsidian cinderS, probably from
the same vent which, besides building
the Cinder Cone, covered the ground in
the surrounding woods for miles to a
depth of from six inches to several
feet. The history of this last volcanic
eruption is also preserved in the tradi-
tions of the Pitt River Indians. They
| tell of time of darkness, when the sky
was black with ashes and smoke that
came out of the ground and threaten
| ed every living thing with death. and
| that when at length the sun again ap-
peared it was red like blood. Less re-
cent craters in great numbers roughen
| the adjacent region, some of them with
lakes in their throats, others with trees
and flowers, Nature in these old
| hearths and fresides having literally
| given beauty for ashes.
/ Along the base of the range telling
| series of sedimentary rocks are now
being studied which contain much of
! its early history; but leaving for the