The record-union., 1897-06-24

that Of the East. Go where you may,
mountains are ever in sight, making
every landscape striking and bold. Yet
so simple and massive is the topog-
raphy in general views, the main CEN
tral portion of the State displays only
one valley and two chains of mount
aims, which seem perfectly regular in
trend; the Coast Range on the west,
the Sierra Nevada on the east. These
two ranges come together in wide
curves, and thus inclose a magnificent
basin, with level floor more than 400
miles long and from thirty-fiye to
sixty miles wide. This is the Grand
Central Valley of California, the waters
of which have only one outlet to the
sea-by the famous Golden Gate.
But with this general simplicity of
features, there is great variety and
complexity of detail. The Coast Range,
rising as a green barrier against the
ocean, is composed of innumerable for
est-crowned spurs and ridges and roll
ing hills, which inclose small valleys,
some looking out through long, leafy
vistas to the sea, others with scant foil
age to the central valley, while a thou
sand others, still smaller, lie embosom-
ed and concealed amid smooth, round
browed hills, dotted with widespread
ing oaks. / But the crowning glory of
the Coast Range is the redwood forest
which extends along the western slope
in a nearly continuous belt. from the
Oregon boundary to Santa Cruz; and in
sustained grandeur and closeness of
growth surpasses all other forests in
he Il
feet in diameter and 300 feet high are
not uncommon, and a few attain a
hight of 800 feet and even 400 feet.
while the ground beneath these giants
is garden of ferns, rhododendrons and
lilies Only by its companion species,
Sequoia gigantea of the Sierra Nevada,
is this superb tree (Sequoia sempervi-
rens) surpassed in size, if indeed it is
surpassed. The sempervirens is GER
tainly the taller of the two, the gigan-
tea attainS a greater girth and is more
beautiful and noble in port The red
wood is restricted to the coast. the
Big Tree" to the Sierra, and both to
California, excepting a few groves of
redwood that extend beyond the bound
ary into Oregon.
Making your way eastward through
the leafy mazes of the Coast Range
forests to the summit of any Of the in
ner peaks or passes opposite San Fran
cisco, in the clear springtime of the
year, you Will find the grandest and
most telling of all California LANDSCAPES
outspread before you. At your feet lies
the Great Central Valley, extending
north and south farther than the eye
can reach, one smooth, fiowery, lake
like bed of fertile soil. Along its east
ern margin rises the mighty Sierra Ne
vada, miles in hight, and so gloriously
colored and so luminous, it seems to be
not clothed with light, but wholly COM
posed of it like the wall of some celes-
tial city. Along the top, and extending
halfway down or more, you see a
pale pearl gray belt of snow and below
this a belt of dark purple and blue,
making the extension of the main for
ests, and along the base of the range
a broad belt of rose-purple and yellow,
where lie the miners gold and the foot
hill ranches and gardens. The Sierra
is about 800 miles long, seventy miles
wide and from 1000 to nearly II, 100
feet high In general views like this
one no mark of man is as yet visible,
nor anything to suggest the richness of
the life it cherishes, or the grandeur of
it's sculpture None of it's magnificent
forested ridges seems to rise much
above the general level. No great val
lev or lake or river is seen, or group of
well-marked features of any kind as
distinct pictures. Even the summit
peaks clearly defined on the sky seem
comparatively featureless. Neverthe-
less glaciers are still at work on the
snowy peaks, and thousands of lakes
and meadows shine and bloom beneath
them, and the whole majestic range is
furrowed with canyons to a depth of
from 1000 to 5000 feet, in which once
flowed magnificent glaciers, and in
which now flow and sing a band of
beautiful rivers.
Though cut in granite and of such
stupendous depth, these canyons are
not raw, gloomy, jaggedwalled gorges,
savage and inaccessible. On the con-
trary, with rough passages here and
there, they make delightful pathways
for every walkable traveller, conducting
from the fertile lowlands to the highest
icy fountains They are mountain
streets, full of life and light, graded
and sculptured by the ancient glaciers,
ana present lliIOuSnOul oil tIiSlI
courses a rich variety of beautiful and
attractive scenery, the most attractive
ever yet discovered in the mountain
ranges of the globe. In many places,
especially in the middle region of the
western flank, the main canyons widen
into spacious valleys or parks, like ar
tificial landscape gardens. fThe largest
of these are called Yosemite Valleys,
only one of which is far-famed as yet.
Beautiful groves and meadows and
thickets of blooming bushes diversity
their level floors, While their lofty, re-
firing walls. infinitely varied in form
and sculpture, and springing abruptly
into the sky, are fringed with ferns, de-
licate flowers of many species and har-
dy oaks and evergreens, while rejoic-
ing streams come down over their sun
ny brows in glorious array to join this
| tranquil river that flows through the
middle of every Yosemite park They
are like immense halls or temples
lighted from above. Every rock seems
to glow with life. Some lean back in
sublime repose: others, absolutely YER
teal. or nearly so, for thousands of
feet advance their brows in thought
ful attitudes, giving welcome to storms
and calms alike-types of permanence.
yet ever associated with beauty Of the
frailest and most fleeting forms, as il
into these sublime mountain mansions