Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-10-21


gathered in great Psychological basins
will produce as much as 80 acres from
the downpour Of rain as seen in our re-
gions. We have our freshets and our
droughts, but in those lands which are
to be scientifically irrigated there will be
neither freshets nor droughts AS you
take pitcher and get il full Of water
and then set it on table and take
drink out Of it when you are thirsty and
never think of drinking pitcherful all
Il once, so Montana and Wyoming and
Idaho will catch the rains of their rdiDy
season and take up all the waters Of
their rivers in great pitchers Of reser-
voirs and refresh their land whenever
they will.
Gods Earthly Throne.
The work has already been grandly
begun by the United States government.
Over 400 lake. lave already been Off
cially taken possession Of by the nation
for the great enterprise Of irrigation.
Rivers that have been rolling idly
through these regions, doing nothing
on their way to the sea, will be lassoed
and corralled and penned up until such
time as the farmers need them. Under
the same processes the Ohio, the Missis-
sippi, and all the other rivers will be
taught TO behave themselves better, and 4
great basins will be made TO catch the
surplus Of waters in times Of freshet and !
keep them for times of drought Thei
irigating process by which all the arid (
lands between the Atlantic and Paciicl
oceans are to be fertilized is no new ex-
pertinent.
1t has been going on successfully
hundreds of years in Spain, in China,
in India in Russia, in Egypt AboutA
500, 600, 900 of people Of the earth todayl
are kept alive by food raised on irrigat''
ed land. And here we have allowed to
lie waste, given up to rattlesnake andi
bat and prairie dog, lands enough tot
support whole nations Of indusrious2
population. The work begun will bel
consummated. Here and there excep
tional lands may be stubborn and refusos
to yield any wheat or corn from theirt
hard fists but if the hoe fail to makeE
an impression the miners pickax Will
discover the reason for it and bring upg
from beneath those unproductiye sur
faces coal and iron and lead and coppert
aud silver and gold. God speed thel
biologists and the surveyors, the en-
gineers and the senatorial commissions,
and the capitalists and the new settlers
and the husbandmen, who put thei1
brain and hand and heart TO this trans-i
figuration of the American continent
Streams in the DESERT" 4
But while | speak Of enc immensely
of the continent, l must remark It Is
not an immensity of monotone or tane-s
ness. The larger some countries are, thej
worse for the world. This continent IS
not more remarkable for ia magnitude
than for its wonders Of construction
Yosemite and the adjoining California;
regions! Who that has seen them CAM
think Of them without having his bloodl
tingIe? Trees now standing there that
were old when Christ lived! TheseI
monarchs Of foliage reigned before Casart
or Alexander, and the next thousand
wears will not shatter their scepter
They are the masts Of the continent
their canvas spread on the winds, whileI
the old ship bears on its way through
the ages
Our Nations Playground.
That valley Of the Yosemite is eight
miles long and half mile wide andA
5000 feet deep 1t seems as if 1t haal
been the meaning Of OmHipotence tol
crowd into as small place as possioiel
some of the most stupendous scenery OIL
the world. Some Of the cliffs you DO.
not stop to measure by feet, for theyt
are literally mile high. Steep so that
neither foot of man or beast ever scaed'
them. they stand in Everlasting aes;
aAce. If Jehovah has Yhrone on earth,
these are its white pnAlars Standing
down in this great chasnh Of the valley,
YOU look up, and yonder is Cathedral
rock. vast, gloomy Minister BUILT for the
silent worship Of the mounsainsl Yon-
der is Sentinel rock. 3.270 feet high,
bold. solitary, standing guard among
the ages. its top seldom touched, until
a'bride. one Fourth Of July, mounted II
and planted the national standard, Mpd
the people down in the valley looked ny
and saw the bead Of the mountain tur-i
baued with stars and stripes Ionder
are the Three Brothers, 1, 600 feet high !,
Cloud's Rest. North and South Dome,
and the heights never captuit ave oyI
the fiery bayonets Of the thunderstorm
No pause for the eye, no stopping
place for the mind. Mountains hurled
on mountains. Mountains in the wake
of mountains. Mountains ianked by
mountains. Mountains split Mountains
ground. Mountains fallen. Mountains
triumphant As though Mont Blanc
and the Adirondacks aud Mount Wash
inpton were here uttering themselves
in one magnificent chorus OF rock ana
nreoipjce and wat, rfall Sitting and
dashiug through the rocks, the water
comes down. The Bridal Veil falls 30
thin Won can see the face Of the noun
tain behind il. Yonder is Yosemite
falls dropping 2,634 feet, 10 times
greater descent than that Of Niagara
These waters dashed to death on the
, rocks. so that the white spirit OF these
slain waters ascending in robe OF mist
seeks the heavens Yonder is Nevada
, falls, plunging zoo feet, the water IN
, arrows. the water in rockets the water
r in pearls rhe water in amethysts the
/ water in diamonds That cascade fings
down the rocks enough jewels to array
! all the earth in beauty and rushes on
I until it drops into very hell OF waters,
the smoke of their torment ascending
! forever and ever.
. The Work of Gsdt Trowea-
But the most wonderful part or this
American continent is the yellowstone
!, mark. Ny two visits there made upon
me an impression that will last forever.
Go in by the Moneida route, as we did
!, this summer, and save $50 miles q rail.
d roading, your stagecoach taking you
i tbronrh a dav of scenery as captivating