The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-08-12
CHAPTER 1.

winch am ABOUT TO relate. was ed |
ucated for the practice of medicine, |
but never practiced. was rich and
didn't have to.
Every one has his own peculiar am
bition, or, what is the same thing, his
hobby, for what is any ambition but a
more or less exalted hobbyhorse? The,l
one ambition of my life has been the
climbing of mountains, and 1 have
made many fine ascents.
Last May 1 was at the village of
Pratolino, a place about fifteen miles
to the north of the city of Florence, in
italy. was stopping at the inn Of one
Guglielmo Zucchi, and there were pres
emit that night at table, besides myself,
Count Tagliapietra and several other
titled gentlemen, whose landed estates,
some of them of an area of at least
five acres, lay in the immediate vicini-
ty. The talk happening to run upon the
subject of mountain climbing, l narrat-
ed to them some of my exploits and
ended by giving them my experience
upon the top of the Mesa Encantada,
near the Indian village of Acoma, in
New Mexico. This enchanted table
land is a block of sandstone, mile
long and 600 feet high, rising perpen-
dicular from the arid New Mexican
plain and looking for all the world like
a section of huge cheese set upon its
edge.
"My dear Lorenzo" exclaimed the
count, 'the rock or mountain which
you speak of is certainly an interesting
matter, but it is not so wonderful as
something of the same kind which we
have in this very neighborhood. Some
twenty or twenty-five miles to the
northwest of this place, among the
Apennines, there rises an isolated block
of mountain of the identical shape
which you mention. 1t is however
much larger and more mysterious, be-
ing fully five miles in length, two or
three in thickness and 1000 or 1900
feet in height. This enchanted mesa
of ours, which is called II Monumento
on account of its resemblance to huge
sarcophagus, stands not upon the plain,
but in the midst of one of the pellucid
lakes of the Apennines. Its top seems
fairly level, is fringed with forest and
. should contain several thousands of
acres, but whether inhabited or not no
man will ever know, as it is absolutely
impossible to reach it's summit"
Thought / to myself, "The noble
count is trying to go me one better"
And, coming to this conclusion, Of
fered to bet him 1000 lire that within
one week would climb to the top of
his mysterious mountain. He imme-
diately accepted my bet, and / saw
that he was positive of having what
Is called "sure thing"
My arrangements were soon made.
1t was only necessary to have certain
articles which were necessary to my
undertaking, and this was easily done
in Florence.
Early upon the morning of Thursday
set out on foot from Pratolino with
my guide. For several miles the roads
were good, but after passing over the
Scenario we took a rugged path, which
led us to the west and north of Vaglia
and up into the very heart of the Apen-
mines. When we reached the shores of
the lake, which we did at about 5
o'clock in the afternoon, it seemed as
If we had passed entirely beyond the
limits of human habitation and come
into a region totally unexplored and
desolate.
The lake was a very pretty body of
water, and, though eight or nine miles
In length, it seemed a small pool as it
lay there deep down among the gigan-
tic backs of the mountains. A half
mile, or, it may be, mile, from the
shore rose from the glasslike surface
Of the water the mysterious and cube
like block of stone, the island Of rock
which had come to scale. | calculat.
ed that it must be five or six miles in
length, though the surroundings made
it seem much less. 1t had a dark red
dish look, as of sandstone, and it went
up straight and sheer from the water
10 a height of 1920 feet and more
Along it's whole crest was a black line
Of forest, and the whole shape of it anG
The deathlike stiffness of the great am
phitheater about me made seem most
apt the name II Monumento which hat
been given to it.
We camped upon the shore that night
my guide procuring me small boa
from some secret hiding place, | lief
him upon the shore and padded my
self across the water toward this Mess
Encantada. The nearer l approached
the more precipitous and unscalabl'
appeared its Sides Yet l would not a
that moment have accepted 1000 liz
and called it quits with the count. a
| neared the island found. to my sat
isfaction, that at one point its side wa
not so steep as l had supposed AM
that the rock sloped upward from tn
water at an angle Of about As degree
to a height of something like 500 feet
Here was the place for me to land.
fastened my boat securely to the rock
and at once began to climb and il
about half an hour found myself
1F 4I.ic ipoIinQ af npriIOn