The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-27

Early next morning, saw us in
the vast amphitheatre of the Yoho.
UP narrow crags, down steep descents,
where ruins of countless avalanches
lay on every side, brought us to the
bed of the valley. A mile across from
precipitous cliff to sheer wall of rock
it was-a score of rods it seemed; how
far from north to south. I know
not. But on both sides rose the mas
sive peaks, Hector, Gordon, Balfour
and Trolltinderne. the Witch's
Crown" Shades of color, pink, red, VIC
let, purple were there in the rocks
and in the mists, but the color of green
there was not. for nature had for
gotten to clothe her offspring
In between the peaks and hanging
down towards the valley, were piled
the green White rlac:nrs and as they
melted at their feet, came down the
famous waterfalls, Takakkaw falls fall
ing sheer some 1900 feet into the val
ley, first unseen is the water in the
deep canon, then a leap for liberty on
10 the precipitous rock at 200 feet, and
then rebounding into the air the water
beat into fieecy clouds of spray never
more kissed the side Of the precipice
until it touched the rock 1000 feet be-
low.
Now the sturdy climbers who with
AK and spike, strung upon the
rope. like fish upon a string, climb
these monarchs of 10000 feet, tell us
humble trailers of the lower nights
that these mighty kings OF rockland
wear on their shoulders and support
with their royal arms only a bound
less field of ice which stretches to-
wards the horizon as far as eye can
see. Said to me one who climbed a
difficult peak, and called it, not a
climb, but "a jaunt:" Il counted thir-
ty glaciers from a single point of
view" One feels like bitterly decrying
the years which forbid so great a
climb and thus prevent so superb a
view from coming to ones eyes!
The Yoho valley is a region of such
immense glaciers, stupendous water
falls, and marvellous canons that ma
ture has seldom fashioned it's counter
part" Camps are erected at the foot
of Laughing Falls, whose waters seem
to mock with it's laughter, and at
Yoho Canon, where the walls are COM
pressed to only twenty feet apart and
then rise sheer many hundred feet, so
that several days can be comfortably
passed within the valley. The only
animals seen were the white mountain
goat upon the hills, and the petted por-
| cupine rolling themselves into ungain-
ly balls in the path at our feet, with
their barbed quilts sticking out all
over. I carried for several days me-
| mento of these curious animals in the
shape of one of their painful arrows
in my neck, until 1 reached civiliza-
| ton and razor
| The Passage from the Rockies Into
the scIkirI1s.
| It has already been mentioned that
| four great continental ribs, or ranges,
1 s,.s.
ocean. We may neglect two of these
| ranges-the Gold and the Coast-for
the reason that these sink into the size
| and similar appearance of other noun
! tains, with which we are acquainted.
| But one wishes for the presence Of
| YaIe's great geologist, Prof Dana, to
| tell us why in the great upheaval ma
! ture made the ranges of the Rockies
| and the Selkirks so different from the
| other two, and in fact so different from
each other We passed into a new run
of narvels when we descended the
! Rockies and assembled the Selkirks. Tne
distance between the entrance into the
former and the exit out of them is los
miles; the distance between the
entrance and exit of the Sell
| kinks is ninety-six miles-very
| nearly the same amount or
! ground to be covered in passing
/
over both ranges. But there the SINH
larity ends. The contrast is very
striking when you descend the Rockies
! TO the valley-town of Golden; here you
meet the broad, stately valley OF the
! columbia river-an QUILTING town Tor
the hunters and miners of the kootenay
| district. Great is the relief to be in
valley once more, and to have the lungs
come down TO breathe only 900 feet
Of rarined air. instead Of the 5000 feet
II has been breathing for four weeks.
/ Now this big. broad Columbia valley IS
banked on the east by the Rockies ana
on the west by the first Of the Sci
kirks. and as they stand of on the two
horlzons. looking over against esch
1 other n Is easy TO observe the diner
ence. The hoary-headed sinners on me
east as We know, are grim gaunt un-
/ clothed. and ~ the settling sun hashes
o,tt their peaks. one boy one, these peaks
penetrate the heavens 10 all SORTS Or
/ fantastic shBpef, according - ne
faney ~ ne FROST King has wfougnt
/ them-the spires ~ cetbfdrsis. thc
1 domes III m0sques me haitlemeuts ~
/ ,.satlea fha bastlorE ~ tpWrffi fhf