The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-06

denly out of the plains, like a highway
robber, and demand your instant at
+antion. You come upon them slow
w. In fact, all the way from Winni-
neg. the prairie is shelving up to them
At Winnipeg 700 feet, at Brandon 1,1OO
at Ou'Appelle 1000, at Calgary $780,
at Morley 1000, and then you enter
through the real gateway between two
towering peaks, whose base lines come
right down to the road. But before you
enter, you have seen them 100 miles
away, a line of snowy peaks, white
with the glistening sunlight on top,
black and gloomy with shadows near
the base, and extending across the
whole western horizon, massive and
apparently impenetrabie by any art of
man.
The rising sun was shining from
the east straight down the railroad
track across the prairie, as the porter
woke me gently from my dreams,
and bade me look out. To the east the
prairie bathed all over It's pillows of
green with glorious sunshine-to the
west, as the train sped nearer and
nearer, peak after peak, came out of the
early morning mist, shook itself free
from the ghosts of the night, and lifted
UP its snow-white head for the morning
benedictfon of the sun.
Mountains ought not to be named;
for names are limitations. If it be
necessary to identify them, let them be
numbered, for numbers express no
quality, but names bring the mountain
down to the measure of the appella-
ton. When named they seem to the
Imagination to be bridled like horses,
and the the witless stand gazing at
the guide-b book instead of the noun
tain, not happy until they have hung
a tag of a name on each particular
peak. Then they go away satisfied.
oh, much rather let each one for him
self find out from his memory and inn
agination some resemblance that will
make this bit of nature his own and
so associate it with his life.
The Rocky Mountains.
Mountains should not be named; and
they cannot be described. A photo
graph dwarfs them to the size of mole
hills; a painting is suggestive of some
one impression, but not of the thou
sand that arise in the mind at the
sight of a grand range of mountains.
the methods of expression. l can only
described what took place when we
entered the gateway of these great
kings of the sky, our party standing
and gazing from every window or the
observation car. The Englishman did
not to my surprise claim them for the
British empire. The callow youth did
not attempt the wltless Joke,
They make me feel rocky"
The sentimental young lady did
not search her vocabulary and
say How awfully nice!" But silence
fell upon all. There was nothing to
say, at least nothing that we We're
able to say. There We're the Creators
works. and here were we, His crea-
lures also, but with no imagination to
fathom His plans. L discard all at
tempt to describe them-and ask
is it possible for the reader to see
bit of them by the power of words?
All other ranges of mountains are,
think, orderly; their sides are clothed
with ample verdure to the summit;
their range line makes a comparative
ly even line against the horizon; they
Go not break suddenly into awful can
yons; in a word the Titans who threw
them into place were not drunk and
rotous, they preserved some harmony.
Dismiss all such thoughts in thinking
of the Canadian Rockies. They have
never known a moment of peace, or
given one to the beholder, since they
first were uplifted through the sur
face of the earth. Once in the long
ago, they lay, strata upon strata, Of
quiet and dignified Devohian and Gre
taceous rock, laid down through the
ages in sedimentary layers beneath
the ground. The early fish and trilo-
bite were buried in their folds.
But there came a day when the de-
mons of fire and volcano must put
their shoulders under these mighty
strata and uplift them through the
torn and gaping earth to tens of thou
sand feet in the air. They strained,
heaved, bent double with pain, but still
they showed, and strove inch by Incn
to move the grooming, rasping rock,
up into the clouds. Some came up
straight with their strata even with the
earth; others less fortunate, were crush
ed and tilted towards the SUM- while
others still were doubled-up on end.
The heated rock striking the cooler
air was burst. rent asunder riven in
tWain convulsed. contracted into hid
eOus shapes; all were naked except the
few who put down their hands aad tried
10 pun up a light mantle of weak and
slCkly trees to cover their Scared and
purple nakedness. The rest stood reck-
less and defiant of mans approval. The
gnomes of the earth went back into
me bosom of the earth to tendYs the
seething condition, which they had left
awhile. But the poor gaunt rocks were
not left alone. For there came to them
me giants of ice and frost. with the
manner of Thor and the anvil of Wod
ii' and they bit off the smooth edges,
hammered the harmonious lines, scar
req the fair bosoms with seams, sawed
Oh huge pieces and cast them
uo"n in avalanche upon the
valley stored up the glacier in
great canyons, whence it issued forth
ana secured out valleys. When this
!dst destructive work was done, even
,he demons saw that they had made
tnelr work too awful and terrifying, SO
Wey began to soften it, they spread
""iIe nantes of snow over spots too
o5fe and hideous; they curled blue
axes in every little basin; they sent tile
SHter stream of rivers winding through
10y valley, but this was not enough.
IHey begged the spirits of the air to
oH,e and help, so the Air Spirits
D.ougnt purple hazes and wrapped the
SUM mountains up in them; they
~ ieu the feecy clouds of mist around
80 shoulders, and over their bosoms
sg ilphoned the scarf of many color
1lhboWs. And then they said-these
"C'ous spirits of the air: Man shall
ne forever terrified and overwhelm-