Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-09-22
The Wonderful Canadian Rockies.
Pr LEE
ooooooooooooooocoooooo ooooOooooooooooooooo
BY A. W. LEE.


by the Canadian Pacific railroad are
beautiful and wonderful beyond pos
sibility Of description in cold type.
They must be seen to be even partial
ly appreciated and then one quickly
realizes the impossibility Of grasping
their full grandeur Immediately, foT
they constantly grow on the visitor,
and new beauties are revealed each
morning. noon and night that one
fingers among these stupendous up
heavals of the earth's surface.
Scene At Mt. Victoria.
Bamff. the Beautiful, became to MS
more beautiful each day, and when we
finally tore ourselves away, it was
with the fullest appreciation of the
pleasures of two weeks spent in this
delightful spot. Leaving Bamff, we
continued our journey thirty-five miles
farther into the heart of the Rockies,
stopping at Laggan. From the station
it is two and half miles by a mag
nificent mountain road UP and up and
ever up to the Chalet, built by the
Canadian Pacific railroad on the
shores of Lake Louise. The lake is
two miles long and one-half mile
broad. Both on the right and on the
left, mountains rise from the waters
edge to snow-capped heights: directly
in front at the farther end of the lake
apparently intersecting the mountains
to the right and left. is snow covered
Mt. Victoria. with a glacier at the foot
extending almost to the waters edge.
The green waters of the lake, OF a
dozen varying shades, the woods, the
mountains with their massive piles Of
bare rocks, the everlasting SHOWS on
their SUBMITS and the solid ice of the
glacier make UP picture OF such
surprising natural grandeur that one
involuntarily exclaims: This is it,
This is the most beautiful gem of nat
ural scenery in the world"
And then one gazes and gazes again,
momentarily anticipating that the
great curtain on which this magnifi-
cent scene appears to be painted will
soon rise and reveal the stage and the
players behind Then comes the re-
alization that this is nature itself and
that no picture or painting in the
world ever has or ever can equal it.
If "all the worlds a stage" and men
are actors, here surely is fitting
drop curtain, shutting out the view Of
the busy world beyond. For certainly
in the Chalet at Lake Louise is one Of
the most quiet and restful spots in all
America. Here one forgets the tur-
moil, trials and problems Of business,
politics. household cares, even the
servant girl problem and all other or
binary everyday affairs. Amid the
companionship of the everlasting hills
the forest and the ripping waters. the
practical work-a-day spirit loses itself
in a poetical haze of dreamy enjoy!
ment in which the Imagination can
and does have the fullest sway. Here
the Only practical thfr---| chat one
finds to do are to eat and sleep; and
what an appetite this mountain all
and exercise does create and how one
can and does sleep-twelve full hours
at a stretch with no sounds to disturb.
The signing of the winds through the
tall pines is but lullaby that ever
lulls one on to little more slumber.
Away up in the mountains, still far.
Their up and up. are yet two other
lakes-Lakes Mirror and Agnes
which are reached by a narrow noun
tain trail two miles in length On this
trail one can walk, or ride on a pony
but the trail is SO steep that those
who ride up invariably walk down
driving the pony ahead, this being the
most comfortable as well as safe way
There are no drives from the Chalet
except only the one to the railroad
station. because there are as yet, ne
roads. but there are splendid pony
trails. fine boats with which to row
on the lakes and mountain climbing
to suit the most daring and enthusiasts
tic:
The Chalet.
The Chalet is one of the splendid
hotels operated by the Canadian Pa
ciflc railroad. and is both a surprising
ly and surprisingly good hosiery
indeed. the traveller soon comes t
learn that anything up in this countr,
which bears the initials &c. p R." an
which is backed and sustained by tina
great corporation can be depende
upon to be strictly first-class.
No one who has visited Lake Lor
lse but will say that it is one of tn
most charming spots on the face c
the earth. AS for myself, after dull
weighing the superlative, l am fran
to say that this is the most beantifl
place that have ever seen. | b.
lievn that it is the most beautif,
spot in the world for certainly tn
mind; fails 10 comprehend or the ima
ination grasp how nature could brin
together in an equal space more s.
perb combination of mountain, fore'
and lake. AS tor our party, we can
to Lake Louise to remain one day an
tarried four and then regretted til;
we must go on.
From Laggan it is ninety-siX mile
to Glacier. En- route we passe
through Field. another delightful r
sort in the mountains, where there
a large Canadian Pacific hotel an
from which point trips are made |
pony trail into the beautiful Yoho Va
ley. But owing to our restricted tin
it was necessary for us to leave Fee
for a visit at some time in the futur
Laggan is in the Canadian Rockies
Glacier is in the Selkirks. Books hay
been written descriptive Of the see
cry along the line of the Canada
- L: l..