Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-12-25

L.
crawled over the Colorado
prairies quite long enough, as
l thought.
You are looking at them now!" he
replied. with patronizing grin re-
served for the all too frequent tender
foot
What" / exclaimed. 81 thought
those were cIouds!"
Thereupon my eyes gradually sep
arated the mountains, more traaspar-
ent deep blue from that of the more
opaque clouds. and to distinguish the
dim white markings of snow fields
lying off there in the July sun. A little
more gradually the configuration of
the face of the distant range became
visible. and 10, beheld the veritable
backbone of America-the peak of the
gable!
What absurdly inadequate ideas of
the Rockies" we fasteners do have
before we see themi We are wont to
register them as adult Alleghenies,
but the sight of them makes us disa-
vow any registry at all, writes B. A.
Konkle in the Philadelphia Record.
count my first experience in the
Rockies" along with my first appreci-
alton of real poem, my first visit to
a real play Git was old Joe" as
"Rip"), the first time on water out of
sight of land, my first view of Niagara.
my descent into Mammoth Cave. and
my future trip in a biplane! The
Rockies" are not a sight; they are
an experience. Even as we crawled
across the prairies to Denver it be-
gan with the peculiarly stimulating
air, so invigorating as to make one for
get the weary journey and loss of
sleep and revel in lung-filling inspira-
tons. Then, too, the air became so
clear as to seem to magnify, while one
realized certain distinctness of out
line in everything that gave a wholly
new sense of brilliancy. This. in turn.
| perpetrates most battling descriptions
upon ones judgment of distances. The
foothills west of Denver are IA miles
away. but the granite walls Of the old
Front Range itself locks less than q
mile distant.
Domination Of the Mountains.
The domination Of the mountains is
an experience, too An elderly country
woman was once visiting in suburb
for the first time and complained that
she could feel that great city a.
threatening all the time" The noun
tains control the clouds, which play
about them continually like insects
about a lamp until their life is burned
out They dress themselves in clouds
and necklaces of cleaning snow, and
change their dress 40 times a day A
part will clothe itself one way. the
next another, and then all will draw a
curtain before them, and in the morn
ing cast it all of and almost reveal
the very freckles of forest on their
faces until you almost feel the breath
of the snow fields. Those mountains
seem alive, and yet what eternal pofse.
so to speak. They control the people
and the cities. Being treasures, a row
of cities have been built in front OF
them across the state, with railway
spurs out and up into their boxes of
silver and gold. Men live, up in the
high attitudes, If they can stand It;
for not all men can. Georgetown is
one of the Oldest places up there, and
the railroad has to do some tall climb
ing and wriggling along shelf in the
sides Of Clear Creek gorge or canyon
for over thirty miles OF track before
1t lifts itself up to above 5000 feet to
this picturesque little valley. The
rapid ascent makes ones breathing
machinery feel unequal to the task.
Ones lungs are suddenly not big
enough. It is well enough t. stop of
at Georgetown before the train begins
climbing on the corkscrew plan. as 1t
does Just above there, for you need to
practice on that word altitude" for a
few days II is used nearly as much
as "the." is" and was" and com
pleteIy displaces north" south
"east' and west"