The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-16
Beauty Of Mountains.

Beauty Of M0untains.
To make a book about mountains
that shall satisfy at once those who go
to them to study the physical history
OF the world. those who resort to
Them for sport and those who view
the rugged peaks and ranges with the
y of art Is a task for ambition. In
The Mountain (%Scribners) Professor
JONI e. VAN DYKE offers the geologist
IL the aiplnist more Of pleasant
reniniscential suggestion than Of new
information: and while the artist will
discover more in his pages than either
OF the others. 1t g certain to he his
eNceliency the general reader" who
will enjoy them most.
1t Is the spectacular. the startling.
the fantastic in form n color, the
author thinks. that mould our first
admiration Of mountain scenery: THE
spurs and spines Of the Dolomites, the
sharp shaft OF the Matterhorn. the
beetling height of Kinchinjunga' COM.
nand wonder. As we grow older we
may care less for the abrupt than the
quiescent" and delight in 1.-The flowing
lines OF the A~ppalachians or the
Founded forms OF the Scotch hills"
Majesty and mystery wreathe the soar
ing submits Of the great peaks; mar
vels OF color play upon their sides and
ABOUT their tops. They are a world
apart. But the lesser range in popu-
lated regions grow into the lives Of
those who dwell in the valleys. and
saem TO impart something Of their own
strength. dignity and steadfastness to
the characters Of MEN.
We absorb the qualities OF nature.
They who live on the sea or beside It:
they who inhabit the wide-sweeping
| prairies. and they whose outlook is
upon forest clad hillsides all derive
some colorlng OF character from their
physical environments. Professor
Van Dyke does not disdain a mild i'm
prcssionism: We change our point
Of view. but the mountains themselves
cnarge not, Whatever face they turn
To us. whatever their appearance, 1t Is
Always of beauty. They are mere
lreaks in the crust. crushings OF the
earth shell, and by the same reckon
ing color Is a mere break in the beam
@ light. but what a wonder work each
Of them spreads before u.s." But the
changing aspects make as many
mountains Of one mountain as his
moods make different men OF one man;
and II Is careless and incomplete to
describe mountains as always beauti-
full. for mountains have too much per-
s"nality-since We are using that kind
n: language about them-to be always
beautiful.
The red men Of the American plains
regarded the mountains with more
Tear than affection. and clothed them
with oupcrstitious beliefs. The Sioux
believed the Great Spirit rested upon
the summit Of the Rockies: cloud
slrcamers in the sky were the feathers
of his war bonnct or the smoke of his
pipe, The minor peaks were inhabited
by evil spirits seeking to destroy him.
Wakonshecha. the evil one, lived in
deep caves and canyons. And II
course snch myths are az old as the
race. Were not the mountains scat
tered by TiSns in combat? In India
SILVA the CREATOR was supposed tw
dwell in the remotest heights of the
llinalayas. 1T was from the noun
tain tops that Buddha and Christ
assembled into heaven; from them
Moses received tho tables Of the law
and saw the Promised Land; and in
h heights of the Caucasus Promo
theus was chained" fujiyama is a
sacred mountain. Apollo and the
MUSES. assembled on the top Of Par
nassus. Zeus looked down upon the
world from the peak of Olympus. The
elder Scandinavians peopled The
heights with gnomes. The Germans
placed the witches dance of walpur-
sisnacht high on the Broken. In
later times the world came to believe
in good spirits as we'll as demons
dwelling in the heights. In the Mid
die Ages hermits sought seoiusion in
mountain businesses. and shrines were
placed in the high hills.
Ruskin would not pass in geology
to-day: "He IN right In pointing out
that the mountains with their eed.
upright lines rive a feeling Of action,
and that the plains by their fiat. hort.
zontal mes give the opposite feeling
OF repose: but he IN misleading in
likening the mountains to the violent !
muscular action Of man brought out |
with fierce and convulsive energy, full |
of expression, passion and strength
II Is a false analogy to say that the
mountains are the bones of the EARTH
And to intimate that they have risen
by initial energy into vast pyramids
or wedges. fiinging their garment of
earth away from them on each side
IL to put forth an untenable concep-
tion of mountain making" Mr.. Rus
kin was too subjective. Children in
school are taught to see In long ranges
a continental backbone; but the line
is not OF strength but Of Teaknsss: