The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-09-11

mons, the winthrop, the Ia
homa and the Kautz glaciers. But many of great
size and impressveness are born Of the SHOWS
in rock pockets or clrques. ice-sculptured bowls
of great dimensions and ever-increasing depth.
from which they merge into the glistening arnor
of the huge volcano The most notable of these
are the COwltz, the Paradise, the Fryingpan, the
Carbon, the Russell, the North and South Mowich.
the Puyallup, and the Pyramid glaciers.
Twenty-eight glaciers great and small, clothe
Rainier-rivers of ice. with many of the charac-
teristics of rivers of water. roaring at times
precipices like waterfalls, ripping and tumbling
down rocky slopes-veritable noisy cascades, ris-
ing smoothly up hidden rocks to foam brook
like, over its lower edges.
Every winter the moisture-laden winds from the
Pacific suddenly cooled against its summit deposit
upon its top and sides enormous SHOWS These
settling in the crater which was left after the
great explosion in some prehistoric age carried
away perhaps 1000 feet of the volcanoes former
height press with overwhelming weight down the
mountains slOping sides.
Thus are born the glaciers. for the snow under
its own pressure quickly hardens into ice Through
IA valleys self-caryed ia the solid rock flow these
rivers of ice now turning, as rivers of water turn
to avoid the harder rock strata, now roaring over
precipices like CONCEALED waterfalls, now ripping
like water currents, over rough bottoms pushing
pouring relentlessly until they reach those
parts of their courses where warmer air turns
them into rivers of water. .
In glowing contrast to this marvellous spectacle
of ice are the gardens of Wild flowers surrounding
the glaciers. These f1owery spots are called parks
One will find on the accompanying map Spray
Park st. Andrews Park Indian Henry's Hunting
Ground, Paradise. Summer Land; and there are
many others.
above the forests" writes John Muir. "tbere
is zone of the loveliest flowers fifty miles in cir
cult and nearly two miles wide. so closely planted
and luxurious that 1t seems as IL nature glad to
make an open space between woods so dense and |
Ice so deep, were economizng the precious ground
and trying to see how many of her darlings she
can get together In one mountain wreath-daisies |
anemones, columbine, erythrOniums larkspurs etc
among which we wade knee deep and waist deem |
the bright corolas in myriads touching petal to |
petal. Altogether this Is the richest subalpine |
garden have found, perfect flower eysiam."
The lower attitudes of the park are denseIy tim
Oered with FIR, cedar, hemlock maple alder. cot.
tonwood and spruce. The forested areas. extend I
ing to an altitude Of about $500 feet gradually
decrease In density Of growth after an altitude of
4VOO feet Is reached, and the high broad plateaus
between the glacial canyons present incomparabIa
scenes of diversified beauties
large part Of the area above the 4.5Oofoot
contour consists of Open grassy parks, rocky and
uaTen submits, snow fields, and glaciers. Tracts
OF dense subalpine forest occur In sheltered Ioca
lions, but they are nowhere very extensive and
'nelr continuity is broken by open swamp glades
ana meadows and small bodies of standing wa
Ter. Inc steep upper slopes of the spurs d.
Vuging from the main ridges are frequently COW
cred with stunted, scraggy growth of low trees
nrmiy rooted in the creyices between the rocks
The most beautiful of the alpine trees are about
the mountain parks Growing In scattered groves
ana standing in sgroups singly In the open
grassland and on the margins of the lakes. they
prouuce peculiarly pleasing landscape effect
which agreeably relieves the traveller from the
extended outlook, to the snow fields of the noun
IAN ana broken ridges about it. At the lower
eVels OF the subalpine forest the average height )
Oh the largest trees is from 80 to 60 feet The
we diminshes rapidly the elevation increases .
me trees are dwarfed by the cold and their . .
runks are bent and twisted by the wind Small :
patches OF low. weather-beaten and stunted noun
ain hemlock, alpine fir. and white-bar pine occur
lp to 1000 feet. The trunks are quite PROSTATE
md the crowns fattened mats of branches :
ying close to the ground. The extreme limit of
rec growth on Mount Rainier is about 1900 feet =
there Is no distinct timber line =