Snow Storm on Mount Shasta.
SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. 521 SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. MOUNT SHASTA, situated near the northern extremity of the Sierra Nevada, rises in solitary grandeur from a lightly sculptured lava plain, and maintains a far more impressive and commanding individuality than any other mountain within the li...
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Scholarly Commons
1877
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| Summary: | SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. 521 SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. MOUNT SHASTA, situated near the northern extremity of the Sierra Nevada, rises in solitary grandeur from a lightly sculptured lava plain, and maintains a far more impressive and commanding individuality than any other mountain within the limits of California. Go where yon will within a radius of from fifty to a hundred miles, there stands the colossal cone of X Ja U-C *- and age. A few tufaceous and brecciated beds are visible in eroded sections near the summit, but pumice and obsidian, usually so abundant in other volcanic regions throughout the State, are here remarkably rare. During the glacial period Mount Shasta was a centre of dispersal for the glaciers of the circumjacent region. The entire mountain, was then loaded' with ice, which, ever A-r-v. U southern of the notwith- it lifts Shasta, clad in perpetual snow, tho one grand landmark that never sets. While Mount Whitney, situated near the extremity Sierra, standing its granite summit some, four or five hundred feet higher Jhan Shasta, is yet almost entirely snowless during the summer months,aiud is so feebly individualized, the traveller often searches for it in vain amid the thickets of rival peaks by which it is surrounded. The elevation of the highest point of Mount Shasta, as determined by the State Geological Survey, is in round numbers 14,440 feet above mean tide. That of Mount Whitney, computed from fewer and perhaps less reliable observations, is about 14,900 feet. But inasmuch as the average elevation of the common plain out of which Shasta rises is only about 4000 feet above the sea, while the actual base of Mount Whitney lies at an elevation of 11,000 feet, the individual stature of the former is nearly two and a half times that of the latter; and while the circumference of Mount Shasta around the base is nearly seventy miles, that of Whitney is less than five. All that has been observed of the internal frame-work of Mount Shasta goes to show that its entire bulk originated in successive eruptions of ashes and lava, which, pouring over the lips of craters, layer upon layer, grew upward and outward like tho trunk of an exogenous tree. The Shasta lavas are chiefly tracliy tic and basaltic, varying greatly in color, density, *-c"iz?tSi-vt,.,.,-"J loud hissing noise from fissures in tbe lava near tbe base of tbe eastern ridge, opposite the highest peaklet. Several of the vents cast up a spray of clear bead-like drops of bot water, that rise repeatedly into tbe air and fall back until woru into vapor. Tbe steam and spray phenomena seem to be produced simply by melting snow coming in the way of tbe escaping gases, while the gases themselves are evidently derived from the heated interior, and may be regarded as the last feeble expression of that vast volcanic energy that buikled tbe mountain. Since tbe close of tbe ice period, nature has divided Mount Shasta into three distinct botanic zones. The first, wbicb may be called tbe chaparral zone, has au average width of about four miles, and comprises the greater portion of tbe sandy flood beds noted above. They are densely overgrown with chaparral from three to six feet high, composed chiefly of nianzanita, cherry, chinqapin, and several species of ceano- thus, forming when in full bloom one of tbe most glorious spectacles conceivable. The continuity of these immense chaparral fields is grandly interrupted by wide swatbs of coniferous trees, chiefly sugar and yellow pines, with Douglass spruce, silver-fir, and incense cedar, -many specimens of which are over 200 feet high and six or seven feet in diameter at tbe base. Golden-rods, asters, gilias, lilies, and lupines, with a multitude of less conspicuous herbaceous plants, occur in warm openings of the woods, with forms and colors in delightful accord, and enlivened with butterflies and bees. The next higher is tbe fir zone, made up almost exclusively ofvthe three silver-firs, viz.,,-Picea grandis, P. ainabilis, and P. ama- bttis, var. nobilis. This zone is from two to three miles wide, has an average elevation above the sea on its lower edge of 6000 feet/ on its upper of 8000, and is far tbe simplest and best defined of tbe three. The Alpine zone is made up of dwarf pines, heath-worts, stiff wiry carices, lichens, and red snow. Tbe pines, attain an elevation of 9500 feet, but at this height their summits rise only three or four feet into the frosty air, and are close-pressed and level, as if crushed by winter snow, and shorn off by tbe icy winds, yet flowering nevertheless, and sometimes producing cones and ripe nuts. Bry- antbus, a beautiful flowering heath-wort, flourishes a few hundred feet higher, accompanied by kalinia and spiraea. Dwarf daisies and carices attain an elevation on favorable slopes of 11,000 feet, while beyond this a scanty growth of lichens and red snow composes the entire vegetation. The following is a list of all tbe conifer- S aaei: -ftl PIOEA AMAUIEI8. ous trees I have been able to find growing upon Mount Shasta, named downward in tbe order of their occurrence : n, Pinus flexilis.- Dwarf pine. 524 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. made in July or August, from Strawberry Valley, on tbe Oregon and California stage- road. Storms are then less common and less violent, and? the deep snows are melted from tbe lower slopes, and tbe beautiful Alpine vegetation is then coming into bloom. The ordinary plan is to ride from Strawberry Valley to tbe upper edge of tbe timber line, a distance of ten miles, tbe first day, and camp; then, rising early next moru- In tbe cooler portions of the woods winter snow.was still lying five feet deep, and we bad a tedious time breaking through it with tbe pack animals. It soon became apparent that we would not be able to reach the summer camping ground; and after floundering and breaking trail in the drifts until near sundown, we were glad to camp for the night as best we could upon a rough lava ridge that protruded through MOUNT SHASTA FROM 6TKAWREKEY VALLEY. ing, push to tbe summit, and return to tbe valley on tbe evening of tbe second day. In journeying up tbe valley of tbe Upper Sacramento one obtains frequent views of Mount Shasta, through the pine-trees, from tbe tops of hills and ridges but at Strawberry Valley there is a grand out-opening of the forests, and Shasta stands revealed 'at just tbe distance to be seeu most comprehensively and impressively. Looking at outlines, there, in tbe immediate foreground, is a smooth green meadow with its crooked stream; then a zone of dark forest, its countless spires of fir and pine rising above one another higher and higher in luxuriant ranks; and above all the great white cone sweeping far into tbe cloudless blue—meadow, forest, and mountain inseparably blended and framed in by tbe arching sky. My last ascent of Shasta was made on tbe 30th of April, 1875, accompanied by Jerome Fay, a hardy and competent mountaineer, for tbe purpose of making barometrical observations on the summit, while Captain A. P. Rodgers, of the United States Coast Survey, made simultaneous observations with a compared barometer at the base. ' tbe snow. From here we carried blankets and one day's provision on our backs over tbe snow to tbe extreme edge of the timber line, and made a second camp in the lee of a block of red trachyte. This, of course, was done with a view to lessening as much as possible tbe labor of completing the ascent, to be undertaken next day. Here, on our trachyte bed, we obtained two hours of shallow sleep, mingled with fine glimpses of tbe keen starry night. We rose at 2 a.m., warmed a tin-cupful of coffee, broiled a slice of frozen venison on the coals, and started for tbe summit at 3.20 a.m. The crisp icy sky was without a cloud, and tbe stars lighted us on our way. Deep silence brooded tbe mountain, broken only by the night wind and an occasional rock falling from crumbling buttresses to the snow slopes below. The wild beauty of the morning stirred our pulses in glad exhilaration, and we strode rapidly onward, seldom stopping to take breath—over tbe broad red apron of lava that descends from the west side of the smaller of tbe two cone summits, across tbe gorge that divides them, up the majestic snow curves sweeping to the top SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. 525 MOUNT SHASTA FROM THE VALLEY OF THE UPPER SACRAMENTO. of the ancient crater, around tbe broad icy fountains of tbe Whitney glacier, past the hissing fumaroles, and at 7.30 a.m. we attained tbe utmost summit. Up to this time there was nothing dis cernible either in the wind tones or in tbe sky that betokened tbe near approach of a storm; but on gaining the summit we observed several hundred square miles of white cumuli spread out on tbe lava, plain toward Lassen's Peak, squirming dreamily in tbe sunshine far beneath, and exciting no.alarm. • Tbe slight weariness of the ascent was soon rested away. Tbe sky was of tbe thinnest, purest azure; spiritual life filled every pore of rock and cloud; and we reveled in tbe marvelous abundance and beauty of the landscapes by which we were encircled. At 9 A.M. the dry thermometer stood at 06 526 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. A : qv 34° in shade, and rose steadily until 1 p.m., when it stood at 50°, although no doubt strongly influenced by sun beat radiated from tho adjacent cliffs. A vigorous bum- ble-beo zigzagged around our beads, filling tbe air with a summery bay-field drone, as if wholly unconscious of tbe fact that tbe nearest honey flower was a mile beueatb him. Clouds the mean while were growing down in Shasta Valley—massive swelling cumuli, colored gray and purple and close pearly white. These, constantly extending around southward on both sides of Mount Shasta, at length united with tbe older field lying toward Lassen's Peak, thus circling the mountain in one continuous cloud zone. Rbett and Klamath lakes were eclipsed in clouds scarcely less bright than their own sil very disks. The black lava beds made famous by tbe Modoc war; many a snow-laden peak far north in Oregon; the Scott and Trinity mountains; the blue Coast Range; Shasta Valley, dotted with volcanoes; the dark coniferous forests filling tbe valleys of tbe Upper Sacramento—were all in turn obscured, leaving ouiaown lofty cone solitary in tbe sunshine, and contained between two skies—a sky of spotless blue above, a sky of clouds beneath, The creative sun shone gloriously upon tbe white expanse, and rare cloud-lands, bill and dale, mountain and valley, rose responsive to his rays, and steadily developed to higher beauty and individuality. One colossal masted-cone, corresponding to Mount Shasta, rose close alongside with a visible motion, its firm polished bosses seemingly so near and substantial we fancied we might leap down upon tbem from where we stood, and reach the ground by scrambling down their sides. Storm clouds on tbe mountains—bow truly beautiful they are!—floating fountains bearing water for every well,—tbe angels of streams and lakes ;Abroodii]g in tbe deep pure azure,,fly sweeping along the ground, over ridge and dome, over meadow, over forest, over garden and grove; lingering with cooling shadows, refreshing every flower, and soothing rugged rock brows with a gentleness of touch and gesture no human band can equal! Tbe weather of spring and summer .throughout the middle region of the Sierra is usually well flecked with rain-storms and light dustings of snow, most of which are far too obviously joyous and life-giving to be regarded as storms. In the case of the smallest and most perfectly individualized specimens, a richly modeled cumulus cloud is seen rising above tbe dark forests, about 11 o'clock a.m., directly upward into tbe calm sky, to a height of about four or five thousand'feet above the ground, or ten or twelve thousand feet above tbe,sea; its pearlfr bosses finely relieved by gray and purple shadows, and exhibiting outlines as keen • as those of a glacier-polished dome. In less than an hour it attains full development, and stands poised in tbe blazing sunshine like some colossal fungus. Presently a vigorous thunder-bolt crashes through the crisp sunny air, ringing like steel on steel, its startling detonation breaking into a spray of echoes among tbe rocky canons below. Then down comes a cataract of rain to the wild gardens and groves. Tbe big crystal drops tingle tbe pine needles, plash and spatter on granite pavements, and pour adown tbe sides of ridges and domes in a net-work of gray bubbling rills. In a few minutes tbe firm storm cloud withers to a mesh of dim filaments and disappears, leaving the sky more sunful than before. Every bird and plant is invigorated, a steam of fragrance rises from tbe ground, and tbe storm is finished—one cloud, one lightning flash, one dash of rain. This is tbealifor- -niar rain-storm reduced to its lowest terms. Snow-storms of tbe same tone and dimensions abound in tbe highest summits, but in spring they not unfrequeutly attain larger proportions, and assume a violence of expression scarcely surpassed by those bred in the depths of winter. Such was tbe storm now gathering close around us. It began to declare itself shortly after noon, and I entertained the idea of abandoning my purpose of making a 3 p.m. observation, as agreed on by Captain Rodgers and myself, and at once make a push down to our safe camp in tbe timber. Jerome peered at short intervals over tbe jagged ridge on wbicb we stood, making anxious gestures in tbe rough wind, and becoming more and more emphatic in bis remarks upon tbe weather, declaring that if we did not make a speedy escape, wre should be compelled to pass tbe night on the summit. Anxiety, however, to complete my observations fixed me to the ridge. No inexperienced person was depending upon me, and I told Jerome that we two mountaineers could break down through any storm likely to fall. About half past 1 o'clock p.m. thin fibrous cloud films began to blow directly over the summit of tbe cone from north to south, drawn out in long fairy webs, like carded wool, forming and dissolving as if by magic. The wind twisted them into ringlets and whirled tbem in a succession of graceful convolutions, like tbe outside sprays of Yosemite falls; then sailing out in tbe pure azure over tbe precipitous brink of the cone, they were drifted together in light gray rolls, like foam wreaths on a river. These higher cloud fabrics were evidently produced by tbe chilling of tho air from its own expansion, caused by an upward deflection against tbe mountain slopes. They steadily increased on the north rim of the cone, forming a thick, opaque, ill-defined embankment, from whose icy meshes snow SNOW' STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. flowers began to fall, alternating with bail. Tbe sky speedily darkened, and just after I bad completed my observations and boxed the instruments, the storm broke in full vigor. Tbe cliffs were covered with a remarkable net-work of bail rills4,h*&poured and rolled adown tbe gray and red lava slopes like cascades of rock-beaten water. These bail-stones seemed-to-belong-to an entirely distinct species frofirairy Iliad be- foie_glbserved, t32* resembled small mushrooms both in texture and general form, their six straight sides widening upward from a narrow base to a wide dome-like crown. A few minutes after 3 p.m. we began to force our way dowTn tbe eastern ridge, past tbe group of hissing fumaroles. Tbe storm at once became inconceivably violent, with scarce a preliminary scowl. Tbe thermometer fell twenty-two degrees, and soon sank below zero. Hail gave place to snow, and y\k*-M"'darkuess came on liko night, The wind, rising to the highest pitch of violence, boomed and surged like breakers on a rooky coast. Tbe lightnings flashed amid the desolate crags in terrible accord, their tremendous muffled detonations unrelieved by a single echo, and seeming to come thudding passionately forth from put tbe very heart of tbe storm. -4. 'f'/uv. Could we have begun at once to descend the snow-filled grooves leading to tbe timber, wo might have made good our escape, however dark or violent tbe storm. As it was, we bad first to make our way along a dangerous snow ridge nearly a mile and a half in length, flanked by steep ice slopes on one side, and by shattered precipices on tbe other. Fortunately I bad taken the precaution ere tbe storm began, while apprehensive of this very darkness, to make tbe most dangerous points clear to my mind, and to mark their relations with reference to the direction of tbe wind. When, therefore, the storm broke, I felt confident we could urge our way through tbe darkness and uproar with no other guidance. After passing the "Hot Springs" I baited in tbe shelter of a lava block to let Jerome, who bad fallen a little behind, eome up. Here he opened a council, in wbieh, amid circumstances sufficiently exciting, but without evincing any bewilderment, be maintained, in opposition to my views, that it was impossible to proceed: the ridge was too dangerous, the snow was blinding, and tbe frost too intense to be borne; and finally, that, even supposing it possible for us to grope our way through the darkness, the wind was sufficiently violent to burl us bodily over the cliffs, and that our only hope was in wearing away the afternoon and night among the fumaroles, where we should at least avoid freezing. I urged that tbe wind was chiefly at our backs, and that, once arrived at tbe west- em edge of tbe cone, we bad but to slide or wallow down steep inclines whose topographical leadings would insure our finding eamp in any case, and that if need be We could creep along tbe more dangerous portions of the ridge, and clear the ice and precipices on bauds and feet. He positively refused, however, to entertain any thought of venturing into tbe storm in -that direction, while I, aware of tbe,real dangers that would beset our efforts, and conscious of being tbe cause of bis being thus imperiled, decided not to leave him. Our discussions ended, Jerome made a dash from bebiud tbe lava block, and began forcing his way back some twenty or thirty yards to tbe Hot Springs against tbe wind flood, wavering and struggling as if caught. in a torrent of water; and after watching in vain for any flaw in tbe storm that might be urged as a new argument for attempting tbe descent, I was compelled to follow. "Here" said Jerome, as we stood shivering in the midst of the hissing, sputtering fumaroles, " we shall be safe from frost." "Yes" said I, "we can lie iu this mud and gravel, hot at least on one side; but" bow shall we protect our lungs from tbe acid gases ? and bow, after our clothing is saturated with melting snow, shall we be able to reach camp without freezing, even after tbe storm is over? We shall have to await 528 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. bis life was more deeply imbedded in flesh than mine. Yet we both trembled and shivered in a'weak, nervous way, as much, I suppose, from exhaustion brought on by want of food and sleep as from the sifting of the icy wind through our wet clothing. The snow fell with unabated lavisbness until an hour or two after tbe coming on of what appeared to be tbe natural darkness of night. The whole quantity would probably measure about twofeet. Up to tbe time the storm first fell »pon the mountain, its development was gentle in-the-extreme- —tbe deliberate growth of cumulus clouds beneath, the weaving of translucent tissue above, then the roar of tbe wind, tbe crash of thunder, and tbe darkening flight of snow flowerjf. Its decay was not less sudden—the clouds broke and vanished, not a snow-flake was left in tbe sky, and tbe stars shone out with pure and tranquil radiance. As our experiences were somewhat exceptional during tbe long strange night that the cold. Then, with a view to cheering myself as well as him, I pictured tbe morning breaking ail-cloudless and sunfulj assuring him that no storm ever lasted continuously from day to day at this season of the year; that out of all this frost and weariness we would yet escape to our friends and hollies, and then all that would be left of tbe trying night would be a clump of nnre- lated.memories be would tell to bis children. We lay flat on our backs, so as to present as little surface as possible to tbe wind. Tbe mealy snow gathered on our breasts, J and I did not rise again to my feet for seventeen hours. We were glad at first to see -. tbe snow drifting into the hollows of our OirMk clothing, hoping it would serve to deaden tbe force of tbe ice wind; but, though soft at first, it soon froze into a stiff, crusty heap, rather augmenting our novel misery. " Last year,',' said Jerome, "I guided a minister up here,' I wish be were here now to try some !rU~- prayers. DWARF TINES, followed, it may perhaps be interesting to record tbem. In the early stages of tbe night, while our sufferings were less severe, I tried to induce Jerome, who is a hunter, to frreak-oirtmi bear stories or Indiau adventures to lessen our consciousness of tbe cold. But although meeting the storm bravely, he was not in talking condition. Occasionally he would indulge in calculations as to bow long the fire of life would burn, whether the storm would last all the night and the next day, and if so, whether Sisson would be able to come to the rescue ere we succumbed to What do you really think, Muir- wonld they help a fellow in a time like this?" Yet, " > . after all, be seemed to recognize tbe unflinching fair __ ",.-,,- play of Nature, aud ber essential Irind- - ,v--!-- —- liness, though mak ing no jot of allowance for ignorance or mistakes. Tbe snow fell on us not a whit more harshly than warm rain on tbe grass. Tbe night wind rushed in wild uproar across the shattered cliffs, piercing us through and through, and causing violent convulsive shivering, while those portions of our bodies in contact with tbe hot lava were being broiled. When the beat became unendurable, we scraped snow aud bits of trachyte beneath us, or shifted from place to place by shoving an inch or two at a time with heels and elbows for to stand erect in blank exposure to tbe wind seemed like certain death. Tbe acrid incrustations sublimed from tbe escaping gases frequently gave way, opening new vents, over wbicb wo were scalded and fearing that if at any time the wind should fall, carbonic acid, which usually forms so considerable a portion of the gaseous exhalations of volcanoes, might collect in sufficient quantities to cause sleep SNOW-STORM ON MOUNT SHASTA. h ' 529 and death, I warned Jerome against forget-1 sparkling snow, but hour after bour passed tingbiinself for a single moment, even should by without a trace of that warm flushing bis sufferings admit of such a thing. Accordingly, when, during the long dreary watches of tbe nigbt, we roused suddenly from a state of half consciousness, we called each other excitedly by name, each fearing tbe other was benumbed or dead. Tbe ordinary sensations of cold givo but faint conceptions of that wbicb comes on after bard exercise,' with want of food and sleep, nortibihed with wetness in a high frost wind. Lifo»is. then- seen~to be a~mere Arc, that now smoulders, now brightens, showing bow easily it may be quenched. The weary hours wore away like a mass of unnumbered and half-forgotten years, in which all our other years and experiences were strangely interblended. Yet tbe pain we suffered was not of that bitter land that precludes thought and takes away all capacity for enjoyment. A sort of stupefaction came on at times, in wbicb we fancied we saw dry resiny pine logs suitable for camp fires, just as when, after- going days without food, we fancy we see bread. The extreme beauty of the sky at times beguiled our sense of suffering. Ursa Maj or, with its thousand borne associations, circled in glorious brightness overhead; tbe mysterious star clouds of tbe Milky Way arched over with marvelous distinctness, and every planet glowed with long lance rays like lilies within reach. Then imagination, coming suddenly into play, would present the beauties of the warm zone beneath us, mingled with pictures of other lands. With unnatural vividness we saw fine secluded valleys, haunts__of tbe doer -and bear, and rich fir woods with their wealth of fern-like branches and orange lichens adorning their tall brown trunks. Then tbe bitter moaning wind and the. drifting, snow would break tbe blissful vision, and our dreary pains would cover ns like clouds. "Muir" Jerome would inquire, with pitiful faintness, "are you suffering much?" " Yes" I would reply, straining to keep my voice brave, "the pains of a Scandinavian bell, at once frozen and burned. But never mind, Jerome-; tbe nigbt will wear away at JajiJ, and to-morrow wo go a-Maying, and what camp fires wo will make, and what sun baths we will take I" The frost became more and more intense, and we were covered with frozen snow and icicles, as if we had lain castaway beneath fall,tbe storms of winter. In about thirteen hours day began, to dawn, but it was long ere tbe highest points of the cone, were touched by tbe sun. No clouds were visible from, where wTo lay, yet tho morning was dull and blue and bitterly frosty, and never i\did tbe sunmove so slowly to strip the shadows from tne peaks'. We watched the pale beatloss light stealing toward us down tbe Vol. LV.—No. 328.-34 *0; .' '{ v**"/y sunrise splendor we were so eager to welcome. Tbe oxtinction of a life seemed a simple thing after being so gradually drained of vitality, and as tbe time to make an effort to reach cainpnlrew near, we became concerned to know what qnantitpefetrengtii fcna remained, and whether it would be sufficient to carry ns through tbe miles ef eold-wiiMU and snow that lay between us and tbe timber. Healtby mountaineers always discover in themselves a reserve of power ifter great exhaustion* . Xt i a kind of second life only available in .emergencies like this, and hav- j ing proved its existence, I bad no great dread that either Jerome or myself would * bc- fail, though my left arm was already numbed and bung powerless, In our soaked and steamed condition wc dared not attempt the descent until tbe temperature was somewhat mitigated. At length, about eight o'clock on this rare 1st of May, we rose to our feet, some seventeen hours after lying down, and began to struggle homeward. Our frozen trousers could scarce be made to bend; we-therefore waded tbe snow with difficulty. Tbe horizontal summit ridge was fortunately .wind-swept and. nearly bare,, so that we were not compelled to lift our.feet »0T.f, high; aud on reaching the longjibme slopes laden with fresh snow, we rna'de rapid progress sliding and shuffling, our feeblfeiess rather accelerating than diminishing \ur speed. After making a descent of 3000 feet, wo felt tbe war.ift.sun on our backs, and at-oueo began to revive; and at 10 o'clock a.m. we. reached camp aud were safe. Half an bour afterward we beard Sisson shouting down in the fir woods on bis way,to-camp with horses to take us to the hotel. ', ., We bad been so long without food, we cared but little about eating, but eagerly drank the hot coffee prepared by Sisson. Thawing our frozen toes was a painful task, but no permanent barm was done. We learned from Sisson that when our terrific storm was in progress, only a calm, mild-looking cloud cap was observed on tbe mountain, that excited no solicitude for our safety. We estimated tbe snow-fall on tbe summit at two feet or more; at camp, some 5000 feet lower, we found only three inches, while down on tbe sloping base only a light showervbad fallen,*sufflcioiit to freshen tbe grass. ~>, ~'_ We were soon mounted, and on our way down into tbe thick sunshine—to " God's country" as Sisson calls tho chaparral zone. In two boUrs' ride the last snow bank was left behind. Violets appeared along tbe edges of tho trail, and tbo chaparral was coming into bloom,KWitb young lilies and larkspurs in rich profusion. How beauti- 530 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. ful seemed the golden sunbeams streaming through the woods, anil warming- the brown furrowed boles of tho cedar and'pMne! The birds .observed us as we passed, and we felt like speaking to every flower. HJC -k»A>-»A . Af/Tour in the afternoon we readied Strawberry Valley, and went to bed. Nex morning we seemed to have risen from tho death, My bedroom was flooded with living-sun. ' wUj-shine, and from the window I saw the great white Shasta issue, wearing its clouds and forests, and-holdiug them loftily in the sky. HoWt fresh daud sunful and new-born our beautiful world appeared!* Sisson's children came in with wild flowers and covered 1 my bed,, and,tiw*sfferings ofour long freez- "'iiig storm period on the inountam-top seem,-; ed afra dream. . A _ / MA'M'SELLB. IN Barnegat the world was dead and buried, and in its place there stood the graven imago of a city carved in snow. The river, which in summer ran up and down, with the flowing and ebbing of the tide, between the decayed and half-ruined wharves of the bid city and the island of Barnegat, on tho ' ' other side, was choked with masses of ico; the streets were filled with tho drifted snow; aud still the storm, urged on and inspired by a riotous east wind, continued. Along the High Street of Barnegat, where in happier times the sun lay longest, filling it from east to west with shifting light and shade, the wind was tossing the snow, as it fell, into clouds of whirling sleet, and being a wind of independent mind, unfettered by restraining or guiding principles, blowing, as it seemed, both up and down. Coming up the street with tho wind was a slender figure wrapped in a dark cloak. The snow powdered her from bead to foot, making little drifts in the hollows of her shoulders, and turning the scarlet hood wound about her bead into a wreath of snow and icicles, while the wind blow Tier hair about her face, twisted it into light, crisp curls, and tossed it back again, making of her beauty a jest and plaything. As we looked from the window and watched her struggling with the storm, we decided that Ma'm'selle was paying dearly for her letters; but slio seemed to have an opinion of her own upon the subject, for she glanced up at us and waved them in her band with an air of triumph, as she stood at tbe door, shaking the snow from her dress. There was something distractingly mysterious about Ma'm'selle. All winter she bad been receiving weekly letters, which she insisted on going to fetch for herself. She grew absent-minded; and as she sat over her papers, or corrected tho children's French exercises, she smiled confidingly to herself in a way that suggested, in the most bewildering and tantalizing fashion, a world of delightful experiences into which we were not admitted. She came in that afternoon, and stood on tbe-hearth before tbe fire, holding her letters in her band. "I am sure you want to know" she said, looking up suddenly. No, there was nothing we wished to know. We were not curious. Wo were basely contented with our ignorance. Still, if Ma'm'selle bad any thing interesting to communicate, we would most willingly lend her our ears. v " It is a long story" she said, " and begins a long time ago, when I was a mere child —only fifteen." She seated herself on a low stool, and rested her bead against tbe fire-frame, so that tbe light sbone on her bair, and deepened its pale yollowr into gold. There was something excessively irritating in MaV- selle's beauty. Perhaps it was because she wore it with sucb a meekly triumphant air, as if it were something for ■which she was not to blame, and wbicb, out of consideration to us, she would take pains to forget. Whatever the reason might be, you were always sure to feel secretly annoyed with her for being so faultlessly beautiful. Although we admired ber, it was under protest, and, as Kate observed, there was a kind of lurking disapproval mingled with all our admiration. Ma'm'selle turned ber letters over in her baud, and said, in tbe quick low voice wbicb was habitual with ber, "Yes, I think I am glad it has come at last." Then looking up quickly, and beating ono band gently with, ber bundle of letters as she spoke, sbe said : "It was so long ago that it began, it seems as if it were in another life. It was like this: We were at Florence, my father and I. Our rooms, I remember, were just opposite tbe Pitti Palace, and below us was an English family. There was a milord and lady, besides troops of little children, and Miss Ethel and Leigb. Miss Ethel was quite a lady, and out in society, although sbe was not much older than I, while I wras always running about with tbe other children and tbe F https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/1009/thumbnail.jpg |
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