114 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



the backbone of the continent — the Rocky 

 Mountains. 



Approached from the plain, at first such eleva- 

 tions as the summit of Pike's Peak are dis- 

 cernible on the horizon, appearing like miniature 

 white tents, and later as marble domes surrounded 

 by pinnacles and buttresses of alabaster. Shortly 

 the region of the mountains below the snow-line 

 appears, and ultimately the panorama of giant 

 hills stretches from north to south as far as the 

 eye can reach. 



On the whole, like all great spectacles which 

 have excited the imagination, the reality is at 

 first sight disappointing, and the fact of attain- 

 ing an elevation of five thousand feet before a view 

 of the mountains is complete accounts for this. 

 But with every later hour spent in contempla- 

 tion the marvel grows. The early impression is 

 evanescent ; and each day, with its new visions of 

 color and form revealed in these mighty hills, adds 

 to the sense of their majesty. 



However, having viewed from the sea some of 

 the mountains in the islands of the tropics, notably 

 the Blue Mountain range of Jamaica, whose cen- 

 tral peak towers eight thousand feet abruptly 

 above the level of the ocean, such a mountain 

 chain more fully realized my ideas of grandeur 

 than did the mighty chain of the Rockies, whose 

 loftiest peaks are nearly twice as high. 



