Jr. Pierce on the Catskill Mountains. 91 
~ — steeps and dispensing her influence over hills 
and plai 
We rose at dawn from a refreshing dsehes, to view the 
beauties of rising day. The eastern sky and clouds glowed 
in the morning light. The sun soon rose with a daz: 
splendor over the distant Taconnock mountains, but the 
immense valley of the Hudson was stillclad in gloom, 
Twilight is of shorter duration on elevated tracts than in 
valleys. ‘This probably arises from the rare air of the moun- 
tains having less refractive power. Objects in the valley 
were gradually disclosed. Here and there white fogs ap- 
peared, resting on the — But they were soon raised in 
clouds by the expansive er of the sun, and, ena with 
ma “The Fedion: fourteen miles distent, appeared to us 
near ‘the base of the mountain, diminished to the size of a 
rivulet or canal. Jt was in view from the Highlands to Al- 
bany, together with every city and village on its banks. 
Sloops, with all their canvass spread, appeared no larger than 
small sail-boats. The rising sun, gleaming on the waters of 
the Hudson and its auxiliary eacauee and on 
mountain and valley vel They 
appeared like crimson oo or lakes i fire. 
The mountains adjacent to Lake George, the. Green 
Mountains of Vermont, the rite ranges of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut, were in view, and their blue cloud like sum- 
mits seemed mingled with the distant sky. 
The Zz shkill mountain, a continuation of the primitive 
ranges of the Connecticut ;—the Highlands of New-York 
and New-Jersey, and the Shawangunk ridge were distinctly 
traced. The intervening space or valley of the Hudson, ex- 
‘hibited the appearance of an immense plain, an alternation 
of groves and cleared fields. “The hills were laid low and 
the valleys exalted.” 
Northward, looking down on the Pine orchard and oth- 
er prospect elevations, which from their base appeared of 
gigantic size, they now seemed depressed almost to a lev- 
el with the plain. We viewed the summits, ravines, lakes 
