of 



there was a short vertical one. The entire mass 

 slowly sank and settled two or three hundred 

 feet, then, with scarcely a pause, rose easily to 

 the level from which it sank. Only once did it 

 rise above this level. 



During all seasons of the year there are oft- 

 recurring periods when the mountains sit in 

 sunshine and all the winds are still. In days 

 of this kind the transcontinental passengers in 

 glass-bottomed airships would have a bird's- 

 eye view of sublime scenes. The purple forests, 

 the embowered, peaceful parks, the drifted 

 snows, the streams that fold and shine through 

 the forests, all these combine and cover mag- 

 nificently the billowed and broken distances, 

 while ever floating up from below are the soft, 

 ebbing, and intermittent songs from white water 

 that leaps in glory. 



Though the summits of the Rocky Mount- 

 ains are always cool, it is only in rare, brief 

 times that they fall within the frigid spell of 

 Farthest North and become cruelly cold. The 

 climate among these mountain- tops is much 

 milder than people far away imagine. 



84 



