810 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



were the men of our party, then we began to 

 have some conception of the enormous dis- 

 tance. Fix your mind on some object about 

 a third of a mile from where you are looking, 

 and then try to realize that Grand Canyon is 

 just so deep straight dozvn. For instance, 

 the river below looned to us, where we stood, 

 as if one might jump across it. On our return 

 one of our men said that a preity good man 

 could just throw a stone across the stream. 

 What looked to us to be but litlle more than 

 a brooklet was a raging torrent or river as far 

 across as one can well throw a stone. Nu- 

 merous hot springs were sending their waters 

 out along the side of the cliff to join the 

 mighty torrent. 



I have not used any views of the falls nor of 

 the Grand Canj'on, for no camera can do 

 justice to such things. The instrument, like 

 the human eye, fails to grasp or tell of the 

 awful distances. The river at the bottom of 

 the canyon seems to come out of the side of 

 the mountain. It runs a little distance, and 

 then apparently runs into the solid rock again. 

 The guide tells you there is a passageway 

 through the rocks, but your stubborn senses 

 say there is no such thing — that there is a 

 solid, smooth rock, without any canyon or 

 opening for the river at all. 



The number of hot springs that empty into 

 Yellowstone River along through Grand Can- 

 yon actually raise the temperature fully tw enty 

 degrees. We greatly regretted that none of 

 our party had a field-glass nor even an opera- 

 glass to help us take in the wonderful view 

 spread out before us. The colors on the rocky 

 cliffs all along the Grand Canyon, especially 

 those seen from Inspiration Point, are, when 

 illuminated by the sun at the proper angle, 

 simply gorgeous. A beautiful display of 

 autumn tints from a forest of maples gives 

 one as near an idea of it as any thing I know of. 



Lack of health and strength prevented me 

 from making explorations that I otherwise 

 would have made. On the point of one of the 

 inaccessible crags we saw an eagle with her 

 young near the nest. The eaglets were nearly 

 old enough to fly, and we could imagine the 

 mother pushing them off, and then bearing 

 them up as we read about when they are un- 

 able to make the point desired. 



OUR 

 HOMES, 



BY A.I. R OOT. 



God is our refuge and strength, a very present' help 

 in trouble. — Psalm 4(5 : 1. 



I have just been telling you that I did not 

 enjoy my trip at the great center of Yellow- 

 stone Park, the Grand Canyon, as I should 

 have done had I been in better health." So far 

 during my visit in the park, my wheel, on 

 which I had depended so much, had given me 

 but little pleasure or satisfaction. During the 

 forenoon Satan had been whispering that I 

 was getting to be too old to enjoy scenery or 



travels, and, in fact, that my usefttlness for 

 any thing was pretty much over. He whis- 

 pered that the wonderful revelation of latter 

 years, the "second wind," was all right for 

 younger people, but that, after a man was to- 

 ward sixiy, he was pretty well past such 

 things ; and I do not know but I got into the 

 rut that I was not going to live very long, and 

 that I should probabl}' be miserable the rest of 

 the time I did live. Dear reader, does Satan 

 ever tempt you in that way ? I felt a good 

 deal discouraged that forenoon. Right where 

 I should have been finding so much enjoy- 

 ment in studying God's wonderful works I 

 was not happy. Then Satan kept on. He 

 said this world did not amount to very much, 

 any way ; that I had seen pretty much all of 

 it, and had wasted lots of money in doing so. 

 He suggested that I was losing my power and 

 influence as a writer, and that I might about 

 as well give up the Home Papers, for I should 

 have to pretty soon anyway. Do some of you 

 inquire where that little prayer of mine had 

 gone to that it should Vie entirely out of sight 

 at such a time? Well, it did finally begin to 

 assert itself ; and, even if I was too weak and 

 indolent to utter a prayer, I heard its familiar 

 ring, " Lord, help." 



The easy coach was just coming up to the 

 beautiful Wylie camp. I sprang otit, and went 

 straight to my little tent. I tied the curtains 

 up close, although it was a beautiful warm 

 day, and knelt on the carpeted ground beside 

 my little bed, and prayed. The thought em- 

 bodied in our little text was uppermost in my 

 mind. I do not know just why, but that word 

 " strength " took a wonderful hold of me. We 

 were right in the neighborhood of Mt. Wash- 

 ington ; but I had to give up climbing it, be- 

 cause I did not believe I could stand the trip. 

 I had tried climbing some down in the Grand 

 Canyon and up the cliff, but both strength and 

 enthusiasm seemed lacking. I closed my lit- 

 tle prayer with an earnest appeal for physical 

 strength. Perhaps my words were something 

 like these : " O Lord, if it be consistent with 

 thy will, give me physical strength. Forgive 

 my want of faith, and rebuke the tempting 

 spirit that has been round about me, by giv- 

 ing me physical strength that I may honor 

 thee during the rest of my life, and serve my 

 fellow-men." 



Now, I did not at once feel any stronger aft- 

 er that little season of prayer all by myself, 

 but I felt a degree of peace I had not enjoyed 

 before during the day. I felt that I could 

 trust my heavenly Father. I made a strong 

 resohition not to borrow trouble, nor to worry 

 about the future. Early in the afternoon our 

 coach would reach Norris Basin, where I had 

 left my wheel. I asked the driver if I might 

 try the wheel for a mile or two, and see if I 

 was strong enough to ride it, and then have 

 him pick me up if I couldn't. He suggested 

 that, if I was in doubt in regard to the matter, 

 I had better ride all the way in the coach, for 

 it would be considerable trouble to tie the 

 wheel on, and they cotild do it better at the 

 stopping-place than anywhere else. There 

 was a temptation to choose the easy way of 

 riding in the coach, that would not require 



