VALLEYS, PLAINS, AND LOWLANDS 



241 



rounded by heavy timber. The open coun- 

 try, where the sun shines through the shade, 

 where the soil is free from rock and the 

 tree from moss, is the better abiding-place. 

 In such a country man moves hither and 

 thither with greater ease, the climatic condi- 

 tions are more endurable, the earth is more 

 arable, the rainfall more equable. 



As we descend from the mountains this open 

 country first appears in the table-lands or up- 

 land plateaus. They are usually high above 

 sea-level, sometimes several thousand feet ; and 

 in appearance they have something of the 

 rugged-broken surface characteristic of moun- 

 tains, mingled with features peculiar to the 

 prairies. These table-lands are often open, tree- 

 less regions, and are generally arid. The atmos- 

 phere above them is dry, and so clear that 

 objects appear nearer than they really are 

 outlines of mountains, for instance, showing 

 very distinct, though many miles away. On al- 

 most all the high plateaus distances are decep- 

 tive, lights are brilliant, and the blue sky above 

 glows with a wonderful intensity, and not infre- 

 quently with a violet tinge about it. 



The Montana table-lands are perhaps excep- 

 tional. They are full of abrupt breaks, with 



