CHAPTER XXXIV 



CAPTURING A RED BEAR 



THE higher we get the more imposing do the moun- 

 tains become ; wild, dark chasms, sharp, rugged 

 cliffs, and bare, weather-beaten precipices surround 

 us on all sides. 



Old Father Time has produced these wonders, 

 and Mother Nature has brought all her powers to 

 bear upon these mountains. Sun and frost, heat 

 and cold, air and water, ice and snow, every plant, 

 from the finest blade of grass to the sturdiest oak, 

 every creature, from the smallest worm to man him- 

 self, gnaws at their vitals. 



Water is the mountains' worst enemy. Every 

 drop helps to hollow out the stone ; rivulets and 

 streamlets chisel out channels for themselves and fill 

 up every hole and crevice, so that later on, when 

 frozen hard, not even the largest rocks can with- 

 stand their pressure. Nature is never idle quarries 

 are made picturesque, and life and beauty instilled 

 into all objects that her finger touches. A few 

 isolated, tall trees triumph above the rocks. They 



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