(Poc% (mountain Tl?onber(anb 



known high mountain. It has given mountain- 

 top pleasure to more people than any other 

 fourteen thousand foot summit of the earth. 

 One million persons have walked upon its sum- 

 mit, and probably two million others have 

 climbed well up its slopes. Only a few thousand 

 climbers have reached the top of Mont Blanc. 

 Pike's is a peak for the multitude. 



Climbing it is comparatively easy. It stands 

 in a mild, arid climate, and has scanty snowfall; 

 there are but few precipitous walls, no danger- 

 ous ice-fields ; and up most of its slopes any one 

 may ramble. One may go up on foot, on horse- 

 back, in a carriage, or by railroad, or even by 

 automobile. It is not only easy of ascent, but 

 also easy of access. It is on the edge of the plains, 

 and a number of railroads cross its very foot. 



This peak affords a unique view, — wide 

 plains to the east, high peaks to the west. Sixty 

 thousand or more square miles are visible from 

 the summit. It towers far above the plains, 

 whose streams, hills, and level spaces stretch 

 away a vast flat picture. To the west it com- 

 mands a wondrous array of mountain topog- 



296 



