TIIE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: OCTOBER 3, 1909.
Cherry County a Land of Lovely Scenery and Properous Ranchers
c
1TF.RRY county 1 the largest of Ing, continues Its turbulent course to JJi
nil the rountles tn Nebraska.
It Is Increasing both in wealth
rd population and the public
lands are fast being occupied.
At the prosent time the rountv eighty-five feet without a break and then
Niobrara 200 feet below.
The Ariknree are not onlv the highest,
but also the most beautiful fall In the
atat. The beautiful aheet of water falls
has a population of lS.noo and a valuation
of $16.0nn()n. jt na, m miles of railroad
with eleven railroad stations within It
borders. The county has three developed
water powers, one flouring mill, eiRhl
banks and tin' elevator, about 6o0 miles of
public hlphway and nearly every farmer
or ranchman In the county owns his faint
Cherry county Ir not only one of the
best watered counties of the state, but has
more good, practically developed water
powrs than any other section of the state.
In the matter of natural scenery no other
county or croup of counties can compare
with It. With many excellent lakes and a
network of streams fairly equally fls-
trlbutid over the entire county, Its rivers
are famous not only for the pure wa'.cr,
but also for the rugged beauty of their
banks. The N!obrars. the Loup, the Schh--l,
the Snake, the Mlnnechadtiza, the
Fairfield, the Bordman and Seven Creeks,
each has some particular form of beauty
that makes It noted.
The Bchirgel flows through a dark ravine
100 feet deep In places, whose banks are
covered with largo pine trees which meet
above the stream, forming an arch through
which the sun cannot penetrate, ma kin
an Ideal place for picnics and trout fishing.
The Mlnnechailii7.a, the famous Swift
over another narrow ledge fifteen feet
farther. Niagara appeals tn you by Its
grandeur, but the Ailkaree by l's dainty
beauty far surpasses any other falls In the
west.
Cherry county Is ninety-six miles In
lcncth from weft to east. The Niobrara
river flows across the entire county. The
Snake river, to the south, flows through
about two-thirds of the county and then
Joins the Niobrara. These two a. reams
have recently been surveyed with a view
of determining their capacity for furnishing
water power for electric l.ghtlng and
manufacturing purposes. It Is generally
conceded that these two streams combined
have about twenty good practical unde
veloped water powers. Within four miles
of Valentine the water power Is now being
surveyed on the Niobrara that will furnlh
4.000-hors power for 1W6 days In the year
at twenty-four houra per day.
The Niobrara river Is one of the swiftest
rtictims In the state. Its volume of water
ranges from BOO to 1.000 cubic feet per eo
ond at Valentine and from 1 000 to 2.000 feet
per sreond at Nl brara. The river is swift,
usually shallow and little affected by storm
waters except near its mouth. It is sup
plied with water from many spring-fed
. ,. '
m WW
VALENTINE HIGH SCHOOL.
. rr
' i'tiel1'
AV't A ...V
.til V:i
DISTRICT SCHOOL NO.
stream Issuing from ravines and canyons, every two or three years. These farmers sixty-one frame houses, five log houses,
one of the best known of which is Long are beginning to realize that this Is on nd Hvs sod huts. Many schools are still
- ... u. ' ' . , , .. Pns canyon. Nearly all of the tributary of the best, most practical and most profit- n1" In an unused room of a dwelling or
Water of the Sioux Indians, from It .... ,. .. .., , 1V, ...... 1 K ( . ,., .v...,. . . .
vtic-r.iiin kiv 11m iiiftui nnrj ui vtiv ftuil HVJJB Itlty L'Hn grow on ineir Vrmn, rjmv. irKJIIcrB YHry 111
Niobrara Is narrow and about 300 feet deep and they are beginning to learn that In professional training from those Just able
below the upland. Tho valley contains many parts pf the county, formerly con- to get a thlrJ grade certificate to those
Ing
of
source to Its mouth Is a stream of beauty
unsurpassed In this or any other state.
iiiung in oum L'anoia. jusi norm 01 h . .,, 1. .ha vietnitv nt i,w.rt nr tnr. t.,. havlnar life rrtmi. rani ,,.1
Georgia, It flows dreamily along valentine tha trunk valley Is bounded by seems to be especially adapted to some of verslty diplomas. The highest professional
through fertile valleys until, near- -tMn -Mes arM narrow r.nvons The river this land. Th. Is rm nnaatlnn hn what spirit Is manifested hv th teaehers In si.
Valentine. It catchea the aplrlt afforai W1ier for stock, domestio and Irrl- this county will for many, many years to tendance upon the seven association meet-
the place and Comes rumbling H,.n mirnn... mnA In tlm Its ist.r Mini, cotnu lia an (Tl.nilva .tnrlc n K,,l InKS held Within th vr Tha ' lu
and tumbling with a rush and roar until er. wm b, developed. It la equally plain that the dairying Indue- almost without exception do the reading
It is embraced by the Oilman dam. The gut few people in Nebraska have any try will become a principal source of In- circle work as outlined by tne state read-
artlflclsl lake made by Its pent-up waters definite conception of the scenery In Cherry come to the average farmer. The growing Ing circle board and annually write a thesis
is not only the most beautiful, but also one county. There are many points that are of potatoes Is becoming more prominent UPP some subject assigned at the Instl-
of the largest of its kind in the state, sure to become popular summer resorts In year after year. Last year these farmers tute.
The Niobrara State fish hatchery Is lo- the course of time. There Is everything to grew 4.7BO acres of potatoes, and It is Recognising the desire of the teachers for
rated on its banks and one can see all make this part of the state a delightful forming In some parts of the county their progress the state has located a Junior
forms of fish life, from the egg to the summer retreat. In no part of Nebraska principal Income. The milling business la Normal here, which has been doing excel-
seven-pound bass. On Its bosom floats all Is there as good fishing for black bass as considerably gaining ground, and last year lent work for alx years. Teachers and
sorts of boats flshboats, rowhoats and a the lakes of this county, and there are there were shipped out from the county students at Valentine form a large, happy,
splendid gasoline launch. Its beauty Is four streams that afford excellent trout 660,000 pounds of flour. mutually helpful family and they are
further enhanced by the flowers and ever- fishing. The hunting Is still excellent In In the raising and marketing of horses, helped In many ways by the genial citi-
greens that fringe its banks. many parts of the county. Small game Is Cherry county stands third among the sens of the city on the Minnechaduxa.
The fcnake, so named by the Indiana on abundant almost everywhere. Thirty-four counties of the state. Last year, these Valentine, the county seat of Cherry
county, a town of 1,500 people. Is the cap
ital of the largest subdivision of the state
of Nebraska. Time was whr the vast
area of Cherry county was almost entirely
given over to Immense herds of cattle
when the festive cowboy was its chief In
habitant and when the annual roundup
was the chief diversion of the natives. But
with the passage of years all this has
altered. The vast herds have gradually
melted away before the steady advance
of the small stockmen and the farmer and
the broad pralrles'atid rolling hills of the
county are being dotted with the homes of
prosperous and progressive settlers and
with their Inevitable accompaniment the
little white school house.
Valentine, as the center of activity . of
the county, used to share the reputation of
the county and was regarded entirely as
a frontier town. Whatever basis there may
have been for this reputation In the past.
It has been burled in the steady onrush of
advancing civilization and today the resi
dents of Valentine can truthfully boast
that no quieter, more orderly and more
homelike community exists In northern
Nebraska. No one who has not seen the
town In Its early days en fully realize the
change that has taken place In every par
ticular nor what energy and resourceful
ness must have been the attributes of the
early settlers and their successors of today.
'" :: " -'' " .1. ' ; .. ' ' ' 7 ' '
t ' . ' - -
': ' ' i . t
rxf ' y : .. y v- -
I ..."liar "Va
L... , , ,
4
'N'
.v
V
) -1
,
" v.
.X.
GROUP OF COUNCIL BLUFFS HUNTERS IN CHERRY COUNTT.
account of Its winding course, is perhaps distinct kinds of fish abound In the waters farmers shipped out about 4.000 head of a
the most remarkable river in the siate. of Nebraska and In Cherry county's lakes Rood grade of work horses. The live stock which have enabled them to build the
For miles it lias cut Its way through solid nd streams will be found half of these industry of the county, however. Is cen- present busy little city of enterprising
rock, forming chuams or canyons over 100 varieties. Qne hundred and fifty distinct tered on the oattle business. Last year commercial concerns and of comfortable
feet 'in depth whose precipitous sides can- B,,"clP8 of wlld eraB" are found ln th0 her' "?nt r0m thl" .0U"ty.tO home" up,m wnat wenty,lve vears
not be bcaled by man or beast This Is ,,t' about on-4"rtr of which are found Omaha packing houses or the feed yards a treeless waste of sandy prairie. It
essentially the lake region of Nebraska uhrr' county. Seventy-one species of n the eastern part of the state, 32,500 head hg1 become ln a few years a town of
and there is hardly a township ln our tree grow wlld ln tne ",ate and' and whlle 0f ca,tle be8ldes 4 500 fat hoBS and 800 stately trees, green lawns, flowers and
broad urta but has one or more beautiful ChrTry county has considerable timber mutton sheep. shrubs and all that goes to indicate the
lakes. Mot of them are sprlng-f.d and. itlln " borders it Is not composr-d of a In the early settlement of Cherry eounty, ha,bUude of refined and cultivated people,
consequently, the waters uie cool and clear ,urR8 variety. It is doubtful If there Is any one of the first things that these pioneer The crU(1ities and inconveniences of early
as crystal. This county ha more falK l"11 1 of the ,ate that h "" b"n- provided for was the public school, and d hJkve ..n way to au of the refine-
wlil.r falls, higher falls and more beautl- dance of "'blrds as these narrow valleys from earliest existence of the county these m,nU of hom. comfort that BCletitlflc
ful falls than any other eounty in the l;l -''' county. Of the 140 varieties of citizens have taken a deep interest ln and architectural art have devised,
state. The rear of the Stlnard fails can uil" "un1 ' Nebraska, nearly two-thtrds everything pertaining to the public school. v " interiors of Valentine homes
bo Heard long before you reach thtw. ana 01 ,,lrm w" DO l"na county, ana in. .iree scnooi aisinct was organise in comfortable but ln many
It requires skill tn ciluibiiii; to reach iii -- - -- luxurious Nothing in the history
exac t point where they can be seen to toe n l" itnb and deep canyons along the tine now stands. The one room structure e " "bee more Piea
best advttUe. Tlry fall ...tn. twenty -trn... has been replaced by a modern brick JSt
eet oer a perpe.idl.-uia.- rock and tlu- Cherry eounty la. first of all. a stock building of twelve rooms with all neces- nt and charaotr"" r
. 1 f.u a .J . n,..w ...H sary Improvements. There are now 117 dls- the town than the way in which the good
. ... ..... ... ... trtota which nav annually to their teachers people of Valentine have tnrown open
lartM 111 ll.e MUie, hi;:i. 11 vi-tr 11 uu- nsy vuunir). xiua couiiey tuiiiaiiia x.ii.n, - , . . .
cbserver n if the river was dammed at acres In farms with M.700 acres under cul- J28.56S.90. The average wage Is $36. tho their homes to normal student in an ef-
thls point. The brlelal veil Is formed by tlvation. Last year the county used 219000 highest $125. There are $.481 children of fort to make them feel at home.
nu.ny divisions of the streamwhich, flow- acres as meadow or hay land. Farmers of school age. for whom are provided seventy- Being distinguished beyond all its nelgh-
Iuk over a huge boul.ler. drops fifty feet the present time have 2,600 acres seeded to four "chool buildings, like the nursery bors by the possession of a natural supply
to the next stopping place and then, unit- alfalfa and this acreage is being doubled rhyme, one brick house, one stone house, 0f building ton Valentin baa been abla
to give to its business section an air of
solidity and established character (not ob
tainable otherwise. Its rows of handsome,
stone buildings are a fitting indication of
the character of the stocks within the
stores and of the enterprise) of the men
who own them, and Its two banks with av
erage deposits of over a third of a million
dollars bespeak the prosperity of Its cltl
ens generally. There are electric lights
which have been In use for a number of
years and the capacity of the water power
plant which supplies them la taxed to the
utmost.
Valentine is the horns of the United
States land office, where thousands of
homemakers have mad and completed
their contract with a beneficent govern
ment, and also of the weather bureau
office, which Is In charge of a trained ob
server. There ar four churches, the larg
est of them built of stone, each of them
with a comfortable parsonage and all of
them out of debs, There is a large publio
rest room; there Is a splendid fraternal
lodge hall; there Is a good opera house and
the imposing court house of Cherry county.
The echool building Is the largest and best
arranged ln this section of the state.
On every hand are to be seen newly
planted trees, miles of new cement walks
and other Improvements, all man's handi
work, but neither has nature herself failed
to do her part in making Valentine a pleas
ant place to live. The town is beautifully
situated on a broad plateau within a curve
of the Niobrara river, which flows on the
south and east, while on the north rise
the high bluffs which overhang the canyon
of the beautiful Mlnnechaduza. Man has
assisted and improved upon nature and the
result Is both a pleasure and a surprise to
those who have not seen the capital of the
so-called sandhills, with Its enterprising
business men and its hospitable citizens
equally interested in everything that will
assist ln general education.
Of Cherry county comparatively little Is
known by the outside world. That such a
county exists Is a matter of common knowl
edge, but with present day conditions in
the county few are famjllar. Twenty years
ago this vast territory was not the civ
ilized county it is today. The white man
who went there to live looked for a life
of rough work and danger, but the very
fact that the homesteader from the east
faced the uncertainty of these daya to
enjoy the certainty of prosperity is Its
greatest testimony. Perhaps the most re
markable charact4i1stic of this county is
that It ' Is one of the few counties where
the farmer and stockman are living side
by side.
Lands are low in price. Many good quar
ter sections of land out from three to eight
miles from Valentine can be purchased for
from $5 to $15 per acre.
No prophet could foretell the events of
the last few years and their results. For
more than twenty years the cattleman and
the homesteader have been occupying the
middle part of this county, but they have
just begun to learn how to us It, how to
enrich themselves from it, how to enjoy it,
how really to feel the mastery over It. New
generations are coming on the stage, new
enterprises ar being developed, new ter
ritory 1 being opened through the adapt
ing of now farming method to the exist
ing conditions. It Is an unending proces
sion of homeseekers and homebullder and
It continues today with as regular a move
ment as It possessed tea years ago. It is
84. CHERRY COUNTT.-From a Phot
one of the great factors In the develop
ment of Cherry county.
The United States land office at Valen
tine commenced doing business on July 2,
18S3, and has been busily engaged In help
ing the people to become the owners of
government land ever sine that date.
Jamea Morris was register and J. Wesley
Tucker was receiver when the office
opened. Sine opening over 19.000 homested
entries, over 1,800 timber culture entries
and many thousand cash sales have been
mad. Whan the offlc opened there were
several million acre of vacant lands to
be disposed of. Now the amount has
dwindled to 800,000, a large area when taken
in on body, but not so large when It is
divided Into 640-acr homesteads under th
famous KlnkaJd act
The district now embrace the greater
part of Reek, Brown, Keya Paha and
Cherry counties. Th first three counties
named have become so well populated un
der th workings of the Klnkald act that
thero Is no longer any desirable lands va
cant In these counties in large tracts, there
fore the scene of activity has been trans
ferred to Cherry county, much the larger
of the four. The distance from the rail
roads of large area of this county has
tended to keep much land In the hands of
the large cattlemen, but the growing scarc
ity of free lands farther east ha driven
the advancing army of settler Into the in
terior and the day of th roving herd Is
almost past In a territory which may
best be described as lying in' the center of
the county, about midway between the
Northwestern and th Burlington railroad
lines, lie many thousands of acres of gov
ernment lands yet vacant, among which
the Intending settler may find a home. If
he has energy and Industry and the pa
tience to live many miles from railroads
and towns and to wait for the happy time
when a railroad will surely wend It way
o Made by the Teacher.
through the Interior of the great emplr of
Cherry. This land Is mostly rolling, graz
ing tandy loam, but here and there may
be found tho little "dry valleys" which will
allow of cultivation and form little oases
In which to raise food for the family and
feed for the herds which should roam over
every .foot of Cherry county land.
The new settler should have a little capi
tal upon which to make his start, with
which to erect his dwelling and buy a few
head of cows as well as energy and per
severance. The day In which rich farming
land was to be had from Unci Sam for
the asking has passed, but with a section
of Cherry county grazing land, inoludlng a
little tillable laud, the man who 1 not
afraid of work can make hi way.
Th Kinkald act provide that any peron
who ha a homestead right ln th United
States may enter 640 acres In thl district,
or If he ha exhausted his homestead right
elsewhere, he may enter 480 acres here.
Th act differ from th general homestead
laws only In the size of the homesteads
which may be entered, that such entries
may not be commuted to cash, and th
provision that when proof Is made th
settler must show that he has expended
ln money, labor and materials the sum of
$1.25, multiplied by the number of acre In
his entry, for Improvements, or. $s00 for a
section of land. Whether the act has been
a success may be judged from the fact that
the voting population of Cherry county has
Increased more than 50 per cent since th
act went Into operation.
The records of the United State weather
bureau office at Valentine show that th
average rainfall Im about twenty-one inches
and that tho so-called "drouth" Is no mora
to be feared here than it Is ln the thickly
settled middle western states, only on
such period having been noted ln th
twenty years ln which the office has been
located here. Luke M. Kates Is register
and E. Olson Is receiver of the land offlc,
having been appointed In February, 1906.
.J 'i ' i - j ' - - V-V---
t .
.
v
1
1
.
. 'i
i i 1
V
ON A HORSE RANCH IX CHERRY COUNTY.
CHIEF TWO STRIKE, A NOTED SIOUX WHO FREQUENTLY VISITED VALENTINE.
Gossip About Noted People
lain-I.IWe Mr. Wli'krrauaiu.
HE attorney general of the
United Slates. Samuel Oeorge
Woodward Wickersham. has
every clam that ever lived
happily In a mud flat lashed
to the mast for mumness.
T
That Is to say, he dIJ have when he first
bigan to hung up his hat In his new
Wuxhlngton office, comments Human Life.
It's a little different now; he's "opnned
up" somewhat. They all have to, you
know, sooner or later. You ca.n't be a
top-n,otcher in officialdom ami work the
dumb and aloof act on the newspapermen
forever. ' For that way political death
lis.
YVK'kersham's all right, and he knows
law from the ground floor up. but tne
trouble with htm was he didn't tumble on
to the difference quick enough between
practicing law for himself and doing It
for the government. The Job be had been
holding down In New York was a gilt
edge one. II only had to deal with mil
item at re and corporation client, and you
couldn't get within I.euO yard of him un
less you first had a very private appoint
ment, and then eucc&etled, when the tlm
came, in sliding by about twenty.thre
outside offlc clerks. Th limelight h
hated, seldom or never appeared In court,
kept his business tongue anchored 00 four
aide, and would a soon think of com
mitting suiclile as "talking for publication."
So you tee when he started in punishing
the time register on Ills new Job at the
cr.pltol. he had several hubits that got
him "!n rong" with the Potomac popu
lation. But, a w remarked before, he's
doing better now, thank you. The last we
heard he was able to alt up and talk a
few minutes with a correspondent every
other (.ay, without feeling any ill effects.
WU'kersham was with strong & Cad
walader. one of the "classiest" legal out
fits In the burg of Manhattan. To lapse
Into foot ball lingo, his play on the team
was to open up holes In . the opponent's
line, bo that his corporation client could
deHlge through behind him with the ball
for a touchdown. Quite as frequently
"his master's voie-e." the corporation
coaches, gave him the signal for a trick
play around the end that would put th
interstate commerce law out of business.
In other words, he was a corporation law
yer, and presumably It was up to him
to find a way whereby his calossal client
eould increase their interests and Income
by evading some law that Unci Samuel
had put on the books for th benefit of
the common people. W say "presum
ably," for to our way of thinking, thr
would be mighty few big corporation
holding up th public by the throat today
if some law or other hadn't bea vad4.
And without th big corporations where.
pray, would be the corporation lawyer?
Having been such. Mr. Wickersham
should know the links of the trade, the
tamo observation holellng good also uf liiosv
other gove riinieiil ntle'iuen know 11 by
the name of Knox, Hoot, Ballluger, Nagel.
el al. They've all had the trusts fur
cllenu. and they all know well enough how
the "trimming" In done. The trouble Is,
however, the powerful "interests" still have
their claws on them. If any one of them,
say Wickersham, had the grit and ginger
of a Roosevelt, he'd break away from the
modern bandits, put the screws on 'em,
make 'eta squeak, crawl in the dust, give
up, come to time, live straight, turn over
a new leaf, yank the poisoned fangs out
of 'em, If he'd serve his country in that
fine fashion, he'd carve a name for him
self way up on the cornice beside O.
Washington's. But, Lord bless you, th
trusts, seemingly, "doth make cowards
of them all," to borrow a phrase from
Hamlet.
Wickersham Is not pf the log-cabin
brand. His family, waa well off. He
honored Lehigh university years ago by
studying engineering there, and JUehign
returned the compliment last June by giv
ing him an LL.D. lie later switched over
from the engineering to law, however,
graduating from the University of Penn
sylvania, clae of lftSO. He has several
languagea at the tip of his tongue, knows
a lot about music and art, shows up
regularly at the opera, loves horses and
rare prints and can put up a pretty fair
gam of golf. Ha two children, a mar
ried daughter and a son who Is tanking
up on law at Harvard! Ladle and gentle
men, allow us to present Qorg
Woodward WlekerahaJii, attorney general
of the United States.
Health of Multimillionaires.
James J. Hill and his Summit avenue
neighbor in St. Paul, Frederick Weyer
liausfcr, are men who have piled up im
mense wealth by hard work and both are
as round physically as the gold they rep
resent, says the New York Press. Weyer
hauser ha taken it easier in recent years
than he el id when laying the foundation
of his fortune. He knows the natural
growth of timber on his vast possessions
tnilchea him year after year more than
would the amount he paid for his lands
If placed In any other Investment. Nature
is working for Mm month In and month
out. There is nothing to worry him ex
cept forrat fires, and these are guarded
ut-alnM a much as possible. But to rl
from a man working at manual labor
ln Pittsburg at $10 or $12 a week to one
estimated by many to be the wealthiest
in the United Statea must represent hard
work and lots of it, and still Weytrhauser
Is in vigorous manhood.
Prison Built by Americans
(Continued from Page One )
Territorials were encamped In our
neighborhood for a fortnight and
th whole countryside for miles
around turned out to see them. The first
week happened to be one of real Dartmoor
mists and driving rain, and th men told
m they could neither II nor sit down be
cause of th water in their tenta. Th to.
liu week was on of blaalng sunshine,
and as I watched the (iscoiiuited young
sters of the week previous fooling It In to
Plymouth. their lobster colored faoes
rtreaming with perspiration and coats un
buttoned, I overhe-aid a Jovial old farmer
remark to a aiuart looking officer who was
doing his best to look cool:
"Well, you've 'ad you're 'oliday, now
you be goin' back to work, I s'pose."
Though the young fellow refrained from
replying, I have no doubt he reflected on
the questionable pleasures of his holiday.
The Inhabitants at flrat strongly opposed
th military authorities and at one place a
woman fought them successfully. Tar
gets had been set up and the red flag flut
tered ln the breeze. But dasplt these sig
nals of danger a dauntless woman mached
up to them and comfortubly seating her
self, took out a packet of sandwiches, de
claring her Intention of spending th day
ther.
1
Th amazed military official protested,
remonstrated, entreated, but ln vain. Th
lady proceeded to munch at her sand
wiches and defied them to fir. She gained
the day, and this particular spot has never
betn Intorfered with since.
When walking over th moor you often
ee huge patches of white on th distant
hills which look like snow. These ar the
china clay works and many ar still In
operation, for th clay ln ita finest 'form
haa a variety of usa. America Imports
some for th manufacture of artificial
teeth, Paris employe some for ita con
fectionery, some Is used In th Stafford
shir potteries for porcelain, some Is used
for adulterating flour and for putting a
uifao on paper, while th remalner goes
to plasterer and mason and is vtu sold
for gravelling garden paths.
With th working of the china clay and
the granite quarries it becam necessary
to find a means of conveying th produce
to the aeaport, and In consequence of this
Dartmoor la the proud possessor of the
flrat railway In Devonshire. At the be
ginning of th nineteenth century a horse
railway track was laid connecting Pflnce
town and Plymouth, and the little alngl
narrow gauge line now running still fol
lows the same route.
The line winds 'In and out among the
tors until It reaches th grim, forbidding,
sombre looking capital of th moor whose
little square towered church ha aerved as
a guid to many a benighted snowbound
traveller on th vast and Inhospitable tract
beneath. A w begin th slow descent we
skim around the summit of n rocky tor
whose sides, ripped open by the hand of
the "Improver" man, display a new and
ugly looking wound about which gre.it
granite boulders 11 strewn In all directions.
W ar thankful when a sharp turn In the
lin hides this from view, and a moment
later we feel a thrill of pleasure and peace
ful solemnity as our eager eyes gase first
from one window, then the other.
For then doe beside the trark and
stretching beyond In gentle undulations Is
a gloriously colored wilderness of purple
and gold heather, gorse and brarken
broken st Intervsls by lli-hen covered rocks;
below us msny tiny rocks rlverlets gleam
Ilk (liver threads In the narrow green
valleys from which, stretching upward,
r bewildering fields of every size and
shape and hue enclosed by perfect hedge
of tree. There are fields of brilliant grten
with browsing cattle, there ar fields of
yellow rouauud, of guldsn corn, of rich
crimson and copper colored soli and ther
are forests of ancient well formed tree
moving gently ln the drying wind.
Yet another bend and we look back up
over the way we have come and the bold
line of hills whose summits stand out
sharply atrainst the sky. Now we get
glimpses of sheltered villages, the towers
of whose anclwnt churches peep out from
the mass of surrounding trees. Then we
see a sheet of water which Indicate the
whereabouts of Plymouth "and beyond and
around this rang Is range after rang of
hill the hllla of Cornwall turning a
misty blue grny In the evening light.
As we descend Into the valley the sun
sinks slowly, yet all too quickly, behind a
bank of cloud, lining and edging It with
gold. The sky above Is a deep Indigo
blue when, as if by magic, there come a
break in the cloud and the heaven la
ablaze with fire like a blacksmith's forge.
The cloud, now broken Into a thousand
pieces tipped with soft pink, hover llk.i
an angel with wide, protecting winga out
stretched, and as the glory of the heavens
and the wildness of the land beget in us
a calm and restful fe-ellng we Imagine for
the moment that w ar living far away
from the world of work and worry.
What wonder that Devonians love their
lard; what wonder, too, that Dartmoor
with its pure fresh air and exquisite wild
ness ten.pts Uioa who ar seeking health
and quiet to come and bury themselvea In
Ita aecluslon. for few ,pot. ar. mor ,.
presalve than th granit heaving moor
lands, whereon we dimly trace:
Tr'dra'ceary 0't"teP, many a vanished
A wildernes of heath, a paradis of gold.
1(hV!.ry "ncl"nt pathway 1 uwr
with stories old.