Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1886 — THE GARDEN OF THE GODS. [ARTICLE]

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS.

he Wonderful Bights to Be Seen Near Colorado Springs. It is but a natural transition from he “Valley of the Angels" to “the .arden of the Gods”—a few weeks ago a the so mer, and now among the stone ods of the latter, 'lhe garden lies b mt five miles from Colorado Springs .ad two from Manitou, and is at the ery foothills of the Ilockies, and the esult of the erosion of huge masses of lighly colored sandstone. Formerly t massive ledge cropped out here, expend ng south toward Cheyenne Mounain. At first it was perhaps covered with earth and grass—the former the washings of the range—but the wind ind rain of centuries exposed it, and finally the ledge stood bare, and being extremely soft and friable it quickly wore away, not regularly, but here and here, soft portions giving way quickly, the harder parts showing greater resistance, so that now the stone remaining presents "the most grotesque and remarkable appearance imaginable. From the east the disconnected masses present a massive front; but viewing them from the north or northwest, what were apparently mountains are now seen to be thin slabs, of a curious and wedge-like appearance, as if rocks several hundred feet high had been shaved down to such an attenuation that they could hardly hold together, and in pairs and groups planted in the soil. I approached the garden in an unusual way—by horseback over the rolling prairie—and as we reached the last elevation before descending into this favored spot we stopped our horses and with them enjoyed the view. To the east a vast sea of rolling prairie, with here and there a white Spot, like a ship, telling of the great cattle interests of the State. Away to the west, almost above us, rose the Rockies, cut and seared by innumerable canyons, the ridges and ranges rising higher and higher, culminating in the -white-robed king, Pike’s Peak. On the north slope of Cheyenne Mountain is the grave of “H. H,,” facing the gateway of the grand canyon and the Garden of the Gods. Inimemediately at our feet the latter lay, a strange mixture of vivid greens—the carpet of grass—reds, whites aud grays —the latter the sandstone rocks. Some of the lofty monoliths had windows in their tops, where one might well imagine some Turkish morning call to prayers was made. A group of huge rocks to the left were divided, forming natural pillars several hundred feet high; and after winding down into the vailoy wo passed between these grim seutinels and were in the garden. At every turn the rocks take new shapes. Now they are slabs cut from some redhot volcanic rock and placed here by some Titanic worker to cool. So vivid are the tints, so utterly crude, vivid, and unharmonious, that we can almost feel the glow. A few steps on and all has changed. The slabs which have been pyramidalshaped monuments now seem to take human form, or resemble a group of mammoth ten-pins, and these huge bowlders on the mountain side are the balls with which the gods are wont to bowL But there are no gods here, as they could never have so long resisted the temptation to bowl some of these gigantic pins into the valley below. The road winds about among the ledges, so that the strange forms can be examined from any point, and perhaps at what is called the Man tou entrance are seen some of the most remarkable formations. Hero an acre or so is covered with stone toadstools, so exact that they might well bo taken for the gigantic growths of some former age hardened into stone and exposed as are the fossil forests of Arizona. In some the top portion was six or seven feet in diameter, wliilo the stem would be hardly as large as a man’s body. Evei’ywhere about here ruin aud disintegration was apparent. Great ledges ivero bent and broken, hanging in space ready to fall. Weird faces, contorted bodies, arms lifted up in supplication, strange, reptile-like forms—in fact, there was nothing that the imagination could picture but found a place in this motley assemblage. By the road, and destined some day to roll into it, stands a bowlder weighing perhaps a hundred tons, that can easily be rocked, so deftly lias it been balanced by wind and rain. North of the Garden of the Gods is a smaller continuation even more remarkable. This is Glen Erie, the pvoperty of Gen. William ,T. Rainier, who has converted the ontYe region into a beautiful park, throwing it open to the general public. The monoliths here are extremely peculiar. One rises to a height o.’ throe hundred feet and is scarcely six feet in diameter; enlarging at the top and leaning a trifle, it has the appearance of a grotesque human being or statue. It is i ailed the Majpr Domo, or, as an old Scotch lady informed me at a little house at the entrance, where curiouties were sold: “It were named a ter the Major Dormer.” —Letter from Co or ado.

A melodramatic, as well as scientific, picture of the inconvenience to tho living arising from tho presence of the dead is drawn by Dr. Eklund, of Stockholm. To remedy tho evils resulting from delay in burials and subsequent decomposition, the doctor proposes to render some simple process of embalmment compulsory, and suggests the creation of a corps of embalmers for that purpose. This plan rather runs counter to modern views on the subject of burial, which tend to favor methods allowing of rapid disintegration, and is, besides, far inferior to cremation both from a financial and a practical point of view. Notwith-

standing all that may be urged—and urged truly—against the practice of inhumation, it is a matter whereiD prejudice, custom, and a dislike ol .hnovation will long hold scientific arguments and methods in check, to the greater or less detriment of publichealth.