Glimpses of America: A Pictorial and Descriptive History of Our Country's Scenic MarvelsBuel, James W. (James William)
History
Glimpses of America: A Pictorial and Descriptive History of Our Country's Scenic Marvels
Buel, James W. (James William)
United States -- Pictorial works
The two photographs on this page furnish us additional evidence of the
wonders and beauties of the scenic region embraced by the Garden of the
Gods and that immediate locality. There is no other place in the world
like it. Nature has run riot here in the manufacture of strange and
curious things. But the names which have been bestowed by chance upon
these curiosities are not always appropriate. Needle Rocks, for
instance, hear a much stronger resemblance to the ruins of some ancient
cathedral than they do to the useful and pointed instrument whose name
has been unadvisedly bestowed upon them. It is quite probable, however,
that the bold pioneer who first beheld and named them was more familiar
with needles than castles and cathedrals, and we can afford to let the
misnomer pass with the assurance that it was given in good faith, and it
certainly does not lessen the pleasure of beholding the object.
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[Illustration: MEDICINE ROCK, MONUMENT PARK.]
In after times, a new tribe came into the valley, and finding it
fruitful and inviting, they established their homes and prospered so
well that they soon grew mighty. For a long while no people were so
grateful and devout, so worshipful and kindly as they; but power always
begets arrogance, and in time these favored people became filled with
conceit and began to esteem themselves as the equals of Manitou and to
defy his power. This so offended the Great Spirit that he sent a mighty
host of monsters out of the north to punish the vain bigots who thus
contemned him. But some of the priests of the people had remained true
in their devotion, and these now interposed with Manitou and made many
offerings and sacrifices to appease his wrath. They so far prevailed
that many of the people also purged their hearts of all iniquity, and
Manitou was propitiated. As the host of monsters came swooping down,
like an army of invincible Centaurs, suddenly Pike’s Peak appeared as if
on fire, and the face of the Great Spirit was visible above it, shining
with a splendor greater than the sun. On the next instant that invading
army of satyrs and gorgons was changed to stone, and it is their bodies
that stand, and lie, and posture in strange incongruity in the Garden of
the Gods, Glen Eyrie, Bear Athol and Fiddler’s Green.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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