Part 12 (1/2)

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

THE LONE MOUNTAIN VALLEY

A pass there was, sure enough, that opened between the cliffs like a great gate Why they had not perceived it sooner was because the gorge bent a little to the right before opening to this outlet; and, of course, the bend from a distance appeared to be the termination of the ravine

A hundred yards froate between the cliffs, and there a view opened before their eyes that filled their hearts with joy and admiration

Perhaps in all the world they could not have looked upon a ht before their faces, and somewhat below the level on which they stood, lay a valley It was nearly of a circular shape, and, perhaps, a league or more in circumference In the middle of this valley was a lake several hundred yards in diameter The whole bottohtly elevated above the water level, consisting of green meadows, beautifully interspersed with copses of shrubbery and clue of rich and varied colours What appeared to be droves of cattle and herds of deer were browsing on thearound the copses; while flocks of waterfowl disported themselves over the blue water of the lake

So park-like was the aspect of this sequestered valley, that the eyes of our travellers instinctively wandered over its surface in search of hus; and were only astonished at not perceiving either They looked for a house,--a noble mansion,--a palace to correspond to that fair park They looked for chi smoke No trace of all these could be detected A smoke there was, but it was not that of a fire It was a white vapour that rose near one side of the valley, curling upward like steam This surprised and puzzled them They could not tell what caused it, but they could tell that it was not the smoke of a fire

But the forreen ht have been seen elsewhere All these things ht occur, and do occur in arded as singular or remarkable It was not these that have led us to characterise the landscape in question as one of the ularity rested upon other circumstances

One of these circumstances was, that around the valley there appeared a dark belt of nearly equal breadth, that seeantic fence A little examination told that this dark belt was a line of cliffs, that, rising up from the level bottom on all sides, fronted the valley and the lake In other words, the valley was surrounded by a precipice In the distance it appeared only a few yards in height, but that ht be a deception of the eye

Above the black line another circular belt enco sides of bleak barren her up was formed by the snowy crests of the saes, there in rounded domes, or sharp cone-shaped peaks, that pierced the heavens far above the line of eternal snow

There seeular basin except over the line of black cliff The gap in which our travellers stood, and the ravine through which they had ascended appeared to be its only outlet; and this, filled as it was by glacier ice, raised the sum descent over a vast _debris_ of fallen rocks--the ”lacier itself-- afforded a path down to the bottom of the valley

For several e scene with feelings that partook of the nature of ad over theupon the crystallised snoere refracted to the eyes of the spectators in all the colours of the rainbow The snow itself in one place appeared of a roseate colour, while elsewhere it was streaked and olden hues The lake, too--here rippled by the sporting fowl, there lying calm and smooth--reflected from its blue disk the white cones of the reen foliage upon its shores

For hours Karl Linden could have gazed upon that fairy-like scene

Caspar, of ruder mould, was entranced by its beauty; and even the hunter of the plains--the native of palroves and cane fields--confessed he had never beheld so beautiful a landscape All of them ell acquainted with the Hindoo superstition concerning the Hi the more inaccessible peaks, the Brah and their ho at that ht be true Certainly, if it were true, some one of these deities, Vishnu, or Siva, or even Brahma himself, must dwell in that very valley that now lay before theendary sentiment soon vanished frory as wolves--and the ruling thought at thetheir appetites

With this intent, therefore, they strode forward out of the gap, and co towards the bottom of the valley

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

GRUNTING OXEN

There were several kinds of aniry hunters should choose those that were nearest for their gah in the flock there were individuals of different sizes, fro There were about a dozen in all, evidently of one kind, and the difference in size and other respects arose froe and sex

What sort of animals they were, not one of the party could tell Even Ossaroo did not know them He had never seen such creatures on the plains of India It was evident to all, however, that they were soeneral resemblance to anireatnearly as tall as a horse, and quite as tall reckoning from the top of the stately hu outward rose fro him the fierce aspect which characterises animals of the buffalo kind But his chief peculiarity lay in the drapery of long silky hair, that fro doard until its tips alave the anied, and the s themselves added to the effect

Karl could not help re in the old bull a considerable resemblance to the rare musk-ox of A seen stuffed specimens in the museums He noted, however, that there was one point in which the musk-ox differed essentially froard to the fail The musk-ox is almost tailless; or, rather, his fail is so s e creature before thee, which swept doard, full and wide, like the tail of a horse The colour of the bull's body appeared black in the distance, though, in reality, it was not black, but of a dark, chocolate brown; the tail, on the contrary, was snohite, which, froularity of the anie bull in the herd; evidently the lord and master of all the others These consisted of the fe The coere much smaller, scarce half the size of the old bull; their horns less

Of the young, there were sorown bull or heifer, to the calves lately dropped; which last were tearing about over the ground, and ga by the feet of their mothers

About these little creatures there was a peculiarity The long hair upon their flanks and sides had not yet made its appearance; but their whole coat was black and curly, just like that of a water-spaniel, or Newfoundland dog In the distance, they bore a striking reseht have fancied the herd to be a flock of buffaloes, with a nu about in their midst