Paid tribute to his eyrie. It was perched
Higher than human conqueror ever built
His bannered fort. * * *
* * * fie clove the adverse storm
And cuffed it with his wings. He stopped his flight
As easily as the Arab reins his steed,
And stood at pleasure 'heath heaven's zenith, like
A lamp suspended from its azure dome;
Whilst underneath him the world's mountains lay
Like mole-hills, and her streams like lucid threads.
We breakfasted on the bank of a limpid lake at the base of the " Cross of Peace," from whence I have the honor dating my letter, and of giving you the renewed assurance of my profound respect and veneration; recommending your fervent prayers, in a special manner, this vast desert, which contains so many precious souls still buried in the shades of death.
“Here bloomy meads with vivid greens are crown'd,
And glowing violets throw sweet odors round."
Monseigneur. 18
By a steep declivity we entered a rich valley, agreeably diversified by enameled mends, magnificient forests, and lakes - in which the salmon-trout so abound, that in a few minutes we procured sufficient for an excellent repast. The valley is bounded on either side by a succession picturesque rocks, whose lofty summits, rising in the form of pyramids, lose themselves in the clouds. The far-famed Egyptian monuments of Cheops and Cephren dwindle into nought before this gigantic architectural cliff of nature. The at pyramids of the Rocky Mountains seem to deride the artificial skill of man; they serve as a testing place for the clouds that come hither to seek repose, and to encircle their
18 Letter dated Camp of the Assiniboins, September 26, 1845.