Thus, the fountains of four of the principal rivers
of California are within a radius of four or five miles.
Lakes are seen gleaming in all sorts of places,--round, or oval, or
square, like very mirrors; others narrow and sinuous, drawn close around
the peaks like silver zones, the highest reflecting only rocks, snow,
and the sky. But neither these nor the glaciers, nor the bits of brown
meadow and moorland that occur here and there, are large enough to make
any marked impression upon the mighty wilderness of mountains. The eye,
rejoicing in its freedom, roves about the vast expanse, yet returns
again and again to the fountain peaks. Perhaps some one of the multitude
excites special attention, some gigantic castle with turret and
battlement, or some Gothic cathedral more abundantly spired than
Milan's. But, generally, when looking for the first time from an
all-embracing standpoint like this, the inexperienced observer is
oppressed by the incomprehensible grandeur, variety, and abundance of
the mountains rising shoulder to shoulder beyond the reach of vision;
and it is only after they have been studied one by one, long and
lovingly, that their far-reaching harmonies become manifest.
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