Some time ago I came across this description of spring and autumn in Yellowstone by Henry Chittenden, the army engineer who built much of Yellowstone National Park’s roads and bridges in the late 19th century. I thought it was a beautiful example of a descriptive and rhythmic 19th century prose. (It is just one passage from a book of several hundred pages in tribute to Yellowstone.) I present two versions of it below, the first being the original version, and second illustrated with pictures from the web. I hope you’ll read the original version slowly and enjoy the hearing the rhythm and seeing the images in your mind, and then look at the pictures in the second version. (I enjoyed imagining the images on my own and looking them up on the web later.)
Original version
“The scenery of these mountains, moreover, is subject to continual and interesting change. Scarcely have the bleak storms of winter subsided, while yet deep fields of snow lie upon the upper slopes, the soft blossoms of spring shoot eagerly from the scanty soil and oppose the gentle warmth of their blooms to the chill snow which is slowly receding before them. So profuse and beautiful are the flowers in these lofty regions that one would doubt if any other season could rival the springtime in beauty.
But in truth the somber season of autumn is the most attractive of all. The early frosts cover the mountain sides with the most varied and gorgeous colors. The quaking aspen, which before was simply a mass of green upon the mountain side, now stands forth with tenfold greater distinctness in its rich autumnal foliage. The low growth of underbrush, which scarcely attracts the eye at other seasons, takes on a livelier hue, transforming whole mountain sides into fields of pleasing color. Even upon those inaccessible and apparently barren slopes, where the eye had not before detected any sign of vegetable life, may now be seen spots of crimson and gold, as if nature had scattered here and there rich bouquets of flowers and bunches of fruit.”
Illustrated version
“The scenery of these mountains, moreover, is subject to continual and interesting change. Scarcely have the bleak storms of winter subsided, while yet deep fields of snow lie upon the upper slopes, the soft blossoms of spring shoot eagerly from the scanty soil and oppose the gentle warmth of their blooms to the chill snow which is slowly receding before them. So profuse and beautiful are the flowers in these lofty regions that one would doubt if any other season could rival the springtime in beauty.
But in truth the somber season of autumn is the most attractive of all. The early frosts cover the mountain sides with the most varied and gorgeous colors. The quaking aspen, which before was simply a mass of green upon the mountain side, now stands forth with tenfold greater distinctness in its rich autumnal foliage.
The low growth of underbrush, which scarcely attracts the eye at other seasons, takes on a livelier hue, transforming whole mountain sides into fields of pleasing color. Even upon those inaccessible and apparently barren slopes, where the eye had not before detected any sign of vegetable life, may now be seen spots of crimson and gold, as if nature had scattered here and there rich bouquets of flowers and bunches of fruit.”
Image sources