Colorado Parks

The park itsolt' is 9,842 l'oet abovo the sea-level, or half as high again as Mount Washington. The surrounding rim is some 2,000 feot higher, while in the distance, uorth, south, and west, may be seen tho snowy sunimits, 14,000 feet high, of Gray's Peak, Pike's Poak, Mount Lincoln, and Other Titans, without muse or name. The South Park is (50 miles long and UO wide, with a surí'aeo like a rolling prairie, and contains hills, groves, lakes and streanis in beautiful variety. It forruerly abounded with buffalo and other game, and was a favorite hunting-giound ot' the Iudians and the white trappers, but linee the greut iuflux of' minera the buffulo huve niostly disappeared. Such, howevor, is the excellence of tho pasture that great herds ofeattkt are drivi-n up here to feed during thd surumer. Severul towns and villagos have sprung up around the mines in this vicinity, s,uch au Hamilton. Pairplay, and ïarryall, to which a stage-ooach runs three times a week from Denver. In our eld atlases 40 years ago, we used to see the Eocky Mountains laid down as a great central chain or backbono of the continent ; but they ure rather a congerie of groups scuttered over an arpa of 600 miles in width and 1,000 miles long; among them are hündreds of these parks, from a fow acres in extent to the size of the State of Mftssachusetts. These mountains differ so entirely from those usually described by travelere, the Alps, the Scottish Highlands, aud the White Mountains, that one can scarcely beliovo this warm air and rich vegetatiou exist 10,000 feet above the soa. In climate the Colorado mountains appioach moro nearly to the Andes, where the snow-line varies from 12,000 to 17,000 feet. Here snow begius at 12,000 feet, and increases in quautity to the extreme height of the tallest peaks, about 14,250 feet, though even these are often bare in August. In these parks the cattlo live without shelter in winter, and the timber is large wd plentiful at 11,000 feet elevatiou. Glaciers are wantiug, but instead we have tne rich vegetation, the wide range of laountaius, the pure, dry, aud balmy atmosphere, and a vuriety, a depth, and a softness of color which can hardly be equaled on earth. - Lqtpiacotl's Mntjuzine f vi' Septemhc'r.