雨山行

Yellowstone， it seemed to me， was the top of the world， a region of deep lakes and dark timber， canyons and waterfalls. But， beautiful as it is， one might have the sense of confinement there. The skyline in all directions is close at hand， the high wall of the woods and deep cleavages of shade. There is a perfect freedom in the mountains， but it belongs to the eagle and the elk， the badger and the bear. The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see， and they were bent and blind in the wilderness. Descending eastward， the highland meadows are stairway to the plain. In July the inland slope of the Rockies is luxuriant with flax and buckwheat， stonecrop and larkspur. The earth unfolds and the limit of the land recedes. Clusters of trees and animals grazing far in the distance cause the vision to reach away and wonder to build upon the mind. The sun follows a longer course in the day， and the sky is immense beyond all comparison. The great billowing clouds that sail upon it are shadows that move upon the grain like water， dividing light. Farther down， in the land of the Crows and Blankfeet， the plain is yellow. Sweet clover takes hold of the hills and bends upon itself to cover and seal the soil. There the Kiowas paused on their way； they have come to the place where must change their lives. The sun is at home on the plains. Precisely there does it have the certain character of a god. When the Kiowas came to land of the Crows， they could see the dark lees of the hills at dawn across the Bighorn River， the profusion of light on the grain shelves， the oldest deity ranging after the solstices. Not yet would they veer southward to the caldron of the land that lay below； they must wean their blood from the northern weather and hold the mountains a while longer in their view. They bore Tai-me in procession to the east. （from The Way to Rainy Mountain）

　　cleavage 劈开，分开，裂开

　　elk 麋

　　badger 獾

　　flax 亚麻

　　buckwheat 荞麦

　　stonecrop 景天（植物名）

　　cluster 一丛，一簇

　　billowing 如波浪般的

　　clover 三叶草

　　seal 填塞，封补

　　lee 山的下风处，背风面

　　profusion 丰沛，大量

　　deity 神

　　solstice 冬（ 或夏） 至

　　veer 转向，改变方向

　　caldron 大锅

　　wean 断绝，放弃

　　procession 列队行进