Frontier settlers told time by the appearance of mountain peaks.

Evidence

Three peaks of Pike’s Peak are seen from Oil Creek, above the nearer hills, and by them they tell the time. We had been in the evening shadows for half an hour before those peaks ceased to be transparent gold. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 181

Categorization

• CANDY: Alpine glow as a clock — mountains as the only sundial a remote cabin needed.
• STORYSTEM: A story world where the light on a specific peak literally marks the hours and structures a whole community’s day.
• XREF: connects to: Frontier settlers measured manhood by the material comfort of their dwellings. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 201; Harsh conditions shaped the distinct character of early Southern settlers. — Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1078; Communes seeking escape held an ahistorical, land-backwards view of time. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 157 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Experiencing overwhelming mountains explains the origin of nature worship. #expands (1.00) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 225
• Frontier settlers measured manhood by the material comfort of their dwellings. #complicates (0.85) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 201
• Harsh conditions shaped the distinct character of early Southern settlers. #complicates (0.80) — Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1078
• Consumption-stricken settlers were restored to health by frontier life #complicates (0.80) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 64
• Seeing how wilderness connects to settlements heightens the sense it must be preserved #complicates (0.80) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1640
• Communes seeking escape held an ahistorical, land-backwards view of time. #complicates (0.75) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 157
• Once space filled, time became the new colonial frontier #complicates (0.75) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 860
• British settlers endured frontier discomfort that foreigners improved with elegance. #complicates (0.70) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 155
• Colonial frontier zones produced mutual comprehension efforts between colonizer and colonized #complicates (0.70) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 314
• Pioneer settlements prized sharp dealing over neighborly virtue #complicates (0.70) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 89