Devils Tower魔鬼塔

侯冬意

◆Brief Introduction 概況

Devils Tower is a famous rock in Crook County， northeastern Wyoming. It rises 1，267 feet （386 m） above the Belle Fourche River， standing 867 feet （265 m） from summit1 to base. The summit is 5，112 feet （1，559 m） above sea level.

Devils Tower was the first declared United States National Monument2， established on September 24， 1906， by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monuments boundary encloses3 an area of 1，347 acres （545 ha.）.

In recent years， about 1% of the monuments 400，000 annual visitors climbed Devils Tower， mostly using traditional climbing techniques.

魔鬼塔是懷俄明州東北部克魯克縣一塊著名的巖石。它高出貝爾富什河1267英尺（386米），從巖石頂部到基部高867英尺（265米）。巖石頂部海拔為5112英尺（1559米）。

1906年9月24日，西奧多·羅斯?？偨y(tǒng)宣布魔鬼塔為首個(gè)美國國家紀(jì)念區(qū)，該紀(jì)念區(qū)占地1347英畝（545公頃）。

近年來，每年40萬名游客中大約有1%的人爬上了魔鬼塔，他們大多使用的傳統(tǒng)攀巖技術(shù)。

◆Origin of the Name 名字的由來

The rock was named by Native Americans“the Bears House” and so on. The name “Devils Tower” originated in 1875 during an expedition4 led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge， when his interpreter reportedly misinterpreted a native name to mean “Bad Gods Tower”， which was later changed to“Devils Tower”. All information signs in that area use the name“Devils Tower”， following a geographic naming standard whereby the apostrophe5 is eliminated6.

這塊巖石被美國原住民稱作“熊的居所”等?！澳Ч碇边@個(gè)名字源自于1875年由理查德·歐文·道奇上校率領(lǐng)的探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)。據(jù)說當(dāng)時(shí)他的翻譯把當(dāng)?shù)氐拿智獬闪恕靶吧竦乃钡囊馑?，之后又變成了“魔鬼之塔”。于是該地區(qū)所有的信息標(biāo)志都遵循了地理命名標(biāo)準(zhǔn)省去了撇號而使用了“魔鬼塔”這個(gè)名字。

◆Native American folklore 美國原住民的傳說

According some of the Native American tribes7， a group of girls went out to play and were spotted by several giant bears， which began to chase them. In an effort to escape the bears， the girls climbed on top of a rock， fell to their knees， and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Hearing their prayers， the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground towards the heavens so that the bears could not reach the girls. The bears， in an effort to climb the rock， left deep claw marks in the sides， which had become too steep to climb. Those are the marks which appear today on the sides of Devils Tower. When the girls reached the sky， they were turned into the stars.

根據(jù)一些美國原住民部落的傳說，有一群女孩出去游玩，被幾頭巨大的熊發(fā)現(xiàn)了，熊開始追捕她們。為了躲避熊，女孩們爬上一塊巖石，跪倒祈求神靈的幫助。聽到她們的祈禱，神靈使巖石從地面向上升起，讓熊無法抓到她們。巖石變得十分陡峭無法攀爬。熊們?yōu)榱伺噬蠋r石，在巖石側(cè)面留下了深深的爪痕。這些就是現(xiàn)在魔鬼塔側(cè)面痕跡的由來。而這些女孩們升上天空，化成了星星。

◆Close Encounters of the Third Kind 《第三類接觸》

The 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind directed by Steven Spielberg used the rock formation as a plot element and as the location of its climactic8 scenes （where the government specialists communicate with the UFOs）. Its release was the cause of a large increase in visitors and climbers to the monument.

1977由史蒂夫·斯皮爾伯格執(zhí)導(dǎo)的電影《第三類接觸》將該巖石作為情節(jié)元素和影片高潮（政府專家們與不明飛行物進(jìn)行交流）的發(fā)生地。該影片的上映使造訪該紀(jì)念區(qū)的游客和攀巖者的數(shù)量激增。

◆Climbing 攀巖活動

In recent years， climbing Devils Tower has increased in popularity. Today， hundreds of climbers challenge the rock walls of Devils Tower each summer. All climbers are required to register with a park ranger before and after attempting a climb. No overnight camping at the summit is allowed； climbers return to base on the same day they ascend9.

The Tower is sacred10 to several Indian tribes. Because of this， many Indian leaders objected to climbers ascending the monument， considering this to be a desecration11. During the month of June when the tribes are conducting ceremonies around the monument， climbers are asked （but not required） to stay off the Tower.

近年來，攀登魔鬼塔越來越受歡迎。如今，每年夏天有數(shù)百名攀巖者來挑戰(zhàn)魔鬼塔的石壁。所有攀巖者在攀登之前和之后都必須向公園管理員登記。禁止在山頂露營過夜；攀巖者要在攀登的當(dāng)天返回巖石基部。

魔鬼塔是多個(gè)印第安部落的圣地。因此，許多印第安人首領(lǐng)反對攀巖者登上魔鬼塔，認(rèn)為這是一種褻瀆。在六月，當(dāng)各部落在該紀(jì)念區(qū)周圍舉行儀式時(shí)，登山者被要求（但不是必需）離開魔鬼塔。