New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-09-15
A TRIP TO COLOHALO.
x.-ro IDAHO AND EMPIRE.
Trpm ON 80 corissponaenl.

when j say that l lelt-nOt them, bat The place
with cheerful sense Of relief. had been iW four
DAYS iammod down among tho torn and barren h'Il@'
and yearned nightly for irecr out-lcoh ana uioIo
attractive scenery. As toe stage LETT the narrow I'd
vine, through which the wind draws tne u"sl "S
through funnel, and climbed around lIe Sl,tP W. ".
ward Puesel's Gplch the dir seemed TO become az
once reutler and uurer The mountains, thOugn SUI
for tho most part bare or gray WIN DuineI lo,Sss
swept broadly into tho distance, anu oetNteh tnvh
pans 20 the eastward, simmered the LOT plh ia Tue
psins There were speCks of snow neaf Their sum-
mits but the dividing range, TO the west OF u.s. was
RpsseIPs Ciulch, from top to bottom-a distance,
apporently Of two or three mesand all It's branches,
show the traces Of gold. washing The soil has been
Turned UPSIDE down. followed out and burrOwed into,
in every direction. Around the edges oil TINS desoa-
ton stand the deserted cabins Of the former miners
chance one still occupied. noticed, here ana theTe,
some feeble attempts at guch mining, but the largo
nsw mill near the head Of the glen was better sign
Of enterprise The siamp-mills, oil oil primltFe
pattern, were mostly idle; yet every VEN IN TINS
region is covered by claims, ana the specimens tney
show are of great richness. Here as elsewhere, the
owners are waiting for the new process.
Our road led southwark several shoulders or
undulatonsSOf the range gradually ascending, untll
we reached the divide between the waters OF North
and South Clear Creeks at elevation OF more than
1900 feet. Two or three peaks OF dazzling snow
eame in sight, apparently very near US, so Sharply
were they relieved against the hard, dark blue OF the
sky Segmcnts Of the Plains-scarcey to he dlstm-
,gushcd from the sea-appeared to the eastward;
while directly in front of us rose the three picturesque
SUBMITS which have been named the CHEF, the Pap
OOOsc and the Squaw The first OF these reaches
hight of more than 1900 feet, its bare pyramdal
summit shooting far above the timber line. IL has
several times been assembled.
The hight from which one looks upon these moun-
tains greatly lessons their apparent altitude and thus
dminishes the effect Of the scenery. When you have
penetrated so far within the Rocky Mountains that all
view Of the great Plains is shut out, you naturally
the elevation OF the ranges from the beds OF
u shoco hu1c ricn uqrv midi rs
advance and You are constantly brought nearer the
line where forests cease and begins. The thin ar
and deeper color of the sky indicate the level you
have reached but the mountains seem no hgher than
before.
After crossing the divide the road deScends TO
South Clear Greek, through long, winding glen.
hero noticed bush-mape, variety Of the alder.tree
snd great quantities of wild currants and goose
berries Far and near, all over the steep sides ana
gauksof the mountains were the traces OF prospectus
In some places blossom rock" had been found and
abandoned probably making poor assay; IN others,
hOos bad been quarred to the depth oil SIX OF e'Sht
feet without any percepble result In the DGroweSt
part Of the glen, however, we came upon pile oil
hesh ore which showed q strong "cOlor, and was
said to yield from $500 to $1,000 per tan. one oil
the owners at least very enthusiastic ana II was
plainly to TO seen that the vein was Deing acuFey
worked.
While was admring the bold grand outlines of
the Chief, which became more and more strlAlng as
we descended, the glen suddenly opened, ana we
found ourselves in the valley of the South Clear
"Ab. this begins TO be Alpine" exclaimed. He1e
at last, there a little breadth and space hoor
from an eigth to quarter OF mile mWidth, Oofdereu
By mountains, which lowered up up, behind their
huge escarpments Of rock, into the region OF snow
Here the ranges were detached, allowing some
thing of form to be traced; the forests were not all
burned or leveled; gimpses OF green meadows shohe
down from the higher slopes; and Inc cold, clear
stream fed from the fields of melting snow, foamed
and flashed In the sun.
We came at once upon struggling village of log
huts which, after having outliyea variety Of Names
is now called Idaho the inhabitants fOndly sup
posing that this word means " the gem OF the noun.
tsins" II need hardly say that the Indians have no
such phrase. Idaho is believed TO mean "rOcks."l L
here left the stage Mr. Ssy having kindly eiered TO
take to Empire in the afternoon In TINS queer,
almost aboriginal village with its charming situation,
there the best hotel in Colorado. 1t has Just been
cOmpeted the opening ball occurred after reached
Central Guy. The astOnshed stranger here finds
paror with carpets as snowy, hOrsehar sofas as shiny
and slippery, looking glasses with as much gliding,
tables as handicapped, and everything else as rad
ant with yarnsh or gypsum, as the laws OF American
taste in such things could require The bedrooms arc
so fresh---sO unsuggeStive OF Thousand unWashed
previous occupants-hat regretted not being able to
enjoy the luxury for one night.
While was preparing to accompany Mr.. Slsty 10
the soda.sprngs Of Idaho, was accosted by an old
Norwegian, a native of Drammen. The kindly feel
ing which all Scandinavians have for any one who has
ever visited their country, is remarkable. In Kansas
l bought q pair of blankets from SWede, VINO IN
stantly abated one dollar of the price, when adj
dressed him in his native tongue. Although my
Norsk is very hating from long disuse the old fellow
borrowed fishingrOd, and in an hour presented me
with seven mountaintrout for my dinner. AND Sueh
trout Admirable as the hotel-dnner, over
which Mrs Beebe presided, was obliged to slight it
for the special dish She prepared and placed before me
IhOpe TO fall in with many more NOrwegans before
leave the mountains.
The soda springs are already turned to service.
Two lighthouses have been built for Summer guests.
In one Of these the water is 50 regulated that the
bather may choose whatever temperature he prefers,
the hot spring being about go aS 1t Issues from the
earth. 1t has deciousy refreshing and celebrating
quality as found after taking 1t warm Inc taste
resembles weak and rather fat citrate OF magnesia;
but as the water has not yet been anayzed cannot
give the ingredients. The hot and cold springs come
up so close together that may dip hand IN either,
at the same time.
But neither these springs nor the gold mines COM
prise all the riches of Idaho. Further down the
valley somewhere there is vein of rough opal, IL
inches thick l have q piece OF II In my pocket, at
this moment, and it is undoubtedly opal, though OF
faint imperfect fire. as If its quailty were iaded Dy
long exposure to the weather. Small specimens OIL
similar variety, from Montana are frequent IN Soo
RADIO, but have seen nothing yet with the infinite
sparkle Of the Hungarian or the prsmatic Iuster OF
the Honduras opal 1t is unreasonable, however, 10
ask for the precious gems where so much other weaih
has been given
After dinner, Mr.. sisty produced buggy and pair
of fast horses and we set out up the valley. The
road was smooth if macadamized; the cold, pale
green creek roared beside u.s. sweeping around pine-
Clad capes or under the shadow OF mighty cliffs, and
The SHOWS of the higher SUBMITS frightened IN the
sunshine. This was inspiring travel, reminding me
(dimly l must cOnfess) of the upper valley Of the
Rhine. between Spligen and the Via Mala. After
two or three miles1the valley contracted becoming
mere canon, walled in by oyerhanging preciplces:
stream which we crossed on toll.brdge, came down
through gorge on the right Beyond the ollage