Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-07-24

! z
along the road, where there are deep
cuts, long. sharp rooted sheds of heavy
/ timberS. to ward OF the snoWdFifts, rise
I over the track. Passing Shady Run
| station, we reached the drst tunnel, 500
| feet in length, r5 miles from SHcFamen-
to and $500 fset above the sea, The
mountains are growing more rugged,
| and the snow fields come down TO a
1 level with the read.
THE HEART OF THE SIERRA.
Still up, up; the trees grow smaller;
cedaFs, tamaracks and frs take the
place of the noble pines, and we no lon
ger see the red earth of the gold-belt
below. Gray granite rocks are growing
! plentieF, and the small mountain peaks
on either side of the road begin to
show bald heads. We are In the heart
of the Sierra barren, dreaEy, desc
late country. 1t is not at all like the
Heart of the Andes-as Church paints
il.
"At Emigrant Gap, 81 miles above
Sacramento, we met the down train at
last, and the roads open before us.
/ Another tunnel, 800 feet in length.
We pass Crystal Laks, and are at Ciseos
q town of shanties, which was for a
| long time the tarminus Of the road.
eve are {, 800 feet ab0ve the sea, and
stil ascending The pines have almost
entirely disappeared and we pass
through many long ctss blasted through
| the solid granite spurs OF tlae mountains.
] We traverse o0ntinsianS snow fields and
| immense drifts, through which the
road has been cut Mibk shoYels for the
passing of the trains, A few hours
since We were among the flowers. ripe
fruits, and singing birds Of the valley
sWeGttng under the Hummer sun now
we are in the midsf Of dazzling snow
fields, and the atmosphere and aspects
of the scene are suck as we might hud
in the mountains of New England on
any fine winters day. The streams
which come down the sides of every
precipice and dash in foamy torrents
down every canon, are cold as ice from
the melting SHOWS Chinamen are
swafming all along the read. They
have nearly finished their work in this
vicinity, and are packing up their traps
preparatory to passing on over the
Summit into the preat interior basin of
the continent. One hundred and two
miles from Sacramento we reach Sum
init Valley, and stand G, 800 teet above
the level Of the sea- Lift Mount Tama-
pals bodily from its base and place it on
the summit of Mount DiabIO, and we
could still look down by hundreds Of
feet on the double mountaiR height.
The snow banks rise high above the
road on either side. Two miles more
and the cars reaehHthe entrance of the
great tunnel, 1859 feet in length.
THE SUMMIT or THE SIERRA
eve have sealed the great Sierra at
last, and ne plus ultra might be writ
ten on the granite walls of the great
tunnel before us. We are 7,043 feet
damp, but not oppressive, and we eX-
q
ratification at this great elevation.
The ice and snow. and rocks, and
white, fieecy, curling clouds, are all
here, but there is not shadow of a
tempest and if there was, why
should he face it baldheaded? We
will not stop to discuss that question,
but merely ask It as we pass, and re-
serve the point for future discussion.
The snow lies piled in immense banks
above the tunnel, aud raises in solid
banks, with sheer precipitous sides, on
either side of the rack. A swarm of
Chinamen are bIssy at the other en- d.
of the tunnel shoEelling away the
snow, which has Gene down In great
slides, bringing With it huge granite
rocks upon the track. The water
pOurs down in torrents from number
less creyiees and seams in the granite
walls and roof of the long dark, cav
ernous tunnel but We struggle through
on foot, and anxiOusly inquire after
the prospect of getting the train across
the mountain.
Two or three hours will clear the
track. We wait with what patience
we may, and at last, at four o'clock the
prolonged whistle of the good locomo-
tive 'Antclope, which has drawn us to
the summit of the Sierra, is heard All
aboard shouts the conductor, George
Wood, who has the honor of taking
the first passe nger train across the
mountains, and the train moves slowly
on A halt for another slide; another
start, another halt and so on, slowly
and carefully The snow banks came
down so close to the track that the
caves of the cars rake them on either
side. It is the closest fit imaginable.
Six more tunnels, ranging from
one hundred to eight hundred aud
sixty three feet in length, in many of
which we see great masses of solid
blue ice, hanging down from the wall
like stalaotites and stalag mites in the
Mammoth Cave Kentucky, are slowly
passed through. We have descend
| ed six hundred feet already, and, as
we emerge from the last tunnel, the
conductor exelaims BY Heaven, we
are over the mountains This is a
new road, finished this summer, and
we shall have no more snow-slides 7
1t is true, indeed, the mighty task is
accomplished, after years of toll and
expenditure of millions of money
Words fail us to depict our sensations;
we will not attempt it.
DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.
Aud now the train with accelerated
4 speed moves steadily doWnwards to-
ward he Valley of the TTuckee. The
steam Is shut off, the bra kes put down,
and as the eagle sets his wings and
floats noiselessly down, down, through
/ the realms of air toward the earth
from his eyrie among the clouds, we
slide swiftly and smoothly down the
activities of the mountains into the
/ Great Basin of Nevada. Donnar Lake,
4 as lovely a sheet of water as is to be
found on earth, lies far below us among
the pine clad hills, its bosom uDruffied
by a breath of breeze, and as blue and
calm as the heavens above 1t. The
roads around the PERCEPTIONS mountain
sides, almost eneircling Donner Lake
as it descends, and following around a
long canon, making a circuit of seven
miles to gain advance of no more than
a quarter ofa mile, we reach the out
let of the Lake, a swift, rushing
stream of blue, cold water. We have
travelled nine and half miles and de-
sceuded seven hundred and eiRhty-
, three feet since leaving the Summit.
Now we descend rapidly, on one o.
the most beautifully smooth and solid
roads on the continent, into the ro-
mantle valley of the Truckee, whose
mountains from the southwards, hid
den in which lies the loveliest sheet OI
water on the earth, Lake Tahoe. The
timber here is immense, aud from lhis
source the supplies tor building the
road for hundreds of miles eastward
are to be drawn. SaWmills by the doz'
en-, driven by the rushing river, line
the banks of the stream for miles and
miles, and the hills swarm with labor
ers of every nationality and huc-Eur
opeans, Americans, Africans and Asia
I