Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-07-30
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ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA.
The Elsss Rs::sas;s :ssa e. Tfan S% sac

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The First Passenger Train from Sac
The Alta California gives the following
description of the passage Of the first rail-
road passenger train over the Sierra Ne
vada; sf
Desiring TO be among the first 10 cross
the Sierra Nevada by through train, the
writer left San Francisco at p. m. on
Wednesday, June II, by the steamer 70
Semitic, in company with several friends,
bound for Silver Land. Il was long past
midnight when the heavily laden steamer
reached Sacramento and tied up at the
landing. 1'4A 3 ny @
'' THE train moves out Of the town Of Sac
rafnento, across the Slough, past the un-
finished round house andimmenBe machine
shops Of the Central Pacific Railroad Com
pany--in which an army Of workmen
will be employed at no distant day-up
the valley, along the northern outskirts
OF the rambling town, and then by q long
bridge across the American river As we
emerge from the trees and shrubbery along
the American, into the open plin which
stretches away to the eastward towards the
foothills, the mighty Sierra Nevada looms
up, like gigantic cloud-bank, against the
eastern horizon. The mountains for long
way up from their base, are enveloped in
dim blue haze, which contrasts beauti-
fully with the snow fields on their SUBMITS,
flashing against the blue sky and lighted
up by the glory Of the summer morning
sun. One distant peak sparkles like an
iceberg, with all the hues of the opal;
another is tinged with delicate pink like
the inner surface of sea-shell; and third
is of pure brilliant white, like frosted
silver. The country at one point is open
and treeless like western prairie, and al
another dotted with wide spreading trees,
like the oak openings of Michigan; but
the soil is poor, and few herds of horses,
and now and then the residence of some
small ranchman or herder, are the only
signs Of life we see for miles and miles.
The country is poor, uncultivated, and for
the most part unfenced and uninhabited.
cat the Junction, eighteen miles from
Sacramento, branch road leading towards
Marysville takes away q portion Of our pas
sengers, and four miles further on we come
to Bocklyn, where are the immense granite
quarries from which an unlimited supply Of
building material for Sacramento and San
Francisco is obtained, with simply the
trouble of quarrying.
"Now we enter the foothills, and as we
commence to ascend more rapidly the great
mountains before us seem to sink down un-
til we lose sight of them altogether, and
we do not see the snow-felds again for q
long time. The sun is shining down upon
us from an unclouded sky, and the heat is
such as to drive us all to the shady side of
the cars. Luscious strawberries, ripe pears,
cherries, and other summer fruits, are
brought through the cars for sale-every-
thing around speaks of middle summer.
UP THE MOUNTAINS.
"The engine blows and wheezes with
short, sharp aspirations and the feeling of
weight as We lean back on the seat tells US
that we are ascending steep and increas-
ing grade. Newcastle Auburn--a pretty
little village and somewhat active place
Clipper Gap and New England Mills, all
more or less important mining and trad
ing posts, are passed, and at $50 P. NJ. we
have assembled two thousand four hundred
and forty-eight feet, and reached Colfaz,
fifty-four miles from Sacramento, where
stage roads from Grass Valley, Nevada and
other rich mining towns, branch Off The
town is made of slight materials, and does
not look as if made for all time. Here we
should meet and pass the down train from
the Summit, but snow slides beyond the
great Summit Tunnel have delayed the
train between that point and Reno, away
down on the Truckee, beyond the Sierra,
and after waiting few minutes, just long
enough to partake of capital cup Of coffee
and nice spring chicken on toast, at the
depot, we move on.
"Soon after leaving Colfax, the cars pass
on high embankment around Cape Horn,
and nervous passengers begin to look
around anxiously, peering with evident
down into the depths below.
Around the edge of q canon the tram whirls
steadily along, branch of the American
River lying like yellow ribbon hundreds
on hundreds of feet below. Eight miles
from Colfax we pass the mining camp of
Secret Town, and look back into the valley
from an elevation of 1885 feet et--something
greater than that of Mount Tamalpais. Up,
up and onward, ever climbing steadily
skywards Through the openings in the
we begin to see other mountains
beyond, whose peaks are covered with
snow, and the hot air of the valleys reaches
us no longer, the breezes now being tenn
pered by the snow fields above. The at
mosphere is gloriously exhilarating, and
our spirits rise as our corporal substance
ascends heavenwards.
"At sixty-seven miles from Sacramento
we look down upon the well-nigh exhausted
placers and town of Dutch Flat; fiat
enough the town appears at this time.
Two miles further on we reach Alta, at an
of 3,625 feet above the level of
the sea, almost the height Of the summit Of
Mount Diablo. Here we expected to, but
did not, meet the descending train, which
had been delayed by an accident on the
other side of the summit, by which the
cars between Reno and Coburn's, or
Truckee, had been thrown off the track
and smashed up, making it impossible for
the passengers to reach the summit by
stage in time to connect with the regular
train on the western side of the mountain.
Here the roofs of the houses begin to
pitch sharply after the style Of Alpine cot
indication that the SHOWS fall
heavily here in the winter The mountain
sides are covered with magnificent pines,
which increase in size as we ascend to o
point some distance above here.
"The stream, far down ct the bottom of a
deeper canon, is now a saffron colored
thread, and we cling to the side of the
as swallow clings to cliff
Snow now appears on the heights, but
little above us, and at intervals along the
road, where there are deep cuts, long,
sharp-roofed sheds of heavy timbers, to
ward off the snow drifts, rise over the
track Passing Shady Run station, we
reach. the first tunnel, 500 feet in length,
rs miles from Sacramento, and 4,500 feet
above the sea. The mountains are grow
ing more rugged, and the snow fields come
down to level with the road.
THE HEART OF THE SIERRA.
"Still up, up; the trees grow smaller;
cedars, tamaracks and frs take the place
Of the noble pines, and we no longer see
he red earth of the gold-belt below. Gray
granite rocks are growing plentier, and the
Imall mountain peaks ON either side of the
road begin to show bald heads. We are in
he heart of the Sierra--a barren, ,dreary,
iesolate country. 1t is not at all like the
Heart of the Andes-ag Church nainta IT,