The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-07-23
llrms onn rlistrILonu.
ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA,
tThs E.s.. Ess ss.s 1. E M@snni nsS% !,

The AHA OhllloIulh kiNbb lhb iolAuNluB
description Of the passage of the first rail
road passenger train over the Sierra Ne
vadasf liItuT aIftuu cgt To- u.I
'Desiring to be among the first 10 cross
the Sierra Nevada by through train, the
writer left San Frpcisco at Ap. 10. on
Wednesday, June libby the Steamer 70
Semitic, in company with several friends,
bound for Silver Land. II was long past
midnight when the heavily laden steamer
reached Sacramento and tied up at the
landing. trr FIt DO
THE train moves, out of the town of Sac
ramento, across the Slough past the un-.
finished round house and immense machine
shops of the Central Pacific Railroad Com
pany-n which an army Of worknen
will be employed at no distant 'dayLup
the valley, along the northern outskirts
| Of the rambling town, and then by q long
bridge across the American river. As we
1 emerge from the trees and shrubbery along
the American, into the open plOn which
stretches away 4, the eastward towards the
foothills, the mighty Sierra Nevada looms
up, like q gigantic eloud7bank, against the
eastern horizon. The mountains for q long
way up froni their base, arB enveloped in
a dim blue haze, which contrasts beauti-
fully with the snow fields on their SUBMITS,
flashing against the blue sky and lighted
upiby the glory Of the summer morning
sun. One distant peak sparkles like an
iceberg, with all the hues Of the opal;
another Ia tinged with delicate pink like
the inner surface Of n sea4shel; and n third
il Of a pure brilliant white, like frosted
silver. The country at one point rs open
and t%reeless like a western prairie, and at
another dotted with wide spreading trees,
like the oak openings Of Michigan; but
the soil il poor, and a few herds of horses,
and land then the residence OF some
small ranchman or herder, are the only
signs of life weisee for miles and miles.
The country is poor, uncultivated, and for
the most part unfenced and uninhabited.
cat the junction, eighteen miles from
Sacramento, a branch road leading towards
Marysville takes away a portion OF our pas
sengers, and four miles further on We come
to Bocklyn, where are the immense granite
q~uarries from which an unlimited supply of
building material for Sacramento and San
Francisco ia 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 a
long time. The sun is shining down upon
us nom an unclouded sky, and the heat is
such as to drive MS all 10 the shady side of
the cars. Luscious strawberries, ripe pears,
cherries, aud other summer fruits, are
brought through the cars for sale--evory-
thing around speaks of middle summer.
UP THE MOUNTAINS.
"The engine blows and whoezes with
short, sharp aspirations, and tho feeling OF
weight as VIC lean back On the seat tells us
that We arc ascending q steep and increns-
ing grade. Newcastle Auburn-a pretty
little village and somewhat active place
Clipper Gap and New England Mills, nil
more or less important mining and trad
ing posts, ore passed, and NJ $3.50 7. NJ We
have assembled two thousand four hundred
and forty-eight feet, and reached Coliax,
ifty-four miles from Sacramento, where
stage roads from Grass Valley, Nevada and
other rich mining towns, branch of. The
town ia made Of slight materials, and does
not look as if made for all time. Hore 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 n few minutes, just long
enough TO partake Of n capital cup of coffee
and a nice spring chicken on toast, Mt the
depot, we move on.
'FSoon after leaving Colfax, the cars pasl
on u high embankment around Cape Horn.
and nervous passengers begin to lool
around anxiously, peering with eviden
, trepidation down into the depths below
Around the edge Of a canon the tram whirl
steadily along, q branch of the American
River living like q yellow ribbon hundred
on hundreds Of feet below. Eight mile
! from Coliax we pass the mining camp o
| Secret Town, and look back into the vale,
8 from an elevation Of 1885 fe~et-somethinl
greater than that Of Mount Tamslpais. Up
up and onward, ever climbing steadil.
skywards. Through the openings in tn,
| mountains we begin 10 see other mountain
4 beyond, whose peaks are covered witt
snow, and the hot air Of the valleys reache
: us no longer, the brOezes now being TEN
0 pered BY the snow fields above. The at
2 mosphere is ~gloriously exhilarating, anC
: our spirits rise as our corporal substanc
a ascends heavenwards.
cat sixty-seven miles from Sacrament
we look down upon the well-nigh exhauste,
4 placers and town Of Dutch Flat; ia
enough the town appears at this time
Two miles further on we reach Alta, ut al
4 elevation Of 3,625 feet above the level 0
the sea, almost the height of the summit q
Mount Diablo. Here we expected to, bu
= did not, meet the descending tnin, whic,
had been delayed by an accident on tn
g other side of the summit, by which tn
n cars between Reno and Columns, U
Truckee, had been thrown of the trac
and smashed up, making it impossible 70
c the passengers to reach the summit b
stage in time to connect with the regula
train on the western side Of the mountain
e Here the roofs of the houses begin I
pitch sharply after the style Of Alpine col
= tages-an indication that the SHOWS ia
heavily here in the winter The mountai
- sides are covered with magnificent pines
! which increase in size as we ascend't to
point some distance above here.
1.-THE stream, far down Mt the bottom Of
10 deeper canon, is now a saffron colore
thread, and we cling to the side Of Ii
mountain us a swallow clines to q. cliff.
r Show now appears OF the heights, but
little aboveius, and at intervals along III
g. road, whore there are deep cuts, lonl
N sharp-roofed sheds of heavy timbers,
q ward of the snow drifts, rise over tn
y track. Passing Shady Run station, "
reach the first tunnel, 500 feet in length
n as miles from Sacramento, and $500 te'
above the sea. The mountains are groy
i ing more rugged, and the snow fields con
~ down to a level with the road.
a. THE HEART OF THE snRRA.
"a .O.sal up, up; the trees grow smRlle
r cedars, tamaracks and frs take the plaC
d of the noble pines, and We no longer 81
the red eafth'of the goldlbelt below, Gr6
N granite rocks are growing plentier, and ii
y small mountain peaks on either side Of Il
"a road begin TO show bald heads. We are
A the heart of the Sierra barren, drear,
ie d~esolate country. 1t is not at all like IL
he Heart Of the Andes-asl Church paints'i
cat Emigrant Gap, 81 miles above sa
5 ramento, we meet the down train at las
N and the road is open before US. Anoth,
tunnel, 800 feet in length. We pass Cry
w tai Lake, and are at Cisco, a town of shal
!" tina which wna for q long tina the Re