The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-05-13
Misfellaueons.
TWO WEEKS IN COLORADO.


AVN ooAS AN SS0SASS'
Fro~s CAeye~ae to Fort Csuins.
III EDNA DEAN PROCTOR.
On the 10Th Of last July three of our
California party lcft the Pacific Railway
Mt CHEYENNE for nearer view Of the
mountains Of Colorado. Cheyenne lies
in the great PLAIN Mt tho eastern foot of
that part of the Rocky Mountains known
rs the Black Hills. You can scarcely be-
lieve il Is moro than six thousand feet
above the sea when you mark to the
south and west The snowy peaks Just peer
Ing above the horizon. 1t had seemed TO
me in p desert and its streets q mere en-
c;.mpment, when wo passed through II on
our way to the Pacific; but, after arid
California. and naked Nevada, and the
gray wastes and salt seas and barren hills
of Utah. the high pasture-lands of Wyo-
ming were cheerful and hOmclike tn the
eye; and, compared with the canvas cities
beyond, Cheyenne with its structures Of
brick and wood, looked stately and stable
and Ol,h 80 %.
Denver lies one one hundred and fif-
teen miles due south. Stages run daily
between the two points; but prcferring
to take our own time, we had engaged n
comfortable carriage, with two horses and
driver, and the next morning were up
betimes and ready for tho journey. A
light wind blew over the plain. there was
not cloud in the sky, and we longed to
be- on our way before the cool dawn should
give place to the sunny day. 1.-The truth
Is" said the landlord Of the railway hotel,
ms we sat In the hall waiting for tho car
riage-"the truth is, nobody goes to bed
in Cheyenne till the next day. Your
driver Is asleep somewhere" So Il proved.
On the new hay Of the stablc-loft he was
quite oblivious Of the rising sun, and ii
was not until a messenger was dispatched
for him that he brought the carriage to
the door. He showed himself, however,
to be- thorough good fellow, and, having
..roughed II" IL on the border for ten
years among miners, rebels, and Indians,
he was equal to any emergency. Many
long hour on the road did he beguile with
stories Of his life, startling rs Dime
Novel; and with recitals of acts Of hero
ism and generosity among the pioneers.
am not sure but there Is rs much practi-
cal Christianity here in the interior rs on
the seaboard. All the conditions of cN-
istence are more natural. Vicc shows it.
self openly; but so also docs virtue. The
warm heart and the ready hand 90 to-
gether. There Is little of the policy and
intrigue of the great world; and. If we
look deep enough. we shall SEQ 1t Is the
old communities quite rs much rs the new
that stand in need Of regeneration.
Cheyenne was hardly awake rs we
drove out. although 1t was half.pnst six
o'clock. The shops and dwelling-houses
were closed. and the canvas doors OF the
tents down. aud no one stirring apparent
ly, but those who were called up,by fhe
necessities of the railway. On the out
skirts of the place the freighters were
asleep under their wagons, or busy pre-
pairing the morning meal, which in towns,
rs well rs in the open plains, they take by
their teams. Crossing tho little creek
which supplies Cheyenne with water, wa
soon passed the last cabin, and turned
square to the south, with the mountains on
our right. twenty miles away, and the un-
dulating prairie before. Now there were
neither fence nor house nor tree; nothing
to mark the presence Of man but the road,
with the deep ruts of tho hcavy-whcclcd
wagons. Indeed, so rough had they mnle
the track that much Of the way we drove
our light carriage over the smooth prairie
ut its side. Cattle, branded with the own
er's name. were feeding here and there |;
and Mt every mile we passed the horns
and whitening bones of those who had
lain down here to die-part belonging To
the domestic breeds, and part to the buila-
10 herds that once roamcd undisturbed
over these limitless pastures. Some three
miles out the carcass of an OK lay by the
roadside, frightfiilly swollen. The poor
creature had been killed by eating the
"Poison Wced'-a little, inconspicuous
plant, with yellow flowers, which, over
all the region about Cheyenne. comes up
with the first grass in the spring. With
the heats of July it had almost disappear
ed; but here and there u tiny stalk was
growing. Horses never touch 1t, but 1t
is sometimes. cropped by cattle, when IL Is
certain death. The hideous image Of this
ill-E,ted OK, cut of in his innocent prime,
hauntrd me through the day, and l could
hut hope that with the sweet heritage OF
some Elysian Field he would be compen-
stated for the deadly food Of this.
The ..r:.nchesn or settlements on the
road were from eight to sixteen. miles
apart. To the right were always the
ount,ins-lirst'the foothills. rising bold
ly from the plain like line of cliffs from
the sea, dark with pines or smiling with
pastures, clel with ravines through which
the streams find their way 10 the Platte,
and changing their lights and shadows
with every cloud and breeze. Beyond
lowered the loftter peaks, barc. rock and
snow. from which the continent slopes
away to either ocean. On the left was
the prairie, stretchin. for hundreds of
miles TO the Missouri, and through much
Of its breadth tcnanted only by the buffalo
and tho Indian. Soon railroads from
cheyenne and st. Louis will cross these
uplands, on their way To Denver; the red
man and the bison will seek some rcmotcr
solitude; and in the dull security which
comes with civilization the romance and
novelty and picturesque life will vanish
forever. Happy were we to see them in
comparative freshness. and while yet there
was spice of danger in their air.
At the first rancho. seven miles from
Cheyenne, we stopped for breakfast. The
proprietor was a bachelor, with u reserv-
ed face and manner, and IN appearance
of entire satisfaction in his isolated.
independent life the housekecpcr. u bright
eyed plcaSant-tongued, neat-handed wom-
AN, "born East" she said, and but recent
ly come here from Cheyenne-one who
must have suffered some wreck on life's
sea to have drifled thus alone into this
notclcss harbor. While breakfast WAS
preparing-ham and eggs, with biscuit
aud coffee. laid on snowy cloth-the
host inquired Of the driver II we were
armed; adding that there were rumors OF
n raid by the Arspahocs, and that we had
better keep the road over the plain rather
than that nearer 20 the mountains. Fire.
arms seems to be here n part of tho ftrni-
turc of every house. Pistols and ammu-
nitiou- ->vere easily procured. andryo pro-