The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-09-30
A ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK.
ESTES PARK. ROCKY MoUNTAIES,
Septem Der 9th. 1870.

The difficulty one experiences IN
coming down from the exciting poetry
Of rambling amid this wild mountain
scenery to the very dull prose of writ
ing letters. is my apology for having
80 long delayed to send you the prom
sed account of my trip to this Park.
Like SO many others who come to
Colorado for their health, had start
cd for Denver without the least idea
Of what I should do, or how I should
do it after getting there.
circumstances, mentioned IN pre-
vious letter, induced me to stop at
Greeley. The first night was there,
Il received an invitation to join party
Of the towns-people, then making up
for the mountains and although [
was repeatedly warned against the
danger of the light air of any higher
altitude so soon after bleeding from
the lungs, / nevertheless determined
to crafty my great desire to get among
the mountains, whose snowy peaks
doomed up so enticingly cool in the
blue distance.
An experienced mountain teamster,
with his heavy emigrant wagon and
large lazy mules, cook of classical
education, but equally well versed In
all the mysteries of the culinary art,
with his Dutch oven" sacks of -four,
baking powder, etc.; q treasurer,
fresh from the Puritan city of Boston,
to carry the bag" and attend to the
perplexities of the financial depart
ment. and load of eight jolly boys,
with their camp equlpage, rifles, re-
volvers, and fishing tackle constituted
our turnout.
The monotony of nearly two days
drive across the hot. treeless plains
was now and then broken by a sud-
den entrance into q village of prai-
RE dogs, whose motionless, upright
bodies made tempting targets for re-
volver shots, but who, whether hit or
not, would always drop In tWinkling
into their holes-or by the occasional
shooting of Jack rabbit "a much
larger species of rabbit than l ever
saw in the States-or by the sight of a
band of antelopes, gracefully gallop-
ing in the distance.
AT last we reached the Foot Hills, at |
the north of the Little Thompson |
Canyon. Here, "baching" by him |
self, in wild solitude, we found reg |
ular mountaineer, who, in his rough |
way, declared he wouldn't live on the |
plains for all there was there, who |
was then looking after his thousand |
or more head of cattle, which. strange |
to say, he will take far back into the |
mountains when Winter comes on.
where they will Craze and grow fat, |
while he, with his rifle and his dogs, |
amuses himself with the game that |
will then be abundant about his cabin.
To our many inquiries about the /
best route to Estes Park, he finally |
gave the comprehensive reply: Gen
tlemen, you will know a id sight |
more about this road before you get |
back than you do now, which we
found to be strictly true.
Two days were travelling among the |
Foot Hills and smaller mountains,
over roads that at times seemed i'm
passable; now descending into deep |
ravines, again ascending some lofty |
height from which we could |
catch glimpses of the plains |
stretching away to the hori- |
zon, and anon coming suddenly into |
pleasant open park, carpeted with |
grass and flowers In great variety, |
until, through this constantly chang |
ing scenery, we came upon magnifi |
cent view of Estes Park.
We had been riding somewhat |
YEARLY through long narrow gulch, |
shut in on all sides by mountains,
except far ahead, where our road |
seemed to lose itself in the re-
cess of a deep ravine. Arriving
at the end of this comparatively
level stretch, instead Of the unin-
viting ravine we expected to find, we
saw, over the tops of the trees, hun
dreds of feet below, an open plain
stretching miles in either direction,
through which, like the winding
Ayr" a broad, sparkling stream
makes its tortuous course, while
all around, in the widest con-
fusion. are thrown the rugged
ramparts of the mountains here,
nearing their bald. precipitatous cliffs
as if in defiance of Times coquests,
then rising in symmetrical regularity
now stretching away in a connected
chain, and now opening in deep, dark
canyons, through which their super
auous waters may flow out to the
thirsty plains; while over all, in
solemn and lordly grandeur, the
+" Snowy Range" lifts its white
peaks to the sky. Standing before
such a scene as this. who can but feel |
that these mountains are Gods
" great altar stairs" on which, if no.
where else, the soul can climb to him
that made all things.
But night is coming on, and we
must descend to some camping ground |
below. where wood and water are
convenient. Once in the Park, |
and finding that meals can be
had at log-cabin in the
ranche, and lodgings in a tent pitched /
near By, / said TO myself, in the laa- /
guags of the song, Now will | rest
and here / am resting after five weeks, I
the guest of Mr.. Evans, one of the |
owners of the land here-an expe
rienced hunter-a trusty guide to any
part of the mountains, and every
respect, a genial. jolly and
accommodating Welshman. His
excellent wife, Notwithstanding her
present limited circumstances, sets :
table that tempts US into the most 70
racious eating, and the beauty of it is
that yielding to the temptation one
doesn't experience the horrors of dys-
pepsia, but rather escapes them. And,
what with climbing the neigh boring