Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-10-12
EXCURSION TO CALIFORNIA.
Scenery of the Pacific Railroad.

O4N AoA oE AAAAa NV n I nv ~ - A-Ns"s
Leaving Cheyenne behind us-the
largest of all the places we have yet
passed, and still not containing over
1000 inhabitants, where one year there
were fully 6,OO0-we commence our
ascent of the mountains. The grade
is uniform, rising in 33 miles 900
feet, and for the last Is miles over 50
feet to the mile. The surface of the
country is still smooth and undula-
ting, and covered sparsely with the
short, crisp grass; while, As we reach
] the summit, at Sherman, we find our
mound, stretching afar for many miles
/ in every direction, and S, 600 feet above
/ the level of the ocean. Toward the
north We behold, perhaps % or more
miles away, a magnificent amphithea-
/ ter of . miles diameter, sunk deep in
| the rocks and surrounding hills, and
known as the GraniteCanyOn. Toward
the south, l65 miles away, Pixies Peak
looms up, plainly visible; TO the
northwest, 100 miles distant, we see
Elk Mountain, a famous landmark
and 75 miles TO the southwest Is
Longs Peak. No range OF noun
I tains Of important altitude is near, no
ravines Of great depth, and the travel
er who expects startling scenery Of
awe-inspiring magnificence, or noun
/ tains Of stupendOus hight, will be as
/ tonished ct the evenness Of the land
scape, although The majestic distance
will surprise him. But how eXhila-
rating the atmosphere! You almost
\ feel ready to take wings and fly away.
/ The air is cool and bracing, the sun
shines brilliantly upon this immense
] table-land, and the effect OF light and
/ atmosphere, together with the sensa-
| ton of extreme altitude, overlooking
peak after peak and distant range Of
mountains, give to the behOlder feel
ing of deep inspiration and high exul-
tation. IN other words, you seem to
be on the top Of creation. 1t is easy
/ to feel happy and joyous there. Every
/ face wears a smile.
1 The scene is really one Of sublime
/ grandeur. Thewild, desOlate coun-
] try around, stretching we know not
how many miles away, never relieved
| by a single treean scarcely by shrub,
reveal bleakness and desolatiOn every
where; and, as the sun declines and
the shades of night draw near, they
/ tell us the cold winds come sweeping
| down across that summitand whistles
with a fierceness we never know at
home in our comfortable rooms. New
er have we felt such a sensation OF be-
| ing utterly alone. No life-inspiring
/ object greets the eye. All is solitude,
| complete Isolation from mankind and
you are left alone in the presence Of
your Creator.
The exceeding lightness of the at
mOsphere sometimes affects the trav-
eler unfavOrably. At first it is diff
cult to breathe, the lungs expand and
the heart beats quick; but after few
moments you become accustomed to
it, and how delicious are the deep
draughts Of mountain air, ,reviving you
and throwing a double power of invig-
Grafton into your frame.
WINTER WEATHER.
The winters here are of unparalleled
severity. Even in summer the cool
winds sweep sometimes gently, some
times strongly, yet constantly stir
ring; and often our sleeping-cars need
fires to make them warm and COM
Portable. But in winter the hottest
fire can scarcely overcome the pierre /
ing cold and double windows, double I
blankets, and double OvercOats hardly /
suffice to make the tourist comfOrta- |
BILE. Very little snow remains upon |
the ground, being mostly driven and /
swept away by the winds. The larg- /
est quantity yet that remained upon .
the ground for over a year past was 1
butts inches, and that fell in the month |
of May. No danger to the working
of the railroad is apprehended from
the mere depth of the snO5U but the
rapid formation of drifts causes a very
serious inconvenience. Hence, we
often see snOw-sheds, completely COW
ering the track, wherever we pass
through cut of any magnitude, while
on shorter curves or cuts a snow fence
about s feet high, stretching along the
track for several hundred feet in
length and about 100 or $50 feet back.
The fences interrupt the driving snow,
and form an eddy or current of air,
which piles the snow in huge drifts
between them and the track, thus
keeping the railroad in a measure
quite clear. The east winds usually I
bring cold rainsand the deepest SHOWS;
but the worst storms come from the
The coolest day of the
winterOf 1869 the thermometer stood
S deg. below zero. On the warmest
day of same season the thermometer
stood - deg. above zero. In summer
time, however, in the middle of the '
day, it often rises to 60, 20. or even so
deg but recedes rapidly at night to I
30 anu 40 deg.
RIDE ON THE LOCOMOTIVE. :
Taking our seat ON the cow-eatcher
Of the locomotive, in company with {
several Others Of our party, who had 7
neved themselves for the excitement, c
we prepare for the descent. The engi- '
neer pulls the valve, the engine gives I
, few putts, and in a few moments ]
away goes the entire train on a down 1
grade, which stops not for 400 miles. S
We hold our breath as the speed in S
creases, steam is shut off from the cyl T
Inder, and the engineer joins the COM 5
pany. Apparently the train is left to e
itself, its own weight prOpelling il in L
It's rapid descent of 60 feet to the mile. a
In Is miles the fall is 900 feet. Dale O
Creek Bridge appears before US and il
ior an instant we stand up and look e
iown its entire hight of 126 feet, and f
hen it is gone. Its $50 feet of length u
hardly takes a moment to pass, while L
he little silvery stream that trickles Il
iown below, and hides its course ever s,
md anon in the banks or among the d
lowers, seems but a thread-sO small b
We cannot measure it. As the train r.
continues its progress, the plains be- r
lin TO appear, and then to widen, un- c
il at Laramie, ,twenty-four miles from +
he summit, we enter the vast Lara
ME Plains, which extend east, west,
md south beyond our sight. This fine
,elt Of grazing-land is about twenty g
niles wide and sixty miles long, COW o.
red with rich, nutritious grass, where IL
took can be fed nearly all the year g
ound, and from whence immense o.
numbers of cattle are shipped weekly b
o the east. We see in the bottoms, +
he lowlands, where the grass is most ct
uxuriant and of the deepest green, Il
thousands of cattle, horses, ETC., gra- st
ing at leisure; and sometimes they ii
ather so close to the railroad as to be- A
ONE a source of positive incOnveni- m
nee to travel. The expense of fatten- nj
ng cattle here is said to be about the al
anne as in Texas; but here the ship r
ing facilities East and West are much al
lOre excellent. A carload of horses th
T cattle to Chicago costs less than tr
200, or $50 per animal, and the actu- a'
| cost here of a fine horse is but 81 to al
Is. The Plains are elevated an aver ne
ge of 1000 feet above the level of the
cean, and the air, though cool, is in
- 80 ]