The Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1865-1870, 1870-08-24

"THE GENIAL SNOWMAN" being
"reminiscences of the life of Artemus
Ward, and pictures of a showman's
career in the Western World, is the
title of new publication by Edward
p. Kingston, printed by the Harpers
in New York. Mr.. Kingston was
with " Artemus in his tour through
Nevada some six years since. From
his notes in Silverland we extract the
following. Arriving at the second
summit, journeying from California
to Nevada, the auth Dr. says:
The scene is the grandest have be-
held for many day. There may be
bathos in making the comparison, but
the idea is one which suggests itself on
the spot. am standing at one end of
the uppermost row of the highest gal
lery Of a theatre. The theatre is of a
horseshoe shape, the walls are granite,
the roof is the open sky; and, from
where l stand, down to where l see the
top of a tree in the middle of pit,
must be at least two thousand feet.
Where the tiers of boxes should be,
slopes down in winding curves the
road by which We have to descend.
Instead OF arabesque work the front OF
the boxes is Ornamented with pine
trees, some of them Il hundred feet in
height. Around the uPpermost tier is
a cornice of glittering snow. Looking
across the Titanic theatre, whose walls
upreared themselves i'll primeval time
across the stupendous pit, the floor Of
which has scarcely been trOdden by
the foot of man-Nevada appears upon
the stage in scenery more impressive.
more dreary, and yet more wOnderous
than ever painters hand painted or
scenic artist devised. Far as the eye
can see is one broad expanse of brown,
arid, treeless, cheerless, solemn desc
latiOn-a series of misunderstanding
hills, of a burnt. dusky hue, apparent
ly devoid of all vegetation, and look
ing as though never watered by the
rain of heaven, the bright blue sky
above them only enhancing their
dreariness, and the white snow in the
foreground lending force and color to
their gloom.
We have to descend from the gallery
to the stage. We shall accomplish the
descent driving at rapid pace. Should
our coach turn over we should be
hurled down to destruction. Should
we roll to the depths below no one
would take the trouble to find our
grave. To our left as we descend Is
wall of rock crowned with an inacces-
sible coping of snow; to our right Is
an almost perpendicular precipice, the
base OF which is an untrOdden ravine.
At the angles of the road, where 1t
curves upon itself, are wide followed
out receSseS for u vehicle ascending
the mountain to wait the passing OF a
one.
The hind wheels of the coach are
locked. We glide down at rapid
rate. There is peril enough to cause
silence. and danger sufficient to make
the traveller cling to the coach with
nervous grip.
California, with its golden soil. is on
the other side of the Sierra. We are
now i'll Silverland.
A wild place is Carson. As uncouth
and semi-civilized as in old time was
the famous hunter and trapper Kit
Carson, from whom it takes its name.
We look at the Struggling, half-bullt
citv from out the windows OF our no
tel after a good nights rest. We see
that it is Il. the base of the Sierra, that
the mountains rise behind it. that
dreary plains extend around it, but 1t
is laid out in squares, that its houses
are nearly all built of wood, and that
its streets are lively with coaches,
wagons and drays.