The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-01-09
Scenes sf1a. -Coyorado-The Heart Of .
Great Desert--Life Under the Snowy
rErn,n A. New York EyenIng Mail.1

! CFrom the New York Evening Mhil.1 q :
When railroad across the great Plains
was first proposed few persons cons1dereq
the undertaking, possible. The emigranrs
trail was fenced with human bones, and ~
fur as the eye could reach skeletons o,
horses. cattle. and mules whttened the des.
ert waste. Out of this desolate wilderness
| rose the granite spine Of the American con.
tinent, and the weary traveller crossed II,
only to find volcanic rocks and streams ol
bitter water. ..Esjs, 4"
The events of the past ten years have dis.
pelIed many Of these geographical dreams,
and to-day where the heart Of the great
desert was supposed to have been forty
bu,hel Of wheat are produced from single
acre. This Territory, now. known as Col
orada, is destined to equal California in az
ricultural productions, and surpasses It IN
mineral wealth. Lying on both sides Of the
Rocky Mountains, it covers nearly llO,O
square miles of country-a tract thirteen
times larger than the State of Massachu:
sets. .-.
Rain seldom falls in summer on the plains,
land the rainy seasons Of California are sun.
known. Crops are raised almost wholly by
| irrigation, and the yield Of vegetables,
fruits, and grain per acre is larger than in
any Of the States, The pears and grapes
rival those of California, while, most of the
vegetables cannot sbs~ ~exeeAed In sfzsnof
The general appearance Of the country
is very high and rolling. For distance oil
three hundred miles from the mountains
there is continual descent eastward.
Thirty miles from the foothills the alti-
tude ranges from 5000 to S,e0l feet aboYe
the level Of the sea. All the rivers rise in
the mountains, and generally the water Is
wonderfully pure and clear. During the
summer months, when irrigation Is most
needed, the streams are highest.
Last July the railroad running from Den
almost every train brings invalids from the
East who are troubled with weak lungs.
The majority Of patients recover, but there
are some who come too late.
The climate is different from that of the
surrounding territories, because the noun
| tains and the great elevation attract the
clouds, and while the intense heat of the
sun Is modified by the influence of the
snowy range, the mountains serve as a
shelter from the northwest winds, which
| come laden with the vapors OF. the Pacific
ocean. The altitude of Colorado is above
the line Of perpetual snow, yet it Is not un-
common to see farmers ploughing in Feb
ruary, 6,000 feet above the sea.
The soil Of the plains is q rich, grayelly
loam, with some sand and large Quantities
OF mineral substances, which make it the
most fertile Of any on the continent. When
once ploughed, it remains loose for long
time, and it never bakes. Strange as it may
seem, the roads are SO good that one may
travel in light carriage 500 miles with as
much comfort az on the best turnpike in
New England.
To one first visiting Colorado, the country
appears unlike anything he even dreamed
Of. A grove on river three miles distant,
seems but mile away. Ladies, on alight-
ing from the cars, resolve to walk up to the
foothills after they have rested few hours,
but great is their surprise when they learn
that the awful heights are two and three
days journey from their door. Old hunters
from the east shoot at herd Of antelope the
distance Of mile, when they really think
that the animals are only two Or three hum
dred yards away. For hundreds of miles
there is not weed nor shrub 80 large rs o
mans finger, and yet with q little water,
one may raise turnips and beets that will
astonish all the grocers in Washington mar
ket. One may travels week without seeing
a drop OF water, but in day he can dig
down to- water purerthan the purest Gro
ton.
Beef may be kept perfectly sweet if hung
twenty. feet from the ground. r.
In less than second of time gale VI ~
come down from the mountains without o
cloud or moments warning, and in an
hour pass as quietly away. Sometimes the
wind roars like thousand tigers for four
teen hours, and yet the slightest shanty
may be left standing, because the atmos.
phere is so light. A gentleman declares
that the first night he slept in Colorado he
feared the house would lie blown to atoms,
but on looking out of the window next
morning he found q copy of the New York
Ledger. which he threw out the day before.
A telegraph operator on the Santa Fe line
saw his hat going south one day, and, rush
ing into the office, he called for the operator
at a station forty miles below to stop it. A
message came back an instant later, saying
that the hat had just passed.
At Greeley seven minutes are required to
boil eggs, and New England people are a
month in learning how to boil beans. In
the mountains two or three days are con-
sumed in boiling single mess. Atmos-
Dheric pumps will not lift water more than
twnnty-one feet in Colorado, as general
rule. ,s.... r-.-.-..
,Ihe rays OF the sun are almost scorchin9
during the summer months, but constant
breeze from the Snowy Range makes the
air delightfully."- cool and dry. The best sea-
soned lumber from the States shrinks In q
most wonderful manner, so dry, are the
winds. a story is told Of hotel-keepsr
who hired storage for lot Of double beds
which he had just received from the East.
On removing them to his new hotel week
after, great was his astonishment to find
that they were hardly wide enough for a
single person to sleep on. .... ..,..-,
Rare and beautiful flowers grow wild.
On fine summer evenings the air is laden
with an exquisite perfume {; along the nv
ers there are inviting groves, and occasion.
ally one sees islands SO green and beautiful
he might wish to end his DAYS on them.
The country around Salt Lake is similar
to that OF Colorado. When the Mormons
first went thither, Bridger, the old pioneer,
declared that the soil would produce MOTH
ing, and he promised 500 for the first ear
of corn that they might raise. Now they
supply population Of one hundred thou
sand, beside having q large surplus to
spare. Where herds of antelope were feed
ing last April the citizens Of Greeley were
picking peas in July and August. y, ~
no human being can describe the feeling
that penetrates the soul as one looks INTO
the awful chasms of the lofty mountains.
Standing among vines and flowers, his eyes
behold vast; regions Of snow and ice above
Iue ciouus. LII utueloot-nuIs al green PAL No
surrounded by the most beautiful towers
and castles of solid granite.
Through an opening near Longs Peak
the traveller may look down smooth and
perpendicular wall 5000 feet. It is said
that the gorge thus formed is far grander
than even the famous Yo Semitic. -.s .
i Near Georgetownis is lake almost on top
of the Range. Rocks and trees are seen in
the bottom at the depth of seventy feet.
Often when the sun is setting behind the
mountains, bars Of light shoot up to the
zenith, and as the scene is about to fade, 1t
il reflected aWay across on the eastern hori-